Believing: Religions. The Orthodox Christian

Ostrog, Montenegro, Orthodox Monastery

History of the Orthodox Christian Church: Since AD 29, Pentecost. Hear some chants, the Russian Orthodox, at ://magnatune.com/artists/albums/monks-orthodox/hifi_play. Find Ukrainian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, many more.

See a timeline - always an efficient way to get started. See the timeline at the site for St. Ignatius of Antioch Orthodox Christian Church in Madison, WI: at ://www.saintignatiuschurch.org/timeline.html. But first, here is the home page (with bells at://www.saintignatiuschurch.org/index.html.

Site information from that timeline is summarized here, with other information as we find it separately listed.

For the first millenium: There was basically one church in claiming the direct line of the apostles since Pentecost, and five centers or patriarchates - Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople, Antioch and Rome. There have always been other groups that the "one church" called heretic or schismatic - Arians, Bogomils, look up "heretic" - although they saw their interpretations as having as much validity as anyone else's, or better. Most eventually were killed.

954- Orthodox Church in Russia

Meteora, Greece, Orthodox Monastery

In 1051, the Great Schism. By 1054, the Roman Church Patriarch had pulled away in order to pursue his view of the Roman Church as the sole and universal leadership of the Christian faith. The other four patriarchates have remained in full communion with each other. The Roman church also had by then added the "filioque" clause in the Nicene Creed, not only the Father, but the Father "and the Son," with the later phrase not having been part of the first 1000 years' theology.

Rome vs. Orthodox:
Roman Crusades: 1095-1291- with the "sack of Constantinople," obviously a Christian city, in 1204.
Rome omitting to act when Orthodox put to death in Nazi puppet states, Fascist Concentration Camps, WWII, Balkans (elsewhere?)

1453- Turks overran Constantinople, signaling end of the Byzantine Empire. Note the defensive positions of the monasteries on clifftops. A combination, I recall, of inspiration, signs; and necessity.

Rome dividing into other groupings:
1517, Martin Luther's 95 Theses; Protestant Reformation
1529, Church of England; Episcopal. The Anglican Communion.

1538 - Ottomans overrun Moldavia, Romania

1683 - Ottoman Empire was finally stopped at Vienna, see ://www.geocities.com/paintedchurches/

1794- Orthodox missionaries arrive in Alaska

Rome's theology differing from Orthodox: (see 1054, "filioque" clause also)
1854 - Dogma, Immaculate Conception
1870 - Dogma, Papal Infallibility
See also the progression of terms in creeds, what is added, which groups disagree.

Customs, entering: See://aggreen.net/orth_links/orthlink.html. This site is by a technical writer, and easy to navigate. Go to the clothing and conduct section, at ://aggreen.net/laity_guidelines/laity.html.
Nin, Croatia, Early Christian Church (neither Roman nor Orthodox - All one Church then (9th Century?).

The church at Nin predates the schism between Roman and Orthodox, when the Christian Church was one church, and before Rome pulled away from the other four Orthodox patriarchates. This is said to be the smallest Christian Bishopric in the world.

Learn basic manners: Respect, respect. This takes forms that are not familiar to many of us, so read carefully and follow. Regardless of your own views, do as they. Do not cross your legs, that is too informal;. Skirts, are a must in some areas for women, and below the knee (the monasteries in Greece will give you a large square scarf to wrap around on top of your short skirt, or shorts, or jeans); long pants for men, no beach or athletic gear (defined?), no logos on T-shirts (how to get around these - are the scarves offered? I do not recall). Men, remove caps. Women may cover heads, not required. No smoking, including on entry steps, no gum;. When altar doors open, hands at sides or hands folded in front, no folding of arms, or hands in pockets, out of respect. Communion only for Orthodox;. Close doors softly.

Painted Orthodox church, Bucovina, Moldavia, Romania

The paintings are on fresco, see ://www.geocities.com/paintedchurches/. The churches date from the 16th Century, and the paintings are educative, didactic, a way to teach even outside the church. Armies also were mustered there, and walls surround many church complexes - teach the soldiers as well.

Wooden bars pounding, or beating wooden tablets, signal calls to prayer in many places, the Turks having forbidden the use of bells, and also having melted them down for arms. See geocities site.

Similarities in the hierarchical churches: Use of term, but differing meanings.

The "Metropolitan" is the term for the diocesan or "arch" bishop overseeing other, lower-ranked bishops in an area. See ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_bishop to get started. Info there:

Roman Church: "Metropolitan Bishop." In the Roman church, the lesser bishops are known as "suffragan" bishops. Metropolis used to mean the chief Roman city in an area, like a province or "ecclesiastical province."

Greek Orthodox: the "Archbishop" is above "Metropolitan."

Slavic Orthodox: the Metropolitan is above the Archbishop.

Those with distaff side repro apparatus need not apply, because repro apparatus is placed higher than head or heart, and those with other repro apparatus have so ordained, even though the Founder did nothing of the kind. See theological meander at

The Orthodox and the Roman branches offer a verbal ok to thinking on your own, but not to coming to conclusions on your own that differ from the established line. This was not always true - look to the earliest years when Croatians began doing mass in their own language, 900 AD or so.


Gregory, Bishop of Nin, Croatia, 9th Century

Gregory here started doing the services at Nin, Croatia, in the local language, educating the people. This was soon barred by Rome. The Church in Croatia did become Roman Catholic; the Church in neighboring Serbia, Montenegro and much of Bosnia became Orthodox; with Serbia and Bosnia then being overcome by the Ottomans, the Muslims, in many areas.

Facts arriving after the belief has etched are either a threat, so to be suppressed, as in the case of Gregory of Nin; or become unlikely to change anything thereafter, so get 'em believing early, keep facts out (or make up your own) and keep 'em iggerunt. Is that right? See Joy of Equivocating, Emoticon Dominance Theory.

Rub the toe of the Saint for luck. See ://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/nin.html. And why the tall hats?

For a meander on theology and hierarchy in the hierarchical churches, do visit Martin Luther's Stove - Theology Anomaliesy

Muslim Conquests - Expansion Theme, and Context

If Islamic studies, movements of culture in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central Europe, were not part of your schooling, go to this site for a map of the reach of early Islam - and ask why we teach as though the West is the compass point. Go to Historical Maps Overview, at Map, the Muslim World 814AD. Look at the size of Baghdad.

The roll of the Muslim territorial and religious expansion.

In no time at all, within 10 years, within a century, of the death of the Prophet in 621 AD. In that short span, the new religion had established itself firmly throughout and beyond the Arab lands of origin, and was still going, the rule then moving from the Arabs to include the Turks, and the Ottoman Empire taking over for centuries beating at Europe's doors. Europe, paying others to buffer for them (the Venetians hiring others in the Balkans, so Venice could be uninterrupted in its Empire building, for example), kept up its own religious arguments and internal and external persecutions, geneologies on thrones competing, but was there more that aided the Muslim expansion. This is not to downplay the commitment to belief that drove the movement, but to set it in a context.

Here, the Alhambra Palace, the Fountain of the Lions, at Grenada, Spain.

Black Death. Combined with local violence. Spain, Romania, the Balkans, accounts of battles against the Turks, the reign of Caliphs, what made Eastern and Central Europe so vulnerable. The role of disease and violence in history. The weakening that results, combined with lack of commitment to a relatively fixed belief system. There were differences persisting, and emerging conflicts between cultural social and religious justice-economic systems.

Here: A new book. It seems that the Black Death had a role in religious conquests as well as in other economic, social areas. Look at the speed and efficiency of the Muslim conquests after the death of the Prophet Mohammed.

To be read: "The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In," by Hugh Kennedy, Middleast Correspondent, The Economist, Da Cap Press 2007, see International Herald Tribune, at ://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/04/arts/idbriefs5H.php; Steve Goddard's HistoryWire at ://www.historywire.com/2008/01/book-alert-th-1.html. Highlights from the NYT review by Max Rodenbeck:

1. Chronology provided: Unity and focus of Islam's faith, one text, virtually immediately upon the death of the Prophet Mohammed. Compare to Christianity 10-100 years after the death of Jesus, where people were still arguing over what should be in the Bible or not, "canonized" - see ://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/bible/cea.stm; in the fourth century or so; and still are discussing what happened there; and an additioal current topic - how do later writings relate, see ://www.jefflindsay.com/BOMIntro.shtml.

• 632 AD: death of the Prophet Mohammed

• By 647 AD: followers had "erased" Persia, decimated Byzantium's power, extended an empire's reach "as vast as that of Rome at its height.

• By 732 AD: Muslim armies had reached China to the East, extended 5000 miles to the West, and "had charged across Spain to clash with the Merovingian princes of what is now France."

2. Scope

Military; one faith, uprooting local religions (Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism); severing of "1000 year old links" that had bound south and north Mediterranean areas; linguistic - Arabic supplanted Latin and Greek as main conduit, "repository of human knowledge."

3. Factors primarily identified include:

Timing. "Exploitation of weakness." Plague had reduced populations in Near East and Mediterranean. "Political Turmoil" left Byzantium and Persia profoundly weakened. Areas were unprepared to counter the Muslim attacks.

Christianity was fractured - many Egyptians and Syrians sided with the Arabs against the Byzantines. Byzantines had tried to use force to convert. Muslims were more lenient, in many areas, allowing other worship, without onerous conditions (in many areas, not all). However, resistance could also be met with destruction in others.

4. Double fronts. Arab strength at outset, Turkish strength later in pushes through Balkans, East Indies, Spain. Then, stability of borders, after further upheavals several centuries later, once Spain was reconquered, and Turkish Muslims pushed back from Balkans, East Indies.

Mainly used in the book = texts, rather than archeological evidence, but we are not sure quite what that means. Waiting for the book at the library.

Gypsies, Roma, Romani, Romni, Romney

Where to start with this complex topic. Roma appear in most of Eastern and Western Europe, migrated as did any other group to places from Australia to the United States, show physical characteristics tying them to India, perhaps, and linguistic commonalities also stemming from there.

Here, street musicians in Warsaw (not Dan, on the right, however). See them in horsecarts in Romania, scavenging in dumps there, going with great style into a casino, or watching from a dark doorway as hordes of little children clamber over your car, little fingers reaching, until finally you go, "Whtjshhhht!" With your own hands scissoring fast across each other horizontally, "Whjthshhhhstht!" No more. And the adult calls them back, Dan gets out, stays by the car to see no little one is under a tire, and we creep back out, wave a thank you, Dan pops back in and off.

See our site at Gypsies, Roma, Romani and "Zoli", by Collum McCann, a novel based roughly on the life of the Gypsy poet Branislawa Wajs. Read his book, "Zoli," for a view of the Slovakian -Polish experience 1920's-1980's or so.

Then read, "Bury Me Standing, The Gypsies and Their Journey," by Isabel Fonseca, Alfred A. Knopf NY 1995. Ms. Fonseca lived with various Gypsies and in Gypsy communities. Then let it all steep, because there is so much to try to grasp. They have survived.

And look at the surnames. We all may have some in us. Romney, Rom'ni, the names referring to smiths, blacksmiths, coopers, coopersmiths, on and on. Different groups specializing in different trades, music.

And the slaughter, the prejudice. Focus on that. We have gotten nowhere. Sites for these issues are in the Gypsies Roma site.