I worked till 3am this morning then came home, slept till about 9:30 then woke up and headed for one of my favorite trails on the edge of a major university campus. It would be quiet at this hour, especially on a Sunday.  Somehow I've been gifted with the ability to sniff out some of the best, most private and peaceful sections of whatever city or environment I find myself in.  I'm one of those introvert types that needs  a place to retreat even in the midst of a city.  Crowds and social settings have always drained me very quickly, and so being able to find a place to recharge almost anywhere has served me well. 

Upon checking the readings for the day I realized it's basically the beginning of the Pre-Lenten season and today is the feast of the Publican and the Pharisee along with the day those on the New Rite celebrate the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, specifically those who died under the communist yoke. 

As an old rite guy I can't help thinking that on this day we should also stop to remember all the martyrs and confessors of the Nikonian and Petrine persecution of the Old Orthodox as well, and those who died during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I, who was a fierce opponent of the Old Belief.  Only reason I'm thinking of all this right now is because I've been reading Robert O. Crummey's 1970 book  The Old Believers and the World of Antichrist where lays out in a fair manner the history of the Old Belief and how it survived up through the end of the 18th century. He specifically touches upon the Vyg community outside the Lake Onega region and how it survived, thrived and occasionally weathered violence and persecution at the hands of the Nikonian Orthodox and the westernizing absolutist monarch Peter I.

The more I've dug into the Old Orthodox the more I identify with them.  Providentially I came upon an Old Orthodox Prayerbook back in '13 or '14 and started using it along with getting deeper into to Orthodoxy. I've even visited that Church up in Erie,PA that prints that prayerbook and felt quite at home.  There are a few Orthodox Churches around me but they are all new rite and for better or worse I've come to strongly identify with the Old. I keep remembering the anecdote I read of the late Bishop Daniel of Erie who told the priest of the Erie Church that he was to keep the faith and rites of his ancestors who died for it, that he wasn't to compromise on those essentials. I feel I must do the same, and if I follow my conscience the only Orthodoxy I really identify with is the Old Rite, and so if I must go it alone till I can move to Erie or find an Old Rite Church so be it. 

The Epistle for the day is.  

Timothy 3:10-15

10

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance,

11

persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra-what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.

12

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

13

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

14

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

15

and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

I tend to find some strength and consolation in those words, especially in my commitment to being an admirer and supporter of the Old. 

Well, the spring breeze is blowing softly through the pines and palm fronds here in this place I dwell, and I've got some other things to attend to.  Not sure where I'm going with this blog actually, I'm just starting to play around with writing again.  I've always wanted to get more serious about it, so who knows, maybe I'll write something more carefully crafted and with more substance one of these days? 

Thanks for all who read this and God bless.