Your "waiting" questions are good questions. It would be interesting to know what motivates the two different groups of people. Some of the shoppers might be driven by greed and some by our economic crisis. They want technological items (a necessity these days) and toys for the kids. However, the best gift they could give their kids (and perhaps they have done this) is a Bible and to worship as a family. Bibles are cheap, and nobody is standing in line for them. As for the Russians standing in line at the Cathedral: I will assume they are motivated by faith. I cannot imagine any other reason for waiting to enter a house of worship. Let us hope everyone will find their way out of the darkness.
Thank you for visiting us again Aunt Melanie. We hope your beautiful quilts are helping out in fending off the cold weather.
In regard to the post, one of the things that struck me was that 75 years of Russian State atheism could not extinguish human yearning for the Transcendent. To view the Church of Christ the Savior in the background and a sea of humanity waiting in deep freezing weather for days on to see, touch an object of veneration is simply amazing. Another question it raised for me was whether the object indeed represented Christ the Savior.
In the US scene, it is true people do need those gadgets and that in these economically trying times a bargain of any sort is welcome. I also think you would agree with me that materialism often gets in the way of our need to connect with the true God. Hence, the comparison. God bless.
Haileselassie's Band of Armenian Orphans A bond forged through a common Orthodox faith left a lasting imprint on Ethiopia’s music Irina Costache | October 10, 2025 The 40 Armenian orphans with their leader, Kevork Nalbandian , in the middle holding a violin. (From the archives of St. George Armenian Apostolic Church in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia) In the spring of 1924, Ras Tafari Makonnen , Ethiopia’s crown prince, regent plenipotentiary and de facto ruler, embarked on a diplomatic world tour. His country had just become the first African nation admitted to the League of Nations , and the prince (later to become Emperor Haile Selassie ) wanted to thank the countries that had supported Ethiopia’s candidacy, display his country’s modernity and ensure its sovereignty would be respected. Before continuing toward Europe, Tafari made a stop in Jerusalem. Back home, the Ethiopian Church questioned the prince’s religious devotion, so the visit was meant to be a symbolic demonst...
Comrades-in-arms Isaias and Meles bartering Assab port In the early 1990s, Isaias and Meles suddenly found themselves owners of Ethiopia—including its geographic space, its resources, and its people. How did this come about? In their own narrative, it came about because they defeated the mighty Derg. That narrative could only be partly true. The real story is that the US and Britain wanted them in power to advance their own regional agenda. Let's not forget that this was two years after the Cold War and Soviet collapse. Victory over Communism had so inebriated the Capitalist West it looked forward to once again reshaping the world in its own "democratic" image. Meles Zenawi and Isaias Afwerki, favored in the eyes of the West (and good at deception), were acclaimed as "new breed" democrats! The other aspect of their success was that a vacuum had to be filled following Mengistu slipping away to Zimbabwe--itself engineered by the West. Mengistu's government ...
Art in Ethiopia Middle part of triptych Total Liberation of Africa by Afewerk Tekle, Africa Hall (UNECA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Afewerk Tekle's ( Alpha ) residence and studio, Addis Ababa
Your "waiting" questions are good questions. It would be interesting to know what motivates the two different groups of people. Some of the shoppers might be driven by greed and some by our economic crisis. They want technological items (a necessity these days) and toys for the kids. However, the best gift they could give their kids (and perhaps they have done this) is a Bible and to worship as a family. Bibles are cheap, and nobody is standing in line for them. As for the Russians standing in line at the Cathedral: I will assume they are motivated by faith. I cannot imagine any other reason for waiting to enter a house of worship. Let us hope everyone will find their way out of the darkness.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting us again Aunt Melanie. We hope your beautiful quilts are helping out in fending off the cold weather.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to the post, one of the things that struck me was that 75 years of Russian State atheism could not extinguish human yearning for the Transcendent. To view the Church of Christ the Savior in the background and a sea of humanity waiting in deep freezing weather for days on to see, touch an object of veneration is simply amazing. Another question it raised for me was whether the object indeed represented Christ the Savior.
In the US scene, it is true people do need those gadgets and that in these economically trying times a bargain of any sort is welcome. I also think you would agree with me that materialism often gets in the way of our need to connect with the true God. Hence, the comparison. God bless.