by Priest Alexei Taakh The idea that God created such a “concentration camp” for eternal and cruel torture of sinners is nonsense. He is Love, He came down into our world and suffered for us; He taught love and forgiveness… And then He suddenly turned into a ruthless executioner and tortures His children everlastingly as punishment for several years of sinful life? It is nonsense. “After the general resurrection we will meet with our kin and friends. This long–awaited meeting and the life of the age to come is the fundamental hope of Christians. This is how we console ourselves after the deaths of our loved ones. But after the Last Judgment not everyone will inherit the Kingdom of … [Read more...]

by Fr. Lawrence Farley It is sometimes imagined that the Resurrection of Christ finds its full significance as the last happy chapter in the story of His life, so that after a gruelling chapter about His betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, and burial, the tale can end with the Evangelist concluding, “And He lived happily ever after”.  Consistent with this is a theological view which finds the sole significance of His Resurrection as proof that the price Jesus paid for our sin on the cross was accepted by the Father—that is, the Father indicated that the price Jesus paid by dying for our sins was fully sufficient.  In this view, the Resurrection of Christ had no salvific value such as did His … [Read more...]

Sermon 21 by St. Seraphim (Zvezdenski) Translated by Fr. Zachariah Lynch Below the reader will find my translation from the Russian of sermon number 21 by St. Seraphim (Zvezdenski), On the Divine Liturgy (only one more to go!).  St. Seraphim reveals, once again, to us that the Divine Liturgy is a direct window to the Sun of Righteousness. Through it, the world is sustained and upheld. Is it any wonder, therefore, that the enemy seeks to halt the service of the Divine Liturgy? Be it through outright hindrance or by replacing it with an anti-liturgy, a false liturgy (such as is performed, for example, by the pseudo-church in Ukraine, the “orthodox church of Ukraine” [OCU-EP]). We also see … [Read more...]