FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY on the feast of St. Philothea , Alana and family became Orthodox Christians.

Happy 4th Anniversary to my Godchildren,  Alana and Tim, Addison, Eli and Gwen!

MAY GOD GRANT YOU ALL MANY YEARS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My post from four years ago.

On Saturday February 19th we had the most glorious day! After months of preparation we drove to the other end of the state to meet Alana and her family!! Alana is just as beautiful, godly , sweet funny and smart in person as she is online. He dh is a lovely man and her children are delightful. Our children played beautifully together all day long! My boys were so excited to meet their new God brothers and God sister. I have had a wonderful time preparing and buying all their crosses and new white clothing and presents. It was such a touching day, full of blessings and I am honored and privileged to be the family’s Godmother and to help Alana and Tim raise their children to love, worship and glorify Christ!

Here we all are just after the children’s baptisms and Alana and her dh’s chrismations.

 

My Goddaughter Gwen in her baptism gown and bonnet.

My Godson! He was just beaming the whole day! That child is full of the love of Christ! He knew something special was happening and just kept looking up and smiling at me like that all during the service! He is a joy and a real little man of God! We bonded instantly! Amazing!

Here he is is about to be immersed in the water 3 times.

Anointing with Holy Oil for the the receiving of the Holy Spirit (Chrismation).

My dh,  Fr. C. baptizing Addison (Adam)

Addison (Adam) being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Look at that face!

Gwenovere (Genevieve) being baptized.

Alana’s dh, Tim being chrismated by Fr. Paul, with Holy Oil for the receiving of the Holy Spirit.

Receiving Holy Communion

My little guys taking it all in prayerfully.

My little Godson Elijah (Elias) receiving
the Body and Blood of Christ for the first time.

Gwen and her lovely mommy Alana (Eleni)

Tim and Alana’s family “The Newly Illumined”

Beautiful baby Gwenovere (Genevieve)
my darling and beloved Goddaughter

A happy and joyful little Eli.

A sleeping little angel!

Alana and me with all our children at the end of a beautiful day!

 

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu watches from the sidelines against the Vikings at the Hubert Humphrey Stadium in Minneapolis in August. He is often seen crossing himself — right to left — during games.
Most NFL fans are familiar with the sight of Steelers safety Troy Polamalu crossing himself during games, but one subset of fans is gleefully aware that he crosses himself from right to left, rather than left to right.

“Each time there is an important play, he makes his cross the Orthodox way. Nobody else does this, and it is a beautiful thing,” said Metropolitan Maximos, of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh, who officiated at the wedding of Troy and Theodora Polamalu four years ago.

Mr. Polamalu, an ethnic Samoan, long has had a strong Christian faith, but was non-denominational until he joined his wife’s Greek Orthodox church. The metropolitan is quick to note that Orthodox enthusiasm for Mr. Polamalu isn’t intended to denigrate any other branch of Christianity.

“I’m very proud of him. But, to be honest, I don’t care if his background is Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox or any of the Protestant communities, as long as the guy is a faithful person. And Polamalu is that, and his wife is as well,” he said.

When football doesn’t allow the Polamalus to worship together on Sundays, they make weekday visits to the Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Saxonburg. Their infant son was baptized there. But the nuns won’t be watching him play in the Super Bowl, Metropolitan Maximos said, because they don’t watch anything on television that isn’t religious.

Orthodoxy and Catholicism — which split in 1054 over issues of church authority — have a different ethos. The monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, the Catholic monastery on the college campus where the Steelers practice, are unabashed fans. One monk, now deceased, went into earlier playoffs with a gold “7″ on his black habit and called himself “Big Ben-edictine.”

Saint Vincent Archabbot Douglas Nowicki said Mr. Polamalu prays in their basilica during training camp and is close to the monks.

“He’s Orthodox, but I think he embodies that spirit of selflessness and humility, and is so well-grounded in who he is, that people of every faith relate to him. There is something deeply spiritual about him that all of us experience in being with him,” he said.

But for the Orthodox, he’s something special, said Damian George, the youth director at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Oakland.

When teens attend national Orthodox conferences, “the kids from Pittsburgh kind of brag about Troy, not only that he’s a Steeler, but that he’s Orthodox. And even the kids from Philly and New York get excited about it. He gives them a good role model because he’s able to play at a high level and keep his faith at an equally high level,” he said.

Orthodoxy has no tradition of celebrities who testify to their faith, said the Rev. Thomas Soroka, pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, McKees Rocks. There are lists of celebrities who have belonged to the church, including Tina Fey and Tom Hanks. But none are considered exemplars of Orthodox spirituality. Current online discussions of an Orthodox celebrity that don’t involve Mr. Polamalu tend to bewail the conduct of Rod Blagojevich, who was removed as Illinois governor last week after a four-day impeachment trial.

“A lot of times when people are Orthodox, it’s more of an ethnic or cultural thing. Troy stands above that by being a practicing, committed Orthodox Christian,” Father Soroka said.

“Orthodoxy is quite sober. It’s not flashy or attractive to those who are looking for stardom. It’s much more introspective, and I think Troy embodies that.”

But it helps that Mr. Polamalu is cool and handsome, with Samoan warrior hair that hasn’t been cut in seven years. His plays appear to defy the laws of physics.

“Being faithful and devout isn’t always cool. So it’s great when you can point to Troy Polamalu and say, ‘Look, faith isn’t stupid. It’s something really special,’ ” said James Purdie, 26, a subdeacon at St. George Cathedral.

“Seeing him crossing himself after a play, or praying on the sidelines, it’s a way of witnessing that your faith can be incorporated into your everyday life.”

Mr. Purdie saw the Polamalus at a lecture at Duquesne University by Orthodox theologian Bishop Kallistos Ware.

“A lot of the younger folks went up to him afterward and were asking him questions — theological questions as well as football questions. His answers showed that he was knowledgeable in his faith. And it was nice to see his humility. He was very approachable,” Mr. Purdie said.

One Orthodox leader who does not tell stories about the Polamalus is their pastor, the Rev. John Touloumes at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, North Side. He wants to respect the family’s privacy. But he will say that Mr. Polamalu has steeped himself in the Orthodox faith.

“Troy has received the faith with great dedication and great enthusiasm in his personal life. He does share it on the field with others when he believes it is his calling to do that. And he shows it through his life, through his humility and his good works,” he said.

“He has a particular love for the younger people and they have responded very warmly to his gentle personality, his athletic talents and his deep faith.”

The Rev. Patrick Carpenter, pastor of St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, South Side, joined a Troy Polamalu fan group on Facebook and took part in its “Steelers prayer wave.” But he won’t pray for a Steelers win.

“We don’t pray for victories. We don’t pray for defeats. We pray for the safety of the team.”

Of course, Mr. Polamalu is the safety of the team.

Ann Rodgers can be reached at arodgers@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1416.
First published on February 1, 2009 at 12:00 am

Tuesday conversation: Troy Polamalu
By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
September 25, 2007

PITTSBURGH – Strong safety Troy Polamalu has become known around the Pittsburgh Steelers as the last guy out of the locker room on Sundays after home games. All of his teammates are long gone and even most of the equipment guys have cleared out by the time he emerges. Polamalu goes through a detailed process, including a dip in a cold tub and a lengthy shower to relax after a hard-hitting afternoon.

However, for a guy who doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave, Polamalu does put a serious priority on his time away from the field with his wife, Theodora, the sister of Polamalu’s former USC teammate Alex Holmes.

Polamalu took some after Sunday’s win over the San Francisco 49ers to engage in a Q&A with Yahoo! Sports.

Cole: Do you have a routine you follow on your day off?

Polamalu: We work out together because that’s our only day off together. It’s a pretty decent workout. She does a lot of running and I do a lot of stretching. Tuesday is also our only opportunity to go to church together, so we do that.

Cole: When and where do you go?

Polamalu: It starts at 8:30 (a.m.). … It’s the Nativity of the Theotokos monastery (in Saxonburg, Pa.).

Cole: I know you’re devoutly Christian (Polamalu has a carefully arranged series of religious items in his locker at Heinz Field), but exactly which denomination?

Polamalu: Greek Orthodox. Theotokos literally means the Mother of God.

Cole: How long are you in services?

Polamalu: They usually go to about 12:30.

Cole: That’s a four-hour service. Is that a normal service?

Polamalu: Pretty much, especially at a monastery.

Cole: Can you describe it?

Polamalu: What’s really neat about the Orthodox church is that it’s like walking back in time 2,000 years to the time of the Apostles, when they created these services. You walk into that and it’s really like … living it. They have maintained the truth ever since the beginning.

Cole: You’re Polynesian. How did you end up at a Greek Orthodox church?

Polamalu: There are different ethnicities, like Russian Orthodox. My wife is Greek. I was a non-denomination Christian before we got married. So we sit around there and meet with our spiritual mother and then we go home, maybe take a nap, work out and then go home and have dinner.

Cole: Who’s making dinner?

Polamalu: My wife; I cannot cook at all. I’ve tried. I’m terrible. When I cook, it’s something nobody else would enjoy.

Cole: You only cook specialty things for yourself?

Polamalu: No, it’s not that nobody else will make it for me, it’s that I’m the only one who is going to enjoy it. I’ll look at the other people and say, “Did you like it?” They say, “Noooooooo.”

Cole: Do you have any other hobbies or things you do away from the field? Maybe bowling?

Polamalu: No, not really. The single guys go bowl. The guys who are married go home, mostly. I really focus on spending time with my wife.

Cole: How hard is it to get time at home during the season? I know guys like (Miami Dolphins linebacker) Zach Thomas stay at the facility until very late studying film and (Indianapolis Colts quarterback) Peyton Manning is watching film at home.

Polamalu: First of all, I’m a Christian so my prayer life really comes first. Second of all, I’m a husband so my wife comes before anything else. If I have time to do anything else after that, I do it, but I don’t sacrifice any time with her.

Cole: A lot of guys do it the other way around. Football comes first. They say family and faith come first, but they really do the football first. How do you reconcile it?

Polamalu: It’s really easy for me. I love my faith and I know that’s first. …. I really think I know what’s important in my life and that’s my faith and my wife.

Cole: So football is a really focused activity. There’s no wasted time, right?

Polamalu: Actually, it’s a lot of fun and it’s something I enjoy. It’s not like when I’m here it’s business time and then there’s family time. Football is, for me, it’s something I do. It’s like for you, you’re a reporter. It’s what you do, not who you are. Football does not define me. How I am with my faith and how I treat my wife is what truly defines you as a man. That is my goal in life to live that way and believe in it. It would be cowardly of me to say that I enjoy my time with my faith and my wife if I really didn’t spend that time with them.

Cole: How long have you been married?

Polamalu: Two years now.

Cole: Kids?

Polamalu: God willing, someday. But three dogs counts for one kid, I think.

Cole: Um, no.

Polamalu: Three English bulldogs count for one kid.

Cole: No.

Polamalu:No?

Cole: I have two kids. No.

Polamalu: Come on, it has to count for one kid.

Cole: I respect and admire your beliefs and your stands on many things, but I’m not buying the three dogs-to-one kid ratio.

Polamalu: OK, you win this one.

Cole: Wait till you have a child waking up at 3 a.m., hungry and then he’s got colic and he’s screaming and you have no idea why.

Polamalu: (laughing) Yeah, it’s probably like, “Talk to me, tell me what’s wrong. Oh, that’s right, you can’t talk to me.” Yeah, with the dogs it’s if they pee in the house you say, “Go to the kennel.”

Jason Cole is a national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jason a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.