[religion/anthro] Q re Christian practice, Catholic vs Orthodox
Riddle me this: Aunt C. is Greek. Like all her blood relatives, she is, nominally at least, Greek Orthodox.
Tucked in to the edge of her bureau mirror were:
1) a variety of little cards showing the Virgin Mary,
2) a few little pictures (including one in the style of a proper medieval ikon) of some saints,
3) a couple of little photos of recent Popes. /recordscratch
Inspection of the backs of these cards revealed that none of them were Mass cards, like what I understand are handed out at Catholic funerals. (Some of the saints' pictures were meant to be carried in a wallet: on the reverse they were printed something to the effect of, "The bearer of this card is GREEK ORTHODOX. If near death, please summon an ORTHODOX priest.")
AFAICT, there's no obvious reason for her to have them besides her treasuring them for their religious content.
Why does my not-particularly-observant Orthodox aunt have pictures of Popes (IIRC) John Paul II and Benedict XVI taped to her mirror?
How delicately do I need to broach this subject when I ask her about it? If we were to post these pictures in her room at the nursing home, would it cause other Greek Orthodox people to flip out at her?
Extra Credit 1:
Additionally, behind a religious poem/prayer (on crumbling newsprint) she had taped to the mirror, she had tucked some artificial flowers (presumably from some sort of occasion like a wedding or a funeral) and... two laurel leaves. No, not palm fronds (found those elsewhere), bay leaves.
Also found bay laurel mixed in the desiccated vegetative slurry that was in the vase in which she put her Palm Sunday palm fronds, some roses, some plastic flowers (no obvious type) and a variety of no-longer identifiable plants.
?
(Family is not Athenian.)
Extra Credit 2:
I found in the woman's closet a narrow leather belt that terminated on both ends in a fake coin, which showed a man's head in profile, labeled "HENRI IV".
Which, given the religious indecision suggested by all the above, is kind of the perfect patron "saint" for her to have, tbh.
But still: why does my Aunt C have a Huguenot (or Huguenot-not, as the case may be) fashion accessory? Who even made this thing for her to buy it? Was there a vogue somewhere between 1950 and 1990 for early modern French monarchs?
I'm entirely willing to believe I am massively overthinking all of this. I am an atheist, and I remember an article on a SCOTUS separation of church and state case which quipped that atheists are the last people in America to take religion seriously. But still, I'm curious how to understand these things in cultural context - and want to know if I'm blithely striding across a minefield before I start cheerfully asking her Dumb Jew questions.
Tucked in to the edge of her bureau mirror were:
1) a variety of little cards showing the Virgin Mary,
2) a few little pictures (including one in the style of a proper medieval ikon) of some saints,
3) a couple of little photos of recent Popes. /recordscratch
Inspection of the backs of these cards revealed that none of them were Mass cards, like what I understand are handed out at Catholic funerals. (Some of the saints' pictures were meant to be carried in a wallet: on the reverse they were printed something to the effect of, "The bearer of this card is GREEK ORTHODOX. If near death, please summon an ORTHODOX priest.")
AFAICT, there's no obvious reason for her to have them besides her treasuring them for their religious content.
Why does my not-particularly-observant Orthodox aunt have pictures of Popes (IIRC) John Paul II and Benedict XVI taped to her mirror?
How delicately do I need to broach this subject when I ask her about it? If we were to post these pictures in her room at the nursing home, would it cause other Greek Orthodox people to flip out at her?
Extra Credit 1:
Additionally, behind a religious poem/prayer (on crumbling newsprint) she had taped to the mirror, she had tucked some artificial flowers (presumably from some sort of occasion like a wedding or a funeral) and... two laurel leaves. No, not palm fronds (found those elsewhere), bay leaves.
Also found bay laurel mixed in the desiccated vegetative slurry that was in the vase in which she put her Palm Sunday palm fronds, some roses, some plastic flowers (no obvious type) and a variety of no-longer identifiable plants.
?
(Family is not Athenian.)
Extra Credit 2:
I found in the woman's closet a narrow leather belt that terminated on both ends in a fake coin, which showed a man's head in profile, labeled "HENRI IV".
Which, given the religious indecision suggested by all the above, is kind of the perfect patron "saint" for her to have, tbh.
But still: why does my Aunt C have a Huguenot (or Huguenot-not, as the case may be) fashion accessory? Who even made this thing for her to buy it? Was there a vogue somewhere between 1950 and 1990 for early modern French monarchs?
I'm entirely willing to believe I am massively overthinking all of this. I am an atheist, and I remember an article on a SCOTUS separation of church and state case which quipped that atheists are the last people in America to take religion seriously. But still, I'm curious how to understand these things in cultural context - and want to know if I'm blithely striding across a minefield before I start cheerfully asking her Dumb Jew questions.