DOCSLIB.ORG

Ashland Theological Seminary

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY A VIDEO RESOURCE FOR TEACHING MEDITATIVE PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION TO PEOPLE LIVING WITH TOURETTE SYNDROME A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY JEROME BEERS ASHLAND, OHIO NOVEMBER 12, 2020 To my precious son, Jesse James Beers, living courageously with Tourette Syndrome Contemplative prayer is primarily a prayer of the heart. It is a cry de profundis, out of the deep. A recondite connection is formed between the human soul and the Divine Spirit which transcends the physical plane. Olivier Clement APPROVAL PAGE Accepted by the faculty and the final demonstration examining committee of Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry degree. ________________________________ ________________ Academic Advisor Date _________________________________ ________________ Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program Date ABSTRACT The purpose of this project was to create a resource on spiritual exercises that would provide support for families participating in the Pennsylvania Tourette Syndrome Alliance. The design of the project was to survey a panel of experts. They were given access to the resource and directions in how to use it. A set of statements and open-ended questions were provided for them to record their impressions. The results of the project revealed positive reviews by the experts. They recorded strong affirmation that the goals of the project were achieved. CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………… vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………........... viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ………………………… 1 2. BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL, AND HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS …………………………………… 27 3. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ……………………………. 72 4. DESIGN, PROCEDURE, AND ASSESSMENT ……………. 104 5. REPORTING THE RESULTS ………………………............. 116 6. SUMMARY AND REFLECTIONS …………………………… 138 Appendix 1. PROPOSAL ………………………………………………………. 168 2. ASSESSMENT TOOL …………………………………………… 195 3. RESOURCE CURRICULUM GUIDE …………………………… 201 REFERENCES.……………………………………………..…………….. 203 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Goal #1: Interpersonal Challenges of Person Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome …………………………………………………. 117 Table 2. Goal #7: Preparation for the Day Spiritual Exercise for Person with Tourette Syndrome …………………………………………………. 119 Table 3. Goal #9: Pursuing a Connection with God through Prayer for Tourette Syndrome Family ……………………………………………… 121 Table 4. Goal #8: End of Day Spiritual Exercise for Person with Tourette Syndrome …………………………………………………. 122 Table 5. Goal #2: Interpersonal Challenges the Family of a Person Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome ……………………………………. 124 Table 6. Goal #5: Responding to a Tic Episode through Spiritual Exercises …………… 126 Table 7. Goal #4: Increasing Positive Communication within the Family that has a Member with Tourette Syndrome …………………. 128 Table 8. Goal #3: Assisting the Person with Tourette Syndrome to Express Feelings to their Family ……………………………………….. 130 Table 9. Goal #6: How Families may Provide Emotional Support for the Person Living with Tourette Syndrome ………………………………… 131 Table 10. Composite Scores for all Goals ………………………………………… 133 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This resource and project are the culmination of a twenty-five-year odyssey. Some have walked the whole path with me, while others have made significant contributions at key moments. I am deeply grateful to each person who supported me, named and unnamed. To Dr. Terry Wardle, whose teaching introduced me to deeper levels of ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. To Dr. Anne Halley who may not know the powerful ways Jesus healed me through her class. To Dr. Dawn Morton who kindly motivated me at critical junctures. To Dr. Shane Johnson, my advisor and patient guide. To Dr. David Babb, my Field Consultant who listened gracefully to my initial presentation and supported my sojourn. To my Wellspring Wesleyan Family and Pastor Dawn Glatfelter who lavished me with grace. To Carolyn Brown who connected me to educational experts. To John and Carole Beers and Jim and Audre’ Nelson, Jesse’s grandparents who prayed relentlessly for him and me. To Josiah, Jael, and Jerome, my children who know the joy and the pain. And their spouses and children who joined the journey. To Julie Beers, my life partner who first encouraged me to begin this quest and stood by me every step of the way. To the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, my Healer, and my Hope. viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT OVERVIEW After a long and arduous journey, my son Jesse graduated from high school. He has a job, but not a driver’s license, therefore he walks to work every day. His route takes him through a bank parking lot where he recently experienced a tic explosion. He stood outside the financial institution shouting and jerking. The bank tellers noticed his activity and assumed he was either mentally ill, dangerous or both. They quickly called 911 and summoned the police. Jesse has Tourette Syndrome, a condition which causes him to have motor, vocal and mental tics. Tics are involuntary movements, sounds or thoughts which manifest themselves in his body and mind. Sometimes the tics are loud and violent. People who witness them are often shocked, confused, or frightened. And tics are only the tip of the iceberg. Tourette Syndrome has twelve common associated disorders which include ADD, OCD, ADHD, executive dysfunction, sensory issues, perception challenges and more. Jesse has been diagnosed with eleven of these conditions. A manager and other employees emerged from the bank. From a distance, they informed Jesse that the police were on their way then disappeared back inside. Jesse’s mind swirled with a bevy of thoughts. “Should I go in the bank and try to explain?” “Am I going to get arrested?” “This is so unfair.” 1 “I’m going to be late for work.” In his short life Jesse had already been picked up four times by the police for Tourette’s related incidents. Twice they had driven him to the station. Each time they were understanding but the ordeals were still stressful for a young boy. Now he stood in a bank parking lot awaiting another encounter with law enforcement. Between tics, he managed to call me on his cell phone. The moment I answered I could hear vocal tics and sense the panic in his voice. I immediately and gently directed him toward a meditation practice called, “The Three R’s.” Jesse sat on a parking curb and took several deep, cleansing breaths. He focused on my voice as I quietly encouraged him to close his eyes and rest in the Presence of God. Rest is the first of the three R’s. I spoke the promises of Scripture over Jesse, words of assurance, of peace, of support. Next, I invited him to see Jesus coming toward him. I asked him to intentionally open his heart and mind to receive the love of God. I could hear his breathing stabilize. His tics were beginning to dissipate. Finally, I encouraged Jesse to respond to God with words of gratitude. He began to whisper thanks for the loving care of Jesus. By the time the police arrived, Jesse was comfortable, controlled and prepared to be his own advocate. Later that day, the bank met with my wife Julie, myself, and Jesse to apologize for their misunderstanding. We saw it as another beautiful teaching opportunity. Now when Jesse strolls across the lot, the tellers wave from the window. This project is committed to the use of Christian meditation as an efficacious response to the many struggles of Tourette Syndrome. 2 Purpose Statement and Research Question The purpose of this project was to create a resource on spiritual exercises that will provide support for families participating in the Pennsylvania Tourette Syndrome Alliance. The research question was: In what ways does this resource on spiritual exercises provide support for families participating in the Pennsylvania Tourette Syndrome Alliance? Overview The focus of this project was to create a resource on spiritual exercises that provides support for families participating in the Pennsylvania Tourette Syndrome Alliance. Tourette Syndrome is an inherited, neurological disorder characterized by tics – involuntary, sudden movements, or vocalizations that occur repeatedly. There are as many as twelve identified comorbid conditions associated with Tourette Syndrome. These Other Health Impairments (OHI) include ADD, OCD, ADHD, sensory issues and more. The resource consists of five animated videos, five discussion guides and five meditation podcasts. The user begins by viewing an animated video dramatizing a particular challenge for a person living with Tourette Syndrome. By following the daily life of a boy named Jesse, the viewers encounter various scenarios common to Tourette Syndrome. Educational information, response strategies, feelings and difficulties are enacted through the videos. Common vocabulary words associated with Tourette Syndrome are defined. The videos are intended to be viewed by the diagnosed individual, their family, a school or church class or other social groups. It is designed as a community activity. 3 The second piece is a Question and Answer discussion guide developed to educate, facilitate communication, and encourage empathy. The facilitator leads the conversation and is provided the questions, answers (where appropriate) and additional prompts and explanations. Some questions are specific and relate to the characters and events in the story. This provides a non- threatening, positive and factual way to begin
Recommended publications
  • Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018

    Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018

    Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 Conforming to General Convention 2018 1 Preface Christians have since ancient times honored men and women whose lives represent heroic commitment to Christ and who have borne witness to their faith even at the cost of their lives. Such witnesses, by the grace of God, live in every age. The criteria used in the selection of those to be commemorated in the Episcopal Church are set out below and represent a growing consensus among provinces of the Anglican Communion also engaged in enriching their calendars. What we celebrate in the lives of the saints is the presence of Christ expressing itself in and through particular lives lived in the midst of specific historical circumstances. In the saints we are not dealing primarily with absolutes of perfection but human lives, in all their diversity, open to the motions of the Holy Spirit. Many a holy life, when carefully examined, will reveal flaws or the bias of a particular moment in history or ecclesial perspective. It should encourage us to realize that the saints, like us, are first and foremost redeemed sinners in whom the risen Christ’s words to St. Paul come to fulfillment, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The “lesser feasts” provide opportunities for optional observance. They are not intended to replace the fundamental celebration of Sunday and major Holy Days. As the Standing Liturgical Commission and the General Convention add or delete names from the calendar, successive editions of this volume will be published, each edition bearing in the title the date of the General Convention to which it is a response.
  • Nil Sorsky: the Authentic Writings Early 18Th Century Miniature of Nil Sorsky and His Skete (State Historical Museum Moscow, Uvarov Collection, No

    Nil Sorsky: the Authentic Writings Early 18Th Century Miniature of Nil Sorsky and His Skete (State Historical Museum Moscow, Uvarov Collection, No

    CISTER C IAN STUDIES SERIES : N UMBER T WO HUNDRED T WENTY -ONE David M. Goldfrank Nil Sorsky: The Authentic Writings Early 18th century miniature of Nil Sorsky and his skete (State Historical Museum Moscow, Uvarov Collection, No. 107. B 1?). CISTER C IAN STUDIES SERIES : N UMBER T WO H UNDRED TWENTY -ONE Nil Sorsky: The Authentic Writings translated, edited, and introduced by David M. Goldfrank Cistercian Publications Kalamazoo, Michigan © Translation and Introduction, David M. Goldfrank, 2008 The work of Cistercian Publications is made possible in part by support from Western Michigan University to The Institute of Cistercian Studies Nil Sorsky, 1433/1434-1508 Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Nil, Sorskii, Saint, ca. 1433–1508. [Works. English. 2008] Nil Sorsky : the authentic writings / translated, edited, and introduced by David M. Goldfrank. p. cm.—(Cistercian studies series ; no. 221) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes. ISBN 978-0-87907-321-3 (pbk.) 1. Spiritual life—Russkaia pravoslavnaia tserkov‚. 2. Monasticism and religious orders, Orthodox Eastern—Russia—Rules. 3. Nil, Sorskii, Saint, ca. 1433–1508—Correspondence. I. Goldfrank, David M. II. Title. III. Title: Authentic writings. BX597.N52A2 2008 248.4'819—dc22 2008008410 Printed in the United States of America ∆ Estivn ejn hJmi'n nohto;~ povlemo~ tou' aijsqhtou' calepwvtero~. ¿st; mysla rat;, vnas= samäx, h[v;stv÷nyã l[täi¡wi. — Philotheus the Sinaite — Within our very selves is a war of the mind fiercer than of the senses. Fk 2: 274; Eparkh. 344: 343v Table of Contents Author’s Preface xi Table of Bibliographic Abbreviations xvii Transliteration from Cyrillic Letters xx Technical Abbreviations in the Footnotes xxi Part I: Toward a Study of Nil Sorsky I.
  • Repentance As Divine Communion in St. Symeon the New Theologian´S Hymns of Divine Love

    Repentance As Divine Communion in St. Symeon the New Theologian´S Hymns of Divine Love

    International Journal of Orthodox Theology 11:1 (2020) 7 urn:nbn:de:0276-2020-1025 John Anthony McGuckin Repentance as Divine Communion in St. Symeon the New Theologian´s Hymns of Divine Love Abstract Much English language scholarship on St. Symeon the New Theologian has, perhaps understandably, been intri- gued by and focused on the saint's narrative of his luminous visions of the Lord. But this has often served to Archpriest John Anthony distract readers from the primary McGuckin is the Nielsen thrust of the most rhapsodic and ec- Professor of Byzantine static of all his writings, the Hymns Theology Emeritus at Uni- of Divine Love. This paper argues that on Theological Seminary, New York, Professor of this major teaching is the doctrine of Early Christian Thought in radical repentance that the saint the Theological Faculty of espouses: and he does it in such a way Oxford University, Rector as to redirect the flow of earli- of St. Gregory's Orthodox Mission in St. Anne's on er Christian teaching on the develop- Sea in England, and a ping stages of the spiritual life in a Fellow of the British Royal profoundly innovative manner. Historical Society. 8 John Anthony McGuckin Rather than seeing re-pentance as a 'beginner's stage' in spiri- tuality, to be succeeded by 'unitive' and 'contemplative' stages (as in many manuals of spiritual theology which suppose they thus reproduce Pseudo-Dionysios) Symeon appears to pro- ject radical and heartfelt repentance as the royal road to the deepest level of communion with Christ. For him, repentance is one of the highest spiritual states, not the lowest.
  • Chapter 2 Orthodox Church Life A. Church Etiquette an Orthodox

    Chapter 2 Orthodox Church Life A. Church Etiquette an Orthodox

    chapter 2 Orthodox Church Life A. Church Etiquette The Church is the earthly heaven in which the heavenly God dwells and moves. An Orthodox Church is that part of God’s creation which has been set apart and “reclaimed” for the Kingdom of God. Within its walls, the heavenly and earthly realms meet, outside time, in the acts of worship and Sacrifice offered there to God. Angels assist the Priest during the Divine Liturgy, and Saints and members of the Church Triumphant participate in the Ser- vices. The Blessed Theotokos, the Mother of God, is also present and, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ is invisibly present wher- ever two or three gather in His Name, just as He is always present in the reserved Eucharist preserved on the Holy Table of most Orthodox Churches. Given these very significant spiritual realities, we should al- ways approach an Orthodox Church with the deepest attitude of reverence. Even when passing an Orthodox Church on foot or in a car, we always cross ourselves out of respect for the presence of God therein. It is, indeed, unthinkable that we should ever pass in front of an Orthodox Church without showing such rev- erence. Therefore, it is obvious that we must approach our meeting with the heavenly realm during Divine Services with careful and proper preparation. When preparing for Church, we should always dress as we would for a visit to an important dignitary. After all, we are about to enter into the very presence of God. Therefore, casual apparel is not appropriate. For example, shorts should never be St.
  • The Salmon of Knowledge, the Cloud of Unknowing, and Other Accounts of Instant Knowing

    The Salmon of Knowledge, the Cloud of Unknowing, and Other Accounts of Instant Knowing

    Studies in Spirituality 26, 217-248. doi: 10.2143/SIS.26.0.3180809 © 2016 by Studies in Spirituality. All rights reserved. MICHAEL MCGLYNN THE SaLMON OF KNOWLEDGE, THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING, AND OtHER ACCOUNts OF INstaNt KNOWiNG SUMMARY – This article considers the fourteenth-century treatise The Cloud of Unknowing as a description of instant, non-sensory cognition. The text has an ostensibly particular function as an instruction manual in Christian contemplation, but bears on a universal experience, that of quickly knowing without knowing how we know. To demonstrate the universality of quick knowing, the literary motif of instant knowing is briefly considered, and a survey of intuition and non-sensory cognition in cognitive science is sustained throughout. A case is made that the author-mystic’s experience of unknowing is not unrelated to some aspects of everyday cognition. A corollary argument is made that early religious and literary texts provide new meaning when viewed as ethnographically and empirically valuable (as opposed to recursive and indeterminate). 1. NOWHERE BODILY There is a robust and continuous tradition in the mythical and mystical texts of medieval Europe which posit, implicitly or explicitly, a theory of cognition beyond sensation, of knowing beyond physicality. This robust tradition stretches from the oldest mythical narratives of Europe through the present-day West, operating under a scientific paradigm. Toward the beginning of our chronology, or at least the beginning of the medieval period, the legendary Irish hero
  • Holy Ghosts: Romantic Asceticism and Its Figural Phantoms

    Holy Ghosts: Romantic Asceticism and Its Figural Phantoms

    HOLY GHOSTS: ROMANTIC ASCETICISM AND ITS FIGURAL PHANTOMS by ANNA CARROLL A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of English and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2015 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Anna Carroll Title: Holy Ghosts: Romantic Asceticism and Its Figural Phantoms This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of English by: Forest Pyle Chairperson Paul Peppis Core Member Karen Ford Core Member Ken Calhoon Institutional Representative and Scott L. Pratt Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded December 2015 ii © 2015 Anna Carroll iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Anna Carroll Doctor of Philosophy Department of English December 2015 Title: Holy Ghosts: Romantic Asceticism and Its Figural Phantoms This dissertation reconsiders sacred tropes in the Romantic poetry of William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, and John Keats within the context of ascetic performances and written saints’ lives. I argue that reading these poets as ascetic figures helps us to better understand Romantic isolation as a deeply social engagement, for an ascetic rejects his social milieu in order to call for the sanctification of a corrupt community. Asceticism redraws the lines of Romantic immanent critique of nineteenth-century England and newly explains the ghostly afterlives of poets whose literary personae transcend their biographical lives. Furthermore, this study takes up the ways in which the foundational ascetic tropes of Romantic poetry bind the major poets together in an impenetrable canon of writers with holy vows to poetry and to each other.
  • Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England

    Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England

    Bede©s Ecclesiastical History of England Author(s): Bede, St. ("The Venerable," c. 673-735) (Translator) Publisher: Description: The Ecclesiastical History of England examines the religious and political history of the Anglo-Saxons from the fifth century to 731 AD. St. Bede©s historical survey opens with a broad outline of Roman Britain©s geography and history. St. Bede pays special attention to the disagreement between Roman and Celtic Christians, the dates and locations of significant events in the Christian calendar, and political upheaval during the 600©s. St. Bede collected information from a variety of monasteries, early Church and government writings, and the oral histories of Rome and Britain. This book is useful to people looking for a brief survey of religious and political fig- ures and events in Anglo-Saxon history. Readers should re- cognize that St. Bede©s religious and political biases are subtly reflected in his historiography, diminishing its objectiv- ity. Nonetheless, his Ecclesiastical History of England is one of the most important texts of the Anglo-Saxon history. The book©s historical import is evidenced by the fact that nearly 200 hand written copies were produced in the Middle Ages. St. Bede©s text has since been translated into several different languages. Emmalon Davis CCEL Staff Writer Subjects: Christianity History By Region or Country i Contents Title Page 1 Preface 2 Introduction 3 Life of Bede 11 The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation 18 Book I 18 I. Of the Situation of Britain and Ireland, and of their ancient inhabitants 19 II. How Caius Julius Caesar was the first Roman that came into Britain.
  • December 24, 2017 29Th Sunday After Pentecost

    December 24, 2017 29Th Sunday After Pentecost

    We would like to welcome all parish visitors and invite you to join us after the Liturgy for Coffee hour. ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE MOTHER OF GOD OCA – Diocese of New York & New Jersey The Most Reverend Michael, Archbishop of NY & the Diocese of NY/NJ V. Rev. Dr. Matthew Searfoorce, Temporary Rector Sub-Deacon Edward Dawson Sub-Deacon Vlashi Parish Council President: Andrew Romanofsky Parish Council Vice President: Dean Inferrera HYMNS OF THE DAY Resurrectional Troparion in the Tone 4 When the women disciples of the Lord learned from the angel the joyous message of thy Resurrection, they cast away the ancestral curse and elatedly told the apostles: “Death is overthrown! Christ God is risen, granting the world great mercy!” Troparion for Forefathers in Tone 2 Great are the accomplishments of faith, for the three Holy Youths rejoice in the fountain of flames as though in the waters of rest; and the Prophet Daniel appeared a shepherd to the lions as though they were sheep. So by their prayers, O Christ God, save our souls! Troparion of the Forefeast in Tone 4 Mary was of David’s seed, so she went with Joseph to register in Bethlehem. She bore in her womb the Fruit not sown by man. The time for the birth was at hand. Since there was no room at the inn, the cave became a beautiful palace for the Queen. Christ is born, raising up the image that fell of old. Kontakion for Forefathers in Tone 1 Rejoice, O Bethlehem! Prepare thyself, O Ephratha! The Lamb is on her way to give birth to the Chief Shepherd she carries in her womb.
  • The “Anchorite Within”: Basil of Caesarea's Erotapokrisis 7 and The

    The “Anchorite Within”: Basil of Caesarea's Erotapokrisis 7 and The

    Religion &Theology Religion & Theology 17 (2010) 268–288 brill.nl/rt The “Anchorite Within”: Basil of Caesarea’s Erotapokrisis 7 and the Ascetic Challenge to Christian Identity Stephen R. Lloyd-Moffett Philosophy Department, Bldg. 47, Room 37, California Polytechnic State University, 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA, 93407-0327 United States of America [email protected] Abstract Basil the Great has traditionally been seen as an opponent of solitary asceticism. It is however noteworthy that the form of hermitic life, which he discourages is nowhere to be found in Cap- padocia at the time. Instead his opponent is a parody or imagined extreme serving to highlight the dangers of an isolated, privatized Christian identity that he worries may be creeping into fourth century Christian asceticism. Keywords Cenobitic life, anchoritic life, rhetorical devices, Basil the Great Basil of Caesarea is the “enemy of the hermits,” according to a recent com- mentator.1 This judgment is grounded exclusively on Basil’s commentary found in Erotapokrisis 7 of the long rules of the Asceticon, in which anchorites are presented as not only antithetical to the Christian mission but nearly non- human due to their complete rejection of the social world. No patristic writ- ing, East or West, seemingly dismisses the anchoritic life with such disdain.2 The tendency of interpreters – ancient and modern – is to project later monas- tic debates onto Basil’s text. Thus this passage must be a debate about a ceno- bitic life versus an anchoritic one, the monastery versus the cave. However, this essay argues that Basil’s concern is not so much with a competing monastic 1 Augustine Holmes, A Life Pleasing to God: The Spirituality of the Rules of St.
  • Online Service Julian of Norwich: All Shall Be Well a Mediaeval Anchorite

    Online Service Julian of Norwich: All Shall Be Well a Mediaeval Anchorite

    Online Service Julian of Norwich: All shall be well A mediaeval anchorite speaks to a church in isolation 3rd May 2020 10.30am Introduction: The Revd Canon Dr Rowan Williams, Precentor In the week to come we will celebrate the feast day of a remarkable woman- the person we know as Julian of Norwich. In fact we know very little about her, and Julian may not even have been her name. At an unknown point in her life, she became an anchoress attached to the Church of St Julian in Norwich, and she may have been identified by the name of the church rather than her own. What we do know is that on May 8th in the year 1373, when she was thirty years old and suffering from what was expected to be a terminal illness, she experienced a series of sixteen visions, which revealed aspects of the love of God, and particularly the suffering of Christ on the cross. Following her recovery, she spent the next twenty years of her life writing down the things she had seen and pondering their meaning. These writings became the first book written by a woman in English, The Revelations of Divine Love. She clearly became known for her wisdom, and for giving what we might now call spiritual direction to people who came to the church to seek her advice. She died around the year 1417. During this service we will ponder some of the lessons Julian has left for us through her writing; and the relevance of a life lived, literally, in lockdown.
  • A Guide to Orthodox Life

    A Guide to Orthodox Life

    Father David Cownie and Presbytera Juliana Cownie A GUIDE TO ORTHODOX LIFE Some Beliefs, Customs, and Traditions of the Church Second Edition center for traditionalist orthodox studies Etna, California The publication of this book was made possible by the generosity of Mr. Alexander Kolimantzeros Colman and Dr. Dionysios Ad- amis, to whom the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies and the authors are particularly indebted. library of congress catalog card number – © by Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies All rights reserved isbn ––– About the Authors The Reverend David Cownie is pastor of the Saint Juvenaly of Alaska Old Calendar Greek Orthodox Church in Houston, Texas. A convert to the Orthodox Faith, he is a graduate of San Diego Mesa College and holds the Diploma and the Licentiate in Orthodox Theological Studies from the Center for Tradi- tionalist Orthodox Studies. Presbytera Juliana Cownie is also a convert to the Orthodox Faith. She studied at San Diego City College and completed the Diploma in Orthodox Theological Studies at the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies. Presbytera Juliana has contrib- uted numerous articles and scholarly reviews to the Center’s religious quarterly, Orthodox Tradition. She and Father David are the parents of two daughters. Acknowledgements We would like to express our gratitude to His Eminence, the Most Reverend Cyprian, President of the Synod of Bishops of the True (Old Calendar) Orthodox Church of Greece and a man of true Christian principle and conscience, who helped to call us from darkness into the light of True Orthodoxy and who blessed us to write this book. We would also like sincerely to thank His Grace, the Right Reverend Chrysostomos, Titular Bishop of Christianoupolis and assistant to Metropolitan Cypri- an, and the Fathers of the Holy Monastery of Saints Cyprian and Justina in Fili, Greece, who gave us, during our various visits to their sacred haven, instruction in our Faith and evidence that Angels do indeed dwell in the flesh.
  • Springs of Carmel

    Springs of Carmel

    THE SPRINGS OF CARMEL Phase I Formation Lesson 9 Required Reading By Peter Slattery Elijah Carmelites see themselves as sons and daughters of the prophet Elijah. Because they were hermit-pilgrims living a life of silence and prayer on Mount Carmel, they felt a close association with Elijah. They did not just pluck this association out of the air. The desert fathers always saw John the Baptist and Elijah as models for hermits and monks. However, Mount Carmel was a holy place because Elijah, the Tishbite, had done great things for God there. It is not surprising then that the Latin hermits who settled on Mount Carmel took Elijah as a model to imitate. Jacques de Vitry, the Bishop of Acre from 1216-1228, described, “the hermits on Mount Carmel as leading solitary lives in imitation of the holy anchorite, Elijah, where like bees of the Lord, they laid up sweet spiritual honey in little comb-like cells.” The Fathers of the Church saw religious life as a response to a Gospel call. Since they reasoned that the New Testament is foreshadowed in the Old Testament, therefore, there should be types of the monastic life in the Old Testament. Thus, the Fathers saw Elijah as such a type. Some of the early Fathers, for example Justin and Irenaeus, offer Elijah as a model for the perfect life. Origen cites Elijah as a proof of the efficacy of prayer, while Athanasius, in his Life of Anthony, recalls the saying of the Father of religious life that all who make profession of the solitary life must take the great Elijah as their model and see in his life what their lives must be.