Author Archives: Mendicant Monk

24 Days of Christmas

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IMG_3540The secret is out or at least it should be. Those of us celebrating Christmas on the Old Calendar (O.C. January 7) are still very much within the season, the 12 appointed days of celebration after the event, which makes it a total of 24 if you count somewhat the 12 days celebrated after December 25. So if you are the type that thinks Christmas comes and goes too quickly, think about visiting a Russian, Serbian, or even a Bulgarian Orthodox Church on the Julian Calendar. Then hold on to your tree, keep up those decorations, and don’t throw away that fruit cake because the O.C. gives us another 12 days to party! Continue reading →

The Reluctant Orthodox – Volume 12 “By the Waters of the Maumee, We Sat Down and Wept”

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Quite honored to be featured on Marilyn’s blog. Hope you all will be strengthened by the account. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Marilyn's avatarMarilyn R. Gardner

In my faith journey this past year, I’ve discovered some people who have walked the road before me and can offer wisdom, challenge, and comfort when I need them most. Aaron Friar is one of those people. He comes from a protestant background, has attended many churches in the past, and has a deep and abiding respect for the traditions of his past even as he is fully a part of the Orthodox church today. Today his post gives me joy and encouragement as I move into the ever-new (for me) yet ancient traditions of the Eastern Orthodox faith. You can read more about Aaron at the end of the post.

By the Waters of the Maumee, We Sat Down and Wept

Marilyn’s series on the Reluctant Orthodox has spurred me to share a bit of my own faith journey. I offer this in tribute to her present struggle to discover…

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The North Pole is a City

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BON-7

December 6/19, St. Nicholas
Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker
Whose Relics Lie Principally in Bari, Italy
And Whose Legendary Brother Santa Claus Lives in the North Pole

It was unthinkable. Several years ago, we were celebrating the annual feast of St. Nicholas, and our priest confessed that there was not a single person in our parish whom we could wish a happy name’s day. My wife, who was pregnant at the time, turned to me and we decided then and there to start a trend that is all too common in other Orthodox and Eastern European Churches. Now, including my son, there are at least two boys named Nicholas in our parish. We are now more like the Greek family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding with every other person named Nick, Nikko, Nikki, or Nikolaki.

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Tea Time in Boston

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Just making sure my readers here don’t miss what is posted in my otherwise dormant blog…

Mendicant Monk's avatarBoston Pilgrim Tours

Today marks the 240th anniversary of what has come to be known as the Boston Tea Party, December 16, 1773. We had the good fortune of taking our home school to the new living history museum that has been built in Boston Harbor to commemorate the historic event (free to all on this historic day). The old museum was closed in 2001 and later suffered a fire in 2007. But the new living history museum that has been built in its place is better than ever before.

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A Sobering Christmas Ghost Story

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leech-marleys-ghost-5Every year faithful Christians struggle with the rush and distraction of holiday preparations and long to take a moment to slow down and reflect on the real meaning of the season. It is an especially difficult struggle for Orthodox Christians as we are prescribed by Mother Church to fast in our preparation to meet the newborn King in his Nativity. The Lenten Fast by comparison is somewhat easier in the sense that the season is already more austere in the wider culture (everyone fasting in the springtime, if for no other religious reason, so that they can fit into summertime bathing suits). The weeks leading up to Christmas in America are anything but austere. Between Christmas parties at work, holiday concerts galore, and the extra latte at Starbucks to keep up our shopping stamina, few things in the broader culture give us pause to stop and reflect on our eternal destiny with one amazing exception, Charles Dicken’s classic Christmas ghost story, A Christmas Carol. Continue reading →

Little House and Little Women

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The following is a guest post from my oldest daughter. It represents a comparison contrast paper that I had her write as part of our Home School study of the literature of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Louisa May Alcott.

25522119Laura Ingalls and Jo March lived in different parts of America. Laura moved with her family to the big woods, the open prairie and the frontier towns. Jo March stayed in one town of New England most of her life. Both girls were troublemakers by getting into scrapes and starting fights. Continue reading →

What C.S. Lewis Did For My Love Life

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50th Anniversary of the Repose of C.S. Lewis
+ November 22, 1963 +

My first experience of the writing of C.S. Lewis was through his theological and cultural treatises. He made me a fan of theology when I was the ripe age of only 14. I still have yet to read any of his famous fictional work from start to finish. But the book which made the biggest difference in my life bridges those genres of fiction, culture, and theology. I picked up a copy of Lewis’ Four Loves when I was an undergraduate in college, and it changed my outlook on love and human relationships forever. Continue reading →

What a Prayer Book is For

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Reader’s Stand on Crete

I had the distinct privilege and honor to chant the vigil tonight at my home parish, and as I was singing the hymns of preparation for the weekly celebration of the resurrection on Sunday, I was reminded of a post that has been brewing for a while in my heart. Our eccelsiarch (head chanter who arranges the service schedule) recently redid one of our key service books which was in sore need of repair. He painstakingly removed the well-loved pages of a prayer book published in 1988 and inserted them, one by one, into sheet protectors and a three ring binder that now consolidates two service books into one. Seeing the highly used pages reinvigorated with new life reminded me of a time long ago when my opinionated self learned a lesson about the true purpose of a prayer book… Continue reading →

Saints Alive: Living Links to Ancient Truths

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October 26/ November 8- Holy and Glorious Great-martyr Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher of Thessalonica (306)

On this day when we remember the Great-martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, I offer this re-post of a reflection I composed the summer of 2011 when I was fortunate enough to visit the city of the saint and venerate his relics along with the rest of the senior class of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. A full copy of all of my reflections from that summer can be found here. Continue reading →