The so-called pythoness of Delphi was, for many centuries, the world’s most renowned oracle. Generals and statesmen and ordinary folks traveled to Greece to gain her counsel — or, rather, the counsel of the god Apollo, who spoke through her. She guided the course of conquests and commerce, marriage and monarchy. She presided at the Temple of Apollo, which was adorned by two famous inscriptions: “Know Thyself” and “Nothing Too Much” — sound enough advice, echoed often by the saints.

St. Athanasius tells us that, upon the coming of Jesus Christ, the oracle at Delphi fell permanently silent. Indeed, the Pythia does seem to have clammed up around the beginning of the Common Era. The pagans, however, gave the credit to the Emperor Hadrian, who put a plug in the place after 117 A.D. The oracle had assisted him in his accession to the purple. He wanted to make sure no one followed too closely in his soothseeking footsteps.

The prophetess may have fallen silent, but perhaps it was from a longish case of laryngitis, because we know that at least one late emperor consulted her, and with calamitous effect. In 303 A.D., Diocletian asked her why the utterances had declined, and she replied that it was the fault of the Christians. Historians say this was one of the precipitating causes of Diocletian’s ruthless persecution. Much later in the fourth century, the emperor Julian (“the Apostate”) restored the shrine and its oracle as part of his program of re-paganizing the Roman world. But, by then, the old oracle just sounded tired: “Tell the King,” she said, “that the curiously built temple has fallen to the ground, that bright Apollo no longer has a roof over his head, or prophetic laurel, or babbling spring. Yes, even the murmuring water has dried up.” The Christian Emperor Theodosius shut the place down for good in the 393.

Now scientific research adds insult to injury. Researchers now claim that the oracle got her enlightenment from inhaling gases that seeped upward from the bowels of the earth. Methane, ethylene, and carbon dioxide are contenders.

It’s kind of sad to think that Rome’s final, brutal persecution of the Church resulted from the same process that produced the lyrics of Donovan, Pink Floyd, and Yes. But, whatever.

If only the Pythia could speak to us today, what might she say?

“Dude, did you ever think about your hand? I mean, really think about your hand?”

Maybe the stoners were on to something. Knowing thyself might as well begin with, like, really knowing thy hand. But, even then, one shouldn’t let one’s self-contemplation get out of hand. Nothing too much, after all.

Adrian Murdoch gives us a wonderful anecdote about Ambrose’s successful intervention on behalf of a pagan sentenced to death. (Don’t miss this one. It’s unforgettable.) He also takes us back to Ravenna.

Maria Lectrix has has now podcasted all of St. Augustine’s treatise “On the Catechizing of the Unlearned.” (Not that today’s catechists ever have to deal with unlearned Christians.) It’s the next best thing to hearing Augustine himself. In fact, it’s even better, since he preached in Latin. ML has also posted plenty of Irenaeus, Gregory, and others for your listening pleasure.

Phil gives us an update on the Gospel of Judas: “After all the hype and media splash around the Gospel of Judas in the spring, it turns out the National Geographic version of this gospel may have been badly mistranslated.” Get the brief update, with links for good scholarly backup.

Reader JR alerts us to Migne’s Patrologia Graeca, now entirely available for free downloading!

If you’ve been putting off those Greek lessons, now’s the time to start. I highly recommend William D. Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek: Grammar and the accompanying Workbook. I took the extra step of ordering tapes of Professor Mounce’s classes. I found them abundantly helpful. His tapes, CDs, and software (some of it free for downloading) are available from his own family-run business, Teknia.

You’ll find pointers to free Greek-learning resources in this post, from a few months back.

OK, so I’ve been a real Puddleglum lately whenever I post on the Christian minorities in the Middle East. Here’s some good news, and something good you can do to help those who suffer from persecution, marginalization, poverty, and the crossfire of wars. Check out the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). A papal agency for pastoral and humanitarian support, CNEWA has for eighty years served people in need in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe. Founded in 1926 by Pope Pius XI, CNEWA’s mandate is to support the mission and institutions of the Eastern Catholic churches; to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need, without regard to nationality or creed; to promote Christian unity and interreligious understanding and collaboration; and to educate people in the West about the history, cultures, peoples, and churches of the East. CNEWA works especially hard to promote unity of Catholic and Orthodox Christians.

Fans of the Fathers will be especially impressed with CNEWA’s magazine, One. You get it free if you give. But you can sample it online, as the editors post all content. The current issue includes a profile of the Armenian Apostolic Church, tracing its origins back to St. Gregory the Wonderworker, the student of Origen. Another great feature in this issue tells how 21st-Century Scribes Use State-of-the-Art Equipment to Preserve Ancient Manuscripts. Very cool.

The online archives go back to the magazine’s beginnings in 1974. Wayback highlights for me were:

St. Gregory Nazianzen (1979).

St. Anthony of Egypt (1974).

St. Ephrem the Syrian (1974).

St. Simeon Stylites (1976).

Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (1983).

And I didn’t even browse much of the archive!

Go! Read! And give! We don’t have to watch helplessly as our brothers and sisters suffer in lands far away. We can do a little bit to help, while we read about the Fathers.

More Fatherly counsel at Happy Catholic.

I received the following very helpful answer to the question of Father Robert Taft’s two pectoral crosses (see here and scroll down to comments). It comes from a friend and former student of Father Taft.

Archbishop Stephen Sulyk, Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians (now retired), elevated to the dignity of Mitred Archimandrite Father Robert F. Taft, S.J. Sulyk celebrated the elevation during Vespers on May 5, 1998, in the Chapel of St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Seminary, Washington, D.C….

Let the record show that Taft didn’t see the dignity as necessary. But it is safe to say that Father Taft was persuaded to accept this honor after consulting several respected and authoritative priests and religious superiors, including Jesuit General Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach who himself has received the equivalent dignity in the Armenian Catholic Church. Officials of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches were in favor of Father Taft acceding to this dignity. Father Taft also received a pectoral cross as a sign of esteem from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

As you know, the title “Archimandrite” (from the Greek, “head of the fold”) is a monastic title given to abbots of monasteries but most often given today as an honorific rank, conferred on celibate religious priests in the Byzantine Church…

What also ought to be remembered is that Bob Taft is a good model of integrating faith and reason. He lives the liturgy and is a scholar of it. He makes no changes in the liturgy but he writes about it from the historical perspective and advises the bishops on how to proceed since they are the only ones who are capable of making changes where needed.