Category: Church
-
Beyond Death’s Door
“Grandpa, will you die?” The quiet spoken question from the backseat of my car came from my then four-year-old grandson. I knew it was an important moment. “Yes, I will. Everyone grows old and dies.” I added, “But then I will be with Jesus in heaven and I will pray for you all the time.”…
-
Like A Refugee
It was June 13, 1940. A young Vladimir Lossky (later to be author of The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church) was making his way on foot with the crowds from Paris who were fleeing from a victorious, invading German army. The invasion was sudden, surprising, and completely overwhelming in its success. The entire operation took no…
-
An Audience of None
In the 1980’s sci-fi comedy, Short Circuit, a charming military robot character, “Number 5,” is awakened into consciousness by a lightning strike. He fears going back to his military keepers where he will be re-programmed. And so, with help from human friends, he begins his touching effort to stay free. His famous line, repeated often,…
-
Of Whom I Am First
In the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, it is customary for a prayer to be offered by all who are coming to receive communion. I quote a portion: I believe, O Lord, and I confess that Thou art truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who camest into the world to save sinners, of whom…
-
Boundaries, Borders, and the True God
Years ago, as a young seminarian, I wanted to paint icons. I knew nothing about icons, only that I liked them and that they were holy. The vast wealth of books and materials on their meaning and even on the technique of painting them simply did not exist. My knowledge of painting was also non-existent.…
-
On Earth As It Is In Heaven – And Deeper Still
We live and move in a sea of others. Our first breath (having emerged from a womb of maternal otherness) is drawn from air that has been breathed through timeless years by trees, animals, whales; whistled by birds, and passed through last words of dying lips; life-giving breathed by God in the First Man. The…
-
Your Prayers and Assistance Needed
I began my Orthodox ministry in Knoxville, TN, with the planting of St. Anne Orthodox Church. We grew from a handful of people meeting in a home, then a warehouse, then a storefront, to a small building. That beginning was 26 years ago. The landscape of Orthodox across America and the South has changed dramatically…
-
The Seeds of Love – Orthodoxy and the World
I saw a news story recently in which a student was asked for their thoughts on the recent campus turmoil. Her response, “History teaches us that only disruption brings about change.” No doubt, it is a common thought for many. The various mantras and slogans of revolution, as well as the myth of revolution itself…
-
A Different Pascha – 1928
Serge Schmemann, son of Fr. Alexander Schmemann, in his wonderful little book, Echoes of a Native Land, records a letter written from one of his family members of an earlier generation, who spent several years in the prisons of the Soviets and died there. The letter, written on the night of Pascha in 1928 is to…
-
Today – The Cross
Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung on a tree. The King of the angels is decked with a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped in the face. The Bridegroom of…
Byron, Love that is not rooted in the Cross is just a sophisticated form of narcissism.