Yesterday The Byzantine Forum had quite a day. At 11:30 last night there were 55 active threads, 7,250 page views by 1,003 unique computers.

On a normal day there are between 20-30 active threads. Since Christmas readership on the Forum is up by about 12%.

At some point in the near future we will be moving the Forum to a speedier server and doing software upgrades.

Dear Admin:

Could it be that more and more RC
"controversialists" like me are hooking up of late, and then hooked up, with this great Forum of yours?

AmdG

No doubt but that many of us Latins are attracted to the depth and high quality of the discussions going on here.

Khrystyna

Dear Administrator,

Congratulations!

One of the great things about this Forum is that it avoids the pitfalls of "narrow" points of view such as are to be had on all sorts of other forums that can be characterized as, for example, "Converts-R-Us.nut" or "LatinsR4ever.orgus"

In addition, I really think your willingness to haul posters up on the carpet for this or that makes your Forum really sexy and desireable!

And it is always "Forum" and never "Bored."

Alex

Having had many bad experiences on those "Orthodox Convert" sites as well as those RC "we are the only Catholic" sites This forum has been a breath of fresh air. Many thanks to the Administrator and to those on the board who make it so special!

Alex,

Sexy? Hmmmm.... I think you may be spending way too much time on the internet. :p

Admin

Dear Administrator,

I only visit here and on EWTN as well as "Ukrainian Orthodoxy!"

It's all stimulating, but not in the way we are talking about here . . .

But you are right - I need to focus on my job-hunt.

To paraphrase Augustine when he was living in sin, "Lord convert me - but not yet!"

Alex

Dear Admin and Alex:

And this Forum could become certainly more exciting if our Admin, after "haul(ing) posters up on the carpet for this or that," allow them to stay!

Once in a while, we need the Serafins and MacAlpines to liven up things.

AmdG

Dear Amado,

Well, we can always rely on you to turn us on!

Alex

AmdG,

Since The Byzantine Forum went online in 1998 less than 20 people have had their posting privileges suspended. None of those who lost posting privileges lost them because of the opinions they presented. Each who lost posting privileges did so because of uncharitable behavior or violation of Forum rules.

Mr. John McAlpine was not banned from the Forum. He was reminded several times that he needed to abide by the Forum rules. The decision to stop participating here was his. He is most welcome to participate again as long as he abides by the rules.

Admin

Dear Admin:

I understand fully your position and I appreciate your inspired guidance of some wayward posters.

That said, and to paraphrase that old saying: should we be afraid of the "Serafins" and the
"MacAlpines"?

AmdG

AmdG,

The rules that are enforced here are those that are based upon the rule of charity in all things. I’m not sure how this can be confused with fear of ideas or people. No one is exempt from the rule of charity.

Admin

Yet another Mnohaya Lita to the Administrator...many happy and blessed posts (and I don't mean cereal )

"The rules that are enforced here are those that are based upon the rule of charity in all things. I'm not sure how this can be confused with fear of ideas or people. No one is exempt from the rule of charity.

Admin"

Having an administrator and moderators who encourage all to follow the rule of love is a powerful enabler of open and honest discussion. It makes people feel that what they say will be respected even if others disagree. Their ideas and beliefs are being analyzed and discussed. The posters are not.

It is the difference that helps to create a real cyber community of Christians as well as other humans of good will here at the Forum.

Vive la difference.

(Down Alex!)

Steve

A 'by the way' comment might fit here - I wouldn't want to start a thread on this and annoy someone - but you know I found myself getting a little confused by the new names as I saw Jenny suddenly become Janka.
Thanks to all of you who aren't busy becoming someone else quite so quickly .... !

Slightly off topic - BUT - bearing in mind CofS's comments about names - well I now see we have a new member with the name of Alex !! - and what will oour own Orthodox Catholic do now when he signs his posts - will he use the Ukie version of his name ?

Watch this space to find out.

Anhelyna [ who has decided to use that permanently since an Angelica signed on - and I don't want to confuse people ]

Dear CofS,

You're welcome. :p

Mor Ephrem - still the same since December 2000 (I think that's when I first joined anyway). :p

Mor Ephrem - still the same since December 2000 (I think that's when I first joined anyway). :p


Oh yeah - and who was given a most exalted title by one of the illustrious members ?

Dear C of S,

Sorry for any confusion that my renaming of East-ward-looking Latins causes!

One doesn't need a Slavic-sounding name to be into the Eastern Church, but I haven't heard any complaints yet!

How about "Jovanka" for you?

Mor Ephrem has had the same consistent name throughout and a Slavic sounding name would not be appropriate for him.

But if he wanted a name change, given he is of the tradition of St Thomas of India, I would suggest the name of "Thomas Mor!"

Alex

Dear Alex,

Not that I want to change my name or anything, but I always liked Saint Thomas More. I don't know all that much about him, but his last words before his execution always struck me as having an in-your-face attitude, and I like things like that.

Alex,
No, no -- can't I just say "Communion-of-Saints" with an accent, and you'll be content ....?

Dear Mor Ephrem,
You know, I believe there's a book out that contains the letters of Saint Thomas More, as well as a couple of good biographies. I don't have any of these myself, but I think I have seen them ... just to let you know when you have the time, you'll be able to read "more" about him...
And let us always pray for the intercession of the saints,
c of s

Dear Qathuliqa Mor,

As you know, St Thomas More was very "in your face" before his martyrdom.

The night before, he told the gaoler that he "had changed his mind."

The man ran to the King's quarters and King Henry himself rose at midnight in all his royal finery and went to the Tower to see his friend Thomas . . .

More then looked up innocently at the King and told him, "Sire, I thought up shaving off my beard before my execution - but I changed my mind!"

He carried a red-coloured cross to the scaffold the next day - a picture of him with it survives in a private collection belonging to one of his descendants.

He asked Thomas Cranmer NOT to minister to him which offended the Archbishop of Canterbury . . .

His family later added another "o" to their family name to come up with "Moore" so as to disguise themselves a bit.

It is interesting that Roger Moore who played "The Saint" is actually a direct descendant of Thomas More.

I met Thomas Moore, the spiritual/psychological writer, who was a former Servite Monk and who is very conscious of his lineage from St Thomas More.

Alex

Glory to Jesus Christ!
Glory to Him Forever!

What would be the Ukrainian version of the name "Adam"?

Adam

What would be the Ukrainian version of the name "Adam"?

I was wonderin' the same thing.

"Adam" Kemner

Dunno about the Ukie language, but me late baba would have called you Adamku - with the accent on the second syllable, both a's short, and the u long.

Dear Adam,

In Ukie, this would be "Ah-DAHM/ with the "ahhs," like you would tell a doctor when he's checking your throat, , and with the emphasis on the second syllable, rather than the first, as it is in English.

"Adamku" would be a form of the Vocative Case by someone who knows you well as in "Hey, Adam/ku!" or as in "Adam/ku, be good!"

Otherwise, the Vocative would be "Adam/eh!"

There is a joke about the origin of the names "Adam and Eve."

Our First Parents were having an argument and Eve threatened by saying, "Ah-DAHM!" ("I'll give you one," as in a punch with the fist or the like).

To which Adam replied by saying, "Eh-voh!" (Vocative of "Eva" meaning, in this context, "Like I'm afraid of you!").

Alex

Dear Alex:

Correction, please. . .

If I remember it right, Adam responded to Eve: "It seems you have just lost a leaf!!!

AmdG

"Adamku" That is neato. All I know is that my son would be (in OCS) "Ioanna Zlatousta Adamavicha" and what ever "of the combs" would translate into OCS.

Dear Amado,

Or else Adam, when he met Eve, himself turned over a new leaf . . .

My, but you ARE branching out, aren't you?

Alex

Dear Adamku!

Yes, your son, as John, would be "Ioann Adamovich (and your surname)"

The East Slavs especially made much of using the three names, Christian Name (denoting their Patron Saint), then the Patronym (Father's Christian name with "ovych" or "ivna" or "ovna" at the end = "son of a vych") and the Surname which in older times often referred to the city or town you lived in etc.

Two or more Christian names are not allowed in the Byzantine tradition - only one Patron Saint per person.

The tradition also was to measure a new-born baby and to cut a piece of board the same length ("taking the full measure") and then writing the patron saint's icon on that board for the baby.

Is this too much information?

Alex

Dear Alex,

What if we consider the two words of "Ioann Zlatoust" as one name (this is how we refer to him in church, and the name with which he receives Communion). Just plain "John" to my wife and I is more like a nickname. How would that be treated then?

The Surname being a town or local was reserved for gentry and aristocracy from whence my family comes. We were carpenters and shipwrights (one side had shipyards until our beloved Lutheran Kaiser appropriated them for his use). How we got our name is lost to us in my immediate family.

I wish i would have known more about the tradition of the board and the Ikon being written on it. I would have been all over that. My wife wants more, so there will be other opportunities.

LOL

ChristTeen287

Dear Akemner,

Zlatoust? Hmmmm . . .

It is a unique name.

It is true that "John" is the most popular and well-used name going.

There is an incredible number of St Johns in the calendar.

As a "for instance," when two hundred British martyrs under the English Kings were beatified some time ago, a total of 73 out of the 200 bore the Christian name "John . . ."

One may of differentiating is, of course, adding the Patronym, "John Adamovich."

Zlatoust is fine, if you like!

My second name is "John" and I was named primarily for St John de Brebeuf at whose intercession I was conceived, or so the story goes . . .

I sometimes use "Jean-de-Brebeuf" but only in specific contexts . . .

Alex

Dear Alex:



Just wait when Autumn came upon the Garden . . .

AmdG

Dear Amado,

So I suppose the next thing you'll be suggesting is that that is where the word, "tummy" came from?

Alex