eye open

 The other day I picked up my bible and began reading.  This is something I do every day, as a rule.  I was disappointed when I noticed that the leather binding of the cover was beginning to unravel.  This bible is printed by Cambridge University Press, King James Version.  I thought that it was of excellent quality.  The paper they use is high quality, and durable.  Nevertheless, the cover is beginning to unravel.  I doubt this is because of overuse.  I've only been using it for 14 years, and I treat it with proper respect.  I don't throw it around, or handle it with soiled hands.  This cover should not be unravelling so soon, and it makes me wonder.  Perhaps the printers of this book are counting on people buying the book, and then letting it sit on the shelf?  It would have been a simple step for them to sew the cover together, instead of just using glue.  My conclusion is that they cut this corner, knowing that mo...

 There is a common misconception about the tradition of Holy Fools in the Orthodox Church.  The term fool in this context is meant to convey the meaning of somebody who acts in an irrational manner.  In other words, they act like an insane person would act.  They are in fact considered insane by many.  This is true.  Where people's understanding goes wrong is when they think that the person is actually insane, and happens to chance upon holiness somehow - perhaps by virtue of his mental illness.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  In actual fact, when a person takes on the podvig of foolishness-for-Christ, they  are doing it voluntarily.  They could, if they so wished, revert to acting like a normal person in full possession of their reasoning faculty.  The reason they act foolishly is because they want to hide their holiness and also invite upon themselves ridicule in order to further acquire more holiness through the humili...