Glory to God For All Things

August 19, 2009

The Mystery of Faith – Sacrament and Icon

Recent questions have been raised about the difference between icons and sacraments in the Orthodox Church. It is an easy place for confusion to occur – particularly when seen from the outside. The Church in the West, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, developed a carefully-worded and defined understanding of sacrament during the Middle Ages. This […]
Read more: The Mystery of Faith – Sacrament and Icon
Orthodox Christianity
August 18, 2009

The Role of Icons

Icons are not about art. Icons are not about left-overs of Byzantine style. Icons are not about the idolatrous impulse within fallen humanity. Icons are about the very nature of our salvation. The history of Western theology, particularly the opposition to icons within the Protestant movement, has removed one of the most traditional components of […]
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Orthodox Christianity
August 17, 2009

Bad Icons

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). It is a teaching of the Fathers concerning the holy icons that we do not truly “see” […]
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Orthodox Christianity
August 16, 2009

The Face of God

Orthodox Christians mark August 16 as the Feast of the Icon “Not Made With Hands,” the miraculous face of Christ first left on a cloth sent to King Abgar of Edessa. The stories of the icon are swathed in the mists of history – but the image (or representations of it on icons) remain among […]
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Orthodox Christianity
August 15, 2009

Rejoice, O Virgin – A Blessed Feast

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.3196836&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] more about “Rejoice, O Virgin“, posted with vodpod
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Orthodox Christianity
August 14, 2009

Being Famous Doesn't Make You Moral

The news story is so common that the name can be left blank. “N. confessed today that he has been unfaithful to his wife and children and let down his fans. ‘I want to say I’m sorry for what I’ve done and ask God’s forgiveness.’” I do not believe that our nation is suffering a […]
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Orthodox Christianity
August 14, 2009

The Last Battle

The Scriptures end with the description of a battle that is truly “apocalyptic” in its scale: all the forces of evil arrayed against all the forces of good. It is grand theater, having caught the imagination of countless generations (and even Hollywood). I do not know quite what to make of the description. That it […]
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Orthodox Christianity
August 13, 2009

The Inverted Pyramid

No greater image of prayer and the love of God has been given in our modern time than that of the Elder Sophrony’s Inverted Pyramid. The subject of such prayer has risen. I thought to share this as an effort to shed some light. Fr. Sophrony [Sakharov], in his book on St. Silouan, presents this […]
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Orthodox Christianity
August 12, 2009

The Icon We Love Most

An early post on icons – hopefully part of a short series… Years ago when I was studying in an Anglican seminary (mid-70’s), I had the beginnings of my interest in icons. I owned a couple, and read what little was available on the topic in English at that time (believe it or not there […]
Read more: The Icon We Love Most
Orthodox Christianity
August 11, 2009

The Time for Prayer

A brother asked a hermit, “If I oversleep and miss the time for prayer, I hesitate to keep the rule of prayer. I am embarassed and do not want the brothers to hear me praying.” The hermit gave him this advice: “If you sleep late, get up and shut your door and windows. Then pray […]
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Orthodox Christianity

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Byron, I would, on the whole, settle for a hug.

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My wife, bless her, got a whole new Internet system. Content identical but presented in such a way that I…