Christian Platonism: A History

CHRISTIAN PLATONISM: A HISTORY
Publication Fall 2020 @CambridgeUP
How one of history’s most influential philosophies shaped one of its most important religions.
Contents https://t.co/eXy0PefcuX @CambUP_Religion @UofTReligion @AP_Davison @pickstockc @Shermanicus @DrkMichaud pic.twitter.com/VBBAM8X7y7

— Alexander JB Hampton 🦉 (@ajbhampton) June 13, 2020

Cambridge University Press

Related:
Cambridge Centre for the Study of Platonism
The Cambridge Platonism Sourcebook
Platonic Cabbalism in Cambridge Platonism

Libertas scholastica

Libertas scholastica is for the most part today a dead letter. What we have instead is “academic freedom.” Early 20th century scholars tried to connect the two in a grand genealogy from the libertas scholastica of the medieval universities, to...https://t.co/VfcqSy7098

— Church Life Journal (@ChurchLifeND) June 11, 2020

CLJ

Logic as a Liberal Art: An Introduction to Rhetoric and Reasoning by R. E. Houser.

CUA Press

A recview:

"Houser, whose text primarily relies on the deductive reasoning of Aristotelian logic—with a healthy dose of grammar and rhetoric at the beginning—helps us identify the prevalence of illogic in public discourse." @CUAPress https://t.co/QfGeKv66Bu

— Russell Kirk Center (@KirkCenter) June 12, 2020

Edward Baring, Converts to the Real

HUP

Two important articles on Catholicism and phenomenology in light of Edward Baring's book "Converts to the Real."
@HumbGonzGonzalez in @GenofMod and Michael Gubser in @ChurchLifeND
Read them both. #Philosophy https://t.co/932U9Hs8Wxhttps://t.co/uL0NC4uAi9

— Genealogies of Modernity (@GenofMod) June 12, 2020

Related:
What Is Continental Philosophy? An Interview with Edward Baring
Phenomenology’s Influence in the West by Graham McAleer

A Vaticanista Book

.#COMINGSOON "The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates" by @EdwardPentin

Details: https://t.co/pw3u0sZnbQ#papacy #Catholicism #CatholicChurch #Cardinals pic.twitter.com/JzYWHAMucy

— SophiaInsPress (@SophiaInsPress) June 3, 2020

Sophia Institute Press

An Icon of St. Sophrony the Athonite by Sister Gabriela

Orthodox Arts Journal

Eastern Christian Books: Liturgical Mysticism

Eastern Christian Books: Liturgical Mysticism

Emmaus Academic

What Future for the State?

Source: https://t.co/NRlbnSW9dw

— Aris Roussinos (@arisroussinos) June 11, 2020

Charles Taylor's Liberalism, Again

Happening now: Sociologist José Casanova, a Berkley Center senior fellow, and philosopher Charles Taylor discuss Taylor’s seminal work #ASecularAge (2007) and the divergent religious dynamics that can coexist within our global secular age.

Watch live: https://t.co/KxCnU77kNI

— Berkley Center (@GUberkleycenter) June 11, 2020

Stefan Bauer, The Invention of Papal History: Onofrio Panvinio Between Renaissance and Catholic Reform.

OUP

Speaking to @Crux, @BauerStefan says Onofrio Panvinio "invented" papal history, since he assembled more material on than any scholar up to his time and ask hard questions about the reality of change in the Church’s past. #CatholicChurch https://t.co/T4eXMVDYHn

— Charles Collins (@CharlesinRome) June 10, 2020

The New Prefaces of the EF, Part 5

NLM

Part 4 of the New Prefaces of the EF

NLM

The Mazza Hypothesis

Fr. Z: The Mazza Hypothesis: Benedict resigned as Bishop of Rome but not Vicar of Christ. Wherein Fr. Z ponders with a heavy heart.

In the podcasts, Mazza brings up the fact when Christ conferred on Peter what was clearly intended to an office that was to be handed down, when Christ gave Peter the “keys” and clearly made him head of the Apostles, earthly head of the Church built on his “rock”, when Christ at the Sea of Galilee confirmed Peter’s office, intended to be handed down, Peter had not yet been anywhere near Rome.

Peter was Vicar of Christ before he was Bishop of Rome.

When Christ takes the Apostles to Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:16-18) he gives people the “keys”. About a year later, the Apostles are ordained at the Last Supper.

Peter has the keys from Matthew 16 onward, but he is not a “bishop” until the Eucharist and Holy Orders were established by Christ.

Consider that when Christ gave primacy to Peter, there were no sees or dioceses. Peter later would found the Church at Alexandria and Antioch. Wouldn’t Antioch have been the primal see? But Peter left Antioch and went to Rome. So there seems to be nothing absolutely necessary about the one we now call “Pope” being Bishop of Rome.

This is a Latin interpretation of the proof texts used to back Rome's claims regarding the papacy. Non-Latins would interpret them differently. Those who hold to Latin ecclesiology are forced into interesting intellectual puzzles...

Three Scenes in Church History

Found This Late

Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia Documentary

English Translation of Divo Barsotti's Spiritual Diary

CWR: The Motionless Flight: First English translation of Divo Barsotti’s spiritual diary by David Fagerberg, Ph.D.
Italian theologian Don Divo Barsotti (1914-2006), writes for the heart, not the head alone. He is concerned to present Christianity as new life, not simply a new philosophy or new politic.

Italian version?

Aquinas 101 Live: Wisdom and Metaphysics - Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P.

Latins Should Take a Cue?

Greek Church Bans Yoga, Catholics Confused https://t.co/06baGIBQK2 pic.twitter.com/zoljh8NScC

— Church Militant/St. Michael's Media (@Church_Militant) June 5, 2020

Dr. Alan Fimister on the Crusade Channel

Alan Fimister talking about the two swords. https://t.co/jRWhYbWAvQ

— Fr Thomas Crean OP (@crean_fr) June 4, 2020

Fr. John Baptist Ku, O.P.: Ask a Thomist: The Trinity

Fr. Jonathan Robinson, C.O. Has Passed

Fr. Z



In Memoriam.

Reclaiming Our Roman Catholic Birthright

NLM



I am not sure if most of the essays were previously published or not, but some of the titles look familiar. At least the title isn't Reclaiming Our Catholic Birthright.

The New EF Prefaces, Part 3

NLM



Part 2 here

Subversion Through "Synodality"

CNA/CWR: German bishop calls for Rome synod to discuss German synod
Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg says he is “very much in favour of transporting to Rome, to the level of the whole Church, the insights and decisions that we garner from the Synodal Process – also with regard to [the role of] women and ecclesial ministry.”

Last year the German bishops announced plans for a two-year “Synodal Way,” bringing together lay people and bishops to discuss four major topics: the way power is exercised in the Church; sexual morality; the priesthood; and the role of women.

They said the process would end with a series of “binding” votes — raising concerns at the Vatican that the resolutions might challenge Church teaching and discipline.

Dr. Gregory LaNave, Reading Bonaventure in a Time of Crisis

A Program of Action from Dr. John Rao

Edward Pentin: Now or Never — A Plea for Concerted Traditionalist Action

Professor John Rao: Now or Never — A Plea for Concerted Traditionalist Action https://t.co/uTxzBopgtB pic.twitter.com/ZMbQvNZjEc

— Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) June 2, 2020

Nevertheless, I cannot in good conscience, relate the triumphs of the past while neglecting a duty to urge my fellow Traditionalists to join together to raise up our moribund Mother in her present plight. I do so through this four-pronged Plea that is as simple to state as it will require the greatest self-effacement and willpower to act upon effectively.

1. Let each segment of the Traditionalist Movement— each “clan”, to use The Remnant’s terminology — avoid the very understandable temptation to secure its own particular survival in this moment of worldwide pandaemonium, and work together as one unit;
2. That a Central Committee of representatives of each Traditionalist “clan” be established — clerical and lay, or lay supporters alone if there be danger to the priestly fraternities and congregations concerned — to coordinate intellectual, spiritual, and practical advice and actions, whether formally or informally;
3. That every opportunity be exploited immediately to restore public worship according to the Traditional Rite, whether they are permitted by unjust State or episcopal fiat or not;
4. That as a symbol of our failure to accept the mass hysteria around us, we visibly wear a symbol of the Sacred Heart of Christ instead of the Mask of Oppression.

It is now or never. This is the last act in the modern revolutionary drama and the enemy is determined.

I'll just ad this: the EF Mass and Holy Communion are important, but they are ordered to living the life of Christ, and Latin Traditionalists, if they want to preserve their communities, need to do the heavy lifting that is required for that, rather than assuming having a common form of worship is enough.

Against Bodin's Notion of Sovereignty

Álvaro d'Ors on the way in which the kingship of Christ and the liberty of the Church exclude absolute state sovereignty. pic.twitter.com/DaNqHAAL36

— Pater Edmund (@sancrucensis) May 31, 2020

It's an argument against a modern notion of sovereignty, but by itself it is not a sufficient check against tyranny.

Murals for St. John of the Ladder in Greenville, South Carolina

OAJ: Murals for the Burning Bush Chapel and Prothesis at St John of the Ladder in Greenville, South Carolina by Seraphim O'Keefe

Holloway Review of Manent

Public Discourse: The Problem of Human Rights by Carson Holloway

"The human rights project, perhaps intoxicated by its remarkable recent successes (such as the redefinition of marriage) is overreaching," Carson Holloway writes. https://t.co/DipHYjjV80

— Public Discourse (@PublicDiscourse) June 2, 2020

Marian Consecration

"We wrote this book to assist others in offering all that they have in consecration, with the Angelic Doctor as a teacher and guide. After all, it’s not just religious who are called to holiness. We all are!" https://t.co/zh2rrUgIpm

— Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, OP (@FrAquinasOP) June 2, 2020

Byzantine Rome

NEW READ 📚: Do you know which churches the Byzantines built in Rome? NOW YOU DO thanks to Part III of this series on Byzantine Rome #Byzantium:https://t.co/jSu4ZYAh7C

— Byzantine Ambassador (@byzantinepower) June 1, 2020

Hunt Review of Manent

The American Mind: Breaking Our Modern Paralysis by Ross Hunt

"Manent’s prescient critique of human rights may be the best tool at our disposal to interpret the weaknesses that COVID-19 has revealed." ~@Ross_Hunt in @theammind

Read the full essay here: https://t.co/75wQS9dHIv pic.twitter.com/4Fo1ARUNL9

— UNDPress (@UNDPress) May 30, 2020

A Necessary Starting Point

"The Lord Jesus is the prototype and foundation of the new humanity. In him, the true 'likeness of God' (2 Cor 4:4), man – who is created in the image of God – finds his fulfillment."

-Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 431

— Fr. Thomas Aquinas Pickett, O.P. (@ThomasAquinasOP) June 1, 2020

But it doesn't mean that everything that is written at (R)CST in connection with it is well-reasoned.

Pentecost

Appalachian "Christ is Risen"

Remote Russian Village Sings Appalachian Style "Christ is Risen" https://t.co/dgpxdVt89m pic.twitter.com/C0zptLhYUY

— Russian Faith (@Russian_Faith) May 29, 2020

John Brungardt on Latin Integralism

The Josias: The Question of Catholic Integralism: An Internet Genealogy - written and originally published by John Brungardt

The Question of Catholic Integralism: An Internet Genealogy https://t.co/6mEbxlycWo

— The Josias (@josias_rex) May 29, 2020

St. Simplician in Milan

NLM

A Display of "Ecumenical Spirit"

Pope Francis is to take part in his first ever online service with Archbishop Canterbury @JustinWelby. Other senior UK church leaders will also be involved in the #Pentecost service on Sunday, marking the culmination of #ThyKingdomCome. https://t.co/K8RsiU6CF0 #CatholicNews

— The Tablet (@The_Tablet) May 29, 2020

Ο Θεός ήλθοσαν έθνη

Patrick Viscuso Reviews Kevin Schembri's Oikonomia

Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies (temporary free access)

The reviewer is a priest and canonist for GOARCH:

The Reverend Dr. Patrick Viscuso is a priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and a canonist specializing in marriage and gender issues. His doctorate in historical theology from The Catholic University of American concentrated on Byzantine and Oriental canon law, patristic studies, and church history. He also holds a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Fr. Viscuso is the author of a large number of scholarly publications in the field of Late Byzantine Canon Law and is a specialist in marriage legislation and theology. His most recent writings focus on the relationship of marriage to ordination, purity issues, divorce, and women's superstitions in late Byzantium.

Perhaps he has written something on the Byzantine canons on marriage and divorce.

In his review of Oikonomia: Divorce and Remarriage in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition, he notes

Another point repeatedly made is that the "Orthodox tradition" invests the indissolubility of marriage with an eternal character and consequently views remarriage as a concession or expression of ecclesial oikonomia. The absence of the Eucharist and crowning during late Byzantine celebration of second and third marriages is said to imply that Orthodoxy regarded or still regards these unions as less than sacramental in some way.

However, the author fails to show any articulation of marriage as an eternal bond in Orthodox canonical or theological literature prior to the twentieth century, when this theological opinion came to be expressed at the Institut de Théologie Orthodoxe Saint-Serge. In fact, there are substantial Byzantine texts that articulate a contrary view affirming that marriage is ended by death, an example being the Scriptural commentaries of Theophylaktos, archbishop of Ohrid (b. ca. 1055-d. after 1126), specifically on Luke 20:34–36.

The assertions regarding the non-sacramental nature of second and third unions within Orthodoxy do not adequately address the facts. For instance, there was no uniform practice regarding crowning of a second or third marriage in Byzantium. Second unions were definitely crowned according to the usage of the Great Church; the presence or absence of crowning did not mean that a sacerdotal blessing of the marriage did not take place; and, since the Eucharist was not a constitutive element in the establishment of the marriage, the canonical restriction of the second and third married from the Eucharist during a period of penance did not mean that the union, as established by sacerdotal blessing, was not regarded as sacramental and incapable of sanctification.

Furthermore, in considering such questions, the absence of the Eucharist from the marriage service is completely irrelevant to its sacramental nature. As is obvious to those who have ever attended a contemporary ceremony, Orthodox marriages today are considered blessed and sacramental without the reception of the Eucharist during their celebration, even the so-called mixed marriages of Roman Catholics and Orthodox. Also, the author's emphasis on the penitential nature of second and third unions does not adequately address contemporary practice, where such penances are no longer imposed.

A dominant theologoumenon is not the same as dogma... and the opinion that marriage is eternal may not even be dominant in the various Byzantine ecclesial traditions.

So second and third "marriages" may be deemed "sacramental"? And yet a period of penance might be required. Is there a authoritative work discussing penances in the canons and their rationale?

I will have to eventually get a Byzantine textbook on marriage but probably at least one that covers a range of opinions among the various ecclesial traditions, or several textbooks. I don't think I would rely on a Greek one alone.

Greek Orthodox - The Ascension of the Lord

Adam DeVille on John Paul II

CWR: John Paul II: Diagnostician of Divisions, Doctor of Ecumenism by Dr. Adam A. J. DeVille
In the encyclical Ut Unim Sint, given twenty five years ago, the late pope wrote about “the necessary purification of past memories,” a consistent and urgent theme of his pontificate.

Deville uses both Taft and John Paul II for a discussion of the healing of memories. That certainly is a necessary part of reconciliation.

Nevertheless, there are more recent and more hopeful signs. These have increased with Constantinople’s granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church last year. With Russia thereby losing control over much of Ukrainian Orthodoxy in 2019, the latter remains free to deepen the healing in its already amicable and often co-operative relationship with Ukrainian Catholics.

Whether what is going on in Ukraine is a helpful development or not remains to be seen. The jockeying between Moscow and Constantinople needs to end (and recognition of Roman primacy is not the quick solution that Latin polemicists would make it to be); this may require further humbling of both historic sees by God. There needs to be ecclesial reform happening in many churches, but not the changes that liberal progressives want.

Adding Insult to Injury...

"567 years after the Fall of #Constantinople, the verse of the Fall from the Quran will be read inside #HagiaSophia"#orthodox_times #Erdogan https://t.co/1tn1rK2L71

— Orthodox Times (@orthodox_times) May 28, 2020

An Endorsement of Participation in God

Well, folks, I just finished @AP_Davison’s truly excellent book on participation. It is comprehensive and clear and readable. I learned a great deal from it and so I have no doubt that it will be *the* major resource on the subject for the foreseeable future. pic.twitter.com/vIShgk5FHn

— Matthew Rothaus Moser (@M_Rothaus_Moser) May 28, 2020

Baryonic Matter

https://t.co/Y7c1LW1YQm

— CSIRO (@CSIRO) May 28, 2020

Anscombe, "Modern Moral Philosophy"

Now available free online: Anscombe’s classic “Modern Moral Philosophy,” featuring such zingers as…https://t.co/sGRdApeVrk pic.twitter.com/3MIOXqtdOr

— Kieran Setiya (@KieranSetiya) May 28, 2020

Pentin Interview with Seewald

"I was also unaware that Ratzinger’s role in the Second Vatican Council isn't marginal but enormously significant. He himself always played it down, but alongside Cardinal [Josef] Frings, he was basically the definitive Vatican spin doctor" — Peter Seewald https://t.co/aOyYn1FFsB

— Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) May 28, 2020

Peter Seewald’s ‘Spiritual and Historical Journey’ With the Pope Emeritus https://t.co/aOyYn1FFsB #BenedictXVI #PopeEmeritus @NCRegister

— Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) May 28, 2020

NCReg

You mention that relations between Benedict and Pope Francis are good, but there are some Catholics who wish that Benedict had not resigned, who contend that he would never agree with some of the decisions of this pontificate. What do you say to this view?

The former and the current pope have different temperaments, different charismas, and they each have their own way of exercising the office. We see from the popes of previous centuries that a more intellectual pontiff is usually followed by a more emotional one. That was never a disadvantage. Undoubtedly, there can be different views between Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. But that does not matter. The pope is the pope.

Ratzinger promised obedience to his successor before he even knew who would follow in his footsteps, and he has been scrupulously careful all these years to first of all ensure that no accusation of interference could arise. Many of the later questions I asked him, for example, he refused to answer. One answer, he said, would “inevitably constitute interference in the work of the present Pope. Anything that goes in that direction I must, and wish to, avoid.” Moreover, in my book he literally says: “The personal friendship with Pope Francis has not only remained, but has grown.”

Understandably, besides his loyalty and obedience, Ratzinger would never openly rebuke or question Bergoglio because of the confusion and scandal that would result.

The problem, though, is not this actually happening, but the ultramontanist monarchical conceptions of the papacy that would make such an act scandalous.

What's the Patriarch of Rome Going to Do About It?

This, despite @Pontifex writing a letter to the German church warning of the limitations of their “synodal way”.#CatholicTwitter https://t.co/LOQabdKrDI

— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) May 28, 2020

Two on the Mass

A Warranted Claim?

Public Orthodoxy: THE EUCHARIST, ITS PHYSICAL ELEMENTS, AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY by Hermina Nedelescu

The Eucharist, Its Physical Elements, and Molecular Biology https://t.co/efLz9GLU75

— Fordham OCSC (@FordhamOrthodox) May 27, 2020

The second misconception is the idea that viruses themselves cannot be transmitted via the administration of Holy Communion, which is scientifically incorrect.

The moral and scientific considerations presented by the essay are fine, but where are the studies giving evidence to this claim? Making a definitive claim like this requires actual science, not guesswork. So where are the comparative studies, not with viruses in general but COVID-19 specifically? Otherwise this seems like overstating one's case in order to yield a desirable conclusion.

One can draw a probable conclusion or precept based on possibilities and our ignorance and the law of charity - those are sufficient.

Doctor of... the Patriarchate of Rome

Naming "Doctors of the Church" is part of Rome's pretensions which should be dropped for the sake of ecumenism and reconciliation.

While Newman has been declared a saint of the Catholic Church, the question remains as to whether he will be declared a Doctor of the Church:https://t.co/tdCG0IgQKg

— Newman Institute (@NewmanStudies) May 27, 2020

Pope Francis may say he is impatient, but he doesn't have the theological skill to advance the dialogue with the other Apostolic Churches, nor does he have a plan for Protestants, especially those who are more traditional. Is he willing to explicitly set limits to what constitutes "legitimate diversity"? I doubt it.

Pope Francis marked the 25th anniversary of “Ut Unum Sint” (“That all may be one,”) by reaffirming the church’s “irrevocable” commitment to work for Christian unity among the world’s roughly 2.3 billion Christians. @gerryorome reports:https://t.co/iH9SBi5RdV

— America Magazine (@americamag) May 27, 2020

A Development at Bose

Enzo Bianchi required to leave the monastery of Bose
The Vatican Secretariat of State informs the Monastic Community of Bose about the results of the recent Apostolic Visitation. - Vatican Newshttps://t.co/dM4JGJqhIL

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) May 27, 2020

Sandro Magister: “Rigid, Cold, Misguided.” That’s How the Monastery of Bose Thanks Its Founder

Derya Little Interviews Dr. Alan Fimister and Fr. Thomas Crean, O.P on Their Book Integralism

Her podcast.

"Yes"

1 Corinthians 11

AFR

Will listen to see if he hedges, especially on 1 Corinthians 11:17.

Dr. Jeannie Constantinou on Church Canons

May be questionable...

St. Philip Neri

Philip Neri always reminds me of the joyous friendships of saints: Philip and Ignatius were friends during their time in Rome, often going for evening strolls together. Stories abound of how their laughter echoed through the Roman streets pic.twitter.com/HAMNj0sbBi

— Fr. David Paternostro, SJ (@DavidPaternostr) May 26, 2020

Happy feast of +Philip Neri. I though of this published in @ChurchLifeND from @leodelo2. I learned a good deal about Neri as I always expect to when reading Lenny's work. The lecture was given as part of @McGrathND's Saturdays with the Saints: https://t.co/10YNcvo3Xo

— Timothy P. O'Malley (@timothypomalley) May 26, 2020

The Ascension and Glorification of Christ Are Important for Us

But is there anything else to soteriology and eschatology?

Jesus bore our humanity and brought it beyond death to a new place, to Heaven, so that there where He is, we might also be.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) May 25, 2020

Houston, We Have a Problem

CNA/CWR: Record numbers leave Church in Munich archdiocese
10,744 Catholics formally withdrew from the Church in the German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising in 2019, the first time that annual departures had surpassed the 10,000 mark since records began.

Derya Little Reviews Integralism

CWR Dispatch: New book presents scholarly, but accessible, presentation of Integralism by Derya M. Little
A review of Integralism: A Manual of Political Philosophy by Fr. Thomas Crean O.P. and Dr. Alan Fimister.

Editiones Scholasticae

An Athos Monk on Iconography

Fr. Edmund Waldstein on Laudato Si'

Catholic Herald: Freedom and Connection: A reflection on Laudato si' by Fr Edmund Waldstein

I wrote something about Laudato si'. https://t.co/rcTVUz5UzM

— Pater Edmund (@sancrucensis) May 24, 2020

My comment: not every vice needs an -ism, nor is every disorder rooted first in an error of the intellect. But intellectuals love genealogy as history, and this is true of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Related:

Eastern Christian Books: Nationalism and Conservatism in Orthodox Churches

Eastern Christian Books: Nationalism and Conservatism in Orthodox Churches

Palgrave Macmillan: Orthodox Churches and Politics in Southeastern Europe: Nationalism, Conservativism, and Intolerance edited by Sabrina P. Ramet

Bishop Favier in Beijing

The heart of Pekin: Bishop A. Favier's diary of the siege, May-August, 1900 edited by Rev J. Freri

Purification of the Heart

God with Us Online: Purification of the Heart: The First Stage of the Spiritual Life by Rev. Deacon Thomas Moses

(3 parts)

Fr. Thomas Soroka Interviews Benedict and Talia Sheehan

AFR

A Fireside Chant Chat, Part 2

AFR

The Shield of Psalmic Prayer

St. David of Garejeli

Medieval Georgian Iconography

St. Germanus of Auxerre

Dr. Jared Goff: The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition

Antonio José De Almeida Pursues His Agenda

Sandro Magister: Step By Step Toward Married Priests. An Update

Sr. Vassa: Ways of Distributing Communion (Past and Present)

A Dutch Renaissance Rood-Screen

The rood screen is in a museum instead of in its native environment of a temple (or in this case, the Cathedral of St John in ’s-Hertogenbosch). There is a summary of its history in the NLM post below.

NLM: A Dutch Renaissance Rood-Screen by Gregory DiPippo

Part 1 of Gregory DiPippo's Series on the New Prefaces of the EF Mass

NLM: The New Prefaces of the EF Mass, Part 1: The Preface of the Angels by Gregory DiPippo

Locke and the American Founding

Locke's influence on America's founders is vastly overstated, and when Americans read him they understood him to be a thinker whose ideas were compatible with their Christian convictions. They may have misread him, but that is a different debate. https://t.co/UzRj8IvmUl

— Mark David Hall (@MDH_GFU) May 22, 2020

Aquinas 101: Grace

A primer on grace, justification, and merit from the @ThomisticInst https://t.co/0uqUJtZJQm

— Patrick Madrid ✌🏼 (@patrickmadrid) May 22, 2020

Newly Re-released

Newly re-released: @cappellaromana recording of the Divine Liturgy with the translation of the Archdiocese of Thyateira & Great Britain set to Byzantine chant. Booklet with texts and essays by Archimandrite Ephrem Lash, John M Boyer and me. https://t.co/lMc6veA831

— Alexander Lingas (@ALLingas) May 21, 2020

Scores in Byzantine and staff notations here: https://t.co/d9uD3LvE8L

— Alexander Lingas (@ALLingas) May 21, 2020

Individual Communion Spoons

Public Orthodoxy: “Remember, O Lord…”: Liturgy, History, and Communion Spoons in a Time of Pandemic by Daniel Galadza

Spooky Neutrinos

ScienceAlert: Here's The Real Truth Behind That Viral 'NASA Finds Parallel Universe' Story by Signe Dean
Forbes: Has NASA Found A Parallel Universe ‘Where Time Flows Backwards?’ The Truth Behind The Headlines by Jamie Carter

Elder Damaskinos

Elder Damaskinos of the new skete of the Monastery of St. Paul of Mount Athos spoke about the life of a monk on Mount Athos#orthodox_times https://t.co/y37CucQ3hI

— Orthodox Times (@orthodox_times) May 21, 2020

Documentary on Elder Joseph the Hesychast

OrthoChristian

Award-winning Elder Joseph the Hesychast film available online for 24 hours today (+VIDEO)https://t.co/kTMccyuUKJ

A new documentary on the great 20th-century Athonite spiritual father St. Joseph the Hesychast, starring the Emmy-award winning Jonathan Jackson, is available to... pic.twitter.com/Skct94sdHj

— Orthodox Christianity (@Orthodoxy2019) May 21, 2020

Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Ascension, May 21, 2020

Holy Ascension

Catholic Culture Podcasts Ep. 75

It's fashionable among traditionalists to bash the nouvelle théologie without really knowing anything about it. It was far from a unified movement in which everyone was a modernist. I talked to @DeclueViews about his work clearing this up. https://t.co/ZoA8NpICae

— Catholic Culture Podcasts (@CatholicPods) May 20, 2020

Eastern Christian Publications: Catching up with the Armenians

Eastern Christian Publications: Catching up with the Armenians

Lit Verlag: Monastic Life in the Armenian Church: Glorious Past - Ecumenical Reconsideration edited by Jasmine Dum-Tragut and Dietmar W. Winkler (Lit Verlag, 2020), 224pp.

Stanford University Press: Brokers of Faith, Brokers of Empire: Armenians and the Politics of Reform in the Ottoman Empire by Richard E. Antaramian

Cornell University Press: Russia's Entangled Embrace: The Tsarist Empire and the Armenians, 1801-1914 by Stephen Badalyan Riegg

The Authority to Punish Heresy and Apostasy

Integralism as Christian Default by Kevin Vallier

It’s a sign of the times when ⁦@kvallier⁩ argues that “Christian political theologians now must either work within an integralist framework or explain why not.” (Not to say I agree with all of the analysis here, by any means). https://t.co/MIy4TRM9PU

— Adrian Vermeule (@Vermeullarmine) May 20, 2020

Vallier:

Religious coercion has some limits, but it can be used to punish heresy and apostasy, and to ensure that Catholicism is the religion of the state.

Nowhere in the Kerygma or Tradition is political authority vested with the authority to punish heresy and apostasy. So why should we accept the claim that the political authority

It is not up to critics of integralism to show this claim is wrong when it is not a principle but a conclusion that must be given a demonstration/proof/derivation by its defenders. Repeating Aquinas or Augustine on this point could be one response, but Latin integralists must acknowledge the possibility that their arguments are flawed.

Act-consequentialism and integralism are plainly quite different normative theories. They are elegant approaches to ethics and political theory respectively because they make the good the sole normative master conception in a straightforward way. So much so, that one might even think that they’re the default normative theories.

I think that work on act-consequentialism has shown why it is axiologically mistaken. But I don’t think we yet have an account of why integralist axiology is mistaken if we take the truth of Christianity, and Catholicism in particular, for granted.

Latin integralism can hardly be said to be the "default" even for Roman Catholics when it doesn't have a place on the hierarchy of truths. I don't know how Vallier is able to make this claim, as if it were somehow self-evident.

The Constantinian Legacy

Tomorrow is the Feast of Sts. Constantine and Helen in the Orthodox Church. I have a few thoughts on the complex issues surrounding Constantine’s legacy in the Orthodox Church (which is dominated by the influence of his biographer, Eusebius).

— George Demacopoulos (@GDemacopoulos) May 20, 2020

See the thread.

Wolfe Disk Galaxy

Astronomers discover ancient galaxy that was already the shape of a giant disc 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang https://t.co/e91HWYuQW3

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 20, 2020

NRAO news

TBT for the Patriarchate of Rome

Pius XII listening to Father George Lamaître explaining to him his "Big Bang" theory. pic.twitter.com/upWfpaII6k

— elizabeta ugarska (@enchanteeq) May 19, 2020

A Development in Sacramental Practice Due to COVID-19

I didn't know of the OCA decision until yesterday. How is it viewed by other jurisdictions? Will it lead to the judgment that such a practice is valid but normally illicit?

5. Confession:

Taking into consideration the spiritual and mental healing that comes through the Sacrament of Confession, the Holy Synod blesses, for all priests and communities in the Orthodox Church in America, that for this period:

The Sacrament of Confession may not be held in person during this period, except for those who are among the limited “crew” of servers and singers in a parish or mission that is holding Divine Services. If thus done in person, six (6) feet of social distance must be maintained, as well as must be all other civil and public health measures applicable in the locality.
The Sacrament of Confession may be held over the telephone or by live video communication.
If Confession is heard over the telephone or by live video, the priest must read the Prayer of Absolution before ending the phone call or video communication, in the hearing of the penitent.
If anyone of the faithful is uncomfortable with Confession over the phone, then he or she is not bound to confess, but may wait until a time when in-person Confessions will be possible again.

Ven. Fulton Sheen as Byzantine

Ven. Fulton Sheen was Biritual meaning he had permission from Rome to celebrate in the Eastern Catholic Rites which are in full communion with the Holy See. Here are a few images of him in this fashion: pic.twitter.com/svl8jEAS58

— 🇻🇦Boniface🏴‍☠️ (@RealBoniface8) May 19, 2020

David Bradshaw and Jared Goff Discuss the Essence and Energies Distinction

Reason and Theology file)

Fr. Michael Lee on an Encounter with the Risen Christ

Ecclesial Symphonia

Symphonia is the name of a certain Byzantine understanding of how the political authority and the ecclesial authority work together, collaborate, for the glory of God. But I think maybe symphonia can be used to name a model of how the Christian faithful and their clergy act together, not with respect to evangelization or the sacramental life or witnessing to the world, but to ensure mutual accountability. We don't have to take it as far as the German synod seems to want to go, but enough that respects the sensus fidelium of the laity so that they can defend orthodoxy in their communities.

Ultimately, using symphonia to describe the life of the Church, especially with regards to the interaction between the Christian faithful with their presbyters and bishops, may ultimately be no longer necessary. Perhaps some day we will understand that this is what κοινωνία, communio entails in this world. Then again, maybe there is a better word for mutual accountability than symphonia.

"St. Joseph the Hesychast and the Jesus Prayer"

Latins Should Rediscover Their Iconographic Traditions

NLM: The Roman Basilica of St Pudentiana by Gregory DiPippo



A commentor notes that the title "episcopa" is given to Pope St Paschal I's mother in one of the mosaics. The pope's sisters are also depicted in the mosaic, but they must have already passed away when the mosaic was made. Was the mosaic commissioned by the pope? This is evidence of female ordination, when there are no historical documents to back up the claim? More likely than not, someone, perhaps the pope, was exercising filial piety towards his mother, though some may think he went too far and put her on a pedestal. Or it may have been a joke.

The author of the post writes in the combox:

[T]he names of the orders with the feminine termination (“episcopa”, “presbytera”) were and still are used as honorifics for the female relatives of clergymen. I have a number of friends who are married Greek-Catholic priests, and their wives are often called “presbytera.” At the time this mosaic was made, it was the custom that if the Pope’s mother were alive, she would have a special seat in the place where the women of the nobilty sat at the solemn Masses on certain feast days, and preside, so to speak, over the women’s court.

Adam DeVille

This week on the podcast: Sex, Money, Pwer & the Challenge of Church Reform -- conversations with @JohnLAllenJr of @Crux and @AAJDeVille1 of @USFFW -- https://t.co/r1U4Pa0tiy

— Catholic Herald: Behind the Headlines (@CHBehindHdlns) May 8, 2020