Talking About Dark Things
Talking About Dark Things
April 16, 2025
Are you a fan of or afraid of the dark? My husband and I frequently have a “battle of the lights.” Bright lights bother my eyes. Also, I was raised in a time when leaving any lights on in an unoccupied room would elicit a negative comment from my father about the high electricity bill. On the other hand, my husband never met a light he did not want to illuminate, and I frequently accuse him of holding stock in our local electric company.
Light and darkness, along with their symbolism, can be frequently found in Sacred Scripture (Genesis 1:4), as well as in the divine services of the Orthodox Church. One of the most profound examples is experienced on Pascha, Easter, the Resurrection of Christ, when Jesus rose from the dead. In a darkened Church, the priest emerges from the sanctuary with a lit candle, inviting us all to “Come, receive the light, from the never-setting light; and glorify Christ, Who has risen from the dead.” The dark church is transformed by numerous lit candles held by the faithful, while in glorious unison they cry out Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! (more…)
The recent Olympics in Paris were quite a spectacle. From the unusual opening parade on the Seine River to the amazing story of US gymnast Simone Biles, the Olympics were an impressive competition to behold. Nevertheless, the event was not without its controversies. What struck me, in particular, was the storm surrounding the women’s boxing match and the boxer from Algeria.
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a British movie, released in 1994, about the romantic adventures of Charles, played by Hugh Grant, and his lively group of friends as they support each other through a series of life events. Perhaps one of the most touching and memorable scenes takes place at the funeral of one of the friends, Gareth. It is revealed at the service that Gareth was not only gay but in a relationship with another member of the circle of friends, Matthew. In his eulogy, Matthew said “Gareth used to prefer funerals to weddings. He said it was easier to get enthusiastic about a ceremony one had an outside chance of eventually being involved in.”
Through the generosity of the editors of “Orthodoxy in Dialogue,” we are pleased to re-post a wonderfully sincere and poignant piece entitled “A Gay’s Man Dormition Story”, published on their website on August 15, 2023, by an anonymous source. Please read the full article by following the link to “Orthodoxy in Dialogue” below, following the first paragraph of the work. 
“Torch Song Trilogy,” written by Harvey Firestein in the 1970s, is a collection of three one-act plays in which the main character, Arnold Beckoff, wrestles with how to live his life, as a gay man, in a post-Stonewall New York City. Central to the plot of the story, later turned into a movie, are Arnold’s relationships with boyfriends, co-workers, his adopted son, and his mother. Arnold’s mother has a difficult time accepting her son’s homosexuality, and questions why he can’t just settle down and marry a “nice Jewish girl”. Arnold is frequently agitated and unhappy with his mother’s refusal to believe that he was “made this way”, in other words, made gay, by God. In one very funny scene, Mrs. Beckoff, “Ma”, in exasperation that her son thinks he knows more about his life than she does, states, “God, doesn’t know, my son knows.”