VVOC.org

Not so long ago it was Remembrance Day, and as a person who is from a military family, I was delighted to see people participating. But it also reminded me about the Purple Poppy – the symbol for all the animals of war – victims, survivors and fighting helpers. How many of them are effected even now in present day wars! How many lost their lives in the past and still lose their lives in the present. “Shoulder to Shoulder” with fellow humans – battling, saving lives, so helpful, so courageous and so silent.

I remember, even now, the stories of my family which go back several generations – about the devotion of military horses to their masters. There was even (and may still be in the old Orthodox Christian prayer books) a special blessing/prayer for cavalry horses and their officer/companions – read before any upcoming battle. I’ve heard from Orthodox Christian Americans, serving in deployments, that military chaplains often bless both the serving dogs and mine specialists before they go on dangerous missions.

Animals don’t have a voice but we do! Support the Purple Poppy today. Remember the animals who gave their lives in human battles.

It was truly magnificent to be a part of the London Vegan festival this past summer. So much inspiration. So many great people from all over the world. Workshops, tasty food, talks and great company – what can be better? It becomes better when it’s all vegan! And in that place, in that time, it was definitely so. Discussions were challenging. Recepies affordable. Cruelty free alternatives soothing to the soul. All in all a wonderful day in a life of an Orthodox Christian Vegan person.

P.S. Yeah, I know… One of the Christian groups’ talks was awfully boring and a huge disappointment for the people who attended. Let’s hope, that it works out better for them next year as I don’t think that a 45 minute monologue of Bible quotations will be welcomed again. I’d also like to hope that VVOC.org’s voice will one day be present at the London Vegan Festival – the voice of vegan and vegetarian Orthodox Christians needs to be heard much more.

As you know, VVOC.org is a resource for vegan and vegetarian Orthodox Christians. The site’s contributors form a loose network of vegan and vegetarian Orthodox Christians who also try to get together (in their localities) for a meal as often as they can.

Up until recently, the network was primarily made up of the founding members who were based in Brisbane – Australia. Thanks to other vegetarian and vegan websites, VVOC.org has been widely promoted and its existence has been brought to the attention of a much larger number of vegan and vegetarian Orthodox Christians – both within Australia and overseas.

To broaden the scope of the site’s material, VVOC.org is happy to announce that Anastasija Lewis is joining the contributor’s team as a content provider. She is a vegan Orthodox Christian based in London – U.K. and will be focusing on animal rights issues. Anastasija is also hoping to give a talk on Orthodox Christianity and Veganism at the annual Oriental Churches meet up in London as well as bring together vegan and vegetarian Orthodox Christians in her locality for regular meals. All VVOC.org’s original contributors welcome Anastasija and look forward to her postings from the U.K.

Anastasija is a psychologist by profession. She describes her journey to veganism on our updated testimonials page – please check it out.