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The Weakness of Man
Read more: The Weakness of ManIt is counter-intuitive that God saves man through His own weakness. The irony of the Divine Reversal has provided endless material for the hymnographers of the Church through the centuries. The Strong becomes weak, the Sinless takes on our sin, the Rich becomes poor, God becomes man – the whole of the gospel seems to […]
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Favorite Thoughts and Thanksgiving
Read more: Favorite Thoughts and ThanksgivingI awoke this morning from two days in bed battling a nasty little virus. My fever had broken and my appetite returned. There are no words for my gratitude. I offer this short piece on favorite thoughts and pray God’s blessing on us all. Any reader of this blog will very quickly notice certain ideas […]
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Hitchens on Hitchens – Belief on Unbelief
Read more: Hitchens on Hitchens – Belief on UnbeliefFor those of you who follow contemporary discourse – particularly that by contemporary atheists on contemporary Christianity – you will find of great interest this article by the brother of Christopher Hitchens. (Christopher Hitchens has made himself famous as one of the current proponents of the “new atheism.”) Peter Hitchens does an admirable job of speaking […]
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The Nature of Things and Our Salvation
Read more: The Nature of Things and Our SalvationReflecting on yesterday’s post, I thought it worthwhile to share these thoughts again on the nature of our salvation. It offers a short summary of the difference between a moral and an existential understanding of the Christian faith and why the difference matters. Indeed, as I look through my writings I know this is a […]
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Just Showing Up and the Work of Grace
Read more: Just Showing Up and the Work of GraceThere has been a tendency in much teaching about the notion of salvation by grace to ground the image in a legal or forensic metaphor. Thus, we are saved by grace in the sense that someone else’s goodwill and kindness (God’s) has now freed us from the consequences of our actions. Thus we speak of […]
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The Grace of Repentance
Read more: The Grace of RepentanceFrom Archimandrite Sophrony’s On Prayer There, on the Holy Mountain, my life found its right track. Almost every day after the Liturgy I knew a feeling of Easter joy.And strange as it may seem, my constant prayer like some volcanic eruption proceeded from the profound despair that ahd taken over my heart. Two seemingly totally incompatible […]
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Death’s Boundary
Read more: Death’s BoundaryMost of the Saturdays in Great Lent are “Soul Saturdays,” days when the Orthodox remember and pray for the departed. Thus my attention each week is drawn back to this great cloud of the departed who bear witness to Christ and draw my attention to Christ’s final victory over death. These are some thoughts from […]
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Knocking on Heaven’s Door
Read more: Knocking on Heaven’s DoorTry to think about the absence of God, and do realize that before you can knock at the door – and remember that it is not only at the door of the Kingdom understood in the general way, but that Christ really says ‘I am the door’ – before you knock at the door, you […]
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The Centrality of the Cross
Read more: The Centrality of the CrossFr. John Behr, in his book, The Mystery of Christ, takes a very close look at the earliest centuries of the Christian faith, and at the very heart of Orthodoxy itself which is to be found there. In particular he speaks with great clarity about the “rule of faith,” certainly known to all of the Apostles […]
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Publicans and Harlots and the Last Banquet
Read more: Publicans and Harlots and the Last BanquetThis morning’s gospel was a familiar story: the calling of Levi to be a disciple. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many […]
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Fr Stephen, You wrote, “A short observation: ‘Falling away’ is something I’ve seen here and there over the course of…
Mallory, You are clearly in a difficult situation. Human suffering is an inherent part of human freedom (things are allowed…
Thank you, Fr. Stephen. As usual, your writing illuminates what has been on my mind already. I am forever grateful.…
Matthew, The way I think about it is that thinking, deciding, and cooperating (and other similar things) are themselves part…
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Michelle, What you’re describing in your ROCOR parish is actually fairly rare these days: A parish that is culturally Russian…