Teaching English in Russia
Easter: Sunshine and Rest, Meat and Wine
Among all the annual Holy Days (holidays) celebrated by Christians, none is of greater import than Easter. The Grand Miracle of the Incarnation which begins with Christmas reaches its fulfillment here, and even the incredible sacrifice which God the Father made of His own willing Son on Good Friday is ultimately meaningless, says Paul, if Death had been allowed to keep His prize – but Jesus broke forever the power of sin and Death and if that isn’t worth celebrating, nothing ever has been. Not the Super Bowl, not your birthday, not a new bicycle or a baby or anything. Unlike Christmas, which... Read more
One Holy Saturday: The Moment I'm Here For
The word ‘holiday’ only means ‘holy day,’ and even if sometimes what it really means is that schools and post offices are closed and there are sales on cars and mattresses, sometimes holidays really do retain some holiness. This Saturday was Holy Saturday, and it was. Saturday was beautiful. Saturday was why I’m in Russia. Saturday was holy. If you haven’t yet read the previous post, about Good Friday, you can do that now; this one will still be here when you’re done, and it will be easier to understand. And: because I am, simply, the worst at getting the pictures I need, I don’t have one of... Read more
Good Friday: School and a Party and the Father who Loved
In trying to do some justice here to the past semester, I have a lot that should have been posted long ago, including several posts, of which this is the first, written a couple of weeks ago but not until now seeing the light of internet. Of these, I really need to start here, in mid-April, with an epic trilogy that really shows bits of most of what I’ve been doing all year. Easter weekend, in all its glory, is far, far too good to be left unshared. Easter often falls on different dates in the Western and Orthodox traditions, but this year it is on the same Sunday for both. The whole weekend... Read more
Unexpected New Directions
It’s really a terrible shame that updating this has fallen off my radar to such a degree that I haven’t been seen here since February. It’s really full spring now, and the semester which fast approached when last I posted is now waning to its home stretch. This second semester has in many ways followed the pattern of the first and found its routines, but it has been by no means boring. I have every intent now, though, of throwing up several posts soon to throw some light to you, the curious, about how the last months have gone. They’ve been less excitingly brand new than the first... Read more