I originally put this posting up on my family blog, because it's really not an Orthodox post, per se. But I was reading from the life of Fr. Seraphim Rose the other night and immediately my mind went to these houses in Siberia, Russia. Fr. Seraphim was very much into the beauty of the world around us. He wanted to cultivate in the pilgrims and students that came to Platina an appreciation for that which is beautiful; classical music, classical art, good literature with Christian themes, beautiful Vicorian archetecture, etc.

He wanted us to see that there was value in beauty and that something reduced to it's most utilitarian state is not always best. He pointed out it may be cheaper to make things that are purely practical, but in the process we lost a great deal. Fr. Seraphim wanted parents to educate their children in this way as well so that they "would not simply think that whatever is modern or most up-to-date is the best..." He thought students should develop a sense of art instead of the "crudity, coldness, and inability to judge what is better and what is worse - total relativity, which only confuses a person and helps fit him into the world of apostasy."

So, with this in mind, I think that this is also an appropriate post to put up on my Orthodox blog:

Siberian Wooden Houses

A few years back I found a graphic artist who created not only commercial art for clients, but also some great wallpapers/ backgrounds for your computer. He is a Russian that lives in Irkutsk and has a site called Vladstudio. His wallpapers/ art range from beautiful scenery to whimiscal creatures and I recommend them for anyone who is looking for a change of pace over the standard fare for desktop wallpapers.

A few days ago I was looking around on his normal site and came across a new sub-site that he had started. Apparently a while back he went around Irkutsk with his camera to take pictures of the beautiful old wooden houses around town that are falling into disrepair. These are some truly amazing houses with incredible, detailed woodwork. I have put one of the pictures up on my desktop wallpaper both at work and at home.

Each time I sit down to my desk I find myself staring at the pictures with all the detailed woodwork. My mind ends up drifting; thinking about the people who did this incredible work in a time when precision laser cutting machines weren't available. I reminesce that even if these craftsmen had jigs to aid in this work it would have been and incredible, labor-intensive act of love. Alas, I also end up thinking about how these houses are falling into seeming ruin. No one appears to be stepping up to rescue these houses from their inevitable fate.

My hope and prayer is that soon someone will step forward to save these houses and recognize the amazing gift this city has been given with these pieces of art that a person can actually live in. I invite you to also go look at these photos and ponder the talent of these amazing craftsmen of the past.

I've been thinking that it's time for me to get back in the swing of my blog. I've fallen out of the regular swing of writing and I'm finding it really tough to get back into it, so I'll start slowly.

Anyone who knows me in my day-to-day life knows that I have a hefty drive to work (45 minutes each direction) so to pass the time instead of just listening to the idle chatter of the radio, I have, for the last couple of years, turned to podcasts as my refuge. I will listen to the occasional "book on tape" although they're not on tape anymore... CD's or my preferred mode of listening, the MP3. Still, the books are the once-in-a-while thing. My daily diet is podcasts, specifically, Orthodox podcasts. Being a convert to the Orthodox church I am always looking to learn new things and gain new insights about this gift that has been given to me. For that reason, I am always scouring the web for new Orthodox podcast sites. With the help of my husband (who knows of and encourages this penchant) I have come up with a list of resources for podcasts. For those of you who don't have a 45 minute commute, or access to a portable MP3 player, these are readily available to listen to right from your computer.

Of course, I am sure that many are familiar with the "Ancient Faith Radio" website. The cool thing about them is they now have two "stations" of online listening available. One for music and the other for talks/ discussions/ lectures. You can access their site at http://www.ancientfaithradio.com/. From there you can choose either the music or the "talk" station for live streaming or you can go to the podcast section for downloading previously recorded shows. They podcast will link you to 30+ different options for listening. Some short and some longer. Of the longer podcasts, one of favorites is "Our Life in Christ" which can be accessed from the AFR site or from their own site at http://www.ourlifeinchrist.com/. Their shows run about an hour, but they move along quickly and usually I can't wait to get to the next one.

Another site which is newer and mostly geared to a younger audience is "Icon New Media Network." The folks that are doing this are also involved in the Death to the World zine, which I have discussed in an earlier blog. There are several podcasts here as well as their own blog site and other online interactions. Their site is here http://iconnewmedianetwork.com/. You can find their menu of various blogs and podcasts on the menu to the right on their main page.

For those who want more music options as well as some other podcast options, there is the Orthodox Christian Network, or OCN. They have two music stations plus many podcasts to choose from. Their main web page is here http://www.receive.org/. From there, you can choos "The Ark" or "The Rudder" for music or their podcasts are listed separately.

Some of you may have heard of Constantine Zelalas. He is an Greek Orthodox speaker who is a native Greecian that now lives in this country. The lectures that he gives, both his own, and his translations of the works of Fr. Athanios Mitilinaios are excellent resources for learning about the Faith from a Greek who is grounded in the teachings of the Church Fathers and the Bible in the original Greek text. Be forewarned though, Constantine Zelalas does not pull any punches. His words often sound very harsh, critical, or some might even think judgemental to our Western more ecumenically minded ears and minds. Yet, the teachings he hands down are the teachings of the Fathers and the Faith. His podcasts (and there are many of them) can be found at the following web sites: http://www.pantokrator.info/en/, http://www.philokalia.org/, http://www.pigizois.gr/. There are many duplications of recordings between each of these sites, but I think that between the three sites they cover the majority of what Constantine has available as MP3.

These are just a few of the websites availabe with podcasts on them. I will try to cover more of them that I am aware of in an additional posting. But this should get anyone started who is interested in listening to the Orthodox teachings that are being shared by so many of our brethren on this journey.

Christ is Risen!

I have to tell you, one of my favorite services of the whole liturgical year is the service on Holy Saturday morning. For us it is a joyous occasion and looks forward with anticipation to that night when we celebrate the feast of feasts: Pascha!

On Saturday morning we have our largest baptism group of the year. We have a few throughout the year, but Holy Saturday is our primary day for baptisms, as in the early days of the Church. This year we had 11 people get baptised. It was a wonderful blessing! We also do our color change from dark, somber colors to white on Saturday morning and the priests throw out bay leaves as a symbol of Christ’s victory over death. One other thing that we do, which I understand is a Russian tradition as that the children all hide in the loft with pots & pans and when the priests come out of the Altar they start banging them raucously. This noise symbolizes Christ in Hades breaking down the gates and loosing those in bonds. What a wonderful, joyous noise it is, indeed! After the entire service, including all the newly illumined’s Chrismation and first Communion, we have a "feast" of dried fruit, nuts, bread, & wine in the church. It is the one day out of the year that we are allowed to eat in the church… and I joke with people that this is the BEST meal of fruit & nuts you will EVER have. Never have dried fruits & nuts tasted so good as after having observed a 36-hour strict fast during Good Friday and the morning of Holy Saturday before Communion. What a wonderful day full of joy for the newly illumined and the anticipation of the resurrection of our Lord.

I am probably not thankful enough for the community in which I live. We have a pretty active Orthodox community here which has many Pan-Orthodox celebrations thoughout the year. All thoughout Great Lent we have Pan-Orthodox Pre-Sanctified Liturgies every other week. Last night it was the Antiochians turn to host. It's always so nice to go to the other churches around town. I come from a Russian-based tradition, so going to the Antiochian church with Byzantine music and chant always takes a bit of adjusting for me, but I enjoy hearing it. Of course, getting to see friends that I haven't seen in a while that attend this church and then getting to eat the yummy meal afterward - these are good things too!

For me, going to the Pan-Orthodox services is just a reminder of how universal the Church is. The services might sound different, the churches might look a little different, but really those are just the externals. When it comes down to the heart of the matter, we all confess the same faith and join together in the Body of Christ. It reminds me that I have jumped in to swim a river of the faithful that has its origins with Christ over 2000 years ago. It is truly an amazing and humbling reminder to me of the wonder and glory of God.