Machalus was first the leader of a band of robbers, who then preyed on travelers. When the bishop of St. Patrick was traveling, the group made a plan to trick him by putting one of their gang, named Garban, under a cloak by the side of the road, pretending that he was dead. When Patrick came by, Machalus would beg him to pray over the corpse, and the whole gang would set upon him. But when they raised the cloak on Garban, he was dead. They fell before Patrick and confessed their guilt. Patrick prayed and restored Garban to life, and he ordered that they return their booty, but Machalus asked for a more severe penance. Patrick told him to chain himself to a boat, row out to sea, throw away the oars and the key to his chains, and float to wherever God chooses. Machalus obeyed, and he was washed up on the Isle of Man, where two missionaries had settled. That day they had caught a fish that swallowed the key, and they unlocked Machalus' chains. He became their servant. Later, he was ordained a priest, and then the third bishop of the Isle of Man. He is known for the division of the island into seventeen parishes. He is buried at the church that still bears his name. At that site, there was for many years a stone coffin, which held crystal clear water prized for healing various diseases. Some time later, a Viking planned to rob the church, but St. Machalus appeared and struck him three times in the chest with his staff. The Viking died, and his companions fled. SOURCE: SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2017(with 2016's link here also and further: 2015,2014 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, and even 2008!):
Richarius was born in seventh-century France, at Cellas. During this time, the population there was mostly pagan. Once when two Irish priests landed on the coast trying to cross the countyr, they would have been seriously mistreated had Richarius not protected them. In gratitude,they instructed him in the Christian faith, after which Richarius was inspired to become a priest. After rigorous preparation, he was ordained to the priesthood and lived for some time in England. When he returned to France, he began to preach with extraordinary zeal and great success. He warned King Dagobert on the dangers and vanities of this world, and his responsibilities as king. He said, "He who has to obey will only have to render account to God of himself, but he who commands will also have to answer for all his subjects." As Richarius grew older, he gave up his responsibilities as abbot of the Celles monastery he had founded. He lived as a hermit for the rest of his life with a disciple named Sigobard. Afterward, the monastery of Forest-Montiers was built over his cell.
Saint Basil, the Elder of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky
(November 15), was born toward the end of the seventeenth century. He
received monastic tonsure at Dalhautsi-Focshani Skete in 1705 or 1706,
laboring in asceticism with great fervor.
Saint Basil was
ordained to the holy priesthood, and became igumen of Dalhautsi in 1715.
He remained in that position for twenty years, and was a wise
instructor of monks, teaching them obedience, humility, and the art of
the Jesus Prayer.
The fame of this great spiritual Father began to
spread, so that even Prince Constantine Mavrocordat heard of him. Saint
Basil’s community became known as a spiritual school of hesychasm,
based on the wisdom of the Holy Fathers. When the number of his
disciples increased until there was no longer room for all of them at
Dalhautsi, they settled in other Sketes in the area. In this way, his
influence and teaching spread to other places, inspiring a spiritual
renewal of Romanian monastic life in the eighteenth century.
Saint
Basil renovated the Poiana Marului (Apple Orchard) Skete near the city
of Romni-Sarat between 1730-1733, then moved there with twelve
disciples. In addition to his duties as Igumen of Poiana Marului, Saint
Basil was the spiritual guide of all the Sketes in the Buzau Mountains.
One of his most famous disciples was Saint Paisius Velichkovsky, whom he
tonsured on Mount Athos in 1750.
The holy Elder Basil also wrote
introductions to the writings of Saints Gregory of Sinai, Nilus of Sora,
and others who wrote about the spiritual life, guarding the mind, and
on the Jesus Prayer. He taught that the Holy Scriptures are a “saving
medicine” for the soul, and recommended reading the Holy Fathers in
order to obtain a correct understanding of Scripture, and to avoid being
led astray through misunderstanding. Saint Basil also warned against
any inclination to excuse ourselves and our sins, for this hinders true
repentance.
Saint Basil fell asleep in the Lord on April 25, 1767,
leaving behind many disciples. His influence has been felt in other
Orthodox countries beyond the borders of Romania.
The Holy Empress Alexandra was the wife of Diocletian (284-305). Her
supposed death was described in the Martyrdom of Saint George, which was
written immediately after his death. The empress, however, received the
crown of martyrdom several years later, in 314.
Many events
occurred during these years. In 305 the emperor Diocletian resigned the
throne and power passed to his co-ruler Maximian Galerius (305-311), a
fanatic pagan, as well as a coarse and fierce soldier. His wife was
Saint Valeria, the daughter of the holy Empress Alexandra, whom
Diocletian had given in marriage against her will.
Saint
Alexandra raised her daughter in Christian piety. When Galerius died,
the emperor Maximinus sought her hand in marriage. When he was refused,
he banished Saint Valeria to Syria, where she lived with her mother.
After
the death of Maximinus in 311 the mother and daughter arrived in
Nicomedia, trusting in the mercy of the emperor Licinius (311-324).
Together with Saint Constantine, he had subscribed to the Edict of
Milan, which gave Christians the freedom of religion, but secretly he
remained an enemy of Christianity. Licinius gave orders to execute the
holy Empress Alexandra and her daughter Valeria. They were beheaded, and
their bodies thrown into the sea.
Today we commemorate the Holy Myrrh-bearing women Saints Mary
Magdalene (July 22), Mary the wife of Clopas, Joanna (June 27), Salome,
mother of the sons of Zebedee (August 3), Martha and Mary, sisters of
Lazarus (June 4). Also Saint Joseph of Arimathea (July 31), and
Nicodemus.
The holy right-believing Queen Tamara of Georgia is
commemorated twice during the year: on May 1, the day of her repose, and
also on the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women.
Synaxis of all Saints of Thessalonica.
Saint Seraphim Bishop of Phanar (December 4, 1610)
New Martyr Elias Ardunis (January 31, 1686)
New Martyr Demetrius of the Peolponnesos (April 13, 1803)
TROPARION - TONE 2
The Noble Joseph, / when he had taken down Your most pure Body from the
tree, / wrapped it in fine linen and anointed it with spices, / and
placed it in a new tomb. / But You rose on the third day, O Lord, /
granting the world great mercy.
TROPARION - TONE 2
The angel came to the myrrhbearing women at the tomb and said: / Myrrh
is meet for the dead; / but Christ has shown Himself a stranger to
corruption! / So proclaim: The Lord is risen, / granting the world great
mercy!
KONTAKION - TONE 2
You commanded the myrrhbearers to rejoice, O Christ! / By Your
Resurrection, You stopped the lamentation of Eve, the first mother! /
You commanded them to preach to Your apostles*: The Savior is Risen from
the tomb!
* Although this passage can also be translated “You commanded Your
apostles to preach:” it has been rendered in this manner in order to
conform with the Gospel accounts and with the liturgical texts of this
feast wherein the Myrrhbearers proclaim the Resurrection to the
Apostles, thus earning them the honor of being called the “Apostles to
the Apostles.
Saints Euthymius, Anthony, and Felix lived a life of
asceticism in Karelia about the year 1410. Saint Euthymius founded the
Karelian Nikolaev monastery. Hardly had he completed the church of Saint
Nicholas and several cells, than Norwegians descended upon the
monastery, burned the church and killed several of the monks in 1419.
Saint Euthymius decided to rebuild.
The noble Martha asked
prayers at the monastery for her sons who died in 1418 (they were the
sons of Martha’s first husband, Philip). Exploring the land, the young
brothers perished at the mouth of the North Dvina River, and they were
buried at the Karelian Nikolaev monastery.
In life, they were
distinguished for their works of charity. Their names were listed in the
manuscript Lives of the Saints of the Karelian monastery. A chapel was
built over the graves of the holy brothers, and in the year 1719, a
church in honor of the Meeting of the Lord.
Saint Euthymius was
glorified for his apostolic labors in the enlightenment of the people of
Karelia. He died in the year 1435, and his relics were uncovered in
1647. There is a service to Saints Euthymius, Anthony and Felix.
Saint
Euthymius is also listed under January 20 in the “Iconographic
Originals” because of his namesake Saint Euthymius the Great.
When the Emperor Diocletian was at Aquileia, he learned that these
Saints were Christians, and had them brought before him. Because they
would not deny Christ, he had them imprisoned, and when he went into
Macedonia, he committed them to Dulcitius the Prefect, who, however,
lost his understanding and became incapable of doing them any harm.
Diocletian then gave Count Sisinius charge over them. He had Saints
Agape and Chionia burned; he ordered that Saint Irene be put in a
brothel, but by the providence of God this was not accomplished, and she
was shot with an arrow. These holy sisters suffered martyrdom in
Thessalonica in the year 295.
APOLYTIKION OF VIRGINMARTYRS AGAPE, CHIONIA AND IRENE
Plagal Of The First Tone
Since Thou hast given us the miracles of Thy holy Martyrs as an
invincible battlement, by their entreaties scatter the counsels of the
heathen, O Christ our God, and strengthen the faith of Orthodox
Christians, since Thou alone art good and the Friend of man.
KONTAKIONOF VIRGINMARTYRS AGAPE, CHIONIA AND IRENE
Third Tone
O Most fair Chionia, divine Irene, and Agape, ye are mirrors glittering
with spotless virginal brightness; and ye shine like unto lightning upon
the whole Church with the splendour of your contest as valiant Martyrs;
and ye drive away the darkness of pain and sickness as brilliant gems
of Christ God.
The Belynich Icon of the Mother of God initially was in one of the
Orthodox churches of the Mogilev district. After the emergence of the
Unia (1596) the icon passed into the hands of the Catholics and was
placed in a church of the Belynich Catholic monastery, founded in
1622-1624 by the hetman of Great Lithuania, Lev Sapega, on the banks of
the River Druta, 45 versts from Mogilev. The icon was venerated both by
Catholics and by Orthodox. In 1832 the monastery was dissolved, and the
Catholic church became a parish church.
In 1876 the icon was given
to the Orthodox after the restoration of the monastery. On April 12 of
that year the first Divine Liturgy was served in the church of the
Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos on the altar table consecrated by an
Orthodox bishop.
The Belynich Icon of the Mother of God is venerated throughout the Christian world.
On
this day we also remember the Transfer of the Venerable Belt of the
Mother of God from Zila to Constantinople in the year 942.
KONTAKION - TONE 6
We have no other help, we have no other hope, but you, O Lady. / Help
us, for in you we hope, / and of you we boast, for we are your servants.
/ Let us not be put to shame.
On Bright Monday the Church commemorates the Sweet-Kissing (Glykophilousa) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Like
the Iveron Icon (March 31), the Sweet-Kissing Icon was also saved from
the iconoclasts by a pious woman in the ninth century. It also traveled
miraculously upon the sea, arriving at Mt. Athos, the “Garden of the
Theotokos,” where it was honored by the monks.
A nobleman
named Simeon was an iconoclast who shared the emperor Theophilus’s
hatred for the holy icons. Simeon’s wife Victoria, on the other hand,
venerated icons, especially a certain icon of the Mother of God before
which she prayed each day. Simeon could not tolerate his wife’s piety,
so he demanded that she give him the icon so he could burn it. Victoria
threw the icon into the sea, hoping that it would be preserved through
God’s providence.
Years later, the icon appeared on the
shores of Mt. Athos near the monastery of Philotheou. The igumen and the
brethren of the monastery retrieved the icon and placed it in the
church, where it worked many miracles.
In 1830 a pilgrim
came to the monastery from Adrianopolis. He listened to the history of
the icon and the miracles associated with it, but regarded such things
as childish fables. The monk who had related all this was surprised and
grieved by the pilgrim’s disbelief, fearing that such doubts indicated
an unhealthy spiritual state. He did all that he could to remove the
pilgrim’s skepticism, but the man stubbornly adhered to his opinion.
The
Mother of God, in her compassion, finally healed the pilgrim’s soul in a
rather dramatic way. On the very day that he had his discussion with
the monk, the pilgrim was walking on an upper balcony. Suddenly, he lost
his footing and began to fall. In his distress he called out, “Most
Holy Theotokos, help me!” The Mother of God heard him, and he landed on
the ground completely unharmed.
The icon is one of the
Eleusa (Tenderness) type. It is unusual in that it shows the Virgin
kissing her Child. Christ raises His hand as if to repulse His mother’s
caress.
Saint Agabus was one of the Seventy Apostles chosen by Christ and
sent out by Him to preach (Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles: January 4).
The
holy Apostle Agabus was endowed with the gift of prophecy. He predicted
(Acts 11:27-28) the famine during the reign of the emperor Claudius
(41-52), and foretold the suffering of the Apostle Paul at Jerusalem
(Acts 21:11). Saint Agabus preached in many lands, and converted many
pagans to Christ.
TROPARION - TONE 1
Let us praise in hymns the six-fold choir of Apostles: / Herodion and
Agabus, / Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon and holy Hermes. / They ever
entreat the Trinity for our souls!
TROPARION - TONE 3
Holy Apostles / entreat the merciful God / to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.
KONTAKION - TONE 4
With the light of the Holy Spirit, / you illumine the way of the
faithful like stars, O Holy Apostles. / As you gaze on God the Word you
repel the darkness of error. KONTAKION - TONE 2
You became the disciples of Christ / And all-holy Apostles, / O glorious
Herodion, Agabus and Rufus, / Asyncritus, Phlegon and Hermes. / Ever
entreat the Lord / To grant forgiveness of transgressions / To us who
sing your praises.
Saint Mark was born in Athens. He related his life to Abba Serapion who, by the will of God, visited him before his death.
He
had studied philosophy in his youth. After the death of his parents,
Saint Mark withdrew into Egypt and settled into a cave of Mount Trache
(in Ethiopia). He spent ninety-five years in seclusion and during this
time not only did he not see a human face, but not even a beast or bird.
The first thirty years were the most difficult for Saint Mark.
Barefoot and bedraggled, he suffered from the cold in winter, and from
the heat in summer. The desert plants served him for food, and sometimes
he had to eat the dust and drink bitter sea water. Unclean spirits
chased after Saint Mark, promising to drown him in the sea, or to drag
him down from the mountain, shouting, “Depart from our land! From the
beginning of the world no one has come here. Why have you dared to
come?”
After thirty years of tribulation, divine grace came upon
the ascetic. Angels brought him food, and long hair grew on his body,
protecting him from the cold and heat. He told Abba Serapion, “I saw the
likeness of the divine Paradise, and in it the prophets of God Elias
and Enoch. The Lord sent me everything that I sought.”
During his
conversation with Abba Serapion, Saint Mark inquired how things stood
in the world. He asked about the Church of Christ, and whether
persecutions against Christians still continued. Hearing that idol
worship had ceased long ago, the saint rejoiced and asked, “Are there
now in the world saints working miracles, as the Lord spoke of in His
Gospel, ‘If ye have faith even as a grain of mustard seed, ye will say
to this mountain, move from that place, and it will move, and nothing
shall be impossible for you’ (Mt.17:20)?”
As the saint spoke
these words, the mountain moved from its place 5,000 cubits
(approximately 2.5 kilometers) and went toward the sea. When Saint Mark
saw that the mountain had moved, he said, “I did not order you to move
from your place, but was conversing with a brother. Go back to your
place!” After this, the mountain actually returned to its place. Abba
Serapion fell down in fright. Saint Mark took him by the hand and asked,
“Have you never seen such miracles in your lifetime?”
“No,
Father,” Abba Serapion replied. Then Saint Mark wept bitterly and said,
“Alas, today there are Christians in name only, but not in deeds.”
After
this, Saint Mark invited Abba Serapion to a meal and an angel brought
them food. Abba Serapion said that never had he eaten such tasty food
nor drunk such sweet water. “Brother Serapion,” answered Saint Mark,
“did you see what beneficence God sends His servants? In all my days
here God sent me only one loaf of bread and one fish. Now for your sake
He has doubled the meal and sent us two loaves and two fishes. The Lord
God has nourished me with such meals ever since my first sufferings from
evil.”
Before his death, Saint Mark prayed for the salvation of
Christians, for the earth and everything in the world living upon it in
the love of Christ. He gave final instructions to Abba Serapion to bury
him in the cave and to cover the entrance. Abba Serapion was a witness
of how the soul of the one hundred- thirty-year-old Elder Mark, was
taken to Heaven by angels.
After the burial of the saint, two
angels in the form of hermits guided Abba Serapion into the inner desert
to the great Elder John. Abba Serapion told the monks of this monastery
about the life and death of Saint Mark.
Saint Joseph was from Sicily, the son of Plotinus and Agatha. Because
Sicily had been subjugated by the Moslems, he departed thence and,
passing from place to place, came with Saint Gregory of Decapolis (see
NOV. 20) to Constantinople, where he endured bitter afflictions because
of his pious zeal. Travelling to Rome, he was captured by Arab pirates
and taken to Crete, whence he later returned to Constantinople. He
became an excellent hymnographer and reposed in holiness shortly after
886 (according to some, it was in 883). The melismatic canons of the
Menaion are primarily the work of this Joseph; they bear his name in the
acrostic of the Ninth Ode. He also composed most of the sacred book
known as the Paracletike, which complements the Octoechos For this
reason, Joseph is called par excellence the Hymnographer.
The Holy Martyr Polycarp suffered for his bold denunciation of the
emperor Maxmian (305-313) for spilling innocent Christian blood in the
city of Alexandria.
He openly confessed himself a Christian and went to voluntary torture. After cruel sufferings, the martyr was beheaded.
Paul I. Plikhanov was born in the city of Samara on July
5,1845, the son of John and Natalia Plikhanov. His mother died in
childbirth, and his father later remarried so that his son would have a
mother. Although his stepmother was very strict, she was a real mother
to him, and he loved her very much.
As a descendant of the
Orenburg Cossacks, Paul was enrolled in the Polotsk Cadet Corps. He
completed his studies at the Orenburg Military School and received an
officer’s commission. He later graduated from the Petersburg Cossack
Staff Officers’ School, and also served at the headquarters of the Kazan
military district and eventually rose to the rank of colonel.
Once,
as he was sick with pneumonia, Paul sensed that he was about to die. He
asked his orderly to read the Gospel to him, and passed out. Then he
had a vision in which the heavens seemed to open, and he was afraid
because of the great light. His whole sinful life passed before him, and
he was overcome with repentance. A voice told him he should go to
Optina Monastery, but the doctors did not think he would recover. His
health did improve, however, and the colonel visited Optina. In August
1889 the Elder of the Monastery was Saint Ambrose (October 10), who told
Paul to set his worldly affairs in order. Two years later, Saint
Ambrose blessed him to cut all ties to the world and told him to enter
Optina within three months.
It was not easy for the colonel to
resign his commission within the specified three month period, because
obstacles were placed in his way. In fact, he was offered a promotion to
the rank of general, and was asked to delay his retirement. Some people
even tried to arrange a marriage for him, laughing at his intention to
go to the monastery. Only his stepmother was happy that he wished to
become a monk. On the very last day of the three months he concluded his
affairs and arrived at Optina. However, Saint Ambrose was already laid
out in his coffin in the church.
Saint Anatole I (January 25)
succeeded Father Ambrose as Elder, and he assigned Paul to Hieromonk
Nectarius (April 29) as his cell attendant. He was accepted as a novice
in 1892, and tonsured as a rassophore in 1893. Over the next ten years
he advanced through the various stages of monastic life, including
ordination as deacon (1902), and as priest (1903). The monk Paul was
secretly tonsured into the mantiya in December of 1900 because of a
serious illness. When they asked him what name he wished to receive, he
said it did not matter. They named him in honor of Saint Barsanuphius of
Tver and Kazan (April 11). Although he recovered, they did not give him
the mantiya until December of 1902 after the Liturgy when it was
revealed that he had been tonsured on his sickbed.
On September
1, 1903 Father Barsanuphius was appointed to assist Elder Joseph, the
skete Superior, in the spiritual direction of the skete brethren and the
sisters of the Shamordino convent.
At the beginning of the
Russo-Japanese war in 1904, Father Barsanuphius was sent to the Far East
as a military chaplain, where he ministered to wounded soldiers. The
war ended in August 1905, and Saint Barsanuphius returned to Optina on
November 1, 1905.
Since Elder Joseph had become too old and frail
to administer the skete’s affairs, Father Barsanuphius was appointed as
Superior of the skete in his place. Father Barsanuphius soon
reestablished order and discipline, paid off debts, repaired buildings,
etc. As Superior, he combined strictness with paternal concern and
tenderness for those under him.
Saint Barsanuphius, like the
other Elders of Optina, possessed the gifts of clairvoyance and of
healing people afflicted with physical and spiritual ailments. One of
his spiritual sons, Father Innocent Pavlov, recalled his first
Confession with the Elder. He became fearful because Father Barsanuphius
seemed to know his innermost thoughts, reminding him of people and
events which he had forgotten. The saint spoke gently and told him that
it was God who had revealed to him these things about Father Innocent.
“During my lifetime, do not tell anyone about what you are experiencing
now,” he said, “but you may speak of it after my death.”
Saint
Barsanuphius loved spiritual books, especially the Lives of the Saints.
He often told people that those who read these Lives with faith benefit
greatly from doing so. The answers to many of life’s questions can be
found by reading the Lives of the Saints, he said. They teach us how to
overcome obstacles and difficulties, how to stand firm in our faith, and
how to struggle against evil and emerge victorious. Although the Lives
of the Saints were widely available, it saddened the Elder that more
people did not read them.
Saint Barsanuphius commemorated many
saints each day during his Rule of prayer, and this was not accidental.
Each saint, he once explained, had some particular importance in his
life. If, for example, some significant event took place, he would look
to see which saints were commemorated on that day, then he would begin
to commemorate them each day. Later he noticed that on their Feast Day,
they would often deliver him from some danger or trouble. On December
17, 1891, the commemoration of the Prophet Daniel and the three holy
youths, he left Kazan and never returned. That was the day he decided to
leave the world, and Saint Barsanuphius felt that God had delivered him
from a furnace of passions. Just as the three youths were delivered
from the fiery furnace because they would not bow down before idols, the
Elder always believed that he left the world unharmed because he
refused to bow down before the idols of lust, pride, gluttony, etc.
By
1908, Saint Barsanuphius seemed to fall ill more frequently, and began
to speak of his approaching death. In April of that year, someone sent
him a package containing the Great Schema. Father Barsanuphius had long
desired to be tonsured into the Great Schema before his death, but he
had told no one of this except for the archimandrite. Therefore, he
regarded this as a sign that he would soon die.
One night in July
1910, the Elder became so ill that he had to leave church during Vigil
and return to his cell. The next morning, July 11, he was so weak that
he could not sit up by himself. That evening he was tonsured into the
Great Schema.
Father Barsanuphius began to recover, but there
were new problems in the monastery. New monks came in from spiritually
lax environments. They did not understand the ascetical nature of
monasticism or the whole notion of eldership, and so they began to
clamor for reform and change. They wanted to assume positions of
authority, and to close the skete. Because of their complaints, Father
Barsanuphius was removed from Optina and assigned as igumen of the
Golutvinsky Monastery. When he arrived to take up his duties, Father
Barsanuphius found the monastery in a state of physical and spiritual
decline. Nevertheless, he did not lose heart, and soon the monastery
began to revive. More people began to visit, once they heard that an
Optina Elder had come to Goluvinsky, and the monastery’s financial
position also began to improve. However, the rebellious brethren caused
him great sorrow, and he had to expel some of them
At the
beginning of 1913, Saint Barsanuphius became ill again and asked
Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow for permission to retire to Optina, but
that was not to be. He fell asleep in the Lord on April 1, and his body
remained in the church of Golotvino until April 6 (which was also
Lazarus Saturday). After the funeral, his body was placed on a train and
sent to Optina for burial. The train arrived at Kozelsk Station on
April 8, and the coffin was carried to Optina by clergy.
The
Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on
June 13, 1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid,
Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II
began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However,
because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.)
associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics,
Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for
commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the
new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.
The Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.
Ни один из верующих
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*Original English Text*
*Неудачная передача*
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Exceptions
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There seems to be a common school of thought that and exception to a canon
permits more exceptions. However, the very nature of an exception is that
it doe...
The circular firing squad on Pope Francis
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Introduction
I. The pastoral Magisterium
II. When truth functions as law
III. The fence and the circle of orthodoxy
IV. Criticizing Magisterial failures
V. ...
A Tale of Two Linguists
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The Second Vatican Council declared the Latin language to be one of the
treasures of the Western Church, and decreed that it would remain the
official lang...
Christmas: the Eternal embraces the Finite
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*The following is a Christmas-season meditation by Susan Anne, who will be
joining me on this blog as a co-author.*
Beginnings and endings, finite measur...
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
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This is probably the best analysis of one of the most controversial events
in American History that I have come across.
Syndicated by Atom
Learning geography and ballistics
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The IRBM Russia launched yesterday from way far from the border with
Ukraine in Astrakhan took 15 minutes to get to Dnipro. The WSG (Western
Shadow Governm...
Service Interruption notice
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You may have noticed rigorousintuition.ca is currently down. We're moving
servers. Drew informs me it shouldn't take too long. Perhaps tonight or
tomorrow....
The truth drew hatred…
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“Seest Thou what suffer those who censure, O Word of God, the faults of
the unclean. Not being able to bear censure, lo, Herod cut off my head, O
Savior....
The Dynamism of Holy Tradition
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I. How & Why Traditions Are Created “Be imitators of me, just as I also am
of Christ. Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold
firml...
Apostleship - A Family Affair?
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Sometimes I amuse myself by imagining Jesus and the Apostles in situations
they might see if they grew up in the America that I know and love. When I
was a...
Moving Day
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I’m beginning to copy some of the articles on ecumenism over to a new blog
called “Eirenikon“, devoted solely to the topic of Orthodox/Catholic
rapprocheme...
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