Search results for: “church as cross”
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The Tree Heals the Tree
Read more: The Tree Heals the TreeReaders of the New Testament are familiar with St. Paul’s description of Christ as the “Second Adam.” It is an example of the frequent Apostolic use of an allegoric reading of the Old Testament (I am using “allegory” in its broadest sense – including typology and other forms). Christ Himself had stated that He was […]
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Something from Nothing and the Apostolic Hypothesis
Read more: Something from Nothing and the Apostolic HypothesisOn September 8 the Orthodox Church celebrated the Nativity of the Mother of God. This is one of a number of feasts involving the life of the Virgin Mary, particularly during this time of the year. Many of the feasts mark events that are unfamiliar to many Christians, in that they are based on Tradition […]
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Fellowship and the Tower of Babel
Read more: Fellowship and the Tower of BabelI had an occasion last week to be confronted by a Protestant fundamentalist “street preacher.” Wearing a cassock and a cross in public clearly identifies me as a priest (though in this part of the world most people know nothing of Orthodox priests). It also makes you a target for some who want to have […]
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Time and History
Read more: Time and HistoryChristianity is sometimes referred to as a “historical” religion – its beliefs are specifically tied to events which have taken place in space and time. The crucifixion and resurrection of Christ are events which have taken place in space and time or Christianity is not true. No matter how noble or inspirational its teachings – […]
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The Mystery of Goodness
Read more: The Mystery of GoodnessBeloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God (3John 1:11). One of the most common affirmations in Orthodox services is the goodness of God. Many services conclude with the blessing: “For He is a good […]
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The Sacrament of the Present Moment
Read more: The Sacrament of the Present MomentThere is a wonderful translation of Jean-Pierre De Caussade’s Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence, which bears the same title as this post. I am borrowing the phrase, not to comment on the volume (though I highly recommend it), but to bring into focus something of at least equal importance. It is the reality of our moment by moment […]
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The Problem of Goodness
Read more: The Problem of GoodnessFrom my first class in Philosophy 101 in college, the so-called “Problem of Evil” has been tossed up as the “clincher” in arguments against the existence of God. How can a good God allow innocent people to suffer? The most devastating case ever made on the subject was in Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov. Ivan Karamazov, in the […]
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Hidden Saints
Read more: Hidden SaintsThe first Sunday after Pentecost is traditionally observed as the Sunday of All Saints in the Orthodox Church – both those that are “hidden” and those who have been “revealed.” These are some thoughts on the “hidden” saints – by far the most numerous. It is surely the case that most saints are hidden. St. […]
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We Have Seen
Read more: We Have SeenI have been on the road and out-of-town this week, visiting with my daughter and her husband in Louisiana (where I enjoyed the very kind hospitality of St. Gabriel Antiochian Orthodox Church in Lafayette). May God richly bless all of them. I post this article from a year ago – as one that I enjoy […]
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The Struggle for True Communion
Read more: The Struggle for True CommunionFor many Protestants (and some others) whose Church experience has largely been shaped in the past few decades, one of the most disconcerting aspects of a first visit to an Orthodox Church is the fact that not everybody, not all Baptized Christians, are permitted to receive communion. Indeed, communion is restricted to Orthodox Christians who […]
Rachel, My wife asks me the same question, and has offered to help me with that task. So the answer…