at http://www.orthodoxchristianbooks.com/articles/502/what-is-future-russia/
there are some interesting prophecies about Russia and other places.
""Russia will be supreme in the world. Her name will be ‘Holy Rus’. All sects and religions will pour into Orthodoxy…. But Orthodoxy, and -- essentially speaking -- religion, will draw closer to what it was in Apostolic times. . . ." is interesting,
because it would mean the following:
fasts would be shortened, the great four might be reduced to a week each or to Lent
only and that Holy Week. (In the canons, only nonobservance of WEdnesday,
Friday and Holy Week without a health reason can get you excommunicated. Of
course in these decadent days just about nothing with get you excommunicated in
the jurisdictions in USA. perhaps elsewhere.)
except for Holy Saturday, fasting would be eliminated on all Sundays including
during the Great Lent and lesser lents. Possibly retaining the monastic custom also
eliminated on Saturdays. At present even Sundays are included in the Great Lent
fast, despite the fact that early canons say no fasting on Sunday and this because
Christ rose on that day, each Sunday is a mini Pascha. (aka Easter in English speaking
lands.)
Married men could become bishops. Deacons could marry after ordination.
the godparent system, a resounding failure, would be eliminated, or they're being
an impediment to marriage would be eliminated, since this results in selection of
god parents on the basis of technical external relationship with the Church and on
being already consanguineous usually to eliminate problems of falling in love with
a god sibling (child of your godparent). This means essentially that VERY few
people fit to be catechists in fact are catechizing children, as thing are now.
There is a canon which states that a married couple who stand godparent to the same
child should divorce, but this is absurd since they have done in the spiritual sense
what they do in the physical, produce a child! the rationale is probably that they have
thereby made themselves into brother and sister, but this ignores that marriage and
sex (itself regardless of context what makes the two one flesh I Cor. 6:16) make
the two effectively into brother and sister, though that doesn't validate marrying your
sister. the term is used affectionately in Song of Solomon to the man's lover, and
Eve was a cloned sister to Adam.
The dogmatic definitions are inspired and proof of this is consistency with Scripture,
all of it not just proof texts out of context. The Creed refers to Scripture for authority
regarding the Resurrection, "and arose again on the third day, ACCORDING TO THE
SCRIPTURES."
But the disciplinary canons are open sometimes to question. As Sr. Vassa Larin has
pointed out, many canons have fallen into disuse, but while they are denied in
practice it is not accepted to question or deny them openly. The key to this is
probably Trullo 102 which enshrined economia as normative. Trullo also
countermanded an early canon, which allowed deacons to marry if they declared they
intended to eventually do so at ordination, and forbade marriage to unmarried deacons.
So that in itself is a precedent for changing.
The dogmatic definitions are ALWAYS stated first, and separate from canons, in
all the Ecumenical Councils.
Another change might be a cautious allowing of the most competent and manly minded
women into full diaconate and even priesthood, since Justin Martyr refers to the
"president" of the assembly doing the Eucharistic prayers after which the bread and
wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. Laodicea regional Synod forbade
appointing "female presidents" or presbytides, but did not say any then current were
to be defrocked or unappointed, and did not declare anything they had already done
void. presbyter or elder morphed as a word into priest, the present research on
possible early Christian (not heretical) female priests looks to the term presbytera,
but that is an error, this word refers to the wife of a priest and is still in use for this
today in Greek speaking Churches. Matushka is the term for a priest's wife in Slavic
Churches. "female president" is far more likely a female priest.
Paul gave general recommendations for eldership and overseership (episcopate)
recommending both be married with proof of rightly raising children if he can't
handle his own family how can he tend the larger family the congregation? but Paul
made an exception in Timothy, a young precocious and single man. So these rules
are perhaps more fluid. When Jesus denounced a church in Revelation for tolerating
a false prophetess Jezebel, He did not discuss her gender but the content of her
teaching.
Another difference would be elimination, I hope, of Origenistic nonsense that views
the idea of a physical rule by Christ on earth as too gross and materialistic seeming,
and the idea that Adam and Eve were not so densely physical as we are now before
they sinned, and the "coats of skin" were our physical bodies. Far more likely the
hides from the first sin offerings God would have dictated.
