Category: Orthodox Christianity
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The Long Journey Home
It’s not getting to the land of the dead that’s the problem. It’s getting back. – Capt. Hector Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean at World’s End It is possible to speak in great detail about the origins and problems of the “false-self” (ego). Once the characteristics of the ego, it’s narrative, defenses, aggression, and unrelenting…
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Is Anybody There? Speaking to the Heart
“Talking to you is like talking to a fence post!” I can still hear the words. I don’t remember who said them – but I heard them sometime in my teenage years. The occasion was doubtless some sort of argument. There were many things to argue about: Love, Peace, War, Jesus, Drugs, Sex, Rock ‘n…
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Evangelism and the Ego
Do I have a responsibility to rescue the ego-driven narrative of your life? Does the gospel of Christ exist to confirm your opinions and strengthen your arguments against the threats of a world-gone-mad? How should we evangelize the neurotic? I use the term “neurotic” lightly, under the assumption that we can all be described by…
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Evangelizing the Neurotic
I greatly appreciate the response and questions to the article by Fr. Meletios on parish life and ego-driven needs. I am working on an article with reflections. I will be focusing particularly on the question of how we evangelize those whose egos are the driving force in their lives. If the ego (as defined by…
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When Taking Cover Is Not Enough
The following article by Fr. Meletios Webber was originally published on the Website, In Communion. It is an extremelygood discussion and illustration of the work of the true self (heart) versus the false self (ego) – as seen in the action and life of a parish. I share it here with gratitude for Fr. Meletios’…
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A Request of Readers
Glory to God for All Things has been in existence since October of 2006. Nearly 1500 articles have been posted, with over 28,000 comments (which have been read and often responded to). Many readers have spoken of the role the blog has played in their lives (for which I give thanks to God). The community…
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All In The Head
Some questions are so obvious we fail to ask them. Is it all in the head? The question is whether the sense of spiritual, refers to anything other than ourselves. Is there any connection between myself and others, between myself and God, between myself and nature, or is such a perception only a set of…
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The Communion of Saints in Prayer
Biblical interpretation and doctrine based on Scripture have certain parameters that anyone rightly handling the word of truth must observe. The particular rule that I have in mind in this posting is the simple avoidance of anachronisms. That is, if an idea did not exist at the time of the New Testament, or shortly thereafter,…
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Yet Not I
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20). +++ In my last two posts, I have written with some care about the “false self,” which has also been referred to as the ego. I have also spoken about the heart, the seat of the true self that is “hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). An obvious…
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The Death of the Moral Man
There is no man who lives and does not sin. – from the Burial Office +++ There are many reactions to the pain of our existence. I try to remember from hour to hour that I live among the “walking wounded.” As the Jewish philosopher Philo said, “Everyone you see is fighting a difficult battle.”…
May God bless and keep you Dimitri. In my own experience after 37 years in the Holy Church only 3…