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A Pascha of Beauty – In a Soviet Prison – 1928
Read more: A Pascha of Beauty – In a Soviet Prison – 1928Serge 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 […]
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Unbelief and Good Friday
Read more: Unbelief and Good FridayChristmas and Easter are often difficult days for those who do not believe in God. Christians are more public about their faith than at other times of the year and this brings with it an annoyance. Christmas bespeaks the birth of God as a human being. Easter bespeaks a resurrection from the dead. For […]
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The Mystery of Holy Week and Pascha
Read more: The Mystery of Holy Week and PaschaThis past weekend, Orthodox Churches began the observation of Holy Week. The services are long and plentiful. In my parish, from Lazarus Saturday to Pascha, there will be somewhere on the order of 40 hours of services. It is a large parish effort. Most of the services have the participation of the full choir. Last […]
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Can the Middle-Class Be Saved?
Read more: Can the Middle-Class Be Saved?Speaking to His disciples, Christ said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mk. 10:25) Doubtless, most modern Christians take comfort from the fact that they are not rich. Over the centuries, the eyes of needles […]
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Not a Single Individual Will Be Saved
Read more: Not a Single Individual Will Be SavedPerhaps the most striking thing about human beings is that we don’t actually come into existence by ourselves. There are parents (two of them when the laws of biology are allowed to work). The parents themselves are points of contact to a much larger world of the family and the culture itself. Human beings do […]
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The Ladder of Your Daily Life
Read more: The Ladder of Your Daily LifePerhaps the most prominent ladder in our culture is the one associated with careers. It is an image of the American road to success. We begin at or near the bottom and, step by step, make our way towards the top. It is a metaphor that works well with our modern notions of hard work, […]
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The Sins of a Nation
Read more: The Sins of a NationCan a nation ever sin? If so, how can it be forgiven? The stories and prophetic writings of the Old Testament are replete with examples of national sin. There are certainly stories of God dealing with individuals, but, on the whole, His attention seems to be directed to Israel and other nations as a whole. […]
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Mystery as Reality
Read more: Mystery as RealityC.S. Lewis once discussed the question of how angels (and such things) could pass through a wall. His response was intriguing: he suggested that they could do so not because they were less substantial, but because they were more substantial. Just as a rock is more substantial than water or air, so, he posited, an angel […]
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The Mystery of “Mystery”
Read more: The Mystery of “Mystery”Few words can be more misleading to the modern ear than the Orthodox use of the word “mystery.” It’s a fine New Testament word and is (technically) the proper name for the sacraments in Orthodoxy (though we most often say ‘sacrament’ in English). Its root meaning is that of something “hidden.” In our culture’s language, […]
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Naked and Ashamed: Dealing with It
Read more: Naked and Ashamed: Dealing with ItThe Scriptures record that Adam was ashamed and hid. It’s a primal response. Shame is experienced as a burning sense of exposure and vulnerability. It begs to be clothed upon and hidden. It is possible to say that human beings have been playing “dress-up” ever since. This can be understood in a literal manner as […]
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Dear Fr. Stephen, thank you for this insightful post about the Orthodox view of religious experience. I had what I…
I echo Owen´s words Michael.
Fr. Stephen, You both have been an inspiration to me. Two bright lights of faithful creativity in American Orthodoxy. For…
Owen, Jonathan is a dear friend. Some years back (maybe 2015-2016 or so) we did some speaking engagements together -…
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