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flatbstanley · 1 year ago

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Your Guide to Catholic Weddings

Y’all, I love a good wedding. In recognition of this fact, I thought we’d take a break from the heavier stuff and peek into the future. You may recognize some brides and bridesmaids, but no spoilers—you won’t see who they’re marrying.

Also, I’m writing from a US perspective. There are Catholics around the globe, so in reality there’s much, much more variation than you’ll see here. But this post reflects my experience as someone who’s experienced Catholic culture in multiple parts of the US.

All right—let’s take a walk down the aisle!

The Traditionalist Catholic Wedding

Format: A simple marriage ceremony followed by a full Latin Mass. One popular tradition at the end of the Mass is for the bride to place her bouquet in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary and spend a few moments in prayer.

Attire: For the bride and bridal party, shoulders and upper arms MUST be covered. Wraps or cardigans may be used to accomplish this if a suitable dress can’t be purchased off the rack (particularly for bridesmaids). Head coverings are required for women, and accordingly, elaborate bridal veils are common.

Music: The Mass itself is usually chanted. For the processional, popular choices include Charpentier’s “Te Deum”, Parry’s “I Was Glad,” and various hymns to Mary. There’s also “O God Beyond All Praising,” one of the very few post-1960 hymns deemed acceptable to traditionalist Catholics.

Fun fact: The Catholic Church actively discourages the bride being walked down the aisle by her father, saying that it’s a relic of a time when women were treated as property. In the US it’s permitted as a matter of “local custom,” but many traditional Catholic brides opt to walk with both parents or with their soon-to-be spouse.

The Standard Issue Catholic Wedding

Format: A brief wedding ceremony inserted into a typical Catholic Mass.

Attire: A little more modest than a non-Catholic wedding, but you can get away with bare shoulders, depending on the priest. Veils are treated as a fashion choice rather than a required covering.

Music: Recorded music and secular songs (except for some classical pieces) are strictly prohibited, but within that parameter, choices vary widely depending on the couple’s preferences and the abilities of the musicians. Popular choices for the processional are “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring,” “Canon in D,” Clarke’s “Trumpet Voluntary,” and various works by Handel.

Fun fact: It's customary to invite the priest to the reception (where copious amounts of alcohol will be served—Jesus turned water to wine at a wedding, after all!). At the most recent wedding I attended, the priest was last seen donning a purple cowboy hat and joining a conga line.

The "Oops, I Married a Protestant" Wedding

Format: Similar to a standard Catholic wedding, but you only get the first half of the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word, aka Bible readings. Also a few prayers, most notably the Lord's Prayer.

Attire: Same as the standard Catholic wedding.

Music: Similar to a standard Catholic wedding, but priests are generally more agreeable to including Protestant hymns when one party is, in fact, a Protestant.

Fun fact: The Church has no issues with a Catholic and a Protestant having a full Mass for their wedding, but somebody will have to tell Grandma that she can't take communion in a Catholic church even though she's been doing it in her own church for 80 years. You may also have to endure complaints from Protestant relatives regarding the "Catholic calisthenics" - sit down, stand up, kneel, stand up...

The Catholic Beach Wedding

Format: Catholic weddings MUST take place in a church. This can present a problem if your heart is set on a beach wedding. But if you have the money and the logistical know-how, there’s a solution: Find a Catholic church located near the ocean and have your wedding there.

Attire: Ranges from traditional to modern, but generally on the loose, flowing side due to the beach setting. Also, expensive—if you have the funds for a destination wedding, there’s generally money to burn on a gown.

Music: You have two choices: take your chances on the local musicians, or fly in the musicians of your choice (provided that the hosting church will even allow that). Aren’t logistics fun?!?

Fun fact: Because most priests are reluctant to perform weddings for people they don’t know, Catholic beach weddings are usually BYOP—Bring Your Own Priest. Given the massive amount of paperwork that is required to perform a wedding outside your home diocese, the poor guy will probably need a beach vacation after everything you’ve put him through.

#fundie sims #ts4 wedding #ts4 portraits

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musingmelsuinesmelancholy · 11 months ago

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What is “folk-Catholicism”? How do you manage to work as a witch & incorporate Catholicism? I know I’ve heard of “Christian Witchcraft” before, but idk I thought “Catholics” were more strict? Genuinely curious. Stay Blessed

Folk Catholicism refers to local traditions, which may or may not be approved of by the church. For example: laying mums on our dead’s graves during La Toussaint, the veneration of Saint Guinefort (this was not approved of by the church) or visiting holy wells, such as the grotto of Massabielle, or burying a statue of Saint Joseph to aid in selling one’s home, or invoking Mary to ward off the Good Folk.

I simply use catholic rite and folk magic in my practice! The church doesn’t decide whether or not this works after all, they only decide what’s heretical or not 😛 while this isn’t orthodox after christianization folk magicians would’ve considered themselves Christian. They would not have considered what they were doing “witchcraft”. The Catholic Church was more tolerant of folk magicians, as far as I’m aware, than (keeping in mind southern folk practicioners are largely Protestant) the later Protestant churches. Emma Wilby explains this very well in her books! If you look at historical folk magic it will be Christian, cunning folk often using bits and pieces of Latin hymns or prayers.

A lot of the my ancestral veneration involves Catholicism.

If you look at traditions like cultus sabatti they use Christian lore and heresy. Like honoring Cain, Azael, Eve etc. Or using the lore of the watchers in their understanding of the Pale Folk. I use heresy and inversion as well, such as inverting the pater noster, calling on eve as “bone mother/woman” for certain works or inverting psalms.

I think it’s important to keep in mind that the concept of witchcraft, as we understand it today, evolved in a Christian context.

If you wanna know more I’d recommend reading Emma Wilby, Carlo Ginzburg, Claude Lecoutuex and Alexander Carmichael.

Thanks for the ask! I hope my explanation made sense.

#asks #traditional witchcraft #folk catholicism

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orthodoxadventure · 1 year ago

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The Trisagion Hymn [Part 1 of 2]

The solemn singing of the Trisagion, the thrice-holy hymn praising the Most Holy Trinity, is one of the most important and oldest of our Orthodox hymns. The story told about the origin of this hymn connects it to an earthquake that shook Constantinople sometime in 450AD. The earthquake proved catastrophic and people gathered in the streets and began praying, asking God to have mercy on them, singing Kyrie eleison or Lord, have mercy. During this tragedy a small boy came forward and said that, in a vision, he had heard the hymn of the angels gathered around the throne of God, singing what we today call the Trisagion: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. The people took up this chant and the aftershocks ceased. Clearly based on the song of the angelic Seraphim heard by the Prophet Isaiah (6:5), by the end of the 6th century, the Trisagion had been incorporated into the text of the Liturgy. Today, the Trisagion constitutes the last part of the Great Doxology at Matins and should also be part of every Orthodox Christian's morning and evening prayers. It is even sung in Greek and Latin on Holy Friday at St. Peter's Basilica in the Roman Catholic Church.

In the Orthodox tradition the Trisagion is primarily understood as a hymn to the Most Holy Trinity. St. John of Damascus (676-749AD) wrote a whole book explaining the meaning of the hymn! This teaching is best summed up in a hymn written by the Emperor Leo the Wise (866-912AD) for the feast of Pentecost, which we still sing at Vespers on that day.

"Come, people of all nations, and let us worship God in three persons: the Son in the Father, with the Holy Spirit. For the Father, before time began, begot the Son, co-eternal and co-reigning with Him; and the Holy Spirit was in the Father, and glorified with the Son; one power, one essence, one God, whom we all worship as we sing: Holy God, who created all things through the Son, with the co-operation of the Holy Spirit! Holy Might, through whom we have come to know the Father, and through whom the Holy Spirit came into the World! Holy Immortal, the Comforting Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son! Holy Trinity, glory to you!"

[Source of text: The Divine Liturgy of our Father among the Saints John Chrysostom (with Commentary and Notes)]

#christianity #orthodox christianity #religion #prayer #Trisagion

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church-history · 2 years ago

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The Forced Conversion of Chełm Eparchy

(Pratulin martyrs in 1874 by Walery Eljasz Radzikowski)

In 988 East Slavic state of Kievan Rus' was converted to the Eastern form of Christianity by Vladimir I of Kiev. Following the East-West Schism between the Roman and Byzantine Churches, the form of Christianity that Kievan Rus followed became known as Eastern Orthodox Church. Over the centuries, the parts of Rus that would one day become northern Ukraine and Belarus were absorbed by Poland. Within the mostly Roman Catholic Polish state, the appointment of Orthodox bishops by the Polish kings tended to favor lay members of the Ruthenian nobility, often with extremely disastrous results. Meanwhile, the elevation of the Metropolitan See of Moscow to a Patriarchate in 1588 enraged many Orthodox Ukrainians, who saw the move as an insult to the seniority of the See of Kyiv.

The religious and cultural revival caused by the Counter-Reformation in Poland drew admiration from many Orthodox priests, who began to consider a transfer of allegiance from the Ottoman-controlled Patriarch of Constantinople to the Pope of Rome. Between 1595-1596, the Union of Brest saw the creation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the 1636 Union of Uzhhorod similarly created the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in Ruthenian Transcarpathia. Like all the other Eastern Catholic Churches, the Ruthenian and Ukrainian Churches maintain the liturgical, theological and devotional traditions of the Christian East while in communion with the Holy See and the Latin Church.

As the Russian Empire gained the territories along its western frontier through a series of wars and Partitions of Poland that lasted from the seventeenth through the end of the eighteenth centuries, the Greek Catholic Church was deliberately incorporated into the State-controlled Russian Orthodox Church. In 1839, as part of the Tsarist crackdown following the defeat of the November Uprising of 1831, membership in the Eastern Catholic Churches outside Congress Poland was criminalized outright by the Synod of Polotsk. However, this was yet to affect the Eparchy of Chełm.

The longevity of Byzantine Catholicism in this region was attributed to several factors. The eparchy's territory came under Russian control later than did any other Greek Catholic territories ultimately absorbed by Russia (1815 rather than 1795). During the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, it was granted to Austria. Only two decades later, after the Russian victory in the Napoleonic Wars did it become part of Russia. Also, unlike other Greek Catholic regions within the Russian Empire, it had been part of the autonomous Congress Poland. Another factor affecting the Greek Catholic Church's longevity was its deep roots in the local population, which was deeply intermixed between Poles and Ukrainians. Both ethnic groups in the Chełm region viewed the Russian authorities as a mutual enemy. Furthermore, Liturgical Latinizations such as the singing of Polish-language hymns, the playing of organ music, and the reciting of the rosary within the Byzantine Rite were widely considered a matter of national pride, and all attempts to curtail their use were widely ignored.

Conversion

(Tsar Alexander II)

By the end of the 1860s, political circumstances had changed. Following the defeat of the 1865 January Uprising against Tsar Alexander II, all the remaining autonomy of Congress Poland was abolished. After having struggled with Tsarist authorities, Greek Catholic Bishop Mikhail Kuzemsky issued a letter of resignation and left Chełm. Even though the Bishop's resignation was rejected by the Vatican, the Russian authorities immediately appointed a Galician Russophile priest, Fr. Markell Popel, who was living in open concubinage, as Exarch of the eparchy.

Forced conversion to Orthodoxy was preceded by the "purification" the Chełm eparchy of all Latin rituals from the Divine Liturgy, ordered by Popel in October 1873. Initially, it was ignored by many priests, until the Russian state ordered them to sign a declaration that they would abide by the new rules by the New Year of 1874. Over twenty priests refused, and were either arrested or escaped to Galicia. Resistance to the changes was widespread among the Laity, particularly in the northern areas of the eparchy. In numerous parishes, the priests attempting to implement the reforms were dragged out of the church or their belongings were packed outside the rectory. Russian police Constables and Cossacks were used to force the parishioners to accept the de-Latinized Rites; and parishioners who refused to agree were routinely beaten or shot. The struggle has often been compared to that of the Old Believer schism of 1666.

The "purification" having been completed by the end of 1874, from January and May of 1875, all of the parishes officially proclaimed their union with the Orthodox Church. The Eparchy was dissolved and incorporated into the newly created Orthodox eparchy of Chełm and Warsaw, with Bishop Popel becoming suffragan bishop of Lublin residence in Chełm. During the struggle over purification and forced conversion, a total of 600 faithful were deported to Siberia and 108 lost their lives. Sixty-six native Chełm priests who refused to convert to Orthodoxy fled to Galicia, 74 were exiled to Siberia or imprisoned, and seven died as martyrs. Chełm eparchy was purged in the process of most of its native priests, who were replaced by anti-Polish and anti-Catholic Russophile priests recruited from eastern Galicia. In March 1881, out of 291 Orthodox priests in the former eparchy, only 95 were native Chełm priests who had converted, 53 were Orthodox priests assigned to the eparchy from elsewhere, and 143 were Galician Russophiles.

Aftermath

In Galicia, the forced conversion of Chełm was met with support on the part of the Russophiles and indifference among other segments of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The Russophiles at the time were very influential and succeeded in preventing many refugee priests from Russian Poland from obtaining positions in Galicia's Greek Catholic parishes.

Despite their opposition to Tsarism, Orthodoxy, and local Russophiles, many Galician Ukrainophiles were equally opposed to Liturgical Latinizations within the Byzantine Rite and felt contempt for those who wished to preserve them. Furthermore, as the Ruthenian nobility of Galicia had been completely Polonized for centuries and was widely disliked, many Ukrainian intellectuals in Galicia were both anti-Russian and anti-Polish, even in cases were ethnic Poles were fellow Greek Catholics who were facing religious persecution.

Meanwhile, the local unpopularity of the forced conversion was strong enough that, a generation later, following the religious toleration decree during the Russian Revolution of 1905 which finally allowed Orthodox Christians to legally convert to other religions, 170,000 out of the 450,000 Orthodox in the former Chełm Eparchy had returned to Catholicism by 1908, despite the Russian Government only grudgingly allowing conversion to Catholicism of the Latin Rite.

(Pilgrimage Shrine of the Martyrs of Pratulin, Kostomłoty, Third Polish Republic.)

In 1938, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Siedlce chose, following careful investigation, to submit a cause for the beatification of the Greek Catholic Pratulin Martyrs; 13 men and boys who were fatally shot by soldiers of the Imperial Russian Army on January 24, 1874, while nonviolently resisting the Orthodox confiscation of their parish church in the village of Pratulin, Biała Podlaska. All 13 were beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 6, 1996. In 1998, their relics were transferred to the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in nearby Kostomłoty, where the pilgrimage Shrine of the Martyrs of Pratulin has been established.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratulin_Martyrs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_of_Che%C5%82m_Eparchy

#catholic #church history #russia #orthodox #poland #ukraine #ruthenian rite #greek orthodox #russian orthodox #chełm #christian

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tinyshe · 8 months ago

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Easter Proclamation - Exsultet in Latin (English Translation) | Paschal Proclamation Traditional

#HeraldsoftheGospel#TraditionalCatholic#Exsultet Salve Maria! Here is a beautiful video of the Easter Proclamation, also known as the "Exsultet", with Lyrics in English and in Latin. This version has been rendered by Deacons of the Heralds of the Gospel in 3 voices. The Paschal Proclamation is a lengthy sung-proclamation/chant delivered before the paschal candle, by a deacon, during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. This ancient Easter Hymn is rich in detail and symbolism, depicting the entire history of salvation from Adam and Eve to Christ's resurrection from the dead. Do watch the video entirely and Don't miss this beautiful tradition of the Catholic Church! #HeraldsoftheGospel#TraditionalCatholic#Exsultet

#catholic #easter proclamation #exsultet #latin #music #sacred music #paschal proclamation #chant #holy saturday #heraldsofthegospel

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paula-of-christ · 2 years ago

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I see a lot of tridentine catholics on tumblr, and I guess I just don't understand. Is Novus Ordo not valid in your eyes or is this more... strict I guess? style of mass like a greater affirmation of your faith to Jesus?

Firstly "Tridentine Catholics" aren't real because both those that attend Tridentine and Novus Ordo Masses are of the Latin (Roman) Rite of the universal Catholic Church. Secondly I'm not a goer of Tridentine/Latin Mass. I am a traditionalist, meaning I believe in traditional values, morals, and faith when it comes to the expression of our Catholic faith. These traditional expressions are rightly ordered in the Novus Ordo Mass, as was intended by the documents of the Vatican II council, subsequent councils, and post-council letters.

The general issue with most Novus Ordo Masses in the United States (and to an extent Canada from what I can tell of english-speaking online spaces) is that the Novus Ordo, by and large, deviate too greatly from the intent of the creation of the Novus Ordo. Since the 1980s-ish, there has been a stronger pull in the direction back towards those traditional expressions outside of TLM (Tridentine or Traditional Latin Mass), including in places like my parish, which is a traditionalist Novus Ordo Parish. This means traditional hymns, the use of Latin (or Greek) where appropriate, reverence in the sanctuary before and after Mass, the altar and priest Ad Orientem, among other things, that express the reverence and honor deserving of God.

It is not that if you do things differently that it is dishonorous to God, it is that things done differently, as we have seen in the past nearly 80 years since the introduction of the Novus Ordo, that it is an extremely fast and slippery slope towards dishonoring God. It should have nothing to do with how we feel, but about how we are treating God. When I go to a Novus Ordo parish that does not have a sanctuary befitting that of the reverence we should have for God, people act irreverently, and it is offensive because it is offensive to God. Their actions don't change my worship of Him, but their actions are not befitting a place where God is physically present on earth.

#queue me up (queue me up inside) can't queue up (queue me up inside) queue meeeee #catholic #catholicism #christian #christianity #traditional catholic #traditional catholicism #tradcat #tradcatholic #tradcatholicism #traditionalcatholicism #traditionalcatholic

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mariacallous · 2 years ago

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Poland’s far-right used to be loyal footsoldiers for the Catholic Church. But now, they are turning against the clerical establishment – by going to Latin mass.

The men are assembled along the left, the women line up along the right, and the very young children follow the proceedings from an anteroom, soundproofed behind a glass screen. The dress code is sombre – mostly black, occasionally grey. The women are obliged to cover their hair, though judging by the sprinkling of Louis Vuitton and Hermes headscarves, there is no injunction against luxury. Silent and perfectly still, the congregation surrenders to the language of the ancient church: “Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto”.

For the sermon, the priest switches from ecclesiastical Latin to everyday Polish. “You used to be so passionate about your faith and your national identity,” he says. “You paraded with your T-shirts of war heroes and sang hymns in praise of the Lord and the motherland. Now all that is gone. Why?” The reproach seems to be directed exclusively at the male members of the congregation. They lower their heads penitently.

Appeals to nation and faith are uttered in the same breath on Poland’s Independence Day, the annual holiday on November 11 that commemorates the restoration of the country’s sovereignty. However, the faith invoked at this Independence Day mass, in the leafy Warsaw suburb of Wawer, could not be further from the mainstream Catholicism that anchors Poland’s national identity.

The mass was held at a small chapel belonging to the Society of Saint Pius X, an organisation of Catholic priests that was established by Marcel Lefebvre, a controversial French archbishop who was excommunicated by no less a figure than Pope John Paul II, patron saint and supreme icon of modern Polish Catholicism. Performed in traditional Latin rather than Polish, the ceremony at Wawer contained deeply traditional elements that even the most conservative of Poland’s churchgoers might have found archaic. It was arranged at the behest of the Independence March Association, a Polish far-right organisation that convenes an annual march on Independence Day, rallying tens of thousands of ultra-nationalists to declare their hostility to “cultural Marxism” and LGBT rights while affirming – sometimes violently – their “patriotism” and “traditional” Polish values.

The head of the Independence March Association, Robert Bakiewicz, is the most recognisable figure within Poland’s extra-parliamentary far-right, and the closest thing to a leader for its disparate formations. At the mass in Wawer, he could pass for the doorman of an upmarket nightclub – burly physique, smart grey overcoat, military-grade haircut. Contemplating the altar, he is periodically interrupted by uniformed lieutenants equipped with wireless earpieces and armbands.

Bakiewicz – the name is pronounced “Bon-kyeh-vich” – is among the minority of Catholic traditionalists worldwide who prefer to attend mass in the original Latin rather than in their native languages, as is the norm. The traditionalists believe the mainstream Catholic way of worship has strayed from dogma and become too liberal, too ecumenical. As they see it, the Latin, or Tridentine, mass still preserves the splendour and sanctity of the pre-modern Church. In a later interview at his office, Bakiewicz criticised the liberalised version of the rite that he grew up with. “It became like a spectacle of sorts, like a Protestant church… something infantile, something I could not take seriously,” he said.

On social media, the Latin mass is associated with the “trad Caths” – Anglophone internet-speak for an increasingly visible new generation of online Catholics. The “trad Caths” of Instagram and TikTok share content celebrating the values and aesthetics of traditional Catholicism, in tones that veer between the playful and the unabashedly sincere. Bakiewicz has joined in the fun – his private Facebook profile has featured a meme-style portrait of himself with the slogan, “Latin Mass Matters” – but his “trad Cath” identity is also a political statement. It signifies a rejection of a historic ally, the Polish clerical establishment, and a recalibration of the far-right’s relationship with Church and state. It also underlines his own credentials. To lead the far-right, you must be more nationalist than the nationalists, and more Catholic than the Catholics. And there is no better way of demonstrating that, in today’s Poland, than by being seen at Latin mass.

Poland’s nationalists have traditionally been close allies of its Church leaders. Through Nazi occupation and Soviet dominance, they served as joint custodians of national identity, active in the resistance and in the preservation of Polish culture. Over the last decade however, the clergy has been hit by a series of scandals that have weakened its standing with the nationalists, as within Polish society at large, leaving it looking like the junior partner in its alliance with the right-wing government. Media reports have exposed the profligacy of Polish bishops who spent donations to the Church on expensive cars, real estate and lavish renovation schemes. More damagingly, senior clergy in Poland have been implicated in committing and covering up child abuse – allegations that echo those made against Catholic bodies across the world.

The scandals have prompted accusations that the clerical establishment has been behaving like an unaccountable elite, corrupted by power and privilege. Indeed, the far-right’s criticism of Church leaders has a distinctly populist tone, suggesting an archetypal contest between “everyday people” on the one hand and “elites” on the other. “I will send my men to protect churches,” Bakiewicz told me in October 2020, as an effective ban on abortions ignited anti-clerical protests across Poland. “But I will never send them to protect the palaces of bishops.”

Matters have not been helped by the current pope. Hailed as a reformist by liberals, Pope Francis has irked conservatives in Poland and beyond, prompting many to question his judgement. Traditionalists have been particularly troubled by the Pope’s decision to restrict access to the Latin mass, reversing efforts by his predecessor, Pope Benedict, to restore some legitimacy to the ancient rite. Where the era of Pope John Paul II marked the consolidation of the relationship between Poland’s nationalists and clergy, the era of Pope Francis coincides with its weakening. “It’s not like we disobey the Pope, the hierarchs,” Bakiewicz said. “But one cannot ever accept others preaching a false gospel, even if it is – to quote Saint Paul – an angel descended from heaven.”

Street-fighters with a political label

In the battle with liberal values, the far-right in Poland is broadly aligned with its government. Led by the national-conservative Law and Justice party, the government picks fights with Brussels, intimidates independent judges and journalists, demonises the campaign for LGBT rights, more or less prohibits abortions, and persecutes refugees and migrants unless they happen to be Ukrainian. Poland’s far-right movement supports these policies on the streets, and some of its biggest players – such as Bakiewicz – are in turn supported financially by the government. Investigative journalists in Poland have revealed that the government has paid more than one million euros in public subsidies to organisations linked to Bakiewicz. Much of the money is drawn from the budget for cultural projects, and is allocated towards staging the Independence March – an arrangement that casts Bakiewicz in the role of subcontractor, providing event management services for a state that prefers its sponsorship of the far-right to be kept under wraps.

According to Mikolaj Czesnik, a political scientist and professor at Warsaw’s SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the government uses far-right figures such as Bakiewicz to fly a kite for its most hardline policies. “You do not need an army to do that – a few people on the streets of Warsaw is enough,” he said. In the conflict with Brussels for instance, Czesnik said, the far-right helps the government to measure, foster and claim popular support for an extreme position. “The nationalists openly hate Brussels, the people hear that, and this allows the PM to come out and say that he is taking a tough stance against the European Commission because he values the Polish people over some foreign, cosmopolitan greater good.”

Czesnik said he did not expect the Independence March Association to convert its influence into formal political clout by contesting elections as a party. “The threat of them achieving anything in a political sense is not significant,” he said, “and it is certainly much smaller than the threat of them committing harm to Polish public opinion.”

Bakiewicz began his political career as a footsoldier in the ONR, the largest and oldest formation within Poland’s far-right eco-system. The ONR – its initials stand for National Radical Camp – claims to be the ideological heir to an organisation of the same name whose cadres hounded Poland’s Jews and leftists in the run-up to World War Two. The nationalist organisation took part in the armed insurgency against the Nazis, only to be driven underground by the Soviets. It re-emerged in the 1990s as a fringe movement, amounting at first to little more than a group of streetfighters with a political label. Its present-day membership is known for its Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and hostility to LGBT rights, as well as its belief in an ethnically pure Poland. A recent ruling by Poland’s supreme court decreed that the ONR could reasonably be described as “fascist”, although the court stopped short of endorsing that description. The movement rejects the label – fascism is technically outlawed in Poland – even if some of its members have been pictured marching in brown shirts and performing Roman salutes.

Bakiewicz became known at the ONR for his rousing speeches and all-round tough guy image – qualities that, according to his supporters, have helped shake the far-right out of its anomie and restore its sense of purpose. He was born in 1976 in Pruszkow, a satellite town of Warsaw that acquired a reputation for gangland violence in the post-communist transition. As a young man, he ran a small construction company. The Polish investigative website, frontstory.pl, revealed that the firm struggled financially, and that Bakiewicz eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2011 – around the same time as he became active in the ONR. Media outlets also reported that he had been granted a divorce at around this time, with his financial problems cited as a contributory factor. Bakiewicz has refused to speak to the press about this period in his life.

He agreed to the interview on condition that we would only discuss matters of faith. Questions about his financial history were strictly off-limits, and nor was I able to ask him about a 2017 interview in which he used a slur for gay people, and referred to homosexuality as an illness threatening the traditional family.

Persecution and exile

The interview took place in Bakiewicz’s office, in a tower block in Warsaw’s genteel Zoliborz district. I waited in a hallway where religious icons hung on the wall. A stack of newspapers beside the chair contained a range of left and right-wing publications, many with handwritten comments scribbled on the front-page stories. Bakiewicz tends to avoid speaking to established media outlets, opting to get his message across via his YouTube channel.

I began the interview by asking him about his enthusiasm for Latin mass. He responded that the modern mass, replacing the Latin version, undermined the Church’s claim to universality – the claim, in other words, that its teachings applied equally to everyone. “The Church cannot suddenly start changing what it used to preach,” he said, because universality also meant that the institution “needs to be understood in the same way.”

Almost all churches in Poland conduct the mass in the Polish language – a legacy of the Second Vatican Council, held in Rome between 1962-5. The extraordinary summit resulted in sweeping reforms that were welcomed by liberals as a timely overhaul of obsolete doctrine and ritual. Importantly, priests were permitted to celebrate mass in the native language of the congregation rather than Latin. Deeply conservative factions within the Church, however, rejected the changes. Some of these factions were eventually cast out by the Vatican.

The Society of Saint Pius X is among the leading formations that have been exiled to the margins of the mainstream faith. It was established in 1970 by Marcel Lefebvre, a French archbishop who had led opponents of the reforms at the Vatican Council. In 1988, Lefebvre was branded a schismatic and ex-communicated by the Vatican after he defied papal authority by personally consecrating three priests.

“I remember the Lefebvre movement as minnows, back in the 1990s,” said Stanislaw Obirek, a former priest who lectures in American Studies at the University of Warsaw. “They were insignificant.” That changed, he said, as the movement began to attract prominent recruits in Poland, including an influential Jesuit priest and a popular right-wing historian. “People like that gave them recognition and legitimacy, and their optics became more attractive.”

Bakiewicz’s wing of the far-right embraced the Lefebvre movement after falling out with the clergy three years ago. The bond was fortified a year later, amid the largest protests seen in Poland since the dying days of the communist regime. The targets of the protesters’ fury were the leaders of the governing coalition and their allies in the church, deemed to bear joint responsibility for a new law effectively banning abortions. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets for weeks on end, church services were interrupted by activists, and the word, “murderers”, was spray-painted on church facades across the country.

The air of insurrection seemed to galvanise Bakiewicz, spurring him to a defence of his values. “Out there on the streets right now, there are only two banners: the banner of Jesus and the banner of Satan,” he told me, when we spoke by phone on October 27, 2020. Later that day, he convened a press conference outside the St Cross Church on Warsaw’s iconic thoroughfare, Krakowskie Przedmiescie. He declared that he was creating a volunteer force of “true Poles” that would rise up against the danger of secularisation, and secure church premises against attack.

The clergy, though, was less enthusiastic about an association with the far-right. A year earlier, in the run-up to the 2019 Independence March, Bakiewicz had tried to book a central Warsaw church to host a celebratory mass for his supporters. However, church after church turned him down. A vicar at a prominent Warsaw church who eventually agreed to host the mass would also cancel at the last minute, reportedly because Bakiewicz had not disclosed his institutional affiliation when making the booking.

In a spat that was played out in the national press, Bakiewicz in turn accused the Archbishop of Warsaw, Kazimierz Nycz, of violating canonical law by denying his request for a Latin mass. A spokesman for the Warsaw Archdiocese, Przemyslaw Sliwinski, rejected the accusation, telling me at the time that the decision had been taken by individual churches, and they were moreover under no obligation to host a Latin mass. And so it came to pass that the far-right leader spurned in Warsaw would end up celebrating mass at a small chapel in the suburbs, operated by a movement on the fringes of Catholicism.

The themes of persecution and exile resonate through the history of Christianity, echoing the suffering of the earliest followers of the faith. The modern far-right often exploits these themes, insisting that it has been victimised by crusading leftists and over-reaching governments. Bakiewicz has portrayed his movement as heirs to the early Christians, combating the rotten elites in the name of the true believers – giving a populist spin to the old story.

As Bakiewicz’s far-right follows the rising star of the Lefebvre movement, the Law and Justice-led government has entered an ever-tightening embrace with the Church. Top clerics have applauded the overall direction of Law and Justice’s rule, while priests in smaller cities have nudged the faithful to vote for government candidates – all the while endorsing the party’s stance on abortion and LGBT rights. The party’s growing influence over the judiciary has, critics say, also enhanced its appeal as a strategic partner for an institution facing a barrage of lawsuits over sex abuse claims.

Where the far-right flies a kite for Law and Justice ideologues in exchange for state subsidies, the Church clings to the government in the face of scandals and waning influence. Law and Justice is the dominant partner in both these relationships, the apex of a lopsided triangle, bestowing benefits as it chooses.

‘Lifeboats lowered from a sinking ship’

In the interview at his office, Bakiewicz heaped scorn on the clergy that had barred his followers from its churches. He accused them of taking a passive stance during the protests against the abortion law, thereby neglecting a fundamental duty to stand up for the faith. “They suddenly went silent, they did not do what the Church expects them to do.” Instead, he said, “at moments like these, the Church, the bishops, the cardinals in particular, are bound to sacrifice and martyrdom.” After a brief pause, he clarified that he did not mean “martyrdom” in the literal sense.

He also criticised the clergy over its response to recent events – the arrival in Poland of more than three million Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict with Russia. Ukrainians now account for nearly eight per cent of Poland’s population, marking a dramatic shift for a country characterised since World War II by the absence of any sizeable linguistic, religious or ethnic minorities. The homogeneity of contemporary Polish identity is typically upheld by the far-right as a virtue, to be defended at all costs against migrants from Islamic countries.

Towards the Ukrainians however, allies in the confrontation with the historic Russian enemy, there is no overt hostility. “These people came to us from a war-torn country,” Bakiewicz said, striking a paternalistic note. “It’s not the time to think about trivial, materialistic things.” But the Polish clergy, in his view, was once again at fault – it had missed an opportunity to bring the Ukrainians, most of whom follow a branch of the Eastern Orthodox church, within the fold of the Catholic faith. “I am disappointed that the Polish Church is not fighting for these souls,” Bakiewicz said. Converting Ukrainian refugees to Catholicism could, he argued, serve a dual purpose: it would create a durable bond between the two countries and it would boost the strength of the Polish Church.

The proposed mass conversion of a displaced people may sound like anachronistic fantasy – something out of Europe’s mediaeval past – but it encapsulates a particular view of faith and nation on the far-right. Some refugees are welcome, in this view, if they can be assimilated into the faith, reinforcing rather than altering it.

According to the traditionalists, it is the willingness of the Church to be altered, to change with the times, that lies at the heart of its current malaise. Under Pope Francis, the Vatican has softened its rhetoric towards LGBT minorities, condemned Europe’s policy towards migrants, and sought to find common ground with the leaders of other faiths. “If the Pope suggests that all religions are equal,” Bakiewicz said, “it means that the Catholic martyrs, those who were put to death because they refused to convert, would have died in vain.”

Despite their many vocal objections to the current Pope, the traditionalists maintain that they have not crossed the line into outright defiance of papal authority – a move that would call their identity as Catholics into question. One of Bakiewicz’s ideological soulmates in Polish politics, Robert Winnicki, threads the needle between criticism and defiance of the Pope. “We are not going to fight the Pope or the bishops who follow that liberal, syncretic, multicultural path,” said the MP from the ultra-conservative Confederation Party. “We just shrug our shoulders and do what is ours to do.” At the same time, he paints a bleak picture of the Church in peril. “The ship is sinking and the lifeboats are being lowered,” he said. “The Latin mass movement is one of those lifeboats. It will not operate against the Vatican, but despite it.”

Mateusz Mazzini is a Warsaw-based reporter for Gazeta Wyborcza daily and Polityka weekly. This story was produced as part of the Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence, supported by the ERSTE Foundation, in cooperation with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. Editing by Neil Arun.

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aeshnalacrymosa · 2 years ago

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For fic writer ask

🍲 🍣 🍱

🍲 When did you start writing and why?

When I was 13, my best friend at the time introduced me to the concept of fanfiction. I was a bigger bookworm then than I am now, and the idea that I could be a writer who can share stories that others may enjoy was new and exciting to me. I didn't post my first fanfic until after college, and I was 20. But I did spend my whole childhood drawing outlandish and fanciful "comics" in anime style (and woefully unaware of manga) shaping the kinds of stories I wanted to read and write.

🍣 What helps you focus get into the mood to write?

MUSIC, hands down. I listen to different kinds of music depending on the mood. Lately, my go-to music is ambient or post-rock. For Encanto fics specifically, I tend to gravitate toward Colombian traditional or pop music to get a feel of the setting. But I occasionally also listen to Catholic hymns when my writing drifts toward religious themes, which it often does. I notice that I am able to concentrate better with music without lyrics, and if they have lyrics, I prefer Spanish, Ladino, or Latin. If I understand the lyrics (i.e. they're in English or Filipino), I lose concentration. LOL

🍱 Do you read your own fics?

Yes, and I enjoy reading them. When I post a new fic, sometimes I read it repeatedly, just savoring having written something nice.

These questions were fun to answer. Thanks, @cloudly-moonlight !

#tumblr ask games #fanfic writing asks #writing asks #asked and answered #encanto fanfic

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failbluedot · 1 month ago

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Exploring the Rich Traditions of Global Christmas Carols

Christmas carols are a cornerstone of holiday celebrations across the globe, with each culture adding its unique flavor to the music of the season. From the serene hymns sung in European cathedrals to the lively and rhythmic carols from Africa and Latin America, Christmas music offers a rich tapestry of cultural expression. These global carols not only capture the essence of the Christmas spirit but also reflect the diverse traditions, languages, and histories of the regions from which they originate.

One of the most famous and widely recognized Christmas carols is “Silent Night” (Stille Nacht), which originated in Austria in the early 19th century. Written by Joseph Mohr and composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, the song was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818 at a small church in Oberndorf. Since then, “Silent Night” has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects, making it a global symbol of peace and serenity during the holiday season. Its gentle melody and message of hope have resonated with people around the world, ensuring its place as a beloved Christmas classic.

In contrast to the calm and reflective tone of “Silent Night,” Spain and Latin American countries bring a lively and festive spirit to their Christmas celebrations with carols such as “Feliz Navidad.” José Feliciano’s cheerful and upbeat song, written in 1970, has become a holiday favorite across cultures. Sung in both Spanish and English, it embodies the multicultural nature of Christmas and the joy that the holiday season brings to people of all backgrounds. With its simple but catchy lyrics, “Feliz Navidad” is a reminder of the universal desire to spread goodwill and happiness during the Christmas season.

In African countries, Christmas carols often reflect the rich musical traditions of the continent. For example, in South Africa, carols are influenced by traditional African rhythms and melodies. “Siyahamba,” a popular South African hymn, is sung during Christmas as a song of faith and celebration. Its rhythmic, call-and-response style reflects the vibrant musical heritage of South Africa and has gained popularity beyond its borders as a song of unity and joy.

Similarly, the Caribbean islands offer their own distinct take on Christmas caroling, with the inclusion of instruments such as steel drums and maracas. In places like Trinidad and Tobago, the holiday season is marked by “parang” music, a folk style of music that blends Spanish, Venezuelan, and indigenous influences. Parang groups go from house to house, singing lively Christmas songs accompanied by traditional instruments. These songs are full of energy and celebration, often turning Christmas Eve into a lively street party. The upbeat rhythms and festive spirit of parang music highlight the Caribbean’s unique approach to Christmas traditions.

For more information, visit the official website www.christmascarolthegift.org

In the Philippines, where Christmas is celebrated with great enthusiasm, the local caroling tradition known as “Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit” is a reflection of the country’s deep Catholic roots and festive spirit. Filipino Christmas carols often blend religious themes with joyous, upbeat melodies, and they are performed throughout the Christmas season, which is one of the longest in the world. Filipino communities celebrate with parades, light displays, and family gatherings, with caroling serving as a central part of the holiday festivities. Children and adults alike go from house to house, singing carols in exchange for treats or small gifts, a practice that fosters a strong sense of community and togetherness.

In Northern Europe, Christmas carols are often tied to ancient traditions and religious rituals. In countries like Finland and Sweden, carols such as “Jul, Jul, Strålande Jul” are sung in churches, bringing a sense of solemnity and reverence to the holiday. The long, cold winters of Scandinavia are offset by the warmth of these carols, which emphasize the light and hope that Christmas brings. The blend of sacred and secular themes in these songs reflects the deep connection between Christmas and cultural traditions in the region.

Another unique aspect of global Christmas carols is how they adapt to the linguistic and cultural nuances of each region. In Japan, for instance, Christmas is not a traditional religious holiday, but carols have still found a place in the festive season. Songs like “Jingle Bells” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” are popular in Japan, though the celebration of Christmas there is more about gift-giving and romantic dinners than religious observance. The influence of Western culture has brought Christmas carols to new audiences in countries like Japan, where the holiday is embraced in a modern and commercial context.

The diversity of Christmas carols around the world underscores the universal themes of love, joy, and community that are central to the holiday season. Whether sung in a cathedral, a village square, or around the family table, these carols are a reminder of the shared human desire for peace, hope, and connection. Through the lens of global Christmas carols, it becomes clear that, despite cultural differences, the spirit of Christmas remains a powerful force that unites people across the world.

#aesthetic #chrismas #traditional art

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