Category: Orthodox Christianity
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What’s Beneath the Water? Crushed Dragons.
This coming Sunday (New Calendar) marks one of the greatest feasts of the Orthodox year, the Feast of Theophany, Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan river. Across the world Orthodox Christians will gather after the Liturgy to bless the waters: the ocean, a river, a spring, etc. Every feast day in Orthodoxy is connected to…
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Words from St. Seraphim of Sarov
You cannot be too gentle, too kind. Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other. Joy, radiant joy, streams from the face of him who gives and kindles joy in the heart of him who receives. All condemnation is from the devil. Never condemn each other… Instead of condemning others, strive to…
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The New Year
Many thanks to all of my readers over this past year. I add a thank you to those who have also been supporting my podcast on Ancient Faith Radio. I commend that wonderful ministry to you. My podcast is among the least on that site. They are doing a wonderful ministry for the Church. I…
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Modern Man and Coldness of Heart
I have been listening to a tape of the talk, “The River of Fire,” given by Dr. Alexander Kalomiros in 1980. By now it has become a very frequently cited and discussed document within the modern Orthodox world. Despite the occasional stridency of its tone, I cannot mkae myself disagree with its conclusions. The following…
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St. John Chrysostom on the Jesus Prayer
St. John on the Jesus Prayer: The remembrance of the name of Jesus rouses the enemy to battle. For a soul that forces itself to pray the Prayer of Jesus can find anything by this prayer, both good and evil. First it can see evil in the recesses of its own heart, and afterwards good.…
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The Grace Given To Us
From the writings of the Elder Sophrony: At Vespers during Lent at the Monastery of Old Russikon-on-the-Hill the Lord allowed a certain monk to see Father Abraham, a priest-monk of the strict rule, in the image of Christ. The old confessor, weaing his priestly stole, was standing hearing confessions. When the monk entered the confessional…
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The Nature of Things and our Salvation
The nature of things is an important question to ask – or should I say an a priori question. For once we are able to state what is the nature of things then the answers to many questions framed by the nature of things will also begin to be apparent. All of this is another…
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Reading the Nativity Story
I was right. I said in a sermon several days ago that my congregation should expect the usual presentations on various parts of the Christmas story, the thrust of the articles (and letters to the editor) being about how either they did not occur on a literal level or how they did occur. This goes…
But sometimes…wouldn’t God, or virtue, peace, love, want us to learn how to stand up to our brothers or sisters?…