Category: Orthodox Christianity
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The Cross and the Cosmos
During this Afterfeast of the Holy Cross it seems worthwhile to continue with thoughts on the instrument of our salvation. In a short work, The Beginning of the Day, (I believe it was a special printing and is not generally available), Met. Kallistos Ware notes this about the Cross and its connection with the whole…
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The Tree Heals the Tree
Readers of the New Testament are familiar with St. Paul’s description of Christ as the “Second Adam.” It is an example of the frequent Apostolic use of an allegoric reading of the Old Testament (I am using “allegory” in its broadest sense – including typology and other forms). Christ Himself had stated that He was…
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The Cross of Christ
The Mystery of our Salvation is contained within the Cross of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. And it is correct to say the “mystery of our salvation,” for what is contained there is more than a cosmic transaction (Christ pays for our sins): it is also the whole of our way of life. It…
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Something from Nothing and the Apostolic Hypothesis
On September 8 the Orthodox Church celebrated the Nativity of the Mother of God. This is one of a number of feasts involving the life of the Virgin Mary, particularly during this time of the year. Many of the feasts mark events that are unfamiliar to many Christians, in that they are based on Tradition…
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It’s All in the Family
Fr. Thomas Hopko has observed on occasion that many times saints of the Church are found in “clusters,” particularly in clusters of a single family. Thus it is that within St. Basil the Great’s family, his brothers, Gregory of Nyssa and Simeon, as well as his sister Macrina, and his mother are all saints of…
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The Secular Man and the Christian Man
Many Orthodox writers have spoken about the nature of the secular world, the defining form of modernity. I take here an opportunity to make a small comparison between the secular man and the Christian. The secular man may believe that there is a God, but he also believes that the situation and outcome of the…
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Compassion
The Elder speaks on the circumstance of being harmed by a brother in Christ: If it is necessary to grieve at all, then we should grieve for the loss of that person who has harmed us, not for the loss of our possessions. For, that person has done injustice to himself by being cast out…
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Treasure in a Box
Suppose you had a great treasure and placed it in a box – locked tight – and kept the key to yourself. Others could desire the great treasure. The treasure could be given to them – though still in the locked box. Suppose, as well, that the content of the treasure is described in writings…
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Fellowship and the Tower of Babel
I had an occasion last week to be confronted by a Protestant fundamentalist “street preacher.” Wearing a cassock and a cross in public clearly identifies me as a priest (though in this part of the world most people know nothing of Orthodox priests). It also makes you a target for some who want to have…
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To Walk in the Light
If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have communion with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. For a variety of reasons, my thoughts have been drawn increasingly to the imagery within Scripture of darkness and light. It is powerful imagery that, for me, echoes…
To do to opposite of what one feels such as love one’s enemies; etc, etc. Feelings seem to be the…