®Monomakhos

Merry Christmas (from 1914)

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One hundred and ten years ago, in the trenches of France, British and German troops heard “Silent Night” being sung. It’s not sure which side sang first or heard it first, but a miracle happened:  The Tommies and the Jerries cautiously came out of their trenches and exchanged boisterous Christmas greetings. For many who follow […]

Patriarch John X on the Present Situation in Syria

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[Editor’s note:  This sermon by His Holiness John X, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, was sent to us last week by one of our readers.  Due to technical difficulties on the Patriarchate’s end (in Damascus), we weren’t able to access it.  This situation has been resolved.  Here it is in full]: Sermon of […]

Uneasy is the Head that Wears the Crown

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The title for this post comes from Shakespeare’s Henry IV: Part II (Act 3, scene 1). Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude; And in the calmest and most stillest night, With all appliances and means to boot, Deny it to a king? Then, happy […]

Making Sense of Syria

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Not possible.  Way too many moving parts (as it were). Sorry to break it to you all but that country is not going to be united any time soon.  Or peaceful.  Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall and as they say “all the king’s men and all the king’s horses couldn’t put him back together […]

An Orthodox Lingua Franca? Or a Neo-Papalist Stalking Horse?

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Thanks to Petros (one of our readers), we came across this interesting essay by Fr Georgios Lekkas, a priest in the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s Belgium diocese.  It’s well-written and erudite.  Unfortunately, it proceeds from some faulty premises, which ultimately invalidate, or at the very least, call into question, its arguments.  I will critique the most […]

Did the West Walk into a Trap?

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Maybe.  Possibly.  Probably (see the video below).  Anyway, this is going to be a long one, lots of twists and turns, with lots of pictures. Full confession:  Gail and I have been having a back-and-forth regarding the fall of Damascus.  She is of the opinion that this was orchestrated.  I took the opposite tack, that […]

Damascus Has Fallen

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Ordinarily, Gail and I try not to post any stories on Sundays, especially before Church.  Today is an exception. As you may know by now, Islamic rebels have overrun Damascus and forced President Bashir al-Assad to flee.  As this post is being written in real time, we still can’t be sure about the situation on […]