The State of the Christian World

The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes. which burned this past week. See this video about these two saints and how they reflect the two types of communication we receive from the Holy Spirit

I can tell I'm becoming a junkie for religious livestreams because I can offer reviews of the various liturgies from around North America.

The Latin Mass from St. Mary in Pine Bluff, which begins at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time, is visually beautiful yet one can hear almost nothing the priest says. This is actually close to the experience of attending a Latin Mass in person. It's not mandatory that you understand the priest. He is there to lead the sacrifice of the mass. Only at specific times is it necessary to hear him, so it's mothing I can complain about.  Much of the time all you see are the motions of the priest, with the music filling the church.

It's always a jolt when the priest comes out to give the sermon in English (usually he re-reads the Epistle and the Gospel in English, that he just read in Latin at the altar). Father Heilman at St. Mary gives powerful sermons that address current events in a stirring way, so it is worth tuning in. In the past he has mentioned participating in protests at the State Capitol in nearby Madison. He pronounced "Wisconsin" the way a native does, with the first vowel like a short 'e'.

Not surprisingly this week he mentioned the attacks on Catholic churches around the nation, although he did not include the fact that another French cathedral has burned, this time in Nantes. It was heartbreaking to wake up to this in my news feed yesterday and brought back sick memories from last year.

Fortunately the roof was saved this time, but nevertheless the fire destroyed a five-hundred year old pipe organ. In this case it was confirmed to be arson, set by a refugee from Rwanda who was angry at the prospect of being deported by the French government. He was being supported by the diocese. It's impossible for me to imagine this mindset of disrespect and hatred towards one's hosts, no matter what has happened to you.

In the other Latin mass I watch--- the one from St. Joan of Arc in Post Falls, Idaho which comes on at 9:30.---the priest Father Rapoport is young and less skilled as a preacher. Thus his sermons aren't as stirring as Father Heilman in most weeks, but I still like to listen to them. This week his message was mostly about having the proper reverence in church, and to avoid whispering and to make sure that one take's ones children to the bathroom in an appropriate way during mass. He mentioned that the church is growing, and soon there could be many hundreds in the congregation each week, once restrictions are lifted from the shutdown. It's important to establish good parish habits now, he said, before it gets out of hand.

The Latin mass at the Idaho church is plainer, with a simpler altar and fewer altar boys. But the microphone at St. Joan picks up much more of the spoken liturgy which is one of the reasons I tune in. Alas the live streaming from St. Joan is not as dependable, however, and sometimes the Youtube stream doesn't even come on at the scheduled time, or it gets dropped after a few minutes for some reason. Everything's a trade off.

As for the Greek Orthodox liturgies, I've noticed the ones from Holy Transfiguration in Marietta and St. Mark in Boca Raton both begin at 5:45 A.M. Pacific, but the Holy Transfiguration liturgy seems to take longer by at least a half hour.

Overall the Greek Orthodox liturgies are more moving to listen to, as they are almost completely sung, with everything clearly audible, and with the priests and helpers trading off (there are even women who participate, always with head coverings). At St. Mark, sometimes all the celebrants sing together, especially announcing the Gospel, and it sounds like a barbershop quartet. The oldest priest--he is at least an octogenarian--is the high tenor. His voice is shaky while chanting by himself, sometimes mushing the words, but he comes through in a beautiful clear tone when he exerts himself.

At Holy Transfiguration, the chanting sounds more like a monastery, with a constant background chant underneath the main celebrant. The church itself is smaller, so the tones resonate against the walls in this way.

Otherwise the liturgies are both almost identical, uncannily so, even down to the list of specific prayers for the week, which are mandated by the orthodox patriarch of North America according to a specific calendar.

This week the Orthodox churches specifically commemorated the Christians who were killed or displaced by the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, a war that is still technically only in cease fire.

There is also to be a special prayer service to be held this Friday at exactly 4:53 P.M. (Eastern Time, I take it) to commemorate the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. It is part of a special worldwide orthodox prayer in response to the first Muslim prayers that will be offered in Hagia Sophia this Friday, when the structure reverts to being a mosque again after ninety years as a secular museum. I'm definitely planning to tune in for that.

As for the Armenian liturgies from Sourp Hagop (St. James) and Sourp Kevork (St. George), I'm still getting accustomed to the subtle difference between the two, as I don't speak any Armenian. The former is inside Montreal whereas the latter is in the suburbs of that city, giving them an obviously different feel. I can tell the interiors apart by sight, but that is all for the moment. I recently discovered that St. John in San Francisco offers a livestream of their Armenian liturgy as well, so I might add that to my livestreams next Sunday.

Armenia is the oldest Christian nation on earth, the king having converted in the early 4th century before Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire (while himself remaining a pagan until the end of this life).

As it happens, in the last week Armenia and its a muslim Azerbaijan have gone to war again. There were riots in the Azerbaijani capital in support of an invasion and a conquest of the Armenian capital. It's hard to get truthful reporting about what is going on, as it is all but ignored in the western press.

I'm still looking for a good Coptic livestream. I think it would be a good addition to the mix.

Update: The St. John Armenian livestream (which comes on at 10:30 Pacific) has a scrolling feed that translates the Amernian into English in real time! Awesome!! The priest gives the announcements in both Enlish and Armenian, so I got a rundown on the parish. There's no one in the church right now besides the priests as the governor of California has shut everything down. Also I wonder if they are breaking the law against singing in church from the executive order signed by the governor (the liturgy is sung by the priests). A quick search tells me the order is being challenged in court on religious freedom grounds. I just "checked in" to their online service on their website, which means I enter the raffle for a handmade Armenian church facemasks. The priest just announced they are looking for help producing their livestream. Makes me wish I knew something about that (other than as a watcher).

Update2 : This Coptic liturgy stream from St. Mary & St. John in the East Bay also does transcription and translation in live time. YES!! Only downside is that it's the same time as other ones I already watch. I love watching things in real time. I feel like a football fan at one of those sports bars where they have all the games on at once. Some of them I'll have to watch on a delay throughout the week (It does make it easier now that I've renounced watching the NFL on Sundays).