by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon It is reasonable, I suppose—or at least natural—for modern students of religion to wonder how the earliest Christians, all of them Jews, were able to reconcile their belief in the divinity of Christ with the monotheism enshrined in Israel’s Sh’ma’. Indeed, historians of Christian thought have devoted many studies to that inquiry. Looking at the apostolic writings through the lens of this inquiry, I gain an interesting impression of the earliest Christians: Their confession of the divinity of Jesus, while it was difficult, seems not to have been complicated. First, the recorded difficulty of the apostles was not an impasse of reason (“How can this Jesus be both … [Read more...]
How Children Disturb Society
by St. Sebastian Dabovich The responsibility of parents for their children is very great. They are, in fact, the earthly guardians in custody of the children of Almighty God, their Heavenly Father. Teach the little ones. Yet before their minds are capable of retaining impressions—speak to their hearts, mold them to the form of the beautiful and holy. Make over them the sign of the life-giving Cross. Teach them to distinguish from other pictures a painting of our good Lord, or His Holy Mother, and some Biblical sketch. At first, the child may not know, but it can easily be made to feel that God always sees it, when it is naughty, etc. While He was on earth, working out for us our salvation, … [Read more...]
Communion, Communion Spoons, and Irrational Fears
by Fr. John Whiteford I recently came across a very insightful remark from a conservative writer (Denise McAllister) who was engaged in an online debate with someone over what the government should or should not be able to mandate. She wrote: "My freedom doesn’t end where your irrational fear begins." But of course the question of whether one's fears are rational or irrational is the question we have to consider. There is unfortunately no risk free way for us to live in this world. If we were to avoid all risks, none of us would ever get into an automobile, but most of us do, because we consider that to be a manageable risk. If you drive while listening to the radio, or drinking a … [Read more...]
On the Unique and Exclusive Presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Christ's greatest gift to the Church is the gift of the Holy Spirit; this gift is, moreover, original, unique, and exclusive. Now if someone finds this assertion unsurprising, I suspect he may not have given it the critical reflection it calls for. There should be at least a few faithful Bible-readers, I think, who are disposed to wonder if it is true. Consider, for instance: Does not our hymnography proclaim that the Holy Spirit is "everywhere present and filling all things"? Since the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep in the first instance of Creation, doesn't He already fill the length and breadth of the Universe? And, moreover, doesn't the … [Read more...]
On Pentecost
St. Gregory Nazianzus "the Theologian" Our father among the saints Gregory the Theologian , also known as Gregory of Nazianzus (though that name more appropriately refers to his father) and Gregory the Younger, was a great Father and Teacher of the Church. He was a close friend of St. Basil the Great. He was one of the great Cappodocean Fathers, and is one of only three saints given the title “Theologian” in all of Orthodox hagiography and theology. I. Let us reason a little about the Festival, that we may keep it spiritually. For different persons have different ways of keeping Festival; but to the worshiper of the Word a discourse seems best; and of discourses, that which is best … [Read more...]
Why Is the First Council of Nicea So Important?
by Fr. Lawrence Farley Those for whom ancient history is irrelevant and who equate “old” with “out-dated” (or better yet, “medieval” with “barbarically primitive”) will have trouble appreciating the Fathers of the First Council of Nicea, since they met and produced their work well over a thousand years ago, in 325 A.D. How could a creed so old be remotely relevant today? Accordingly, some churches have produced their own creeds (such as the United Church of Canada, which produced its own creed for alternative use in 1968. It is a cautionary tale, for it began “Man is not alone; he lives in God’s world” and they soon enough found that political correctness demanded its alteration to … [Read more...]
What Should We Do if the Sin That Has Been Confessed Continues to Disturb Our Consciences?
by Fr. Andrei Chizhenko A sin is confessed, but it continues to bother your conscience. What should you do? Must it be confessed a second time? Fr. Andrei Chizhenko examines the issue. The holy fathers compare sin with a weed in a garden, and the garden, accordingly, with the heart. They spoke about how the battle with sin continues unto death. Just as a garden needs to be weeded constantly, so we need to fight with our sins, first of all by frequent Confession. Here, dear brothers and sisters, I would like to say that in priestly practice, you’re often faced with the fact that in the mind of parishioners, the Sacrament of Confession is often inseparable from the Sacrament of Communion. … [Read more...]
Why Didn’t the Holy Spirit Come Right After the Ascension?
by St. John Chrysostom But why did the Holy Spirit come to them, not while Christ was present, nor even immediately after his departure, but, whereas Christ ascended on the fortieth day, the Spirit descended “when the day of Pentecost,” that is, the fiftieth, “was fully come?”(Acts 2:1) And how was it, if the Spirit had not yet come, that He said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit?” (John 20:22) In order to render them capable and meet for the reception of Him. For if Daniel fainted at the sight of an Angel (Dan. 8:17), much more would these when about to receive so great a grace. Either this then is to be said, or else that Christ spoke of what was to come, as if it came already; as … [Read more...]
The Feast of Mid-Pentecost and the Pentecostarion
The fifty days following Pascha until the Feast of Pentecost are known as the period of the Pentecostarion in the Orthodox Church. At the mid-point between these great feasts of Pascha and Pentecost, on the twenty-fifth day which is always a Wedneday, is one of the most beloved feasts for the most devout Orthodox Christians known quit simply as Mid-Pentecost. Mid-Pentecost is to the Pentecostarion what the Third Sunday of Great Lent which honors the Holy Cross is to the period of Great Lent. It is a day which helps us focus on the central theme of the entire period. Whereas the mid-point of Great Lent reminds us to bear up the Cross of Christ bravely so that we may daily die with Christ in … [Read more...]
On the Day of Rejoicing
On Tuesday of St. Thomas week we remember those Orthodox Christians from all ages who have died in faith, and in the hope of resurrection. There are indications of this commemoration in the sermons of the Fathers of the Church. The great Church father, St. John Chrysostom, for example, mentions it in his homily “On the Cemetery and the Cross.” In pre-Revolutionary Russia bars remained closed and alcoholic beverages were not sold until this Day of Rejoicing so that the joy people felt would be because of the Resurrection, and not an artificial joy brought on by alcohol. Today the Church remembers its faithful members at Liturgy, and koliva is offered in remembrance of those who have fallen … [Read more...]
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