[Ancient Faith Radio; September 5, 2007]
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Frederica: Hello, I’m in Spokane Washington
at the conclusion of the ‘To the Ends of the Earth’ Conference sponsored by St.
Gregorios Malankar Syrian Orthodox Church, and I’m sitting here with, I would
say Khouria Heather Durka. We have all
these names for clergy wives: presbytera, and preoteasa, and Pani Matka, and
matushka and all these things, and here’s another one: Kochamma. And your tradition is in stead of saying Kochamma Heather, you say Heather Kochamma.
[Ancient Faith Radio; July 5, 2007]
Frederica: Here I am in the Shakespeare Garden, of the—what’s
it called? The Portland
–
Kh. Krista: The Portland
International Rose Garden.
Frederica: The Portland International Rose Garden, in
Portland, Oregon. Which is
gorgeous. It’s on the side of a
mountain, part of the Cascade Range, Krista was telling me, and you can stand
at the top and look down the terraces, and it’s just roses and roses and roses. We’re in a little tucked-away corner that’s
the Shakespearean garden; not too many roses here, but all the flowers are named
after characters in Shakespeare. So this
is a nice quiet place to be. I’m here
with Krista West, Khouria Krista West, the wife of Father Alban West, who is
the pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Portland, and her daughter Nora, and her
daughter Zuzu, both of whom are sketching at this moment. Krista’s probably known to many listeners as
a liturgical seamstress and as an expert in liturgical vestment history. You gave a speech about this recently at Holy
Cross Seminary in Boston, didn’t you?
[Ancient Faith Radio; June 21, 2007]
Frederica: I’m sitting here on the sofa in the blue room in
my house with my son Stephen, who has a red wristband on that says
‘Bonnaroo.’ Does it say ‘Bonnaroo 07’ or
just ‘Bonnaroo?’ 2007. And on the other
sofa is Jocelyn, I think fast asleep.
Yeah, she’s fast asleep. They’re
exhausted because last night at this time they were just getting in the car to
leave the Bonnaroo music festival and they had an 11-hour drive and have done
laundry and a number of other things in between. Steve, when was the first time you and
Jocelyn went to Bonnaroo?
[Ancient Faith Radio; June 15, 2007]
Frederica: Here we are.
I’m at a beautiful outdoor café, what was the name of this place? I’ve forgotten already. Tree, something, Italiano, I think. [Laughs] I’m looking around, I’m trying to see if
there’s a sign. Anyway, I’m in Malibu Village
in Malibu, California on an overcast day. It’s pleasantly cool; it’s just perfect here,
as it so often is. June gloom, I’m
told. I’m sitting here with my friend,
Barbara Nicolosi, who is a screenwriter, who is a teacher of screenwriting and
has a number of other talents and one of the things that frustrates her is
Christians that think they’re going to write a screenplay and convert the world
to Christianity with a script that is pretty unprofessional. But let me let you speak for yourself; just
start in anywhere. Hit it, Barbara. They can’t see you moving your hands and
making faces; you’ve actually got to – [laughs]
[Ancient Faith Radio; June 8, 2007]
This movie theater here: the Muvico 24, is just south of Baltimore and it’s such a
hoot. I don’t know too much about this
company, this chain, Muvico theaters, but they build their theaters to have
these grandiose themes, and this one is Egyptian temple, that’s the theme we
have going on here. As you approach this
24-auditorium theater, there are these huge columns with big capitols on top. Everything looks like it’s destroyed, like
it’s in ruins. It all has cracks painted
into it, Egyptian figures going around these columns. I’m guessing there’s about 20 columns with
black bases and then the sandstone rising up above that. Huge multi-colored panels and snake heads and
all kinds of crazy things.
[The Cresset, April 2004]
The Psalmist writes, “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” words that fall on deaf ears in a culture that knows as little of beauty as of holiness. Look at new church construction. So many contemporary churches do not aim to be beautiful; they aim to be functional. This might still work out all right, if the designers truly thought the function of a church is worship, but too often the assumed function is communication with the people in attendance, either to teach, uplift, or entertain them. Contemporary worship spaces look more like education spaces or entertainment spaces than like sanctuaries. By contrast, picture a church constructed with an eye to beauty, designed to draw us into the presence of God. It is fitting that it be beautiful, because beauty opens our hearts.
[Newsday, March 7, 2004]
“Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” asks the old Gospel hymn.
Mel Gibson's powerful film, “The Passion of the Christ,” has brought many viewers “there,” and I rejoice with those who say it deepened their faith. I can understand why this film moves them so much.
But I don't think they understand why a fellow-believer might prefer a different approach. It seems to them that any less-than-graphic portrayal is weak - “sanitized.”
But is that the only way to see it? Here, for example, are two paintings made early in the 17th century. The one with the golden background represents the Eastern Christian tradition, and is by the iconographer Emmanuel Lambardos of Crete. The other, emblematic of Mel Gibson's Western tradition, is by the Dutch painter Hendrick ter Brugghen.
[Books & Culture, March-April 2004]* Selected for Best Christian Writing 2006*
Most movies wait till after they're released to stir up controversy, but Mel Gibson's “The Passion of the Christ” has been preceded by nearly a year of fisticuffs. It provided an unusually rich opportunity for people who don't know what they're talking about to do just that. I'll continue that tradition by admitting that, as I write this, I still have not seen the film. I expect it will be good movie-making, a powerful example of the artistic possibilities of film. I hope it will stir up old faith in Christians, and break forth new faith in unbelievers.
[Beliefnet, December 15, 2000]
The Legion of Decency pledge. That was what the priest called it, and then he asked us to stand up and recite it all together. It didn't seem like the kind of thing we usually did in church; it seemed more like school assembly, when we said the Pledge of Allegiance. But I stood between my dad and my younger sisters,
[Beliefnet, September 25, 2000]
With the re-release of the movie “The Exorcist,” talk of scary things like demonic possession and spinning heads is in the air again. Though none of us could avoid having seen some of the film's images over the years, there are a few of us who have never sat through the film, and never intend to.
