Apologetic students take notes! by Fr. John Whiteford We have previously discussed Aristotle Papanikolaou's strange notion that, unlike the dogmas of the Church, Orthodox Christian morality is open to dispute and change (see The Living Church 2.0). In the wake of a recent conference in Oxford of Orthodox "scholars, pastors, clinicians, and other experts" who gathered to "dialogue" about LGBTQP+ issues, Papanikolaou has asserted that never in the history of the Church has the term "heresy" been used to describe a false teaching on a moral issue. In the course of a Twitter exchange about the problems with this conference, I commented: "It's the idea that holding the position that … [Read more...]

by Fr. John Whiteford If we look at the Scriptures and to Jewish custom, the answer is clearly “No.” Another grand slam from the Bible – from Fr. John’s “Stump the Priest” column Question: How would you answer a Protestant who considered our veneration of the Cross (bowing down before it and kissing it) to be idolatry? First we should consider whether or not bowing down before something or kissing it entails the worship of adoration that is due to God alone. If we look at the Scriptures and to Jewish custom, the answer is clearly “No.” Abraham bowed himself before the people of Hebron (Genesis 23:7, 12); Joseph’s brothers bowed before him (Genesis 42:6; 43:26, 28); and many other … [Read more...]

A question asked by many is, “Why did Jesus need to be baptized?” To answer this, let’s first explore the nature of baptism as explained by Saint John Chrysostom. Jewish Baptism Saint John Chrysostom points out that the Jewish Baptism was one of cleansing. He says, There was a Jewish baptism, which cleansed from bodily impurities, but not to remove sins. Thus, whoever committed adultery, or decided on thievery, or who did some other kind of misdeed, it did not free him from guilt. But whoever touched the bones of the dead, whoever tasted food forbidden by the law, whoever approached from contamination, whoever consorted with lepers — that one washed, and until evening was impure, … [Read more...]

by St. Photios the Great St. Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, preached a sermon on the day the icon of the Theotokos was dedicated in Hagia Sophia, 29 March 867.  In the notes introducing the English translation of the sermon, we find this comment: “In the eyes of Photius, painting is the most direct form of instruction, for a picture that is in agreement with religious truth contains the eidos, or essence, of the prototype, which is in turn apprehended by the faculty of sight and indelibly imprinted upon the mind. A painter is guided by divine inspiration, so that his work is not merely mimetic, but contains an actual share of the prototype. One would look in vain for a better … [Read more...]

On February 5, the Church celebrates the memory of St. Paulinus the Merciful. The appearance of church bells and bell ringing in Europe is associated with his name. In Russia, where bells came along with Christianity, the art of bell ringing acquired its own specific characteristics over time. Saint Paulinus the Gracious lived in the 5th century. He received a good education, at the age of 20 he became a senator, and a little later the proconsul of the Campania region in Italy. Subsequently, for the sake of serving God and his neighbors, the saint decided to abandon his public career: he accepted holy orders, and then was elevated to the rank of bishop and became the bishop of the city of … [Read more...]