Christine O'Moore | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Christopher Michael Schuff |
Born | Carmichael, Sacramento County, California U.S. | February 6, 1979
Origin | Sacramento, California |
Genres |
|
Occupation(s) | Visual Artist, Composer, Singer-songwriter |
Years active | 1999–present |
Labels | CELLAR productions |
Christine O'Moore (formerly Christoforos Schuff; born February 6, 1979, in Sacramento, California, as Christopher Michael Schuff [1] ) is a former Greek-Orthodox priest, [2] [3] [4] musician [5] artist [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] and trans woman [16] [17] recognized for her humanitarian work and social activism. [18] [1] She is known for her writings and discourses on religion and society, social justice, human rights and participation in inter-faith dialogue. [19] [20] O'Moore has appeared in the media regularly, especially in Norway and Greece, since 2006. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] She has been the subject of several documentaries [27] [28] and in various programs in Europe and the United States for her work with refugees. [29] [30] [31]
O'Moore has been described as "a bit unorthodox" [32] and "Colorful in black", [33] due to her way of life and stances on certain religious and social issues. [34]
O'Moore was born in Carmichael, Sacramento County, California as the child of John W. Schuff and Lynn M. Mapes. O'Moore has one older brother and in her teenage years resided periodically with two foster families. At 17 she was featured in The Sacramento Bee as an up-and-coming magician. [35]
O'Moore was enrolled in two private, Christian schools until completing middle school and graduated from Rio Americano High School in 1997. She holds a master's degree in religious studies from the University of Agder in Norway, a graduate diploma in music pedagogy from the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs of Greece, in addition to undergraduate studies in subjects such as linguistics, history, pedagogy, organic agriculture, gender and equality studies and law. [36] [37] She is a certified teacher (lektor) in Norway. [38] O'Moore is a certified Combat medic and has voluntarily done evacuation work on the frontline in Ukraine in 2022 and 2023. [39]
O'Moore attended several non-denominational churches in the Sacramento area throughout her childhood and youth. [27] [40] From 2001 O'Moore resided for extended periods of time annually at the Saint Ignatios Monastery (Limonos Monastery) on the Greek Island of Lesvos where she was baptized in 2006. [23] She was ordained a deacon under the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe in Paris in 2007 and a priest in 2008 in Oslo. [1]
O'Moore expressed that she feared being excommunicated or defrocked by the Orthodox church for her positions and beliefs, commenting "I sometimes wonder if I can continue to wear the same dress as priests who have ideas totally opposed to mine." [1]
She is known for promoting sustainable living [41] and for advocating for fair and equal treatment of often marginalized groups such as immigrants, refugees, the LGBT community, indigenous peoples and the poor. [42] In the Fall of 2010 she allowed a Serbian family from Kosovo to receive church asylum in her home, which also housed a chapel. [43] [44] She started the organization "Filoxenos" in 2013, focusing on work with the Romani people, [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] beggars, [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] immigrants and refugees. [58] [59] [60] She has been noted for her role during the refugee crisis on Lesbos. [61] [62] [63] She has been active in the anti-war movement through her music and art, speeches and writings and he has often ended her appearances with the phrase: "Fuck injustice and God damn the war!". [64] [65] In 2013, O'Moore received the Focus Award (Fokusprisen) from the deacons' association of the Norwegian Church, for her work with homeless Romani immigrants. [66] In 2015 she was given the Bridgebuilder Award (Brobyggerprisen [ no ]) by the Norwegian Church Academy (Norske kirkeakademier) for her civic engagement for the poor. [67] [68] [69] On MLK Day 2017 she was awarded the MLK Non-Violence Prize (Ikkevoldsprisen [ no ]), for her participation in non-violent political demonstrations, her "fearless stances" and work with the poor and refugees. [70] [71] She received the LGBT+ Pride Award in 2017 from the National Association for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender People of Southern Norway. [72] In 2018 she was recognized by "The Gardens of the Righteous" (GARIWO) for her humanitarian work with refugees. [73]
O'Moore has supported LGBT rights, same-sex marriage and marriage equality for what she has called "love in all its forms" [1] and the right for "people of age to live consensually in relationship forms of their choosing," including in polyamorous relationships. [74] [75] Her position on marriage equality has been criticized [76] [77] as being at odds with much of mainstream Christianity and the doctrine of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
On April 10, 2016, O'Moore was arrested for demonstrating without a permit in front of the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) together with five other demonstrators. [78] O'Moore and the other demonstrators submitted peacefully to the arrest. [79] They were released April 11, 2016, charged with holding an unlawful demonstration and for refusing to obey police officer orders. O'Moore was convicted by the District Court of Oslo. [80] [81] For ideological reasons, O'Moore refused to pay the 11,000 Norwegian kroner (NOK) fine. [82] [83] According to O'Moore, the peaceful demonstration was intended to cast light upon the situation of refugees and asylum seekers in Norway and Europe following a law proposal making the criteria for seeking and receiving asylum in Norway much stricter. [84] Several weeks later O'Moore spoke at a parliamentary hearing on this proposal. [85] According to the newspaper Vårt Land , it had been almost thirty years since the last time a priest had been arrested for a political demonstration in Norway. [86] While O'Moore appealed the conviction, citing the right to freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, her appeal was rejected. [82]
O'Moore is well known for her art, performance art, and music, which often express social and political messages. [87] As a musician and singer, O'Moore has used the pseudonyms "justXx" and "Queen and Pauper" artistically. [88] [89] Previously she periodically appeared with her ex-wife, using the name "Simpleminded". [90] [91] Some of her music is characterized by social political messages, where she periodically uses profanity, such as in her anti-war song "God damn the war" [92] (2010) and several of her raps, including "War and More" (2011). [93] [1] Her music has received periodic radio play on NRK. [94]
The art of O'Moore has been featured in a growing number of exhibitions, [95] [96] most recently at Stiklestad National Culture Centre [ no ] (Stiklestad Nasjonale Kultursenter), Design and Architecture Norway [ no ] (Design og arkitektur Norge) and Cultural Church Jakob [ no ] (Kulturkirken Jakob). [97]
O'Moore has also done minor voiceover work for various film projects, such as for the film Yohan: The Child Wanderer and in the documentary "Med rett til å kapre", broadcast on NRK. O'Moore appeared in a cameo role in the series Okkupert, [98] broadcast on TV2 and streamed on Netflix.
In 2000 O'Moore married the Norwegian Hildegunn Marie Tønnessen, they moved to Norway shortly thereafter and have three children together. [28] She and her family have previously lived extended periods of time in Greece since 2001. [99] In the Fall of 2017 she filed for separation [100] and the divorce was finalized in 2018. [101] Following the divorce she has shared custody of their three common children. [100] O'Moore married Helene Harstad on Sicily in May 2019. [102] For ideological reasons, O'Moore has not owned a personal vehicle most of her adult life [103] and has lived for a number years in an off-grid cabin in the forest of Greipstad in Songdalen in Southern Norway. [100] She currently resides in Kristiansand.
In January 2013 it was revealed in an interview in Fædrelandsvennen that O'Moore had been diagnosed with Follicular lymphoma in the Fall of 2012, [104] a form of cancer which, while indolent, is generally considered medically incurable after Stage I. [105] [106]
O'Moore has received various awards [107] [108] [109] [70] [110] [111] [112] [72] [73] for her humanitarian work and social activism.
Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway is a member of the Norwegian Royal Family. She is married to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne.
Erna Solberg is a Norwegian politician and the current Leader of the Opposition. She served as the 35th prime minister of Norway from 2013 to 2021, and has been Leader of the Conservative Party since May 2004.
Fædrelandsvennen is a regional newspaper based in Kristiansand, Norway. It covers the southernmost part of the country,, focusing especially on the area between Mandal and Lillesand.
The Catholic Church in Norway is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. As of May 2014, there were over 151,000 registered Catholics in Norway. It is claimed there are many Catholics who are not registered with their personal identification number and who are not reported by the local church; the full number may be as high as 230,000, 70% of whom were born abroad. That constitutes about 5% of the population, making Norway the most Catholic country in Nordic Europe.
Rio Americano High School, colloquially known as Rio, is a public high school in Arden-Arcade, California, just outside Sacramento, serving students in grades 9 through 12 as part of the San Juan Unified School District. Rio Americano students come from the surrounding areas of Arden Park, Arden Oaks, Sierra Oaks, Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Gold River, and to a much lesser extent, the La Sierra community. In recent years, more students have been transferring from other districts and areas, partly due to the shift of Sacramento High School to a charter school. Rio's two rival schools are Jesuit High School and El Camino Fundamental High School because of the schools' close proximity.
Sylvi Listhaug is a Norwegian politician who has been the leader of the Progress Party since 2021.
Stop Islamisation of Norway is a Norwegian anti-Muslim group that was originally established in 2000. Its stated aim is to work against Islam, which it defines as a totalitarian political ideology that violates the Norwegian Constitution as well as democratic and human values. The organisation was formerly led by Arne Tumyr, and is now led by Lars Thorsen.
Hanne Stine Nabintu Herland is a Norwegian author, who hosts a website and Youtube channel both named the Herland Report. She has a master's degree in history of religions from the University of Oslo.
Ellen Einan was a Norwegian poet and illustrator.
SS Rio de Janeiro was a German cargo steamship owned by the Hamburg Südamerikanische shipping company and registered in Hamburg. She was built as Santa Ines in 1914 and renamed Rio de Janeiro in 1921. Until World War II she carried passengers and freight between Germany and South America.
Ludvig Nessa is a Norwegian priest who has been noted as an anti-abortion activist since the late 1980s. Nessa was defrocked from the Church of Norway in 1991, which led him to co-found the independent Deanery of Strandebarm. Church services administered by Nessa has been broadcast on Visjon Norge since 2014.
Olav Skjevesland was a Norwegian theologian and priest. He was the Bishop of the Diocese of Agder og Telemark from 1998 until his retirement in 2012, and since that time he was a Bishop Emeritus. He was also the Preses and thus presided over the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway from 2006 until 2010. During his time as a bishop, he was considered to be theologically conservative and he was opposed to letting gay priests serve in the church.
Margunn Bjørnholt is a Norwegian sociologist and economist. She is a research professor at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS) and a professor of sociology at the University of Bergen. Her research has focused on financial institutions, management and working life and later on gender equality, migration and violence. She has also worked as a consultant, a civil servant, served as an expert to the European Commission and been president of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights.
Anne Lindboe is a Norwegian paediatrician who is currently the mayor of Oslo since 2023. She previously served as the Norwegian Children's Ombudsman from 2012 to 2018.
Stein Reinertsen is a Norwegian Lutheran clergyman who since January 2013 has been bishop in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark of the Church of Norway.
Events in the year 2014 in Norway.
Marte Wexelsen Goksøyr is a Norwegian actress, public speaker, writer and public debater. Born with Down syndrome, she has made a public stance against stigmatisation of disabled people and against selective abortions.
Ann-Helen Fjeldstad Jusnes is a Norwegian bishop of the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. She succeeded Tor Berger Jørgensen on 24 January 2016. Before she became a bishop, Jusnes was the Dean of Lofoten for eight years, and had previously also been a member and politician of the Labor Party in Flakstad Municipality.
Jorunn Elisabet Gleditsch Lossius is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party.
Dag Inge Ulstein is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party.