Topic: Famous Orthodox Christians

[Αριστοκλής]

Nikola Tesla

[Tzimis]

Troy Polamalu from the Superbowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers is a devout Greek Orthodox Christian. I seen him cross himself no less than 25 times through the game.
Probably why they won too.

[Bono Vox]

I read on several websites that Chris Angel (the magician) was Greek Orthodox.

[Keble]

Troy Polamalu from the Superbowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers is a devout Greek Orthodox Christian. I seen him cross himself no less than 25 times through the game.
Probably why they won too.

There was an interesting GetReligion article on the coverage of this.

[Fr. George]

Troy Polamalu from the Superbowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers is a devout Greek Orthodox Christian. I seen him cross himself no less than 25 times through the game.

Yes.  Troy's name was mentioned in an earlier post...

Probably why they won too.

Um, keep the superstition out of this one.

[Tzimis]

Yes.  Troy's name was mentioned in an earlier post...

woops. missed it.

Um, keep the superstition out of this one.

I removed the garlic from around my neck right after the game. haha.

[Orthodoc]

I once read somewhere that Seiji Ozawa the famous Japanese classical conductor of the Boston Symphony is a member of the Orthodox church.

Orthodoc

[Keble]

I once read somewhere that Seiji Ozawa the famous Japanese classical conductor of the Boston Symphony is a member of the Orthodox church.

I don't think this is so, though I could not find clear confirmation one way or the other.

[HandmaidenofGod]

Michael Huffington - U.S. Representative from California

Really?  An admitted homosexual?

You can't be gay and Orthodox.  Or so I've heard.

Better tell Fr. Seraphim Rose that. 

You cannot be a practicing homosexual and go up for communion, just as a heterosexual who has sex outside the bonds of marriage cannot go up for communion.

Same-sex attraction in and of itself is not sinful. It's what you do with it that potentially can be. If you are chaste, you can go to communion. I don't know anything about Michael Huffington, so I can't speak about him, but that is between him and his spiritual father.

[HandmaidenofGod]

Quite honestly, about people changing their last names when they came to America...  I know quite a few people who have done it, Russians, Greeks, Poles...  During the Cold War it was definitely better for Russians to have "un-Russian" names in some cases. 
Greek names... well, I could think of several insulting ways to rearrange "Anastassakis."

I have a bunch of Greek friends (and currently a Greek roommate) who's names are very easy to twist around.  One of my brother's best friends gets called "Prophylactics" at school, and it's only 2 letters changed and 1 letter added.  Kids can be cruel and some people would rather their kids not be teased. 

So, in defense of Jennifer Aniston's parents... perhaps they were doing what they thought best for their kid(s).

This is true. My last name is an Ellis-Island imalgimation that turned a Hungarian last name into something looks Greek and sounds Spanish. I have a friend who is of Russian descent and his last name is Smith.

I know many Indian friends who's names seem to include every letter of the alphabet and go by "American" names like Vic or Kevin.

It's not about cultural shame but rather trying to fit-in in a new environment.

[ialmisry]

Does anyone know if Bear Grylls of "Man vs. Wild" is Orthodox? I see the show from time to time in parts, seeing him do all sorts of strange things in strange places, taking his clothes off all the time (today he got naked in Siberia) and drinking his urine (today in Namibia).  I saw the beginning for the first time and noticed not only did he cross himself but did so in the Orthodox fashion.  My sons told me "he always does that."

[Alveus Lacuna]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

[Hadel]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

Yes, Tina Fey is Orthodox and half Greek; I saw once a rerun sketch of Saturday Night Live, when she use to do the news segment and made a cross (Orthodox Cross) when she mentioned an actor who died ( a skit).

In Christ,
Hadel

[Marc1152]

Timos-the-Canadian, I laughed so hard reading your post!!!!

Jewish people love to make lists of Jewish celebrities too, so it's not uncommon to do so...
I've heard that they consider Jesus of Nazareth to be one of theirs...go figure...

That's because his Mom is Jewish..

I've heard that Celine Dion is Melikite

 I wonder if our former Govorner here in Maryland Spiro T. Agnew ( the great) was Orthodox ?

[Αριστοκλής]

Timos-the-Canadian, I laughed so hard reading your post!!!!

Jewish people love to make lists of Jewish celebrities too, so it's not uncommon to do so...
I've heard that they consider Jesus of Nazareth to be one of theirs...go figure...

That's because his Mom is Jewish..

I've heard that Celine Dion is Melikite

 I wonder if our former Govorner here in Maryland Spiro T. Agnew ( the great) was Orthodox ?

Agnew was Episcopalian.

[Marat]

Are professional tennis players famous enough to count in this? If so, there are bunches of them. Novak Djokovic from Serbia, the number 3 player in the world, crosses himself regularly in his matches, and in the Orthodox way. Why he is doing this all the time I am not sure, but he does it. Maria Sharapova wears an Orthodox looking cross sometimes when she plays. None of this is conclusive of course, but they must feel a connection to some degree. There are many more but no one seems to care about tennis other than me.

[Heorhij]

Are professional tennis players famous enough to count in this? If so, there are bunches of them. Novak Djokovic from Serbia, the number 3 player in the world, crosses himself regularly in his matches, and in the Orthodox way. Why he is doing this all the time I am not sure, but he does it. Maria Sharapova wears an Orthodox looking cross sometimes when she plays. None of this is conclusive of course, but they must feel a connection to some degree. There are many more but no one seems to care about tennis other than me.

Speaking of sports stars, Oksana Baiul, the figure skater from Ukraine who out-competed Nancy Carrigan in the 1994 winter Olympics, is an Orthodox Christian.

[Hadel]

Timos-the-Canadian, I laughed so hard reading your post!!!!

Jewish people love to make lists of Jewish celebrities too, so it's not uncommon to do so...
I've heard that they consider Jesus of Nazareth to be one of theirs...go figure...

That's because his Mom is Jewish..

I've heard that Celine Dion is Melikite

 I wonder if our former Govorner here in Maryland Spiro T. Agnew ( the great) was Orthodox ?

Yes, her Husband Renee' is Syrian-Arab (Canadian Citizen). He is Greek Melkite Catholic Church, in keeping with the faith of the baby's father. (Melkite Christians follow Orthodox rites but are loyal to the pope.) and Paul Anka is Syrian Orthodox (Syrian-Canadian) plus many many, and many more out there.

Here is an article on this:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,622267,00.html

Originally posted Wednesday July 25, 2001 01:00 PM EDT
Celine Dion and husband Rene Angelil baptized their 6-month-old son, Rene-Charles, on Wednesday in Montreal at a 40-minute private ceremony before 250 friends and members of the family -- and it sounds as though the child has quite a set of pipes in him, too. "Little Rene-Charles wasn't cut out for a big ceremony like that, because he cried quite a bit," Michel Jasmin, a Quebec TV host and family friend, told a Canadian radio station. Apparently, though, the baby stopped wailing when his mother picked him up and held him. The service was held at a chapel adjoining the Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal, exactly six months after the birth of Rene-Charles, and followed the rites of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church, in keeping with the faith of the baby's father. (Melkite Christians follow Orthodox rites but are loyal to the pope.) The Angelils arrived in limos, while their guests showed up in mini-buses, and the event attracted a crowd of curious onlookers. Montreal officials, reports Reuters, closed off streets in the city's historic district and rolled out a blue carpet at the entrance to the church chapel. Dion, 33, is currently on a three-year sabbatical in order to be a fulltime mother. She has announced that her comeback will take place in Las Vegas in 2003.

In Christ,
Hadel

Ps: For extensive list with some tennis players on the list  , please see Wikipedia (I know some do not respect the site but it is correct of what I read, mixed of Greeks, Eastern European and Arab nationalities):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eastern_Orthodox_Christians

[ialmisry]

Timos-the-Canadian, I laughed so hard reading your post!!!!

Jewish people love to make lists of Jewish celebrities too, so it's not uncommon to do so...
I've heard that they consider Jesus of Nazareth to be one of theirs...go figure...

That's because his Mom is Jewish..

I've heard that Celine Dion is Melikite

 I wonder if our former Govorner here in Maryland Spiro T. Agnew ( the great) was Orthodox ?

I don't know if Celine has transferred rites (she's Quebecoise), but her husband is an Arab Melkite, and they had a second, Melkite, wedding.

[Marc1152]

Timos-the-Canadian, I laughed so hard reading your post!!!!

Jewish people love to make lists of Jewish celebrities too, so it's not uncommon to do so...
I've heard that they consider Jesus of Nazareth to be one of theirs...go figure...

That's because his Mom is Jewish..

I've heard that Celine Dion is Melikite

 I wonder if our former Govorner here in Maryland Spiro T. Agnew ( the great) was Orthodox ?

Agnew was Episcopalian.

Whew !  Close call

[mike]

Naomi Campbell is going to convert

[Elisha]

Naomi Campbell is going to convert

Is this confirmed?  It seems still more of a prediction from the press.  If she does, than hopefully she'll actually go to church and learn how to not be a female dog.  (Just look up all the incidents she's been involved in due to her temper to confirm this.)

--content edited for language -username! section moderator

[PeterTheAleut]

Are professional tennis players famous enough to count in this? If so, there are bunches of them. Novak Djokovic from Serbia, the number 3 player in the world, crosses himself regularly in his matches, and in the Orthodox way. Why he is doing this all the time I am not sure, but he does it. Maria Sharapova wears an Orthodox looking cross sometimes when she plays. None of this is conclusive of course, but they must feel a connection to some degree. There are many more but no one seems to care about tennis other than me.

Speaking of sports stars, Oksana Baiul, the figure skater from Ukraine who out-competed Nancy Carrigan in the 1994 winter Olympics

Yup, because Nancy Kerrigan had taken a rod to the knee from thugs working in cahoots with her American rival a few weeks before.   (Tanya Harding is known for flying hubcaps, as well, but I digress.)

[Heorhij]

Are professional tennis players famous enough to count in this? If so, there are bunches of them. Novak Djokovic from Serbia, the number 3 player in the world, crosses himself regularly in his matches, and in the Orthodox way. Why he is doing this all the time I am not sure, but he does it. Maria Sharapova wears an Orthodox looking cross sometimes when she plays. None of this is conclusive of course, but they must feel a connection to some degree. There are many more but no one seems to care about tennis other than me.

Speaking of sports stars, Oksana Baiul, the figure skater from Ukraine who out-competed Nancy Carrigan in the 1994 winter Olympics

Yup, because Nancy Kerrigan had taken a rod to the knee from thugs working in cahoots with her American rival a few weeks before.   (Tanya Harding is known for flying hubcaps, as well, but I digress.)

Sorry, I did not mean to say anything bad about Nancy Kerrigan (BTW, I apologize for misspelling her name).

Also, related to this as well as to what was said about Naomi Campbell: I remember being struck by the saying that "a perfect Orthodox" is an oxymoron. Oksana Bayul started as a little, naive, shy orphan girl from Dnipropetrovs'k, Ukraine, and then, after winning the Olympic gold medal, turned into a celeb, with wild parties and drunk driving and what not. But she IS Orthodox...

[Jetavan]

Don't forget G. I. Gurdjieff and Nicholas Notovitch.

[SolEX01]

Naomi Campbell is going to convert

If she remains involved with her wealthy Russian fiance....

[Alveus Lacuna]

Benny Hinn was raised Orthodox.  Too bad he is so misguided...

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yakov Smirnov is Orthodox again.

[ozgeorge]

Apart from Benny Hinn, I have no idea who any of these people are.

[Mark of Ephesus]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

Let's hope NOT.  (For the sake of Orthodoxy)

Your political post that followed this one was split into its own thread in the Politics Forum:
http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php/topic,19888.0.html
Please refrain from Political posts in the Public Fora.
- Cleveland, Global Moderator

[Mark of Ephesus]

Hi All,

I got this idea of post from another thread....for your interest found on this site:

List famous of most religions and I checked the Orthodox Site of famous below...listed below.

http://www.adherents.com/adh_fam.html

Spencer Abraham and Darrell Issa of Arab Origins....fyi.

Tom Hanks - actor, movie star





Tina Fey - Saturday Night Live TV series writer and on-screen co-host of "Weekend Update" segment
Michael Dukakis - Massachusetts governor; unsuccessful Democratic nominee for President (1988)
Olympia Dukakis - Academy Award-winning actress
Cyril Lucaris / Cyril I - became Patriarch of Constantinople as Cyril I in 17th Century, first great leader of Church since since fall of Constantinople in 1453
Spencer Abraham - U.S. Secretary of Energy for Pres. George W. Bush
George Stephanopoulos - communication director for Pres. Clinton; news show host
Darrell Issa - U.S. Representative from California; wealthy businessman; personally financed 2003 recall election that ended Gov. Gray Davis's term early
George Tenet - CIA director from 1997 to 2004
Paul Weyrich - powerful conservative American activist; founder of the Heritage Foundation
Terry Mattingly - nationally prominent syndicated religion journalist

Rod Blagojevich - governor of Illinois
Paul Sarbanes - U.S. Senator from Maryland
Olympia Snowe - U.S. Senator from Maine
Michael Huffington - U.S. Representative from California
Melissa Bean - U.S. Representative from Illinois
Michael Bilirakis - U.S. Representative from Florida

Here is an infamous person: Vlad Tepes, Prince of Wallachia & Romania  (Dracula)

[Orthodoc]

Adrain Zmed who played a cop on one of the TV series a few years back was the son of a Romanian Orthodox priest.

Orthodoc

[Hadel]

Benny Hinn was raised Orthodox.  Too bad he is so misguided...

Believe me when I say, he is doing it for the money, I have seen this in the Middle East. I have relatives who have Orthodox Icons in their homes and go pray in the Evangelist church, because they give them money to convert. Personal experience. For others, money first then they fall for the conversion.

In Christ,
Hadel

[Hadel]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

Let's hope NOT.  (For the sake of Orthodoxy)

Your political post that followed this one was split into its own thread in the Politics Forum:
http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php/topic,19888.0.html
Please refrain from Political posts in the Public Fora.
- Cleveland, Global Moderator

Yes, Tina Fey is half Greek and is Greek Orthodox (her husband converted for her). I have seen her personally on TV make an Orthodox cross during Saturday Night Live.

In Christ,
Hadel

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

Let's hope NOT.  (For the sake of Orthodoxy)

For the sake of her soul, let's hope so.

[coptic orthodox boy]

To famous MMA fighters who happen to be Orthodox are:

1)Fedor Emelianenko (my avatar) and here is a video where he speaks briefly concerning his religious views (starts at 6:15):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWWUQIhLSS4

2)Andrei Arlovski
(photo) http://www.mmaconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/andrei_arlovski_boxing.jpg

and, the recent fight between Emelianenko and Arlovski last month:
http://www.dailymotion.com/search/Emelianenko%252Bvs.%252BArlovski/video/x85648_fedor-emelianenko-vs-andrei-arlovsk_sport

[Heorhij]

Aleksander Galich (real name Alexander Aronovich Ginzburg, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Galich)

Galich is one of my most beloved Russian popular singers-"bards" (folks who composed both the music and the lyrics of their songs and performed them, accompanying themselves with a Russian 7-string guitar), on par with Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava. His lyrics is incredibly powerful, revolves mostly around the themes of Stalinist terror, the martyrdom of those who ended up in Gulag camps.

He was born into a family of Soviet urban intellectuals of the Jewish ethnic origin, raised atheist, but converted to Orthodoxy in the early 1970-s by Fr. Alexander Men'.

[Mark of Ephesus]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

Let's hope NOT.  (For the sake of Orthodoxy)

Your political post that followed this one was split into its own thread in the Politics Forum:
http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php/topic,19888.0.html
Please refrain from Political posts in the Public Fora.
- Cleveland, Global Moderator

Yes, Tina Fey is half Greek and is Greek Orthodox (her husband converted for her). I have seen her personally on TV make an Orthodox cross during Saturday Night Live.

In Christ,
Hadel

So does she cross herself before or after she performs a "black mass"...(HUMOR)

[Mark of Ephesus]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

Let's hope NOT.  (For the sake of Orthodoxy)

For the sake of her soul, let's hope so.

True.

[Jetavan]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

Let's hope NOT.  (For the sake of Orthodoxy)

For the sake of her soul, let's hope so.

True.

Tina Fey is DYNO-MITE.

[Marc1152]

I wonder if Bear Grills is Orthodox. He is the TV survivalist on Man Vs. Wild. He crosses himself in the Orthodox manner before jumping out of planes and such the like. It may just be an affectation.

[John of the North]

I wonder if Bear Grills is Orthodox. He is the TV survivalist on Man Vs. Wild. He crosses himself in the Orthodox manner before jumping out of planes and such the like. It may just be an affectation.

I was wondering the same thing...

[SolEX01]

Based on the quotes on his website, no.

'I am here to help you'
'I am holding you by your right hand'
'The lord himself watches over you'

[Hadel]

Is Tina Fey really Orthodox?

Let's hope NOT.  (For the sake of Orthodoxy)

Your political post that followed this one was split into its own thread in the Politics Forum:
http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php/topic,19888.0.html




The way I understand it, After to cleanse her soul.... 
Please refrain from Political posts in the Public Fora.
- Cleveland, Global Moderator

Yes, Tina Fey is half Greek and is Greek Orthodox (her husband converted for her). I have seen her personally on TV make an Orthodox cross during Saturday Night Live.

In Christ,
Hadel

So does she cross herself before or after she performs a "black mass"...(HUMOR)

The way I understand it, after mass, to cleanse her soul, 

[Justin Kissel]

Based on the quotes on his website, no

Which quotes?