On this trip, visited many “orthodox” churches–so art rich! Felt like a fresh baptism of the imagination!

Interesting as well that many even in Israel are getting interested again the early church fathers and mothers, as well as the orthodox branches of the church–coptic, syriac othodox and Armenian and other eastern parts of the early church. Good to get the large context for the early church without worshiping its forms i think. After the reformation we unfortunately lost much of the rich ritual and symbology of the early church.

Hope the protestants didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater on that one. Or exchange art for information and propaganda. The gospel is so rich in nuance and texture–it is symbol rich, just read the gospel of John for starters!

And it does require the imagination to really get into the inner meaning of the newer testament!

My catholic and orthodox friends often chuckle about protestants, well you got the bible part, but your buildings are so ugly. I’m sure the true Bride or Church isn’t ugly or un-creative!

So hopefully this trend of recovering some of the lost fathers and mothers and the richness of their thoughts, imaginations and visions-not just their arguments- will enrich our 20th C expressions of church, which of course is undergoing a great re-reformation of form in our own times!

Let’s hope we allow our imaginations to be baptized along with the rest of us, as CS Lewis put it!