Category: The Journey of Faith
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In The Last Days
Abba Ischyrion was asked, “What have we done in our life?” He replied, “We have done the half of what our Fathers did.” When asked, “What will the ones who come after us do?” He replied, “They will do the half of what we are doing now.” And to the question, “What will the…
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The Communion of a Book
I did not list the Scriptures on my list of “books of influence,” since it would seem somehow wrong to place it as a book among other books. Of course, it is a book, but it is unlike anything else we read. Over the body of the dead we chant the psalms so long as…
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With What Little We Know
I have written and posted at least three times that “I am an ignorant man,” which is to say that I do not consider myself a great source of wisdom and insight and that what knowledge I do have is indeed limited. It is also true that wisdom and insight are in short supply these…
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Many Thanks for your Support
As the ministry of Glory to God for All Things continues to grow, I give thanks to readers who read, comment, and share with others what they find useful. Tonight or tomorrow we will have logged 800,000 visits to the site, a very gratifying number. I recently added a “flag count” to the blog, which…
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Seeking God
If I seem to avoid Church arguments on this blog site, there is a reason. For one, debates between Orthodox and Roman Catholics (or Orthodox and others) are interminable and unresolvable on the level of the internet. Most of us are arguing about things in abstract and are thus engaging in useless arguments. Secondly, it…
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Ten Books of Influence
It is always difficult to say what has most influenced you when it comes to books. My Orthodox reading began when I was in college and has thus spanned some 35 years or more. I’ve read much outside of Orthodoxy, very little of which I would recommend. But in response to several requests, I’ll give…
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Scenes of Orthodox Monasticism
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“And For Thy Whole World”
Anyone familiar with Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazovshould remember the teaching in that novel of the Elder Zossima. He states that “each man is responsible for the sins of every man,” and holds this realization as the key to the life of paradise. The great novelist is not inventing a new idea, but simply allowing one…
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The Habit of Prayer
Though created in the image of God – man has fallen far. The image is not demolished, but we have not fulfilled the likeness and we frequently distort the image beyond recognition. Part of the true human life described in Genesis, are the “walks in the Garden” with God. Man and God converse – they…
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The Consequence of a Full Faith
As noted in a number of earlier posts, I prefer to use the term “fullness” when describing the Orthodox faith because it is far more explanatory than simply saying that we are the “true Church,” etc. “Fullness,” of course does not deny this, but it moves us onto more fruitful ground. I want to take…
It was a wonderful day. Although I was not able to attend the evening-into-the-early-morning Pascha service at our Greek Orthodox…