June
2011
A visit to the Holy Mountain
“On this Easter Sunday, we’re going to take you to a place outside our world. It’s not Mars or Venus but it might as well be. It’s a remote peninsula in northern Greece that millions believe to be the most sacred spot on Earth.
It’s called Mount Athos and prayers have been offered there every day, with no interruption, for more than a thousand years. It was set aside by ancient emperors to be the spiritual capital of Orthodox Christianity and has probably changed less over the centuries than any other inhabited place on the planet. The monks come to Mount Athos from all over and do everything they can to keep what they call “the world” far away.”
“60 Minutes” gets extremely rare access to the monasteries at Mt. Athos. Go watch.
July
2009
An Early Christian Refuge?
A 2,000-year-old underground chamber has been discovered in Israel’s Jordan Valley.
The largest human-made cave in Israel, the 1-acre (0.4-hectare) space is thought to have begun as a quarry. In subsequent centuries it may have served as a monastery, hideout for persecuted Christians, or Roman army base, experts say.
Archaeologists working in the valley found the cave this past March when they came across a hole in a rock face.
As they were about to enter, two fearful-looking Bedouins appeared and warned the team that hyenas and wolves inhabited the cave.
Read more at National Geographic…
February
2009
January
2009
Conveniences
Now that conveniences have exceeded all bounds, they have become inconveniences. Machines have multiplied; distractions have also multiplied and man has been made into a machine. Machines and iron order men around, which is why their hearts have become as hard as steel.”
Elder Paisios, from “The Return to God from Earth to Heaven”
(Paedeia)
November
2008
Video Series on Mount Athos
Start at the top and work your way down…
June
2008
New Monasticism
There has been some discussion of New Monasticism recently. The movement seeks to do what it says and to reinterpret classic monasticism in light of contemporary culture.
According to newmonasticism.org the twelve marks of the movement are:
- Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire. (This is interpreted as the inner-city and places overlooked by the State)
- Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us.
- Hospitality to the stranger
- Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities
combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation. - Humble submission to Christ’s body, the church.
- Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the
community along the lines of the old novitiate. - Nurturing common life among members of intentional community.
- Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.
- Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life.
- Care for the plot of God’s earth given to us along with support of our local economies.
- Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18.
- Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life.
If you want to investigate further, then it is worth looking at the writings on the New Monasticism site.
The Anabaptist Network and Northumbria Community recently held a conference on New Monasticism and some of the papers are available:
May
2008
St. Paisius Monastery
I came across a blog post the other day which gives a glimpse into monastic life, both for the nuns and also for the wider members of the community who visit it from time to time. Give five minutes of your life to reading it!
May
2008
Monasticism Today
This may be of interest – I would have showed it yesterday if time permitted. It is a video made by Father Jay Finelli who writes:
I recently visited some dear friends of mine, the Capuchin Sisters of Nazareth at their new Postulant house in Bastress, PA. Meet the young women preparing to become Capuchine Sisters at the Mother of the Eucharist Convent.
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
I didn’t really cover much of the Dissolution yesterday, but the reaction of the population to the closing of the monasteries by Henry’s commissioners tells you something about the role of religious communities in 16th century England.
Radio 4′s In Our Time recently did a good 45 minute programme on the Dissolution.
Notes from Day Two
The quote I mentioned from Eckhart is:
“they do him wrong who take God just in one particular way. They take the way rather than God”.
It is from Sermon 19. Eckhart is a Dominican who lived from around 1260 to 1328. His history is controversial, but his writings are profound.
The Orthodox podcast I recommended is Our Life in Christ. If you go to their archives page and look for Feb 2005 you’ll find a four part series on Prayers to the Saints. The rest of their output is well worth listening to.
Daily Prayers (services for Morning, Evening and Night Prayer) can be found at the Church of England website.
I was asked for some book recommendations on church history. There are very few one volume histories (2,000 years is a lot to fit into a few pages) but I would recommend:
- Mark Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
- John McManners (ed), The Oxford History of Christianity
If you want to look in more detail at a particular period, there is an absolutely superb annotated Bibliography here.
For more online on Benedictine monasticism see the Order of Saint Benedict. For Franciscans in this country go here and look also at the Dominicans.
For plenty of historic texts go to the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. You’ll find St. Teresa of Avila here. A good discussion of her life and work is by Rowan Williams called, unsurprisingly, Teresa of Avila.
A good site for early texts is Early Christian Writings.
Finally, I have posted some book recommendations elsewhere for the third years which might also be of interest to you.