St. John Damascene

The LAST Church Father: 7 things to know and share

† Our Righteous Father John of Damascus (760)

Byzantine Concert at Balamand Monastery P3: Hymns for St John of Damascus

St. John of Damascus, Doctor of Christian Art

Random:

The Counter-Attack?

Continuing the revolution started by the Consilium.

From Liturgical Press (what else?):
Beyond Pius V: Conflicting Interpretations of the Liturgical Reform by Andrea Grillo

It reminds me of Piero Marini's memoirs and his being a disciple of Bugnini - Challenging Reform: Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal, 1963-1975 - the old guard of the Pauline (and Pian?) reform.

This might be a more even-handed treatment of the current state of affairs in the Roman rite (and Pope Benedict XVI's efforts):
Care for the Church and Its Liturgy: A Study of Summorum Pontificum and the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite by William H. Johnston

The 450th Anniversary of the Council of Trent

NCR: Church Marks the 450th Anniversary of Council of Trent
The Reformation-era council has shaped the life of the Church for nearly half a millennium.

The Tridentine Masterpiece by Donald S. Prudlo

Too Romanocentric a pov? What would an Byzantine or Eastern Christian say of Trent and its response to the Protestants?

From 2011: Amateur Photographer Shoots Largest Ever True Color Photo of the Night Sky

Zenit: Council of Cardinals Begins 2nd Set of Meetings in Rome
Continues Examination of the Roman Curia, Congregation of Divine Worship

Post by Zenit News Agency.

Visually Depicting God the Father?

via ByzTx

What Is It to Think With the Church? - DSPT 2014 Convocation of the College of Fellows

Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, CA - Saturday, February 1, 2014 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

AVAILABLE VIA LIVE-STREAMING
"We should not even think,” Pope Francis has said, “that ‘thinking with the church’ means only thinking with the hierarchy of the church.” What then, does it mean?
Join us in person or via live-streaming for a conversation exploring this question. Speakers include DSPT Fellows:
- Michael Naughton, Director of John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought and Alan W. Moss Endowed Chair in Catholic Social Thought at University of St. Thomas;
- Gregory Wolfe, publisher and editor-in-chief of the journal Image, writer in residence at Seattle Pacific University, where he teaches English literature and creative writing; Founder and Director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at SPU;
- Richard Gallagher, Emeritus Scientist of Cancer Control Research at the British Columbia Cancer Agency and Clinical Professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.

RSVP

FB event

Cantori Gregoriani

Chiesa: Masterpieces of Gregorian Chant / A New Release in Six Tracks
The introits of the Sundays of Advent, Christmas, and the Epiphany presented on www.chiesa in a brand-new performance by one of the most distinguished choirs in the world

Masterpieces of Gregorian Chant / "Ad te levavi"
It is the introit of the first Sunday of Advent. In a brand-new performance presented to us by the "Cantori Gregoriani" and their Maestro

Faith in the Year of Faith: The Early Proposal of Joseph Ratzinger by Fr. Pablo Sarto (via Insight Scoop)

Feast of St. Andrew... Yesterday

Saint Andrew the Apostle
Pope's message to Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew trusts Francis’ visit to Jerusalem will herald a new season of ecumenical dialogue

A Greek Summa

I have not looked at De Fide Orthodoxa by St. John Damascene for some time. If a Thomistic summa were reworked so that the Trinity is covered first, then the Oneness of God, would Latin scholasticism be more palatable for the Greeks? How do the manuals of Byzantine scholasticism differ in their order of exposition from Latin scholastic manuals? What if one were to attempt to harmonize Latin theology (medieval or otherwise) with Byzantine theology in Latin and in Greek?

In a new summa, it seems that the question of scriptural interpretation would have to come in the beginning, in the treatment of Divine Revelation. And a discussion of liturgical theology would come under Divine Revelation or sources of Tradition? As well as under the topic of theology itself = theologia prima vs. theologia secunda. One of the questions at the very beginning...

Liturgy at the Jerusalem Church Metochion in Moscow

Post by Митрополит Иларион Алфеев (Metropolitan Hilarion).

Valaam - Α Step to the Skies

Theodore of Mopsuestia and his writings were declared anathema by an ecumenical council, even though the pope was reluctant to do this, preferring rather to condemn only part of his writings and leaving untouched reputation of the man(who was considered orthodox while he was alive). Was the pope's opinion on this matter a better one? After all, if excommunication primarily manifests the medicinal aspect of punishment and is a call of repentence, what point is there to anathematizing or excommunicating other than to express a strong disapproval of a person (or his teachings)? How can he be condemned after death, when he has already before the judgment seat of God but was also considered orthodox while he was alive?

Distributism for Orthodox Christians

Distributism: A Primer for Orthodox Christians

Fixing a Hole: On Distributism and Orthodoxy
Orthodox Christians Discover Distributism
Distributism in Eastern Europe
Distributism and Orthodoxy

For a Roman-rite Catholic, seeing the faithful of the Byzantine rite bowing or showing reverence to the icon of our Lord to the right of the royal doors might be a bit puzzling - the icon represents Christ but why not reverence the Blessed Sacrament or in the direction of the altar instead? Originally Christ was depicted on the wall/ceiling of the apse but gradually a depiction of the Theotokos replaced it, as the main depiction of Christ was moved to the central dome. (Correct?) It might make more sense for a Roman-rite Catholic to show reverence to the crucifix at or above the altar. How does one harmonize worshipping Christ through the icon on the iconostasis with praying East? Would it make more sense to a Roman Catholic for there to be a depiction of Christ on the apse as well? The Byzantine use of sacred space and icons in worship may be puzzling to a Roman Catholic at first, but adjusting things so that they make more sense to a Roman Catholic may not actually be better.

MoJ: Fr. Aidan Nichols, Quas Primas, the Social Kingship of Christ, etc. - Did Vatican II usher in our secular age?

From Earlier This Week

Post by Risu English.

Byzantine Liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica
Рим. 25 листопада 2013 р. Б.
Pope Francis greets Ukrainian pilgrims
UGCC Head participates in the Plenary Meeting of the Congregation of Eastern Churches

Universal not Uniform

Diversity is Not a Catholic Value by Wolfgang Grassl

For Thanksgiving

The Akathist of Thanksgiving





Psalm 135 (136)

Coffee with Sister Vassa (Thanksgiving Day / Eucharist)

Pravmir: Celebration of 78th birthday of Metropolitan Vladimir are held in Kiev

Post by Митрополит Иларион Алфеев (Metropolitan Hilarion).

MosPat photos

The Responsibility of Pius XII for the Reform of the Roman Rite

Fr. John Hunwicke: 'The Council' and the Liturgy: an alternative narrative

Links Pertaining to Liberty, The God That Failed

R. Cort Kirkwood has a review in the December issue of Chronicles.

Ryan Grant review: part 1 and part 2
James Heaney's review
John Rao interview
Forward Boldly interview
Video

NLM: The Ongoing Saga of “the Hermeneutic of Continuity” by Peter Kwasniewski

Let us be reminded of this post on Pope Francis's words on adoration and worship -
Aleteia: How Do You Solve a (Liturgical) Problem Like Maria? by Elyse Buffenbarger
If beauty and formality tells us “this matters,” its absence tells us that “this doesn’t.”

Related: The Eternal Liturgy vs. Contemporary Worship

World Over - 2013-11-21 -- Jim Caviezel EXCLUSIVE, Michael Coren, Joseph Pearce with Raymond Arroyo

Catholic Artists Society: David Clayton’s lecture – Forming the Artist, November 16, 2013 – full audio

RT: MP seeks to establish Orthodox Christianity as national Constitution basis

The Virtue and the Corporal Act

Rorate Caeli: For the record: Francis on the importance of adoration in the liturgy
"Adoration is what is most important: the whole community together look at the altar where the sacrifice is celebrated and adore"
AsiaNews

Worship & adoration - chant, ritual and so on should be customary expressions of that interior disposition. And there is also the aesthetic aspect of external worship. If it is not beautiful (founded upon logos - word and reason, not mawkish sentimentality) our reaction when it is associated with God will have deleterious effects. (It may be believed that contemporary liturgical music places a great importance on the lyrics, which often can be criticized for being very poor theologically, but it seems that its adherence to a certain musical style, which supplants the lyrics by its very form, is even more problematic.)

Two Popes, One 'Year of Faith'


Chiesa: Even the Pope Critiques Himself. And Corrects Three Errors
Rorate Caeli: Francis, writing on the Council of Trent, explicitly affirms the authority of the 'hermeneutic of reform in continuity'
Again HUGE news: Pope Francis explicitly endorses Benedict XVI’s “hermeneutic of continuity”

Rome Reports: Pope to Eastern Catholics: Never a Middle East without Christians

Good Guys Wear Black: Priest

Yesterday: “I will not resign myself to a Middle East without Christians,” says Pope Francis
Today the Pope met with representatives of the various Catholic Churches of the Eastern Rite and spoke about the need for transparency in the management of assets. “Our priests are entitled to our good example,” he added

We need more photos from the gathering.

His Beatitude Svjatoslav Shevchuk: “Ecumenism from the bottom up: Now Vatican II is coming into effect”

Now uploaded and available at Friburg: Susan Waldstein, Mercy and Self-Gift: Exploring the Intrinsic Connections Between Charles De Koninck’s Evolutionary Biology and his Theological Principles (PDF, 2.8mb)

NLM: Update on the Publication of the Opera Omnia of Thomas Aquinas by Peter Kwasniewski

What would MB make of this article? First Things: T. F. Torrance and the Latin Heresy by Douglas Farrow
Praising and critiquing one of the twentieth century’s greatest theologians.

Available to subscribers only.

IPS: Fr. Romanus Cessario, O.P.’s Tribute to Fr. Benedict Ashley, O.P.

John Tavener - Song for Athene

A New Direction for Thomism

With respect to theology - "ressourcement" Thomism may be a necessary step, but what's next after that?

What if...
Aquinas had been fluent in Greek and had access to Aristotle and the Greek Fathers in Greek? How would his theological synthesis have turned
out differently? Would his hardened Greek critics be more receptive to his work? How would Aquinas have responded to Saint Maximos the Confessor or Gregory of Palamas?

A living Thomism engaged with both the Latin and Greek theological traditions.

Are Western theological languages too tied to Latin? Could 'native' words be adapted to Greek nuances, or would we
have to use transliterated words for the vocabulary instead?

Do most of our lay academic theologians possess an adequate grasp of Greek and the Greek Fathers? Most are not even familiar with the Latin theological tradition, in Latin or in English. Theologians in religious orders may be more qualified to undertake this work, but even then, how many of them have a proper grasp of Latin and Greek? How much Greek do Dominicans study, for example?

I find it amusing now that traditionalist Roman Catholics will cite the story about the emissaries of St. Vladimir talking about the Divine Liturgy to support their claims regarding the EF of the Roman rite, when those emissaries were referring to the Byzantine Rite. In fact they were actually not impressed by what they saw when they visited the Romans and the Franks.

His feast day was just last week... Alberti Magni e-corpus.

DSPT: Theology Without Philosophy: A View From the Box-Canyon of Religious Studies by F. Russell Hittinger

Domenico Cardinal Bartolucci Has Passed

Chant Cafe: Funeral Mass for Cardinal Bartolucci, 9:30 am Eastern Time, Wednesday, November 13


NLM: Cardinal Bartolucci Interviewed on the Liturgical Reform and Sacred Music - An NLM Exclusive
(Rorate Caeli)

From 2009 - Rorate Caeli: A bombshell of an interview. Mons. Domenico Bartolucci on the liturgical reforms and the reform of the reform.

Sandro Magister: A Synod As Francis Commands

Fr. Z: “The book on Augustine which Pope Benedict would have wanted to write”… revisited.

OUP interview with the author.

Tonight Fr. David briefly touched upon involuntary sin, the concept of which was baffling to the Roman Catholics in the room - a sin which we do involuntarily? What could that mean? Fr. David emphasized that sin was not the same as culpability or guilt - which would seem to mean that with respect to involuntary sin, "sin" is being used analogically. If that is the case, and involuntary sin is a part of the Greek tradition, can we not say that the use of "sin" analogically is not foreign to the tradition? And that there is room for harmonizing the Latin teaching on original sin with the Greek tradition, on its own terms?

Joseph Shaw on the Roman Rite and the Christian East

NLM has the links: The Traditional Mass and the Christian East: A Series by Joseph Shaw of the Latin Mass Society

Brian Goodwin

Yesterday I took a look to see if anything new by him had been published; I found out he had passed away in 2009.



A Tribute at Schumacher College




A course at Schumacher College.






Coherence

AICN: IN SATURN'S RINGS is dedicated to Carl Sagan and Stanley Kubrick... here's its trailer!

Whispers in the Loggia: "Be Witnesses" – As Francis Looms Large, The Nuncio Upstages Elvis

Sir John Tavener: Mother of God, here I stand - Exultate Singers

Eternal Memory.



Orpheus Complex: We Must Always Keep Our Orthodox Roots: An Interview with Sir John Tavener
Sell Cleverness, Buy Wonder: The Music of Sir John Tavener

Vatican Radio: Pope Meets With Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion

Nikodimos Kabarnos in Spain

info about the concert

Ross Douthat on the New Pontificate Thus Far

NYT: The Francis Era: Synthesis or Civil War?

Roman Catholics want more? Where is the ressourcement they should be embracing?

Related:
The Synod’s three paths for remarried divorcees
“Müller cannot stop discussions” relating to remarried divorcees

CRC: The truth about the Saint Peter's tomb

Related: Peter’s relics to be officially exhibited for the first time

A Jesuit, Not a Franciscan

Cheisa: The Unfinished Symphony of the Composer Francis

The conversation begun by the pope in "La Civiltà Cattolica" continues in many voices. Here are two examples: an authoritative clarification on Bergoglio the "mystic" and the open letter of a New York theologian

SVOTS: Surprise Announcements at 75th Anniversary Gala - more photos

Eclectic Orthodoxy: The Iconic and the Apophatic: Charles Williams and the Two Ways

Cardinal Ratzinger on the Liturgical Crisis and Crisis of the Faith

From an old The World Over interview:



The full interview:

TAC: Dr. Ronald P. McArthur: Essays & Videos

Mospat: Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates the Divine Liturgy in the Russian general consulate in Busan

The Jesus Prayer The Monastic Choir of the Valaam Monastery

The Divine Liturgy in the Greek Orthodox Rite (Narrated in English)

Rome Reports: Is Latin making a comeback? Vatican launches Latin journal

Post by Vatican Radio - English Section.

Educated Latins should know Latin and Greek; some should even study Aramaic.

Rome Reports: Vatican will display relics of St. Peter for first time ever, to mark end of the Year of Faith

The Jewish Roots of Orthodox Christian Worship

(via Byzantine Texas)

Eastern Christian Books: Prayers from the East - Lights From the East: Pray for Us

Holy Transfiguration Monastery:

Post by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, the Monks of Mount Tabor.

First Things: Eastern Orthodox Unity by Ivan Plis

Garrigou-Lagrange & Leibnitz? by Steven Long (via Edward Feser)

Should We Be Worried Yet?

I try not to pay attention to what's going on in Rome these days; the traditionalists and others are concerned because of what is being reported here: The Council's "Unfinished Business," The Church's "Return to Jesus"... and Dreams of "The Next Pope" – A Southern Weekend with Francis' "Discovery Channel"

Rod Dreher reacts. (He links to John Zmirak's and Fr. Dwight Longenecker's responses as well.)

Related:
The side of Ratzinger "Ratzingerians" forgot about

Catholic Exchange: The Biblical Roots of the Sign of the Cross by Stephen Beale

The Imaginative Conservative: Finding Wisdom: Orthodox Monasticism by Stratford Caldecott

Dominican House of Studies Releases CD

"In Medio Ecclesiae"


OP East
New Liturgical Movement
Rorate Caeli
Chant Cafe

Rorate Caeli: Documenting the journey of Marcel Lefebvre

Where to find a good, portable copy of the scriptures in Greek? Someone associated with GOARCH would probably know the publishers.?

Ain't It Cool: Copernicus On The Science Of GRAVITY!!

SVOTS: “For The Life of the World” Conference Explores Fr. Alexander Schmemann's Celebrated Work

Contemplative Shock Troops: Dominican Renewal after Vatican II by Br. Thomas Aquinas Pickett, O.P. o

Vatican Insider: “Reform is going to go deep” by Alver Metalli
Chilean cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa - one of the members of Francis’ eight-member advisory Council - guarantees this

LAT: Science has lost its way, at a big cost to humanity
Researchers are rewarded for splashy findings, not for double-checking accuracy. So many scientists looking for cures to diseases have been building on ideas that aren't even true.

The Raven: "Year of Faith" Celebrations at St. Elias

The Raven: "Year of Faith" Celebrations at St. Elias: Bishop Stephen was here for Hierarchical Divine Liturgy marking our Eparchy-wide conclusion of Year of Faith and 1025th Anniversary of Bapti...

Representative of the reaction of Latin Catholics to Fr. Taft's interview from earlier this year? The combox for Reunion not a “Return to Rome”: On Catholic-Orthodox Ecumenism.

OP East: All Saints Vigil: Twentieth-Century Saints and Sanctity

Another Torrell Book in Translation

Published by Paulist! PRIESTLY PEOPLE: Baptismal Priesthood and Priestly Ministry

Vaitcan Insider: Pell dismisses traditionalist leader's attack on Pope

Zenit: Summit of the Oriental Churches of the Middle East Announced For November

Is to think that one should be free from sadness a feeling of entitlement or its result, only a symptom of narcissism or disordered self-love? Is sadness an evil, not just a sensible reaction to some evil or to a privation/deprivation? (Let us focus exclusively on the privation of necessary goods, rather than what is superfluous. We would not feel sad if we did not attain something we desired that was not truly necessary for our well-being.) Did God desire for us to feel or experience sadness? In a creation rightly ordered, would there be sadness? Everyone would be acting virtuously, and there would be no physical evils. There is no feeling or experience of sadness in heaven. What of feeling sad because of social discord or enmity? Are friends luxuries rather than a good that is necessary to us and our flourishing?

Pravmir: What the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council Have Done For Our Salvation and Sanctification by Archimandrite John Krestiankin (+2006)

Holy Mass for the Family Day in the Year of Faith

Vatican Radio: Pope Francis Presents 2013 Ratzinger Prize

Byzantine Studies Association of North America (BSANA) FB: ·

It is a great pleasure to announce to the members of the Byzantine Studies Association an upcoming conference, titled "Lives, Relics, and Beneficial Tales in Byzantium and Beyond", organized in honor of John Duffy, Emeritus Professor of Byzantine Philology and Literature in the Department of the Classics at Harvard University, and Senior Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. With the generous support of the Department of the Classics and Dumbarton Oaks, we have brought together ten speakers who will offer papers on a topic that has been a great research interest of John's for much of his career.

The conference will take place at Harvard on Friday, November 8, and Saturday, November 9. The event is free and open to the public. In addition to the scheduled papers, there will be a celebratory reception at the Harvard Faculty Club on Friday, November 8, from 5:30-7 p.m, where all participants are warmly invited to join us in raising a glass to John, a valued scholar and teacher in the field of Byzantine Studies, and a much-loved member of the Harvard community.

Attached please find the conference program. To monitor any updates or changes to the schedule, please check the website of the Department of the Classics at Harvard (http://classics.fas.harvard.edu/), where final program information will be available closer to the event through the "announcements" sidebar. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email (Sarah_Insley@brown.edu) or Saskia Dirkse (sdirkse@fas.harvard.edu).

Oxford University Byzantine Society: International Graduate Conference 2014 - The City & the cities: From Constantinople to the frontier
28th February – 1st March 2014

Q&A Session with Archimandrite Gabriel

Pravmir. A continuation of what was posted here.

James Chastek: The Trinity understood through typical male-female corruptions

Masculinity corrupts the self by seeking to subordinate everything to itself: the male self is the one that seeks to be utterly set apart with all beneath him, gazing upward in admiration. There is, however, a contrary corruption of the self that is more typical of the feminine: namely to so identify with the expectations and beliefs of the group that any personal desire is altogether lost. One of the dark sides of the feminine traits we praise is that, when pushed to an extreme, they all lead to a dissolution of the self through an identity with others. Empathy with others carries to the extent of loss of the self; tenderness of affection leads to an ontological softness that blurs any distinction between self and other.

This might be true of some married women of the previous generation, their total "giving" to their children; but I have not seen any examples of this not accompanied by a neglect of the marriage and their husbands. Such seeming "self-giving" can actually be a form of disordered self-love.

Even the herd thinking that exemplifies contemporary feminism is tied to modern narcissism, etc.

There are distinct forms of male and female pride; male pride is discussed here, but female pride, which is a more characteristic vice of women, is not.

Benedictine Monks on Athos in the XXth century by Fr Antoine Lambrechts (Chevetogne, Belgium)

Vitaly Permiakov on the Meaning and Structure of the All-night Vigil

10.13.13. Meaning and structure of the All-night Vigil. Lecture by Vitaly Permiakov

MYOCN: Comparing the Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church (mp3)

Pravmir: The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony by Protopresbyter John Meyendorff