Yeah, so the British and their infernal rule. It's hard to bust out the Brits, because it really IS difficult to overstate their influence and role in the development of the modern world. But that doesn't mean the country isn't fuckall unorganized.

Continuing on... The school sent me an invoice for accommodation. That is interesting because I'm not staying in university accommodation and have no desire to pay 3000 pound for it. In fact, when I wanted it, they told me it was full and would by no means be available this semester. Then they called me the day I signed my Faustian contract and told me they had space (I get so frustrated about the flat/landlord, I don't want to go into all the details here for fear I'll have a stroke in my chair). On top of this they charged me about double for tuition. And to think I want to get a law degree here.

How is it possible that my schools in the US can get transcripts to me faster than King's? You have to sign up for it online and then they call you to come pick it up when its ready.

I think for the most part people are lazy here and the culture that prevents complaints or challenges to authority also prevents any oversight or accountability.

Then there is the student travel card. Well, I got it today... so perhaps I should just leave it at that.. only a month late this time. And after all, I DID have the first one sent to a girl's house just so I could see her again... so I guess I got what I deserved. It seems to be what I always deserve when it comes to those.


I'm
NOT going to Barcelona. Better to grow up late than never. I mean I will go to Barcelona, just not on Monday. If I really had any friends, they'd send me some pizza 'spress cheeseticks.

Yesterday, I went to see the Patriarch of Constantinople speak at the London School of Economics. There is no way I could but be excited about this. The patriarchate is, after all, an institution going back into antiquity (the 4th century at least). This man holds an office that stretches back person to person through such great men as George Scholarius, St. Photios, and St. John Chrysostom. Though, I think even the patriarch has given up on the mythology that the first bishop of Byzantium was St. Andrew the Apostle.

Regardless, he is the Archbishop of Nova Roma, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and in a very real way, the last official of the Roman Empire (in a way that even the pope isn't). Though many would roll their eyes at a statement like that, I make no apologies.

Needless to say my expectations were pretty high. In a way, there is no way he could live up to them, while at the same time, there is no way I could be disappointed because of WHAT he is, as opposed to WHO he is.

So I think I can say that his speech was a disappointment, but his presence was not. That sounds like the rambling of a superstitious fool. So be it. Just because I expected something like the Easter Sermon of John Chrysostom doesn't mean he was going to produce it. That, by the way, is in my opinion one of the most powerful pieces of rhetoric ever written. We listen to it every Easter when the priest reads it. The priest also reads an encyclical from the local bishop and the Patriarch, at which point I am usually more focused on eating lamb and magieritsa. So why I thought he would be a brilliant speaker in person...

I was pretty impressed by the number of people who wanted to see him. The LSE theater was packed and I barely got in because I didn't have a ticket and was on standby. There were of course many Greeks there. But there were also lots of English, Indians, Chinese... I was surprised at how little Russian, Serbian, and Romanian I heard. I noticed some of the Indians had a cross tattooed between their index finger and thumb (which Indian and Egyptian Orthodox seem to frequently have), but most of them seemed non-Orthodox.

The Greeks there were, unfortunately, being quite haughty. They apparently don't know what the Oikoumene (ecumenical) of Christianity is. He isn't the "Greek" patriarch after all. And I don't think that English converts really want to be lectured about the importance of Greeks to Christianity or to be patronized as being totally ignorant of their chosen religion. I happened to overhear this sort of conversation while standing in line. More than once... Just the type of thing that lets other people know that we are not an ethnocentric religion of superstitious nationalists.

The Patriarch himself is not of this line of thinking. In fact, he is not particularly well liked by more conservative elements of Greek society. I was expecting a pan-Orthodox speech.

But that is not what I got. The speech he gave was more the speech of a European diplomat than a religious prelate... I realize that he was speaking at the £$€, but he is still supposed to be the spiritual father of 300,000,000 people... the representative of their spiritual truth.

But it wasn't a speech of divine truth. He spoke in general terms of how religion is beneficial to the EU, how EU citizens are more religious than the media portrays them (52% believe in God he said..not too comforting), how the EU is great and "religion" can and will thrive and not oppose anything Brussels does, how he has personally taken part in many interfaith dialogues (what exactly does he talk about or accomplish with the Grand Mufti of Damascus or the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem... "Hey, we totally disgree about the metaphysical nature of reality, but we both wear silly hats! Let's drink some tea.) and environmental initiatives (ok, this really is laudable, most Orthodox countries are experiencing vast economic development and could try to be more than a bit more environmentally conscious), and finally, how Turkey should be part of the EU.

I'm not sure I agree with Turkey's accession. For one thing, their historical revisionism is a bit much to stomach. If Germany will forever be tainted with their role in WWII.. Turkey should at least have to ADMIT its role in the massacres of Greeks and Bulgarians at the turn of the century and of course its genocide of Armenians during WWI. An admission of ethnic cleansing of Greeks in Constantinople and Thrace during state organized pogroms (complete with secret laws to disenfranchise them) in 1955 would be nice too.

Historical factors aside, the Turks need to deal with their oppression of the Kurds and of religious minorities. There is no reason for the Turks to legally compel the Patriarch to be elected from native born Turkish citizens while also not allowing a seminary to function in the country. Nor should they refuse to recognize him as Ecumenical (in the government's eyes, he is only a local bishop). Furthermore, they should discourage the constant harassment he faces.


I'm sure he knows more about this than I do. I'm also sure he has to say certain things to appease the Sublime Porte (er.. the government of Turkey). And to be certain, he is embodying Christ's own words to love one's enemies. So I can accept his political positions even though I may not agree with them.

On the other hand, he didn't even start his speech with a prayer... and he spoke in generalities so as not to offend the sensibilities of the Europeans. I guess, I just wanted more... something to re-invigorate my own sense of purpose and inspire me. And that, I didn't get. I still think he's a good and holy person, but not necessarily one that can bridge Orthodoxy and the modern world.

It is rather nice too, that he spoke at the London School of Economics, founded by the atheistic Fabians (who favoured destroying religion) such as George Bernanrd Shaw and Bertrand Russell. Not that I would scoff at getting a degree there...

SO maybe I shouldn't look at the experience as an intellectual triumph of EU bureaucracy over Byzantine spirituality...but just the opposite. If something is Truth, it doesn't really need anyONE.