www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall President Bush's icon

And don't forget, Jeb and Colomba Bush, are Catholic. Perhaps it was a gift from to GW from them. Anyway, it good to see it displayed in the photo.

This isn't all that odd. I was in the home of one of my best friends (a Methodist, like I myself used to be) and noticed that they had just gotten a very large silver-crusted icon (probably 16''x12'') of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Perhaps this is because her father's considering converting to Catholicism, but nonetheless it happens.

We (ex)Methodists are surprisingly open to traditional forms of Christianit expression!

Logos Teen

Dear Teen Logo,

I've always loved reading about the historic devotion of the Methodists and I think they are very close to Catholics and Orthodox in terms of sanctification and development of spirituality, as you know.

There is an online article by a Methodist professor of theology on the tradition of sanctity in Methodism where he outlines some historical examples of Methodist saints etc.

For example, he says that Methodists collect bricks from the Chapel of John Wesley when it was rebuilt, they like to stand underneath the tree where Francis Asbury preached, a Methodist Confederate officer gave particles of clothing worn by a Methodist preacher known for his holiness to his men before a battle etc.

John Wesley prayed for hours, received the sacraments, read the scriptures, fasted, gave to the poor etc. and had no time for Calvinism.

In fact, he considered it spiritually dangerous.

Wesley was on very good terms with Catholic friends of his mother and soon adopted the Rosary for reciting psalm-verses and the like.

He stood at Walsingham to decry Protestant iconoclasm against the devotion to the Mother of Christ (on that spot where he preached there now stands a Methodist church!).

Wesley even sought consecration as a bishop by the Greek Orthodox (The book "A Rumour of Bishops" discusses this, but I haven't gone back to read that for years).

ANd once when Wesley preached and taught about holiness and prayer and fasting, a Calvinist in the crowd yelled, "The man is a papist!!"

And a Jesuit who was there as well shouted back, "He is not, sir, though I wish he were . . ."

Happy All Jesuit Saints' Day!

Alex

I once gave an icon of the Deisis to a Disciples of Christ minister and her husband.

She even got a rushnyk to cover it with and it is prominently displayed in their living room, and she even followed my advice and put it on the eastern wall with a vigil light in front of it!

Dear Diak,

Good for you!

Sometimes the best way to bring others closer to the Orthodox Catholic Church is through silent witnesses like icons.

I have a Jewish uncle who doesn't mind the icons of Jewish saints I've given him!

Alex

SCOBA, led by Archbishop Demetrios, visited with the President in July of 2002 shortly after a new member was installed, His Grace Ilia (Katre) of the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America, who was also present in addition to two or three other hierarchs.

It is hard to imagine that they did not bring him at least one icon. And being a man of deep faith, he seems to have found the right thing to do with it.

May the Lord guide him and the Theotokos protect and inrecede for him!

In Christ,
Andrew

Amazing how much one can learn by just posting a picture on this forum. Very interesting.