Diana 'wanted to live with guard'
Mannakee was assigned to protect the princess
A videotape screened in the US has shown Princess Diana saying she
wanted to run away from Prince Charles and live with her bodyguard.
It also shows Diana express fears that Barry Mannakee, who died in a
road traffic accident in 1987, was murdered.
On the tape, recorded by her voice coach in 1992, Diana said she was
"deeply in love" with a man in the palace "environment".
Mr Mannakee's death is being re-investigated as a result of the tape.
"I was quite happy to give all this up," Diana said on the tape,
broadcast on NBC.
'Good idea'
But she added: "Well not all this, at this moment, at the time, it was
quite something to have all this."
She continued: "Just to go off and live with him. Can you believe it?
"And he kept saying he thought it was a good idea."
Mr Mannakee was her bodyguard until, in her words, he was "chucked
out".
I just, you know, wore my heart on my sleeve. I was only happy when
he was around
Princess Diana
He died in a crash in 1987 when riding pillion on a motorcycle that
collided with a car.
The inquest at the time decided it was a tragic accident.
But talking of Mr Mannakee's death, Diana said: "I think he was bumped
off, but there we are."
That brief comment has prompted Britain's most senior police officer,
Metropolitan Police chief Sir John Stevens, to reinvestigate the
circumstances surrounding Mr Mannakee's accident, BBC royal
correspondent Peter Hunt said.
Those findings will be part of a much bigger report that he will hand
to the Royal Coroner ahead of the inquest into Diana's death next
year.
In love
The tape revealed more about Barry Mannakee than previous interviews
Diana had given, although she never mentions him by name.
"I just, you know, wore my heart on my sleeve. I was only happy when
he was around," she said.
Diana described his death as "the biggest blow of my life".
After his death she visited the area where his ashes were scattered
and laid flowers. She also said she had dreams about him.
"I should never have played with fire and I did and I got very burnt,"
Diana said in the video.
________________________________________________________________________________
The enigma of Prince Charlie and the Holy Grail
Link between Jacobite hero and occult monument unveiled in competition
to crack ‘unbreakable' 18th-century code
By Peter John Meiklem
A MYSTERIOUS link between Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Holy Grail and an
18th-century "occult" monument is set to be revealed this week as the
results of a competition to crack a 250-year-old secret code are
announced.
Ten seemingly unconnected letters, carved on a monument built on a
Staffordshire estate, provide the location of the Holy Grail,
according to legend. But in two and a half centuries nobody has been
able to break the code.
In May, Shugborough Estate, which owns the monument, launched a
national competition in conjunction with the second world war
code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, for amateur and professional
code-breakers. The results will be announced in a press conference on
Thursday.
One of the competition's leading entrants reckons that the key to the
mystery can be found in the life of the Scottish legend Charles Edward
Stuart – Bonnie Prince Charlie – who tried to reclaim the British
throne in 1745.
The entrant, whose identity will remain a closely guarded secret until
Thursday, believes looking at the carved code in a mirror reveals a
key date in the prince's life which connects him to the Holy Grail
legend.
Professor Alan MacInnes, from Aberdeen University, thinks the idea has
historical backing. He said Bonnie Prince Charlie was one of the
leading Freemasons in Europe after the failure of the 1745 rebellion
and that this group's links to the Grail legend were well known.
"If the theory has any credible link with the Holy Grail then it will
rest with the Freemasons," said MacInnes.
Corinne Caddy, a spokes woman for Shugborough Estate, said the Grail
rumours were founded on the historical links between the monument's
first owners, the Anson family, and the Freemasons. The Holy Grail is
a strong masonic symbol, she explained.
Robin Nicholson, curator of the Drambuie Collection of Jacobite art,
said the codebreaker's idea of using a mirror to crack the code would
tie in with the kind of art often commissioned by Jacobites.
Anyone openly supporting Prince Charlie could be executed for treason
, Nicholson said, so hidden pictures needing special mirrors to view
them properly became common.
There were very strong links between Jacobite art and Freemason art,
he added. He said the Stuarts were the last royal family in Europe to
believe they ruled because God had appointed them.
"They didn't believe they were directly descended from Christ, but
they did think there were strong links," he said.
It was very common for the prince to be linked with Christ in art, he
added, and it was definitely one of the metaphors for the Stuarts. The
motto on a lot of the art was "He Will Return", and Bonnie Prince
Charlie was seen by Jacobites in terms of the second coming, Nicolson
said.
"When he was was born, there is a legend that there was a bright star
in the sky just like the one seen on the day of Christ's birth."
Bletchley Park veteran Oliver Lawn, who cracked thousands of Nazi
codes on the famous Enigma machine, was among those who tried to
unravel the 10-letter mystery.
He said the Jacobite idea was just one possible solution to be
considered. A mirror image of a painting by Nicholas Poussin is also
engraved on the monument and mirrors were a common feature of his
technique, he explained.
He said the solution probably had "very little to do with numbers and
a lot more to do with 18th-century occultism".
The actual Holy Grail was of little significance, he added. "What is
important is the symbolism it provoked during the historical period.
The same occultist imagery can be seen in the Rosslyn Chapel near
Edinburgh."
Murlyn Hakon, a spokesman from Bletchley Park, said they had received
130 entries to the competition from all over the world. He said the
code had puzzled great thinkers, including Charles Darwin, for
hundreds of years and he couldn't yet confirm if they had a definite
solution to the mystery.
"All of our entrants think that they've cracked it, but some of the
professional code-breakers think that it's almost too short to find a
discernible pattern," he added.
Hakon said many local people thought that William Anson, the man who
built the estate, had left a message for his mistress, who lived
nearby.
"People did those kinds of things in those days and, if that's the
case, then no code-breaker will ever be able to crack it," he said.
Shugborough's Caddy said that the Jacobite idea was interesting but it
was only one of many different ideas that they had looked at.
"The code has been an enigma to us for years and years and the mystery
is extremely well known locally. Many local people have their own
ideas what the code really means."
She said she had seen some very strong and very interesting views put
forward.
"We will be very interested to see the results because so many people
in the past have tried to crack it and failed. We want to see if
anybody's been able to do it this time."
________________________________________________________________________________
(False Prophet)
Broadcast 9th April 2000
MICROSOFT GUILTY OF US ANTITRUST LAWS
On Tuesday the whole flaky Internet investment structure was creaking:
the stockmarket where it has all happened over the past couple of
years, the hi-tech Nasdaq exchange, did an imitation of that classic
cartoon character Road Runner.
It ran over the edge of the cliff, and kept on running, magically
suspended in mid-air for a few moments, before scrambling back to
safety...
But it was an even worse week for the middle aged bespectacled
self-proclaimed prophet of the Information Age - Bill Gates. For Mr
Gates this truly was a Black Monday
------------------------------------------
Microsoft creator to be knighted
The king of computer software Bill Gates is to receive an honorary
knighthood from the Queen for his contribution to enterprise in the
UK.
Mr Gates, the world's wealthiest man, is also being honoured for his
work on poverty reduction around the world, said the Foreign Office.
As an American citizen he cannot use the title "Sir" but will be
entitled to put the letters KBE after his name.
Microsoft said Mr Gates, 48, was "absolutely delighted".
The entrepreneur will be presented with the Knight Commander of the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire at a "mutually convenient"
date.
His company has had a profound impact on the British economy
Jack Straw
Honorary awards to foreign nationals are conferred by the Queen on the
advice of the foreign secretary.
Jack Straw said he was "delighted" Mr Gates had been honoured.
He added: "He is one of the most important global business leaders of
this age.
________________________________________________________________________________
Beyond the Episcopal Church's Pagan Eucharist
Plus: Bush speaks about his religion (and that of others), TBN cancels
Praise-a-thon, and many other stories from online sources around the
world.
Compiled by Ted Olsen | posted 10/27/2004
Guess what's no longer linked on the Episcopal Church USA's page for
Women's Worship Resources? Both items highlighted in yesterday's
Weblog: "A Women's Eucharist: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine"
and the "Liturgy for Divorce." You can actually still read both, but
they're now orphan pages, apparently unlinked from within the
Episcopal Church website. (Though Weblog should add that they're now
linked from just about every conservative Anglican weblog in the
country.) One of those liturgies remaining is a "Station of the
Cross," which includes these lines from Jesus:
I do not want to die
I was not born for this — to die a shameful, lonely death.
This was not my calling.
Yet, it is not death itself that I reject.
I die because all creatures die
though it is very hard to leave this world I love;
And even harder still to die like this —
because my love was not received.
New, however, is an introduction to the worship resources:
This resource section is intended to provide a space for women to
share their voices with one another. It is a work-in-progress and its
shape will continue to emerge as we move forward. These are not
official liturgies of the Episcopal Church—rather, they are a
gathering of voices. Our hope with this section is to simply begin a
conversation around women and our liturgical tradition as it is now.
Please use them for study, dialogue, questions, ponderings, and
gathering communities of worship.
These are liturgies, litanies, rituals, rites, prayers, and
more—for women, by women (mostly). They are an offering to open the
awareness of the many voices and needs that exist among people in the
church as we all strive to find expressions of our life, love and
faith in God. Some are reciprocal responses to liturgies that
currently exist, others are created in reply to aspects of women's and
men's lives that are left unrecognized in our life of worship.
This is a grassroots, organic, interactive process in which we
want to help lift up the voices of women who are creating liturgies,
rituals, and rites for one another and their communities.
That's quite a bit different from yesterday's language, which said
that the resources, including the "Women's Eucharist," are "currently
available to be downloaded and used by all."
That said, phrases like "a gathering of voices" and "begin a
conversation" are very common in the Episcopal Church, and are usually
used when it's about to do something very unorthodox.
But in this case, we're not talking about something that's merely
unorthodox, or even heresy. We're talking about pagan worship of Old
Testament idols. We're talking about a mock Eucharist, the center of
Christian worship, that directly references a biblical text about
idolatry—and stands proudly, "defiantly," with the idolaters.
It goes without saying that such a ceremony is incompatible with
Christian worship. But if you need Scripture to know for sure, start
with Deut. 12. If you're really in doubt about whether they're
compatible, however, you probably won't be swayed by Scripture.
And here's where we need to make an important correction to
yesterday's Weblog. Yesterday, we said that the "Women's Eucharist"
(how we hate even to call it that) was "taken almost completely
(without attribution) from a rite from Tuatha de Brighid, 'a Clan of
modern Druids … who believe in the interconnectedness of all faiths.'"
Yes, it was taken from Tuatha de Brighid—but it wasn't plagiarized. As
it turns out, the Episcopalian rector who submitted the ceremony to
the Episcopal Church's website is the same woman who wrote it for the
neo-pagan site. In her Episcopalian life, she goes by the name Glyn
Ruppe-Melnyk. For her neo-pagan stuff, she's Glispa. Folks over at
Titus One Nine, the weblog of theologian Kendall Harmon, put the links
together. One explains:
This link identifies the druid "Oakwyse" as being Bill Melnyk.
This one identifies Bill Melnyk and Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk as a couple.
This one links the two again and gives Melnyk's email address as being
oakwyse at aol dot com. And several links such as this one link
Oakwyse and Glispa.
One piece co-written by "Oakwyse" and "Glispa" is the "Wiccan Lunar
Ritual," which may come in handy for tonight's eclipse. (The
particularly sensitive may want to skip past all this.) It contains
such bon mots as: "In the Face of the Moon we honor Our Lady, who was
of old called among humankind Isis, Artemis, Astarte, Aphrodite,
Diana, Mary, and by many other Names," instructions as "Priestess
makes the sign of a Pentagram in the air in front of [priest]."
There's also a liturgy where the priest and priestess take off all
their clothes, and the priest says to the "Goddess," "Dwell now in the
body of your servant and priestess." Then he gives the priestess "the
Five-fold Kiss," and says:
Blessed are your feet, that have brought you in these ways.
(Kisses both feet)
Blessed are your knees that shall kneel before the sacred altar.
(Kisses both knees)
Blessed are your loins that bring forth life. (Kisses her above
the pubic hair)
(Priestess opens into Goddess Blessing position, arms and legs
spread.)
Blessed are your breasts formed in beauty and strength. (Kisses
both breasts)
Blessed are your lips that shall speak the sacred names. (Kisses
lips)
(With this final kiss, they embrace full length, feet touching.)
Let's be clear: Unlike the "Women's Eucharist," this ritual never made
it onto the Episcopal Church's website, so it doesn't bear the
imprimatur of the denomination. But it was written by an Episcopal
priest.
Will Ruppe-Melnyk's bishop have anything to say about this? Will she
undergo any kind of discipline? Will the Episcopal Church USA, or even
the Office of Women's Ministries, publicly repent for posting the
"Women's Eucharist" in the first place?
Don't be fooled into thinking that nothing will happen. Something will
happen. In Jeremiah, after the people of Judah in Egypt defied God and
worshiped the Queen of Heaven with their raisin cakes, God was not
silent. Here's what he said:
You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have
fulfilled it with your hands, saying, 'We will surely perform our vows
that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to
pour out drink offerings to her.' Then confirm your vows and perform
your vows! Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who
dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name,
says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of
any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, 'As the Lord GOD
lives.' Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good.
All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by
the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. And those who
escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of
Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the
land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or
theirs. This shall be the sign to you, declares the LORD, that I will
punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words
will surely stand against you for harm.
As Paul said, some of us (including Weblog) are former idolaters. But
woe unto those who, rather than repent for their actions, "express
regret for the consequences of their actions" and persist in evil.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Anglican Templer Knights
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So Benny Hinn is participating in the deceptive peace process that
will mislead the Jews to receive a false Christ, who will drive them
from the Holy Land which will then become the headquarters of said
Antichrist, who will place the Abomination of Desolation therein
(Matt. 24:16) and proclaim himself to be God. "...that man of
sin...the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God." (II Thes.2:3-4) Evangelical Christians seem
strangely ignorant of the end-time prophecies, judging from their
support for the Antichrist's program with millions of dollars in
donations to ministries like Benny Hinn's -- $$$$$$ that will be spent
rebuilding the Masonic Temple of Solomon.
The Anglican Templar organization with Jesuit leadership that Benny
works with also promotes Christian reconciliation with homosexuals and
the ordination of homosexuals as ministers, priests and bishops. The
Knights Templar were the powerful medieval chivalric order from which
the present orders of Freemasonry evolved. They claim to be working to
restore traditional values, however, the evidence of history presents
a rather different testimony as to moral values of the Templars. Dr.
Cathy Burns wrote of the homosexual proclivities of the medieval
Templars in her book, /Hidden Secrets of the Eastern Star/:
"In the book entitled /The Guilt of the Templars, /we are told that
'the Knights Templar's confessions show them to have been basically
homosexual warrior order...' Other chargers were that the Knights
Templar participated in black magic and pederasty (anal intercourse,
usually with a boy). They practiced 'phallicism
<http://watch.pair.com/new-religion.html#21.G>or sex-worship and
Satanism and venerated 'The Baphomet,' the idol of the Luciferians.
The
crime of sodomy was a rite of Templar
initiation." (p.104)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Britain to give gay couples equal rights
LONDON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Next week's Queen's Speech to be read in
British parliament will suggest same-sex couples be given the same
rights as married couples, a report said Monday.
In what amounts to legal recognition of "gay marriage," thousands of
gay couples will be able to register their partnerships and benefit
from inheritance, tax and next-of-kin rights, the Times of London
reported.
The Civil Partnerships Bill would be the most far-reaching change to
British laws relating to homosexuality since gay sex was legalized in
the 1960s, the newspaper said.
Under the proposed legislation, which will also apply in Scotland, gay
couples will be able to sign an official document at a registry office
in front of the registrar and two witnesses, although this would not
be taken as a "marriage ceremony".
The scheme would include "divorce," with maintenance claims. Gay
couples who split would have access to legal aid to sort out disputes
over contact with children or finances.
(**suprise suprise**)
=====================================================================================
Daniel 11:37 (KJV)
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, NOR THE DESIRE OF
WOMEN, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prince Charles flies back into vortex of scandal
John Arlidge and Jessica Hodgson
Sunday November 9, 2003
The Observer
Prince Charles flies back to Britain today after his two-week tour of
India and the Middle East as the scandal over allegations of a sexual
incident involving him and a royal servant(male) reaches new heights.
Internet sites in Europe and the US yesterday published lurid details
of the alleged incident while British newspapers, gagged by a court
injunction, subjected the prince to the worst criticism he has faced.
Clarence House was bracing itself for fresh revelations in today's
newspapers.
(rest cut)
=================================================================================
Pastor Urges Episcopalians to Shun 'Church of Anti-Christ'
Jim Brown and Jody Brown
Agape Press
A best-selling Christian author and pastor is encouraging believers to
separate themselves from the Anglican Episcopal Church.
On Sunday, November 2, the Episcopal Church USA consecrated a
homosexual man, Vicki Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire. The
ceremony was the culmination of months of heated debate within ECUSA
over Robinson's election to the post -- and likely the catalyst to
what the worldwide leaders of the Anglican Communion have stated will
put the unity of their denomination "in jeopardy" and "tear the fabric
of the communion at its deepest level." The denomination also allows
same-sex "blessing" ceremonies.
Dr. John MacArthur is pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley,
California, a best-selling author, and host of the worldwide radio
program "Grace to You." gty.org) Regarding the recent steps taken by
the Episcopal Church, MacArthur minces no words, saying the church is
not the Church of Jesus Christ but "the church of Anti-Christ. The
denomination, he says, should be shunned because of its unbiblical
actions.
"This is not the true Church. Their theology is aberrant, their
conduct is aberrant, and they engage themselves in things that are
utterly ungodly and unbiblical," MacArthur says. "I think you have to
see it as the church of Anti-Christ -- and why would a believer want
to be a part of the church of Anti-Christ?"
MacArthur admits he was not surprised to see the Episcopal Church
consecrate an openly homosexual bishop. He says for years the
denomination has reinvented the gospel.
"Their view of Christ is apostate, therefore their view of everything
else is warped and twisted. So this is no stretch for them; this is
normal conduct for an organization that is opposed to Jesus Christ and
the Word of God," he says. "If anybody in it [the Episcopal Church]
is a true believer, they need to get out."
MacArthur says Christians should heed the Apostle Paul's warning to
the Corinthians when he told them not to be "unequally yoked together
with unbelievers" in any spiritual enterprise. In his recent book
Hard to Believe, the author-pastor confronts man-centered theology
being promoted in many evangelical churches.
Story by Paul Majendie
When he eventually takes over as King and Supreme Governor of the
Anglican Church of England,Charles sees himself as "Defender of
Faiths"
in a country that is a multicultural mix.
(i.e all faiths)
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (NRSV)
2 As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered
together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be quickly
shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter,
as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already
here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come
unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the
one destined for destruction.
4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object
of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring
himself to be God.
==================================================================================
Isaiah 14:10-21 (NRSV)
10 All of them will speak and say to you: "You too have become as weak
as we!
You have become like us!"11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,and the
sound of your harps; maggots are the bed beneath you,and worms are
your covering.
12 How you are fallen from heaven,O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;I will sit on the mount
of assembly on the heights of Zaphon;
14 I will ascend to the tops of the clouds,I will make myself like the
Most High."15 But you are brought down to Sheol,to the depths of the
Pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you:
"Is this the man who made the earth tremble,who shook kingdoms,17 who
made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities,who would not
let his prisoners go home?"
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,each in his own tomb;19
but you are cast out, away from your grave,like loathsome
carrion,clothed with the dead, those pierced by the sword,who go down
to the stones of the Pit,like a corpse trampled underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,because you have
destroyed your land,you have killed your people. May the descendants
of evildoers nevermore be named!
21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their
father.
Let them never rise to possess the earth or cover the face of the
world with cities.
==================================================================================
End times:
http://www.geocities.com/mart1963/martsindex.htm
Has Prince Charles found his true spiritual home on a Greek rock?
Visits spark claims of royal's commitment to Orthodoxy
Helena Smith in Athens
Wednesday May 12, 2004
The Guardian
On Monday night a resplendent yacht docked at the watery entrance to
the world's only monastic republic. A middle-aged man, followed by two
bodyguards, stepped on to the jetty of the peninsula in northern
Greece and into the "state" known variously as Mount Athos, Aghio Oros
and the Holy Mount.
A few monks in black robes and pillar-box hats stood waiting, but,
under orders to keep the identity of this particular pilgrim secret,
it was a reception without fanfare. Their guest - clean-shaven in
contrast to the bearded clerics - was Prince Charles, on his third
clandestine retreat to Athos in the past 12 months.
According to friends and associates of the prince, the future head of
the Church of England has become enamoured of the Orthodox faith to
the point that he has adorned a section of his home at Highgrove with
prized Byzantine icons. Many are believed to originate from the Mount,
the Orthodox world's holiest site.
"There is no question that the British royal is Orthodox in his
heart," confided one Athonite monk, making a rare trip outside the
remote republic. "Sadly, he is very constrained by his position."
Athos, they say, encapsulates Charles's profound admiration for
tradition, ancient wisdom and a divine natural order - even if it has
maintained a ban on women since AD1060.
Women are still forbidden from going within 500 metres of the monks'
republic. Yellow signs along the shores of the 400-square-mile
peninsula shoo away "female intruders", despite growing calls within
the EU to have the ban lifted. For the nearly 2,000 monks who have
devoted their lives to shunning sexual desire through prayer, the
Virgin Mary is the only acceptable female presence.
The prince, like his friend, the composer Sir John Tavener, who
converted to Greek Orthodoxy in 1977, is said to be especially drawn
to the Orthodox church's rugged spirituality. Orthodox faithful are
allowed to marry up to three times.
Not since the Stuarts has an heir to the throne taken such an
intellectual interest in religion. For years Charles, who assumes the
title of Defender of the Faith when he becomes king, has displayed an
unprecedented interest in denominations as divergent as Islam and
Buddhism.
But his regular meetings with Ephraim, the abbot of Vatopedion - his
adopted monastery on the Mount - have helped fuel speculation that the
prince is being personally instructed in eastern Christianity, even if
it is fiercely denied by courtiers.
The Cypriot-born abbot is said to be a frequent visitor to Highgrove.
Witnesses say that when the prince arrived in Athos days after the
death of Princess Diana almost seven years ago, it was Ephraim who
induced him to join the faith. Closeted in a chamber alone with the
abbot, Charles is believed to have made a "spiritual commitment" to
Christian Orthodoxy.
"What people forget is that Orthodoxy is in his family," Archbishop
Grigorios of Thyateira, who heads the 500,000-strong Orthodox
community in Britain, told the Guardian.
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"One of Charles's aunts, the Grand Duchess Eugenia, was proclaimed an
Orthodox saint after she was murdered in Moscow where she had
established a monastery. His paternal grandmother, Aliki [Alice], was
a nun for most of her life. She spoke very good Greek and in her later
years, when she came to live in London, she kept an Orthodox chapel in
Buckingham Palace," added the prelate. "Aliki was a very powerful
woman whom I'm sure had a very strong influence on Charles in his
early years."
As the religious centre of eastern Orthodoxy, Athos is a magnet for
pilgrims dedicated to the faith. Many - as testified by the growing
number of monks from the EU, Canada, Australia and the US - don't look
back. And among Europe's wealthy blue bloods, the luxuriant territory
is seen as the perfect "detox" getaway.
But the prince's affection for a place where visitors sleep on lumpy
mattresses and rise at 4am has also raised the inevitable question of
whether the heir to the throne harbours desires of eventually
converting to the religion.
Prince Philip, his Corfu-born father who like Charles is an honorary
member of the Friends of Mount Athos, had to switch to Anglicanism
from Greek Orthodoxy to marry the Queen.
In their large, decaying monasteries the clerics cherish the sort of
Spartan conditions that Charles hated at Gordonstoun, his stern
Scottish boarding school. Most also make no secret of their loathing
of other western religions.
In the wake of last year's allegations of rape and the sale of gifts
which engulfed the house of Windsor and its staff, senior Greek
Orthodox priests launched a spirited defence of the prince. Many
denounced the claims as an "international conspiracy" unleashed by
forces bent on destroying the reluctant royal's new-found affection
for the religion.
"All these attacks against Charles are doubtless due to the fact that
he has embraced Orthodoxy," said His Beatitude, Anthimos, the Bishop
of Alexandroupolis. "If his Orthodox beliefs were ever to be made
official, people would find it very troubling."
Officially, St James's Palace says the prince's trips to the car-free
Mount are a purely "personal affair".
"He goes there as a private individual, not in his official capacity
as the Prince of Wales," said Kirstine Clark, a spokeswoman at the
palace. "Visits are very much in his private time, so we don't issue
details. What I can say is that he is interested in the architecture
and spirituality of Mount Athos."
But, perhaps because he stands to become the Supreme Governor of the
Church of England, Charles is also unusually sensitive about his trips
to the Mount. His visits have been shrouded in secrecy. Countless
Greeks with access to the community told the Guardian they were under
oath never to mention them.
Government officials and diplomats are politely told not to escort the
prince to Vatopedion, which he helped restore with money from the
auction of his watercolours.
Attending the opening of the newly refurbished monastery last year,
the prince said he hoped each of the Mount's 23 monasteries would soon
regain their former splendour. He would, he said, work hard to ensure
that happened.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canadian Church Affirms Same-Sex Unions
Thursday June 3, 2004 6:01 PM
By RICHARD N. OSTLING
AP Religion Writer
ST. CATHARINES, Ontario (AP) - The Anglican Church of Canada approved
a measure Thursday to ``affirm the integrity and sanctity of committed
adult same sex relationships.''
The move stops short of authorizing dioceses to hold same-sex blessing
ceremonies but is still likely to complicate efforts aimed at unifying
the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. The worldwide Anglican body
is deeply divided over homosexuality.
Delegates to a national church meeting handed the victory to
supporters of gays and lesbians as a consolation prize the morning
after they voted to delay any national go-ahead on church blessing
ceremonies for same-sex couples till 2007 and possibly 2010.
The ``integrity and sanctity'' measure was approved by a show of
hands.
World Anglican unity was one reason widely cited for delay on the
same-sex rituals bill, which would have authorized the ceremonies
under a so-called ``local option'' - meaning each diocese could decide
for itself whether to offer them.
Anglicanism is already split over consecration of an openly gay bishop
in the U.S. Episcopal Church and an emergency commission is pondering
how to hold the 38 self-governing national churches together. Many
bishops in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast are furious
over the Americans' move.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams released a statement that
welcomed the Canadian vote on Wednesday, but ignored the action on
Thursday.
``It is important that the Canadian church has held back from a
structural shift that would have run counter to the pleas and wishes
of ... so many around the Communion,'' he said.
The Canadian church action comes in the midst of a federal election
campaign in which full-fledged gay marriage is an issue.
Its ``sanctity'' measure also goes beyond wording put on paper by the
Episcopal Church. The American church passed a measure last year
acknowledging that some dioceses are allowing same-sex blessing
ceremonies, but not affirming the practice as a national policy.
The last-minute ``sanctity'' measure was introduced by Canon Garth
Bulmer from the Ottawa Diocese.
The Rev. Dennis Drainville of the Quebec Diocese, who seconded
Bulmer's motion, told delegates the church needs to express
compassion.
``This says to thousands of people that we love you, we include you
among the faithful, we seek to live with you, to work with you, to
know you,'' he said.
But the Rev. Peter Moore, a former Toronto rector now in the United
States as president of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, said
Bulmer's bill ``seems to intentionally confuse the voice with which
the Canadian church speaks on sexual morality, which undercuts the
church's ability to speak on anything.''
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anglican church of England that bends to the habits of it supreme
leader, the future king.
This same church that was first created because the original church
would not bow down to the king wishes of that time and go against
bible teaching.
End
times:
http://www.geocities.com/mart1963/
Post a follow-up to this message
Message 2 in thread
From: Misty (""yardholler\"@Nospam,charter.net)
Subject: Re: More from the A.C's church!
View this article only
Newsgroups: alt.religion.end-times.prophecies, alt.bible,
alt.religion.christian.baptist
Date: 2004-11-13 03:02:23 PST
martus wrote:
Beyond the Episcopal Church's Pagan Eucharist
Plus: Bush speaks about his religion (and that of others), TBN cancels
Praise-a-thon, and many other stories from online sources around the
world.
Compiled by Ted Olsen | posted 10/27/2004
Guess what's no longer linked on the Episcopal Church USA's page for
Women's Worship Resources? Both items highlighted in yesterday's
Weblog: "A Women's Eucharist: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine"
and the "Liturgy for Divorce." You can actually still read both, but
they're now orphan pages, apparently unlinked from within the
Episcopal Church website. (Though Weblog should add that they're now
linked from just about every conservative Anglican weblog in the
country.) One of those liturgies remaining is a "Station of the
Cross," which includes these lines from Jesus:
I do not want to die
I was not born for this to die a shameful, lonely death.
This was not my calling.
Yet, it is not death itself that I reject.
I die because all creatures die
though it is very hard to leave this world I love;
And even harder still to die like this
because my love was not received.
New, however, is an introduction to the worship resources:
This resource section is intended to provide a space for women to
share their voices with one another. It is a work-in-progress and its
shape will continue to emerge as we move forward. These are not
official liturgies of the Episcopal Church rather, they are a
gathering of voices. Our hope with this section is to simply begin a
conversation around women and our liturgical tradition as it is now.
Please use them for study, dialogue, questions, ponderings, and
gathering communities of worship.
These are liturgies, litanies, rituals, rites, prayers, and
more for women, by women (mostly). They are an offering to open the
awareness of the many voices and needs that exist among people in the
church as we all strive to find expressions of our life, love and
faith in God. Some are reciprocal responses to liturgies that
currently exist, others are created in reply to aspects of women's and
men's lives that are left unrecognized in our life of worship.
This is a grassroots, organic, interactive process in which we
want to help lift up the voices of women who are creating liturgies,
rituals, and rites for one another and their communities.
That's quite a bit different from yesterday's language, which said
that the resources, including the "Women's Eucharist," are "currently
available to be downloaded and used by all."
That said, phrases like "a gathering of voices" and "begin a
conversation" are very common in the Episcopal Church, and are usually
used when it's about to do something very unorthodox.
But in this case, we're not talking about something that's merely
unorthodox, or even heresy. We're talking about pagan worship of Old
Testament idols. We're talking about a mock Eucharist, the center of
Christian worship, that directly references a biblical text about
idolatry and stands proudly, "defiantly," with the idolaters.
It goes without saying that such a ceremony is incompatible with
Christian worship. But if you need Scripture to know for sure, start
with Deut. 12. If you're really in doubt about whether they're
compatible, however, you probably won't be swayed by Scripture.
And here's where we need to make an important correction to
yesterday's Weblog. Yesterday, we said that the "Women's Eucharist"
(how we hate even to call it that) was "taken almost completely
(without attribution) from a rite from Tuatha de Brighid, 'a Clan of
modern Druids who believe in the interconnectedness of all faiths.' "
Yes, it was taken from Tuatha de Brighid but it wasn't plagiarized. A s
it turns out, the Episcopalian rector who submitted the ceremony to
the Episcopal Church's website is the same woman who wrote it for the
neo-pagan site. In her Episcopalian life, she goes by the name Glyn
Ruppe-Melnyk. For her neo-pagan stuff, she's Glispa. Folks over at
Titus One Nine, the weblog of theologian Kendall Harmon, put the links
together. One explains:
This link identifies the druid "Oakwyse" as being Bill Melnyk.
This one identifies Bill Melnyk and Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk as a couple.
This one links the two again and gives Melnyk's email address as being
oakwyse at aol dot com. And several links such as this one link
Oakwyse and Glispa.
One piece co-written by "Oakwyse" and "Glispa" is the "Wiccan Lunar
Ritual," which may come in handy for tonight's eclipse. (The
particularly sensitive may want to skip past all this.) It contains
such bon mots as: "In the Face of the Moon we honor Our Lady, who was
of old called among humankind Isis, Artemis, Astarte, Aphrodite,
Diana, Mary, and by many other Names," instructions as "Priestess
makes the sign of a Pentagram in the air in front of [priest]."
There's also a liturgy where the priest and priestess take off all
their clothes, and the priest says to the "Goddess," "Dwell now in the
body of your servant and priestess." Then he gives the priestess "the
Five-fold Kiss," and says:
Blessed are your feet, that have brought you in these ways.
(Kisses both feet)
Blessed are your knees that shall kneel before the sacred altar.
(Kisses both knees)
Blessed are your loins that bring forth life. (Kisses her above
the pubic hair)
(Priestess opens into Goddess Blessing position, arms and legs
spread.)
Blessed are your breasts formed in beauty and strength. (Kisses
both breasts)
Blessed are your lips that shall speak the sacred names. (Kisses
lips)
(With this final kiss, they embrace full length, feet touching.)
Let's be clear: Unlike the "Women's Eucharist," this ritual never made
it onto the Episcopal Church's website, so it doesn't bear the
imprimatur of the denomination. But it was written by an Episcopal
priest.
Will Ruppe-Melnyk's bishop have anything to say about this? Will she
undergo any kind of discipline? Will the Episcopal Church USA, or even
the Office of Women's Ministries, publicly repent for posting the
"Women's Eucharist" in the first place?
Don't be fooled into thinking that nothing will happen. Something will
happen. In Jeremiah, after the people of Judah in Egypt defied God and
worshiped the Queen of Heaven with their raisin cakes, God was not
silent. Here's what he said:
You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have
fulfilled it with your hands, saying, 'We will surely perform our vows
that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to
pour out drink offerings to her.' Then confirm your vows and perform
your vows! Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who
dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name,
says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of
any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, 'As the Lord GOD
lives.' Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good.
All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by
the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. And those who
escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of
Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the
land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or
theirs. This shall be the sign to you, declares the LORD, that I will
punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words
will surely stand against you for harm.
As Paul said, some of us (including Weblog) are former idolaters. But
woe unto those who, rather than repent for their actions, "express
regret for the consequences of their actions" and persist in evil.
Anglican Templer Knights
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So Benny Hinn is participating in the deceptive peace process that
will mislead the Jews to receive a false Christ, who will drive them
from the Holy Land which will then become the headquarters of said
Antichrist, who will place the Abomination of Desolation therein
(Matt. 24:16) and proclaim himself to be God. "...that man of
sin...the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God." (II Thes.2:3-4) Evangelical Christians seem
strangely ignorant of the end-time prophecies, judging from their
support for the Antichrist's program with millions of dollars in
donations to ministries like Benny Hinn's -- $$$$$$ that will be spent
rebuilding the Masonic Temple of Solomon.
The Anglican Templar organization with Jesuit leadership that Benny
works with also promotes Christian reconciliation with homosexuals and
the ordination of homosexuals as ministers, priests and bishops. The
Knights Templar were the powerful medieval chivalric order from which
the present orders of Freemasonry evolved. They claim to be working to
restore traditional values, however, the evidence of history presents
a rather different testimony as to moral values of the Templars. Dr.
Cathy Burns wrote of the homosexual proclivities of the medieval
Templars in her book, /Hidden Secrets of the Eastern Star/:
"In the book entitled /The Guilt of the Templars, /we are told that
'the Knights Templar's confessions show them to have been basically
homosexual warrior order...' Other chargers were that the Knights
Templar participated in black magic and pederasty (anal intercourse,
usually with a boy). They practiced 'phallicism
<http://watch.pair.com/new-religion.html#21.G>or sex-worship and
Satanism and venerated 'The Baphomet,' the idol of the Luciferians.
The
crime of sodomy was a rite of Templar
initiation." (p.104)
----------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------
Britain to give gay couples equal rights
LONDON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Next week's Queen's Speech to be read in
British parliament will suggest same-sex couples be given the same
rights as married couples, a report said Monday.
In what amounts to legal recognition of "gay marriage," thousands of
gay couples will be able to register their partnerships and benefit
from inheritance, tax and next-of-kin rights, the Times of London
reported.
The Civil Partnerships Bill would be the most far-reaching change to
British laws relating to homosexuality since gay sex was legalized in
the 1960s, the newspaper said.
Under the proposed legislation, which will also apply in Scotland, gay
couples will be able to sign an official document at a registry office
in front of the registrar and two witnesses, although this would not
be taken as a "marriage ceremony".
The scheme would include "divorce," with maintenance claims. Gay
couples who split would have access to legal aid to sort out disputes
over contact with children or finances.
(**suprise suprise**)
========================
=========================
=========================
===========
Daniel 11:37 (KJV)
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, NOR THE DESIRE OF
WOMEN, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------
Prince Charles flies back into vortex of scandal
John Arlidge and Jessica Hodgson
Sunday November 9, 2003
The Observer
Prince Charles flies back to Britain today after his two-week tour
of
India and the Middle East as the scandal over allegations of a
sexual
incident involving him and a royal servant(male) reaches new
heights.
Internet sites in Europe and the US yesterday published lurid
details
of the alleged incident while British newspapers, gagged by a court
injunction, subjected the prince to the worst criticism he has
faced.
Clarence House was bracing itself for fresh revelations in today's
newspapers.
(rest cut)
========================
=========================
=========================
=======
Pastor Urges Episcopalians to Shun 'Church of Anti-Christ'
Jim Brown and Jody Brown
Agape Press
A best-selling Christian author and pastor is encouraging believers
to
separate themselves from the Anglican Episcopal Church.
On Sunday, November 2, the Episcopal Church USA consecrated a
homosexual man, Vicki Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire.
The
ceremony was the culmination of months of heated debate within ECUSA
over Robinson's election to the post -- and likely the catalyst to
what the worldwide leaders of the Anglican Communion have stated
will
put the unity of their denomination "in jeopardy" and "tear the
fabric
of the communion at its deepest level." The denomination also allows
same-sex "blessing" ceremonies.
Dr. John MacArthur is pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun
Valley,
California, a best-selling author, and host of the worldwide radio
program "Grace to You." gty.org) Regarding the recent steps taken
by
the Episcopal Church, MacArthur minces no words, saying the church
is
not the Church of Jesus Christ but "the church of Anti-Christ. The
denomination, he says, should be shunned because of its unbiblical
actions.
"This is not the true Church. Their theology is aberrant, their
conduct is aberrant, and they engage themselves in things that are
utterly ungodly and unbiblical," MacArthur says. "I think you have
to
see it as the church of Anti-Christ -- and why would a believer want
to be a part of the church of Anti-Christ?"
MacArthur admits he was not surprised to see the Episcopal Church
consecrate an openly homosexual bishop. He says for years the
denomination has reinvented the gospel.
"Their view of Christ is apostate, therefore their view of
everything
else is warped and twisted. So this is no stretch for them; this is
normal conduct for an organization that is opposed to Jesus Christ
and
the Word of God," he says. "If anybody in it [the Episcopal Church]
is a true believer, they need to get out."
MacArthur says Christians should heed the Apostle Paul's warning to
the Corinthians when he told them not to be "unequally yoked
together
with unbelievers" in any spiritual enterprise. In his recent book
Hard to Believe, the author-pastor confronts man-centered theology
being promoted in many evangelical churches.
Story by Paul Majendie
When he eventually takes over as King and Supreme Governor of the
Anglican Church of England,Charles sees himself as "Defender of
Faiths"
in a country that is a multicultural mix.
(i.e all faiths)
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (NRSV)
2 As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered
together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be
quickly
shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by
letter,
as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is
already
here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not
come
unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed,
the
one destined for destruction.
4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or
object
of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God,
declaring
himself to be God.
========================
=========================
=========================
========
Isaiah 14:10-21 (NRSV)
10 All of them will speak and say to you: "You too have become as
weak
as we!
You have become like us!"11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,and
the
sound of your harps; maggots are the bed beneath you,and worms are
your covering.
12 How you are fallen from heaven,O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;I will sit on the
mount
of assembly on the heights of Zaphon;
14 I will ascend to the tops of the clouds,I will make myself like
the
Most High."15 But you are brought down to Sheol,to the depths of the
Pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you:
"Is this the man who made the earth tremble,who shook kingdoms,17
who
made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities,who would not
let his prisoners go home?"
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,each in his own tomb;19
but you are cast out, away from your grave,like loathsome
carrion,clothed with the dead, those pierced by the sword,who go
down
to the stones of the Pit,like a corpse trampled underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,because you have
destroyed your land,you have killed your people. May the descendants
of evildoers nevermore be named!
21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their
father.
Let them never rise to possess the earth or cover the face of the
world with cities.
========================
=========================
=========================
========
End times:
http://www.geocities.com/mart1963/martsindex.htm
Has Prince Charles found his true spiritual home on a Greek rock?
Visits spark claims of royal's commitment to Orthodoxy
Helena Smith in Athens
Wednesday May 12, 2004
The Guardian
On Monday night a resplendent yacht docked at the watery entrance to
the world's only monastic republic. A middle-aged man, followed by two
bodyguards, stepped on to the jetty of the peninsula in northern
Greece and into the "state" known variously as Mount Athos, Aghio Oros
and the Holy Mount.
A few monks in black robes and pillar-box hats stood waiting, but,
under orders to keep the identity of this particular pilgrim secret,
it was a reception without fanfare. Their guest - clean-shaven in
contrast to the bearded clerics - was Prince Charles, on his third
clandestine retreat to Athos in the past 12 months.
According to friends and associates of the prince, the future head of
the Church of England has become enamoured of the Orthodox faith to
the point that he has adorned a section of his home at Highgrove with
prized Byzantine icons. Many are believed to originate from the Mount,
the Orthodox world's holiest site.
"There is no question that the British royal is Orthodox in his
heart," confided one Athonite monk, making a rare trip outside the
remote republic. "Sadly, he is very constrained by his position."
Athos, they say, encapsulates Charles's profound admiration for
tradition, ancient wisdom and a divine natural order - even if it has
maintained a ban on women since AD1060.
Women are still forbidden from going within 500 metres of the monks'
republic. Yellow signs along the shores of the 400-square-mile
peninsula shoo away "female intruders", despite growing calls within
the EU to have the ban lifted. For the nearly 2,000 monks who have
devoted their lives to shunning sexual desire through prayer, the
Virgin Mary is the only acceptable female presence.
The prince, like his friend, the composer Sir John Tavener, who
converted to Greek Orthodoxy in 1977, is said to be especially drawn
to the Orthodox church's rugged spirituality. Orthodox faithful are
allowed to marry up to three times.
Not since the Stuarts has an heir to the throne taken such an
intellectual interest in religion. For years Charles, who assumes the
title of Defender of the Faith when he becomes king, has displayed an
unprecedented interest in denominations as divergent as Islam and
Buddhism.
But his regular meetings with Ephraim, the abbot of Vatopedion - his
adopted monastery on the Mount - have helped fuel speculation that the
prince is being personally instructed in eastern Christianity, even if
it is fiercely denied by courtiers.
The Cypriot-born abbot is said to be a frequent visitor to Highgrove.
Witnesses say that when the prince arrived in Athos days after the
death of Princess Diana almost seven years ago, it was Ephraim who
induced him to join the faith. Closeted in a chamber alone with the
abbot, Charles is believed to have made a "spiritual commitment" to
Christian Orthodoxy.
"What people forget is that Orthodoxy is in his family," Archbishop
Grigorios of Thyateira, who heads the 500,000-strong Orthodox
community in Britain, told the Guardian.
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"One of Charles's aunts, the Grand Duchess Eugenia, was proclaimed an
Orthodox saint after she was murdered in Moscow where she had
established a monastery. His paternal grandmother, Aliki [Alice], was
a nun for most of her life. She spoke very good Greek and in her later
years, when she came to live in London, she kept an Orthodox chapel in
Buckingham Palace," added the prelate. "Aliki was a very powerful
woman whom I'm sure had a very strong influence on Charles in his
early years."
As the religious centre of eastern Orthodoxy, Athos is a magnet for
pilgrims dedicated to the faith. Many - as testified by the growing
number of monks from the EU, Canada, Australia and the US - don't look
back. And among Europe's wealthy blue bloods, the luxuriant territory
is seen as the perfect "detox" getaway.
But the prince's affection for a place where visitors sleep on lumpy
mattresses and rise at 4am has also raised the inevitable question of
whether the heir to the throne harbours desires of eventually
converting to the religion.
Prince Philip, his Corfu-born father who like Charles is an honorary
member of the Friends of Mount Athos, had to switch to Anglicanism
from Greek Orthodoxy to marry the Queen.
In their large, decaying monasteries the clerics cherish the sort of
Spartan conditions that Charles hated at Gordonstoun, his stern
Scottish boarding school. Most also make no secret of their loathing
of other western religions.
In the wake of last year's allegations of rape and the sale of gifts
which engulfed the house of Windsor and its staff, senior Greek
Orthodox priests launched a spirited defence of the prince. Many
denounced the claims as an "international conspiracy" unleashed by
forces bent on destroying the reluctant royal's new-found affection
for the religion.
"All these attacks against Charles are doubtless due to the fact that
he has embraced Orthodoxy," said His Beatitude, Anthimos, the Bishop
of Alexandroupolis. "If his Orthodox beliefs were ever to be made
official, people would find it very troubling."
Officially, St James's Palace says the prince's trips to the car-free
Mount are a purely "personal affair".
"He goes there as a private individual, not in his official capacity
as the Prince of Wales," said Kirstine Clark, a spokeswoman at the
palace. "Visits are very much in his private time, so we don't issue
details. What I can say is that he is interested in the architecture
and spirituality of Mount Athos."
But, perhaps because he stands to become the Supreme Governor of the
Church of England, Charles is also unusually sensitive about his trips
to the Mount. His visits have been shrouded in secrecy. Countless
Greeks with access to the community told the Guardian they were under
oath never to mention them.
Government officials and diplomats are politely told not to escort the
prince to Vatopedion, which he helped restore with money from the
auction of his watercolours.
Attending the opening of the newly refurbished monastery last year,
the prince said he hoped each of the Mount's 23 monasteries would soon
regain their former splendour. He would, he said, work hard to ensure
that happened.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------
Canadian Church Affirms Same-Sex Unions
Thursday June 3, 2004 6:01 PM
By RICHARD N. OSTLING
AP Religion Writer
ST. CATHARINES, Ontario (AP) - The Anglican Church of Canada
approved
a measure Thursday to ``affirm the integrity and sanctity of
committed
adult same sex relationships.''
The move stops short of authorizing dioceses to hold same-sex
blessing
ceremonies but is still likely to complicate efforts aimed at
unifying
the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. The worldwide Anglican
body
is deeply divided over homosexuality.
Delegates to a national church meeting handed the victory to
supporters of gays and lesbians as a consolation prize the morning
after they voted to delay any national go-ahead on church blessing
ceremonies for same-sex couples till 2007 and possibly 2010.
The ``integrity and sanctity'' measure was approved by a show of
hands.
World Anglican unity was one reason widely cited for delay on the
same-sex rituals bill, which would have authorized the ceremonies
under a so-called ``local option'' - meaning each diocese could
decide
for itself whether to offer them.
Anglicanism is already split over consecration of an openly gay
bishop
in the U.S. Episcopal Church and an emergency commission is
pondering
how to hold the 38 self-governing national churches together. Many
bishops in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast are furious
over the Americans' move.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams released a statement that
welcomed the Canadian vote on Wednesday, but ignored the action on
Thursday.
``It is important that the Canadian church has held back from a
structural shift that would have run counter to the pleas and wishes
of ... so many around the Communion,'' he said.
The Canadian church action comes in the midst of a federal election
campaign in which full-fledged gay marriage is an issue.
Its ``sanctity'' measure also goes beyond wording put on paper by
the
Episcopal Church. The American church passed a measure last year
acknowledging that some dioceses are allowing same-sex blessing
ceremonies, but not affirming the practice as a national policy.
The last-minute ``sanctity'' measure was introduced by Canon Garth
Bulmer from the Ottawa Diocese.
The Rev. Dennis Drainville of the Quebec Diocese, who seconded
Bulmer's motion, told delegates the church needs to express
compassion.
``This says to thousands of people that we love you, we include you
among the faithful, we seek to live with you, to work with you, to
know you,'' he said.
But the Rev. Peter Moore, a former Toronto rector now in the United
States as president of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, said
Bulmer's bill ``seems to intentionally confuse the voice with which
the Canadian church speaks on sexual morality, which undercuts the
church's ability to speak on anything.''
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
------------
Anglican church of England that bends to the habits of it supreme
leader, the future king.
This same church that was first created because the original church
would not bow down to the king wishes of that time and go against
bible teaching.
End
times:
http://www.geocities.com/mart1963/
.
|
