The letter would be more effective if there was a bomb in it.
“Open Letter to The Honourable Gavin Newsom, Governor of California from His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America..”
From one Eminence to another Eminence.
The following is copied from the Daily FR Thread called “Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem”, which I have been posting in the RF for the last ten years. (We are currently doing a series on “Music In The Bible”):
“OK, OK,” says the Powers-That-Be. “You can go back to Church, but wear masks, sit six feet apart, and...NO SINGING!!!”
Seriously? Who came up with THAT? The entire Judeo-Christian Tradition involves Music, whether it be by a designated Clergy, a Cantor, a Choir, an Organist, a Band, an Orchestra, or even just the Congregation. In Our Religion, we SING. While other World Religions may involve rote prayers, solitary meditation, Philosophical Rumination, study of holy books, self-denial and good deeds, etc, it can be argued that the Faiths based on the Bible involve Music in their Worship. From a boy chanting his Torah portion on his Bar Mitzvah to Bach’s B minor Mass, From David’s dancing before the Ark to Handel’s “Messiah”, there is no escaping that fact. “NO SINGING!” REALLY??? ((((I am SO SICK of this nonsense!)))
Poor Jeremiah! He tried and tried to warn the King and the People that Disaster was coming, and what did they do? Well, among other things, the King burned up Jeremiah’s letters, had the prophet thrown into a well, imprisoned him, and humiliated him. Yet, Jeremiah stood his ground, and was, of course, right all along.
But Jeremiah’s Message was not all “doom and gloom”. Sprinkled throughout his Prophecies, Letters, and Songs are the beautiful themes of Forgiveness, Restoration, and Hope. These things always seem to be accompanied by Music. Jeremiah also had some of the saddest songs in the Bible, which were written at the destruction of his beloved Jerusalem. We will begin exploring those tomorrow. (PFTPOJ 7/7/20)
((((I should have added the INCREDIBLE Singing that is so important in the Russian Orthodox Faith. I could listen to it for hours, and I’m not even Russian Orthodox!)))
Mao Tse New.