The last couple times I've dropped John off at Sue's, as we're getting his coat off, he's said "I love ducks!" No idea where that came from. Sue does have this toy that has several little yellow ducks, so maybe that is what he's thinking of. So today Sue asked him after he said that, what does a duck say? And he happily said "quack quack quack!"
Rhonda talked to Deb yesterday, and it seems unlikely that we'd travel by the 15th of March. But she said "soon", so don't know if that means the 22nd is a possibility or what.
history nugget of the day:
In a bizarre selection process that suited his passion for women and wine, 10th-century pagan Prince Vladimir of Russia "interviewed" Jews, Muslims, and Christians to determine his kingdom's future religion. It was a momentous move because the nation he had forged from petty, squabbling tribes had five million people and was second in area only to the Holy Roman Empire. Vladimir became Russia's first Christian leader and his baptism marked the beginning of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Vladimir's decision was influenced deeply by his grandmother, Princess Olga, a Christian convert who urged him to stop persecuting Christians. In AD 986, Vladimir brought in Jews and heard the case for Judaism, but rejected it when he learned the Jews had been expelled from Jerusalem by a God "angry at their forefathers." He was intrigued by Islam, which allowed him "70 fair women," but he shunned this faith too when told he must abstain from alcohol. "Drinking is the joy of the Russians!" Vladimir said. "We cannot exist without that pleasure!"
He finally chose Christianity when his emissaries told him of the glories of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, and he embraced his new religion with the same zeal he once reserved for warfare and women. Now a model Christian, Vladimir built Russia's first stone cathedral in AD 996, the Church of the Tithes, and gave it 10 percent of both his personal income and revenues from his vast empire. Unfortunately, he sometimes took his new faith too literally, especially Christ's words, "Resist not him that is evil." When his empire subsequently was swamped by a crime wave, the church actually pressured him to make arrests and executions until order resumed, and Vladimir complied.
Vladimir's efforts to Christianize Russia continued until his death in 1015. By then he had established churches, cathedrals, and monasteries throughout his kingdom. His devout deeds earned him two enduring accolades: He was canonized as Saint Vladimir and is remembered as the Father of Russia.
Rhonda talked to Deb yesterday, and it seems unlikely that we'd travel by the 15th of March. But she said "soon", so don't know if that means the 22nd is a possibility or what.
history nugget of the day:
In a bizarre selection process that suited his passion for women and wine, 10th-century pagan Prince Vladimir of Russia "interviewed" Jews, Muslims, and Christians to determine his kingdom's future religion. It was a momentous move because the nation he had forged from petty, squabbling tribes had five million people and was second in area only to the Holy Roman Empire. Vladimir became Russia's first Christian leader and his baptism marked the beginning of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Vladimir's decision was influenced deeply by his grandmother, Princess Olga, a Christian convert who urged him to stop persecuting Christians. In AD 986, Vladimir brought in Jews and heard the case for Judaism, but rejected it when he learned the Jews had been expelled from Jerusalem by a God "angry at their forefathers." He was intrigued by Islam, which allowed him "70 fair women," but he shunned this faith too when told he must abstain from alcohol. "Drinking is the joy of the Russians!" Vladimir said. "We cannot exist without that pleasure!"
He finally chose Christianity when his emissaries told him of the glories of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, and he embraced his new religion with the same zeal he once reserved for warfare and women. Now a model Christian, Vladimir built Russia's first stone cathedral in AD 996, the Church of the Tithes, and gave it 10 percent of both his personal income and revenues from his vast empire. Unfortunately, he sometimes took his new faith too literally, especially Christ's words, "Resist not him that is evil." When his empire subsequently was swamped by a crime wave, the church actually pressured him to make arrests and executions until order resumed, and Vladimir complied.
Vladimir's efforts to Christianize Russia continued until his death in 1015. By then he had established churches, cathedrals, and monasteries throughout his kingdom. His devout deeds earned him two enduring accolades: He was canonized as Saint Vladimir and is remembered as the Father of Russia.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home