Comments on: St. Tikhon, the Russian Council of 1917-18, and the Metropolia

By: Matthew Namee

Matthew Namee — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:55:29 +0000

Before my own talk at the SVS conference, one of the webcast viewers asked a question about why we spend so much time talking about the past. In response, I quoted Robin Collingwood, the great British historian-philosopher (and, I have now learned, uncle of Met. Kallistos Ware). Here’s what Collingwood said:

“History is for human self-knowledge … the only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is.”

I don’t think history is going to give us all the answers to lead us into the future. But history CAN tell us about who we are, and knowing who we are is essential to moving forward as a Church

By: Fr. Andrew

Fr. Andrew — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:21:01 +0000

As a history lover, I of course hope that a consciousness of history will play a big role in our future. (History itself always plays a role. The key thing is to be conscious of it.)

These videos are a fine resource, I think, for the same reason that this website purposes: to bring the history of Orthodoxy in the New World to people who might otherwise not have access to the sources.

I have, for instance, a number of out of print and hard to find books in my library that I’ve used as sources for writing that folks without access to seminary (or similar) libraries can never hope to get hold of, at least not without serious investment. I’m hoping that we can begin to affect that situation for the better by means of putting more and more onto the web.

By: Byzantine, TX

Byzantine, TX — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:50:48 +0000

A hat tip is always appreciated – thanks.

I’m still plowing through these videos. Some have proved quite enlightening while others are rather good as historical bookmarks to the thinking of the day. I wonder how much history will play into the future face of Orthodoxy in America. Will scholarly debate prove more influential, will old resentments, or will it be something else entirely that “resolves” this convoluted organizational state.