Alcoholic Beverages During Advent

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More information on this topic can be found here.

How Fasting Interferes With One's Social Life

Severe Sexual Repression

In the Western hemisphere of the Christian world, such utterly abnormal feats and unbearable psychological burdens are reserved only for certain highly select and especially privileged social classes, such as Catholic priests, or homosexuals, whose sole “domain” they represent. The Orthodox Church, however, knows better than that... :-)

Let Us Eat, And Drink, And Be Merry !

...for tomorrow the fasting begins...

Orthodox Catechism 101: The Holy Angels

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More information on this topic can be found here.

Mandatory Halloween Post

Some people have to put on a mask in order to become monsters... while others only have to take off the one they're already wearing... Happy Halloween, everyone !

Silent Hill: Orthodox Version

The Jesus-Myth Theory

A.
A1. The French revolution took place in 1789. The French are a Romance population of Latin descent.

A2. The Romanian revolution took place in 1989. The Romanians are a Romance population of Latin descent.


B.
B1. Leonhard Euler died on September 18^th, 1783. He was a deeply religious man, as well as a famous mathematician.

B2. The owner of this blog was born on September 19^th, 1983. He is a religious man, and a mathematician.


C.
C1. Trajan, the famous Roman Emperor who conquered Dacia (modern-day Romania), was born on September 18^th, 53.

C2. I'm a Romanian, my father's name is Traian, he was born in '52, and my birthday falls on September 19^th.


From this undisputed data, we clearly conclude the following facts:
1. I do not exist, and -by extension- neither does this post. The fact that you're `reading` this right now clearly means that you're a clinically insane individual currently experiencing a hallucination, and most likely in need of some serious psychiatric treatment. Any person supposedly `confirming` the so-called `existence` of this post is either severely deluded as well, suffering from what specialists might call folie a deux, or else simply being polite, perhaps even afraid of your possible reaction, or probably only jesting, thinking that you are merely joking as well.

2. All the suffering that I've endured in my entire life has been nothing more than an illusion: I never existed, and neither did my pain. The tragedy and horrific events which took place in the winter of '89, and which plague my country until the present day, never happened. The tears, the blood, the martyrs, the fear, the terror, the torture, the killings, the slaughter, the bullets: mere figments of the dreams (and nightmares) crafted by the wild imagination of a non-existent and illusory being, akin to that of the main character of the 2009 movie Mr. Nobody, and reminiscent of the main ideas expressed in such successful Hollywood productions and big screen blockbusters as Inception and the legendary Matrix trilogy. There truly is no spoon.

Ecumenical Relations Between Catholicism & Orthodoxy

Roman Catholics & Eastern Orthodox, Working Side By Side...

Religion As The Cause Of All Evil

When John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in order to impress the living Hollywood legend Jodie Foster, no one in his right mind dreamed of accusing the famous actress of being in any way involved in -let alone responsible for- the unfortunate tragedy. But when people commit atrocities in the name of Christianity, the same logical courtesy is not extended...

Religion, Democracy, and Education

For all sane people everywhere, these three notions are among the purest of all possible concepts, which -by the very virtue of their noble nature- could never be joined together with that which is brutal, barbaric, degrading, disgusting, impure, inferior, ignoble, savage, repugnant, or in any way less than sublime. Like murder, for instance. After their illustrious forefathers have slain countless lives in the name of the former, today's `civilized` Westerners have no qualms in smearing the name of the latter two by bombs and abortions. Apparently, war begets peace, and actual gun-powder is what's really needed to ignite the `explosion` of freedom and prosperity throughout the world. Not to mention the mandatory trip to the abortuary, which every self-respecting Western woman owes to herself and to her future career... probably one as an English teacher, instilling in her future pupils high moral values, like sacrificing oneself for others (as opposed to sacrificing others for oneself, or for one's own interests: such as, say, taking the life of an unborn child for the sake of furthering one's career...) Or perhaps that of an accomplished poet or musician, delighting the hearts and ears of her audience with surreal sounds and lyrics, resplendent of a heavenly beauty which lies in stark contrast and direct opposition to that of the darkness of her ugly deed...

John the Baptist: Patron Saint of Bisexuals Everywhere

Apparently the Feast of his Conception ( September 23^rd ) falls on the same day as that of the bisexual community... Not quite sure whether he'll be very pleased by that, but that's life ( after death )...

Coincidence... Or Providence ?

Being born on the same day as one's favorite adult movie star...

Muslim Menace: The Threat Of Islam

Remembering The Summer

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A True American Hero

The Home Of The Brave, And The Land Of The Free...

... Where Being Brave Can Apparently Cost You Your Freedom ...

... And Where Uncovering Evil And Injustice Is Considered A More Hideous Crime Than Committing It ...

Is Orthodoxy A Religion Of Peace ?

1. The Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ falls on the same day as the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945.

2. The Feast of the Assumption of Mary falls on the same day as the capitulation of Japan nine days later, on August 15, 1945.

3. The Ecclesiastical New Year begins on the same day as the Second World War, on September 1, 1939, marking Hitler's invasion of Poland.

Apart from these uncanny World War II coincidences, our faith perceives the entirety of human life on earth as one long and never-ending spiritual struggle and Unseen Warfare (a famous Orthodox classic on asceticism and spirituality), and its view of salvation can be summed up by the phrase Christus Victor.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The Illusion of Freedom: Why Fasting Is Necessary

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Dormition Fast Begins Today...

The crystalline voice of Orthodoxy, shattering the myths and idols of modern man...

Christmas In July: On Pigs And Homosexuals

Too Long; Don't Read.
Perhaps some of you might have been wondering (just kidding: I know you haven't ! Heck, you haven't even been reading my posts any more, have you ? Apparently I've lately been doomed to losing not only my soul, but my audience and readership as well !) OK... Now: where was I, before I've so brutally interrupted myself ? Ah, yes ! Perhaps some of you (key word here being `some` - if any at all...) may have probably wondered by now why I identify with homosexuals, and think about them so much... and not just merely `think` about them, but suffer grievously when contemplating the fate that awaits them in all eternity, not as some sort of detached intellectual endeavour, but rather to the point of being utterly crushed, shattered, and devastated by their destiny myself. Why do I care so much ? No skin of my nose... Right ? (I mean, apart from the fact that I'm kinda going there myself... But -in time- I've ultimately reached a point where I've finally made my peace with that... At least I actually deserve it... Not so sure about the gays, though...)

We all remember the prophetical passages from Isaiah (53:7) and Jeremiah (11:19), alluded also in the New Testament (Acts 8:32), liking Christ's sacrifice with that of a lamb being brought to the slaughter... Likewise David, in the Book of Psalms (44:22), and Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Romans (8:36), draw a similar analogy for the sacrifice of both Jewish and Christian martyrs. But have any of you, dear readers, ever actually experienced an animal sacrifice first-hand ? If so, then what impression -if any- did it have on you ? My last name -quite incidentally- means Christmas, and I'm a Romanian Orthodox Christian. Orthodoxy is generally a very traditional religion, and the traditional Romanian Christmas dish consists of various home-made pork products. (Forty percent of the Romanian population is still rural, as opposed to only a few percent in civilized countries, and the percentage would've been even higher were the Communists not have made it their sole mission in life to utterly destroy and uproot countless villages by numerous house-demolitions and many forced relocations of the rural population to the newly-created industrial towns... What I'm trying to say by all this is that we basically raise and kill our own pigs: and obviously the same goes for all other animals as well. No one does our dirty work for us... We just don't possess the luxury of innocence, or even some false sense of detachment, artificially created by the conscience-numbing combination of distance, and the existence of a whole well-oiled chain of intermediaries, which so many people in the West simply take for granted. It's just us). Five days before Christmas, on December 20^th, the day in which the Church commemorates the martyrdom of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Romanians traditionally sacrifice their pigs in anticipation for the upcoming Winter Holidays, which last for two whole weeks, until the 7^th of January, and which include -apart from Christmas Eve and the Nativity itself- Saint Mary and Saint Stephen, New Year's Eve and the New Year itself, Saint Basil the Great, Christ's Circumcision, His Baptism, and Saint John. (There are, of course, very many Marys, Stephens, Basils, and Johns among the Orthodox, just in case you were wondering what the deep mystical and spiritual reasons behind our annual fondness for celebrating such a great number of Holidays in a row might really be...) Now, when they bring the poor animal out to the slaughter, you can immediately sense that -despite obviously not possessing the same amount of consciousness as a human being- it is terrified to death, squealing its guts out, madly and insanely, just like a man desperately pleading for his life. Does he know what is going on ?... Doubtful. The mind of animals is simpler than that of children: But this is precisely what makes this whole scene so monstrously grotesque. A fully conscious human being has the ability to crush his base, mindless passions -such as traumatizingly excruciating fear or severe panic- by the power of his God-given intellect, and the promise of the resurrection unto life eternal: But animals do not possess this power, nor this promise, lacking the fundamental faculty that generates it and makes it possible. Their fear is unspeakably great. Brutal. Direct. Devoid of any hope and comfort. When we were children, fear was unbearable. Overwhelming. But -as we grew up- we've lost this primitive, visceral perception. For animals, whose minds are even more basic than those of children, fear is even more monstrous. Even more unbearable. Infinitely more overwhelming. We do not torture our pigs to death. We're not mindless sadists. There is no physical cruelty involved in their unduly demise. It doesn't exactly `hurt` to have one's throat cut swiftly by a knife, and then quickly bleed to death afterwards, while simultaneously choking in one's own blood, and intermittently producing disturbing gargling sounds, the likes of which I never want to hear again, as the only life you'll ever know slowly fades away before your very eyes. (I use both words -`slowly` and `quickly`- without any fear of contradiction (pun intended), with regards to the same thing, because -as we all know- unlike objective time, which flows constantly at the same speed, subjective time flows differently when we are having fun than when we are suffering, or traumatized, or in pain). As seen through the dispassionate and un-lying eyes of a child, whose mind is by its very nature free of any cultural inheritance, and incapable of making excuses -either for itself or for others- these sights are perceived exactly as they are: Devoid of any logic, truth, or beauty; and full of evil, pain, and ugliness. Barbaric and grotesque. Repulsive to the mind, and disgusting to the soul. Devoid of reason and sanity, and without excuse. A socially-accepted madness, joyfully and without any moral qualms or drama engaged in by people that are otherwise kind and good and gentle and loving and normal... If pigs would've cut my throat on Christmas, dragging me to slaughter while I screamed my head off, crying and terrorized to death [of course, that would've simply never happened, since I've always wanted to kill myself, ever since I was a little child, being deeply repelled and disgusted by the way in which grown-ups loved and cared about their own life so much that they debased themselves in front of Communists, bending their knee and bowing down to them out of fear of death and torture, selling their souls to save their lives ( Matthew 10:39; 16:25-26; Mark 8:35-38; Luke 9:24-26; 17:33; John 12:24-25 ), so I would've walked to death rather joyfully and relieved, since it is the only thing I've ever truly desired... but I'm going to allow it anyway, for the sake of the demonstration], on the reason that Scripture does not forbid eating flesh, and that they are only doing this to feed the mouths of their cute little piglets, who are crying with hunger, and that I'm going to a better place in Heaven anyway, and -since I am a human being- I possess an immortal soul capable of inheriting life eternal, and then there's always the resurrection to look forward to; besides, we already know from Scripture that “young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God” (Psalm 104:21), and -of course- this meat that our loving Heavenly Father, in His Divine Providence, provides for them is not always animal, but sometimes also human... Well... Let's just say that I sincerely doubt that my mother and grand-mother would've been very impressed by all these mental gymnastics and rationalizations... (Romanian olympics are of course very good acrobats, and Nadia Comaneci was the first woman to have scored a perfect 10 in the entire history of the Olympic Games, but these exercises are of a different nature than the ones I'm referring at...)

So... Why do I care so much ? Am I a pig ? Do any of my relatives get slaughtered around Christmas time ? I don't know why. Perhaps I was born this way (pun intended). Maybe it's because of the genes I've inherited from my father (pun intended yet again). After all, he is an intellectual, and to accept things on the force of custom, without any recourse to reason or sanity, is not quite really what intellectuals are supposed to do. Or perhaps it is a matter or nurture, not nature: My granny loved me very deeply. She raised me, and she always taught me to be a good person, and to believe in God. (And it was after all Christ Who taught us to care for others, and to make their problems our own. And even if He wouldn't have, our own mind and our own conscience tells us the same, since it is ultimately against all reason and logic to pretend that it couldn't have been us in their place, especially given the all-pervading randomness of life and circumstance). She was kind to me. And I've always wanted for my own soul to have in itself the same treasure of goodness and loving-kindness that she herself had: So that's why I probably despise and abhor so much all the things which are in exact opposition to everything that she ever embodied.

Now, it is only reasonable to care more about our fellow men, created in the image and likeness of God, than for other innocent little creatures, as cute and adorable as they might be. (Of course, not all people agree here with me: Hitler, along with many American Liberals, are vegetarians, yet have no qualms in condoning, or even inflicting, the deaths of countless human beings, while bluntly denying their personhood and humanity). At the same time, I cannot escape the sheer sense of futility involved in this bleak, depressing, and ultimately absurd struggle against oneself, one's own feelings, and one's own nature, for those that were truly born this way... If I would only be a-sexual... If I would only not feel for women the way I feel for them... If it would only be possible for me to resist their sublime beauty... If only I could be devoid of any romantic weakness and desire... If I could only be complete without it... And if I can't do it (nor anyone else, for that matter, except for a few chosen souls, as Christ Himself taught, in Matthew 19:10-12), how could I ever be able to fool myself into pretending that `everything's gonna be alright`, when it quite obviously won't ? (Unless of course someone is actually willing to argue that the `gay gene` goes hand in hand with either a celibacy gene, or with one that renders people capable of finding happiness and meaning in a life devoid of any romantic fulfillment...)


This Being Said, I Wish You All A Happy And Blessed Summer !




Posting Pictures Of Attractive Young Women In A Desperate Attempt To Attract Readers... :-)

The Hopelessness And Absurdity Of It All

Imagine being forced to chose between either marrying a person of the same sex, or otherwise giving up on marriage and romantic fulfillment altogether. The excruciating misery and emptiness of such an abnormal existence would be utterly unbearable to the human mind. And yet, this is precisely the equivalent of what is being asked of homosexuals by an otherwise reasonable God, quite capable of understanding human weakness and suffering (Matthew 19:10-12).

The Cause Of Homosexuality

There's no such thing...
Some people are born without limbs, while others lose them in an accident : There's no one cause for disability and affliction...

Which is also why -in my opinion- we may generally only speak of causes -in plural- of same-sex attraction, and never only of one such cause, supposedly suiting all cases, be it either genetic, psychological, or circumstantial...

The Jesus-Myth Theory And The Fourth Of July

This post may come a day late (and a dollar short), but I just had to write it:
A1. The United States celebrate their National Independence Day on the Fourth of July (1776).
A2. Their national colors are the Red, White, and Blue.

B1. France celebrates its National Day on the Fourteenth of July (1789), commemorating the Storming of the Bastille.
B2. Its national flag is also Red, White, and Blue.

Now, if we were to faithfully apply to these well-known and undisputed facts the same brilliant logic or principles which guide the Jesus-Myth Theory, we would have to conclude that -given all these numerical, historical, and even chromatic coincidences- one of the two nations would have to be a myth clearly based on or inspired by the other, and that either France or America never actually existed...

Four Years Ago Today

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The Last Wednesday In June

The Holy Trinity

Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll.

The sad discrepancy between the God that we're supposed to worship, and the idols we actually venerate.

Pentecost and Ascension: Their Numerical Significance

Since the human body consists of the four elements, it was only fitting for Christ's bodily Ascension into Heaven to take place on the fortieth day after His glorious Resurrection from the dead. And since the immaterial spirit is rightly considered as the fifth element (or quite literally quint essence) of an otherwise material existence, it makes perfect sense for the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon His faithful followers and disciples to take place on the fiftieth day after the same bright event in the history of our salvation.

Unrepentant Sinners At The Last Judgment

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Sin is sweet and repentance is overrated ...

On The Fire Of Hell And The Flames Of Gehenna

The soul’s state beyond the grave is the continuation of its earthly condition... When the soul is kindled by the desires of the flesh, all these lusts accompany the soul into eternity, constantly devouring him, urging him to fulfill them in deed, even though he no longer possesses a material body as its tool, as was the case during its earthly existence, therefore enduring an even more unbearable burden than before, when these cravings, having been satisfied through the body, conveyed to the soul the illusion of their quenching, thus offering a false impression of peace and gratification. But immediately after the body’s demise, these lusts stir in the released soul a blazing flame of cravings and desires, which torment him just as much as excruciating thirst would torture someone passing through the Sahara desert without finding even a single drop of water... Every passion that the soul held dear, but is now unable to fulfill, will stir itself up more and more, growing stronger and stronger, tormenting him forevermore with increasing heat and power. There is no deliverance from this agonizing suffering caused by the never-ending growth of lusts and passions, since the soul is immortal, and unable to terminate its own existence.

Father Arsenie Boca, The Way of the Kingdom

Can Sexual Beings Ever Find True Happiness In The Sexless Realm Of A Dispassionate God ?

Matthew 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Mark 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

Luke 20:34 And Jesus answering said unto them: The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

For instance, take this sample: he [mortal man] has imagined a heaven, and has left entirely out of it the supremest of all his delights, the one ecstasy that stands first and foremost in the heart of every individual of his race -- and of ours -- sexual intercourse!

It is as if a lost and perishing person in a roasting desert should be told by a rescuer he might choose and have all longed-for things but one, and he should elect to leave out water!

His [man's] heaven is like himself: strange, interesting, astonishing, grotesque. I give you my word, it has not a single feature in it that he actually values. It consists -- utterly and entirely -- of diversions which he cares next to nothing about, here in the earth, yet is quite sure he will like them in heaven. Isn't it curious? Isn't it interesting? You must not think I am exaggerating, for it is not so. I will give you details.


You know what the human race enjoys and what it doesn't enjoy.
1. First of all, I recall to your attention the extraordinary fact with which I began. To wit, that the human being, like the immortals, naturally places sexual intercourse far and away above all other joys -- yet he has left it out of his heaven! The very thought of it excites him; opportunity sets him wild; in this state he will risk life, reputation, everything -- even his queer heaven itself -- to make good that opportunity and ride it to the overwhelming climax. From youth to middle age all men and all women prize copulation above all other pleasures combined, yet it is actually as I have said: it is not in their heaven; prayer takes its place.

That rich gift [intercourse] which, possessed as we possess it, makes all other possessions trivial and not worth the trouble of invoicing.

Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth, pp. 8-11

Bearded Orthodox Saints

The Public Perception Of Homosexuality, And Its Evolution In Recent History

Oh, How The Times Have Changed !


Same-Sex Couples Were Still Considered “Odd” In The Late Sixties...

When Did You First Know You Were Gay ?

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When Was The First Time You've Ever Asked A(nother) Girl Out For A Romantic Dance ?

The Toll That Two Whole Months Of Lenten Abstinence Takes On A Marriage...

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What They Won't Tell You In Catechism Class...

Just Three More Days Left !

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Apparently, my ungrateful readers were not able to appreciate the transcendental beauty of sacred Latin chant, so perhaps this hip modern song will be more palatable to their Novus-Ordo-shaped tastes...

Stabat Mater Dolorosa

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Great And Holy Week In The Orthodox Church

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Only now that Lent is technically and officially over, can the real fasting truly begin...

A True Ascetic

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Some people are really devoted to the cause...


( Whatever that `cause` might be... )

The Demons That Torment Me

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Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind [ of demons ] goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Mark 9:29 And He said unto them: This kind [ of demons ] can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

I hope this post might answer the Protestant dilemma concerning the role that self-discipline plays in our spiritual lives, and the effects it has on the salvation of our souls.

The Protestant Position On Fasting And Abstinence

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Catholics Explaining To Protestants The Requirements Of Orthodox Lent

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A Lenten Classic

No Weddings For The Next Two Months !

The nine weeks starting with the one before Great and Holy Lent, and stretching all the way up to the Sunday following Easter, are completely wedding-free, and the performance of marriage ceremonies (and other wedding-related activities) is strictly forbidden during this sacred time interval. The same holds true for all other Fasts and Feasts of the Church year.

Happy Valentine's, Everyone !

The Values I Cherish And Admire

Grace. Class. Charm. Style. Elegance. Warmth. Kindness. Soulfulness. And Affection.

Inner beauty will save the world... or -at the very least- redeem the soul it indwells...

My Favorite Trigonometric Function

Apart From Maths, My Other Interests Also Include Waltz and Astronomy...

New Beginnings: When Our Attempts To Start Over Don't Go Quite As Planned

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Starting Off The Year On The Wrong Foot...

On The Virtue Of Hospitality

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On these cold Winter Holidays, let us open our hearts and homes to receive those lost and wandering souls in need of shelter and compassion...