Some thoughts about the Orthodox Christianity and Xmas

[Novosedoff]

As some of you may know, the main reason why I am here on this forum is because I wanted to practise my English which is becoming a bit rusty these days. From the professional or academic perspective I have nothing to contribute to the on-going research of the ancient Roman world.

So instead I decided to share some thoughts on a subject which is intrinsically related to the Roman world because, as Rodney Stark put it,  "the Roman empire has effectively produced only 2 historically important things: concrete and the Christianity - while it opposed the latter".

My personal attitude towards the Christianity is ignostic. Although I was secretly baptised as 3 years old kid (as many other Russian kids back in Soviet days)  as grown-up I never managed to cherish the "politically correct" attitude to the religion. 

The Orthodox form of Christinity may be less familiar to many of you. The very word "Orthodox" may sound a bit misleading in English.  Because from the historical perspective the word Orthodox was primarily applied to Greek and Anatolian christians, while as we all know the Patriarchate of Constantinople was founded a few centuries later than the Roman church. So this means that the Roman (Catholic) church is older and therefore should be regarded as more Orthodox than the Eastern church of Constantinople.

But there is also other linguistic thing which is important to remember as far as the Russian form of Orthodox Christianity is concerned. In Russian language we call our religion "Православие" which literally means "Worshiping the Right of..". So the connotation of the word has nothing to do with the meaning of Orthodox in English.

There are a few things a remember for anyone who enters an Orthodox church. Firstly, women should cover their heads, men in shorts aint welcome and sometimes may be asked to go out. While the service is conducted in Old Slavic language (which I don't understand at all) everyone should stand. I'd personally prefer to be allowed to sit, but as they say  "If you come here to enjoy the concert of organ music, then go to f..k urself somewhere else because we don't play organs in here".

A church is usually richly decorated both inside and outside. As a matter of fact, one can determine the dedication of the Church by checking the color of its tops. For instance, the blue color would mean that the name of the church has something to do with Virgin Mary. Although I am still struggling to understand the meaning of the mumbo jumbo colors of the Saint Basil's Cathedral on the Red square. The designer must have been deeply doped or something. 

I think the Orthodox form of Christianity is the most polytheistic of them all. This may give some hints at what the right of worshipping actually means.  Because anyone who enters a church will see dozens and dozens of icons placed all over the walls. One may basically choose which saint to pray.  For a more risk-aversive person here is the hint: you can do double hedging by praying a few. But the choice is still rather limited:  you won't find the icon of Ganesha with trunk or monkey-like Hanuman. Out of all animals on the icons one can only see a bird, a dove, which represents the Holy Spirit.  Even Schrödinger's cat is gone. Although the idea of praying a dead Jew may seem a bit crazy, many worshippers do it there too. Nonetheless, for me personally the polytheistic form of Christianity is something I deeply respect, something that makes it stand out and captures the true political spirit of the Roman republic as well. 

As for the date chosen to celebrate the Christmass by Orthodox followers, it is beyond my humble comprehension. Because it seemingly has no relation to the solstice. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by Novosedoff