Hey all,

[flyingstalins]

so a lot has happened since my last post. This is my first post since my chrismation, and thereby my first post as an Orthodox Christian (ooo fancy) My chrismation on Holy Saturday (April 26th this year) was an absolutely beautiful experience, my cheeks hurt for days from smiling. I've included some pictures under the cut, taken by my friend

Comments

[doodah]

You look so very happy and lovely. I miss you, & I love you.

[flyingstalins]

you're either very attentive or have extremely good timing (i.e. that was fast)
Loving and missing as well am I.
Hopefully in the not too distant future I'll consolidate the stuff I've been accumulating with the intent of drifting it your way, and actually drift it your way.

again, love you more than I can say.
thank you.

[offside7]

Wow, this all looks really cool and beautiful.

I'm sorry to hear about your godfather.

Where is this Starbucks?

[flyingstalins]

thank you.

I work at the one by the Big Y on 27 in Walpole.

[debka_notion]

Lovely photos- and I think the first that I've seen of you post-haircut (although I'd heard about it).

How invested are you in the name change as far as what you go by? It will take me time to get used to calling you Gregory, but if that's what you want, I'll work on it.

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. What sort of role have your various godparents played in your life? It isn't a relationship that I've ever experienced, so I'm really rather curious about it, and hearing that as an adult joining a different church, you get godparents even now makes me even more curious.

[flyingstalins]

sorry, wanted to wait to respond to this one till I was awake enough to give lucid explanation

[debka_notion]

Ok- I just knew that some of my friends at St. Vladimir's do take such additional names as a change of the name that they actually use- I gather that is often done with an ordination name at least in some Eastern Orthodox groups, so I didn't know about what might happen with a Crismation name change.

How is your name used in receiving Eucharist? Is there a call and response of some sort? What if the priest doesn't know your name?

That sounds like a really lovely relationship. It's something I think Judaism might learn from, really, although I'm not exactly sure how I would apply something like that.

[flyingstalins]

oh yeah, especially for ordination and such that tends to be taken a lot more seriously on a variety of levels (honestly there are circumstances when I might end up getting another name depending on where discernment takes me) and there are people who are very serious about it as a change even on the chrismation level, but in my experience that hasn't been the norm.

Each individual is prayerfully addressed by name by the priest as they are given the eucharist. hypothetically if need be the name could probably be left out, but in the case of someone the priest hasn't met, it's usually preferable for them to speak with the priest ahead of time (also thereby to assure the priest a bit more that they are Orthodox and ought to be receiving the Eucharist). there are probably little nuances that I don't know well.

It is pretty awesome (when done right) It seems like some informal parallels are around in some capacity. I think about yohanan and resh lakish to some extent. but of course there are some necessarily big differences.

[debka_notion]

And with all that, I forgot to say mazel tov and congratulations. So now I am.

[ringosgarden]

Nifty vest.