I
From the classical Latin word confiteri, we derive ‘I confess’. The Christian confessor is one who has acknowledged his faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God, in the face of hardship, even the most excruciating torture, and refused to renounce it. Unworthy though we are, nevertheless we desire to join them in making the good profession of faith in the Risen, Ascended, Incarnate Lord who is not only the source of truth but Truth itself. The defence of the truth that flows from a right understanding of the Blessed Holy Trinity and the universe He has created; rallying what resistance we can to the ongoing destruction of what is true, beautiful, and good: Such is our mission with this journal.
II
Most peoples of the world continue their drift, consciously or not, into the cold embrace of the god of our age, Progress. As we labour on in the shadow of his disfigured form, the enjoyable and healthy variety of customs and traditions that have blossomed in and sustained local communities and nations are being trod underfoot for the sake of mindlessly amassing wealth, establishing by force a purely egalitarian society, or increasing the abstract rights of the individual (among other projects) - the promises uttered from the deceitful, smiling face of that cruel and dreadful god. But as these things are acquired, they corrode faith, hierarchy, family, loyalty, love of place, contentment, piety, and other such treasures, empowering a distant, bureaucratic, and unaccountable elite to exercise more authority over us all, making life less fulfiling rather than more.
We know this well in the South, where we have traded our Christian, agrarian heritage for a pagan, technocratic urbanism, with its attendant increase in crime and decline in physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
But because we are from the South does not mean our words hold value only for the South. We believe that the experiences of our region through the decades with the order created by Progress give us valuable insights into the difficulties of the present age. In a spirit of humility and friendship, we offer those insights to all who have misgivings about the current structure and aims of our society.
Walt Garlington
Editor
Walt Garlington
Editor
(The background makes use of a copyrighted icon by the hand of Deacon Paul Drozdowski, available from www.comeandeeicons.com. Used by permission.)
The Synaxis of All Saints Who Shone Forth in Scotland
