Empty Throne, Empty Tomb
A short film and some news
Hello readers. Yesterday was the first day of Lent in the Orthodox calendar, and I found myself recording another little film for you to mark the occasion. It’s a freeform musing on the ongoing collapse of the West, and how this might be mirrored by the period of collapse which in some way Lent represents. Lent, of course, leads up to a catastrophe which turns out to be a triumph. I wonder if this might be telling us something.
These little films are not substitutes for my writing, but they seem to have begun popping up now and then as accompaniments to it. I’m quite enjoying making them at the moment. Maybe I’ll record another one at the end of Lent and see what happens.
This film is up on my Youtube channel, which you can find here. Also hot off the press there is this interview, which was recorded last year while I was in Romania. It explores my journey to Orthodox Christianity, and a few of my scattered thoughts on what it means.
While I’m here, I have some news about something else that might interest my readers. Many of you will be familiar with my old friend Martin Shaw, mythologist, wilderness guide and, like me, surprise(d) Orthodox convert. You can watch Martin and I talking about our respective journeys from the woods to the Church at this recent event in London.
Martin has now retooled his storytelling academy, the Westcountry School of Myth, to focus on what he calls ‘Christian mythopoetics.’ He’s just launched a five-weekend programme, which will take place in the moors and woods of Devon in the southwest of England. Guest teachers will include Rowan Williams, Malcolm Guite, Frederica Matthewes-Green, Iain McGilchrist, Jonathan Pageau and yours truly. I’ll be spending a weekend with Martin and Rowan Williams next March, gathered around the fire in the woods, working with some combination of fairy tales and Biblical stories and whatever the land brings up.
This is quite the unique thing that Martin is up to, and it’s needed. Maybe it is just another example of the Christian story re-emerging in a new way, from the undergrowth, as it were, in these shattering times. I’m seeing that a lot lately. If you’re interested in this, you can find out more, and apply for a place, here.
Blessings to you all. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and find something vegan to eat that will actually fill me up …
On the idea that something is happening, or is about to and there being a sense of it but it not being visible yet, I have an anology. If I'm looking at the night sky and there is something faintly visible, like a satellite, I've enoticed that if I look directly at it I can't see it, I can't make it out. But, if I look away just slightly so it's in the periphery of my vision, I can see it clearly, slowly moving through space along a clear path. I see it clearly as long as I don't look directly at it. That's how this time feels to me. I see bits and pieces of The Machine everywhere and I have for some time now, quite a few years. It's there and I can see it (feel it) but it's not clearly visible as to where it's going. And when I try to look directly at it, I can't see it. I dunno. Clearly, I'm not the only one and Paul's writings have been the best description of "it".
Our flesh may be torn, our minds mangled, but our faith in Christ the saviour keeps our heart and soul indestructible.
Your courage to speak openly is greatly admired Paul.
Thankyou.