www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Freak me out!

Frank C. is no Carolingian theologian. No room for wannabees in my kingship.

Joe

Diak,

Your fidelity to our Byzantine traditions has earned you the right to be knighted and duped ... err, dubbed the Minister of Chaos.

Oh, I forgot. Martin Luther, Der Reformer, is my GGGGGGGGGGGG-grandfather too. We have so much in common.

BTW, my first request is for you to submit all the names of my ancestors for the next Saturday of the Departed reading.

Joe

Don,

This ain't Kansas anymore. BTW, I have yet to establish any bloodline to Adam and Eve. This gots me worried.

Joe

Yup. I guess I have the divine right to sit on the bishop's chair and appoint future archbishops. Just keeping our Ruthenian tradition alive, ya know.

Empress Maria Teresa (who I am also related to via the shared lineage of Karl Martel), pray to God for us!

Joe

I am greatly impressed - not with the lineage - as much as the fact that you were able to trace back that far. I have been trying to do a trace on my family and I find it almost overwhelming - even after taking classes in geneology. My hat is off to you - congrats.

Sue,

Thanks!

It takes time and luck. My former boss couldn't determine what nationality he was for years. One day, I volunteered to do some research on the computer for him. I spent a weekend cruising through many websites. Then I discovered that one itty bitty detail, which was not originally not given to me, was all what I needed to redirect the whole research. He knew his family came from Ohio east of Cambridge. I discovered that they arrived there in 1799 when Zane's Trail was being blazed through the new territory. Most of the folks came from Sussex County, NJ in the late 18th Century. He theorized that they arrived in Sussex from the north. I disagreed since it was more likely that back then the folks migrated from the nearest seaport, which was in New Jersey and/or Virginia. My "From the South" theory produced wonderful results: the guy's family came over from England in the mid-1700's. From there, I was able to contact a genealogist who had already documented the same family from the English side going back to 1430!!! I even found the parish for him that his great ancestor was baptized at (Wye, England, County of Kent). This was all in one week's work. But again, it was luck. He was thrilled to learn that his family had many knights in it from Canterbury, which was only five miles from Wye as well as many family members who were raised at monasteries after King Henry VIII took them.

Joe

Well ... it looks like my Charlamagne connection is under suspect. :p

After reviewing the lists and e-mail that I received, I came across what seemed to be a 'glitch.' I could not make any successful jump from one particular generation to the next because my Swedish references did not contain one particular son. I soon discovered that the ONLY source that makes this connection was based on Gusta Anjou, the notorious genealogist who charged enormous fees to the rich who wanted to find royalty and famous names in their family tree. He willingly obliged and found what they were willing to pay for. My initial family lineage relied on this not to my knowing.

Unfortunately, many of Gustav's genealogical research is shelved at the LDS research center in Salt Lake City and has been a bomb for many researchers. One of them was a study done on the Lilly/Lillie/Lilje family called none other than "The Lilly Family."

I have emailed several genealogists to question their family lines and to ask for their sources. If Anjou was not used then my family tree would no longer be suspect. The only good thing is that I may NOT be related to Charlamagne! Phew!

So, I will not be picking archbishops ...

Anyway, back to my papers and job-hunting.

Joe

One good thing about all this Joe

It's giving your brain plenty of exercise

On a very hot day in the normally frozen North, - have fun

Anhelyna

Anhelyna,

Too much unnecessary exercise. Sources are critical. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

I hear it IS quite warm in Europe these days. Its been on the news. This has been our first wet summer in a few years.

Joe

NO!!!!! Not the dreaded "Orthodox wall!" How can we get a clear view of the priest's back if there is a wall between him and us?? We're Catholics first, and Catholics don't have barriers in their churches!

Anthony

Well, I no longer have royalty to back up my plan, but I do support the installation of iconostases.

Tell 'em Catholics that they are queer for wanting to stare at a priest's back when they should be worshipping.

Joe

LOL! :p

Joe,

I just found this writing by Max Lucado. I thought that is was interesting not because he wrote it, but because of what he used in it. I immediately thought of you.

The UpWords Weekly Devotional
from MaxLucado.com
05/21/03

>-- THE GREASY POLE OF POWER --<
by Max Lucado

You know Muhammed Ali. He was the unprecedented three-time world heavyweight boxing champion. His face has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated more times than any other athlete. When he was �floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee,� he was king of his profession. An entourage of reporters, trainers, and support staff tailed this comet as he raced around the world.

But that was yesterday. Where is Muhammed Ali today? Sportswriter Gary Smith went to find out.

Ali escorted Smith to a barn next to his farmhouse. On the floor, leaning against the walls, were mementos of Ali in his prime. Photos and portraits of the champ punching and dancing. Sculpted body. Fist punching the air. Championship belt held high in triumph. �The thrilla in Manila.�

But on the pictures were white streaks�bird droppings. Ali looked into the rafters at the pigeons who had made his gym their home. And then he did something significant. Perhaps it was a gesture of closure. Maybe it was a statement of despair. Whatever the reason, he walked over to
the row of pictures and turned them, one by one, toward the wall. He then walked to the door, stared at the countryside, and mumbled something so low that Smith had to ask him to repeat it. Ali did.

�I had the world,� he said, �and it wasn�t nothin�. Look now.�

The pole of power is greasy.

The Roman emperor Charlemagne knew that. An interesting story surrounds the burial of this famous king. Legend has it that he asked to be
entombed sitting upright in his throne. He asked that his crown be placed on his head and his scepter in his hand. He requested that the
royal cape be draped around his shoulders and an open book be placed in his lap.

That was A.D. 814. Nearly two hundred years later, Emperor Othello determined to see if the burial request had been carried out. He allegedly sent a team of men to open the tomb and make a report. They found the body just as Charlemagne had requested. Only now, nearly two centuries later, the scene was gruesome. The crown was tilted, the
mantle moth-eaten, the body disfigured. But open on the skeletal thighs was the book Charlemagne had requested�the Bible. One bony finger pointed to Matthew 16:26: �What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?�

You can answer that one.
________________________

Rose,

Yes. The greasy pole of power is the shaft many people get.

Catholic priests used to tell the legend about King Henrey VIII's casket opening up in church spilling pus all over the floor. He wasn't pointing to any Scripture verse.

Joe

Um, you know ... some of us haven't had our breakfast yet ...

and now we'll probably just skip lunch too!