Category: Orthodox Christianity
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He Shall Exalt the Humble and Meek
All heaven and earth exalt the humble Saints, and the Lord grants them the glory of being with Him. ‘Where I am, there shall also my servant be.’ The humility of the Mother of God is greater than any, wherefore all generations on earth exalt her, and all the heavenly hosts serve her; and this…
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Prayers by the Lake – XIX – by St. Nikolai of Zicha
XIX Amidst the racket and ridicule of people my prayer rises toward You, O my King and my Kingdom. Prayer is incense, that ceaselessly censes my soul and raises it toward You, and draws You toward her. Stoop down, my King, so that I may whisper to You my most precious secret, my most secret…
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Truth and Existence: Conclusions to be Drawn
Reflecting on the previous posting on Truth and Existence, there are a number of conclusions that can be drawn for our lives and our communion with God: 1. God is generous. He does not begrudge existence to anything that exists. Even the devil is not begrudged his existence. 2. This generosity of God is not…
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Truth and Existence
Perhaps one of the greatest contributions of Orthodox theology to contemporary thought is the correlation between truth and existence. I am not well-enough versed in writings outside of Orthodoxy to know whether this correlation is made by others as well – I have to drink the water from my own cistern. This understanding has been…
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Facing the Consequences
Some thoughts on a comment by Archbishop DMITRI of Dallas: Commenting on the stories of the Transfiguration in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Archbishop DMITRI of Dallas observed that each of the stories contains the phrase “coming down” in reference to the disciples’ descent from the mount of glory into the world of daily ministry. In…
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In the Cleft of the Rock
God placed Moses in the “cleft of a rock” and His “glory passed by” and Moses was granted a vision of God. The great protestant hymn, “Rock of Ages, Cleft for me,” makes reference to this story, understanding in proper patristic fashion that the story points to Christ, who is our Rock, standing within Whom…
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Humility – The Only Path Forward in Orthodoxy
Humility certainly figures prominently in anybody’s list of virtues, and most people are more than a little aware of pride playing some role in their spirtual failures. However, knowing that pride is a problem and that humility is a virtue is not saying that we know anything about humility. First, humility is not precisely the…
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St. Silouan on Humility
From St. Silouan the Athonite. Enlightened by baptism, people believe in God. But there are some who even know Him. To believe in God is good but it is more blessed to know God. Nevertheless, those who believe are bless, too, as the Lord said to Thomas, one of the twelve: ‘Because thou hast seen…
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The Fathers and Scripture
This is a reprint – and earlier follow-up on the Orthodox reading of Scripture. I pray it is timely as well. It is easy from the outside to form an incorrect picture of the Orthodox interpretation of Scripture. There is actually quite a bit of variety among the Fathers when it comes to reading the…
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John Chrysostom on Romans 9
Many puzzle about Romans 9 and what some claim to see as a teaching of “double-edged” predestination, that is, that God predestines some for hell. It is useful to see what the Fathers do with such a passage. Here is an excerpt from John Chrysostom’s sermon on Romans 9 that addresses the subject well and…
Drewster, I think I disagree. It’s not that Orthodoxy emphasizes one thing and Catholics another – it’s rather that Orthodoxy…