Protopresbyter Robert S.Kondratick has been relieved of his service as Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America. Related stories here.Gooooooooogle. Update: Today’s Wall Street Journal article. Read more

Recently, I posted a bishop’s take on the Pope’s dropping the title “Patriarch of the West” … in the Comments on that post, I mused that perhaps it was a “trial balloon.” Well, the following piece has a whole different take: From the National Catholic Reporter … Without any fanfare, Benedict XVI last week set aside a traditional title of the Roman Pontiff for roughly 1,500 years, “Patriarch of the West.” While initial speculation construed the move as a gesture... Read more

A young and nervous bride planning her wedding was increasingly terrified about her upcoming marriage. To calm her nerves, she decided to have a Bible verse which had always brought her comfort (1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; for perfect love casts out fear”) engraved on her wedding cake. So she called the caterer and all arrangements were made. About a week before the wedding, she received a call from the catering company. “Is this really the... Read more

Okay y’all, tmatt wants some input on his latest creation … OrthoFritters. Here follows an email I sent him after we took the plunge … Okay. Did the fritters. Very nice. The wife broiled ours, fried the kids. All went well. Did the “wrap thing” — added some tahini, along with some dairy-free cole slaw and veggies on the side. (I also put on some asian hot sauce … whether it needed it or not 🙂 My wife said she... Read more

What follows are snippets from a long interview with the chief exorcist of the Roman Catholic Church. You can read the whole thing H E R E. Amateur that I am, I was agreeing with much of his statements … till he got to the part about Harry Potter (below). Still, it’s a worthy read. Are you saying that most of the bishops of the Catholic Church are in a state of mortal sin? AMORTH: When I was a child,... Read more

“Set O Lord, … a door of enclosure round about my keyboard ….” A friend sent me this. I realize reading it here is sort of like a TV commercial telling you to dump the Boob Tube. But, some of these may apply … Internet Addict Recovery Program 1 – I will have a cup of coffee in the morning and read my newspaper like Iused to, before the Internet. 2 – I will eat breakfast with a knife and... Read more

“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity... Read more

… a 4-minute blast that opens with chipper children scarfing down their McPassion meals, complete with a crown of thorns and round fries that the announcer notes are “shaped just like the Eucharist.” Then there’s the McLast Supper from Burger King of Kings or the McLoaves and Fish Sticks dinner (all you can eat, while supplies last). The meals come with toys, like the pretend stigmata tattoos, a simulated leather cat of nine tails, Shroud of Turin towelettes, a kid-sized... Read more

I used to be quite the apocalyptic kid. Growing up, I loved the book of Revelations [sic] and End Time Prophecy Preaching. It kind of messed me up for a while. (Even Hal Lindsey had to write a few more books since the Late Great one.) These days I’m torn between the view that Apocalypticism is Intellectual Laziness and “Watch Out! Here it comes!” This story ushers me into the latter category. By the way, that’s real human innards your... Read more

Though sometimes kooky, always hokey, and perpetually sappy (think Katie Couric on some serious steroids), every now and then Pat Robertson deserves a hearing. Why? Because even a broken clock is right twice daily. Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Monday on his live “700 Club” television program that Islam wants to take over the world and is not a religion of peace, and that radical Muslims are “satanic.” After watching a news segment about radical Islam in Europe, Robertson remarked... Read more