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Patriach Bartholomew on the “Immaculate Conception”

From: 30 Days

The Catholic Church this year celebrates the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. How does the Eastern Christian and Byzantine Tradition celebrate the Conception of Mary and her full and immaculate holiness?

Bartholomew I: The Catholic Church found that it needed to institute a new dogma for Christendom about one thousand and eight hundred years after the appearance of the Christianity, because it had accepted a perception of original sin – a mistaken one for us Orthodox – according to which original sin passes on a moral stain or a legal responsibility to the descendants of Adam, instead of that recognized as correct by the Orthodox faith – according to which the sin transmitted through inheritance the corruption, caused by the separation of mankind from the uncreated grace of God, which makes him live spiritually and in the flesh. Mankind shaped in the image of God, with the possibility and destiny of being like to God, by freely choosing love towards Him and obedience to his commandments, can even after the fall of Adam and Eve become friend of God according to intention; then God sanctifies them, as he sanctified many of the progenitors before Christ, even if the accomplishment of their ransom from corruption, that is their salvation, was achieved after the incarnation of Christ and through Him.
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Francis Schaeffer’s political legacy

Marvin Olasky writes: Who’s the major figure behind the election and re-election of George W. Bush? On one level, the visionary Karl Rove. At a deeper level, a theologian most Americans have never heard of: Francis Schaeffer, who 50 years ago this month founded an evangelistic haven in Switzerland, L’Abri.

Francis Schaeffer spoke at a pro-life seminar that me and a friend held while students at the University of Minnesota when I was a student there. He was hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic for cancer at the time but still made the trip. May his memory be eternal.

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Congress Steps in on Terri Schiavo Case

Congressman David Weldon (R-FL), a medical doctor, plans to introduce legislation titled the Incapacitated Person’s Legal Protection Act (Terri’s Law), which will hopefully help save Terri Schiavo’s life. The legislation would give Terri and others in similar situations the same constitutional protection of due process as death row inmates. Already this week, attorneys for Terri’s parents have filed six different motions to help save their daughter, all of which are now on appeal. Dr. Weldon’s legislation would allow Terri to have her own counsel who can argue her case, a right given to any criminal in the United States.

Terri is, of course, not a criminal but a woman fighting for her life. As Terri’s fight intensifies, I cannot be more frank on the fate of this poor woman if her husband has his way. If Terri’s feeding tubes are removed, she will face a slow death through starvation, which can take anywhere from 7 to 30 days. Terri’s parents, as do Congressman Weldon a nd I, truly believe Terri is alive and deserves to continue living. Please call, e-mail, AND fax your U.S. representative to support Terri’s Law — truly life-saving legislation. Time is of the essence.

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What Terri Schiavo faces if her feeding and hydration tubes are pulled

Beyond legalities, what does Terri face?

“A conscious [cognitively disabled] person would feel it just as you or I would. They will go into seizures. Their skin cracks, their tongue cracks, their lips crack. They may have nosebleeds because of the drying of the mucus membranes, and heaving and vomiting might ensue because of the drying out of the stomach lining. They feel the pangs of hunger and thirst. Imagine going one day without a glass of water!

Death by dehydration takes ten to fourteen days. It is an extremely agonizing death.
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Gay priests’ lovers to get pensions

From London Telegraph Online:

The Church of England is to grant partners of homosexual clergy who have registered under the Government’s new civil partnership scheme the same pension rights as clergy spouses.

The disclosure, made at the General Synod last night, could prove an embarrassment to the bishops because sexually active homosexuals are theoretically barred from the priesthood.

Only a few homosexual clergy have so far risked facing censure by publicly declaring that they are living in same-sex unions, but the prospect of gaining pension rights for their partners may prove an incentive for many more to “come out”.

The bishops plan to issue a letter for the guidance of clergy and others before the Act comes into force.

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The Wisdom of Elders — Fr. Patrick Reardon’s Pastoral Ponderings

Last Sunday Before the Triodion

Rehoboam was almost the perfect example of what the Bible means by the word “fool.” Because he was the son of Solomon, Israel’s wisest king, this foolishness was a matter of irony as well as tragedy.

After Solomon’s death in 922, this heir to Israel’s throne traveled to Schechem, to receive the nation’s endorsement as its new ruler. The move was especially necessary with respect to Israel’s northern tribes, a people touchy about their traditional rights and needing to be handled gently. Even David, we recall, had to be made king twice, first over Judah about the year 1000 (2 Samuel 2:4,10) and then over the north some years later (5:4-5).
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An Orthodox Christian Monk saved the life of a Muslim Prince

In 1951 Father Theodosios Makkos saved the life of Prince Hussein who later became king of Jordan. Father Theodosios was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, present day Turkey, on July 11, 1913. He became an orphan at an
early age and was reared by his grandmother and aunt. He had a burning desire to become a monk and serve the Church in the Holy Land. He came to Palestine in 1928 and remained there until his death, 1991 at the age of 78 years old. He served the Church of Jerusalem with great devotion at various places and positions for 63 years. His last 50 years he was the spiritual father and resident priest at the monastery for women, Saints Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem.
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Christodoulos sees bad apples in Church

Kathimerini
Ahead of top-level Church talks on burgeoning claims of corruption among prominent churchmen, Archbishop Christodoulos yesterday admitted that the Church has its fair share of rotten apples.

“The Church also has people who have broken their oaths,” Christodoulos said during an Athens sermon. “But it has ways of ensuring that such problems are removed.”

On Thursday, the Church’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, will meet to discuss allegations regarding Archimandrite Iakovos Yiossakis — who is being investigated in connection with an alleged court corruption scandal and antiquities theft — as well as claims by a former bishop that the Archbishopric hushed up a drugs scandal involving a bishop and a close aide to Christodoulos. In a sermon yesterday, Anthimos, Bishop of Thessaloniki, said that “the Church, society and the judiciary are in the throes of a crisis.”

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