Agreed. I pray that is the only problem they are having at St. Markella's. If so, then fine. If it is but a small sign of greater departures yet to be revealed, then, Lord Have Mercy.
Note: I only say the above because of the statistical likelihood that when one form of laxity appears, others also are present or gain access later. Not that that is always the case, but just that it often has been what happened. Hence, my hope that that is the full extent of it--limited and benign in nature.
I'm not sarcastic, I am shocked. What's next, moving great feasts that fall during weekdays to the nearest Sunday or Saturday? Stop reading the canons of the matins because it is too long? This is typically modernism and the argument you're using were used to justify new calendar, so as to allow to celebrate Christmas on December 25th that is a non-working day in most countries. The role of the church is also to teach people and set high standards because low standards are not attractive for anyone and finally make the whole thing worthless. Who would like to fight for something easy?
The Violakis typikon is criticized in Greece too and not applied everywhere in Greece. The reason why the reading of the gospel is late is because people were or are too lazy to get up early and come to church.The solution was to teach people the importance to attend matins; if they don't understand, when why giving pearls to swines, butchering the services, only for people comfort? The parabole of the talents teach that we must do our best.
Orthodoxy is not only in dogma but also in orthopraxy and both are linked. True orthodoxy and true orthopraxy are needed! Complines are prayer globally before going to sleep; so after that, you go to sleep or to your cell if you're a monk, not to the liturgy!
Priidite, poklonimsja i pripadem ko Hristu.
Icxypion wrote:That's nothing. The parish I used to be in would celebrate pascha not at midnight but at 9am to 12:30 on Sunday morning because as the sage and pastorally contientious priest we had would explain, the kiddies get too tired at that time and miss the whole experience entirely and it throws the personal lives of parents with kids into chaos. So he reset the time for celebrating Pascha to the late morning.
I don't think it is incorrect, Easter is basically matines followed by divine liturgy, ordinary conducted on Sunday from 9 am to noon. So why not for Easter. Parishes with 2 altars could have a Easter celebration at night and a second one in the morning. However, everywhere I went even the small children and babies were present at night; the impression is very different on everybody's mind between Easter at night or in the morning.
Priidite, poklonimsja i pripadem ko Hristu.
Well, it was also the practice of the same priest to invite a couple of his priest buddies up to the altar to pray for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Bread and Wine. One was a Catholic Priest (Roman Rite) and the other was a Benedictine hieromonk (in a brown hooded robe with a rope belt). Only the Secular priest went up and the priest put an eastern Rasso on him to make him fit in better so nobody would be scandalised. How thoughtful of him.
Needless to say, I left that Ecumenical Patriarchate affiliated church eventually and became a True Orthodox Christian.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say you both get a kick out of being scandalized.