The Orthodox Are Coming

tol.cz ^ | 25 March 2005 | Nicolai N. Petro

[Kolokotronis]

Hehehe!!!

[horse_doc]

If the Orthodox Church does become the chief religious institution of the E.U., filling the gap left by a deliberately secularized Western Europe, then it will be pretty sweet historical revenge for the Fourth Crusade.

It would seem that Byzantium gets the last laugh, after all.

[eleni121]

BUMP for later. A cursory glance reveals several misleading statements probably made by someone who only partially understands the history of Christian Orthodoxy.

In the meantime, as we pray for Terri, we should also pray for the lost sheep Felos.

[longtermmemmory]

I just enjoy the fact that Greek Orthodox Religious holidays are actual holidays in Greece. The banks are closed and all that jazz.

[FormerLib]

An Orthodox bump!

[pharmamom]

I wondered if you'd seen this! Should have known...

[peter the great]

This article was good in the sense that I never thought of the E.U. this way. I always thought of my Mission Center dollars building Churches in Africa and Latin America but never in Western Europe.

[Incorrigible]

Ha!  I didn't look who posted this until I got a third of the way down.

I should have known!

[Incorrigible]

I meant to add:

So this means the EU will consist of Moslims and Orthodox?

[Destro]

On second thought? What was your first thought? I saw no first thought.

[Destro]

not what the article said - that Orthodox will play a role in influencing the EU just as much as many say the West will influence the East - if all goes well.

[The_Reader_David]

Maybe you need to take a look at the growth of the Orthodox Church in subsaharan Africa and in the U.S.

In both places one meets the odd and wonderous phenomenon of mass conversions to Holy Orthodoxy without missionaries--the Holy Spirit acting as His own 'missions department', as it were.

And you could investigate the fairly vigorous autonomous Church of Japan. (St. Nicholas of Japan is one of my favorite saints--I regard him as the patron of the use of traditional language in Liturgy. He deliberately chose to translate the services and Scriptures into the 'high' literary Japanese of the style used in Shinto and Buddhist rites, though carefully avoiding word usages which might confuse Christian and non-Christian concepts, rather than 'street Japanese'.)

And then there is Wales. . .

[GSlob]

Well, Huntington ("Clash") put it well: "In Islam, God is Caesar; in Orthodoxy, God is Caesar's junior partner".
In layman's terms, Orthodox Church has quite a history of brownnosing to the state. Thus one could expect fewer frictions on Orthodox integration into the West than is the case with moslems. Thus the expected frictions would not rise to the exalted level of Crusades, with tax holiday for all the participants, but Serbo-Croat antagonism (or Russo-Polish one) could probably give a useful preview.

[stripes1776]

On second thought? What was your first thought? I saw no first thought.

His first thought was that all in not well in the Orthodox church. There are problems with the political structure of the Orthodox church that will not mesh well with a larger European context. I believe that was the thought.

If I have misrepresented what Zarquon meant, perhaps he would like to clarify.

[Incorrigible]

not what the article said

I'm know, I'm just being flippant!  You haven't been participating in the Balkans threads lately so I figured I'd give you a little elbow in the ribs!

However, many a truth is said in jest... Notice I didn't include RC in that mix!

[Destro]

Actually, you projected your own thoughts me guesses - the guy made no such comments to me.

[NJconservative67]

What patronizing crap. Oh let me see adhering to one's faith will never make on wholly democratic and I see it's just been a flop to the country that's been the only impediment to evil's 1000 year reign. Give me a break.

btw-I'm a new freeper so this is a reply to the article itself (I'll figure it out after I calm down)