So I’m filling the car with gas on my way to Vespers last Saturday when a woman approaches me … saying she’s on her way to church and asks if I can spare a few dollars. I said, “Sure – what, you need some candle money?” “Oh no, she replies, I’m gonna get a cup of coffee!” As I give her the dough, I ask: “Your church charges for coffee?” “You betcha! … we even have baristas now! It’s much... Read more

Associated Press – A group of female protesters locked in a land dispute with the Greek Orthodox Church defied a 1,000-year-old ban and entered the all-male Mount Athos monastic sanctuary in northern Greece, a police official said Wednesday [1/9/08]. A police spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity that the small group of nearby villagers, including at least six women, climbed over a fence Tuesday and briefly entered the self-governing peninsula, where women are strictly forbidden. Parliament member Litsa Amanatidou... Read more

Here’s a few more pics — these taken across the border in Mexico — from the 3rd annual Winter Service Retreat hosted by St George Church (OCA), Pharr, Texas. More pics from Mexico in Parts 5 & 6.Part 1 … Part 2 … Part 3 You can’t really tell, thanks to the electrical pole and bridge railing, but this is a Ha-Yuge! cemetary just over the border in Mexico. And these, believe it or not, are nice dwellings for the... Read more

The theme for the Retreat was taken from Defeating Sin and entitled: SEVEN – Two Adams, Two Eves, One Rule, Two Trees.My purpose in being at the Winter Service Retreat was to deliver “spiritual sessions” — or, as Reader Abraham, a seminarian at St Tikhon’s joked, to facilitate nap time. But, by all observations, he was just kidding. I think! Part 1Part 2 Here’s a picture of him playing soccer, however, looking suspiciously refreshed following … a spiritual session. Oh... Read more

RAMALLAH, West Bank – President Bush, summing up meetings with both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, said Thursday that a peace accord will require “painful political concessions” by each. Resolving the status of Jerusalem will be hard, he said, and he called for the end of the “occupation” of Arab land by the Israeli military. Here’s the story. He also called for an end to the choke-hold the overseas Patriarchates have on their respective local churches in the so-called Diaspora... Read more

CAUTION: The following pictures show teens working. These are actual teenagers and not actors brought in just to fool you. Parents, please exercise extreme care when viewing these. They may frustrate you. And, no, I cannot say as to whether these kids are available to come clean your kids’ rooms. These pics are the second in a six-set series of pics from the Winter Service Retreat in Pharr, Texas. (Part 1) One of the tasks was to fill boxes with... Read more

South Padre Island, Texas — January 1, 2008It’s not fair to begin a series of photo entries from the Winter Service Retreat with pics of the beach, for multiple reasons: 1) it was outrageously windy and cool for south Texas; 2) it was the only real “goof off” day of the week; 3) even under the conditions it probably looks down right balmy to some of you; 4) the retreat began several days earlier with services, presentations, and preparations for... Read more

Since the spring of last year, when a podcast and a book gobbled up spare time, postings on this blog have become sporadic. I’ve contemplated going the way of all blogs with the inevitable P-P-Posting; which, though not a bad idea — it’s one whose time has not (quite yet) come. For instance, if it weren’t for the blog I’d not be able to tell you about the group of exceptional folks pictured here. This pic was taken by Matushka... Read more

The thing about a new leaf is … you can just KEEP turning it over! Our job, with God’s help, is to REDEEM the time. Time, in and of itself (outside of Paradise), is neither good nor bad. It just is. Yet, with a sacramental understanding, even “bad times” can be redeemed — to God’s glory. Stick to the things necessary for your salvation, moment by moment. And, please, while you’re at it: Pray for me. God bless! — Oh!... Read more

It’s that time of year again … Now that the Nativity Fast and Christmas has come and gone,it’s almost that time of year … A time of year that can be summed up in one word from last year: Sanjaya! What? You were expecting something else? Nope. That’s right, it’s time for the popular TV show, American Idol. I know … Many of you don’t watch television, have cable or satellite. Me neither. But I do have rabbit ears and... Read more