The Feast of the Assumption

It's the great Feast of the Assumption today, which some people object to because "it's not in Scripture." Neither is Sola Scriptura of course, but apologetics aside, I found this reflection helpful. Via Domini res gestas:

Today the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Theotocos and Christotocos, is taken into heaven to that court where the King of kings sits upon his starry throne. While angels and saints rejoice together with Christ, it is fitting that we too celebrate and rejoice with them today. Our true Solomon, the King of Peace, seats his Mother, the true Bathsheba, at his right hand today in the heavenly Jerusalem above all the choirs of angels. Today the ark of the covenant of the Lord is brought into the temple and placed in the Holy of Holies. This is the same ark that John saw in the Book of Revelation. Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen in the temple.  After writing this at the close of Chapter 11, as if to clarify the vision, he follows it immediately with the opening verse of Chapter 12:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Without doubt this woman is the Virgin Mary, for John adds that she gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all nations... Her child was caught up to God and his throne. (St. Laurence Brindisi)

Note Serpent and Crescent crushed underheel

A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. I should be very wary of going up against that, to say nothing of her child. But here's a closing hymn from the Benedictines of Notre Dame de Fontgombault, Ave Maris Stella, Hail Star of the Sea:

Some say the Faith's dead. That's not true, though perhaps it's hiding, for a time.

Ave,

LSP

Hagia Sophia Goes Mosque - Does The West Give a Damn?

Hagia Sophia, Holy Wisdom Cathedral in Istanbul, Justinian's remarkable church and the onetime center of Eastern Christianity has been turned back into a mosque by Turkey's President Sultan, Erdogan.

Built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, Hagia Sophia was the principal church of the Eastern Roman Empire and perhaps its greatest monument, rising above the Bosphorus. It remained intact, a Christian Cathedral  until May 1453, when Constantinople was finally seized after a 57 day seige by Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmet II.

The night before the city's fall to the Moslems, Hagia Sophia was full:

Meanwhile the great church of Saint Sophia was crowded. Thousands of people were moving towards the church. Inside, Orthodox and Catholic priests were holding mass. People were singing hymns, others were openly crying, others were asking each other for forgiveness. Those who were not serving on the ramparts also went to the church, among them was seen, for a brief moment, the Emperor. People confessed and took communion. Then those who were going to fight rode or walked back to the ramparts.

The next day tragically saw the collapse of Constantinople's defense and Mehmet's victory. Moslem soldiers entered the city and its great Cathedral, killing, raping and enslaving:

The great doors of Saint Sophia were forced open, and crowds of angry soldiers came in and fell upon the unfortunate worshippers. Pillaging and killing in the holy place went on for hours. Similar was the fate of worshippers in most churches in the city. Everything that could be taken from the splendid buildings was taken by the new masters of the Imperial capital. Icons were destroyed, precious manuscripts were lost forever. Thousands of civilians were enslaved, soldiers fought over young boys and young women. Death and enslavement did not distinguish among social classes. Nobles and peasants were treated with equal ruthlessness.

St. Sophia became a mosque after the Moslem conquest, only to become a museum in 1936. It's now a mosque again, thanks to the Sultanic aspirations of Erdogan. And as it was in 1453 so it is now, does anyone in the West give a damn, or am I an army of one?

At least Russia's Patriarch, Metropolitan Kirill has stepped up to the plate:

“A threat to Hagia Sophia is a threat to the entire Christian civilization and, therefore, to our spirituality and history. To this day Hagia Sophia remains a great Christian shrine for every Russian Orthodox believer.”

Kirill continues:

“One should take into account that Russia is a country with the majority of population professing Orthodoxy, and so, what may happen to Hagia Sophia will inflict great pain on the Russian people.”

Christians, wake up and defend the Faith. It's well beyond time.

Non Draco,

LSP