Category: Orthodox Christianity
-
Small Things, Great Hopes
On the surface it was not a world-shaking event. A friend of the parish loaned me a DVD last week. The DVD was a Russian DVD – with English subtitles. Again, not a world-shaking event. Thus, let me take a few minutes to explain why I felt the earth move. The movie in question is…
-
Putting Things Back Together
One of the most striking features of the day of Pentecost, in the Scriptural account, is the emphasis on diversity. The mission to the Gentiles is a major theme in Luke’s writings (which includes Acts) and thus Pentecost has great importance for him. The disciples gathered in an upper room as they had so many times…
-
On the Feast of Pentecost
O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things; Treasury of Blessings, and Giver of Life – come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One. On this day (Sunday) the Orthodox Church marks 50 days after the feast…
-
That the Gospel Should be Shared in Love – St. Silouan
The following is another excerpt from Father Sophrony’s Saint Silouan of the Athonite. Father Silouan’s attitude towards those who differed from him was characterized by a sincere desire to see what was good in them, and not to offend them in anything they held sacred. He always remained himself; he was utterly convinced that ‘salvation…
-
Back to Metaphors
Suppose you have the occasion to sit with someone, an interested party, and explain to them the Christian faith. How do you tell the story? When I was in college we had groups who shared the 4 Spiritual Laws – a version of a Christian story, but not the one I would tell. We do…
-
If You Would Celebrate Pentecost – Love Your Enemies
From the Elder Sophrony’s St. Silouan the Athonite. This commandment of Christ’s, ‘Love your enemies,’ is the reflection in our world of the Triune God’s all-perfect love, and constitutes the corner-stone of our whole teaching. It is the ultimate synthesis of all our theology. It is the ‘power from on high’ and the ‘abundance of…
-
Humility and Love
The following is from the Afterword of Father Sophrony’s Saint Silouan the Athonite. If we cast our thoughts back over the bimillenary history of Christianity we are dazzled by the enormous wealth of Christian culture. Vast libraries full of the grandiose works of the human mind and spirit – innumerable academies, universities, institutes, where hundreds…
-
Flattery and a Secret Plot by the Kremlin
All flattery, my friends, as Josef Pieper well taught us, is a form of manipulation. Mass flattery manipulates the soul of a culture. It drags a nation to hell. A quote from Ochlophobist‘s May 19 posting. The thought is worth slow contemplation. I am reminded of a tee-shirt (admittedly too cute) with the picture of…
-
I Really Wasn’t Kidding – There’s Another Gospel Out There
I generally enjoy our comments and also following the links when others share some portion of Glory to God for All Things with others. Last week I posted on the necessity for the whole gospel – that is – the gospel received by the Apostles and taught to the Church. I noted that in many…
-
Learning to Wait
I have never done a search to see how many times the word for “patience” is used in the New Testament – but my general impression is that it is a lot. Patience is not only a virtue, it is utterly necessary to our life in Christ. I can recall having almost no patience at…
Esmee, Thank you!