Offsite Post: ‘Mary the Mother of God as Our Protector’

 

Melissa MacKenzie explained in a recent podcast the importance to society of the Ever-Virgin Mary, as the archetype of (and inspiration towards) true womanhood and motherhood.  She had many salutary things to say, and, as the Great Feast of the Annunciation to the Mother of God is upon us (March 25^th), we would like to extend the discussion of the centrality of the Theotokos (literally, Birthgiver of God) for Christians.

It is no secret that the peoples of the States face dangers from a number of different vectors:  an invasion at the border, suicidal nihilists who murder school children, inner city gangs, etc.  We are in dire need of guardians.  And throughout Church history, Christians have often turned to the Theotokos for protection and deliverance from violent foes.

This is seen very clearly in Orthodox Church hymnography.  One of them, the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, sung during Great Lent, was originally done so in celebration of her protection of Constantinople on various occasions.  For example, during the reign of the Emperor Heraclius in the 7^th century:

Now the Khagan, that is, the ruler, of the Mysians and the Scythians (Avars and Slavs [Bulgars]), on learning that the Emperor had crossed over the sea into Persia, broke his treaty with the Romans and, at the head of countless hordes, invaded Constantinople from the west, sending up blasphemous cries against God. At once, the sea became full of ships, and the land was filled with innumerable infantry and cavalry. Patriarch Sergios made many appeals to the people of Constantinople not to fall into despair, but to place all their hope wholeheartedly in God and His Mother, the All-Immaculate Theotokos. Bonus, a Patrician, who was governor of the city at that time, made suitable preparations for warding off the enemy; for, together with help from on high, we, for our part, must do whatever we can. Along with the entire populace, the Patriarch, carrying the holy Icons of the Mother of God, went around the upper walls, thereby ensuring their security. When Sharbaraz from the east and the Khagan from the west began to set fire to the outskirts of the city, the Patriarch bore the Icon of Christ “Not Made with Hands,” the pieces of the Precious and Life-giving Cross, as well as the Precious Robe of the Mother of God and went around the walls. The Scythian Khagan launched an attack on Constantinople via the land walls with a countless multitude of soldiers, so great that for every Roman there were ten Scythians fighting against him. But the invincible Champion, with the very few soldiers who were in her Church of the Life-Giving Spring, destroyed a very large number of the enemy. Encouraged by this and rejoicing over it, the Romans, under their invincible leader, the Mother of God, continued to inflict heavy defeats on them.

Some of the hymns themselves are as follows:

 . . .

The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2024/03/garlington-mary-the-mother-of-god-as-our-protector/.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

Offsite Post: ‘Copperhead’

 

Romanticize nature all you like;

Rhapsodize about her many delights.

But when the copperhead appears in the yard,

 . . .

The rest is at https://www.reckonin.com/walt-garlington/copperhead.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

Offsite Post: ‘Speaker Johnson Shouldn’t Fold on Ukraine War Funding’

 

Well, he did, and the results are horrible not only for folks in the Ukraine but also for those in the eastern parts of Dixie who could use that money right about now to rebuild.

***

There are rumblings that Speaker Mike Johnson is about to cave on his pledge not to approve any more spending on the Ukraine war:

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Republican senators Wednesday to expect the House to send them legislation to help Ukraine, but cautioned that what comes out of the House will look substantially different than the $95 billion foreign aid package the Senate passed last month.

 

Johnson tried to reassure frustrated GOP senators who asked him about funding for Ukraine during a question-and-answer session at the annual Senate Republican retreat, which was held at the Library of Congress.

 

Johnson told senators that the House will send a Ukraine aid package to the Senate but floated the idea of making it a loan or lend-lease program so U.S. taxpayers would not be shelling out tens of billions of dollars without any expectation of getting a return, according to senators who participated in the discussion.

 

The Speaker also talked about including something similar to the REPO for Ukrainians Act, sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), which would authorize the confiscation of Russian sovereign assets and deposit the proceeds of liquidated property into a Ukraine support fund, senators said.

 

Notably, Johnson did not say whether such a Ukraine aid package would include tough border security reforms, such as “Remain in Mexico” language, which would face opposition from Senate Democrats.

The Speaker should be commended for holding out as long as he has, but he and the Republicans ought to continue to hold the line; they ought not to buckle – for a host of reasons.

First, the Zelensky regime continue to show their totalitarian colors, as they have recently arrested yet another group of Orthodoxy clergy and journalists to silence the opposition as the Ukrainian parliament prepares to vote on a bill to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on phony charges of ‘Russian collusion’:

OrthoChristian reported on Wednesday that Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) agents raided the offices of representatives of the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) and the Legal Defense Center of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

 

Yesterday, the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported, with reference to the Prosecutor General that more than 20 searches were conducted in four provinces, also involving journalists from the First Cossack outlet and the public union Laity.

 

The Prosecutor General’s office wrote that the SBU neutralized the “media bloc of the UOC,” allegedly created to destabilized Ukraine. The UOJ notes that the Prosecutor General’s message says nothing about the alleged association with the Russian Security Service (FSB), as was claimed in the earlier SBU statement.

 

The UOJ published an open appeal to international human rights organizations to respond as they are able to the “detention and persecution” of the journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders. Five people are currently being held in a pre-trial detention center.

 . . .

The rest is at https://identitydixie.com/2024/03/23/speaker-johnson-shouldnt-fold-on-ukraine-war-funding/.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

2025 Calendar Featuring the Saints of Wales

 

Hello everyone.  I was blessed once again to write the opening essay for the new edition of the St Herman of Alaska Monastery’s Orthodox calendar.  This one covers the Christian history of Wales, including a discussion of the druid paganism that came before Christianity and the re-paganization that has been taking place of late.  Each month also features the life of an individual saint of Wales.  For more information about the 2025 calendar and to place an order (buying a calendar helps provide the monastery with an income), please visit this page:

https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/St-Herman-Orthodox-Calendar-p/cal_current.htm

I will also have a few copies to give away if anyone is interested.  There was also a timely video posted by Fr Jacob who lives and ministers in Wales about memory and the saints that dovetails quite nicely with the release of the calendar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86xPnYweBAI

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

Offsite Post: ‘Cowardice Is Not a Virtue’

 

For a lot of conservative folks, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia became a possible candidate for the US presidency in the future by his improbable gubernatorial win in Democrat-trending Virginia.  They need to scratch him off their list after his total desecration of marriage, however.  On March 8^th, he signed into law – willingly, voluntarily – HB174, which provides,

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

 

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 20-13.2 as follows:

 

§20-13.2. Marriage lawful regardless of sex, gender, or race of parties.

 

No person authorized by §20-14 to issue a marriage license shall deny the issuance of such license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. Such lawful marriages shall be recognized in the Commonwealth regardless of the sex, gender, or race of the parties.

 

Religious organizations and members of the clergy acting in their religious capacity shall have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.

How long the limitation of marriage to ‘two parties’ will last, and the tolerance of clergy to refuse to conduct these new-style same-sex and trans marriages, remains to be seen.  When the polyamorists, etc., begin belly-aching about discrimination, violation of rights, and all the rest of it, probably not too long a time.  But that is an issue for another time.

What is important here is that Governor Youngkin had an opportunity to make a decisive stand for traditional Christian marriage and refused to do so.  History will not remember him kindly.  For cowardice in the face of evil is not praiseworthy.  Boldness and courage, on the other hand, certainly are.

A good example of the latter is Prince Alois of little Liechtenstein, who put his popularity (and with it, his rule) on the line by opposing a referendum to legalize abortion:

 . . .

The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2024/03/garlington-cowardice-is-not-a-virtue/.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!