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Living In The Real World – And Really Living
Read more: Living In The Real World – And Really LivingNothing exists in general. If something is beautiful or good, it is manifest in a particular way at a particular time such that we can know it. And this is our true life. A life lived in a “generalized” manner is no life at all, but only a fantasy. However, this fantasy is increasingly the […]
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Just Say ‘Yes’
Read more: Just Say ‘Yes’For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you … was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God …. (2Co 1:19-20) +++ It is very hard to say “No,” despite the […]
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The Ontological Model Part 2: How Good Is Your Will?
Read more: The Ontological Model Part 2: How Good Is Your Will?Suppose I give you a bicycle for the convenience of travel. Suppose, however, that the bicycle is broken: flat tires, missing spokes, a chain that slips frequently. Nevertheless, you figure out a way to make it go. The ride is bumpy and you often have to stop and fix the chain. You fear that one […]
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Being Saved – The Ontological Approach
Read more: Being Saved – The Ontological ApproachI cannot begin to count the number of times I wished there were a simple, felicitous word for “ontological.” I dislike writing theology with words that have to be explained – that is, words whose meanings are not immediately obvious. But, alas, I have found no substitute and will, therefore, beg my reader’s indulgence for […]
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The Soul Is A Mirror
Read more: The Soul Is A MirrorThe soul is a difficult thing to speak (or write) about. First, the word is used so commonly and widely that its true meaning becomes obscured. Second, the soul is largely unknown to each of us, despite its primary importance. So, I will begin by giving its simple meaning: the soul is our life. When […]
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Why Does God Hide?
Read more: Why Does God Hide?God hides. God makes Himself known. God hides. This pattern runs throughout the Scriptures. A holy hide-and-seek, the pattern is not accidental nor unintentional. It is rooted in the very nature of things in the Christian life. Christianity whose God is not hidden is not Christianity at all. But why is this so? In a […]
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On the Elder Aimilianos
Read more: On the Elder AimilianosThis interview is with my Archbishop, whom I have come to love and enjoy. His own story is quite interesting. A descendant of Prince Golitzin (one of the Russian royal families) and a child of the Church, his studies at Oxford in Patristics brought him up against a wall of questions and doubts. His doctoral […]
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Ninety Percent of Orthodoxy Is Just Showing Up
Read more: Ninety Percent of Orthodoxy Is Just Showing UpSometime back, I was asked about “being present.” The question was rooted in the problem of a “wandering mind.” My answer was simple and straight-forward: “You are always present. It comes with having a body.” We speak of the mind “wandering,” and it is a colorful metaphor, but it’s not true. The “mind” hasn’t gone […]
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You Belong Here – And It’s Beautiful
Read more: You Belong Here – And It’s BeautifulAmong the most uncomfortable feelings is that of “not belonging.” It is one of the forms of shame, for, when we do not belong or are “out of place,” we feel exposed and inherently vulnerable. It is not a feeling that we sustain for any length of time without engaging in behaviors designed to make […]
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Pascha 1928 – Letter from a Soviet Prison
Read more: Pascha 1928 – Letter from a Soviet PrisonSerge Schmemann, son of Fr. Alexander Schmemann, in his wonderful little book, Echoes of a Native Land, records a letter written from one of his family members of an earlier generation, who spent several years in the prisons of the Soviets and died there. The letter, written on the night of Pascha in 1928 is to […]
Simon, Indeed.