burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness

I feel like I should have lots more specific responses, but really I just wanted to say wow, I'm so glad you wrote all this out, because I was especially curious to hear your thoughts/reactions to something so vastly different from low church Protestantism. (And I would *love* to hear about your e-mail exchange with the priest--hope he responds to you in satisfactory detail. Satisfactory in terms of length and clarity, at least, even if you don't find it theologically agreeable :) I'm pretty boggled by the teleportation thing too since that's an idea I don't believe I've ever heard hinted at before, though I did always wonder how perpetual virginity could be tenable.) I never really saw Orthodox worship as something that would be appealing to me, either, and of course I still don't know for sure since I've had so little exposure so far; I still can't imagine ever considering myself High Church per se, but I think what attracts me to Orthodox liturgy and the liturgy at St John's (which is still relatively Low Church) is the way the theology's inseparable from the ritual action; theology richly informs every bit of the worship and vice versa, and I find that intrinsic harmony hard to resist. Looking forward to hearing of your next (Episcopal?) venture.