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Mar 25th, 2025
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,352 Likes: 99
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Christ is in our midst!! Christ is Born!!
One of my good friends is the OCA pastor here in Altoona. I do occasionally attend his parish for DL. I always receive a warm welcome from him and his parish. While we cannot commune in the Mysteries, we do agree that we need to present some sort of witness to Christ in an increasingly hostile world. And if that's all we can do, then that's all we can do.
We pray for each other and we encourage each other.
Tom, the thread about religious bullies was begun because of a situation similar to what you state. Just remember that there are three surprises to be experienced in Heaven: one, that those you thought would be there, aren't; two, that those you thought wouldn't be there, are; and thre, that you're there. (I can't speak for you, but that'll be the biggest surprise for me.)
BOB
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Just remember that there are three surprises to be experienced in Heaven: one, that those you thought would be there, aren't; two, that those you thought wouldn't be there, are; and thre, that you're there LOL!!! ...and so true! Did you come up with this on your own, Bob?!? I would love to use it from time to time.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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If you want some amusement at the expense of these loonies, order a couple of dozen or so prayer-ropes from Athens (in the right neighborhood you can almost buy them by the pound!), and advertise them for sale at a lower price than the people you fell afoul of charge.
I used to know a Fatima group in New Jersey who made prayer-ropes and gave them for free to those in need of them.
On the other hand, that would be a bit of bother. Better just to pray and let it go at that.
Fr. Serge
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Um, I've never bought anything, from any store, on-line, or brick and mortar, that asked me what religion I practiced. What store did you order from that asked you your religious preference? If it truly happened, it's not slander to name the store. I can assure you I would not patronize that store. If this did indeed happen to you, I am sorry that you were treated so poorly by my co-religionists. I am skeptical about your story, though.
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Let's not get into naming the vendor.
Tom's veracity on this point is not at question - it's not the first time that kind of thing this has been reported.
And, as someone noted, it's not necessarily limited to an Orthodox vendor and a Catholic customer. The same kind of small-mindedness and lack of Christian respect can be found in any of the possible mix and match combos (Ov/Cc, Ov/Oc, Cv/Oc, Cv/Cc). All one needs do is put forth enough effort to match a vendor who considers that his Church is the only Church with a customer who worships at another Church, or who is the canonical subject of a hierarch of whom the vendor doesn't approve, etc. The prospects that feed into this kind of thing are endless.
I can personally testify to the possibilities for several of those scenarios. As someone here once remarked of one such body (vis-a-vis its attitude toward other Orthodox) "if ______ doesn't label you a heretic, you should look at yourself".
Many years,
Neil
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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It being the week of prayer for Christian unity, this is a chance for us all to pray this kinda mean-spirited stuff not happen anymore and that our respective bad confessional memories be healed.
Somehow or other it's imperative we set aside/go beyond all manifestations of spite and resentment in the Name of Christ. How misguided can we get?
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Don't worry about them. If it is who I think it is, I'm not Orthodox enough for them either.
Alexandr
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ALICE: Actually the little quote was from a comment made in a men's group and I don't remember the author, but go ahead and use it.  BOB
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Don't worry about them. If it is who I think it is, I'm not Orthodox enough for them either.
Alexandr Me neither!(and I'm glad to be in that club...)
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As one traditionalist,I have to weigh in on this.Hopefully,this hateful language represents a fraction of a percent of the Orthodox traditionalists.It sounds like the extreme Greek Old Calendarists,but it could well be the langauge of some extremist convert,i.e.,one of those who believes that one cannot be a true Orthodox without hating everything Western.Fr.Seraphim Rose cautioned converts and Orthodox in general against such extremist thinking.I'll give three examples of Greek Old Calendarists who are not quite so extreme.1.)The Synod of Metropolitan Cyprianos of Fili.This group is malinged by the extremists because they will not declare that New Calendarists are without Grace.See the comments of their senior hierarch in North America,Archbishop Chrysostomos in the blog "ROCOR Refugees",where His Eminence states among other things that religious tolerance is NOT a heresy.2.)A well-known Archimandrite,once in ROCOR,stated at a conference in the 80's words to the effect that we should NOT insult a Roman Catholic priest by not calling him "Father",even if we don't recognise Rome;it's a simple matter of human decency(I don't remember the exact words now,and I'm no longer a big fan of the Archimandrite in question,but I think his words here were just).3.)Metropolitan Pavlos,North American Exarch of the Synod of Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Athens,whose words I once heard in a sermon stating that we DO NOT hate the non-Orthodox.Since His Eminences Synod takes a harder line than the Cyprianos Synod,his brother bishops might not share his moderate views.
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Why not name the vendor and why not question Tom's veracity? I don't know Tom and I don't know what his intentions are. Granted, I'm a newbie, actually I've been around a long time, but haven't posted much. All I ever read on this site is how poorly both the Latin Church and the Orthodox treat the Uniates. I have a feeling if I composed something, from an Orthodox perspective like Tom wrote that I would be severely castigated and called a liar. So yes, I would like to question Tom's veracity and I would like to know the name of the store. If it's true, I would never patronize said store. I long and pray for the reunion of our respective Churches.
One thing I do notice is that Tom has not posted again on this topic. [i][/i]Once upon a time, I was treated badly by some Roman Catholics who told me I was going to hell, blah, blah, blah.....
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You could be right, but this thread has shown that there is light among us and good will, even towards those with whom we disagree. And...not all Orthodox have poor relations with their Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters.
Last edited by DMD; 01/22/10 03:21 PM.
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Why not name the vendor and why not question Tom's veracity? Frankly, at the most basic level, because I said that neither was necessary. I don't know Tom and I don't know what his intentions are. Granted, I'm a newbie, actually I've been around a long time, but haven't posted much. All I ever read on this site is how poorly both the Latin Church and the Orthodox treat the Uniates. Then you haven't read enough here. I have a feeling if I composed something, from an Orthodox perspective like Tom wrote that I would be severely castigated and called a liar. Doubtful; if you read what I posted above, you'd see that we've heard it all before - mix and match the combos, uncharitable persons who disrespect other Christians exist in every Church - luckily, they are rarely the majority. As you can see in the comment immediately above, by DMD, the replies to this thread make clear the attitudes of this community toward the type of situation Tom has described. An earlier post, by Alexander - a very conservative Orthodox Christian by anyone's standards - makes clear that he believes he knows the vendor of whom Tom speaks and doubts he (Alexandr) would be considered sufficiently Orthodox to meet the vendor's criteria. So yes, I would like to question Tom's veracity and I would like to know the name of the store. If it's true, I would never patronize said store. As to the vendor name/site, I have already made it clear that will not be posted. I long and pray for the reunion of our respective Churches. As do most of us. One thing I do notice is that Tom has not posted again on this topic. [i][/i]Once upon a time, I was treated badly by some Roman Catholics who told me I was going to hell, blah, blah, blah..... I'm going to post something that I posted several years ago, long before I was a Moderator here. It was addressed to an individual who had issues with the attitudes and atmosphere here. I suggest you read it and make the same decision that I recomended he make at that time. This Forum is about constructive dialogue among and between its members. (Another) ... web-based Eastern Catholic forum ... was on the verge of self-disintegration, due in large measure to the virulent, venomous, and triumphalistic postings that routinely grace(d) its board. When a member there, frustrated with the lack of charity among the Eastern Catholic members to one another's views - let alone those of Orthodox members, asked if there was an alternative, I unhesitatingly recommended this Forum: I said:
Try The Byzantine Forum. We aren't perfect, but I think that, overall, we're less contentious. Be prepared, we are a very diverse group - our membership is no longer accurately described by the board's name. There is a free exchange of ideas and disagreement, but the basic rule is one of charity and respect for each other and each other's Churches; the tolerance level for bashing - whether it be of Catholics or Orthodox - is low to non-existent. Still, we do have some highly opinionated posters.
Our membership is a mix. Byzantine Catholics are the largest group overall, with Ruthenians and Ukrainians predominating, but we also have Croats, Hungarians, Italo-Greeks, Melkites, Romanians, Russians, and Slovaks. Non-Byzantine Catholics include Armenians, Chaldeans, and Maronites. There's a fairly sizeable active Eastern Orthodox membership - including Albanians, Antiochians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Carpatho-Rusyns, Romanians, Russians, Serbs, and Ukrainians. Our Oriental Orthodox members include Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, and Syriacs.
We also have a contingent of Latin Catholics, whose views range across the spectrum. There are several active Protestant posters ...
Geographically, we're pretty diverse. Besides all of North America, there are folks posting routinely from Scotland, the Philippines, Poland, Maylasia, Brazil, England, and Spain, with other places represented on a less-regular basis. The beauty of this Forum is who we are and what we bring to it. Pedantic, argumentative posts that seek to overwhelm the reader and aggressively impugn the sincerity of our Eastern Catholic and Orthodox brothers and sisters who have the temerity to believe and hope that, by communing intellectually here, they may somehow be contributing to the day when we can all stand together and worship in the fullness of communion that today is denied us, are an unwelcome intrusion into what is truly its own community of faith. The purpose of your joining this Forum is lost on me. We know we have differences of belief between and among us and that the baggage of history comes with a heavy price. But, I for one, and I suspect many others here - if not most, cherish the faith, the sincerity, the forthrightness, and the honesty of our brothers and sisters, and the opportunity to dialogue with them, even when we disagree. You, on the other hand, see only black and white and seem to have no appreciation for the fact that gray is within the spectrum. The Churches that I referenced in describing this Forum's membership are, in fact, persons - an Episcopalian who offers his prayers, during his Maundy Thursday vigil, for our intentions; a Ruthenian who is geographically separated from her Church and worships with Melkites; a Russian Catholic who chants Holy Week services in an Orthodox Church in Malaysia; a Greek Orthodox who fervantly prays to see union between our Churches; a Latin who crafts beautifully written prayers on subjects of import to all of us and posts them for our edification; an Orthodox Archimandrite who does likewise; an Albanian Orthodox who spoke on behalf of the Italo-Greek-Albanians, when they had no member here; a Latin whom we watched as he converted from Protestantism and decided whether to go to the East or West; and, I could go on. My point: we are people here and, for most of us, that is as or more important than rabid ideology - (which is not the same as faith). To disagree or post an opposing view is one thing; to deluge the Forum with massive amounts of material and to harangue is another. We aren't a venue for (rhetoric) - Catholic or Orthodox; there are plenty of those. Give some thought as to whether this is really the place you want to be. Many years, Neil
Last edited by Irish Melkite; 01/23/10 07:42 AM.
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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I hesitate to name the online store where I was attempting to buy this, because it's not my goal to slander, but I just was shocked and felt I had to share that with other Eastern Christians. I'm pretty sure I know exactly where you are talking about. I won't name them out of respect for you but trust me when I tell you the nastiest sedevacantist you can imagine can't hold a candle to these guys. Ignore their comments and pray for them. If you want to purchase a prayer rope tied by Orthodox monastics I recommend St Tikhon's Monastery. You could also learn to tie one yourself. It can be very spiritually rewarding. Here is a good video if you are interested. Here [ youtube.com] Yours in Christ Joe
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I'm sorry, but we do not wish to sell you a Prayer Rope from Mount Athos. As a Roman Catholic, you have no need of it. It would be better if you would study and learn about true Orthodoxy, and unite yourself to our beautiful and holy Orthodox Church. Roman Catholicism is a disgusting, perverse, murderous, God-hating and God-fighting "religion" that comes straight from the devil. At one time they were a part of our beautiful and holy Orthodox Church; but they departed from Her a long time ago. Since then, they have done nothing but persecute the Church, and humanity in general. They have become a very great instrument of the evil one. "  I have never been addressed like this before, either online or in person, and by a fellow Christian no less! I hesitate to name the online store where I was attempting to buy this, because it's not my goal to slander, but I just was shocked and felt I had to share that with other Eastern Christians. Harsh words are sometimes necessary to open your eyes. Remember what Our Lord told about the Pharisees? Come on, they have used harsh words, what they say is not true, but it looks like they have good intentions (to bring you back to the flock). I don't feel offended reading it, and I'm a cradle Latin Catholic. Everybody's entitled to his opinion, even if he is wrong and unwilling to learn the truth. It's his problem. After a few moments of thinking I think I know why I am not offended. They have said more or less what you can hear about the Catholic Church everyday on TV or read in the press. After hearing it for the nth time it just makes no impression. Never mind.
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