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Ives Digory's avatar

I found a wabi-sabi face to Christianity when I was living in the Republic of Georgia. In the countryside I often came across ruined stone churches and shrines, some reportedly as old as the fourth century, where a local tenderly left icons and stubs of wax.

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Ewan Craig's avatar

Ah Georgia! Now this sounds so wonderful!

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Ives Digory's avatar

I'd share pictures if comments allowed me.

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Chris Fehr's avatar

Ewan your pondering on Wabi-Sabi, tea rooms and gardens reminds me a bit from a chapter on "Work" from a true treasure of a book titled, "The Secret Seminary" by Fr. Brendan Pelphrey. He states, "It is important to realize, finally, that the object of work that we perform as prayer, is not to improve upon nature but to import nature, as it were, into the surroundings of human beings who have lost touch with creation itself." He's speaking to our work against chaos which "is the practical manifestation of evil" as a small recovery of order (goodness, beauty and truth).

The chapter concludes thus, "Finally, the theologian of the Desert does not need to live in any particular place or neighborhood or surrounding. Rather, a dialogue springs up with whatever surroundings he or she inhabits, perhaps through obedience to a bishop or a church. Moving about freely, students may find themselves in the countryside or in the midst of urban blight. Wherever they are, their task is to make their surroundings bloom, to create peaceful spaces where others may come and rest."

Maybe a bit of Paul's references to "cooked" and "raw barbarians" here as we work and pray in various places where we are called in purposeful ways to be planted, the places we "build our huts" both physically and spiritually. Peace.

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Ewan Craig's avatar

This is superb! Thank you for sharing. I am fond of this indeed, and will have to take a look at this book! We will face demons both in the desert and the city, a spirit of peace like St Seraphim of Sarov's would certainly help!

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Randall Jason Green's avatar

Would have enjoyed the first immensely, if it were not for the second. Love the progression 🙏

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