April 26, 2008

Michael

Almost there, almost

Tonight we celebrated the lamentation service of our Lord, where throughout a beautiful and ornately decorated setting, we expressed our lament of Christ’s death through spoken words, through sung lamentations, and in the candlelit sanctuary processed under an icon of Christ’s body representing our passing into death as did Christ — an expression of sharing in His sufferings and His death.

It was one of the most beautiful services that I have been to in a long time — the sanctuary was dimly lit, candles lighting up various areas of the alter, and an ornately decorated arc-like structure covered in roses, washed over in candlelight, and containing the cross of Christ, symbolizing his burial into the tomb.

The service was nearly two and a half hours, and with just twelve hours before I become christened into the Orthodox Church, I honestly felt like I have not sufficiently prepared myself for this moment.

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Written and posted by Michael on April 26, 2008, 12:05 am.
Filed under: Catechumen, Orthodoxy, The Journey, Transformation

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March 20, 2008

Michael

Fighting the passions

We all have great intentions — I know I do anyway. I have great aspirations of maintaining strict disciplines, like a rule of prayer, fasting from certain passions, and even cultivating some of the artistic gifts I’ve been given. But the problem is that my passions (as known by the Orthodox; different from a passion for music, for example) are not passive and do not sit back and allow me to just lay my stake in the ground and claim it done. Unlike Evangelicalism™ which generally professes a transactional version of salvation — an event that happens, and then you’re saved — I am finding that maintaining and working out this gift of salvation and becoming more like God is going to be a long, slow, and arduous process, requiring much patience, faith, endurance, and above all humility.

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Written and posted by Michael on March 20, 2008, 1:29 pm.
Filed under: Culture, Daily Walk, Orthodoxy, Transformation

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March 9, 2008

Michael

A community for Orthodox arts — not a solo journey

This morning I was ceremonially welcomed and prayed for as a catechumen into the Orthodox karten spieletexas holdem regelnonline games kostenlos pokeronline poker anbieterpoker jetzt spielenabsolut poker bonuspoker regeln downloadpoker online gratuitopoker game onlinepoker on line gratuitopoker online legalegiocare poker onlinepoker tour gameworld poker tournamentpoker online flashstreep poker gratisgiochi online pokergiochi poker da scaricarestreap pokerpoker pc gratispoker room on lineguida poker onlinegiochi di carte pokerpoker tour ps2probabilit


Written and posted by Michael on March 9, 2008, 1:24 pm.
Filed under: Catechumen, Culture, Orthodoxy, Transformation

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March 3, 2008

Michael

The church is not a museum piece

In my previous posting, I had laid a spread of questions on the table regarding the arts and Orthodoxy and my frustration with no contemporaries to look to for guidance, inspiration, and fellowship. These frustrations are accentuated by the idea that there is a fullness of the arts that ought to be created, expressed, and shared with the world, a fullness that just isn’t that prevalent in America. And it’s the idea of that fullness that has put a desire in me to find answers, and God willing, be a part of the awakening of the arts in the Orthodox church in America.

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Written and posted by Michael on March 3, 2008, 2:02 pm.
Filed under: Culture, General Discussion, Orthodoxy

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February 27, 2008

Michael

Orthodoxy and culture: what is the fullness of the arts?

There has been a topic on my mind over the past several weeks as I’ve started on this journey towards Orthodox Christianity and into a life of theosis — when I become Orthodox, what becomes of my artistic expressions and what is that supposed to look like within the context of being an Orthodox Christian? And I must forewarn you, that there are far more questions in this particular entry than useful reflections or things we can all learn from. Instead, I would hope that it might generate some significant discussion that would ripple into the arts community within Catholic and Orthodox traditions — especially the latter of the two.

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Written and posted by Michael on February 27, 2008, 12:30 am.
Filed under: Culture, Orthodoxy, Transformation

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February 14, 2008

Michael

The daily journey in prayer, reading and meditation

It seems that every time I walk out of St. George Antioch Orthodox Church — whether on a Sunday morning or at my catechumen class — I come home with more and more books to read. And anyone who knows me well, I don’t exactly finish books in a timely fashion (let alone at all). How I will manage to keep up is but a mystery… fitting as I am pursuing Orthodoxy and they’re all about mystery.

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Written and posted by Michael on February 14, 2008, 4:47 pm.
Filed under: Catechumen, Daily Walk, Orthodoxy, The Journey, Transformation

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February 4, 2008

Michael

It’s a different cup, that’s all

My first Sunday as a catechumen was most certainly a different feeling for me than before when I was attending and admiring from afar. Instead,


Written and posted by Michael on February 4, 2008, 2:07 pm.
Filed under: Catechumen, Looking Back, Orthodoxy, The Journey

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February 2, 2008

Michael

Starting out on the road ahead as a catechumen

As they say, “today is the first day of the rest of my life.” It’s a bit melodramatic, sure, but going to my first catechumen class today was a huge step for me — it’s saying, “yes, I want to be a learner of the Orthodox faith, that I might align myself to you and be in communion with you.”

300px-fedorovskaya.jpgOur first class was really more of an informative session, where Father Tom shared about the meaning and symbolism of all the imagery within the sanctuary. It was quite impressive to hear of all the deep meaning behind what things were placed where and why they appeared where they did. As he said, nothing is where it is just because it looks nice — there is meaning for everything here.

Of course there is no way that I could have hoped to remember everything he said — I’m getting older and brain capacity isn’t what it used to be, so it’s harder to retain all the information he shared. But that said, there were a few things I pulled from it that I was hoping to understand, and now have walked away knowing more.

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Written and posted by Michael on February 2, 2008, 1:27 pm.
Filed under: Catechumen, Orthodoxy, The Journey

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February 1, 2008

Michael

Where I’ve come from: my context

As I’ve discovered in reading and hearing the stories of others on their journey towards a life of Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism, there are vastly different stories but the themes usually resonate in harmony — people are hungry for an authentic faith that can be traced to the time of Christ; a faith that looks like the first century Church.

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Written and posted by Michael on February 1, 2008, 11:54 am.
Filed under: Looking Back, Orthodoxy, Our Roots

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Michael

Welcome to the Hitchhiker’s Guide

Greetings one and all, and welcome to The Hitchhiker’s Guide (THG), a website re-purposed to track the journey of a few people as they make the journey back to the roots of their faith.

Originally THG was a website that showcased articles on life and Christian spirituality and had a long run since its inception in early 1997. All the old articles have been removed, but are available upon special request if you are looking for one in particular.

But as with all other things, life changes and brings about perspectives that we either knew not existed or has a way of changing our heart and our mind to see things from a much different light source. What you will read here is about the pursuit of the roots of our faith in Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism — the faith before the reformation.

With protestant Christianity continuing to splinter into more and more shards of disunity and finite foundations, there is a movement among the West to seek out the roots of our faith. There seems to be this great search for authentic Christianity without the commercialized and consumerist trappings we have come to expect from many churches in the West; and we are among the many on that search to find the roots of our faith.

Over the coming weeks you will have the opportunity to meet those on this journey and will get to read their stories along the way and participate with us in discussion. And in the process, we hope that we can help you find your way back, too.


Written and posted by Michael on February 1, 2008, 10:13 am.
Filed under: General Discussion, Our Roots

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