Year: 2014
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Hirohito’s Religion
David Bergamini writes: The dream of the ancestors to rule theocratically and keep Japan sacred for the sun goddess remained unfulfilled. Hirohito had reservations about the dream. It was too insular, too mystical and unscientific. Because of his training in geography and economics, Hirohito could not think of Japan in isolation but only as a…
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Rucyahana on a BBC documentary
The BBC did the world a service earlier this year when it produced the documentary called Rwanda’s Untold Story. Nothing in the documentary is new, it has all been said before, but in print, and sometimes in academic publications or other out of the way places that most nice Western Christians don’t read. For many people,…
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The Intercession of Icons
In her book The Formation of Christendom, Judith Herrin writes: It was in their role as intercessors between man and God that the icons commanded particular devotion. Numerous legends of women, whose inability to conceive a child (or sometimes, more particularly, a son) was removed by prayers directed to icons, reflect an anxiety common to…
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The Sonrise School and M23
Sonrise School in Rwanda is an almost obligatory stop on the itinerary of Westerners who take trips Rwanda and process through the country. An article on the PEAR USA website recently called it “A Light on a Hill.” The school has undoubtedly done good over the years, but a disturbing case of alleged ethnic hatred…
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Icons and Paganism
Thomas F. Mathews says that Christian icons “…grew out of a strong tradition of pagan panel paintings of the ancient gods…” (p. 179) Mathews points to some glaring examples of this transfer from paganism to eastern Christianity. …a fresco painted directly on a house wall in Karanis to serve as a permanent icon shows the…
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Bishop Ruch Describes Tension and Unity at ACNA Conclave
In a new video to his Diocese, Bishop Stewart Ruch describes his excitement at the bonding experienced last week in the ACNA Conclave: Brothers and Sisters of the Upper Midwest, I want to give you a brief report on what I just experienced at our Provincial Assembly and Convocation over the course of the last…
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Bishop Ruch Describes Tension and Unity at ACNA Conclave
In a new video to his Diocese, Bishop Stewart Ruch describes his excitement at the bonding experienced last week in the ACNA Conclave: Brothers and Sisters of the Upper Midwest, I want to give you a brief report on what I just experienced at our Provincial Assembly and Convocation over the course of the last two weeks.…
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Archbishop Beach and the Charismatic Gifts
People have wondered where Archbishop Beach stands on charismatic gifts in the Church. The following email indicates that he believes in the continuation of the charismatic gifts, as it seems that he quoted from a “word of knowledge” to his church in 2005. From: Parish Administrator Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 9:49 AMTo: Rev. Dr.…
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What Does Archbishop Beach’s Election Mean for ACNA?
What does the election of Bishop Foley Beach mean for ACNA? I have a few guesses and thoughts, all of which may look foolish when his term expires in 2024, but which I am recording nonetheless. 1. The first-generation era of the Realignment is over. Leaders such as Bishop Minns, Chuck Murphy, John Guernsey and…
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Who is Archbishop-elect Foley Beach?
I hope to add links to any information I can find. For now: In 2004, Bishop Beach wrote about why he was leaving the Episcopal Church: I am forty-five years old and for thirty-four of those years I have been an active participant in the Episcopal Church. I was baptized, confirmed, married, ordained a deacon,…