+ I introduced myself and he asked about my background and why I was here. He said I was welcome to ask him any questions I had, and since the teleportation thing was one of the things that had so stuck in my mind, I asked, "Virgin Mary. Where does it come from and why is it so important?" (paraphrase). He was surprised, and I think a little bit impressed, and said something like, "Okay, starting right at the top." He said they believe she came into this world just as we did -- they don't believe in the Immaculate Conception -- and that she's human and is not God (I got the feeling he had had this conversation a lot). We did some back and forth but as intense as I might have liked 'cause I just wasn't feeling like spending forever talking about Mary (though I really would like a solid explanation, so it's definitely going in the increasingly long e-mail I'm writing him) and he talked about how she is spiritually *and* physically and a figure for us to emulate in many ways for example her being one of the few to stay at the foot of the cross, and I pointed out that lots of people are called to do great things and placing her so high/important was troubling to me and if your whole congregation emulates her in all things then you all die out in one generation and Paul thought the end times were coming like next week, but.... I often felt like he only answered part of a question I asked or that he was answering a different question (as if he's used to certain questions and so slips into certain answers even when they don't really address the specifics of my question) and I wonder if partly I let it go because I just didn't wanna enter a heated debate -- 'cause I can get bitchy when I'm dissatisfied with the answers I'm getting. + I asked why all the chanting and he said it comes from monastic tradition, and that since not everyone is blessed with the same vocal abilities as other people, they do some parts (such as the Lord's Prayer) as recitations rather than chants because they feel it's important that everyone be able to participate in them. He talked about how the Orthodox Church has its roots in the Byzantine East as opposed to the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches which have their roots in the West, so there's a very different atmosphere/style. And we had the mini-conversation about Tradition that I mentioned in my orginal post. And he said that as a non-Orthodox I'm allowed to kiss the cross and take Holy Bread and do everything except actually take Communion. + At the time, those were the only things I could think of to ask about since I wasn't looking at my notes and had been kinda overwhelmed by the whole thing. He's definitely getting a long e-mail from me, though.
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Date: 2005-12-13 01:44 am (UTC)+ I introduced myself and he asked about my background and why I was here. He said I was welcome to ask him any questions I had, and since the teleportation thing was one of the things that had so stuck in my mind, I asked, "Virgin Mary. Where does it come from and why is it so important?" (paraphrase). He was surprised, and I think a little bit impressed, and said something like, "Okay, starting right at the top." He said they believe she came into this world just as we did -- they don't believe in the Immaculate Conception -- and that she's human and is not God (I got the feeling he had had this conversation a lot). We did some back and forth but as intense as I might have liked 'cause I just wasn't feeling like spending forever talking about Mary (though I really would like a solid explanation, so it's definitely going in the increasingly long e-mail I'm writing him) and he talked about how she is spiritually *and* physically and a figure for us to emulate in many ways for example her being one of the few to stay at the foot of the cross, and I pointed out that lots of people are called to do great things and placing her so high/important was troubling to me and if your whole congregation emulates her in all things then you all die out in one generation and Paul thought the end times were coming like next week, but.... I often felt like he only answered part of a question I asked or that he was answering a different question (as if he's used to certain questions and so slips into certain answers even when they don't really address the specifics of my question) and I wonder if partly I let it go because I just didn't wanna enter a heated debate -- 'cause I can get bitchy when I'm dissatisfied with the answers I'm getting.
+ I asked why all the chanting and he said it comes from monastic tradition, and that since not everyone is blessed with the same vocal abilities as other people, they do some parts (such as the Lord's Prayer) as recitations rather than chants because they feel it's important that everyone be able to participate in them. He talked about how the Orthodox Church has its roots in the Byzantine East as opposed to the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches which have their roots in the West, so there's a very different atmosphere/style. And we had the mini-conversation about Tradition that I mentioned in my orginal post. And he said that as a non-Orthodox I'm allowed to kiss the cross and take Holy Bread and do everything except actually take Communion.
+ At the time, those were the only things I could think of to ask about since I wasn't looking at my notes and had been kinda overwhelmed by the whole thing. He's definitely getting a long e-mail from me, though.