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<div><u>Itinerary</u>: Gt. Britain, West Europe, East Europe,
(Greece, Italy), Iberian Peninsula</div>
<div><u>Team</u>: Frank Hilliard, George West, Rose West, Rod Rippel, part
time-Katrin
Ogilvy-
Australia, Bud Tillinghast-England) </div>
<div><u>Purpose</u>: Courses in GB, West Eur. and Portugal; Research in East
Europe.</div>
<div><u>Amplified Note:</u> From Rippel’s Trip Journal</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">A Vivid Memory -
(EI European Team, Fall 1968) </font></span></div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"></font></span> </div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">I remember being so
overwhelmed when I heard a quartet of mature (older men) priests singing
The Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania! In bitterly
cold November! After the Liturgy one of the priests<span style=""> </span>surprised us by saying, “Stay around we
are going to baptize two infant twins in the huge cauldron in the Apse? (or
Nave?). It will be sung by a half dozen men!” It was
ethereal.! One of the priests who spoke broken English acted as a running
commentator on what was going on. Punctuated by the screams of the naked
babies who were being held upside down by their heels and being plunged under
the near freezing water, not once, but three times in the name of the Father
, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghost!! </font></span></div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"></font></span> </div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Add to it that the chanters who were circling the huge
cauldron, singing and waving huge golden censures creating a cloud of incense
thick enough to slice and the soto-voiced priest whispering roughly to us
wide-eyed Westerners in a very off-hand, practical manner; “Now he (one of the
priests) is going to cast out the Demons in the water before he shaves the
babies heads (to symbolize their monk-hood) and then he is going to put a drop
oil in each armpit pre-figuring their Last Rites, for Holy Orders, etc.,
etc.” As if they were only doing their Routine Job (i.e., The Work of the
People = Liturgy). It didn’t take much imagination to believe we were back
in the third century<span style="">
</span>Church.</font></span><span style=""></span></div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font face="Tahoma"><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"></font></font></span> </div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">I can’t remember when I’ve been gripped by anything so
powerful! And the priests : it was just Ho-Hum. Stepping over prostrate
bodies as they held up Icons for others to kiss as they moved in circles between
the mundane and the profane separated by a Reredos Screen.<span style=""> </span><u>This was all in the Fall of 1968
behind the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe</u>.<span style=""> </span>What a memorable
experience.</font></span></div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"></font></span> </div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Afterward we had an audience with his Holiness, the
Patriarch of Romania's Secretary, who was himself a Bishop.<span style=""> </span>In the Orthodox communions only the
monastic orders are celibate and eligible for the episcopacy and higher
offices.<span style=""> </span>Ordinary priests are
allowed to marry.<span style=""> </span>The Secretary
Bishop gave each of us a small 4" x 6" icon which had been blessed by the
Patriarch himself!<span style=""> </span>The Secretary
spoke excellent English.<span style=""> </span>When we
asked him about the relationship of Romania, and specifically the Church, with
the dominating presence of Russia in their situation, the Secretary was very
diplomatic in his response:<span style=""> </span>"Oh, we
love the Russian Bear!<span style=""> </span>As you know,
He loves to hug us, and the bear's hugs are very warm and strong.<span style=""> </span>But, of course, when He hugs so tightly
we smell his armpits!" </font><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;"> </font></span></span></div>
<div class="yiv8293966743MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><font style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;">Rod Rippel (from my trip Journal,<span style=""> </span>East Europe Ecumenical Institute
Research Team,<span style=""> </span>November
1968).</font></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>OE mailing list<br><a ymailto="mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net" href="mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net">OE@lists.wedgeblade.net</a><br><a href="http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net" target="_blank">http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net</a><br><br><br></div> </div> </div> </div></div></body></html>