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William Maximos's avatar

Thank you for writing this. I grew up in the 90's so I missed the debut of Twin Peaks, but I was thoroughly inoculated with MTV, the Matrix, Truman show, and other 90's sugarcoated-redpills. My journey into the Church feels similar to yours. Rather than coasting-in on the mossy carpets of a medieval melancholy, I came crawling on my knees, thoroughly beaten and tattered by the Gnostic-psychodrama I had subjected myself to through media and rabbit-hole spelunking in a Post-9/11 world. The Church filled a negative space that I had been looking for unconsciously.

The media of my teens and early 20s was mystic in nature, but a different mysticism than the fairy-tale. It was the mysticism of the occult-in-everything, the demonic and the angelic battling it out within every news event and popular tv-show. I saw myself swimming in occult symbolism everywhere, verging on a mania that would lead to long nights of hazy conversation with friends or wasted days of "research" into the underbelly of culture. Taking mushrooms and "exploring consciousness" opened me further to the voyeurism of spirits. A voyeurism I quickly realized was a two-way street. It was an endless hole, one that even feels like it was designed by the very occult institutions I was uncovering.

I found the Church serendipitously after an accident on the beach with a piece of driftwood impaled my head, leading to a medical visit with a man who had been further down the gnostic path than me, and had begun to attend Liturgy, describing Christ and the services as "healing his entire being" and then pointing me towards the work of St. Maximos. No one had ever described Christ in such a way.

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Zyqyt's avatar

Dear Cormac Jones,

Thank you for your insights. This has been most interesting to read.

I grew up in India as a protestant, but have almost exclusively consumed American media; making my journey to Orthodoxy first through Pageauean channels. I would say more, but I think I am currently with you when you say, "When will my life make sense?". I struggle a lot with understanding what is happening both in the world and in me. (When people ask me how I came to Orthodoxy, I do not know what to say. I simply did. My hope for salvation is here. I do not know what effect listening to Queen as a kid had on this process). I honestly could not tell you if I am more of a modernist or a medievalist, or what media I think shaped me the most, or what the cultural scene is currently, or how to describe what my peers believe, the way that you have done. I cannot yet discern. Does this come with time? I am only 20. I hope it does.

May I attempt to summarise what I think you are saying in my own words.

We should not return to pre-WW1 monarchy (I use monarchy here, exclusively to refer to the previous political systems in Europe, not the idea of divine rule). We should not put the Byzantine Empire on a pedal stool and attempt to return to this political system.

Although the Church Fathers and the Bible speak positively about a monarchical, it is not a good in of itself. We need to take what was good from the Medieval Era. The belief that God acts in government. The focus on the acquiring of virtue. The respect for authority. The submittance to God's will. In as much as these ideals were exercised in reality.

Take these goods, but move forward. Starting from wherever one is. A republic like America, a country in the EU, South Africa, or the town one is in and making due with the resources one has, aim for God's will. And in small steps we will end up, not in a monarchy the way it was in the past, but in something new. Imperfect, but seeking the perfect. This seeking starting in South Africa, and India, will not converge in the same political system in this world. The starting points are too different, but in a spiritual sense they can be the same.

Is this is a fair extrapolation of your ideas into the realm of politics?

Each generation must deal with its trauma. Some need Fantasy, some need Twin Peaks (which I have not watched), but these remedies/diseases should never substitute or point away from the true remedy. Be it Modernist of Medievalist, we come from different backgrounds, and different media speaks to us. The transformation of this media into healing ointments to provide a ladder for us all to reach Christ is a worthy goal.

Is this goal not already partially achieved in fantasy, but not at all yet in modernity? Is modernity not also worth the effort to speak to in its own language? and What is the language of the future generations? We must be prepared for it, as we have limited time and resources, and should implement them with wisdom.

This is a slightly botched summary, but I think it should do. Did I miss the overarching theme of your article?

Some extra questions I have:

Is there any example of media encapsulating modernity that is remedial? Twin Peaks is more of a medical report describing one's illness in a language one can understand, as per your explanation.

The counter to materialism being an increased interest in fantasy, seems to be a simple conclusion. But what is the disease of the coming era? I should probably know better, but I am blind to such things.

What about the modernist era is worth saving? What is the good to be kept in us, as we move to Orthodoxy?

I apologize for my crude writing. Rereading this was painful, and even more painful is my inability to make it better.

Thank you.

Zyqyt

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