the domestic zoo » orthodoxy

scenes from a sunday morning

emily — Sun, 29 May 2011 16:38:44 +0000

Christ is Risen!

emily — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 13:55:06 +0000

Let no one fear death, for the Saviour’s death has set us free.

He that was taken by death has annihilated it!

He descended into Hades and took Hades captive!

He embittered it when it tasted his flesh!

And anticipating this Isaiah exclaimed: “Hades was embittered

when it encountered thee in the lower regions”.

It was embittered, for it was abolished!

It was embittered, for it was mocked!

It was embittered, for it was purged!

It was embittered, for it was despoiled!

It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!

It took a body and came upon God!

It took earth and encountered heaven!

It took what it saw but crumbled before what it had not seen!

O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen, and life reigns!

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!

For Christ, being raised from the dead,

has become the first-fruits of them that slept.

To him be glory and might unto ages of ages.

Amen.

the unnailing

emily — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:00:41 +0000

st. patrick’s day

emily — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:38:56 +0000

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

- St. Patrick of Ireland

Would I have had enough faith and love to return to the people who had captured and enslaved me,
seeking not revenge but their highest good, their salvation? That is the real St. Patrick.

- 150 Knots (150knots.wordpress.com)

the triumph of orthodoxy

emily — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:30:19 +0000

The Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent. It is the celebration of the victory over the iconoclasts by the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The service is to commemorate the restoration of icons for use in services and private devotional life of Christians.

~ ~ ~

“Part of what icons are in the East is easier to understand in light of what happened to icons in the West, not only religious artwork but painting as a whole. What happens if you ask an art historian to tell the story of Western art after the Middle Ages, roughly from the Renaissance to the Neo-classicists? The story that is usually told is a story of Western art growing from crude and inaccurate depictions to paintings that were almost like photographs. It is a story of progress and advancement. Orthodoxy can see something else in the story. Western art became photorealistic, not because they progressed from something inferior, but because their understanding of symbol had disintegrated.”

- Jonathan Hayward

As the Prophets beheld, as the Apostles taught,
As the Church received, as the Teachers dogmatized,
As the Universe agreed, as Grace illumined,
As the Truth revealed, as falsehood passed away,
As Wisdom presented, as Christ awarded,

Thus we declare, thus we assert,
Thus we proclaim Christ our true God and honor His saints,

In words,
In writings,
In thoughts,
In sacrifices,
In churches,
In holy icons.

On the one hand, worshiping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord.
And on the other hand, honoring and venerating His Saints as true servants of the same Lord.

This is the Faith of the Apostles.
This is the Faith of the Fathers.
This is the Faith of the Orthodox.
This is the Faith which has established the Universe.