Russia and the church

[Hesychios]

A priest forwarded me these two links, I thought it might be of some interest here

NPR interview

National Geographic Magazine

The author is the son of Alexander Schmemann, himself an American journalist. He explains that in the audio portion.

Michael

[Dr Ley]

What a coincidence,
i'm studying the ancient churches of Mesopotamia, the area around the Black Sea, the Balkans, and the Caucus mountains. In addition it is very interesting to see the spread of Coptic vs Latin in the East. Although most of the original churches contained mainly Greeks and other Greek speaking peoples, Syriac and its forms dominated many of the eastern churches. It is also interesting that Russia is so different than Latin and Greek, yet seems to share many constituents of the Hebrew language - not necessarily the alphabet, but the way the words are assembled and the deep stress on consonantal bridges to support the fleeting vowel sounds. Just like many other countries and civilizations throughout history the church has seen the many faces of society and the numerous ways it has interleaved its influence with, in and to the church. I am instantly reminded of the man Joseph Wurmbrandt and the chilling account of his experience as a prisoner during WWII. Just like his amazing triumph, the church still clings to many areas of the world which are hostile and perpetually endeavor to undermine and outright persecute the followers of Christ. While in Europe, Kuwait, Egypt, several communist block countries and Islamic countries it was so very encouraging to find Christians still practicing their faith regardless of the consequences; and in many countries they can be anything from severe beatings to death. This, yes, is the world of today. Anyway, it is also very heartwarming to know that some of the very oldest churches are in Russia and surrounding nations formerly part of the USSR. Christianity was like a fire and the more attempts were made to extinguish it, the greater it flared and the farther it reached. Even though a church may have been abandoned or destroyed, it is still a testament to the church and the faith because it impacted the people and the remnants are still a huge statement through time. ...Just as a fire leaves a changed environment and a lasting memory, so too Christianity was practiced, taught, recorded, and even became part of cultures - some small others in a huge and long enduring way.

Sorry about all the rambling. That is just how my mind works now. I am told that I often miss the point or intent of a posting. If this is one of those cases please forgive...
From my whole heart,
== Dr Ley

[Peter J]

I saw this on the thread-list and thought "Oh, nice to hear from Hesychios". Then I realized the thread is almost 3 years old.



I wonder if it's possible to "enliven" things around here?

Originally Posted by Hesychios

A priest forwarded me these two links, I thought it might be of some interest here

NPR interview

National Geographic Magazine

The author is the son of Alexander Schmemann, himself an American journalist. He explains that in the audio portion.

Michael