The Treaty of Tripoli (Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary) was the first treaty concluded between the United States of America and Tripolitania, signed at Tripoli on November 4, 1796, and at Algiers (for a third-party witness) on January 3, 1797. […]

I saw this shared on Google+, and I liked it so much that I though I would post it here as well. Sadly, I think I am more often the type of Christian of whom the devil says gleefully, “Oh good, he’s up!” Do you remember the story from the Book of Acts 19? Now […]

Recently, in a discussion group, someone posted that they were upset because some Roman Catholic cardinal had posted that the Eastern Orthodox are really the Roman Catholics of the East. Mind you, he said it in the context of a joint meeting between some Eastern Orthodox hierarchs from the geographical region of which he is […]

CNN) — More people have been infected with measles in the United States during the first four months of this year than have been infected in the first four months of the past 18 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data released Thursday reveal a dramatic rise in measles outbreaks. Health […]

I accidentally sent out a post earlier on this subject that I ended up deleting. It was one of those draft posts that was not “ready for prime time.” As with most people, I write a draft, then look at it again later before hitting send. Instead of sending to draft, I sent to publish. […]

First, let me say that—as an Orthodox priest—I cannot support violence. I both must support peaceful resolution, and I am committed to supporting peaceful resolution. Violence is something that we need to dread and see as only an acknowledgment that this is a very fallen and damaged world. At the same time, we also need […]

There is no point to this post. It is for the meat lovers among us. So, do any of you have any good marinating recipes for meat that involve heavy amounts of Greek beer?

“PTSD, don’t leave Nam without it.” Though the picture above is of a patch, I saw the saying above on a t-shirt yesterday. I ached when I saw it. PTSD has been present in every war ever fought. Sometimes it has been called combat fatigue. Sometimes it has been called shell shock. In 1000 BC […]

On 29 March, I published a post on how Pope Francis took practical action to rein in a bishop who had spent inappropriate, and maybe even immoral, amounts of church monies on building a personal mansion. He removed the bishop from the diocese and simply said that the bishop would receive some future assignment. I […]

Thanks to my nephew in Miami for the meme above. I had never caught that the front of his uniform (in the movies) does look just like he is wearing the Flag of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. So, below is the national anthem of Puerto Rico.