Letters
from 5 June to 12 June 2005
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On Canon
as a brand of camera
The Japanese
'Canon' was adopted from a curious origin of Asian religious adoration,
and the subsequent discovery that 'canon' was viewed to be an English
word adopted in Europe that a Japanese precision designer/inventor
interpreted as a term meaning, 'standard for judgement or biblical
scriptures'! A designer/inventor, adored 'Kwanon' the 'Goddess of
Mercy' and adopted her name that he attached to a precision camera
he designed.
When I
served for a decade in Japan I came upon two massive figures of the
'Canon' in widely divergent areas. The one in Okinawa was a large
lacquered feminine figure housed in a huge white building in the
Peace Park. The designer and artisan insisted that the figure was
'an Asian symbol' and not an image of deification and therefore suitable
for the Peace Park dedicated as a memorial to all, friend and foe,
who died in the Battle of Okinawa 1945.
In the
last two years I served in NE Japan, in the Diocese of Touhoku. The
see city of the diocese is Sendai. Towering over much of that city
is a prominent white figure of the 'Canon' that is so huge that people
can climb to dizzying heights within it and gaze down on the city
through portals open through the eyes of the figure.
Despite
the non-religious description I heard in Okinawa of 'Canon' as 'an
Asian symbol', I noted the description of the figure as the 'Goddess
of Mercy'. The
latter description influenced the adoption of the name for the camera.
Canon
had been developed from 'Kwanon', the original transliteration. The
word, 'canon' was discovered by the Japanese designer/inventor who
found it to mean 'standard for judgement or biblical scriptures'.
The industry maintained an emphasis on precision inspired from the
meaning of the term! The mechanical marvel designed in the 1930's
continues into the 21st century as a digital marvel of electronic
technology conjoined with precision lenses.
The Reverend
Timothy Makoto Nakayama
St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle - Diocese of Olympia
Seattle, Washington, USA
frtim@yahoo.com
13 June 2005
You forgot
the Roman canon
I'm
surprised that in your treatment of
the word "Canon" you missed one of the
most important — Eucharistic Prayer I of the Roman Missal — the
Roman Canon — a prayer not unknown to those of us who are "very
'igh".
I was pleased to see that Cardinal Ratzinger used the Roman Canon
at the funeral of the late Pope, and then used it again in his inaugural
Mass as Pope Benedict XVI.
Incidentally
- the Japanese company's name is an irregular transliteration of
the female name "Kannon" - the goddess of light in the Shinto pantheon,
and presumably responsible for making cameras work.
Alan Harrison
St Mary the Virgin, Hayes, Diocese of London
Uxbridge, UK
13 June 2005
Where does
the Episcopal Church stand?
I
am considering the Episcopal Church but
am somewhat confused as to where it stands, especially when I read
various ecumenical agreements it (of the C of E has signed). There
have been a number of agreements with the RC Church that confirm
traditional Catholic views on the ordained ministry, bishops, apostolic
succession, the real presence in the eucharist, etc. But then the
Episcopal has also signed agreedments with churches such as the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, accepting as valid their
clergy though they lack now epicsocpal ordination in historical
succession. The C of E is about to sign an agreement with the British
Methodist Church, acknowledging the proper administration of its
sacraments, yet that church permits the presiding of lay (not ordained)
members at holy communion. Them agreements seem to be mutually
contradictory. Where does the Episcopal Church stand?
Henry
York
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
13 June 2005
(Ed: if
any readers have comments for Mr York, you can send
them to us, and
we will forward them to him.)
Not just
a sensible handshake
David
Crowther's letter (June
12) expressed the feelings of discomfort shared by many Anglicans
during the passing of the peace. If I may correct David — gently,
I hope — the passing of the peace was not "originally
a sensible handshake". It was a kiss of peace, and the practice was
universal in the primitive church. When the passing of the peace
— in action as well as words — was re-introduced in the latter
part of the 20th century, the suggestion of "the sensible handshake" was
made to allay the discomfort of those for whom an embrace and a kiss
is not felt to be appropriate. (I've had people tell me that "one
can pick up all sorts of germs during the peace." These are the same
people who are averse to the common cup!)
I can
understand David's reference to "a nightmare", having been subjected
on occasion to rib-crushing bear hugs, or meaningless chat during
the passing of the peace. Such behaviour, usually more appropriate
to a rugby scrum, merely indicates that the perpetrators have been
ill-taught about what we are actually doing at this time in the worship
service.
It has
been my practice, when sharing the peace with people I do not know,
to first ask if he/she is a a hugger or a shaker. I exchange the
peace with them according to their response. Perhaps David could
adopt this approach. Better yet, perhaps he could ask his priest
to teach the congregation why we share the peace, how we share the
peace, and whose peace we are sharing.
Rene Jamieson
St. John's Cathedral
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA
13 June 2005
The measure
of mathematical
music
On musical
canons... yes,
there is a connection with all the definitions made in today's issue.
In writing
a canon, a very strict form of musical counterpoint, the composer
must adhere to a srict routine, measure by measure, to progress the
part writing, be it at unison (like most rounds), or at the octave
or another interval. So we can talk on canon two in one, three in
one, and so on.
It can
be a highly complex, mathematical form of music, as in the works
of J S Bach, and in the hands of lesser composers can be very dull
indeed. The Canon has a long history dating from the Middle Ages.
Gillian
Lander
St John the Baptist, Northcote
Northcote, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
14 June 2005
Earlier
letters
We launched
our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All of our
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