The late Fr. Alexander Schmemann’s wry remarks to the New York Times following his return from the Second Vatican Council are well known. Less well known, it seems, are his thoughts on the Council’s Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches (Orientalium Ecclesiarum). The full text of the decree with Fr. Alexander’s response is available online here. For those interested only in Schmemann’s words, I have taken the liberty of quoting them in full below. My brief remarks follow.
The following is a list of liturgical/liturgical-related books I am selling soon on EBay, but am offering here first at a discount. All prices include shipping, which means media mail with tracking. Any further services, such as priority mail or shipping via FedEx or UPS, will incur additional costs. For those who purchase multiple items, I am willing to provide discounts, depending on what is being purchased and the volume. In the interest of saving space, I have not included photos, but would be happy to provide them if you wish.
Everything is being sold on a first come, first served basis. However, if you see an item that you want and you can’t afford for a few days to a week, I may be willing to put a “hold” on the item so long as you honestly intend to pay for it. I accept payments using Google Wallet, Paypal, or, absent those, I will wait for a check or money order, but I will not ship until payment has been received and cleared.
If need be, I can provide references of past buyers. Please email me at: opuspublicum at g mail dot com. Or click the link on the “Contact” page.
A friend once confided in me that the problem with my politics, assuming I have “a politics,” is that its predicated on a romantic view of the past which cannot be ratified in the present. Never one to turn down an argument, especially a pointless one, I couldn’t help poking back a bit, inquiring over and over what my politics ought to look like in the light of the “reality” he assumed custody over. Nothing came of it. Nothing could come of it. For it was clear to me that the discussion was far less about what I actually believe (and why) and much more to do with providing him something to scoff at. People love to scoff, even if they don’t admit it openly. Scoffing provides a thin layer of surety that one’s own view(s) are intrinsically superior. If one could try to see things from another point of view and appreciate the merits, then what follows? Self-questioning? Reexamination? Doubt? Heaven forbid.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that Orthodoxy is under progressive captivity in America, or so says Fr. Johannes Jacobse. Writing partially in response to Orthodox dissent over the 2013 Acton Institute/St. Vladimir’s Seminary conference on poverty, Fr. Jacbse attributes any and all Orthodox dissatisfaction with Acton’s pro-market agenda to “Orthodox Progressives,” an undefined cabal of Christians whose vision is “materialist,” that is one which holds that “man is a biological machine” and “a better society is achieved by manipulating the mechanisms of state.” While these elements may be part of the progressive vision writ large, it still doesn’t mean they are part of a peculiarly “Orthodox Progressive” vision, assuming such a vision exists in the first place. By refusing to identify a single soul who may be fairly called an “Orthodox Progressive,” Fr. Jacobse sets up a convenient hobgoblin that no right-thinking man would want anything to do with. The problem is that he may not exist. But if he does exist, rest assured that any of his ideas which may not coalesce with Acton’s preferred economic ideology are wrong a priori.
Updated 6/7
Please see my previous listing of liturgical books for the general details on purchasing these books. I have not included elaborate descriptions of these volumes since you can find all of them online. Unlike the liturgical books, however, there is a flat $2 fee that covers as many books as you want. I will waive the fee if any of these books are combined with the pricier liturgical items. None of the books have markings inside unless otherwise noted. Any book highlighted in bold is either out of print or hard to find, which explains the price.
Please feel free to-recheck this post or updates. I will try to note as soon as possible when an item has sold.
Please see more recent listing here.
First, Opus Publicum has its own domain name: www.opuspublicum.com
Second, the “About” page has been updated.
And third, in due course I will be listing a number of books on here at a modest discount before they make their way onto eBay, Alibris, Amazon, etc. Some of the “hot” items include several old breviary sets, liturgical music books, and a number of other items that will no doubt be of interest to my Catholic readers.
The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church is little known outside of Orthodox circles, and certainly underappreciated within them. The following excerpt, from Chapter VII (“Property”), will form the backbone of subsequent posts. As such I am providing the chapter here in full without the bold highlighting that normally accompanies it. It is important to consider the chapter in full, and not simply a few “tag lines” lacking context.
Collected here, for the first time, are the best arguments against universalism. Decades of research went into this.
