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Unanswered Questions

St. Catherine's, Sinai and the Burning Bush?

The Burning Bush at Sinai

I received this question by email today. Maybe someone can help? Thanks, — FrJohn (talk)

Dear OrthodoxWiki Friends,

May the Peace of our LORD Jesus Christ be with you. I work as a tour guide in Egypt and have been many times to the blessed monastery of St. Catherine in Mount Sinai, but I've got some questions, could you please help me to find their answers?

1. How can we prove that the " Burning Bush" in Mount Sinai, is the original one?
2. what kind of a tree is it?
3. where can I find a comperhensive article about the monastery of St. Catherine?

Always Glory to God. God Bless you and thank you for your help!

Seeing as no one has responded yet, let me take a few stabs at this. 1. We have it on the authority of oral tradition. I'm not sure how to prove this scientifically. 2. I've heard some talk about the kind of tree (bush) before - I would check a good, Western-style Bible commentary here. 3. Our OrthodoxWiki article on St. Catherine's is at St. Catherine's Monastery (Sinai). You can explore the links from there, or try Google. Hope that helps! Fr. John 13:37, August 5, 2006 (CDT)

P.S. I'm going to leave this in "unanswered questions for a little while to see if anyone else wants to fill in some of the gaps.

We had this recent discussion about the same topic here. The Arabic name is the same used in Luke 6:44 (bramble bush العليقة).

St. Chrysostomos' homily on the Finding of the Cross

Can this homily be found on the internet in the original language or a translation in english or latin ? I did not find it. Thanks - Pat

Answered Questions

December 2005

I was wondering if anyone here might know the History of The Cathedral Church of The Holy Resurrection in the Bronx, New York.

My Jurisdiction knows the land was sold my Dimitray Propheta (Archbishop Walter Propheta's father) to Church of The Holy Resurrection, Inc. in 1930.

I would like to know what Jurisdiction this Church was affiliated with and who it was under when Archbishop Propheta became Dean of Priests there in 1958.

This will greatly assist me in the history of The American Orthodox Catholic Church, (Propheta) I am compiling.

Thank you.

Bishop Mark markp_13601 at yahoo dot com

An answer has been added to your user talk page and sent to your email address by Magda.

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I hope this gets posted. I am searching for anyone who may have information as to whether or not Archbishop Walter Myron Propheta of The American Orthodox Catholic Church was ever consecrated as Hierarch by Archbishop Bodhan Schpylka of The Ukranian Orthodox Church.

Thanks for your help. - Bishop Mark, markp_13601 at yahoo dot com

An answer has been added to your user talk page and sent to your email address by Magda.

Antidoron

I am an American Roman Catholic, and I recently visited the Balkans. I attended a Greek divine liturgy in Athens. As a Catholic, I am confused by the antidoron. I didn't understand the concept until I read the article here, but I am still confused by the practice. Many people were taking the bread, eating it as they walked or placed it in their pocket. Some even threw pieces to the birds. As a Catholic, I was surprised. Is this common practice? Is feeding the pigeons with it acceptable? Also, should I have taken the antidoron as a Catholic. Although I did not receive communion, could I have under Greek doctrine? I am sorry for so many questions but I am very curious and this seems to be the best place to ask. If anyone is on IRC, I would love to discuss my observations. -- Psy guy 17:26, February 7, 2006 (CST)

Hi Psy Guy,

Briefly, the bread is considered blessed, so it should not be thrown away into the garbage. However, it is often considered acceptable to feed it to the birds or pour leftover crumbs under a bush where it won't be trampled underfeet or some other suitable place. Local practices vary, but in many places Antidoron serves a double purpose as a kind of "hospitality bread" that visitors can receive when they do not take the Eucharist. In some parishes, this bread will be given to visitors. Since our churches are not "in communion" with each other, you should not take Communion in an Orthodox church. Some priests may make an exception in cases of dire necessity. If you visit an Orthodox church (and an occasional visit can, according to Catholic teaching, fulfill one's "Saunday obligation") please pray for true reconcilliation between our churches as you witness the pain of separation. Thanks for your interest in all of this, and God bless, — FrJohn (talk)