So, if our civil system relies on both written law and common law, are there any western systems that fully and only rely on written laws, with no common law? Well, actually there was an attempt at such a system. What is that system? The Code Napoleón of France, promulgated by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. […]
Of Bible, interpretation, and Supreme Court judges, part 03
OK, so in the USA (and the entire British Empire) we run a mixture of written law and common law. While we say in the USA that the Constitution is the maximum law of the land, that actually does not say as much as we think it does for a two reasons. One is the […]
Of Bible, interpretation, and Supreme Court judges, part 02
Now yesterday, I laid out just some of the very conservative approaches to constitutional law in the United States. But, those are not the only interpretations, and they do not take into account a very important concept called “common law.” You see, our system of justice is not purely written law based, it is also […]
Of Bible, interpretation, and Supreme Court judges, part 01
Strict interpretation or not strict interpretation, that is the question. Actually, it is the question that we have been debating for many years. With Judge Sotomayor the question came back to the fore. No, I am not going to take a position on the judge herself, lest you lose the point of these next couple […]
His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP Announces the Establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla at Antiochian Village
It is with great joy that His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP announces the establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla at the Antiochian Village. The Acting Superior of the convent will be Mother Alexandra (Magan), and we welcome her with joy to the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America. Mother Alexandra will take up residency at the […]
May or may not be small hiatus in posting
My long-postponed outpatient surgery looks like it will finally take place. It had been postponed by the anesthesiologist for cardiac testing. The cardiac testing was eventually done and I was passed. Then, it took a while longer to re-schedule the elective surgery, and, now, finally, it will take place tomorrow. I have heard different things […]
Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 04
Let me quote from a modern Jewish article on musical worship in the synagogue: . . . Until the nineteenth century, the prevalent modality of Jewish worship through musical expression was through the cantor or hazzan—the prayer leader who would improvise elaborate musical lines within the context of the musical guidelines passed aurally from generation […]
Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 03
Psalm 150 1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise […]
Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 02
I am happy to say that someone from the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese made a comment on the part 01 post on instruments in worship. This is a very important post because it mentions that the Western Rite Vicariate is allowed to use the organ as part of their worship service. […]
Why do the Orthodox not use instruments in worship? Part 01
As most of you can tell, the server that hosts this blog was down, or at least unreliable, for several hours, so this is getting posted several hours later than normal. We often get asked why the Eastern Orthodox do not use instruments in worship. While it is true that some of the Greek Orthodox […]
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