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"Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights...
...before the dark hour of reason grows." - John Betjeman
Created on 2007-07-29 03:42:09 (#13478011), last updated 2009-12-21
269 comments received, 119 comments posted
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233 Journal Entries, 102 Tags, 1 Memory, 50+ ScrapBook Files, 0 Virtual Gifts, 15 Userpics
Basic Info| Name: | Annichka |
|---|---|
| Location: | Oregon, United States |
BioExplanation of the title and subtitle:
This quote sort of represents my experience of Christianity (particularly Eastern Orthodoxy). Christ said that the kingdom belongs to those who are like children. My greatest difficulty in cultivating faith is a constant war with intellect. Orthodox faith incorporates sounds, smells and sights - music, incense, flowers, icons, and so on. If I can rein in my overgrown reason for a couple of hours at a time, I have a lot more success becoming childlike. Interestingly, since being baptized, I've felt more childlike than I ever have before, and I feel progressively moreso by the day. This is a very good thing. As we pray of the Theotokos, "save me from the slavery of my own reasonings." Mercy.
I'm mostly doing this to clear the junk out of my head, explain puzzling things to myself and remind myself of what I already know. Yes, it's a selfish endeavor. Additionally, however, a few people have complained that I stopped blogging at MySpace, because those entries provided newscasts of the events occurring in several lives connected with mine. I'll be amazed if somewhere in my self-absorbed, expressivist-driven babbles someone might find something of interest. But I offer them anyway.
About me: I'm a student of English literature earning my master's degree. You probably won't be able to tell this from my writing, unless from the pedantic obsession with correct grammar. Hi, my name is Annichka, and I'm a pedant. Some of you may have noticed that I changed my LiveJournal name - it used to be Cassielle and now is Annichka. Cassielle was a feminized version of the name "Cassiel," who is the hero of Wim Wender's film "Faraway, So Close." It remains one of my favorite flicks, and I have always identified with Cassiel's desire to be part of the human world and immense bewilderment on finally joining it. Cassiel's bewilderment, like mine, led him to make a total disaster of his life, and yet he finds redemption. I hope to follow a similar path. The fact that I seem to have found at least the trailhead has led me to change my name. The trailhead is my catechumenate in the Eastern Orthodox Church. My Christian name is Anna, after the mother of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary - "Theotokos" means God-bearer), who waited patiently for most of her life to find redemption in the birth of her daughter (after life-long, humiliating barrenness). My journal should make evident all the ways in which she is an appropriate patron for me! So, in a nutshell, that's what is behind the name change. One of our priests often calls me "Annichka," which is the Russian diminutive form. I like it.
Standard disclaimers apply: I'm a very green Eastern Orthodox Christian, just baptized a few months ago. I don't know anything. These are personal thoughts about personal experiences. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the Eastern Orthodox Church, her subsidiaries and/or affiliates. Read at your own risk.
This quote sort of represents my experience of Christianity (particularly Eastern Orthodoxy). Christ said that the kingdom belongs to those who are like children. My greatest difficulty in cultivating faith is a constant war with intellect. Orthodox faith incorporates sounds, smells and sights - music, incense, flowers, icons, and so on. If I can rein in my overgrown reason for a couple of hours at a time, I have a lot more success becoming childlike. Interestingly, since being baptized, I've felt more childlike than I ever have before, and I feel progressively moreso by the day. This is a very good thing. As we pray of the Theotokos, "save me from the slavery of my own reasonings." Mercy.
I'm mostly doing this to clear the junk out of my head, explain puzzling things to myself and remind myself of what I already know. Yes, it's a selfish endeavor. Additionally, however, a few people have complained that I stopped blogging at MySpace, because those entries provided newscasts of the events occurring in several lives connected with mine. I'll be amazed if somewhere in my self-absorbed, expressivist-driven babbles someone might find something of interest. But I offer them anyway.
About me: I'm a student of English literature earning my master's degree. You probably won't be able to tell this from my writing, unless from the pedantic obsession with correct grammar. Hi, my name is Annichka, and I'm a pedant. Some of you may have noticed that I changed my LiveJournal name - it used to be Cassielle and now is Annichka. Cassielle was a feminized version of the name "Cassiel," who is the hero of Wim Wender's film "Faraway, So Close." It remains one of my favorite flicks, and I have always identified with Cassiel's desire to be part of the human world and immense bewilderment on finally joining it. Cassiel's bewilderment, like mine, led him to make a total disaster of his life, and yet he finds redemption. I hope to follow a similar path. The fact that I seem to have found at least the trailhead has led me to change my name. The trailhead is my catechumenate in the Eastern Orthodox Church. My Christian name is Anna, after the mother of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary - "Theotokos" means God-bearer), who waited patiently for most of her life to find redemption in the birth of her daughter (after life-long, humiliating barrenness). My journal should make evident all the ways in which she is an appropriate patron for me! So, in a nutshell, that's what is behind the name change. One of our priests often calls me "Annichka," which is the Russian diminutive form. I like it.
Standard disclaimers apply: I'm a very green Eastern Orthodox Christian, just baptized a few months ago. I don't know anything. These are personal thoughts about personal experiences. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the Eastern Orthodox Church, her subsidiaries and/or affiliates. Read at your own risk.
ConnectInterests (20):
bikes, books, camping, chickens, cycling, dogs, drawing, eastern orthodoxy, family, gardening, hiking, literature, orthodox christianity, painting, pancreatic cancer, running, swimming, veterinary, western oregon university, writing
External Services:
 | cassiel240@livejournal.com |
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