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Let me assure you that I was not "mocking" Mohammed or Islam, and certainly not feeling at all [i]amused[/i] about the subject of Islam. I have spent many years studying the history of the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire and the Islamic religion which destroyed it. I have also travelled in Turkey and visited the Orthodox holy sites of Constantinople, including the Phanar and Hagia Sophia. The Phanar was firebombed by Moslems the year before I visited Istanbul, and the entrance to the Phanar was guarded by an armed soldier. When I attended the divine liturgy at an Orthodox Church in Galata, Turkey the doors were bolted with chains immediately after the liturgy. So much for Moslem hospitality, eh? Moslems have routinely persecuted and murdered Coptic Christians in Egypt, even in recent years, and under Moslem sharia Christians are second class citizens, unable to hold public office, and required to pay a dhimmy, or religious tax. Under sharia, it is also not a capital crime for a Moslem to kill a Christian, but it is a capital offense for a Moslem to convert to Christianity!
Have you read any of the hagiographical works about the many Orthodox saints and martyrs who were persecuted and killed by the Moslems in the Ottoman Empire-- including the Balkans? For example, there is a book available as a paper back entitled[i] New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke.[/i] There are also many hagiographical references to Orthodox saints slain by Moslems in the [i]Prologue from Ochrid[/i] compiled by St. Nikolai Velimirovich, of blessed memory. How can an Orthodox Christian not consider Mohammed and the Moslem religion more than an abomination? Look upon the great icons of Christ God and the Theotokos at Hagia Sophia which were covered by the Moslems with plaster for centuries, and tell me that this Moslem religion is not an abomination! If Christ came into the world, suffered, and was crucified for the sake of His Church and our salvation, shall we not consider an abomination that which specifically plastered over icons of Christ, and destroyed the Church? We might just as well say that Bolshevism was a good thing in the sight of God, worthy of respect and admiration!
Doctrine of demons like world orthodoxy, all of the really bad secular leaders that happen to be either the spiritual or secular head of Orthodox states at different parts of history. Persecution comes from laziness of faith, yes there are nine ecumenical councils...the last two defined the Filioque ala St Photius and Energies ala St Gregory Palamas. Muhammed is like Tertullian after he fell to Monatism, a false prophet--albeit a prophet--like the Emperor of Japan.
twice as many christians died under stalin rule than under muslims, so? martyrdom does not proof anything, it just serves as a witness to the truth, nothing more.
A family gets killed in east Los Angeles from a drive by shooting...so? the 300 chinese martyrs are mixed Russian blood people who felt convictions for their ancestral faith
and died for it...so? why are there not anymore full blooded han chinese being martyred for the truth? like I said I believe only Matthews group holds the truth nobody else,
faith and action are one...take away one you take away orthodoxy and what you ate on sunday is nothing more than crutons from a salad bar. Jeff Chen
Interesting. I like that Feast of the Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion. you must have their Icon.
By the way, what's the audrey part of your name - I was just thinking this very day that you have not made any contributions here for awhile, then I open this and see more of your, well, original thoughts.
Whenever I see audrey I think of the East Anglian Saint, Etheldreda, who was sometimes called Audrey. Does that Ring any Bells?
If you ever get to London, her hand is preserved at the Church of St Etheldreda. There's a video about it.
Why is it you prefer the Matthewite group?
[quote="jechenaudrey"]laziness of faith, yes there are nine ecumenical councils...the last two defined the Filioque ala St Photius and Energies ala St Gregory Palamas.
Let's see...you were something, perhaps a Buddhist, then you became Christian, perhaps Protestant, then you converted to Islam, now you are thinking about reverting to Christianity but your not sure, maybe you'll become Buddhist, but if you do "revert" to Christianity "again you favor the Matthewites, which synod ? there are three separate ones I know of.
But anyways you are obstinate in proclaiming nine ecumenical councils when all Orthodox say there were 7 Ecumenical Councils
Do you think your wiser than the Saints and the Church by clinging to this false teaching ? Seems like your very confused and stuck in reverse, bottom line, you don't know what your talking about
This notion of nine Ecumenical Councils was promoted by Romanides and his disciple G. Gabriel. Our friend Jeff likely gleaned this info from the pseudo-Orthodox site he linked for us: http://www.orlapubs.com/AR/index.html
If Jeff truly desires to be joined to the Orthodox Church, it would behoove him to not read some of the chaff on that website he linked, but rather the pure wheat of the Holy Fathers. The lectures by St. Cyril the catechist, and the exposition of the Faith by St. John of Damascaus would be two excellent places to start.
