International Orthodox Christian Charities is now in Oklahoma helping out those who are suffering from the devastation this recent tornado caused. Please consider donating to the IOCC for disaster relief. 92% of your donations go towards emergency relief and development programs. They are a truly worth charity.
May 17th is the 1,700th anniversary of the legalization of Christianity via the Edict of Milan, issued by Saint Constantine the Great. Some links from:
On a personal note, I am saddened by the pettiness of both the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. I do agree with Patriarch Irinej, who hopes for an apology from the Roman Catholic Church for the crimes Croatians perpetrated against the Serbian people during World War II and the wars of the Yugoslavian breakup. To be fair, however, there was much blood spilled by Serbia, and they, too, have much to apologize for. Charity comes from both sides, but the greater man must show that much more humility.
The modern city of Niš, which is in Serbia, is the birthplace of the man who legalized the Christian faith in the Roman Empire. That old wounds haven’t yet healed shows us that we have a long road to go in terms of reconciliation, and we both blaspheme the name of Christ for keeping His church divided due to human pride.
Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia was instrumental in my conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy twenty years ago next month. It was a privilege meeting him, a true honor. My policy, however, is to not ever ask for autographs or take pictures with people. I frankly loathe bothering people about such things, as I worked for years in Hollywood and learned that you get farther with people by not hassling them for trinkets. The friend I took, Patty, however, had no such qualms, so thanks to her expert timing, Met. Kallistos managed to photo-bomb my portrait. I couldn’t be happier about that.
Because some plugins died on me, I have been unable to update the way I used to. That should now be fixed.
I just switched to WordPress MU. I thought I’d test out Tumblrize to see if all is well.