Search results for: “church as cross”
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The Ecclesiology of the Cross – The Pillar and Ground of Truth – Part 4
Read more: The Ecclesiology of the Cross – The Pillar and Ground of Truth – Part 4We continue from our previous posts with the last two points: 3. All discussion of the Church and its life must include this self-emptying [of Christ], not only of God, but of each of the members of the Church. 4. Every description of the various aspects of the Church would do well to include the […]
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Ecclesiology of the Cross – Pillar and Ground of the Truth – Part 3
Read more: Ecclesiology of the Cross – Pillar and Ground of the Truth – Part 3Following earlier posts on this subject, I take up the second of four points: 2. Any imitation of God, any conformity of our life to His, will involve this same self-emptying [as the self-emptying of God on the Cross]. There is a tendency when we think of the Church to think in institutional terms – to […]
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Ecclesiology of the Cross – The Pillar and Ground of Truth – Part 2
Read more: Ecclesiology of the Cross – The Pillar and Ground of Truth – Part 2I suggested in my previous post on this topic that the Cross be a central part of our understanding of the Church. There is a natural tendency to compartmentalize in theology – it’s hard to think of everything all the time and everywhere. And yet, it is important that we always remember that our salvation is […]
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The Night in Which He Was Betrayed
Read more: The Night in Which He Was Betrayed“The night in which He was betrayed,” are the deeply familiar words with which St. Paul begins his relating of the tradition (“that which I have received”) of the Last Supper (1Cor. 11:23). It is a phrase so familiar that its import is quickly overlooked as we leap forward to the words, “This is […]
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Passionately Drunk
Read more: Passionately DrunkThe Philokalia, that wonderful collection of writings by the fathers on prayer of the heart, has as its full title, The Philokalia of the Neptic Saints gathered from our Holy Theophoric Fathers, through which, by means of the philosophy of ascetic practice and contemplation, the intellect is purified, illumined, and made perfect. Little wonder it is […]
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What’s with the Kingdom of God?
Read more: What’s with the Kingdom of God?Thy Kingdom Come Blessed are You on the throne of the glory of Your Kingdom, seated upon the Cherubim; always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. It was You Who brought us from non-existence into being, and when we had fallen away You raised us up again, and did not cease to do […]
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The Erotic Language of Prayer
Read more: The Erotic Language of PrayerThe very heart of true prayer is desire, love. In the language of the Fathers this desire is called eros. Modern usage has corrupted the meaning of “erotic” to only mean sexual desire – but it is a profound word, without substitute in the language of the Church. I offer a quote from Dr. […]
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Overcome Evil by Doing Good
Read more: Overcome Evil by Doing GoodDrawing on the Book of Proverbs, St. Paul offers a simple admonition to his readers: “…if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Romans 12:20) He then adds: Do not be overcome by evil, but […]
David, et al The author, Serge Schmemann, is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter. Of course, he is the son of…