Search Results Appear Here
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The Attributes of the Church
by St. Justin (Popovich)The attributes of the Church are innumerable because her attributes are actually the attributes of the Lord Christ, the God-man, and, through Him, those of the Triune Godhead. However, the holy and divinely wise fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council, guided and instructed by the Holy Spirit, reduced them in the ninth ...
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Orthodox Ecclesiology in Outline
by Fr. George DragasWestern Christians often speak of the Orthodox Churches, rather than the Orthodox Church. From the Orthodox perspective, the Church is one, even though She is manifested in many places. Orthodox ecclesiology operates with a plurality in unity and a unity in plurality. For Orthodoxy there is no ‘either / or’ between the one and the ...
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The Ecclesiology of St. Ignatius of Antioch
by Fr. John S. Romanides ... -
General Information: The Church
... Recommended Books: Florovsky, Georges, Collected Works. vol. 1, Bible, Church, Tradition. Rogers, Gregory, Apostolic Succession. (Troitsky) Ilarion, Archbishop and Holy New Martyr, The Unity of the Church and the World Conference of Christian Communities. Ware, Bishop KALLISTOS, The Orthodox Church. ... -
The Inward Mission of Our Church: Bringing About Orthodoxy
by Blessed Father Justin PopovichIt is very, very difficult indeed for infinite and eternal life to make its way into the human soul—so narrow—and even into the narrower human body. Held behind bars, the inhabitants of this earth suspiciously stand their ground against anything coming from without. Cast into this prison ...
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Orthodox Ecclesiology
The commotion about union of the churches makes evident the ignorance existing as much among the circles of the simple faithful as among the theologians as to what the Church is.
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The Church is One
THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH follows of necessity from the unity of God; for the Church is not a multitude of persons in their separate individuality, but a unity of the grace of God, living in a multitude of rational creatures, submitting themselves ...
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The Church: The Treasury of Salvation
by St. John of KronstadtThe holy Church is God's most supreme, mast holy, most good, most wise and necessary establishment upon the earth. She is "the true tabernacle'' of God, " which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Heb. viii. 2)—not Luther, not Calvin, and not ...
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The Church of Christ
by Fr. Michael PomazanskyIN THE LITERAL meaning of the word, the Church is the "assembly," in Greek, ekklesia, from ekkaleo, meaning "to gather." In this meaning it was used in the Old Testament also the Hebrew (kahal).
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The Unity of the Church
by Fr. Michael PomazanskyIn the Greek text the word "in One," is expressed as a numeral (en mian). Thus the Symbol of Faith confesses that the Church is one: a) it is one as viewed from within itself, not divided, b) it is one as viewed from without, that is, not having any other beside itself. Its unity consists not in the joining together of what ...
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On the Terms "Catholic" and "Soborny"
Translated by Hieromonk LukeFrom the beginning of their labors the First Teachers of the Slavs desired to give the people whom they called to Christ a translation of the sacred Scriptures. It is more than likely that before anything else they translated the Creed. It is true that we have no extant manuscripts by them, but there can be no doubt that it is their translation which ...
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The Church as the Body of Christ
by St. John (Maximovitch)"And He (Christ) is the of the body, the church (Col.1:18), "which is His body, the Fulness of Him the that Filleth all in all (Eph. 1:23)
In the Holy Scriptures the Church is repeatedly called the Body of ...
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The House of the Father
by Fr. George FlorovskyWebmaster Note: There is an article by Fr. George Florovsky entitled “The Limits [Boundaries] of the Church” that is often cited by Orthodox ecumenists, as well as by those who disparage the “theory of (sacramental) economy (oikonomia).” It is frequently offered as a cogent argument for the recognition of heterodox Sacraments per se, and even the development of an ecumenistic ecclesiology in which the boundaries of the Church are extended to wherever “valid” Baptism is found.
The following article is set as a counterweight on the scale of debate regarding these issues. Herein you will find a beautiful exposition of Orthodox ecclesiology, which also reflects the more conservative side of Fr. George‘s ecclesiological views. Contrast this with “The Limits of the Church,” which was one of Fr. Florovsky’s “heuristic exercises” – a theologoumenon – that was not intended to express dogmatic teaching concerning the Church.
In 2014 the Orthodox Christian Information Center intends to make available the English translation of an important critique of “The Limits of the Church,” by the Serbian Bishop Athanasius Yevtich (In Greek: Theologia, Vol. 81, Issue 4, Oct.- Dec. 2010, pp. 137-158). Bishop Athanasius favorably cites “The House of the Father” in his critique.
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Orthodox Jurisdictions in America
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archimandrite-sebastian-dabovich-serbian-apostle-to-america.pdf
[PDF] archimandrite sebastian dabovich serbian apostle to america -
The Crisis
by Rev. Deacon [now Priest] Andrew Phillips, France"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness."
It has become commonplace to hear or read that 'the Orthodox Church is in a state of crisis'. Of course this is untrue, indeed it is ontologically impossible, for the gates of ...
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Cultural Paradosis and Orthodox America
by Bishop [now Archbishop] ChrysostomosWe are accustomed to seeing the Greek word paradosis, or tradition, as a touchstone of Orthodox theology. What the Lord gave us, what the Holy Apostles preached, and what the Fathers of the Church preserved, as St. Athanasios expressed it, are the ...
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General Information: Orthodoxy in America
Orthodoxy in the USA: Its Historical Past and Present, by Fr. Seraphim Rose.
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malaise.pdf
[PDF] malaise -
Orthodoxy in the USA
A Talk Delivered at the Saint Herman Winter Pilgrimage, December 12/25, 1979, at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y. By Hieromonk Seraphim Rose
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St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina, CA. -
Personal Reminiscences of Father Seraphim Rose
A talk given on the twentieth anniversary of the repose of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose, September 2, 2002, at the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina, California.
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Problems of Orthodoxy in America: The Spiritual Problem
by Father Alexander SchmemannThis is an incredibly insightful and penetrating essay which, when written decades ago in the sixties, probably applied almost solely to America. Unfortunately, after the fall of Communism secularism began to make steady inroads into historically Orthodox countries. While in Romania in January, 2008, I distinctly remember the highly ...
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The Search for Orthodoxy
A talk given at the 1981 St. Herman Summer Pilgrimage, at the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina, California. The text has been taken from Fr. Seraphim’s handwritten notes. The section titles have been added by the editors, based on Fr. Seraphim's ...
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The Orthodox Church in America and Its Future
I feel greatly honored in being called to speak to you in this great city* on this day, the Sunday of Orthodoxy. For this day is indeed our pan-Orthodox Thanksgiving Day, because on this day for the last thousand years we have been giving thanks ...
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The Attributes of the Church
by St. Justin (Popovich)The attributes of the Church are innumerable because her attributes are actually the attributes of the Lord Christ, the God-man, and, through Him, those of the Triune Godhead. However, the holy and divinely wise fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council, guided and instructed by the Holy Spirit, reduced them in the ninth ...
-
Orthodox Ecclesiology in Outline
by Fr. George DragasWestern Christians often speak of the Orthodox Churches, rather than the Orthodox Church. From the Orthodox perspective, the Church is one, even though She is manifested in many places. Orthodox ecclesiology operates with a plurality in unity and a unity in plurality. For Orthodoxy there is no ‘either / or’ between the one and the ...
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The Ecclesiology of St. Ignatius of Antioch
by Fr. John S. Romanides ... -
General Information: The Church
The Church of Christ: The Concept of the Church of Christ on Earth, by Fr. Michael Pomazansky. An excerpt from Orthodox Dogmatic Theology.
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The Inward Mission of Our Church: Bringing About Orthodoxy
by Blessed Father Justin PopovichIt is very, very difficult indeed for infinite and eternal life to make its way into the human soul—so narrow—and even into the narrower human body. Held behind bars, the inhabitants of this earth suspiciously stand their ground against anything coming from without. Cast into this prison ...
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Orthodox Ecclesiology
The commotion about union of the churches makes evident the ignorance existing as much among the circles of the simple faithful as among the theologians as to what the Church is.
... -
The Church is One
THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH follows of necessity from the unity of God; for the Church is not a multitude of persons in their separate individuality, but a unity of the grace of God, living in a multitude of rational creatures, submitting themselves ...
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The Church: The Treasury of Salvation
by St. John of KronstadtThe holy Church is God's most supreme, mast holy, most good, most wise and necessary establishment upon the earth. She is "the true tabernacle'' of God, " which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Heb. viii. 2)—not Luther, not Calvin, and not ...
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The Church of Christ
by Fr. Michael PomazanskyIN THE LITERAL meaning of the word, the Church is the "assembly," in Greek, ekklesia, from ekkaleo, meaning "to gather." In this meaning it was used in the Old Testament also the Hebrew (kahal).
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The Unity of the Church
by Fr. Michael PomazanskyIn the Greek text the word "in One," is expressed as a numeral (en mian). Thus the Symbol of Faith confesses that the Church is one: a) it is one as viewed from within itself, not divided, b) it is one as viewed from without, that is, not having any other beside itself. Its unity consists not in the joining together of what ...
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On the Terms "Catholic" and "Soborny"
Translated by Hieromonk LukeFrom the beginning of their labors the First Teachers of the Slavs desired to give the people whom they called to Christ a translation of the sacred Scriptures. It is more than likely that before anything else they translated the Creed. It is true that we have no extant manuscripts by them, but there can be no doubt that it is their translation which ...
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The Church as the Body of Christ
by St. John (Maximovitch)"And He (Christ) is the of the body, the church (Col.1:18), "which is His body, the Fulness of Him the that Filleth all in all (Eph. 1:23)
In the Holy Scriptures the Church is repeatedly called the Body of ...
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The House of the Father
by Fr. George FlorovskyWebmaster Note: There is an article by Fr. George Florovsky entitled “The Limits [Boundaries] of the Church” that is often cited by Orthodox ecumenists, as well as by those who disparage the “theory of (sacramental) economy (oikonomia).” It is frequently offered as a cogent argument for the recognition of heterodox Sacraments per se, and even the development of an ecumenistic ecclesiology in which the boundaries of the Church are extended to wherever “valid” Baptism is found.
The following article is set as a counterweight on the scale of debate regarding these issues. Herein you will find a beautiful exposition of Orthodox ecclesiology, which also reflects the more conservative side of Fr. George‘s ecclesiological views. Contrast this with “The Limits of the Church,” which was one of Fr. Florovsky’s “heuristic exercises” – a theologoumenon – that was not intended to express dogmatic teaching concerning the Church.
In 2014 the Orthodox Christian Information Center intends to make available the English translation of an important critique of “The Limits of the Church,” by the Serbian Bishop Athanasius Yevtich (In Greek: Theologia, Vol. 81, Issue 4, Oct.- Dec. 2010, pp. 137-158). Bishop Athanasius favorably cites “The House of the Father” in his critique.
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The Doctrine of the Orthodox Church: The Basic Doctrines
History | DoctrineCouncils and Confessions | ...
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The Doctrine of the Orthodox Church: The Structure of the Church
History | DoctrineThe Canons | ...
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The Doctrine of the Orthodox Church: Orthodoxy in the World
History | Doctrine -
The Doctrine of the Orthodox Church: Outline of Topics
Excerpts from The Orthodox Church, by Bishop Kallistos (Ware). The Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-Begotten, begotten of the Father before all worlds,... -
Concerning Faith and Baptism
by St. John of DamascusWe confess one baptism for the remission of sins and for life eternal. For baptism declares the Lord’s death. We are indeed "buried with the Lord through baptism," as saith the divine Apostle. So then, as our Lord died once for all, we also must be baptized once for all, and baptized according ...
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General Information: History and Doctrine
"A group of young Catholic men came to my Kalyvi [monastic hut—Webmaster]. They were very eager and interested to learn more about Orthodoxy. 'Please tell us something that will help us spiritually,' they said. 'Look,' I replied, 'go and take a look at Church History and you will see how in the past we were united and then you took your own way and ended up where you are. Do this and you will be helped. When you are done, come back and we'll have plenty to talk about."
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A History of the Orthodox Church: The Apostolic Church
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A History of the Orthodox Church: The Church of the Oecumenical Councils
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A History of the Orthodox Church: The Church of Imperial Byzantium
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A History of the Orthodox Church: Orthodoxy Under the Ottomans (1453-1821)
Introduction | History | Doctrine
The Christian ghetto | ...
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A History of the Orthodox Church: The Church of Russia (1448-1800)
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A History of the Orthodox Church: The Orthodox Churches In the 19th Century
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A History of the Orthodox Church: The Orthodox Church Since WWI
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A History of the Orthodox Church: Outline
Excerpts from The Orthodox Church, by Bishop Kallistos (Ware). 1. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH... 2. THE CHURCH OF THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS (323-843)... 3. THE CHURCH OF IMPERIAL BYZANTIUM... 4. ORTHODOXY UNDER THE OTTOMANS (1453-1821)... -
I Believe: A Short Exposition of Orthodox Doctrine
From the St. Nectarios Press wall calendar.I believe in God the Father, Who is without beginning, indescribable, incomprehensible, Who is beyond every created essence, Whose essence is known only to Himself, to His Son and the Holy Spirit; as it says in the Holy Scriptures, upon Him even the Seraphim dare not gaze.
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Introduction-The-Oecumenical-Synods-of-the-Orthodox-Church-Fr-James-Thornton.pdf
[PDF] Introduction The Oecumenical Synods of the Orthodox Church Fr James Thornton By Protopresbyter James Thornton. See Also This Page. -
A Brief History of the Irish Orthodox Church
By Monk Nicodemus, from the 2003 Saint Herman Calendar.How did Orthodox Christianity come to this small green island off the shores of the European continent in the uttermost West? Unknown to many, Christianity in Ireland does have an Apostolic foundation, through the Apostles James and John, although ...
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Theology and Mysticism in the Tradition of the Eastern Church
by Vladimir LosskyIt is our intention, in the following essay, to study certain aspects of eastern spirituality in relation to the fundamental themes of the Orthodox dogmatic tradition. In the present work, therefore, the term 'mystical theology' denotes no more than a spirituality which expresses a doctrinal attitude.
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Book Review: Eastern Patristic Thought and Orthodox Theology
Reviewed by Bishop [now Archbishop] Chrysostomos of EtnaEastern Patristic Thought and Orthodox Theology. By Constantine Tsirpanlis. Collegeville MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991. Pp. 214 + Appendices, Notes, and Indices. $16.95, paper.
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Christianity and Orthodoxy
by Archimandrite SergiusTHE VERY REVEREND SERGIUS, former Assistant Professor at the Theological Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, is the spiritual Father of the Russian Convent of the Holy Protection in Sofia, which is under the jurisdiction of Bishop Photii of Triaditza, the sole Hierarch of the True (Old ...
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Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book I
by St. John of DamascusThat the Deity is incomprehensible, and that we ought not to pry into and meddle with tire things which have not been delivered to us by the holy Prophets, and Apostles, and Evangelists.
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Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II
by St. John of DamascusConcerning aeon or age.
HE created the ages Who Himself was. before the ages, Whom the divine David thus addresses, From age to age Than art(1). The divine apostle also says, Through ...
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Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book III
by St. John of DamascusMAN, then, was thus snared by the assault of the arch-fiend, and broke his Creator's command, and was stripped of grace and put off his confidence with God, and covered himself with the asperities of a toilsome life (for this is the meaning of the fig-leaves(1)); and was clothed about with death, that is, mortality and the grossness of ...
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Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV
by St. John of DamascusConcerning what followed the Resurrection.
After Christ was risen from the dead He laid aside all His passions, I mean His corruption or hunger or thirst or sleep or weariness or such like. For, although ...
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Synod-of-Iasi-1642-and-the-Synod-of-Jerusalem-1672-The-Oecumenical-Synods-of-the-Orthodox-Church-Fr-James-Thornton.pdf
[PDF] Synod of Iasi 1642 and the Synod of Jerusalem 1672 The Oecumenical Synods of the Orthodox Church Fr James Thornton By Protopresbyter James Thornton. -
The-Synod-of-Constantinople-1872-The-Oecumenical-Synods-of-the-Orthodox-Church-Fr-James-Thornton.pdf
[PDF] The Synod of Constantinople 1872 The Oecumenical Synods of the Orthodox Church Fr James Thornton By Protopresbyter James Thornton, concerning phyletism and "Neo-Papism". -
The-Synod-of-Constantinople-879-880-The-Oecumenical-Synods-of-the-Orthodox-Church-Fr-James-Thornton.pdf
[PDF] The Synod of Constantinople 879 880 The Oecumenical Synods of the Orthodox Church Fr James Thornton By Protopresbyter James Thornton, concerning the Filioque. See Also This Page. -
General Information: Icons & Iconography
... Recommended Books: Theology of the Icon, Leonid Ouspensky. Covers every aspect of Icons and iconography, including their history and defense. An indispensable two volume set. The Essence of Orthodox Iconography, by Constantine Kalokyris. Excellent scholarly treatment of the subject. Orthodox Iconography, by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos. A short book containing a collection of very fine essays. ... -
A Discourse in Iconography
by Saint John of Shanghai and San FranciscoIconography began on the day our Lord Jesus Christ pressed a cloth to His face and imprinted His divine-human image thereon. According to tradition, Luke the Evangelist painted the image of the Mother of God; and, also according to tradition, there still exist today many Icons which were painted by him. An artist, he painted not only the first ...
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The Icon FAQ
An Icon is an image (usually two dimensional) of Christ, the Saints, Angels, important Biblical events, parables, or events in the history of the Church.
St. Gregory the Dialogist (Pope of Rome ca. 590-604), spoke of Icons as being Scripture to ...
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The Functions of Icons
by Dr. Constantine CavarnosHoly icons serve a number of purposes. (1) They enhance the beauty of a church. (2) They instruct us in matters pertaining to the Christian faith. (3) They remind us of this faith. (4) They lift us up to the prototypes which they symbolize, to a higher level of thought and feeling. (5) They arouse us to imitate the virtues of the holy personages ...
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What Orthodox Iconography Is
"Be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind ... " (Rom. xii.2)
The religion of Christ is the revelation, by Him, of the truth. And this ...
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A Word About 'Monastery Icons'
The following comments concern a business called Monastery Icons (http://www.monasteryicons.com). This company offers "icons" and other religious content that has a veneer of Orthdooxy, but which in fact is associated with Hinduism. Their products are spirituallly dangerous, ...
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The Iconic and Symbolic in Orthodox Iconography
by Hieromonk [now Bishop] AuxentiosThe following essay is taken from a presentation by the author to a graduate seminar in advanced iconography at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, in the spring semester 1987. Bishop Auxentios holds a Doctorate in Orthodox liturgical theology from G.T.U.
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What is Orthodoxy?
by Archbishop Averky of Syracuse and Holy Trinity MonasteryON THE FIRST SUNDAY of the Great Fast our Church celebrates the triumph of Orthodoxy, the victory of true Christian teaching over all perversions and distortions thereof—heresies and false teachings. On the second Sunday of the Great Fast it is as ...
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True Orthodoxy
by Archbishop Averky of Blessed MemoryFew people today know that the Orthodox Church is nothing less than that Church which has preserved untainted the genuine teachings of Jesus Christ, the very teachings delivered to every subsequent generation of believers. These ...
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General Information: Introduction
... Recommended Books: The Orthodox Church, by Timothy [now Bishop Kallistos] Ware. The Precious Pearl: The Lives of Sts. Barlaam and Ioasaph, by St. John Damascene. The Prologue from Ochrid, by the Blessed Hierarch Nicholai Velimirovich. ... -
Glossary-from-Theosis-by-Archimandrite-George.pdf
[PDF] Glossary from Theosis by Archimandrite George -
The Great Schism: The Estrangement of Eastern and Western Christendom
One summer afternoon in the year 1054, as a service was about to begin in the Church of the Holy Wisdom' (Hagia Sophia) at Constantinople, Cardinal Humbert and two other legates of the Pope entered the building and made their way up to the sanctuary. They had ...
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The Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven
by Saint Innocent of AlaskaOn several occasions I have attempted to compose an article on Christian life that would present the essence of what a Christian should know and do in a concise yet complete and inspirational way. Although many parts of this topic had previously been thought out and developed, how I ...
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The Orthodox Church: An Introduction
The Orthodox Church was founded by our Lord Jesus Christ and is the living manifestation of His presence in the history of the mankind. The most conspicuous characteristics of Orthodoxy are its rich liturgical life and its faithfulness to the apostolic tradition. It is believed by ...
...Excerpts from The Orthodox Church, by Bishop Kallistos (Ware). The Orthodox Church was founded by our Lord Jesus Christ and is the living manifestation of His presence in the history of the mankind.... -
Theosis: The True Purpose of Human Life
By Archimandrite George, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of St. Gregorios of Mount Athos. Available in nine Languages!...
This is an important little book that so clearly and beautifully states the purpose of our lives. For those of you who are searching for the Orthodox Christian response to "What is the meaning of life?", this is the answer.
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Chapter 3 from Defeating Jihad, by Serge Trifkovic
Webmaster note: As of July 2006 I think this is the best book on Islam to date. Every adult should read this book in order to understand the threat of Islam per se, not just "radical Islam" (as opposed to the mythical "peace-loving ...
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Chapter 8 from Defeating Jihad, by Serge Trifkovic
Webmaster note: As of July 2006 I think this is the best book on Islam to date. Every adult should read this book in order to understand the threat of Islam per se, not just "radical Islam" (as opposed to the mythical "peace-loving ...
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General Information: Orthodoxy & Islam
Orthodox Christians need to raise their level of awareness about the threat of Islam. These articles and books really opened my eyes to the Islamic Faith and helped me to see the "dangers at our doorstep".
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Islam 101
Dr. Davis is an Orthodox Christian, and is the author of Religion of Peace? Islam's War Against the World. He is also the producer and director of Islam: What the West Needs to Know—An Examination of Islam, Violence, and the Fate of the Non-Muslim World.
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A Definitive Reply to Islam
by [Name withheld at author's request]A casual reader of history will not fail to note the great and ferocious animosity of Islam to Christianity. One would ask why is this so, since both religions are supposed to worship the same God? The crux of the matter lies in focusing on the originators of these two religions, since followers of one or ...
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The Muslim Advance and American Collaboration
by James George JatrasAt the time of this writing James George Jatras was a member of St. Katherine's Greek Orthodox Church in Falls Church, Virginia. He is a policy analyst at the United States Senate. The views expressed here are his own and do not represent any Senate member or office. A version of this article first appeared in Chronicles: A ...
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Chapter 1 from Religion of Peace? Islam's War Against the World, by Gregory Davis
by Gregory DavisLike other religions, Islam sees the universe in terms of good and evil; but unlike other religions, in Islam good and evil have expressly political significance. Islamic theology divides the world into two spheres locked in ...
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St. John of Damascus: Critique of Islam
Webmaster note: The following passage is from Saint John’s monumental work, the Fount of Knowledge, part two entitled Heresies in Epitome: How They Began and Whence They Drew Their Origin. It is usually just cited as Heresies. The translator’s introduction points out that Fount of Knowledge is one ...
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A-Christian-Understanding-of-Homosexuality.pdf
[PDF] A Christian Understanding of Homosexuality -
Count the Number of the Beast: 666
by Inok Vsevolod (Filipiev)In the Apocalypse, the holy Apostle John the Theologian indicated the number of Antichrist in these words: And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their forehead... Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for ...
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Homily for the Sunday of Orthodoxy, by Bishop Atanasije of Zahumlje and Herzegovina
Bishop Atanasije (Jevtic) is one of the most outstanding contemporary Orthodox theologians. Born in 1938 in the town of Brdarica in western Serbia, he studied theology at Saint Sava's Seminary in Belgrade, the Theological Faculty of the Serbian Orthodox Church ...
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Celtic Christian Spirituality
by the Reverend Monk Dr. GorazdFather Gorazd (Vorpatrny), a graduate of Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, New York, completed his M.A. and doctoral degrees in theology at the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, where he is Senior Lecturer in Orthodox Studies at the Hussite Faculty of Theology. In 1996, the Charles ...
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On the Question of the Origin of the Slanted Crosswise Bar in Russian Crosses
First, clergy, whatever their affiliations, should be addressed properly. They are not "guys." Nor should religious or theological issues come under the category of "scoops." The first term is best confined to Broadway plays and the ...
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Deaconnesses
This Pandora's box has recently been opened as the feminist agenda tries to force itself into Orthodoxy. The call for the reinstitution of the ordination of women as deaconesses is making itself heard. Sadly, some clergy, even a few prominent bishops, are joining in favor of this "craze", perhaps ...
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General Information: Miscellaneous Articles
Celtic Christian Spirituality, by the Reverend Monk Dr. Gorazd.
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The Miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem
by Niels Christian Hvidt"On Holy Saturday believers gather in great crowds in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. For on this day fire comes down from Heaven and puts fire on lamps in the Church." Thus one reads in one of the many Easter itineraries to the Holy Land.
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Women in the Orthodox Church
by Archimandrite [now Archbishop] ChrysostomosAnyone reading the sublime words of the Orthodox Church Fathers is immediately struck with a number of overwhelming impressions. First, there emanates from their words a certain sense, by which all that is written seems intuitively true—as though some inner cord were struck in the reader, resounding harmonically ...
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yoga-and-orthodoxy.pdf
[PDF] yoga and orthodoxy -
General Information: Monasticism
Orthodox Christian Monasticism: An excellent overview from Decani Monastery in Kosovo.
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The Gospel Call to Monasticism
by Nun BrigidIf thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me. (Matthew 19:21)
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Orthodox Christian Monasticism
The innermost spiritual sense of Orthodox Monasticism is revealed in joyful mourning. This paradoxical phrase denotes a spiritual state in which a monk in his prayer grieves for the sins of the world at at the same time experiences the regenerating spiritual joy of Christ's forgiveness and ...
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The Monk's Mission
by Elder Paisios the Athonite (+1994)Before I refer to my limited experience with beginner monks, it would be good to offer some counsel for their edification while they are, for one reason or the other, still found in the world. Perhaps this meagre assistance ...
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General Information: Miscellaneous Resources
Holy Monastery of the Pantokrator, Melissohori (Thessaloniki), Greece. A wealth of traditional articles and books!
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orthodox-terms.pdf
[PDF] orthodox terms -
Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich
What follows is a condensed version of a much lengthier Life of Archimandrite Sebastian that appeared in The Orthodox Word, Vol. 43, Nos. 102 (252-253). St. Herman Press was very gracious to make available the ...
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Life of the Holy New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth
by Metropolitan AnastassyNot every generation is destined to meet along its path such a blessed gift from heaven as was the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna for her time, for she was a rare combination of exalted Christian spirit, moral nobility, enlightened mind, gentle heart, and refined taste. She possessed an extremely delicate and ...
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Excerpts from the Life of Elder Gervasios (Paraskevopoulos) of Patras (+1964)
By Hierodeacon Cyril (Kostopoulos)Metropolitan Anthony of Patras assigned Father Gervasios as a parish priest to the church of Saint Paraskevi and subsequently to the church of Saint Demetrios. As a parish priest now Father Gervasios "was placed under the light, so that he could shine to everyone in the house." He knew all his parishioners ...
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Introduction to Apostle to Zaire: The Life and Legacy of Blessed Father Cosmas of Grigoriou
In every generation there are those few exceptional souls who rise out of the conventionality of social life to become pathfinders to the catholicity and otherworldliness of Christianity. Heroic and uncompromising, they imitate Abraham and become exiles and martyrs for Christ, following Him with loving ...
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Saint Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome: A Homily by Fr. James Thornton
by Father James ThorntonThe subject of today's discussion is Saint Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome. Before we begin, let us consider the ecclesiastical title, "Pope." The English word "Pope" is derived from ...
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Saint Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Nineveh: A Homily by Fr. James Thornton
by Father James ThorntonSaint Isaac the Syrian was born in Bet-Qatraje, on the western side of the Persian Gulf, near modern Bahrain and Qatar. He lived in the latter half of the seventh century. Very little is known of ...
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St Vincent of Lérins: A Homily by Fr. James Thornton
From time to time, it is beneficial to remind ourselves of the importance of correct terminology and its use. Unless we do this, and unless we rightly instruct ourselves, our children, and new converts coming to us in this terminology, we are at risk ...
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Homily on the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, by Protopresbyter James Thornton
by Protopresbyter James ThorntonWe end our series of discussions on the Patriarchs and Prophets with the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist [1] John, a towering figure who bridges the Old and New Testaments and who reveals, more precisely ...
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Homily on the Holy Prophet Habakkuk (Ambakoum), by Protopresbyter James Thornton
by Protopresbyter James ThorntonThe Holy Prophet Habakkuk, one of the minor prophets inasmuch as his book of Holy Scripture is short, lived during the late seventh century before the Birth of Christ. In addition to his book, he is mentioned ...
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Homily on the Holy Prophet Zephaniah (Sophonias) by Protopresbyter James Thornton
by Protopresbyter James ThorntonThe Holy Prophet Zephaniah was of royal blood, a descendant of King Hezekiah of Judah. His prophetic ministry dates from the second half of the seventh century B.C. The Saint prophesied at approximately ...
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General Information: Lives of Saints
With these words of St. Justin before us, we might well ask ourselves if Orthodox spiritual life is even possible without the testimony of the Lives of the Saints. The answer to this, I believe, must be "no." True spiritual life ...
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photos-of-archimandrite-sebastian-dabovich.pdf
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pious-kings-and-right-believing-queens-fr-james-thornton.pdf
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The Place of Lives of Saints in the Spiritual Life
A talk delivered at the Annual Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America, February 16/March 1, 2002.
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An Excerpt From the Life of St. Job of Pochaev
Acquiring the patient endurance of the long-suffering forefather, emulating the abstinence of the Baptist, and sharing in the divine zeal of both, thou wast vouchsafed worthily to receive their names, and wast a fearless preacher of the true Faith. Wherefore, thou didst lead a multitude of monks to Christ, and didst ...
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Introduction to the Lives of the Saints
by Saint Justin PopovichUntil the coming of the Lord Christ into our terrestrial world, we men really knew only about death and death knew about us. Everything human was penetrated, captured, and conquered by death. Death was closer to us than we ourselves and more real than we ourselves, and more powerful, incomparably more powerful than ...
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The Life of Our Holy Father Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch
The holy Meletius was a member of one of the noblest families of Lesser Armenia and was born in the city of Melitene. Renowned for his piety and meek demeanor, he was elected to the see of Sebastea in the year 357, but met with such violent ...
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Life of St. Nikolai Velimirovich
Commemorated March 5/18 (+1956)Beloved, even if we should attain the very pinnacle of virtue, let us consider ourselves least of all, as we have learned that pride is able to cast down even from the heavens the person who does not take heed, and humility of mind is able to ...
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Excerpts from The New Saint of the Russian Church, Seraphim of Viritsa
Translated from the Greek by Fr. Nicholas Palis“God is wondrous in his saints” (Ps. 67:36)
Publisher's Note
In the summer of 2002 the brother in Christ, Anthony Danilin from Moscow, a Theology student at the Aristotelian University of Thessalonica, would be ...
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We Were Guests at St. Seraphim's
by Dr. A. P. TimofievichThe author of this account of a pilgrimage to Sarov and Diveyevo, which occurred at the very eve of the closure of these monasteries, was a gifted writer, by profession a physician. From his childhood Dr. Anatoly Pavlovich Timofievich dedicated his life to God, and to medicine as a way of serving the Church. He ...
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Introduction to The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church
by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra, Mount Athos ... -
General Information: The Veneration of Saints & Their Relics
"We carry about these clean and holy bones, O king, because we attest in due form our love of those marvelous men to whom they belong: and because we would bring ourselves to remember their wrestlings and lovely conversation, to rouse up ourselves to the like zeal; and because we would catch some ...
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On the Veneration of the Holy Relics and Remains of the Saints
by Archpriest Vasily Demidov"Behold we count them happy which endure... " (Js. 5:11).
In the apostolic Church, all the remains of the "friends of God," the righteous strugglers (I Cor. 9:25), were referred to as relics—bones, heads, hair, ...
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The Place of Holy Relics in the Orthodox Church
by St. Justin PopovichWithout doubt, matter is represented in the human body in a manner which is most puzzling, most mysterious, and most complex. The brain: What wondrous mysteries pass between its physical and spiritual parts! How vast is the experience of the human race. In no manner can one ever fully comprehend or grasp these ...
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Veneration of the Virgin Mary
By Protopresbyter Michael Polsky"The Mighty One hath done great things to me" (Luke 1:49).
Introduction
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A Note on Churches
by Archbishop Chrysostomos of EtnaAt the request of one of the readers of "Orthodox Tradition," I would like to make a few comments about Churches. I have decided not to write my comments for "Orthodox Tradition," since the majority of our readers would simply be infuriated by what I have to write.
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The Doctrine of the Orthodox Church: Worship & Sacraments
History | DoctrineThe role of the Liturgy | ...
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On the Veneration of the Saints
by Fr Georges FlorovskyCHRIST HAS CONQUERED THE WORLD. This victory is further unveiled and fulfilled in the fact that He built His Church. In Christ and through Christ the unity of mankind was brought about truly for the first time, for those who believed in His Name become the Body of Christ. And through uniting with Christ ...
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General Information: Orthodox Worship
These links provide an overview of Orthodox worship. For more on the particulars of how we worship see the many articles on the "Living an Orthodox Life: Worship" page.
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liturgy-and-spirituality.pdf
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Monogamous Communion: A Defense of 'Closed' Communion
by Fr. Michael Shanbour“Imagine there’s no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
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"The Holies for the Holy": An Overview of the Divine Liturgy
by Protopresbyter Michael PomazanskyTHE DIVINE LITURGY takes the central place in the prayer-service of the day. Indeed it is not only a prayer service, but it is the greatest of the Mysteries (sacraments) of the Church, the mystery of the offering of the bloodless Sacrifice and the communing of the faithful in the Body and Blood of Christ.
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A Few Remarks on the Traditional Procedure for the Recognition of Saints in Orthodoxy
by Archimandrite Cyprian1. The sacred Tradition of our most holy Orthodox Church has never established any official ecclesiastical procedure for the recognition of Saints.
2. Initially, it was the common conscience of the pious People of God ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: For Anglicans
For those Anglicans who may be looking into Orthodoxy I have here some thoughts on my experience in and study of Anglicanism. Though it was easy to read myself out of Protestantism in general, the "via media" of Anglicanism remained an attractive option for quite some time. I found ...
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A Reading List for Anglican Inquirers
I include here numerous books by Roman Catholic authors. As a casual reading of my site would bear out, I do not in any way agree with Roman Catholic theological and canonical departures from Orthodoxy. The books included here should be seen for what they are: enlightening critiques of Anglicanism, ...
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Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1, Winter 1993
by Franklin BillerbeckUpon hearing I was likely to leave The Episcopal Church and ...
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Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 3
A: How would you advise or respond to Anglicans, especially in the United States, who are saying we should stay within the Episcopal Church, come what may, and keep on fighting, rather than become Orthodox?
W: This is a very delicate question. I have personal friends, whom I respect, who say we hold to the Orthodox faith, but we believe we should stay where we are as Anglicans and strive to bring Anglicanism over to that [faith]. And this for a time was ...
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Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 4
by Fr. Gregory Mathewes-GreenNote: If articles carried warning labels this one would alert the reader that its contents, while ...
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Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 1
ANGLICAN OPTIONS: ROME OR ORTHODOXY
by Fr. Chad Hatfield ...
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A Suggested Reading List for Inquirers
Compiled by Patrick BarnesThis list is geared towards doctrine and church history. I want it known up front that, as Bishop Kallistos has often stated, "Orthodoxy is not a system of ideas, but a way of life." When asked about recommended reading on the Orthodox Faith, Bishop Kallistos says that people should focus on the lives of the saints. ...
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The Charismatic Movement and Orthodoxy
Question: Would you comment on the so-called "Charismatic Renewal" and its relation to Orthodoxy? (M.B., TX)
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On Glossologia: Ch. 18 from The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaInquirer: What is glossologia or speaking in tongues?
Elder Cleopa: ...
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On the Second Coming of Christ: Ch. 15 from The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaInquirer: Father, what can you tell us about the exact date of the Second Coming of Christ?
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On the Thousand Year Reign (Chiliasm): Ch. 16 from The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaInquirer: There are those who maintain that between the Second Coming of the Lord and the end of the world Christ will reign upon the earth, governing, Himself, along with His elect for a thousand years. What is the truth of the matter, Father?
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Charismatic Revival As a Sign of the Times
by Hieromonk Seraphim Rose of Platina"COSTA DEIR TOOK THE MIKE and told us how his heart was burdened for the Greek Orthodox Church. He asked Episcopalian Father Driscoll to pray that the Holy Spirit would sweep that Church as He was sweeping the Catholic Church. While Father Driscoll prayed, Costa Deir wept into the mike. Following ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: For Charismatics
Charismatic Revival, by Fr. Seraphim Rose. A Chapter from his Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future (St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1996).
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On the Gift of Speaking in Tongues: Ch. 15 from *The Hidden Man of the Heart*
by Archimandrite ZachariasCh. 15. from The Hidden Man of the Heart (1 Peter 3:4): The Cultivation of the Heart in Orthodox Christian Anthropology, By Archimandrite Zacharias. Posted on 2/4/2011 with the publisher's permission.
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The Toronto Blessing
by Dr Nick NeedhamEditorial Note from Original Publication in The Shepherd: We have taken the extraordinary step of featuring an article by a writer who is not Orthodox. Dr Nick Needham describes himself as a conservative Evangelical, by which he explains that be is a "traditional ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: The Church Is Visible and One
I am convinced that the question "What is the Church?" is one of the most important questions one can ask after "Who is Jesus Christ?" For the Church is His Body (Ephesians 1:22-23) and "the pillar and ground of the Truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). This means that to find the ...
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Is There An Invisible Church?
by Protopresbyter Michael PomazanskyWestern Protestantism, broken into a hundred sects and denominations, naturally had to come to the question: Where is the true church in the midst of all these divisions? And it has found no other way than to come to a teaching of an "invisible church" that mysteriously exists in the midst of all the differences and mistakes and sins of ...
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Other Quotes From the Fathers on the Visible, Unified Church
To sum up all in one word—what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not ...
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Christianity or the Church?
by St. Ilarion (Troitsky), Holy New Martyr of RussiaIntroduction
Usually, people prefer to remain silent concerning a matter which they know nothing about and do not understand. This, of course, is completely sensible. Let us imagine, for example, a person who knows nothing about chemistry but who, nevertheless, constantly insists upon interfering in the affairs of chemists. He corrects their scientific formulae which have been obtained with great difficulty, changing their order or replacing one with another. We would agree that such a person is acting with the highest degree of imprudence and that we can only have pity for him.
There is one field, however, in which too many people consider themselves to be complete masters, in fact, almost legislators; that is the area concerning the Christian faith and the Church. In this field also, clear and definite formulae have been established with a great effort of theological thought, spiritual guidance, faith, and piety. These formulae are established and must be accepted on faith. Regardless of this fact, a great many people enter into the questions of faith and the Church solely as bold and decisive reformers who want to remake everything according to their own personal desires. In cases where such people have insufficient knowledge or understanding, they are especially averse to remaining silent. To the contrary they begin not only to speak, but to shout. Such shouting on the questions of faith and the Church usually finds the columns of newspapers and the ordinary conversations of people who, in general, very seldom think of faith and the Church at all. If they do think of such things, they prefer to voice themselves exclusively in an authoritative and accusatory tone.
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Person and Personality in Orthodox Teaching: Concerning the Concept of a "Personal Lord and Savior"
I was a little surprised when Archbishop Chrysostomos recently wrote me with some critical words about my experience of Jesus Christ as my personal Savior within the context of the Orthodox witness....It seems to me that accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior is what Christianity is really about....I ...
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Table of Contents for The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaPreface by Archimandrite Joseph of Xeropotamou Monastery (Mount Athos)
Translators Introduction
A word about the Elder in the Orthodox Church
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Prologue to The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaThe name and personality of Elder Cleopa Ilie of Romania is today known not only in his homeland but also throughout the world. Father Cleopa was born in 1912 in the town of Soulitsa and district of Botosani into a pious village family and named Constantine. His ...
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On the Presuppositions of our Personal Salvation: Ch. 13 from The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaInquirer: Father, earlier you spoke about our personal salvation. Can you tell me more about this?
Elder Cleopa: ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: For Evangelicals
Book Review: Hierodeacon [now Father] Gregory, The Church, Tradition, Scripture, Truth, and Christian Life: Some Heresies of Evangelicalism and an Orthodox Response. Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1995. ...
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Book Review: The Church, Tradition, Scripture, Truth and Christian Life
Hierodeacon Gregory, The Church, Tradition, Scripture, Truth, and Christian Life: Some Heresies of Evangelicalism and an Orthodox Response. Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1995. Pp 54.
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A Note for Evangelicals Considering Rome
By Clark CarltonSooner or later, Protestants who are serious about their faith - serious about what it means to be a Christian and to be a member of the Church - begin to look beyond the borders of their limited denominational existence for a more profound spirituality, a God-centered experience of worship, and a concrete ...
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Sola Scriptura
by Fr. John WhitefordWebmaster's Note: Father John Whiteford is a former Nazarene Associate Pastor who converted to the Orthodox Faith soon after completing his B.A. in Religion at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. He first encountered Orthodoxy as a result of his involvement in the local Pro-Life (Rescue) ...
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The Church is Visible and One: A Critique of Protestant Ecclesiology
This article is approx. 40 pages and still in an early form; but it is quite readable. I welcome any and all feedback. For those who wish only to read the Introduction I have included this below. Download the essay in PDF format.
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church.pdf
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My Response to Dan Clendenin's Article "Why I'm Not Orthodox"
I was very interested to read Dan Clendenin's recent article "Why I'm Not Orthodox" (Christianity Today, January 6, 1997) because my strong hunch is that I am that "insightful reader" who asked him why he had not converted to Orthodoxy. (Dan, do you remember that inquisitive former FA-18 pilot?) I have his four page response dated ...
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Especially for Inquirers: Introduction
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A Reading List for Anglican Inquirers
I include here numerous books by Roman Catholic authors. As a casual reading of my site would bear out, I do not in any way agree with Roman Catholic theological and canonical departures from Orthodoxy. The books included here should be seen for what they are: enlightening critiques of Anglicanism, ...
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Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1, Winter 1993
by Franklin BillerbeckUpon hearing I was likely to leave The Episcopal Church and ...
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Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 3
A: How would you advise or respond to Anglicans, especially in the United States, who are saying we should stay within the Episcopal Church, come what may, and keep on fighting, rather than become Orthodox?
W: This is a very delicate question. I have personal friends, whom I respect, who say we hold to the Orthodox faith, but we believe we should stay where we are as Anglicans and strive to bring Anglicanism over to that [faith]. And this for a time was ...
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Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 4
by Fr. Gregory Mathewes-GreenNote: If articles carried warning labels this one would alert the reader that its contents, while ...
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Anglican/Orthodox Pilgrim Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 1
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A Suggested Reading List for Inquirers
Compiled by Patrick BarnesThis list is geared towards doctrine and church history. I want it known up front that, as Bishop Kallistos has often stated, "Orthodoxy is not a system of ideas, but a way of life." When asked about recommended reading on the Orthodox Faith, Bishop Kallistos says that people should focus on the lives of the saints. ...
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Justification by Faith Alone? The Reply of Patriarch Jeremiah II to the Lutheran Tübingen Theologians
"... The same also do the ancient writers of the Church teach; for Ambrose saith: 'This is ordained of God, that he that believeth in Christ shall be saved, without works, by faith alone, freely receiving remission of sins." —Article VI of the Augsburg Confession
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: For Lutherans
Lutheran inquirers into Orthodoxy: Orthodoxy for Lutherans. A wealth of resources provided by Christopher Orr. It is the companion site to the Lutherans Looking East list on Yahoo! Groups, which is a forum for asking questions of Orthodox converts from Lutheranism.
Luther Had His Chance: taken from Stephen Runciman’s The Great Church in Captivity.
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Luther Had His Chance
It was inevitable that, sooner or later, the Protestant Churches, protesting against Roman autocracy, should seek to find out about a Church which had ...
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On Occultism and Magic: Ch. 19 from The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaInquirer: I know that many people, in pain caused by the death of their beloved relatives, take recourse to spiritualism, fortune-telling, occultism, or even aim at conversing with their dead relatives. Why doesnt the Church allow this?
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The Transformation of Hellenistic Thought on the Cosmos and Man in the Greek Fathers
by Father Gregory Telepneff and Bishop [now Archbishop] ChrysostomosThe relationship between Hellenistic thought and the theology of the Greek Fathers is one which is frequently misunderstood by Western theologians, not only because they look rather superficially at classical Greek philosophy itself, but also because they often overlook the clear process of development, ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: Miscellaneous Articles
Pietism as an Ecclesiological Heresy: an important excerpt from The Freedom of Morality, by Dr. Christos Yannaras.
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Orthodoxy and Platonism: An Exchange of Letters with Protestant Apologist Douglas Jones
Webmaster note: What follows is a series of emails exchanged with Douglas Jones, an editor of the Reformed Protestant journal Credenda / Agenda, which some years ago attacked Orthodoxy in print. A ...
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Is Orthodoxy Neo-Platonic?: A Response to the Credenda Agenda
by Dr. Thomas MetherThe following is part of an extensive joint response to the Protestant Reformed journal Credenda Agenda. An entire issue of this journal was devoted to a critique of Orthodox Christianity. The author is addressing the article entitled "Salvation by Plotinus"
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Pietism as an Ecclesiological Heresy
by Christos YannarasWe give the name "pietism" to a phenomenon in church life which certainly has a particular historical and "confessional" starting point, but also has much wider ramifications in the spiritual life of all the Christian Churches.
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The False Decretals of Isidore, Cornerstone of the Papacy
by Abbe Guette"The False Decretals make as it were the dividing point between the Papacy of the first eight and that of the succeeding centuries. At this date, the pretensions of the Popes begin to develop and take each day a more distinct character."
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Notes on the Palamite Controversy and Related Topics, Part I
by Fr. John S. RomanidesNote about the name Latin. The Romans gave the name Latin to those Italian tribes who revolted demanding Roman citizenship. Instead they were given the Latin name in 85 BC. The name Latin had belonged to the ancient Greek-speaking Latins who had been absorbed into the Roman nation along with the Greek-speaking Sabines. The Italian Latins of 85 BC were given the Roman name in ...
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Notes on the Palamite Controversy and Related Topics, Part II
by Fr. John S. RomanidesIt seems that somehow in accordance with his thesis that Barlaam the Calabrian is a Byzantine humanist, Platonist, and nominalist, Father John Meyendorff develops the peculiar theory that both Barlaam and Palamas belongs to hesychast traditions,[1] with the difference that the Calabrian is a member of an Origenistic, ...
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guettee_thepapacy.pdf
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Guettee_ThePapacy.pdf
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How to Treat the Heterodox
A few years before he died, Fr. Seraphim received a letter from an African-American woman who, as a catechumen learning about Orthodoxy, was struggling to understand the uncharitable attitude that some Orthodox Christians showed to those outside ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: For Roman Catholics
An Orthodox View of the Great Schism, an excerpt from The Orthodox Church, by Bishop Kallistos (Ware).
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The Marian Apparitions: Divine Intervention or Delusion?
By Miriam LambourasThe following article is one that we have wanted to publish for a long time as we believe that its message is timely and important. We hesitated as it was submitted just after we had begun St Nicolas Varzhansky's "Whole Armour of Truth," and we did not want to have two long and serialized pieces, both confessional in content, running ...
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A "New Mary" for a New Age?
by Peter JacksonA recent issue of "Life" magazine (December 1996) featured a cover story entitled "The Mystery of Mary." An Orthodox reader cannot help but wonder what kind of "Mary." The article is very revealing because of the particular manner in which the Theotokos is portrayed, and also for [sic] the ...
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Papal Infallibility Becomes Dogma
by Michael WheltonOn September 8th, 1713, Pope Clement XI issued a Bull, Unigenitus, which among other things condemned the proposition that reading of the bible is for everyone, 1 and seemed to exalt the efficacy of grace to the point of destroying liberty. It ...
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Papal Supremacy
When I was attending the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul the other day, I heard the phrase "care of all the Churches" in the Epistle reading. To me, as a former Roman Catholic, this sounded rather strange, since I had been brought up to believe that the Pope, as the successor of St. ...
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Papism as the Oldest Protestantism
by the Blessed Fr. Justin (Popovich)What are, on the other hand, the fruits of the God-Man society [the Church]?—Saints, Martyrs, and Confessors. That is its goal, that is its meaning and design, that is the proof of its ...
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Orthodox Traditionalism vs. Roman Catholic Traditionalism
In what way do Old Calendarists differ from traditionalist Roman Catholics, who want to preserve their Church customs? The Catholic Church considers them renegades. Why do you object when the New Calendarists say the same about you? (M.R., TX)
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Two Paths: Papal MonarchyCollegial Traditions
by Michael WheltonMichael Whelton, who was born in the United Kingdom, completed high school, there and then moved to Canada where he studied for two years at York University in Toronto. After a stint as a job and wage analyst at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto, Ontario, he moved ...
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An Overview of Orthodoxy By Way of a Reply to Daniel Clendenin
by Anastasia TheodoridisI am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)
Dear Dr. Clendenin,
Although your article in Christianity Today, Why I am not ...
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The Ascetic Ideal and the New Testament: Reflections on the Critique of the Theology of the Reformation
by Father George FlorovskyIf the monastic ideal is union with God through prayer, through humility, through obedience, through constant recognition of one’s sins, voluntary or involuntary, through a renunciation of the values of this world, through poverty, through chastity, through love for mankind and love for God, then is such an ideal Christian? For some the ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: For All Protestants
These articles are important for all Protestant inquirers. I recommend reading the articles on this page and then perusing the other "For" pages for more in-depth articles pertaining to a particular Protestant group.
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Rock_Sand_Excerpt.pdf
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Miles from the Truth: A Response to "Thema: Eastern Heterodoxy"
by Deacon [now Father] John Whiteford and Patrick Barnes"A thousand words from the pen, in a stream; but ten thousand miles away from the theme." —a Chinese saying
Introduction
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The Myth of the "Calvinist Patriarch"
by Archbishop Chrysostomos of EtnaWebmaster's Note: The Orthodox Christian Information Center asked Archbishop Chrysostomos, the Academic Director for the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, to review the comments made by a Protestant publication called Credenda Agenda in their articles ...
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The UnReformed Truth: A Response to the Credenda Agenda
This page is a partial Orthodox response to an issue of the Calvinist journal Credenda Agenda, Volume 6, Number 5. A response has been long in coming because the representation of Orthodoxy in this Protestant publication was so distorted that it was deemed unworthy of a response. However, as the negative influence of ...
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Concerning Free Will and Predestination
by St. John of DamascusThe first enquiry involved in the consideration of free-will, that is, of what is in our own power, is whether anything is in our power: for there are many who deny this. The second is, what are the things that are in our power, and over what things do we have authority? The third is, what is the reason for which God ...
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Dialogue on Free Will & Determinism
Webmaster Note: What follows is an email exchange between Father John and a few Calvinist Protestants:
FJ: It has been asserted that foreknowledge of a choice, necessarily ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: For Reformed Protestants
The interpretive authority for Orthodox Christians is not our own reason applied to the Bible alone (the Protestant doctrine of "sola Scriptura") but what can be discerned as the consensual teaching ...
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MeyCorr.pdf
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On Predestination
From the Writings of Bishop Elias MinatiosThe day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. (John 1:43)
There is nothing as proud or as curious as the human mind. Though ...
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Reply to Jonathan Edwards's Treatise on the Will
by Father John WhitefordFirst of all, Edwards' treatise seems to me to have more to do with John Locke, than it does with the view of the will found in the Bible. John Locke was a great thinker, but was essentially a theistic empiricist. His views on human psychology seek to apply the principles of physics to psychology — a move that ...
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What Christ Accomplished on the Cross
A talk delivered at the Annual Lenten Clergy Confession of the New Gracanica Metropolitanate and the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Jackson, California, March 4/17, 2004.
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Salvation By Christ: A Response to the Credenda/Agenda
by Carmen FragapaneThis if part of a series in response to the Protestant Reformed publication Credenda / Agenda
Introduction
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: Salvation in Christ
The Ascetic Ideal and the New Testament: Reflections on the Critique of the Theology of the Reformation, by Father George Florovsky. This is one of the most important articles a Protestant inquirer to Orthodoxy ...
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Will the Heterodox Be Saved?
Archimandite (Metropolitan) Philaret, of blessed memory (+1985)Question: "If the Orthodox faith is the only true faith, can Christians of other confessions be saved? May a person who has led a perfectly righteous life on earth be saved on the strength of his ancestry, while not being baptized as Christian?
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On the Status of the Heterodox
by Fr. Michael PomazanskyThe Orthodox teaching of the Church, which in itself is quite clear and rests upon Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, is to be contrasted with another concept which is widespread in the contemporary Protestant world and has penetrated even into Orthodox circles. According to this different concept, all the various existing Christian ...
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Faith and Works: A Letter from St. Macarius of Optina
by St. Macarius of OptinaI set forth my poor judgment not from my own meager understanding, but—hoping in the God of wisdom and Lord, Who grants speech even to irrational beasts for the benefit of His people—I set it forth from His word and from the writings of the God-inspired Fathers, who after an active ...
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Contours of Conversion and the Ecumenical Movement: Some Personal Reflections
A talk presented at the September, 2004 conference "Ecumenism: Origins, Expectations, Disenchantment", sponsored by the School of Pastoral Theology, The Aristotelian University, Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Converts - Chapter 88 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
As many as are made partakers of the Spirit of Christ, see that you do not behave contemptuously in anything, small or great, and do not offend the grace of the Spirit, that you may not be excluded from the life of which you have already been made partakers.
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: Convert Testimonies
Holy Tradition: The Road That Leads Home, by the Rev. Dorraine Snogren (The True Vine, #5).
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Are There Many Christian Churches, or Is the True Church One?: An Interview with a Former Protestant Missionary
Peter Jackson—a former Protestant missionary and the translator of several books of Holy Scripture into the language of the Kogi people of Colombia, presently a student at Holy Trinity Spiritual Seminary—tells of his road to Orthodoxy. This is an Interview conducted with him on the pages of Pravoslavnaya Rus' [Orthodox Rus'] by R. ...
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Second Thoughts: Joel Kalvesmaki's Journey to Orthodoxy
Mine is the short but turbulent life.
Since May 1993 I have been vigorously pursuing the faith of the Apostles as witnessed to by the early Church. This spiritual journey has led me, a strongly committed Protestant ...
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From First Baptist to the First Century
By Clark CarltonIn June of 1986, I attended the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention as a messenger from my home church. The temperature in Atlanta was hot, but not nearly as hot as the temperature inside the World Congress Center as Baptist moderates tried in vain to prevent a ...
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Chapter One from A Tiny Step Away from Deepest Faith
Autumn in New Jersey is mind-boggling. It's as if the golden-cherry leaves fall into the sunset and everything is haloed by silence and smoke and some distant humming. It's hard even to walk to class during the day you don't want to go inside and if it weren't for the biting cold I probably would just stay ...
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A Critique of David Bercot's "Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?"
Excerpts from a Letter by Patrick Barnes (1997)Dear Mr. Bercot,
A little of my background first so you can put my comments in context: I am a recent convert to Orthodoxy from a varied evangelical background. I was a ...
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On Holy Scripture: Ch. 2 from The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaInquirer: What do we mean by the term Holy Scripture?
Elder Cleopa: The term Holy Scripture denotes the sum of holy books that were written under ...
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On Holy Tradition: Ch. 3 from The Truth of Our Faith
by Elder Cleopa of RomaniaInquirer: What is the Holy Tradition that the Orthodox consider to be the second source of Holy Revelation and coequal with Holy Scripture?
Elder Cleopa: ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: Holy Tradition
Scripture, Tradition, and the Church. All three are inseparable, forming a Gestalt, a beautiful tapestry woven by the Holy Spirit. As such, the question "What is the Church?" cannot be separated from the question "What is Holy Tradition?".
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The Emergence of the New Testament Canon
by Daniel F. LieuwenAll Christians agree that Scripture is the heart of the Christian tradition. However, what they mean by this affirmation often differs. To shed light on how this affirmation ought to be understood, this paper will trace the history of the New Testament canon from the apostolic church to the present. The goal is to show how we know that the Church ...
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All Scripture Is Inspired by God: Thoughts on the Old Testament Canon
by Joel KalvesmakiAll Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (II Tim 3:16)
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The Church is the Pillar and Ground of Truth (1 Timothy 3:15)
by Joel KalvesmakiIt should be noted that in the Nicene Creed, which most Protestants accept, we confess not only belief in the ...
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Holy Tradition: The Road That Leads Home
by the Reverend Dorraine S. Snogren, with an Introduction by Bishop EphraimThe Reverend Dorraine Snogren has been a United Methodist pastor for over thirty years. In the past several years he has come to feel increasingly that most Christians today, while they might have a certain reverence for Church history, are in fact ...
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The Fathers on Tradition and the Authority of the Church
But, again, when we refer them to that tradition which originates from the apostles, [and] which is preserved by means of the succession of presbyters in the Churches, they object to tradition, saying that they themselves are wiser not merely than the presbyters, but even than the apostles, because they have discovered the unadulterated truth...
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General Rules for Distinguishing Truth From Error and Preserving the Faith: Excerpts from A Commonitory by St. Vincent of Lérins
I have often then inquired earnestly and attentively of very many men eminent for sanctity and learning, how and by what sure and so to speak universal rule I may be able to distinguish the truth of Catholic faith from the falsehood of ...
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Which Came First: The Church or the New Testament
by Fr. James BernsteinAs a Jewish convert to Christ via evangelical Protestantism, I naturally wanted to know God better through the reading of the Scriptures. In fact, it had been through reading the Gospels in the "forbidden book" called the New Testament, at age sixteen, that I had come to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son ...
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Cherubim and Arks: A Response to the Credenda Agenda
By Timothy CoppleThe following is part of an extensive joint response to the Protestant Reformed journal Credenda Agenda. An entire issue of this journal was devoted to a critique of Orthodox Christianity. The author is addressing the article entitled "Pomegranates and Synagogues"...
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Why is Mary Considered Ever-Virgin?
A Protestant inquirer recently wrote the Orthodox Christian Information Center to ask why it is a dogma of the Orthodox Church that the Blessed Virgin ...
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Is Venerating Icons Idolatry?: A Response to the Credenda Agenda
by Timothy CoppleOne of the most difficult things for Protestants to grasp when considering Orthodoxy is the veneration of Icons. The immediate reaction of many is that it is worship, or at least borders on worship of the Icon rather than simply honoring the Saint depicted. After all, most Protestants do have pictures and do use them to remind them of people, yet they do ...
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: Venerating Icons and Saints
The Icon FAQ, by Father Deacon John Whiteford. Frequently asked questions about Icons. This is a good place for inquirers to start learning about the Orthodox view of Icons.
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On the Intercession and Invocation of the Saints
by Reader Christopher OrrProtestants often have a difficult time coming to terms with prayer to the saints. It is condemned as a christianized paganism, an example of the corruption of Christianity after the conversion of the Roman Empire under Constantine in 313 AD.
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Wes Callihan Apologizes for Writing "Presumptuous Propositions"
Dear Patrick,
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Presumptuous Propositions: A Reply to the Credenda/Agenda Concerning Icons
By Timothy Copple and Patrick BarnesReceive as a single stream the testimony of Scripture and the Fathers; it shows you that the making and worship of images is no new invention, but the ancient tradition of the Church.—St. John of Damascus
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Old Testament Exegesis on the Hebrew Terms for Prostration and Worship
by Edwin YamauchiWebmaster Note: This excerpt has been included on the Orthodox Christian Information Center at the suggestion of Orthodox Deacon [now Father] John Whiteford, a former Protestant who has been laboring to help them properly to understand the nature of Hebrew worship and the implications of this on Christian worship, specifically the use of Icons. We regret that ...
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An Orthodox View of the Virgin Mary
A Protestant preacher recently said that devotion to the Mother of God is the cause of all bad in the world, since she was not a virgin after she gave birth to Christ and was just another woman. This really has upset ...
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Blessed Augustine of Hippo. His Place in the Orthodox Church: A Corrective
There are those who argue that Saint Augustine (†430) wrote a number of things inconsistent with the consensus of the Fathers, especially with regard to sin and human guilt before God and the nature of Grace. This is partly because distortions and overstatements of certain among his theological precepts by Medieval and ...
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Original Sin According to St. Paul
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The Difference Between Orthodox Spirituality and Other Traditions
by Metropolitan Hierotheos VlachosOrthodox spirituality differs distinctly from any other "spirituality" of an eastern or western type. There can be no confusion among the various spiritualities, because Orthodox spirituality is God-centered, whereas all others are man-centered.
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Orthodoxy and Western Christianity: On Western Christianity
These articles are relevant to all "Western Christians"—Roman Catholics or Protestants.
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The Historical Study of Orthodox Theology: Some Basic Guidelines
by Archbishop ChrysostomosIn discussing the historical events and theological trends that determined the interaction between the Byzantine East and the Latin West in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, from the sack of Constantinople to the Hesychastic Controversy, which is our central concern during this semester, we will attempt ...
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The Non-Orthodox: The Orthodox Teaching on Christians Outside of the Church
by Patrick BarnesDownload the entire book (originally published in 1999 by Regina Orthodox Press, now out of print)
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Acquiring an Orthodox Mindset: Introduction
I have set up this web page to help make available—in an ordered manner—writings that should serve to guide Orthodox Christians in the development of an Orthodox phronema, or mindset. Though most of the articles hosted on the Orthodox Christian Information Center are—to varying degrees—illustrative ...
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Introduction to Blessed Paisius Velichkovsky: The Man Behind the Philokalia
by Fr. Seraphim Rose of PlatinaDECEMBER 21, 1972, marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Schema-Archimandrite Paisius Velichkovsky. This remarkable anniversary went almost totally unnoticed in the Orthodox world, which is so occupied with its worldly problems and its very struggle for survival. And yet, for Orthodox Christians of the 20th century there is no more important ...
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Book Review: The Faith and Facing East
The Faith: Understanding Orthodox Christianity—An Orthodox Catechism, Clark Carlton, 1997, 286 pp., Regina Press, $22.95.
Facing East: A Pilgrim’s Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Harper, 1996, 245 pp.
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Acquiring an Orthodox Mindset: The ‘Fragrance’ and ‘Mindset’ of the Fathers
This section is a close companion to "How to Read the Holy Fathers." In addition to the works cited already ...
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Some Comments on Officialdom, the Sacred Canons, St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain and the Continuity of Byzantine Thought
Dear Father ________:
Evlogeite.
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Was St. John Chrysostom Anti-Semitic?
What follows is the major portion of a letter written by an Orthodox scholar who will remain anonymous to someone asking for information about how to answer ...
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BEM and Orthodox Spirituality
The Plenary Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Lima, Peru in January of 1982, adopted a significant interfaith paper on Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (the so-called "Lima Document" or "BEM"). At the ...
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How to Read the Bible and Why
by Archimandrite Justin (Popovich) of ChelijeThe Bible is in a sense a biography of God in this world. In it the Indescribable One has in a sense described Himself.
The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament are a biography of the incarnate ...
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Contemporary Orthodox Theological Training
Some time ago we promised to write a few words about contemporary Orthodox theological training, in response to inquiries from a number of readers of Orthodox Tradition. This is, of course, an important topic, but one which prompts rather harsh reaction from those involved in the various Orthodox theological schools ...
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Genesis and Early Man
An article entitled The Eternal Will was printed in The Christian Activist Volume 11, Fall/Winter 1997. It was a lecture given by Dr. Alexander Kalomiros on evolution vs. creationism and his interpretation of the traditional teachings by the Fathers of the Orthodox Church about ...
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A Eulogy to Fr. Georges Florovsky (1893-1979)
By Archimandrite [now Archbishop] ChrysostomosWebmaster's note: Between 1972 and 1974, Archbishop Chrysostomos, then a Preceptor in the psychology department at Princeton University, took part in an exchange between the late Hieromonk Seraphim Rose and the late Protopresbyter Georges Florovsky, then a Visiting Professor ...
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Forward to The Future Life According to Orthodox Teaching
by Archbishop ChrysostomosThe Future Life According to Orthodox Teaching is written by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos and published by the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies (1985).
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Excerpts from Greece’s Dostoevsky: The Theological Vision of Alexandros Papadiamandis
The Foreword by Hieromonk Alexis (Trader)America is known worldwide as a land of great opportunity, but every American must discover this opportunity for himself and, once he has found it, must seize it in order to make it his own. The Holy Orthodox Faith is not simply an opportunity. It is the great opportunity for every man that comes into the world. It involves the opportunity to be healed of the harmful desires and deceptive thoughts that cripple the life of proud and selfish man. It includes the opportunity to become a new creation in Christ Jesus guided by humility and selfless love. It contains the opportunity to become a vessel of the Holy Spirit ceaselessly united with Christ in the heart. It encompasses the opportunity to truly become Christ-like by grace and, in turn, to humbly embrace all of creation with His boundless love. The Church is truly a land of opportunity. The “great cloud of witnesses”—the Saints throughout the ages—give testimony to the fact that this land of opportunity really exists, but every believer must still find his way into that promised land and make its great opportunity his own. This wonderful book on Alexandros Papadiamandis by Dr. Anestis Keselopoulos provides a map for this very quest.
Papadiamandis was not a bishop. He was not priest. He was not a monk. He was a simple yet genuinely Orthodox layman who observed those who seized upon the great opportunity and those who failed to do so. His observations, in turn, became the heart of his fictional, but not fictitious, writings. As a layman and as an artist, he had the freedom to explore the great opportunity from every angle and the boldness to point out the obstacles to that opportunity, which are created when the misguided misunderstand the eucharistic and liturgical aspect of ecclesial life that makes that opportunity possible and act on that misunderstanding. Dr. Keselopoulos makes it quite clear that Papadiamandis’s profound understanding of what liturgy is and what liturgy can do enable Papadiamandis to initiate others through his writings into the mystery of this great opportunity. Greece’s Dostoevsky will be, for many, the first step across the threshold of this mystery.
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"Imitate; Don't Innovate": Safeguarding the Integrity of the Orthodox Faith
by Archbishop ChrysostomosSOME YEARS AGO, Professor Constantine Kalokyris, the renowned expert on the history and theory of Orthodox Iconography, made the observation that, "In America they have started making Byzantine icons, mosaics, and wall-paintings, but the painters here are still lacking the theological presuppositions of Orthodox iconography." [1] One might take some exception to this statement now, ...
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Acquiring an Orthodox Mindset: Miscellaneous Articles
The Orthodox World-View, by Fr. Seraphim Rose
The Orthodox Mind, by Fr. John Whiteford.
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The Kingdom of God: "Progress" or the Cross?
by Archbishop Averky of Syracuse [of Blessed Memory]ON AUGUST 1, according to our Orthodox ecclesiastical calendar, our Holy Church begins the celebration of the Precious and Life-creating Cross of the Lord, which reaches its climax on September 14, the great feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, and concludes with the Leave-taking (Apodosis) of the feast on ...
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Revelation: The Seven Seals
Translated by Constantine ZalalasI highly recommend this wonderful series on the book of Revelation! It is full of many fresh and relevant insights for our times. Each lesson has been beautifully translated from the Elder's numerous talks on this oft-misunderstood book. Come, drink from this wellspring of the Holy Fathers! ~Patrick Barnes
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A Letter Concerning the Views of Frs. Alexander Schmemann and Alexander Men
April 16, 1998 (Old Style)
Dear Brother Petko:
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The Study of Holy Scripture
by Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." (Colossians 3:16)
Our pious lay brethren in Christ should not forget and neglect a very beneficial gift of God’s compassion for their spiritual edification: the ...
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How to Read the Bible
by Bishop Kallistos WareWE BELIEVE THAT THE SCRIPTURES constitute a coherent whole. They are at once divinely inspired and humanly expressed. They bear authoritative witness to God's revelation of Himself—in creation, in the Incarnation of the Word, and the whole history of salvation. And as such they ...
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How Not to Read the Fathers
by Archbishop ChrysostomosIN AN ASTONISHING article, "Moral Character in Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian," published in 1995 as part of a tribute to Archbishop Iakovos, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, under the rather cumbersome title Rightly Teaching the Word of Your Truth: Studies in Faith and Culture, Church and ...
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Meta-Patristic Theology: Are the Fathers Relevant Today?
Monk Moses the HagioriteMeta-patristic Theology represents a new trend in Orthodox theological circles, which claims that Orthodox theological teaching should move beyond its traditional patristic outlook, which is based on the teachings of the Holy Fathers ...
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Acquiring an Orthodox Mindset: How to Read the Holy Fathers
This section highlights articles dealing with how we—given our modern, rationalistic, and skeptical mindsets—should approach the writings of the Fathers, especially the Lives of Saints. The main concern of the authors below is to prepare the reader to approach the Fathers with an ...
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Reading the Fathers
Excerpt from a Sermon by Bishop [now Archbishop] ChrysostomosThe voice of the Fathers rings out everywhere in our Faith. It is to the voice of the Fathers that we turn to confirm, in living form, the Faith which we preserve in our confessions, our statements of Faith, and our ...
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Excerpts from The Arena on Reading Spiritual Books
by St. Ignaty (Brianchaninov)From what has already been said, it becomes increasingly clear that the chief occupation of a novice in his cell should be the reading and study of the Gospel and of the whole New Testament. The whole New Testament can be called the Gospel, since it contains nothing but the Gospel teaching. But a novice should first of all study the ...
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The Holy Fathers of Orthodox Spirituality (Part I): The Inspiration and Sure Guide to True Christianity Today
Remember your instructors, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the end of their life... Be not led away with various and strange doctrines. (Hebrews 13:7, 9)
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The Holy Fathers of Orthodox Spirituality (Part II): How to Read the Holy Fathers
THE PRESENT PATROLOGY will present the Fathers of Orthodox spirituality; therefore, its scope and aims are rather different from the ordinary seminary course in Patrology. Our aim in these pages will be twofold: (1) To present ...
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The Holy Fathers of Orthodox Spirituality (Part III): How Not to Read the Holy Fathers
ENOUGH HAS BEEN SAID to indicate the seriousness and sobriety with which one must approach the study of the Holy Fathers. But the very habit of light-mindedness in 20th-century man, of not taking seriously ...
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How to Study and Communicate the Words of the Fathers
by Archimandrite VasileiosThe Kingdom of God is not a Talmud, nor is it a mechanical collection of scriptural or patristic quotations outside our being and our lives. The Kingdom of God is within us, like a dynamic leaven which fundamentally changes man's whole life, his spirit and his body. What is required in patristic study, in ...
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A Brief Overview of Vita Patrum
Why emphasize this book? Aside from the inestimable value of this original-source patrology (which appeared for the first time in English through the labors of the St. Herman Brotherhood), Father Seraphim wrote a very important "Prologue" to this book. In it he says:
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The Da Vinci Code: Resources for a Proper Orthodox Understanding
Much controversy has surrounded the 2006 movie The Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks. Fr. John Whiteford suggested I post some links to Internet resources that offer an Orthodox take on this movie. —Webmaster
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Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is popular literature of the very worst sort: atrociously written, intolerably pedantic, intellectually dishonest, derivative nearly to the point of plagiarism, wholly blasphemous, and, alas!, immensely ...
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Acquiring an Orthodox Mindset: Book & Movie Reviews
The Orthodox Church, a Traditionalist critique by Hieromonk Patapios.
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Is This Orthodoxy?
by Father Michael PomazanskyA review of the book: Orthodoxy in Life. A collection of articles edited by S. Verhovskoy. Published by the Chekhov Society, New York, 1953, 405 pages.
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Author unknownThe Synod of Bishops has delegated me to prepare a review of the book by the priest Michael Azkoul with the pretentious title The Teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church.
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Book Review: The Non-Orthodox
Reviewed by Father James ThorntonThe Non-Orthodox: The Orthodox Teaching on Christians Outside of the Church. By Patrick Barnes. Salisbury, MA: Regina Orthodox Press, 1999. 173 pp.. Paperback. $19.95.
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Television Review: A Fall to the "Rise of Christianity"
by Archbishop Chrysostomos of EtnaA number of individuals have posed to me, of late, questions about the Christian Faith prompted by a two-hour presentation on the American "Arts and Entertainment" television network, "The Rise of Christianity: The First Thousand Years," which first aired in the late autumn of 1998. Some of the historical and theological ideas put ...
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For over three decades now, The Orthodox Church, by my countryman, Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford University and former Visiting Fellow at Princeton University, has served as a helpful ...
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Book Review: The Orthodox Way
by Hieromonk PatapiosIN A PREVIOUS ISSUE of Orthodox Tradition (Vol. XVI, No. 1 [1999]), we reviewed the new edition of The Orthodox Church, by Timothy Ware, now Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia (under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Great Britain), a countryman of mine ...
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Book Review: The Winter Pascha
Reviewed by Bishop [now Archbishop] Chrysostomos of EtnaThe Winter Pascha: Readings for the Christmas-Epiphany Season. By [Father] Thomas Hopko. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1984.
While re-reading Father Hopko's little volume of spiritual ...
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Pouring Water on Acid: The Sad Consequences of Spiritual Ignorance
by Bishop Chrysostomos of Etna and the St. Gregory Palamas MonasteryI remember, as an undergraduate student in a university chemistry laboratory, a fellow student who was having tremendous difficulty understanding the basic principles of laboratory science. A pre-medical student, she lacked both proper high ...
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Comments on the Late Fathers Alexander Schmemann and John Meyendorff
by Bishop [now Archbishop] Chrysostomos of EtnaEditor’s note—. This past spring, the official journal of the Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarchate published a very harsh attack, by a student of theology at the University of Sofia, Ognian Rangachev, against Bishop Chrysostomos of Etna, criticizing him for comments which the latter made, during a trip to Bulgaria in early 1995, about the ...
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Acquiring an Orthodox Mindset: The Divine Services
The absence of a patristic phronema in Orthodox Christians today is also reflected in the area of liturgics. Though the underlying problem is the same—a lack of sensitivity and fidelity to the catholic consciousness of the Orthodox Church—, the symptoms are different. ...
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The Liturgical Theology of Father A. Schmemann
by Father Michael PomazanskyThroughout its history, Russian theological science is accused of falling too much under the influence of the non-Orthodox West. The influence of Latin scholasticism on Kievan theology lasted until the beginning of ...
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Liturgical Renewal
I read in Orthodox America an article that said that the way our bishops serve today is not correct and that it comes from the Byzantine court practice....I was surprised by this, since I thought these services were old and had not changed....These people also like little churches. Is it wrong to have ...
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Some Remarks to a Priest Concerning Holy Tradition and Modernism
Dear Father _________:
Evlogeite.
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Translated from the Greek by Bishop Auxentios
A Sermon Delivered by Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna in the Lecture Hall at Synod Headquarters, Kolonos (Athens), Greece, on the Second Sunday of Great Lent, the Feast Day of St. Gregory Palamas
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Father George Florovsky and the Patristic Mindset
Following the Holy Fathers... It was usual in the Ancient Church to introduce doctrinal statements by phrases like this. The great Decree of Chalcedon begins precisely with these very words. The Seventh Ecumenical Council introduces its ...
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St. Gregory Palamas and the Tradition of the Fathers
by Fr. George Florovsky"Following THE HOLY FATHERS" ... It was usual in the Ancient Church to introduce doctrinal statements by phrases like this. The Decree of Chalcedon opens precisely with these very words. The Seventh Ecumenical Council introduces its decision concerning the Holy ...
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Introduction to Humility
by Archimandrite [now Archbishop] Chrysostomos [of Etna]The present volume is the first in a series of projected volumes on themes in the psychology of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In general, the themes will parallel the major topical divisions in the primary collection of writings ...
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The Monastic Life
by [Arch]bishop ChrysostomosHieromonk Laurence, Abbot of the Monastery of New Skete, a former Byzantine Catholic monastic institution now under the jurisdiction of the modernist Orthodox Church in America, presented the readers of The Greek Orthodox Theological Review with some surprising comments about Orthodox monasticism in his article, ...
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Acquiring an Orthodox Mindset: Holy Tradition, the Criterion of Truth
This selection of articles introduces the reader to the concept of Holy Tradition—the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church, expressed in the "phronema ton pateron" (Gr., the "mind of the Fathers)—as the spiritual authority of the Church and the very criterion of Truth. Articles ...
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Pride Masquerades as Humility
by Archimandrite [now Archbishop] ChrysostomosThere is also a strange pride which presents itself as the standard of humility. This false humility is almost wholly the product of self-righteous hypocrisy. It is perhaps, indeed, the most transparent kind of false humility—and yet, it is ...
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Sermon on the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas
Archbishop Chrysostomos of EtnaToday, the second Sunday of the Great Fast, the Orthodox Church worldwide celebrates the memory of St. Gregory Palamas, fourteenth-century Archbishop of Thessaloniki and one of the greatest Fathers of the Orthodox Church.
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Paradosis and its Noetic Base: Towards a Spiritual Statement of Tradition in Orthodox Thought
Reaching, as we have, a decisive point in the development of our discussion of Scripture and Tradition in the Eastern Church, it is perhaps judicious to recapitulate the major themes of the foregoing chapters. In so doing, we might also stress that no ...
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Introduction to Scripture and Tradition
by Archimandrite [now Archbishop] Chrysostomos and Hieromonk [now Bishop] AuxentiosThere are, in the Orthodox Church, two ways of theology; two levels, as it were, at which the divine truth might be approached. The first of these, essential theology, proceeds out of the spirit of the Church, from the very experience of the ...
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St. Vincent of Lérins and Catholicity
A fundamentalist Protestant publication recently published an attack against Orthodoxy in which the accusation was made that Father Georges Florovsky and his "followers" reject St. Vincent—specifically his definition of Catholicity. I have ...
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Ascetism and the Contemporary World
by Sergei Baikalov-LatyshevWhat is asceticism? Asceticism is a strict, purposeful life, expressed in spiritual labors, that is, in prayer, contemplation, the directing of the mind toward God, frequently in conjunction with corresponding physical undertakings, and simultaneously with abstention from any negative activity and unnecessary natural satisfactions.
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The Church of the Heart: Our Response to God's Presence
by Presbytera Juliana CownieForasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ
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On the Deadening of the Human Spirit
Today’s Gospel passage proclaims the actions of the holy women who followed the God-man during His earthly sojourn, who were witnesses to His Passion and were present at His burial. The burial took place on Friday evening. When the malice of the Jews ...
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Elder Joseph the Hesychast on Patience and Endurance
God always helps. He always comes in time, but patience is necessary.
Come, my good and beloved sister. Come and I shall comfort your sorrow once again. Come and we shall ...
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Towards a Fruitful Spiritual Life
From the Conversations of Metropolitan Gregory of NovgorodThe first and foremost reason why our intention to correct ourselves and lead a holy life remains without result lies in the fact that our intention is often too vague and indefinite.
A certain sinner, for example, says to himself: "It's high ...
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"Habit is a difficult thing, and it is hard to break and hard to avoid....Therefore, the more you understand the power of a habit, the more should you endeavor to be rid of a bad habit and change yourself over to a good one." —St. John Chrysostom ...
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Ch. 1 from How to Live a Holy Life: Conduct in the Morning
In the morning, conduct yourself in the following manner:
1. Upon awakening, try first of all to direct your thoughts to the Lord God. Directing ...
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Ch. 6 from How to Live a Holy Life: Conduct During Meals
Never begin lunch or dinner, or finish them, without fervent prayer to the Lord God as, unfortunately, very many Christians of our time do. One cannot but marvel at how these Christians have reached such a condition of soul that they can both ...
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Elder Basil's Introduction to the Philokalic Book of the St. Gregory of Sinai
Many read this holy little book of St. Gregory of Sinai but, because they are ignorant of the art of noetic work, they misconstrue its true meaning by thinking that this labor is appropriate only for passionless and holy men. Consequently, keeping exclusively to the outward habit of chanting psalms, troparia and canons, ...
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Is There Spiritual Life and Sanctity Today?
Your All-Holiness, Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, Fellow Ministers, brothers and sisters in Christ—I wish first of all to thank His All-Holiness for his invitation to participate in this Conference, and for the opportunity to speak on the theme: ...
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Negligence, the Unsleeping Danger for the Orthodox Christian
Negligence is a terrible conspirator against our lives and has wronged us many times, and we must never cease to regard it as our most implacable enemy. The Elder's fervour in protecting us from it and his profound experience of the crafty and intricate ways in which it confuses and entangles ...
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How to Save the Soul, by St. Theophan the Recluse
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Philokalia: On faith; and to those who say that those in the world cannot attain perfection virtues
by St. Simeon the New TheologianIt is good to preach God’s mercy before all men and to reveal to one’s brethren His great compassion and ineffable grace shed on us. I know a man who kept no long strict fasts, no vigils, did not sleep on bare earth, imposed on himself no other specially arduous tasks; but, recollecting in memory his sins, ...
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Rules of the Pious Life
From the works of Platon, Bishop of KostromaForce yourself to get up early and at a definite time. Do not sleep for more than seven hours, unless you have a special reason. As soon as you wake up, direct your thoughts to God and piously cross yourself, thinking of our crucified Lord Jesus Christ, Who died on the Cross for the sake of our salvation.
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How to Save the Soul
by St. Theophan the RecluseWhat does one say to the person who asks: "How can I save my soul?"
This: Repent, and being strengthened by the power of grace in the Holy Mysteries, walk in the path of God's commandments, under the direction which the Holy Church gives you ...
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The Rule for Attending to Oneself
by St. Ignatii BrianchaninovThe soul of all practices in the Lord is VIGILANCE. Without VIGILANCE, all these practices are fruitless. He who is desirous of saving himself must so establish himself that he might remain continuously VIGILANT toward HIMSELF, not only in solitude, but also under conditions of distraction, into which he is sometimes unwillingly ...
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Podvig
Any Orthodox Christian who does even the least bit of spiritual reading will come across the word “podvig.” While this word can be described, it cannot be translated into one single English word—which is why we continue to use, and must therefore ...
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While There Is Time
By Bishop Augoustinos of Florina"In an acceptable time I have heard thee..." —Isaiah 49:8, 2 Cor 6:2
I ask, dear friends, that you pay close attention to these words. We will spend ...
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In Answer to the Question, Why Go to Church If I Have God in My Heart?
EACH ONE OF US has some acquaintances, or even relatives, who regard our gathering in church with puzzlement. Profound lack of understanding is written on their faces, even at times disturbance. Sometimes this pours out in words such as these: "Well, alright, you've committed yourself to the ...
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What Is Necessary for a Saving Confession?
What is Confession? Confession is the oral avowal of one’s sins which lie heavy upon the conscience. Repentance cleanses the soul and makes it ready to receive the Holy Spirit, but confession, so to speak, only empties the soul of sins.
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How Everyone Should Prepare Before Confession: An Excerpt from the Exomologetarion
My brother sinner, this is the preparation you must undergo before you repent and go to confession. Know firstly that repentance, according to St. John of Damaskos, is a returning from the devil to God, which comes about through pain and ascesis.[25] ...
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A Guide to Confession
Genuine Repentance & Confession heals and makes the immortal soul holy. This is the correct way to prepare for Holy Communion.
So that we can better examine the depths of our conscience, it would be ideal to first read several books on the Sacrament of Confession.[1] Also, discuss ...
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The Exomologetarion of St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite
by Protopresbyter George MetallinosNote: This is an earlier version of the Introduction that now appears in the first English-language edition of the Exomologetarion. See the end of the article for more details.
One of the works by the great Neo-Hesychastic Father of our ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: Confession
Proper Confession and Communion: a pamphlet prepared by the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Washington, DC.
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Self-Examination Before Confession
by Saint Nicolas VarzhanskyDuring Great Lent, and the other fasts of the Church Year, it is customary for all Orthodox Christians to go to confession to their priest. Properly this should be done several times a year, the exact frequency depending upon how often one is blessed to receive the Holy Mysteries and on the counsel and blessing ...
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An Orthodox View of Abortion: The Amicus Curiae Submitted to the Supreme Court
No. 88-605
In The
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Children and Television
by Novice JosephBrother Joseph was formerly an elementary school teacher and high school physical education instructor. He has worked extensively with underprivileged children in Chicago and San Francisco, and with Indian and Eskimo children in the Alaska public school system.
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The Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Humble Comments and Suggestions
On January, eight days after the Holy Nativity of our Lord, we celebrate His Circumcision, one of the Feasts of the Lord, on which—in accordance with Hebrew tradition—He received the name "Jesus": "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the Child, His name was called Jesus, which ...
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Excerpts from the book Family Life, by Elder Paisios the Athonite<
—Geronta, a certain young man who has chosen the married life asked me how one properly begins this.
...
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The Christian Marriage and Family: Four Audio Lectures by Fr. Josiah Trenham
by Fr. Josiah TrenhamOn December 9, 2006 Holy Cross Orthodox Church in Yakima, WA hosted a Nativity Lenten Retreat featuring Fr. Josiah Trenham, pastor of St. Andrew Antiochian Orthodox Church in Riverside, CA.
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Sexual Relations
by Fr. Josiah TrenhamAmerican Orthodox Christians find themselves at the beginning of the 21st century encompassed by a cultural milieu that is post-Christian, secular, and foreign to the mind of the Church. Nowhere is this reality more evident than in the area of human sexuality. Sex has been violently torn from its proper context, and, isolated from the wisdom and blessing of the Church, contemporary man is adrift in sexual confusion. On the one hand we know more about the practice and mechanics of sex than ever before, yet on the other hand we know very little about the purpose, meaning, and control of sex in God's grand design.
The sexual revolution of the 1960s is the mother of much contemporary thinking about sexual relations. From it have arisen the following erroneous ideas. Sex is absolutely vital to full human development and happiness. Virginity is an unfortunate and incomplete condition. The sexual needs and drives of men and women are the same. All sex is good, as long as it involves love or at least refrains from "injuring" someone else. Traditional Christian notions of sexuality are repressive and incongruous with personal freedom.
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New Age Philosophy, Orthodox Thought, and Marriage
Archimandrite Luke, Holy Trinity Seminary, Jordanville, NYImportant Update Posted 10/1/2017: On the Writings of Archimandrite George (Kapsanis): A Correction
The carnal mind is enmity against God. (Rom. 8:7)
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On Television: Comments by Various Saints and Holy Elders
Television has done us great damage. It's especially destructive for children. A seven-year-old child came to the hermitage once. I saw the demon of television speaking through the child's mouth, exactly as demons speak through the mouth of the possessed. It was like a baby born with teeth. It is not easy to find normal kids; they are turning into little monsters. And you see they don't get to think for themselves, they only repeat what they have heard and seen on television. That's why they have come up with television to begin with: to make people numb and dumb, so that they will take what they hear and see on television for a fact and act accordingly.
That we should be trying to lead our children to seek to turn on the "spiritual television"
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That No One Should Despair of Himself, or Pray Against His Enemies, or Give Up When He Does Not Receive What He Asks For; And To Husbands, On Maintaining Peace Towards Their Wives
A Homily by St. John Chrysostomos1. I am very grateful to you for the eagerness with which you welcomed my words on prayer, because you have made me happy. Happy is he that speaketh in the ears of those who hearken (Ecclesiasticus 25:9). I am convinced of this, not only by the applause and praise that I received, but also by what I saw you ...
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Marriage: The Great Sacrament
By Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra, Mount AthosWebmaster Note: Many Orthodox Christians with whom I have spoken, including several clergy and nuns, consider this to be the best statement on marriage they've ever read.
Nobody would dispute that the most important day in a person's life, after his birth and ...
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Menstruation, Emissions, and Holy Communion
According to the Canons, though a woman is not in any manner more sinful in her cycle than a man is in the case of involuntary bodily emissions, she, like the man, must avoid Holy Communion at this time. These bodily functions are not sins, but they represent and emphasize the consequences of our fallen states. ...
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The Orthodox Christian Marriage
by Priest Alexey [now Hieromonk Ambrose] YoungOrthodox Christianity is a way of life, not merely something we do on Sunday mornings and quickly forget when we leave church. A way of life is a whole coming together of habits and attitudes, ...
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The Orthodox Family
by Archbishop ChrysostomosThe Orthodox Church exalts the family. The Church itself is often characterized by the Fathers in images drawn from the family. In the family, as in the Church, basic values are formed, the soul is shaped and established, and the path of salvation is set forth. The family is that warm place where the ...
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Admonitions for Parents: Lessons by Our Holy Father John Chrysostomos on Raising Children
1. Having children is a matter of nature; but raising them and educating them in the virtues is a matter of mind and will. [1]
2. By the duty of raising them I mean not only not allowing them to die of hunger, as people often limit their obligation toward their children to doing. ...
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Children In Church
by Protopresbyter Michael PomazanskyEvery Christian mother considers it one of her primary obligations to teach her child prayer as soon as his consciousness begins to awaken prayer that is simple and easy for him to understand. His soul must be accustomed to the warm and fervent experience of prayer at home, by his cradle, for his neighbors, his family. The child's evening prayer ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: The Orthodox Family
The Christian Marriage and Family: Four Audio Lectures by Fr. Josiah Trenham.
The Orthodox Christian Marriage, by Priest Alexey [now Hieromonk Ambrose] Young.
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Rule Against Defilement (Purity Rule)
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
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Raising Children According to Saint John Chrysostom
By Protopresbyter Theodoros Zisis1. A Classic Pedagogical Work.
The Holy Chrysostom, the fruit of Antioch who once glorified the Patriarchical throne of the capital of Byzantium, is rightfully included amongst the ...
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Problems of Bioethics - Abortion, Contraceptives, Cloning, Homosexuality, Etc.
The following is an excerpt from the Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. Bold emphases original.
XII. Problems of Bioethics
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Advice to All Christian Women, But Especially New Brides
by St. Gregory of Nazianzus (“the Theologian”)We are in Constantinople, in 384 AD. There is a festive event taking place: the wedding of two well-known youths of that time. They are both from upper class families.
The bride, Olympiatha, is a remarkable young lady, quite wealthy and a descendant of the imperial family. She is an orphan whose uncle Prokopios (an eparch of the Imperial State that is also her protector) undertook the responsibility for all of the wedding arrangements, including the invitation list. Olympiatha is marrying a wonderful man by the name of Nevrithios who is the eparch of Constantinople and overseer of the imperial fields.
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On Same-Sex Unions: Epistle of the ROCOR W. Diocese Clergy (2004)
What is most important for us,
what is most precious,
what is the greatest?
It is holiness.
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A Collection of Articles Concerning Lust & Self-Abuse (Masturbation)
This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
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That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
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Offend Not These Little Ones: On Toys and Children
Everything that can corrupt in example or depictions be put away. It is well known how powerfully corrupt images act upon the soul no matter in what form they might touch it. —Theophan the Recluse, The Path of Salvation
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The Challenges of Orthodox Youth Ministry
by Protopresbyter David CownieOne of the most pressing questions posed by Orthodox pastors and parents in these times is, "How can we motivate our young people to embrace Orthodoxy and carry it into their adult lives."
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Various Writings of Archbishop Averky of Blessed Memory
A life of fasting, properly understood as general self-limitation and abstinence, to the annual practice of which the Church always calls us with the Great Lent, is really that bearing of the cross and self-crucifixion which is required of us by our calling as Christians. And ...
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Concerning Fasting on Wednesday and Friday: An Excerpt from the Exomologetarion
by St. Nikodemos the HagioriteCanon 69 of the Holy Apostles designates that any hierarch or priest or deacon or subdeacon or reader or chanter who does not fast during Great Lent and Wednesday and Friday is to be deposed. If a layperson does not fast during ...
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fastingc3.pdf
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FastingC3.pdf
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Three Helpful Principles of Fasting: A Letter to a New Convert
Dear _________,
You ask about guidelines for fasting and whether all the rules you have read about amount to legalism. I will try to answer you as best as I can.
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An Answer to a Question About Sexual Abstinence During Fasting Periods
Webmaster Note: This letter was in response to a clergyman who wrote Archbishop Chrysostomos to solicit his comments about those Orthodox who dismiss this tradition or who demand proof from Holy Tradition that this ...
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Various Replies to Questions on Fasting
I wrote your Archbishop about our Antiochian jurisdiction and what we are taught about "modified" fasts and the "optional" fasts of the Apostles and Christmas....We are taught that fanatics and mentally unbalanced people require "classical" fasting and that that kind of fasting is not healthy, ...
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When Are We to Fast: Midnight-to-Midnight, or Vespers-to-Vespers?
I have been confused about the fasting regulations; I understand them with regard to what we can or cannot eat on certain days, but when does the day begin? I am a simple soul and was simply keeping the day from the time I got up till I went to bed, then someone said that in the Orthodox Church the day begins at Vespers and so we should keep the fasts ...
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The Rule of Fasting in the Orthodox Church
By Father Seraphim (Rose) of PlatinaIn answer to numerous requests from readers, the rule of fasting is given for each day of the year. Where no indication of fast is given, and during "fast-free weeks," all foods may be eaten (except during Cheese-fare Week, ...
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The Ladder of Divine Ascent
AMONG THE VERY IMPORTANT SCENES depicted on the walls of churches decorated in the traditional Byzantine manner is "The Soul-saving and Heavenward Ladder," usually referred to as "The Ladder of Divine Ascent." This painting or mosaic is a large synthesis that is given prominence in the narthex of some of the churches and refectories ...
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On Fasting
by a Monk of the Orthodox ChurchThe Holy Apostle commands us saying "Let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk becomingly as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: Fasting
Gluttony makes a man gloomy and fearful, but fasting makes him joyful and courageous.
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And, as gluttony calls forth greater and greater gluttony, so fasting stimulates greater and greater endurance.
When a man realizes the grace that comes through fasting, he desires to fast more and more.
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On Fasting
by St. Paisy of NeamtThe third virtue is fasting. Fasting I call the eating of a little bit once a day. Getting up from the table when one is still hungry, having his food, bread, and salt, and his drink-water, which the springs ...
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Thoughts on Fasting and Temperance
by Archimandrite Sebastian DabovichMan, having received his present being, consisting of a visible body and an intellectual, immaterial soul, is a being complex. But the nature and worth of both the just-named parts are not of ...
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Selections from The Arena, On Prayer
by St. Ignaty (Brianchaninov)Prayer is the daughter of the fulfilment of the Gospel commandments, and is at the same time the mother of all the virtues, according to the general opinion of the Holy Fathers. Prayer produces virtues from the union of the human spirit with ...
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On the World and Family, by Elder Ephraim
May an angel of God, my child, follow you and show you the path of God and of your salvation. Amen; so be it. I pray that God gives you health of soul, for this is a special gift of sonship which is bestowed only upon those souls that have been ...
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On Watchfulness, Prayer and Confession: A Homily by Elder Ephraim of Philotheou
My beloved children,
Today we will say a few things about the great virtue of watchfulness.
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Concerning Mortal Sins, Pardonable Sins, and Sins of Omission
Concerning these you must know that, just as a physician is required to know what the illnesses of the body are in order to treat them, you who seek to be a Spiritual Father are obligated to know what the illnesses of the soul are, that is, sins, ...
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Concerning Thoughts: An Excerpt from the Exomologetarion
Just as so-called diagnostic physicians not only know how to treat external and visible wounds of the body, but also, by measuring the pulse, they learn the internal and invisible maladies of the heart, of the bowels, and the other unseen workings ...
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A Comparison: Francis of Assisi and St. Seraphim of Sarov
During my prayer two great lights appeared before me (deux grandes lumibres m'ont ete montrees)—one in which I recognized the Creator, and another in which I recognized myself.
—Francis' own words about his prayer
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Elder Basil's Introduction to the Philokalic Book of the Blessed Hesychios
In a certain sense, the life and teachings of the holy fathers is like the way men provide for all their bodily needs and necessities. A person who has mastered some craft or skill uses it to support himself. Another person puts his efforts into the ...
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The Catechetical Homilies and Testament of St. Theodore the Studite
Concerning Fasting, Dispassion, and Purity
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On Idle Talk and Gossip
But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matt. 12:36)YOU COMPLAIN, Sister, about the trials which are over taking you, which are arising, according to your words, from certain misunderstandings, suspicion, and ...
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On Practicing the Jesus Prayer
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
THE CORRECT PRACTICE of the Jesus Prayer proceeds naturally from correct notions about God, about the most holy name of the ...
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Introduction and Forward to Letters to a Beginner: On Giving One's Life to God
Take as much as you can carry... the Lord is rich in mercies.
—St. John of Kronstadt, in conversation with Abbess Thaisia.WHY CAN'T WE, free women of the 20th century, have paradisal ...
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orthspir.pdf
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Inner Peace
by St. Theophan the RecluseOne who sets out on the path of true life after Repentance and Communion should instill peace within himself. Rules for dispersing inner disturbance: unceasing remembrance of God, a resolve to act according to one's conscience in every matter ...
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A Prayer Rule
by St. Theophan the RecluseYou ask about a prayer rule. Yes, it is good to have a prayer rule on account of our weakness so that on the one hand we do not give in to laziness, and on the other hand we restrain our enthusiasm to its ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: Foundational Writings
In one of his best books, Anchored in God: Life, Art, and Thought on the Holy Mountain of Athos, Dr. Constantine Cavarnos recorded the following conversation he had with a monk during one of his many pilgrimages to Mt. Athos. This excerpt serves as a helpful short overview of the foundation ...
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Guidance for Laymen on Reading Spiritual Books
You write, "Bishop Ignatius says: 'It is absolutely essential to read the teachings (of the Holy Fathers) that are relevant to one's way of life.' What does this mean? Should one limit one's reading of the Holy Fathers to those teachings pronounced for all of Christianity or can one read other teachings as ...
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The Three Powers of the Soul and Their Curative Exercises
by St. Theophan the RecluseIn the soul we find three powers: the intellect, the will, the heart, or, as the Holy Fathers say, the intellectual, desiring and incensive powers. Each of them is assigned particular curative exercises by the holy ascetics. These related exercises are both receptive and conducive to grace. They need not be contrived according to some theory, but ...
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The Way of Spiritual Transformation
by Hieromonk DamasceneA talk given at the Parish Life Conference of the Antiochian Orthodox Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, Sioux City, Iowa, June 9, 2005.
1. Transformation, Salvation, Deification
The theme of this Conference—"Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed ...
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The Variety of Demonic Battles, and How to Cut Off the Entrance of Every Thought and Desire
by St. Paisy of NeamtPay heed to yourself, O monk, sensibly and diligently, with a vigilant mind, as to when the demons come, by what means they catch one, and by what means they themselves are vanquished. Guard yourself with ...
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The Struggle With Passions
by I.M. KontzevichPASSIONS, LIKE VIRTUES, are also interconnected, just as "links of a single chain" (St. Isaac of Nitria), one being an offshoot of another. There are eight of them; in the order of birth they are as follows 1) gluttony, 2) lust, 3) ...
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St. Seraphim of Sarov's Conversation With Nicholas Motovilov
This revelation is undoubtedly of world-wide significance. True, there is nothing essentially new in it, for the full revelation was given to the Apostles from the very day of Pentecost. But now that people have forgotten the fundamental truths of the Christian religion, and are immersed in the darkness of materialism or the exterior and ...
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The Place of the Bishop in the Orthodox Church
by Archimandrite CyprianOur Most Reverend Metropolitan and Much-Revered Spiritual Father; Holy Hierarchs; Reverend Fathers and Brothers; Honored Company of Monastics; Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
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Counsels from Contemporary Romanian Elders: To Laypeople, Monastics, and Clergy
The still-living Elder Cleopas Ilie of Sihastria Monastery, who was featured in The Orthodox Word no. 155, is known throughout the Orthodox world for his spiritual and theological writings and enormous pastoral activity. He was spiritually ...
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Cults and Cultism in American Religion
by Dr. [now Father] Joseph MillerYour Eminence, Archbishop Chrysostomos, Your Eminence, Bishop Photii, Your Grace, Bishop Auxentios, Very Reverend Archimandrite Akakios, Reverend Mothers Elizabeth and Kypriane, Reverend Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
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Cultism Revisited: A Corrective to Mr. Moss' Rejoinder
by Bishop Auxentios and Hieromonk GregoryIn the combined summer-autumn 1996 issue of Orthodox Tradition (Vol. XIII, Nos. 3 & 4), in a short critique entitled Monasticism and Cultism (pp. 47-50), Archimandrite Akakios addressed certain overstatements in an otherwise commendable article by Father Alexey Young, Cults Within & ...
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Cults Within & Without
by Archpriest Alexey YoungFor the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (II Tim. 4:3)
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A Discourse for Those Living in the World
by Dr. Constantine CavarnosAngels are the light of monastics, while the monastic state is a light for all men. —St. John Climacos
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Two Letters from Elder Moses of Optina to His Brother Living in the World
July 17, 1814 Hermitage
My dearest little brother, Alexander Ivanovich, Save yourself in the Lord!
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Fr. Josiah Trenham on Confession and Repentance: A Talk Given at the 2006 Antiochian Clergy Conference (Diocese of the West)
This excellent 1 hour and 6 minute talk, posted with Fr. Josiah's permission, is offered as a set of downloadable Windows Media Files (WMA). Windows users simply right-click each link and select Save As to download the file. (For a Mac just click!) You will need to download Windows Media Player or Apple QuickTime to listen to the lectures.
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Pastoral Guidance - Chapter 84 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
Suffering is an indication of another Kingdom which we look to. If being Christian meant being “happy” in this life, we wouldn’t need the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Obedience and the Layman
by Father Alexey [now Hieromonk Ambrose] YoungBy definition, an Orthodox Christian is one who strives to be obedient to the Commandments and, at the same time, obediently tries to fulfill the requirements of an Orthodox way of life, as revealed by Scripture and Tradition. Thus, obedient attendance at divine ...
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Monasticism and Cultism
by Archimandrite AkakiosAn article—a reprint, if I am not mistaken—by Archpriest Alexey Young, a gifted and intelligent writer and an Orthodox clergyman, recently appeared in the popular Church periodical Orthodox America (Cults: Within & Without, March-April 1996). The author makes some needed, if perhaps imprecise, ...
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Metropolitan Anthony as a Teacher of Pastorship
A report given by Protopresbyter G. Grabbe (now Bishop Gregory of Manhattan) at the solemn convocation in memory of Metropolitan Anthony on 18/31 March 1963 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign, in New York City.
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Excerpts from Paternal Counsels, Vol. I and II, by St. Philotheos Zervakos
by St. Philotheos ZervakosThe following excerpts are from Paternal Counsels, Volumes I and II, by St. Philotheos Zervakos. They are published by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite Society, 2101 Ritchie St., Aliquippa, PA 15001. For more on this renowned twentieth-century Elder of the State Church of Greece, see Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. ...
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Introduction to Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit
It is not uncommon, among both non-Orthodox as well as Orthodox, in the west (and increasingly even among Orthodox in traditionally "Orthodox" countries), for the ancient tradition of spiritual eldership to be either completely unknown or misunderstood. The central role, however, that the ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: Spiritual Guidance in the World
The conclusion that emerges from this brief walk through the meadows of our ecclesiastical tradition is as follows: it is our responsibility to have a permanent and steady spiritual father. At the same time, we have the right to choose the most ...
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Discerning and Doing God's Will by Remembering Him in a World of Distraction
by Mother Dorothea, St. Xenia Skete (Wildwood, CA)What follows is an informal talk given by Mother Dorothea to parishioners of St. Andrew the Fool-for-Christ Serbian Orthodox Church in Redding, CA during the summer of 2004.
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On Being a Spiritual Father in Our Times
by Archpriest Valery LukianovIf we were to make a survey of the non-eucharistic services performed in an active parish over a period of, say, one year, we would see that the breakdown of such services might appear as follows: 15 baptisms, 5 weddings, 25 funerals, and almost 1000 confessions! From this breakdown one can easily arrive at the conclusion that the ...
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The Spiritual Father in Orthodox Christianity
One who climbs a mountain for the first time needs to follow a known route; and he needs to have with him, as companion and guide, someone who has been up before and is familiar with the way. To serve as such a companion and guide is precisely ...
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Very Valuable Readings
Besides a Spiritual Guide, the reading of edifying Orthodox works, or listening to others read such works, is of great value throughout one’s journey on the spiritual path. It was hearing a Gospel reading in the church of his village, and ...
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On the Will of God
by Staretz Silouan of Mt. AthosIt is a great good to give oneself up to th will of God. Then the Lord alone is in the soul. No other thought can enter in, and the soul feels God's love, even though the body be suffering.
When the soul is entirely given over to the will of God, the Lord Himself takes her in hand and the soul learns directly from God. Whereas, before, she turned to teachers and to the Scriptures for instruction. But it rarely happens that the soul's teacher is the Lord Himself through the grace of the Holy Spirit, and few there are that know of this, save only those who live according to God's will.
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A Sermon on Reading Spiritual Works
This is the commandment given by the holy Apostle [Paul] to his beloved disciple, Bishop Timothy. The reading of holy writings of profit to the soul is one of the main means of succeeding in the spiritual life. Following the Apostle, the Holy ...
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Prayer Life in an Orthodox Home
by Archpriest Roman Lukianov, Holy Epiphany Church, Boston, MAHundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians live in the United States of America. In many places, ethnic communities of Orthodox Christians may be found, usually centered around a church serving in their own liturgical language. Other Orthodox Christian immigrants and their children are scattered throughout the country and live ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: The Church in the Home
The Church in the Home, by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos. This 20-page monograph is essential reading for all Orthodox Christians. From the Introduction: "There are families who have built chapels inside their homes, meaning a type of small christian church with an iconostasis, a Holy Table, ... -
When No Priest is Available: Reading the Service Books While Traveling or at Home
by Archpriest Sergei ShukinWebmaster Note: The article that follows is over fifteen years old. You will want to check out Fr. John Whiteford's Liturgical Texts and Resources Site for more recommendations on current liturgical ...
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Television
by Archbishop [now Metropolitan] VitalyWe have not yet felt the huge after-shock of the coming of television which in a short while has managed to secure a niche for itself in almost every home. Its powers of persuasion and attraction have proved to be practically supernatural and are ...
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Marriage and the Christian Home
by Fr. Michael B. HenningThe example of harmoniousness of the household has been given for Christians by St. John Chrysostom.
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Clergy Etiquette
The following is a guide for properly addressing Orthodox clergy. Most of the titles do not exactly correspond to the terms used in Greek, Russian, or the other native languages of the national Orthodox Churches, but they have been widely accepted as standard English usages.
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Living an Orthodox Life: Introduction
These pages are devoted to helping Orthodox Christians living in the world to properly live the Orthodox life, i.e., to practice their Faith. We are all called to an ascetic podvig. Thus, the articles on these pages are geared towards helping us engage in this mysteriological-ascetic struggle.
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The Ascetic Podvig of Living in the World
A Lecture Given by His Eminence Archbishop [now Metropolitan] LaurusThe situation of an Orthodox person, an Orthodox Christian who lives in the contemporary world, may be described, without any exaggeration, as extremely difficult. The whole of present-day life, in all its tendencies, in one way or another is directed against ...
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Alien Abductions and the Orthodox Christian
by Archbishop Chrysostomos of EtnaMost abductees report being taken into spaceships from their homes or from their automobiles while driving. Once in the ship, "the atmosphere may be dank, cool, and occasionally even foul-smelling" (p. 36). Their abductors typically "appear as tall or short luminous entities that may be ...
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How Should We Conduct Ourselves in Relationship to Other People
Metropolitan Gregory of Saint Petersburg (1904)The answer to this question is given by the Lord Himself: Love thy neighbor(Luke 10:27).
The Lord Jesus Christ very categorically demands that we love ...
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Excerpt from Wounded By Love: On Dispositions of the Heart
Man has such powers that he can transmit good or evil to his environment. These matters are very delicate. Great care is needed. We need to see everything in a positive frame of mind. We mustn’t think anything evil about others. Even a simple glance or a sigh influences those around us. And even the slightest ...
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Excerpt from Wounded By Love: On Illness
I thank God for granting me many illnesses. [1] I often say to Him: ‘My Christ, Your love knows no limits!’ How I am alive is a miracle. Among all my other illnesses I also have cancer of the pituitary gland. A tumour appeared there which has grown and presses against the optic nerve. That’s why I ...
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A Letter to a Priest Concerning Epitimias
Dear Archbishop Chrysostomos:
Despota bless!
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Ethics and Technology
by Bishop Nikolai VelimirovichOriginally, religion was the mother of ethics and technology. First of all, religion was a torrential spring flowing from hidden depths, ethic a life carrying river, and technology with the help of artistic channels, carried the water from this river into all the arteries of man's life.
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Excerpt-from-The-Parable-of-the-Prodigal-Son-A-Commentary-in-the-Light-of-the-Fathers-New-Rome-Press.pdf
[PDF] Excerpt from The Parable of the Prodigal Son A Commentary in the Light of the Fathers New Rome Press -
Preface to the Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession
by His Grace, BASIL, Bishop of WichitaAlmost all that were wounded by sin left hierarchs and confessors and ran to shabbily dressed Nikodemos, in order to find their cure and consolation from their afflictions; not only monks from monasteries, sketes and kellia, but also many Christians from various places. [1]
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Orthodoxy of the Heart - Chapter 86 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
by Hieromonk DamasceneAs Fr. Seraphim developed into a man of the heart, the thrust of his mission developed accordingly. When he had begun his missionary work, he had placed emphasis on upholding true Orthodoxy, on taking a stand against modernism, renovationism, ecumenism. This may have been fine at a beginning stage. As he himself said, “The more one finds out about Christian doctrine and practice, the more one discovers how many ‘mistakes’ one has been making up to now, and one’s natural desire is to be ‘correct.’ [1] But all this is only on the external level, as Fr. Seraphim came to see more clearly as the years went by. He never changed his basic, original philosophy; he was no closer to becoming an ecumenist, modernist, or a New Calendarist at the end of his life than he had been when he had first started printing The Orthodox Word. It was just that now, especially after witnessing the bitter fruits of “correctness disease” in the Church, he saw that there was something much more essential that he should be preaching in these last times, when “the love of many grows cold.”*
Above all, Fr. Seraphim became a preacher of Orthodoxy of the heart. Besides the resurrection of Holy Russia (of which more will be said later), this was his main theme during the last part of his life.
“True Christianity,” he stated in a lecture, “does not mean just having the right opinions about Christianity—this is not enough to save one’s soul. St. Tikhon (of Zadonsk) says: ‘If someone should say that true faith is the correct holding and confession of correct dogmas, he would be telling the truth, for a believer absolutely needs the Orthodox holding and confession of dogmas. But this knowledge and confession by itself does not make a man a faithful and true Christian. The keeping and confession of Orthodox dogmas is always to be found in true faith in Christ, but the true faith of Christ is not always to be found in the confession of Orthodoxy.... The knowledge of correct dogmas is in the mind, and it is often fruitless, arrogant, and proud.... The true faith in Christ is in the heart, and it is fruitful, humble, patient, loving, merciful, compassionate, hungering and thirsting for righteousness; it withdraws from worldly lusts and clings to God alone, strives and seeks always for what is heavenly and eternal, struggles against every sin, and constantly seeks and begs help from God for this.’ And he then quotes Blessed Augustine, who teaches: ‘The faith of a Christian is with love; faith without love is that of the devil.’ [2] St. James in his Epistle tells us that the demons also believe and tremble (James 2:19).
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Simplicity - Chapter 87 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
by Hieromonk DamasceneBe humble, and you will remain whole.
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Be bent, and you will remain straight.…
Appear plainly, and hold to simplicity.
—Lao Tzu [1] -
Godparenting 101
It is a known practice in the Orthodox Church that every person, child or adult, should have a godparent (sponsor) at the time that they enter into the faith through Holy Baptism and Chrismation. To be a godparent is at the same time ...
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Christian Gratitude: A Fundamental Hallmark of Orthodox Spirituality
by Archimandrite CyprianThe text of this article, translated from the Greek, is taken from an address by Father Cyprian, a brother of the Holy Monastery of Sts. Cyprian and Justina in Fili, Greece, and Secretary of the Holy Synod in Resistance. It was delivered on October 4, 1999 (Old Style), at the convocation ...
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An Orthodox View of Heart Transplantations
by Metropolitan PhilaretThe world, including most people who would identify themselves as "Christians, receives every new attainment of modern science as an undoubted blessing to be accepted as a matter of course. Orthodox Christians, however, must be more discriminating, for our hope is not in this world that passes, but in eternal life. Here the [former] chief ...
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The Orthodox Christian in the Information Age
In the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Your Eminence Vladyka Hilarion, Holy Fathers, dear brothers and sisters gathered here for the 33rd Annual Russian Orthodox Youth Conference in Australia,
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Joy in Christ: The Sure Indicator of Our Spiritual Condition
"Rejoice evermore" (I Thessalonians 5:16)
"Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice" (1 Thessalonians 5:16; Philippians 4:4)
It is, unfortunately, ...
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Living the Monastic Life in the World
Question: I want to give my life completely to Christ, but do not want to go to a monastery. Is it really necessary to be in a monastery to lead a monastic life? Can’t I live as a monastic in the world?
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What Is the Mark of the True Christian?
by St. Anastasius the SinaiteSt. Anastasius was a priest and abbot of Mt. Sinai. His zeal for true faith led him to travel through Egypt, Arabia, and Syria to combat the errors of the Acephalites and Eutychians. His writings show not only a thorough command of Holy Scripture and a wide knowledge of the writing of the Church Fathers and ...
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Metropolitan Theodosius on Monasticism
I enclose "Essays and Notes," volume 4, no. 2, 1998, a publication of an OCA convent (Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery). An address by Metropolitan Theodosius of the OCA claims that monasticism is not the highest standard of Christian life. I am sending you a copy for comments.(C.C., NY)
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On Taking An Orthodox Name
Print my name. I am proud of it. I am a Christian and I have Christ’s name. You ethnics want your own names and think that this is important. If you had Christ you wouldn’t. I read Mr. and Mrs. Cownie’s book, what you ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: Miscellaneous Articles
Orthodox Practice, a collection of articles from the fine periodical Orthodox America. See also these articles on the Spiritual Life.
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Concerning Relationship Due to Holy Baptism
From the opening paragraph to the section entitled “Concise and Accurate Instructions Concerning Marriages”: Since the sacred Canons, Apostolic, Conciliar, and Patristic, in speaking in various parts about lawful and unlawful marriages (e.g., ...
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Saint Seraphim of Viritsa's Spiritual Testament: 'This Was From Me'
Have you ever thought that everything that touches you touches Me as well? For that which touches you touches the apple of My eye.
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School Murders
by an Anonymous Traditionalist Orthodox ClergymanI just read a fascinating article by a Chicago psychologist, Dr. Barbara Lerner, in the "National Review" (May 17, 1999). This piece has relevance for us Orthodox Christians especially, since it reinforces Patristic teachings about the centrality of moral values and a spiritual, rather than materialistic, ...
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How Each of Us Can and Ought to Serve the Church
by Father Michael PomazanskyIf we love the Church, if She is dear to us, then how can each of us serve Her? And if someone were to ask you: "How have you served Her" what activities can you boast of?
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What Has the Feast of Pascha Left in Our Souls?
by St. John Of KronstadtAnd so, the Feast of Feasts has passed by us: and the Royal Gates in the Lord’s temples are shut; and the service is no longer as triumphant as it was during Bright Week. What, then, brethren, has this feast left in our souls? Christian holidays, you see, do not pass before us, one after another, just to leave our souls idle, but in order to ...
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Homily on Thanksgiving
by St. Basil the Great1. You have heard the words of the Apostle, in which he addresses the Thessalonians, prescribing rules of conduct for every kind of person. His teaching, to be sure, was directed towards particular audiences; but the benefit to be derived therefrom is relevant to every generation of mankind. Rejoice ...
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On Taking a Christian Name at Baptism and the Origin of the Celebration of Name Days
The following was sent by Hieromonk Patapios at the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies:
Archdeacon Christodoulos of St. Markella’s Church in Astoria, in response to a ...
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I Never Learned that in Catechism!
Half a decade ago, the few converts to Orthodoxy were usually individuals who wanted to marry an ethnic Orthodox Christian. Catechetical preparation for reception into the Orthodox Faith was minimal, at best. ...
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Thou Shalt Catch Men: A Homily on St. Luke 5:1-11
by Father James ThorntonIn one of today's two Gospel readings, Christ comes upon several men, Sts. Peter, James, and John who, the Gospel says, had been fishing all through the night and had caught nothing. After spending some time teaching His message, Christ turned his attention to the fishermen. At the Lord's ...
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The Parable of the Wedding Feast: A Homily on St. Matt. 22:1-14
by Father James ThorntonThe verses that we heard this morning, from the twenty-second chapter of St. Matthew, are comprised of one of Christ's parables, that in which He compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a great marriage feast. Christ says that "The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain King, which made a ...
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And Who Is My Neighbor?
Editors Note: The following article, while it addresses the phenomenon of resistance to burgeoning foreign immigration in contemporary Greece, is certainly apropos of America, a country which—though built on the labor and toil of immigrants—has ...
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Father Paisios the Athonite: Guidance about the Jesus Prayer
We also think that it would be good to add a relevant text by the blessed and very well-known monk Paisios, the Athonite, who recently slept in the Lord (12/7/1994). He wrote this text c. 1975, as a letter to someone, who had asked him about it. He gave it to a visitor to post in an ...
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The Cell Rule of Five Hundred of the Optina Monastery
In ADDITION to the church services: the Liturgy, Matins, and Vespers with Compline, which all of the brethren of the monastery are obligated to attend, many of them daily read in their cells: One chapter from the Gospel in order, beginning first with the ...
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Explanation of the Lord's Prayer: An Excerpt from Concerning Frequent Communion
Webmaster Note: This book should be read by all pious Orthodox Christians. It is not a "book only for clergy." Rather it is one that contains rich Patristic content, written for all the Faithful, and in a way that moves the heart deeply. ...
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Comboschini (The Prayer Rope): Meditations of a Monk of the Holy Mountain Athos
A few years ago, with the blessings of the very reverend Father Joseph, Abbot of the Xiropotamos Monastery of the Holy Mountain Athos, we reprinted, in a booklet, the most didactic article about the prayer rope, which had been published in "Agioritiki Martiria," a magazine issued by the ...
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How to Set Up a Personal Commemoration Book
by Deacon [now Father] John WhitefordWhat follows is directions on how to set up a private commemoration book for use in one's private prayers (for commemorations at the liturgy, one should either use the slips provided at the candle counter in their ...
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On the Necessity of Constant Prayer for all Christians in General
by St. Nikodemos of the Holy MountainLet no one think, my Christian Brethren, that only persons in holy orders, or monks, are obliged to pray unceasingly and at all times, but not laymen. No, no! It is the duty of all us Christians to remain always in prayer. For see what His Beatitude the patriarch of Constantinople, Philotheus, writes in the life of St. Gregory of Salonica. That saint had a beloved friend, Job by name, a most simple man, but extremely virtuous. Once, talking with him, the prelate said of prayer that every Christian in general ought always to labor in prayer, and to pray unceasingly, as is commanded by the Apostle Paul to all Christians in general: Pray without ceasing (I Thes. 5:17); and as the Prophet David says of himself, regardless of his being a king and having the care of all his kingdom: I behold the Lord always before me (Ps. 15:8), meaning I always mentally see the Lord before me in my prayer. And Gregory the Theologian teaches all Christians and tells them that we should more often remember the name of God in prayer than inhale air.
Saying this and much else to his friend Job, the holy prelate added that in obedience to the commands of the saints, we not only should always pray ourselves, but we should teach all others to do the same, all people in general: monks and laymen, the wise and the simple, men, women, and children, and induce them to pray unceasingly.
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Elder Joseph the Hesychast and the Teaching of Mental Prayer Which Flowed from His Letters
The blessed elder Joseph the Hesychast is one of the most important figures of contemporary Athonite monasticism. This monk is sanctified. His life is truly that of a contemporary saint and his disciples have today inhabited nearly half of the Holy Mountain and are responsible for ...
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Prayer of the Heart for the Faithful Living in the World
by Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi (Spiritual Child of Elder Joseph the Hesychast)The question is always being asked, "Is it possible for those living in the world to occupy themselves with noetic [1] prayer?" To those who ask we answer quite affirmatively, "Yes." In order to make this exhortation of ours comprehensible to those interested, but at the same time to make aware those who are unaware, we ...
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On Prayer of the Heart: Excerpts from Exploring the Inner Universe, by Fr. Roman Braga
by Fr. Roman Braga[Interviewer] Father, you said earlier that Father Theodosius practiced hesychasm. Did you learn the Jesus Prayer from him?
No. He never talked with me about the Jesus Prayer. I learned the formula from the director ...
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Humble-Mindedness: The Doorway to Pure Prayer
Over the past ten years it has become a common occurrence for pilgrims on Mount Athos to make the one-hour trek from Vatopedi Monastery to the Kellion of St. George. The long and dusty uphill trail passes by monastery fields and within sight of the place where St. Gregory Palamas labored. After several steep ascents, ...
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Interpretation of the Prayer - Lord, have Mercy!
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! And more concisely: Lord, have mercy! These prayers have been bequeathed to Christians from the time of the Apostles and it was decreed that they should constantly use these invocations, as also they do. However, while doing so very ...
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Concerning the Jesus Prayer
From the Jordanville Prayer Book (1996 ed.)In the First Epistle to the Thessalonians the Apostle Paul says: Pray without ceasing. How, then, is one to pray unceasingly? By often repeating the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." If one becomes accustomed to this appeal, great consolation and the need to continually make this petition will be felt within, and it will be carried on, as if of itself, within one.
Although in the beginning the enemy of the human race will offer hindrances to this, by causing great weariness, indolence, boredom, and over-powering sleep, having withstood all these with the help of God, one will receive peace of soul, spiritual joy, a benevolent disposition towards people, tranquility of thought, and gratitude toward God. In the very name of Jesus Christ a great and graceful power is inherent. Many holy and righteous people advise how one can often, almost without interruption, perform the Jesus Prayer.
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Prayer: Our Nativity Centerpiece
During this month of December, while we as Orthodox Christians are preparing for the feast of the Nativity, trying to slow down and center ourselves on the meaning of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the rest of society is speeding up. The shopping ...
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Order of Prayer and Worship for Orthodox Faithful
A Talk Given by Fr. John Townsend at the 1998 Southern Orthodox Conference, Atlanta, GeorgiaYour Eminence, Your Grace, Reverend Fathers, beloved brothers and sisters, first please allow me to express my deep gratitude for the wonderful fellowship I have had with you in the past year. You welcomed my flock and me with loving and open arms, and your love and prayers have opened the fountain of ...
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A Listing of Suggested Prayer Books
The Jordanville Prayer book: good translation (for the most part) and reasonably complete. It uses the Psalter According to the Seventy produced by Holy Transfiguration Monastery. For ROCA parishioners, this is the best one to use, because of the ...
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Prayer, Feasts, and Fasts
by the Ever-Memorable Metropolitan Philaret of New YorkWe all understand how important prayer is for the spiritual life of an Orthodox Christian. But how are we to pray? Two forms of prayer are evident in the Orthodox Christian life: private prayers said at home and unified Church prayer. Each has certain special characteristics. Our Saviour gave instructions ...
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Praying for the Non-Orthodox
The Orthodox Church, in accordance with the love for man which characterizes her, permits prayer for those who have cut themselves off from her, i.e. for heretics and schismatics. But prayers in what regard? Prayers that they convert to the Orthodox Faith before the end of their lives.
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On Praying With Heretics
Question: What does an Orthodox convert do when he attends the funerals of his heterodox friends or of his parents? I know that we cannot pray with non-Orthodox and should not compromise our Faith. The last time that a non-Orthodox ...
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Prayer With the Non-Orthodox
The Church forbids us to pray with non-Orthodox. When invited to a meal in a Protestant household, what do we do when they say "grace," e.g., the "Our Father" before a meal? (K.L., IL)
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Living an Orthodox Life: Prayer
The Inward Temple. There is no need to weep much over the destruction of a church; after all, each of us, according to God's mercy, has or should have his own church—the heart; go in there and pray, as much as you have strength and time. If this church is not well made and is abandoned ...
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The Lord's Prayer, a Homily by Archimandrite George of Grigoriou Monastery, Moun Athos
A Homily by Archimandrite George, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of St. Gregoriou, Mount AthosDownload the entire book in PDF format:
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St. Theophan the Recluse On Prayer
You write that you prayed fervently and at once you were calmed, receiving an inner assurance that you would be released from oppression; and then, indeed, it was so....
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All I Can Do Is Pray
“All I can do now is pray.”
How many times have we heard this from others and also said it ourselves? It is ...
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The Typicon of the Orthodox Church: The Psalms of David
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Eph. 5:19)By far the largest single element in the Church's Divine services is the ...
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Elder Barsanuphius of Optina - Talks with Spiritual Children Part I
Glory be to the Lord!
We’ve made it to the Feasts. The present days are called “Svyatki,” that is, holy ...
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Elder Barsanuphius of Optina - Talks with Spiritual Children Part II
The Feast of Pascha.
“Our life is in Heaven”—this is the usual theme of my talks. By this thought I tear ...
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Feasts and Holidays: An Excerpt from With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man
This excerpt is from what I consider to be one of the most important Orthodox books I've ever read. The Blessed Elder Paisios the Athonite (+1994) has so many valuable things to say about the Orthodox Christian way of life—what has been lost ...
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An Excerpt from the Introduction to The Boundless Garden, by Alexandros Papadiamandis
“Alexandros Papadiamantis (1851-1911) was the most important literary figure of nineteenth-century Greece and arguably of modern Greek literature more generally. Through his lively, tender, and profound short stories of the simple lives of the ...
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A Village Easter, from The Boundless Garden, by Alexandros Papadiamandis
by Alexandros PapadiamandisUncle Milios never spoke a truer word, when he said the good Christians living outside the town might end up having to celebrate Easter that year without a liturgy. In fact no prophecy was ever closer to fulfilment, ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: The Orthodox Way of Life
The Restoration of the Orthodox Way of Life, by Archbishop Andrew of New-Diveyevo. A very important work for our times. Archbishop Andrew was referred to by Fr. Seraphim of Platina in his classic "Orthodoxy ...
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The Restoration of the Orthodox Way of Life
by Archbishop Andrew of New-DiveyevoThis is dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Anatole P. Timofievich, the Convent’s spiritual co-struggler and physician since its very foundation.
In recent years Archbishop Andrew, founder of New-Diveyevo Convent in Spring Valley, ...
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Raising the Mind, Warming the Heart
by Father Seraphim Rose of PlatinaEditor's Note: The following text was transcribed from a tape of a a "table-top discussion" at the St. Herman Monastery, Platina, California, in 1977. Since Fr. Seraphim's talk was impromptu and informal, a transcription of it is of ...
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In Step With Sts. Patrick and Gregory of Tours
A Homily by Fr. Seraphim Rose of PlatinaEDITOR'S NOTE: As an example of Fr. Seraphim's simple, down-to-earth approach to spiritual life, we present here a faithful transcription of one of his "unprepared" recorded talks. It was given on St. Patrick's day, March 17, ...
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The Orthodox World-View
by Father Seraphim Rose of PlatinaBefore beginning my talk, a word or two on why it is important to have an Orthodox world-view, and why it is more difficult to build one today than in past centuries.
In past centuries—for example, in 19th century Russia—the Orthodox world-view ...
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The Condition of Society
by Archimandrite Sebastian DabovichHow long will it thus go on! When will the baptized become active Christians, so that the pastors may give their attention to the conversion of the heathen? What a terrible battle we must fight. Already the fire of hell is in the world. Great cities are multiplying ...
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The Orthodox Way of Life
by a Nun AbroadWhen asked by those interested to know more about Orthodoxy, the faithful often have recourse to such expressions as, "It's hard to explain, one has to live it," or "Orthodoxy is a way of life." Perhaps we should try and expand on this truth.
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Against Those Who Have Abandoned the Church and Deserted It for Hippodromes and Theatres, by St. John Chrysostom
A Homily of St John ChrysostomAs we read this, do not our minds involuntarily go to the types of amusements we pursue today – sports, movies, TV, etc. – which too often pollute our minds or lead us away from services on Sunday or Feast Days? Does not our society surpass a thousandfold the evil and delusion reflected in the vices condemned by this great Saint 1600 years ago? –Webmaster
[272] Can this be tolerated? Can this be accepted? I want to call you to witness against yourselves. That is what God did with the Hebrews. He called them as witnesses against ...
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Guidelines for Altar Servers
Composed by Archbishop JohnServing in the Altar is an important ministry that is all too often not taken seriously enough. We offer these two sets of guidelines in hopes that they will serve as a basis for forming one's own parish guidelines, and preserve the lofty calling of this position of service in the ...
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The Proper Use of Antidoron
Traditional View and Practice According to Akrivia (Strictness)
Please help me to understand the significance of antidoron. How should one receive it and handle it? If one takes ...
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On Lifting Hands and Saying Amen
The following is an answer to a question raised in an Orthodox email forum, answered by Fr. Alexander Lebedeff.
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As Holy Week Approaches
by Father Rodney TorbicGreat and Holy Week is approaching. With the arrival of Lazarus Saturday and the Feast of the Lord Jesus Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, the intensity of Orthodox Christian life increases.
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Why Christians Are Not Permitted to Arrange Amusements on the Eves of Sundays and Feast Days
by Archbishop Averky of Blessed MemoryHow strange and painful it is for modern Christians that many of them do not understand the full blameworthiness of arranging amusements on Saturday nights! How can one talk about Christianity or the Christianization of life if such a simple, ...
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O Lord, I Have Loved The Beauty of Thy House: How We Should Conduct Ourselves in Church
By Fr. John Whiteford & Matushka Olympia SibleyI once overheard a Russian American layman having a talk with some altar boys after a service. This man had spent his life in the Church, had obviously done his own tour of duty in the altar, and his comments have stayed with me ever since. He pointed out to them that they should remember that when they were ...
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Frequent Reception of the Holy Mysteries is Beneficial and Salvific
Both the soul and the body of the Christian receive great benefit from the divine Mysteries—before he communes, when he communes, and after he communes. Before one communes, he must perform the necessary preparation, namely, confess to his Spiritual ...
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On Holy Communion, the Purifying Treasure
"With the fear of God, faith and love draw near."
We shall prove from scriptural and patristic witnesses that it is necessary for the faithful and Orthodox Christians to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord frequently ...
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Proper Confession and Communion
Before confession one should attempt to recall all the sins which one has committed voluntarily or involuntarily. One must attentively reexamine one's life in order to recall not only those sins committed since the last confession, but also those which have not been ...
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On the Duties of a Choir Singer
Cursed is the man that doeth the work of the Lord carelessly. (Jer. 48:10)
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The Eucharist and Our Necessary Struggle
For many it is a cause for amazement, that while this Mystery is thus the most perfect of all, and greater than Baptism, it yet seems to avail less for release from guilt. Baptism does so without any preceding effort, while the Eucharist requires effort on our part. As for those who have been cleansed in Baptism, there is no difference between them ...
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On Greeting One Another During the Divine Liturgy
The following was written by Fr. Alexander Lebedeff, a Protopresbyter of much experience in the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, in response to a layman's comments about greetings during the Divine Liturgy.
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Where Can One Go in an Orthodox Church?
"I have been told that there are certain no-go areas in Orthodox churches and certain things that people are not allowed to touch. Is this the case?—it seems rather odd to us—and what does it signify? We were also told that it does not apply in churches which have not been consecrated/ blessed. A practical point, where is it we ...
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A Homily on the Holy Eucharist and on Not Judging Others or Remembering Wrongs
by the Holy Hieromartyr, Patriarch Anastasios II of AntiochWhen published in Orthodox Tradition, this homily, translated and edited by Hieromonk Patapios and Archbishop Chrysostomos, appeared for the first time in English translation. The Greek original of the text can be found in the Patrologia Graeca, Vol. LXXXIX, cols. 825A-849C.
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Letter to Januarius
1. In regard to the questions which you have asked me, I would like to have known what your own answers would have been; for thus I might have made my reply in fewer words, and might most easily confirm or correct your opinions, by approving or amending ...
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Why Are Prayers Said In Church Without Kneeling On All Sundays and From Pascha Until Pentecost?
As is evident from the Holy Scriptures, bows, kneeling and prostrations were employed during prayer even in the Old Testament. The holy Prophet King David refers to bowing down to God or to His temple in many of the psalms, for example: "Bow down to the Lord in His holy court" (Ps. 28:2); "I shall bow down toward Thy holy temple in fear of ...
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The Liturgical Effectiveness of Pews
Implied in the Orthodox liturgical tradition, and axiomatic as well in the modern Liturgical Movement, is the basic principle that what we do and what we say in corporate worship directly influences our beliefs, our attitudes and our daily behavior. That influence is indeed one of liturgical worship's intended effects. Liturgy teaches. Liturgy ...
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Living an Orthodox Life: Worship
Q: "How should Christians stand in church during services, how should they pray, and what duties do they have when they go to church?"
A: Christians should stand in church with faith, fear of God, and attention. They should force themselves as much as possible to pray without distraction and with feeling of heart. Also, Christians have the following duties: to go regularly to church, for whoever often misses the services, except for the sick, are barred from the Holy Mysteries; to be reconciled with all men and to ask forgiveness of anyone they have hurt; to preserve their purity at least two days before going to church and at least one day after; to come early to the divine services in order to have time to venerate in peace and hear Matins. Every Christian should offer some gift to the Lord according to his ability, even if it is very small, as a sacrifice from the work of his hands. They should give names for commemoration, and ask the priest to take out parts (from the prosphora) for the living and dead members of their families. Christians should stand in church modestly and in good order, the men on the right and the women on the left. They should wear clean and modest clothes, and women should have scarves on their heads. It is forbidden to talk during services without great need. After Divine Liturgy starts, everyone should remain in his place and not move about to venerate the icons. They should follow the Liturgy with pious attention, and listen to the prayers and singing of the choir, the Epistle and Gospel readings, and the sermon. No one should leave the church before the end of the Liturgy without great need. Those who have confessed and prepared for Holy Communion should read the appropriate prayers before Communion in advance, and before they approach the Holy Gifts they should ask forgiveness of all the faithful. After the Liturgy, those who received Communion should read the prayers of thanksgiving, spending that day in spiritual joy and guarding themselves from all temptations. Parents should bring their children to church regularly, taking care that they receive communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. After the end of the divine services, Christians should reverently return to their homes, spending the rest of the day thinking of holy things, reading spiritual books, and visiting the sick. They are also obligated to tell those at home who didn't come to church about what they heard and learned in church from the troparia, readings, and the sermon. These are the most important duties of Christians when they go to church on Sundays and feast days.
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On the Respect Due to the Church of God and to the Sacred Mysteries
by St. John ChrysostomosVery few have come here today. Whatever is the reason? We celebrated the Feast of the Martyrs, and nobody comes? The length of the road makes them reluctant; or rather it is not the length of the road that prevents them from coming, but their own ...
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How to Keep the Church Typicon
by St. John (Maximovitch)The divine services and rites of the Orthodox Church, having as their foundation one typicon and preserving commonality in all that is substantially important, are extremely different one from another in practice. Not only are the customs of different countries and local Churches different, but even in the ...
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Why Orthodox Christians Stand During Divine Services
In performing divine services ill it manner like the saints, Whom the God-inspired prophets Isaiah, Micah Daniel and St. John the Theologian saw "standing in the heavens next to the throne of God" (Isaiah 6:2; I Kings 22:19; Daniel 7:10; Apocalypse 7:11), Christians similarly should not sit during divine services, but stand.
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Excerpts from the Evergetinos: On Repentance
No one should despair ever, even if he has
...
committed many sins, but should have
hope that through repentance,
he shall be saved. -
Excerpts from *Follow Me*, by Metropolitan Augustinos of Florina
by Metropolitan Augustinos of Florina (State Church of Greece)One reason young people are not attracted to missionary work is the sad state of the Church today. One has to be blind not to see it. Must we bring to mind all that the Christianitke Spitha and other Church publications and religious periodicals have written ...
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Fr. Seraphim Rose Speaks: Excerpts from His Writings
Hieromonk Seraphim Rose, co-founder and co-editor of The Orthodox Word and co-founder of the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood and Monastery at Platina, California, reposed in the Lord on September 2, 1982 n.s. Born in 1934 in California, he was raised in a typical American Protestant ...
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Practical Tips for Orthodox Living
THE FOLLOWING "TIPS" were sent us by Mother Pelagia of Lesna Convent, who prefaces them with the remark: "Orthodox families train their children from a very early age to acquire religious habits, in some of which I was myself, as a Protestant, brought up." Her first tips are:
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Small Pearls from The Prologue from Ochrid
Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth (II Pet. 1:12).
A ploughman ploughs a field. Does he not repeat the same action again and ...
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Concerning Priests and Holy Tradition: Excerpts from Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit
The priest is the incarnation of the absolute, the expression of the constant, stable and unshakeable, the trumpet of Heaven, the image of incorruption, the mile-marker of eternity. May he remain forever unchanged, even in his external appearance, as a reminder and symbol of the ages and of the unchanging truths which he ...
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A Response to Fr. Alkiviadis C. Calivas’ “Clerical Attire in America: Suit or Rason?”
by Fr. Michael MonosI recently obtained a copy of an undated article by Fr. Alkiviadis C. Calivas, “Clerical Attire in America: Suit or Rason?”, which has been “making the rounds” throughout the Internet community. Many of us who serve as priests in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America remember Fr. Calivas in his capacity as professor of Liturgics and Sacramental Theology. As professor he never shied away from sharing his opinion on a multitude of subjects that intersected with the study of Liturgics, however as students we were never “treated” to a clear distillation of his thought on the topic of clergy attire such as we find in “Clerical Attire in America”[1] What follows is a response to that paper.
A worrisome problem or Fr. Calivas polemic against the ‘rason’?
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Priestly Attire
In issue no. 6 of The Russian Pastor, an article by Archpriest Boris Kizenko, "Do not associate yourself with this age," was printed. There he touched upon the question of whether or not priests should wear their cassocks or riasa. I would like to share a few thoughts on this matter.
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Concerning the Tradition of Long Hair and Beards
The question of the appropriateness of long hair and beards is frequently put to traditional Orthodox clergy. A comprehensive article appeared in Orthodox Life concerning clergy dress in the J./F. ...
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Christian Dress and Grooming
Visiting a couple of your parishes, I noticed that the women cover their heads in church. I asked Father [name deleted] when I visited him. He explained that the women cover their heads in church, don’t cut their hair short and don’t wear pants or tight clothes even outside church....The men he ...
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On Account of the Angels: Why I Cover My Head
At first reading of this verse I thought, “Good grief, that, at least, can’t have anything to do with women today.” I was a new convert to Christianity and making a valiant effort to read the Bible “as if it were true.” St. Paul was hard to swallow, ...
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Monastery and Convent Etiquette
Monastics are people who have been called out from the world to live the Angelic life. For this reason, lay people have always been encouraged to visit monasteries regularly, so as to form their own spiritual lives around those who represent the standard of spiritual dedication. Serious monastics ...
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How to Greet a Monk or Nun
by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff1) In the Russian Church: Only tonsured nuns are addressed as "Mother"—the others are addressed as "Sister." This is exactly the same as the practice regarding monks, who are called "Father" only if tonsured. ...
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On Refusal to Judge Our Neighbor
If we remember the saying of the holy fathers, brothers, and put them into practice all the time, it will be difficult for us to neglect ourselves. For if, as they used to say, we do not despise little things and think they are of no consequence to us, we shall not fall into great and grievous things. I am always ...
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And Believers Were the More Added: A Homily by Fr. James Thornton
by Father James ThorntonThe book of the Acts of the Apostles, a priceless historical record of the Apostolic Church from the time of the Resurrection of Christ to Saint Paul's missionary activities in Rome, was written by the physician Saint Luke, a Gentile, and almost certainly a Greek convert to Christianity. The book may be seen as a continuation ...
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Who Art Thou That Judgest?: A Homily by Fr. James Thornton
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, tomorrow we Orthodox Christians begin the Great Fast. We now enter an extended period of approximately seven weeks of more intense prayer and fasting until we reach Holy Pascha, the Feast of Feasts, the Feast of ...
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Quit You Like Men: A Homily by Fr. James Thornton
by Father James ThorntonSome years ago a distinguished academic published a work in which he put forth a thesis that Christianity during the first millennium was, like its Jewish ancestor, a highly masculine religion. Christianity was distinguished, he contended, by certain masculine traits, which arose from its traditional worldview and ...
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Not Judging is Salvation without Effort
by Archpriest Valery LukianovThe sin of judging others is found to be very prevalent in human actions because it can be so easily fallen into: censure of others human act can be uttered without any special effort and it even brings with it a certain pleasure. In judging someone else a person thus invents an excuse for himself, lulling his conscience with the self-esteem of ...
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Reaching Out From Within
by Father Martin SwansonIn the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Your Grace, fellow clergy, and brothers and sisters in Christ.
250, 000 people, over a four-day period, crowded into the ...
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Resentment and Forgiveness
by Hieromonk DamasceneA talk delivered at the Annual Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America, St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, San Diego, California, February 28, 2003.
1. The Misuse of the Incensive Power
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The Shell of Death: Concerning Hypocrisy
by Bishop Nikolai VelimirovichHow beautifully our people in the Balkans decorate eggs. The more beautifully to decorate Easter. To increase the joy of Pascha. To make their guests more happy. Sometimes the colored eggs are truly art. If the colored eggs are let to stand too long, they become rotten inside, and give off ...
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Modesty and Will
By Metropolitan Philaret Voznesensky (+ 1985)Our Lord Jesus Christ, instructing His disciples and apostles, imbued in them the necessity of observing purity of heart and thought. From the thought and from the heart proceed our sinful impulses: "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart," says the Saviour; "and they defile ...
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American Christmas and Orthodox Nativity
by Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago († 1987)On American Christmas, some of you more, some of you to a lesser extent, celebrate, have parties, give presents to each other, etc. Alas, American Christmas is acquiring a more and more pagan character: so much time is wasted on shopping, often unnecessarily, for clothing, for everything exterior, while ...
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A Pastoral Word on Halloween
by Bishop [now Archbishop] KyrillIt is that time of the year when the secular society in which we live is preparing for the festival of Halloween. Many do not know its spiritual roots and history, and why it contradicts the teachings of the Church. The feast of Halloween began in pre-Christian times among the Celtic peoples of Great ...
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Dealing with a Secularized Christmas
Question: I hate the secularization of Christmas. How can I and my family keep the Nativity Fast and celebrate Christmas without getting into all the commercialization that surrounds it in society?
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What Do You Do About Western Christmas?
by Matushka Ann LardasEvery year around December, Orthodox children are again torn between the delights of this world and the desire to please God. All around us are Christmas parties, at work, at school, in the neighborhood. While in the West, people used to observe Advent as ...
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be-ready-an-approach-to-the-mystery-of-death-by-hieromonk-gregorios.pdf
[PDF] be ready an approach to the mystery of death by hieromonk gregorios -
Death & the Future Life: Suggested Books on Death & the Future Life
The Future Life According to Orthodox Teaching, by Constantine Cavarnos (Etna: The Center for Traditionalist ...
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Excerpts from the Evergetinos: On Death and the Future Life
Regarding those who die and come to life again,
and how this happens by Divine Providence.
And how many times sinners while still
alive, beholding the torments of Hell
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In the Face of Death, God Cultivates Hope
One more indication of God's love for us, who have so imprudently given ourselves over to sin and into the arms of death, is also the fact that in His compassion, aside from converting death's punishment into something beneficial, our compassionate God has also given us—right from the outset—hopes of resurrection. ...
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Christians Philosophize Creatively About Death
Every Christian, by the grace of the truths revealed to us by Christ, can face death without fear. Moreover, he has the possibility to philosophize soundly and creatively about the mystery of death.
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Death: A Source for Sound Philosophy
Through bodily death not only have we not sustained an injury, but also we have gained! Mortality has turned out to be a gain and a benefit for us, since we do not continue to sin in an immortal body. Furthermore, bodily death becomes a source for beneficial and salutary philosophy. Thanks to this horrible event, we have, says St. John Chrysostom, ...
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The Great Wager Between Believers and Unbelievers
by Photios KontoglouOn Pascha Monday, in the evening after midnight, before fore lying down to sleep I went out into the little garden behind my house. The sky was dark and covered with stars. I seemed to see it for the first time, and a distant psalmody seemed to descend from it. My lips murmured, very softly: "Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship the ...
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Excerpts from the Prologue From Ochrid: On Death and the Future Life
FOR CONSIDERATION
A vision of St. Andrew the Fool for Christ: Holy Andrew, walking one day along the streets of Constantinople, saw a great and splendid funeral. A rich man had died, and his ...
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Let's Talk About Death
A DEATH IN THE CONVENT is a very important event. Any disagreements, personal problems, any unpleasantness whatsoever—all is immediately forgotten. All hurry to help a sister who can no longer help herself and is in great need. After cleaning the face and hands, the nun is dressed as for church. She is being prepared to meet her Bridegroom. ...
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Death & the Future Life
This section of the site concerns the entire Mystery of Death and the life after death. These are arguably two of the most important subjects a person can grapple with. Yet they are also subjects about which most people are very ill-informed. As Dr. Constantine Cavarnos points out in his excellent summation of this topic:
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A Few Words Concerning Orthodox "Death Literature"
by Protopresbyter David Cownie, with Patrick Barnes"...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil 2:12)
When Presbytera and I first became Orthodox and began reading the stories from the Evergetinos and other ...
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A Commentary on the Last Judgement
From The Explanation by Blessed Theophylact41-46. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and ye gave Me nothing to eat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, or in prison, and ye visited Me not. ...
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The Memory of Death
The Christian soul that lives with a profound hope of life beyond the grave and the sweet anticipation of the most desirable Paradise, attempts to maintain a vivid memory of death. The Wisdom of Sirach says: "In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin" (7,36). The Christian knows that he will live after death ...
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Table of Contents for The Mystery of Death
by Nikolaos P. VassiliadisFOREWORD, p. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS, p. 9
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The "Near-Death Experience"
by David RitchieAlmost any bookstore sells works on the "near-death experience" (NDE). Actually a collection of experiences reported by individuals who have approached death, or undergone death and then returned to life, the NDE is widely interpreted as a genuine, representative experience of the afterlife. Elements of the NDE include a "life ...
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Preface to The Soul After Death
by Hieromonk Seraphim Rose of PlatinaTHE AIM of the present book is two-fold: first, to give an explanation, in terms of the Orthodox Christian doctrine of life after death, of the present-day "after-death" experiences that have caused such interest in some religious and scientific circles; and second, to present the basic sources and texts which ...
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"The Raven": Demon of Despair (On Poe and Death)
by Presbytera Juliana CownieSoon after the death of a loved one come many visitors to the bereaved. Some arrive early, bearing gifts of food and speaking words of consolation and comfort. Others appear late in the day, unable to say anything, but still comforting in their very presence. But when the comforters have gone ...
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Icon of the Resurrection with St. John Chrysostom's Paschal Homily
The joyous event of the glorious Resurrection is expressed in Orthodox Iconography with the Descent of the Lord into Hades. The icon on the jacket of this book is a detail of a fresco by Manuel Panselinos (1295 or 1313 A.D.) in the Protaton Church at Karyes, Mt. Athos, Greece.
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On the Remembrance of Death
by St. Ignaty (Brianchaninov)A monk should remember every day, and several times a day, that he is faced with inevitable death, and eventually he should even attain to the unceasing remembrance of death.
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Death & the Future Life: Memorial & Funeral Services
The Office at the Parting of the Soul from the Body, from the Service Book, transl. Isabel Hapgood.
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Reflections on the Funeral
By Panagiotes Somalis"Whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's" (Rom. 14:8)
WE HAVE HEARD, only too often, that Christianity has set us free from the darkness of idolatry and its barbarous customs. Living, however, in a country ...
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A Question About Open Coffins
"Holidaying in Bulgaria, we saw part of a funeral in a village church and noticed that the coffin was open during the service. Although it took us a hit by surprise, there seemed to he something right and reverent about it. Is this general practice in Orthodox churches and is there a reason for it?"—M. & B. S, Swindon.
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The Requiem Office for the Dead (Panikhidi)
The origin of the Service of the Dead (Panikhidi) is as follows: St. Macarius of Alexandria once inquired from the Angels who accompanied him an explanation of the Church's custom to celebrate the third, ninth, and fortieth days after a death by religious services. And the Angel told him: "When, on the third day, the body is ...
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Commemoration at Proskomedia: An Instruction
by Bishop [now Archbishop] KyrillThe offering of prosphora with the names of the living and the dead is, according to church tradition, done prior to the second part of Divine Liturgy "the Liturgy of the Catechumens," (which begins with Blessed is the Kingdom ... ). The faithful are to gather towards the beginning of the second part and not at ...
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Prayers for the Reposed Non-Orthodox
My father, who was not Orthodox, reposed last week. I recently read an article by David Ritchie in Orthodox Life that says in essence that only Orthodox can be saved. What, then, is the use of private prayers for non-Orthodox who have reposed? A Priest explained to me that God gives the command, but that He also does what He pleases and that ...
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The Office at the Parting of the Soul from the Body
(The Abbot cometh to a monk, or his Father Confessor to a layman, and inquireth if there be any word or deed which hath been forgotten, or baseness, or any wrath against any brother, which hath remained unconfessed, or is unforgiven; he must search all there is, and interrogate the dying man concerning each one.)
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A Return from the Dead in Contemporary Greece
by Archimandrite [now Metropolitan] CyprianHerewith I am sending you an account of a person know who died and returned to life, which I think you will find interesting as an example for your series of articles.
About four years ago, we received a call to take Holy Communion to an old lady, a widow ...
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Death & the Future Life: Modern Views & NDEs
Before reading these articles it is suggested that one
first read A Few Words Concerning Orthodox "Death Literature". Also, Fr. Seraphim Rose deals heavily with the modern near-death experience phenomenon in his book The ... -
Movie Review: What Dreams May Come
Reviewed by Protopresbyter David CownieDirected by Vincent Ward. Starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciora, Max Von Sydow (1998).
This movie, which stars Robin Williams as the main protaganist, is unique in that it ...
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Movie Review: Ghost
Reviewed by Protopresbyter David CownieDirected by Tony Goldwyn. Starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg (1990).
Webmaster Note: Although this film is almost ten years old, Fr. David kindly agreed to review it for the Orthodox Christian Information Center because it was such a ...
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A Miracle Which Took Place in Russia
Introduction. Through the will of God, the account of this miracle, which took place 24 years ago [1965], has reached America. It's authenticity is verified by the fact that it records the year, day, hour, city, address, names... etc. Reading it, we behold the great care which God has for the salvation of our sinful souls. Read it with attention, and compare ...
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Unbelievable For Many, But Actually a True Occurrence
Reproduced below is an individual's description of his having been restored to life after dying, which was published by Mr. K. Uekskuell in the "Moscow Journal" towards the end of the last century. In 1916, Archbishop Nikon, a member of the Holy Synod, reprinted the article in his publication "Trinity ...
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Death & the Future Life: Love & Respect for the Dead
The Church's Prayer for the Dead, from Orthodox Life (1978).
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Excerpts from The Soul After Death
PRAYER FOR THE DEAD
How important commemoration at the Liturgy is may be seen in the following occurrence: Before the uncovering of the relics of St. Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), the priest-monk ...
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Protect the Graves of Your Loved Ones
"Know that Not One Crime Will Be Hid from God." (The Spiritual Meadow, by John Moschus ch. 77)
Protect the graves of your loved ones. Preserve from disarray God's vineyard from which the angels will gather the great harvest into God's storehouses. ...
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Concerning the Honor Due to the Saints and Their Remains
by St. John of DamascusTo the saints honor must be paid as friends of Christ, as sons and heirs of God: in the words of John the theologian and evangelist, As many as received Him, to them gave He power to became sons of God. So that they are no longer servants, but sons: and if sons, also heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ: and ...
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Relics and Mummies
My daughter has pointed out to me that the incorrupt bodies of Saints are not unlike mummies or the unembalmed remains of certain Indians and other native peoples that are many years old. The embalmed mummies can be explained. But why do we argue that incorrupt relics are a sign of sanctity? I have seen relics that were in a state of near total ...
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The Church's Prayer for the Dead
The Holy Orthodox Church, like a concerned mother, daily, at every divine service, offers up prayers for all her children who have departed for the land of eternity. Thus, at the midnight service troparia and prayers for the departed are read, and they are commemorated at its concluding ektenia. This is so also at compline. At matins and vespers ...
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Pray for the Reposed!
by the New Hieromartyr John of RigaThe death of people who are close and dear to us is one of the most difficult trials sent to us by the Lord God during this temporary life. There are no tears more bitter than the tears of a mother for the beloved child of her heart who goes to the grave before his time. What sorrow can we compare to the sorrow of widows and orphans? Nonetheless, our ...
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The Church's Teaching Concerning Angels
The word "angel" means "messenger" and this word expresses the nature of angelic service to the human race. From the days of man's life in paradise, mankind has known of their existence, and its almost universal recognition is reflected not only in Judaism but in most other ancient religions as well.
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Concerning Angels
by St. John of DamascusHe is Himself the Maker and Creator of the angels: for He brought them out of nothing into being and created them after His own image, an incorporeal race, a sort of spirit or immaterial fire: in the words of the divine David, He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire: and He has ...
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"Condemned" to Be Immortal
by Archimandrite Justin PopovichMen have condemned God to death; God, however, has by His Resurrection "sentenced" men to immortality. In return for their buffets, He offers embraces; for their insults, blessings; for death, immortality. Never have men shown such enmity for God as when they crucified Him; and never has God shown ...
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The Lives of Sts. Cyprian and Justina
Christianity vs. Sorcery. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, which began with the presumption of imagining itself the most enlightened of all ages, has in reality proceeded of imagining some of the blackest years of all human history. Symptomatic of this truly dark age is the revival in recent decades of interest and active participation in witchcraft and sorcery. Much of this ...
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Death & the Future Life: The Writings of the Saints
This section contains homilies and other writings, as well as Lives of Saints, which relate to our theme
On the Incarnation of the Logos, by St. Athanasius the Great. ...
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Life After Death: A Homily by St. John the Wonderworker
With comments by Fr. John MackRecently there have been many questions raised about what happens to the soul when a person dies. The following sermon by St. John of San Francisco outlines the Orthodox teaching. I have appended to the sermon by way of endnotes additional comments and extensive Patristic ...
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Concerning the Resurrection
by St. John of DamascusWe believe also in the resurrection of the dead. For there will be in truth, there will be, a resurrection of the dead, and by resurrection we mean resurrection of bodies. For resurrection is the second state of that which has fallen. For the souls are immortal, and hence how can they rise again? For if they define ...
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The Orthodox Response to the Latin Doctrine of Purgatory
In the third sitting of the Council, Julian, after mutual congratulations, showed that the principal points of dispute between the Greeks and Latins were in the doctrine (a) on the procession of the Holy Ghost, (b) on azymes in the Eucharist, (c) on purgatory, and (d) on the Papal supremacy; and then asked them which of these subjects was to be ...
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The Life of St. Salvius: Seer of Heavenly Mysteries
In addition to the twenty chapters of the Life of the Fathers, the writing of St. Gregory contain several other substantial Lives of 6th-century saints of Gaul. These will be presented as an appendix to the complete text of the Life of the Fathers
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St. Theodora's Journey Through the Aerial Toll-Houses
According to the teachings of the Church, the particular judgment of souls by God is preceded by their torments, or rather a series of tests; these take place in the regions of the air, where the evil spirits have their domain (Eph. 6. 12). They detain the souls and declare and make manifest all the sins which these souls perpetrated during their ...
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Commentary on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
19-22. And there was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain poor man named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that ...
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The Life of St. Anthony
by St. Athanasius the GreatThe life and conversation of our holy Father, Antony: written and sent to the monks in foreign parts by our Father among the Saints, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. Athanasius [1] the bishop to the brethren in foreign parts.
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Cremation
by Protopresbyter George GrabbeThe question concerning cremation arose in comparatively recent times, moreover, in countries where the Orthodox population is relatively small. In Russia it was discussed during the period of the development of the Revolution, in the course of the years 1905-1906; but at that time the thought of cremation was so far removed from actual ...
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Answer to a Critic: Appendix III from The Soul After Death
by Father Seraphim Rose of PlatinaAs the present book was being printed in serial form in The Orthodox Word, the editor of another Orthodox periodical began publishing a long series of attacks on the teaching of life after death set forth here (The Tlingit Herald, published by the St. Nectarios American Orthodox Church, Seattle, Washington; vol. 5, no. 6 and following ...
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Death & the Future Life: Theological & Pastoral Treatises
The Future Life According to Orthodox Teaching, by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos. The complete text of the book is forthcoming, ...
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Free Will and Death
Death was unknown to the first man. "With much love for his Benefactor", he lived in Paradise an untroubled and blessed life, in innocence and forthrightness of heart and without evil. He was filled with "every wisdom and prudence," [1] being a possessor of the true knowledge of God. He had authority similar to that of the angels, ...
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On the Burial of the Heterodox
Quite often people turn to our priests with requests for panikhidas, and sometimes even complete funeral services, for persons who were not members of the Orthodox Church. As a guideline for pastors and faithful alike, we print below the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church, Abroad, issued in 1932, in connection with the serving of ...
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Preface to Eternal Mysteries Beyond the Grave
In our time, full of unbelief and doubt, when a man's "holy of holies," his soul, is intruded in order to be totally disrupted and made to lose faith in an unlimited rational Being—faith in that which makes the sorrowful earthly life tolerable—it should be most useful and salubrious for or us to share with others well attested facts ...
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The Taxing of Souls
by Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos)Also related to the foregoing is the teaching of both Holy Scripture and the holy Fathers about the taxing of souls. At this point we shall examine the subject thoroughly, as it has a bearing on the terrible mystery of death. We find this topic in the whole biblico-patristic tradition and it corresponds to a ...
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The Debate Over Aerial Toll-Houses
On 19 November/2 December, 1980, the Synod of the Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia heard: the extensive correspondence connected with the controversy raised by Deacon Lev. Puhalo [(Ed. now Archbishop Lazarus of New Ostrog Monastery (Synaxis Press)] with regard to a book by Hieromonk Seraphim Rose on life ...
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On the Question of the "Toll-Houses"
by Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky"We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ." —I Cor. 4:10
Introduction. A number of poor scholars and pseudo-scholars alike have, over the past several decades, ...
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The Peace of Christ and the Peace Sought in Assisi
by Amphilochios BasiliadisThe synaxis of religious leaders which gathered around the Pope of Rome in Assisi this past week [ed.—Janurary 24, 2002] in a quest for "peace" — in order "to come together and walk with one another on the paths of peace," as the Pope put it — has raised once again, this time more urgently, a set of questions demanding ...
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churoffr.pdf
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The Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Movement
The following article first appeared in the November 1996 edition of "Diocesan News For Clergy and Laity" (Volume 4, Number 11), printed and distributed by the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver.
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Letter of Patriarch Diodoros I to the Patriarch of Antioch
Letter from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Diodoros I,
to the Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatios IVMay 17, 1997
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Orthodox Ecumenism As A Divisive Force
by Dr. Constantine CavarnosThe following article, reproduced with the kind permission of the author, constitutes the second chapter in his superb, moderate, and eminently balanced commentary on the ecumenical movement, Ecumenism Examined, published by the Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies in 1996. Professor Cavarnos, ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: General Articles on Ecumenism
Ecumenism: by Metropolitan Vitaly; presented to the Sobor of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. This is not just another diatribe against ecumenism. Met. Vitaly offers a very ...
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The Psychological Anatomy of Ecumenism
I have, both in the pages of Orthodox Tradition and in other publications, as well as in various of my lectures and sermons, pointed out that we moderate Old Calendarists are the true ecumenists, since it is out of a genuine love for our Lord and our Faith that we struggle to preserve in the ...
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Ecumenism as an Ecclesiological Heresy
WE HAVE POINTED OUT and documented the fact that ecumenism constitutes an absolutely new "ecclesiological position" and that, since 1920, there has developed a literal "ecclesiological modernization," provoking a radical change in the theological thought and ...
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What Are the Goals of Ecumenism?
by Hieromonk Savva of the Holy Monastery of Decani, SerbiaThe fundamental goal and the primary task of the ecumenical movement is to re-interpret Christianity—or, in other words, to annihilate Orthodoxy completely. The dialogue between various Christian confessions—as, also, the dialogue between Christianity and Islam and Judaism (and other religions, as well)—is one of the tasks that is a part of an over-all plan for unifying the sum-total of humanity. The only thing that is ...
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Ecumenism and the New Calendar Orthodox Church of Greece
Metropolitan Ierotheos of Nafpaktos"There are numerous dialogues, today, between our
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Church and other Orthodox Churches, other confessions,
and other religions. Is it possible for the Hierarchy to remain
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The Patristic Position and the Witness of Archimandrite Justin (Popovich) Regarding Ecumenism
1. In 1971, the then Patriarch of Serbia, German, as one of the Presidents of the "World Council of Churches (WCC)," co-signed the following "Message" of this ecumenical organization in Geneva:
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Eucharistic Ecumenism
If, as the Fathers of the Church teach, we are united in the Eucharist, what is wrong with sharing it? And if this leads to a unity of confession between the Orthodox and other Christians, what is wrong with that? These are the questions that I pose to you in response to your anti-ecumenical efforts. (N.A., WI)
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On Compromise in the Hierarchy During the Communist Yoke: Excerpts from Two Books by Fr. Roman Braga
[Interviewer] Father, before we continue discussing your life in exile, tell us something about Romanian Orthodox spirituality, because even we Romanians do not know what it is. It is evident that we cannot separate spirituality from ...
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Super-Correctness - Chapter 63 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
by Hieromonk Damascene"Traditionalism" is not the same thing as the real traditional outlook.—René Guénon1
Fanaticism hinders a man's understanding, but true faith gives it freedom.—St. Macarius of Optina2
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Hope - Chapter 99 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
by Hieromonk DamasceneThe 'gates of hell' will not prevail against the Church, but they have and certainly can prevail against many who consider themselves pillars of the Church, as is shown by Church history.
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Orthodoxy and Fundamentalism: The Fundamentalism of the Orthodox Ecumenists
by Archimandrite Cyprian AgiokyprianitesRecently, much has been written about the menace of religious fundamentalism and its various concomitant expressions (ideological, political, nationalistic, etc.); we thus think it an opportune time briefly to refer to its essential characteristics.
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An Open Letter to Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia
"Christ the Lord called that Church the Catholic Church which maintains the true and saving confession of the Faith. It was for this confession that He called Peter blessed when He declared ‘...upon this rock [i.e., of right faith] I ...
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The Church of Georgia and the WCC
The April-June 1997 issue of "Orthodoxos Enemerosis" ("The Orthodox Informer"), a tri-monthly periodical published in Athens, Greece, by our Synod of Bishops, was devoted entirely to the withdrawal, on May 20, ...
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Georgian Orthodox Church to leave WCC and CEC
Ecumenical News International
Georgian Orthodox Church to leave WCC and CEC
ENI News Service
26 May 1997
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Looking Back on Harare: The 8th General Assembly of the WCC
The Presence of Orthodox Ecumenists a DisappointmentIn the end, the crisis in the Orthodox Church is every bit as deep as the crisis in the Protestant Churches. It is a crisis of self-awareness, of responsibility, of consistency between words and deeds, of self-respect, of true ...
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Heers-TheMissionaryRootsofModernEcumenism.pdf
[PDF] Heers TheMissionaryRootsofModernEcumenism -
A Short Response to Father Thomas Hopko's Defense of Ecumenism
by Archbishop Chrysostomos of EtnaFather Thomas Hopko, Dean of St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary, an institution under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church in America, recently "posted" a letter on ecumenism to the seminary's official website on the Internet in defense of the Orthodox Church's participation in the ecumenical movement.
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The Sunday of Orthodoxy and the Current State of Affairs
The Sunday of Orthodoxy was established in order for the Church to celebrate the restoration of the Icons and the victory of true religion over the Iconoclasts. The Iconoclasts were the modernists of that time, who began with the abolition of ...
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Orthodox Baptism: In Response to The Illuminator
The Illuminator, an official publication of the Pittsburgh Diocese of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, published a response, last summer, to a question from a reader about Baptism. The reader called into question the "new practice" of Baptizing "those ...
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A Letter to Thomas Merton, 1962
by Eugene [Fr. Seraphim] RoseI am a young American convert to Russian Orthodoxy—not the vague "liberal" spirituality of too many modern Russian "religious thinkers," but the full ascetic and contemplative Orthodoxy of the Fathers and Saints—who have for some years been studying the spiritual "crisis" of our ...
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The 70th Anniversary of the Pan-Orthodox Congress, Part I of II
by Bishop Photius of TriaditsaIntroduction: The author of this article, Bishop Photius of Triaditsa, was consecrated to the episcopacy on January 4/17, 1993 by Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili, Abbot of the Monastery of Saints Cyprian and Justina. Bishop Photius is the sole hierarch of the Old Calendarists in Bulgaria.
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Does the Orthodox Church Proselytize?
"I noticed in the press that the Greek Archbishop has stated that the Orthodox Church is against proselytism. This cannot mean that the Orthodox Church does not receive converts, because I know that there ore numbers of converts to Orthodoxy, yourselves among them. I am confused about this, and feel as if we are being rejected; have you anything to ...
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Concerning the Intercommunion that Took Place in Ravenna, 2002
During these days, the subject of conversation for many faithful members of the Church is the Byzantine divine liturgy performed by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the Byzantine church of St. Apollinaris in Ravenna, Italy. At the Liturgy, not ...
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The Royal Path: True Orthodoxy in an Age of Apostasy
Fr. Seraphim RoseAs the Fathers say, the extremes from both sides are equally harmful ... (We must) go on the royal path, avoiding the extremes on both sides. St. John Cassian, Conference II
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Uneasiness About Modernism and Ecumenism in the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate
In a recent book, Ecumenism in the Age of Apostasy (Prizren, Serbia: 1995), published with the blessing of Bishop Artemije of Rashka and Prizren, Hieromonk Sava (Janjich), an erudite theologian and clergyman in the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate, ...
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On a Summoning of the Great Council of the Orthodox Church
Archimandrite Justin PopovichThe following letter was addressed by Archimandrite Dr. Justin Popovic of blessed memory, spiritual father of the monastery of Celie Valjevo (Yugoslavia), to Bishop Jovan of Sabac and the Serbian hierarchy on May 7, 1977, with the request to transmit this letter to the Holy Synod and the Council of Bishops of the ...
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Concerning Super Correctness
By Bishop [now Metropolitan] Cyprian of Oropos and FiliFor over fifty years [as of 1976] the Orthodox Old Calendarists of Greece have fought a courageous battle, in the face of sometimes fierce persecution, for the preservation of genuine Orthodoxy against modernism and ecumenism. Unfortunately, ...
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synodann.pdf
[PDF] synodann -
Conclusions of the Inter-Orthodox Theological Conference 'Ecumenism: Origins - Expectations - Disenchantment', 2004
Translated by Fr. Peter HeersThe Inter-Orthodox Theological Conference “Ecumenism: Origins—Expectations—Disenchantment” was convened on September 20th, 2004 in Thessaloniki, Greece and carried out its work until September 24th with great success. The conference was organized by the Department of Pastoral and Social Theology of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Society of Orthodox Studies. Conference sessions were held in the Ceremony Hall of the University.
The conference commenced with a proclamation by His All-holiness Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki. In attendance were many Metropolitans and Bishops, as well as the mayor of Thessaloniki (Mr. Panagiotis Psomiadis), members of the Greek Parliament, and university professors, who offered greetings to the conference attendees.
Over the five days of the conference, 60 respected speakers, including Hierarchs from various Orthodox Churches, analyzed every aspect of Ecumenism before a packed audience of the abbots of holy monasteries, clergy, monks, and laity, among which were many theologians, professors from both Theological Schools, and students of the Theological School of the University of Thessaloniki Conference participants came to the following conclusions, based on the numerous presentations and accompanying discussions:
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Towards the "Eighth" Ecumenical Council
THE FIRST PRE-SYNODAL Pan-Orthodox Conference, with representatives from almost all the "canonical" Orthodox bodies, met at Chambesy, near Geneva, at the Orthodox Center of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, from November 21-28, 1976. Following this Conference, the Orthodox press was filled with news of it and with hopes for the actual ...
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404 - Page Not Found :: Orthodox Christian Information Center
I'm sorry for the inconvenience! It appears you tried to access a page with the wrong URL, or the page has been removed from the site. Try searching for the page using the search box in the upper right. If you were trying to reach the Contact page, this has been shut down because as of July, 2022, the site is in full archive mode.
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The Tragedy of Our Uniate Brothers
by Hieromonk [now Bishop] AuxentiosSince the time of the Protestant Reformation, there has been a painful separation of Orthodox brothers to parallel the separation introduced into Western Christianity by this great religious upheaval. This separation among Orthodox came about through the so-called Unia, in which Eastern Orthodox Christians were joined with Rome, a good deal of the ...
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The Unity of Dogma and Love
"There is no opposition between dogma and love."
WE DEEM IT WORTHWHILE, on the occasion of the commemoration of the Third Holy Œcumenical Synod in Ephesus (September 9), to return to the ever-timely subject of our ...
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Orthodox Unity Today
By the Right Reverend Photios, Bishop of TriaditzaBISHOP PHOTIOS received his theological education at the Academy of Theology in Sofia and his training in classical philology at the University of Sofia, where he was an assistant professor of ancient Greek. A spiritual son of the renowned Archimandrite Seraphim (Alexiev) and an erudite scholar, His Grace ...
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Ecumenism
Histories of ecumenism abound, and stalwart defenses of the true Church of Christ against this modern heresy of heresies have appeared with increasing frequency in those few Orthodox publications still able and willing to express the truth. But ...
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Letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch Concerning the Balamand Agreement
Last year the seventh plenary session of the "Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church" was held from June 17-24 in the Balamand School of Theology, Lebanon. The theme ...
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balamand.pdf
[PDF] balamand -
"Balamand Explained": First Betrayal, Now Deception
by Bishop Auxentios of PhotikiA VERY important document ("The Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches: Taking Steps to Overcome Division; Controversy Over the Balamand Report") was posted on the "Internet" in 1996, purporting to clarify ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: The Balamand Agreement
St. Gregory Palamas, St. Photios the Great, St. Mark of Ephesus
For more on these great saints read The Lives of the Pillars of Orthodoxy (Buena Vista, CO: Holy Apostles Convent and the Dormition Skete, 1990).
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A Critique of the Balamand Agreement
by Fr. John Romanides1) Representatives of nine Orthodox Churches signed an agreement with representatives of the Vatican contained in a document entitled, "Uniatism, method of union of the past, and the present search for full communion." This was ...
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paphagfr.pdf
[PDF] paphagfr -
The Reception of Converts and Related Matters
Webmaster Note: The following was written by Archbishop Chrysostomos to a young man who corresponded with the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies about an article that has appeared in several places and which can be easily misunderstood to suggest that the ...
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Baptism and Grace
by Fr. Gregory Telepneff, ThDThe late Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow, of blessed memory, was more than once in his lifetime quoted to the effect that the Grace of God was not totally absent from non-Orthodox Christians; yet, when pressed to accept ...
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Baptism and the Reception of Converts
In the last issue of Orthodox Tradition for 1996, you quoted St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite from The Rudder, in which this Saint of the universal Church points out that we Orthodox do not accept the Baptisms of Roman Catholics.... What about theologians like Thomas Hopko and Georges Florovsky, who ...
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Common Misunderstandings on the Reception of Converts
by Archbishop Chrysostomos and Bishop AuxentiosDear Father John [Abraham]:
Evlogia Kyriou.
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A Letter to a Priest Concerning Corrective Baptism
by Archbishop Chrysostomos of EtnaDear Father _________:
Evlogeite.
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Ecumenism Awareness: Baptism and the Reception of Converts
One of the most obvious manifestations of ecumenism in the Orthodox Church today is the controversy over how heterodox converts to Orthodoxy should be received into the Church. At the heart of this controversy is the so-called "Baptismal ecclesiology" of the Ecumenical ...
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A Critique of a Critique: In Response to Professor John Erickson
The following is a critique of a review written by Professor John Erickson, of St. Vladimirs Theological Seminary, of a superb book on the nature of Orthodox Baptism, written by Father George Metallinos, a popular religious writer, historian, Churchman, and eminent professor of theology at the ...
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Further Thoughts on the Ecclesiology of Father George Florovsky
For years at this Web address I have had the following article on my site. It contains comments on Fr. George and his views gleaned from correspondence with Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna, who had some personal experience with him. I believed the commentary was accurate, despite being largely uncorroborated. However, at the end of 2013, after reading the persuasive comments by “Matthew“ regarding Fr. George and his famous article “The Limits of the Church,“ I have my doubts about some of the claims in ”Further Thoughts.“ Judge for yourself after reading Matthew’s comments.
Concerning “The Limits of the Church“ I suggest you also read “The House of the Father.“ Although Matthew convinced me that “Limits“ accurately reflects views that appear to have been consistently held by Fr. George throughout his lifetime, it nevertheless remains a “heuristic piece“ that to many Orthodox thinkers contains serious flaws when viewed in the light of the Patristic consensus (instead of mainly St. Augustine). Fr. George was a brilliant academic theologian, but he is not a ”Church Father;” and there is scant Patristic evidence to support his rejection of the principle of oikonomia in favor of St. Augustine’s theories concerning the ”validity” and “efficacy” of the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) as a way of explaining the variety of Church practice in the reception of converts throughout history. For an Orthodox critique of St. Augustine’s ideas see The Unity of the Church and the World Conference of Christian Communities, by St. Hilarion (Troitsky). ~ Patrick Barnes (December 30, 2013)
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Bishop Raphael Hawaweeny on the Anglicans and Orthodox Baptism
Pastoral Direction and Instruction on Orthodox/Episcopal Relations and Ministrations in America (1912)Definition of Status of Anglican Communion and Strict
Prohibition to All Orthodox the Acceptance of Protestant
Ministrations of Any Sort is Still in Force in America, as
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Fr. Thomas Hopko on "Are Protestants in the Church?"
The following question was asked by me (Patrick Barnes) at a lecture given by Fr. Hopko on November 2, 1996 at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption, Seattle, WA. I have highlighted the areas that caused a stir here in Seattle amongst those who are ...
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Fr. Thomas Hopko on BEM
by Bishop [now Archbishop] Chrysostomos of EtnaIn June of 1985 a number of Hierarchs and theologians from the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Churches gathered at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology/Hellenic College in Brookline, Massachusetts, to discuss the controversial "Lima ...
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The Basis on Which Economy May Be Used in the Reception of Converts
by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky)The canons which deal with the relation of bishops, and in general of all the children of the Church, to those outside her, are the following: Apostolic, Nos. 10, 12, 45, 46 and 65; Conciliar, 1st Ecumenical, Nos. 8 and 19; 2nd Ecumenical, No. 7; ...
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A Reply to Fr. John Morris Concerning His Review of My Book, The Non-Orthodox
by Patrick BarnesA review, by Father John Morris, of my book, The Non-Orthodox: The Orthodox Teaching on Christians Outside of the Church (Salisbury, MA: Regina Orthodox Press, 1999), appeared in Volume 21, Number 3 of Again, a periodical published by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. This piece invites a few comments.
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When Is A Chrismation Not A Chrismation? A Critique of the Orthodox-Catholic "Agreed Statement"
by Hieromonk PatapiosOn June 3, 1999 (New Style), in the context of a meeting at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation issued an "Agreed Statement" entitled "Baptism and 'Sacramental Economy.'" ...
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Against Baptism By Pouring
Editor's Note: This epistle, although written two hundred years ago, has not lost significance for our own parishes today. Besides its clarity and well-grounded explanation of baptism by immersion, it also briefly cites a whole list of canonical and historical proofs of the importance and necessity of this type of baptism.
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recptcon.pdf
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Ecumenism and the Ecclesiology of Saint Cyprian of Carthage
by Fr. Daniel DegyanskySaint Cyprian of Carthage developed with fearless consistency a doctrine of the complete absence of Grace in every sect which had separated itself from the True Church. His doctrine is one of the basic foundation blocks of Orthodox ecclesiology and it stands in direct opposition to the presuppositions of the ...
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Strictness and Economy
by Protopresbyter George GrabbeIn the period when heresies and schisms developed in opposition to the authority of the Church, the question arose, always with greater or lesser acuteness, as to which measures could most expediently be taken in the struggle with them and in defence of the flock from their detrimental influences. In some cases, strictness was seen to be essential, in ...
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The-Manner-of-Reception-of-Roman-Catholic-Converts-into-the-Orthodox-Church-Fr-George-Dragas.pdf
[PDF] The Manner of Reception of Roman Catholic Converts into the Orthodox Church Fr George Dragas -
The Unity of the Church
Saint Hilarion (Troitsky)This is the first audio book offered by the Orthodox Christian Information Center. Please see the Introduction, below, for more on this book.
The entire book is contained in two MP3 files of almost equal length, which can be burned to two CDs for listening in the car or elsewhere.
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The-Unity-of-the-Church.pdf
[PDF] The Unity of the Church -
The Reception of Heretic Laity and Clergy Into the Orthodox Church: A Reply to Bishop Tikhon's Letter of Instruction #10
The reception of heretics into the Orthodox Church is certainly a controversial matter not only today, but also in the past. History shows changing attitudes in respect to this question in various geographical areas.
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The Calendar Question
by Andrew BondSurely, more nonsense has been written about this subject in Orthodox journals than about almost any other ecclesiastical controversy. This year, another jurisdiction, the "Orthodox Church in America," has introduced a change of calendar, so ...
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The Traditional Calendar of the Orthodox Church: Observations About its Meaning
by Archpriest Alexander LebedeffFather Alexander is a Priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, assigned to the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA. He received his theological training at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY, and his graduate schooling at Norwich University and Yale University. The following comments by ...
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Letter On The Calendar Issue
This letter was originally written in 1968 to Dr. John Johnstone, Jr., of Kirkwood, Mo., by a monk at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston. It was written in answer to his questions concerning the ...
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How to Distort History and Logic Simultaneously: Some Comments on the Orthodox-Lutheran Endorsement of a Common Easter Celebration
The following article, sent to us by a friend, gives clear evidence of the tragic direction that Orthodox participants in the ecumenical movement are taking. A few points of history and logic place the arguments of the Orthodox clergyman quoted below in perspective.
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The Essence of the Church Calendar
by Hieromonk CassianGod exercised His authority over time through the Holy Fathers at the Œcumenical Synods. 24 This is vividly expressed by Synodal decrees, wherein the words of Holy Scripture are pronounced: "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us." 25 Although the calendar is a ...
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Liturgical Havoc Wreaked By the "New Julian" Calendar
by Hieromonk CassianFor the sake of liturgical order, there must be a connection between the movable and immovable cycles of the calendar, so that the combination of the one with the other is harmoniously attained. The Church Calendar successfully integrates the Menaion cycle with the Paschal cycle by synchronizing the lunar Jewish Calendar and the solar Julian Calendar. This harmonization, however, is ...
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Forward to A Scientific Examination of the Orthodox Church Calendar
Book by Hieromonk CassianThirty years ago, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church made a controversial decision to adopt the Gregorian Calendar. In so doing, it precipitated a cleavage of its Faithful into two distinct camps: those who accepted the calendar "reform" became "New Calendarists," while those who resisted this innovation became "Old Calendarists." Refusing to toe the ...
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comcelpa.pdf
[PDF] comcelpa -
A Common "Easter"
Question: In our local paper I read that the World Council of Churches, with the cooperation of Orthodox representatives, has settled on a new date for Pascha that is based on the dictates of the Council of Nicea. If this is true, will it be possible for all ...
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The Proposal for a Common Date to Celebrate Pascha and Easter
In the last several months there have been various articles written in the public media about a proposal to celebrate the Orthodox feast of Pascha, and Western Easter on the same date.
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The Appearance of the Sign of the Cross Near Athens in 1925
In 1925, on the eve, of the feast of the Exaltation of the All-Honourable and Life-giving Cross of our Saviour, 14 September according to the Orthodox Church calendar, the all-night vigil was served at the church of St. John the Theologian in suburban Athens. By 9 o'clock that evening, more than 2,000 of the true-Orthodox faithful had ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: The Calendar Controversy
The Orthodox Church is internally divided over the issue of the Church calendar. A minority of Orthodox churches worldwide, beginning in 1923, decided to follow the so-called "New" (Gregorian) Calendar. This is the same calendar used by the Roman Catholics and Protestants, except ...
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The Calendar Innovation
by the Blessed Elder GabrielThe following essay is taken from Blessed Elder Gabriel Dionysiatis, the most recent volume in the series, Modern Orthodox Saints (Belmont, MA: Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 1999), by Professor Constantine Cavarnos, with whose kind permission it is reprinted. Elder Gabriel's ...
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firecsyn.pdf
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FirEcSyn.pdf
[PDF] FirEcSyn -
ossorgin.pdf
[PDF] ossorgin -
The 70th Anniversary of the Pan-Orthodox Congress, Part II of II
by Bishop Photius of TriaditsaDuring his uncanonical tenure as Archbishop of Athens, the Freemason Meletius Metaxakis raised the question of changing the Church Calendar before the Synod of the Greek Church. Meletius offered to set up a commission in order to study this question. The Greek Church approved his suggestion and issued the necessary ...
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The Patristic Church Calendar: An Indissoluble Element of Universal Church Tradition
by Bishop Photii of Triaditza"Keep Thy Church in Orthodoxy, O Christ, and our lives in peace."
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—(Fifth Resurrectional stichera on "Lord, I have cried," Tone 1) -
Are Protestantism and Roman Catholicism Heretical?
The reader should be aware that my motivation for compiling these texts does not stem from a desire to "bash the heterodox" but rather to help my fellow Orthodox brothers and sisters to understand that much of the rhetoric we hear today regarding Western Christians is not faithful to Holy Tradition. It thus undermines the unity and uniqueness of the one true ...
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The New Calendar Innovation and Its Fruits: Dr. Constantine Cavarnos on the Views of the Blessed Elder Philotheos
THE PROBLEM that has been created in the Orthodox Church by the introduction of the New Calendar, known as the Gregorian Calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it into the Latin ...
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Not on the New Calendar!: The Repose of the Blessed Elder Philotheos Zervakos
What follows is an excerpt from Blessed Elder Philotheos Zervakos, Vol. 11 in the Modern Orthodox Saints series by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos (pp. 69-75). The title of this excerpt is not in the original, but was added by the webmaster for posting...
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Ecumenism Awareness: Ecumenical Documents and Critiques
These documents are in order, by date. These deal generally with Ecumenism. Read the latter with much discretion, and with reference to traditional ...
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The Patriarchal Encyclical of 1920: A Collection of Short Critiques
At the outset, we had occasion to observe that it should not be considered fortuitous or a mere coincidence how and why this Patriarchal Encyclical of four pages and roughly seven hundred words not only makes no reference ...
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A Criticism of the Lack of Concern for Doctrine Among Russian Orthodox Believers
by Father George FlorovskyThe late Metropolitan Eulogius was discussing the recent religious revival among Russians, both at home and in exile, during the early years of Russian emigration. The fact was obvious: there was an awakening. The reasons were obvious, also: the shock of tragic events, insecurity and uncertainty, suffering and fear. ...
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The Three Answers of Patriarch Jeremiah II
What follows after these introductory remarks are excerpts from the famous correspondence between Jeremiah II, Patriarch of Constantinople, and the Lutheran scholars in Tübingen, Germany regarding their "Augsburg Confession." The The Three Answers of ...
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Freemasonry: Official Statement of the Church of Greece (1933)
It is clear from the following statement that Orthodox Christians must disavow the Masonic movement and resign from it if they have joined it in ignorance of its goals. Pike, in his Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of ...
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Statement on the Relationship of the Orthodox Church to the World Council of Churches
Orthodox Theological Society in America, June, 1998Webmaster Remarks. As the reader may be aware, Orthodox ecumenists have, of late [February, 1999], vehemently proclaimed that they are critics of the ecumenical movement, that they have distanced themselves from the WCC and its policies, and that we Orthodox opposed to ecumenism have consistently ...
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The Thessaloniki Summit
The following excerpts, published with the blessing of His Eminence, Archbishop Mark, a Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, are taken from Vestnik (No. 3, 1998), official journal of the Diocese of Berlin, Germany, and Great ...
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Uppsala and Orthodoxy
by Protopresbyter George GrabbeIntroduction by the Translators. THE qualities of Fr. George Grabbe's writings speak for themselves. Those who have read his earlier ecclesiological studies in the St. Nectarios Series (#28 & #29) will need no recommendation from us on behalf of the present articles.
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Ecumenism and "Baptismal Theology": The Protestant "Branch Theory" of the Church in a New Form
IN A PREVIOUS ISSUE of the periodical Orthodoxos Enstasis kai Martyria (Nos. 22-23 [January-June 1991], pp. 266-267), in exposing what occurred at the Seventh General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra, we made reference to the presentation by Metropolitan John of Pergamon [who ...
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Did St. Cyprian Change the Doctrine of the Church?
Protopresbyter George GrabbeIn the pages of the Paris journal The Way, one could often read about the supposed perniciousness of the "Byzantine Period" in the life of the Church. Then, in their books, the contributors to this journal began to criticize the doctrine of the Holy Fathers, even those such as Athanasius the Great and Cyril of Alexandria (Archpriests Bulgakov and Kartashev). Now one can see that the criticism of the Paris theologians has begun to reach even further back into antiquity, and N. Zernov – who recently received his doctorate from Oxford University – has published an analysis of the doctrine of St. Cyprian entitled "St. Cyprian of Carthage and the Unity of the Oecumenical Church". Contrasting the period before Cyprian with the one after, he accuses the Holy Father of errors which, in his words, had an extremely harmful effect on the subsequent life of the Ecumenical Church, and were in part responsible for bringing the Church of Carthage to ruin.
N. Zernov's article is so characteristic of a man who has been spiritually nurtured by the inter-confessionalism of the West, it is full of such gross errors which are unpardonable in an Orthodox doctor of theology (who, even though he received his degree from a heterodox university, has also finished studies under an Orthodox theological faculty), that it is worthwhile to examine it.
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Ecumenist "Double Speak": The Ecclesiological Schizophrenia of the Orthodox Ecumenists
by Patrick BarnesJudged By Their Own Words They Are Shown to Affirm the Branch Theory
Introduction
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Ecumenism Awareness: Baptismal Ecclesiology
This page is provides a brief overview of the differences between traditional Orthodox belief and that which is adhered to by the so-called "Orthodox" ecumenists.
The principles stated in the left column of the chart below are derived from various ...
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Heers-CritiqueofBaptismalUnity.pdf
[PDF] Heers CritiqueofBaptismalUnity -
Baptismal Theology
by Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Navpaktos and Hagios VlasiosTHERE HAS BEEN in the past, and there is in our own day, a good deal of discussion about the Baptism of heretics (the heterodox [1]); that is, whether heretics who have deviated from the Orthodox Faith and who seek to return to it should be Baptized anew or simply Chrismated after making a profession ...
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On the Holy Spirit, Ch. XXX
St. Basil the GreatTo what then shall I liken our present condition? It may be compared, I think, to some naval battle which has arisen out of time old quarrels, and is fought by men who cherish a deadly hate against one another, of long experience ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: Introduction
I have set up these pages, and scanned in many of the articles, solely to help raise the level of awareness about a problem that has caused much controversy within the Orthodox Church. I am speaking about ecumenism (and its midwife, modernism). ...
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Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs, 1848
To All the Bishops Everywhere, Beloved in the Holy Ghost, Our Venerable, Most Dear Brethren; and to their Most Pious Clergy; and to All the Genuine Orthodox Sons of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church: Brotherly Salutation in the Holy Spirit, and ...
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Eulogy in Memory of the Blessed Fr. Justin
by Hieromonk [now Metropolitan] Amfilohije (Radovic)‘His repute as a universal Father and Teacher of the Church, who cleaved unremittingly to the Cross of his witness and who bore the marks of Christ, transcended the boundaries of Serbia and spread to the whole world’; ‘Fr. Justin did not speak as an individual, but as ...
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For There Must Be Heresies Among You (1 Cor. 11:19)
by Archbishop AverkyHow does one properly understand these words of the Holy Apostle Paul? Does he really approve of dissensions among Christians or recognize them as necessary or desirable? Is he making them the rule? If so, then how can this be compatible with ...
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Holy Zeal
by Archbishop Averky of JordanvilleI am come to send fire on the earth. and what will I, but that it be already kindled? (Luke 12:49)
THE CHIEF THING in Christianity, according to the clear ...
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The First Sorrowful Epistle of Metropolitan Philaret
PRESIDENT
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OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA -
The Price of Ecumenism
by Fr. John ReevesWebmaster Note. At the time of this writing Fr. John Reeves was pastor of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, State College, PA. A former Episcopal priest, he was ordained to the Orthodox priesthood in 1981 by Archbishop Dmitri. He works in the fields of mission and church ...
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Zeal and Love
by Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili"And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentile unto all men . . ." (II Timothy 2:24)
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Unwavering Fidelity to the Holy Tradition: Cavarnos on Kontoglou
DA: Do you think that a contemporary writer attempting to write a novel inspired by the Orthodox tradition could look to Kontoglou as a modern example of someone who was successful and faithful in combining all of these elements with Orthodoxy at the center?
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Ecumenism Awareness: Modernism
A Conversation About Modernism, a helpful introduction to this issue, compiled from the writings of Fr. Alexander Lebedeff.
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Should the Church Be In Step With the Times?
by Archbishop AverkyIn a time when under the name of Christianity, even Orthodox Christianity, every kind of compromise and surrogate is offered men whose spiritual hunger can be satisfied only by uncompromising Truth, the spiritual shepherds have become few who speak ...
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modernism.pdf
[PDF] modernism -
The Second Sorrowful Epistle of Metropolitan Philaret
PRESIDENT
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OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA -
A Conversation About Modernism
What follows is a conversation between Fr. Alexander Lebedeff and an inquirer to the Orthodox Faith. The content was drawn from numerous email postings to the Orthodox List Forum (a.k.a., the "Indiana List") in 1996. I took the liberty of piecing them together to form one complete conversation.
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Coptic-christology-a-commentary.pdf
[PDF] Coptic christology a commentary -
Copts and Orthodoxy
A priest that I know says that the Copts are Orthodox, that they have been the victims of a theological misunderstanding by the Orthodox Church, and that they have a valid priesthood. He communes them and says that they are part of ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: Monophysites (Non-Chalcedonians)
Monophysites, or Non-Chalcedonians—Armenians, Copts and Ethiopians (Abyssinians), and Syrian and Malabarese Jacobites—have, since the conclusion of the Fourth Oecumenical Synod, been viewed by the Orthodox Church as heretical groups [1]. That is, until this century due to the influence of ...
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Eastern Orthodoxy and "Oriental Orthodoxy"
Why are the Coptic Orthodox called "Oriental Orthodox"? What do they believe that is different from Orthodoxy as we "Eastern Orthodox" practice it? Why are so many New Calendarist jurisdictions in ...
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Heretical Saints?
With regard to your questions about Peter the Iberian, who has apparently been a subject of debate on the EOCHR-List, this fifth-century heretic is not a saint in the Orthodox Church, but in the ...
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The Fourth Ecumenical Council
The Third Ecumenical Council, held at Ephesus, did not put an end to the debate over the Person of the God-man, failing to reconcile those sympathetic to Nestorius with the Orthodox. Not long afterwards, however, in the 430s, just such a reconciliation ...
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Concerning the Approaching Orthodox-Monophysite Union
Readers of the ecumenical press have been led to believe that, after a series of high-level "informal" talks, the Eastern Orthodox and "Oriental Orthodox" (Monophysite) Churches have come to ...
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Suggestions of a Committee from the Sacred Community of the Holy Mountain Athos Concerning the Dialogue of the Orthodox with the Non-Chalcedonians
The third common declaration from the dialogue of the Joint Commission between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental "Orthodox" (Non-Chalcedonian) Churches which took place at Chambessy, Switzerland from November 1-6, 1993, has caused anxiety and fear. The Joint Commission suggests the lifting of anathemas "by the leaders of all ...
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Memorandum of the Sacred Community of Mount Athos Concerning the Dialogue Between the Orthodox and Non-Chalcedonian Churches
The article of the co-president of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and Non-Chalcedonian Churches, the Most Reverend Damascene, Bishop of Switzerland, which was entitled "The Theological Dialogue of the Orthodox ...
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Commentary on the Latest Recommendations of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox and Oriental Churches
The third meeting of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the oriental Orthodox or Monophysite Churches [1] took place at the Ecumenical Patriarchate Center, Chambesy (Geneva) Switzerland from 23 to 28 ...
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The History of the Persistant Monophysite Rejection of St. Cyril of Alexandria's Teaching on the Two Natures of Christ
Following are quotes taken from The Non-Chalcedonian Heretics: A Contribution to the Dialogue
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Concerning the "Orthodoxy" of the Non-Chalcedonians... -
A Humorous and Instructive Reply to a Question Concerning the Monophysites
Dear Father xxx,
I think the question has less to do with "apologies" (and I basically agree with your position on that) and more to do with ecclesial matters: if, ...
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Foreward and Excerpt from The Non-Chalcedonian Heretics
The Copts, Jacobites, and other Non-Chalcedonian heretics, the "Oriental Orthodox," have been separated from the Orthodox Church since the earliest Christian centuries. Of late, under the ...
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Chalcedonians and Monophysites: Do We Share the Same Beliefs?
Anonymous AuthorIn this short paper I am not going to try to give a comprehensive overview of the Christological controversies of the 5th-7th centuries; rather, I am merely trying to bring out a few points which are important for anyone who wants to approach the present discussions of reunion between the Chalcedonian church and the non-Chalcedonians with an ...
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unionmon.pdf
[PDF] unionmon -
zisis.pdf
[PDF] zisis -
Letter of the Holy Community of Mt. Athos to Oecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Concerning His Compromise of Orthodoxy
The following is a very important and encouraging letter from the Holy Community of Mt. Athos. It bluntly and very effectively exposes the ecclesiological deviations of Patriarch Bartholomew, with regard to the ecumenical movement. However, it must be read with certain reservations, which even more strikingly call every sober Orthodox Christian to see how fundamentally the ecumenical movement and its religious relativism have compromised the Faith and blinded even monastic circles to its soul-destroying ills:
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The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Commemoration of the Pope
Thank you for the copy of the response from Bishop Maximos of Pittsburgh, by way of Father George Livanos, to my comments about the commemoration of the Pope in Constantinople. I do not know the Priest in question, but I ...
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The Decline of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
by St. John of Shanghai and San FranciscoTranslators' Introduction: The anti-Orthodox career and statements of the late Patriarch Athenagoras of sorry memory have been so striking that they have perhaps tended to obscure the fact that the apostasy of this one man was merely the ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: Neo-Papal Patriarchalism
What is wrong with these descriptions of the Ecumenical Patriarch? (All quotes taken from the Orthodox Observer or other official publications):
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qaneopa.pdf
[PDF] qaneopa -
Quo Vadis Constantinople Patriarchate?
Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. (Apoc. 2:4,5)
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rcortho.pdf
[PDF] rcortho -
Book Review: A History of the Orthodox Church in America (1917-1934)
Reviewed by Michael Woerlby Bishop Gregory (Afonsky), former Bishop of Alaska of the OCA, Saint Herman's Theological Seminary Press, Kodiak, Alaska 1994.
The work under consideration here represents the latest ...
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Introduction to Russia's Catacomb Saints
by Ivan Andreyev (and Fr. Seraphim Rose)IN JULY 16/29, 1927, Metropolitan Sergius of Nizhni-Novgorod, the then acting Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne of Moscow, issued his infamous "Declaration" of the loyalty of the Russian ...
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Metropolitan Joseph of Petrograd and the Beginning of the Catacomb Church
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul;
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but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.St. Matthew 10: 28 -
The Moscow Patriarchate and Sergianism
An Essay by Boris TalantovEDITORS' INTRODUCTION: The two texts that follow—they are actually two parts of a single essay—are of crucial importance for an understanding of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Communist Yoke. They ...
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doxology.pdf
[PDF] doxology -
In Defense of Father Dimitry Dudko
MANY ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS in the free world were saddened to hear of Father Dimitry Dudko’s "confession" on Soviet television (June 20, 1980), when he read a prepared statement renouncing ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: The Anti-Ecumenical Stance of the ROCA
The History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA): by St. John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco. Also see the many excellent links on web site for the Russian Orthodox ...
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The ROCOR's Anathema Against Ecumenism (1983)
by Archbishop Vitaly of Montreal and CanadaThe Council of Bishops of 1983 was a most special council, whose distinctiveness lay in its modesty and inconspicuousness. This was, of course, the first time in the history of our Church that a council had been held at Holy Transfiguration ...
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Elder Ephraim on the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
In a bizarre series of events last year [1991], the Abbot of the Monastery of Philotheou on Mt. Athos, Archimandrite Ephraim, left the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, joined the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, ...
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The Meaning of the Russian Diaspora
THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE as a whole has performed great sins which are the cause of the present misfortunes: the specific sins are oath-breaking and regicide. The public and military leaders renounced their obedience and loyalty to the Tsar even before his abdication, forcing this latter ...
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Metropolitan Philaret of New York
Among the Primates of the Orthodox Churches today, there is only one from whom is always expected—and not only by members of his own Church, but by very many in a number of other Orthodox Churches as well—the clear voice of Orthodox ...
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Open Letter of Metropolitan Philaret to Archbishop Iakovos
PRESIDENT
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OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA -
History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
by St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San FranciscoThe Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is that part of the Russian Church which is outside the boundaries of the Russian State, governed at the present time by a Chief Hierarch and a Synod of Bishops chosen by the Sobor of Bishops of the Russian Diaspora.
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The "Sorrowful Epistle" of Metropolitan Philaret: A Rejoinder to Fr. Alexander Schmemann
by Father Michael AzkoulRecent months have seen an intensification of efforts on the part especially of the American Metropolia and its ‘theologians’ to discredit the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which has offered an outspoken and uncompromising opposition to Orthodox apostasy in general and to the Metropolia’s recent ‘autocephaly’ ...
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A Reply to the "Sorrowful Epistle"
by Fr. Alexander SchmemannWebmaster Note. For more background on this 1969 reply, see the introductory remarks to Fr. Michael Azkoul's Rejoinder.
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"The Thyateira Confession", or Third Sorrowful Epistle
by Metropolitan Philaret, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of RussiaAn Appeal to the Primates of the Holy Churches of God, and their Eminences the Orthodox Hierarchs:
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The Response to Elder Tavrion
THE LIFE of Archimandrite Tavrion published in The Orthodox Word, no. 96, evoked for the most part a positive response: readers on the whole, judging from their comments to the editors, accepted it in the way it was intended to be ...
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Concerning the So-Called ’Apostolic Pilgrimage to Jerusalem‘, the ’Historic Meeting‘ Between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis
Dear Reader,
I am writing this small commentary one week before the so-called “Apostolic Pilgrimage to Jerusalem,” that is, the “Historic Meeting” Between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis. You can read all about it at the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Web site commemorating the event.
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Announcement of Mt. Athos On Ecumenism (1980)
The Extraordinary Joint Conference of the Sacred Community on Mount Athos, April 9/22, 1980, noting that the issue of the relations of our holy Orthodox Church with the heterodox has assumed a serious and resolute character, especially as it ...
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The Official Statement from Mt. Athos on the Pope's Visit to the Phanar (2006)
Karyae, 30 December 2006.
The recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the occasion ...
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A Desperate Appeal by the Elder Philotheos
by St. Philotheos ZervakosTranslator's Preface: The author of this appeal is the best-known father-confessor and preacher of Greece—truly, a new St. Cosmas of Aitolia—who has traversed Greece on foot countless times in his 67 years of priesthood, being now in his 97th year. His spiritual children number in the thousands, not only in Greece, but in the United States, ...
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Firm Declarations of Patriarch Diodoros
This is the full text of the unwavering positions and Orthodox convictions of the Most Holy Mother of the Churches, the Ancient Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which was deposited and entered into the minutes of the assembly of Orthodox leaders at the Phanar on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: False Union With Rome
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The Patriarchal Encyclical of 1895
To the most Sacred and Most Divinely-beloved Brethren in Christ the Metropolitans and Bishops, and their sacred and venerable Clergy, and all the godly and orthodox Laity of the Most Holy Apostolic and Patriarchal ...
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epistle-to-pope-francis.pdf
[PDF] epistle to pope francis -
Zealots of Orthodoxy - Part of Chapter 52 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
Know that we must serve, not the times, but God. —St. Athanasius the Great [1]
The Sergianist spirit of legalism and compromise with the spirit of this world is ...
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An Anniversary of Mourning: Josaphat the Malevolent
by Nicholas MaasThe year 1996 will mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the shameful "Union" of Brest-Litovsk, in which political, economic, and military pressure was brought to bear on millions of Orthodox Christians living along the Western borders of Russia, Byelorussia, and Ukraine, in order to force them to accept a false ...
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The So-Called Kelliotes Letter to the Sacred Twenty Athonite Monasteries (2006)
This letter is of great importance to the Church of Christ in these terribly difficult times. With the letter the Athonites are informing us that the time has come to openly confess our faith in defense of the Doctrine concerning The One, Holy, Catholic, ...
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Journey to Medjugorje
by Matushka Katherine SwansonThe appearance, continuously for several years now, of the Virgin Mary to a number of young children in a small village in Croatia has been the source of both enthusiasm and controversy in the Roman Catholic world. Encouraged by the local Franciscan clergy, tens of thousands of pilgrims have visited Medjugorje to hear the ...
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On the Recent Events in Jerusalem and their Ecclesiological Underpinnings
By a Greek Orthodox Priest~ St. Mark of Ephesus (+1444)
That which is required of every Orthodox [Christian] is to pass on the good uneasiness to the heterodox, in order that they may understand that they are in delusion, so as not to falsely be at peace with their thoughts and be deprived in this life of the rich blessings of Orthodoxy and in the next life the much greater and eternal blessings of God.
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A Protest to Patriarch Athenagoras on the Lifting of the Anathemas of 1054
December 2/ 15 1965
Your Holiness,
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qasgpp.pdf
[PDF] qasgpp -
On the Serbian Orthodox New Martyrs of the Second World War
by Joachim WertzThe twentieth century has seen the crowning of a multitude of martyrs. Holy Russia, from the time of the Bolshevik revolution to the present, has given us millions of new heavenly intercessors, champions of the faith. This is well known to the entire Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, many Orthodox Christians are ignorant of the ...
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St. Mark of Ephesus and the False Union of Florence: Part III from His Life
by Archimandrite Amvrossy PogodinTO THE OTHER afflictions which the Orthodox delegation suffered in Florence was added the death of the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Patriarch was found dead in his room.
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Concerning the Latins (Roman Catholics) and Their Baptisms
All this theory which we have been setting forth here is not anything superfluous; on the contrary, it is something which is most needful, both on every occasion in general, but especially today on account of the great controversy and the widespread ...
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The_history_of_the_council_of_Florence.pdf
[PDF] The history of the council of Florence -
The Vatican and Russia
by Deacon Herman Ivanov-TreenadzatyThis lecture was given in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia at the 24th Russian Youth Congress in the Jubilee Year of the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus'. The lecture is about the Vatican, its ideology and aggressive politics, and not about rank-and-file Catholics. It appears to us that Roman ...
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The Word Anathema and Its Meaning
by Saint John MaximovitchThe Greek word "anathema" consists of two words: "ana", which is a preposition indicating movement upwards and "thema", which means a separate part of some- thing. In military terminology, "thema" me ant a detachment; in civil government "thema" meant a province. We currently use ...
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On Caution Regarding Anathematization
by Hieromonk Patapios1. In speaking to you this morning about the incomprehensible knowledge of God and setting forth many arguments, I proved from the words of Scripture and from natural reasoning, that understanding of the Divine is completely unattainable even for the Bodiless Powers, living, as they do, an immaterial and blessed life, and yet that we who live in all the slackness and flux of life and are inclined to every evil are attempting to grasp what is unknown even to the invisible essences; having as the basis of such discourses the judgment of our ...
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Concerning the Orthodox Prayers for the Union of All and the Prayer in St. John 17
by Bishop Angelos of AvlonaNow, when the Faithful are urged by the Deacon to pray "for the good estate of the Holy Churches of God," are they being urged, in fact, to pray for the Orthodox Church and the different heretical communities, understood together as Holy Churches ...
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appincid.pdf
[PDF] appincid -
Are the Terms "Christian" and "Orthodox" Accurate For Our Times?
by Archbishop Averky of Blessed MemoryUntil recently [1975], the concepts and terms "Christian" and "Orthodox" were unambiguous and meaningful. Now, however, we are living through times so terrible, so filled with falsehood and deception, that such concepts and terms no longer convey what is significant when used without further clarification. They do not ...
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Some Thoughts on the Holy Canons
by Fr. Alexander LebedeffAs usual, I am expressing my own thoughts—not the position of my bishops or the Russian Church Abroad.
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The Epistles of Metropolitan Cyril of Kazan
THE MOST EMINENT of the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church after the death of Patriarch Tikhon was, without doubt Metropolitan Cyril of Kazan. Chosen by Patriarch Tikhon as the first of the three Locum Tenens who would take his place in case of his death or incapacity, he was also chosen by the vast majority (72) of free ...
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Ecumenism Awareness: Commonly Misunderstood Terms
This section is devoted to helping clear up the misconceptions of various terms that are often misunderstand by Orthodox Christians today.
"Canonicity" and "Canonical"
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Holy Canons Related to Ecumenism
"Let any Bishop, or Presbyter, or deacon that merely joins in prayer with heretics be suspended, but if he had permitted them to perform any service as Clergymen, let him be deposed."
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hallbkrv.pdf
[PDF] hallbkrv -
What Is Heresy?
There are not a few Orthodox who are confused about the place of their Church ln the 20th century and the religious milieu through which She is passing. Part of their concern (i.e., those who think seriously ...
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The Use of the Term "Heretic"
The following is an excerpt from The Non-Orthodox....
Finally, a brief word on the use of a term that unfortunately has acquired quite a pejorative reputation. Fr. Seraphim Rose once ...
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The Oberlin Statement: Christian Unity As Viewed by the Orthodox Church
As delegates to the North American Faith and Order Study Conference, appointed by His Eminence, Archbishop Michael, to represent the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, we want to make the following preliminary statements.
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Book Review: The Price of Prophecy
by Archbishop ChrysostomosALEXANDER F.C. WEBSTER, The Price of Prophecy: Orthodox Churches on Peace, Freedom, and Security. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1993. Pp. 333 + Notes and Index. Paperbound.
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Problems of Orthodoxy in America, Part I: The Canonical Problem
by Father Alexander SchmemannWebmaster Note. This article, written decades ago, is considered by many Orthodox scholars and Church leaders to be a brilliant statement of the concept of "canonicity." It is also, for the most part, a very insightful and correct ...
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St. Theodore of Studios on the Sacred Canons and Schism
These excerpts are taken from the single best work available in English on St. Theodore: Theodore of Studios: Byzantine Churchman, by Patrick Henry III (unpublished doctoral dissertation, Yale, 1968; bound photocopies are available ...
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The True Nature of Heresy
by Archbishop Chrysostomos of EtnaThe term "heresy" is probably misused by Orthodox Christians—both zealots and so-called modernists alike—more than any other word in their religious vocabulary. Among the modernists, it has taken on the rôle of ...
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On Validity and Canonicity
My husband was a Deacon for five years in a small Ukrainian Orthodox group into which we were converted and Baptized. Over the years, reading "Orthodox Tradition" in particular, we came to ...
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For What Kind of "Union of All" Do We Pray?
"For the peace of the whole world, the good estate of the holy Churches of God, and the union of all, let us pray to the Lord,"—thus reads the third petition of the Great Ektenia which the deacon (or priest) ...
Home
Welcome to the official fork of orthodoxinfo.com! The information from the original webite is very valuable; however, the original has some bugs (invalid SSL, broken search bar, Google Analytics, Russophobia). The goal of this fork is to preserve the invaluable information from this website unchanged while removing the aforementioned issues. Please visit the Contact page for any matters concerning this fork.
The OCIC Web site is one of the largest and oldest sites on Orthodox Christianity. Think of the OCIC as a vast online article repository, with over 850 articles and 3,000 printed pages. This site has been online since 1996 and receives over 50,000 visits per month, according to Google Analytics [NOTE: all Google spyware (except search and results) has been removed from this fork].As of July, 2022, this site is in permanent archive mode. There will (probably) be no additions in the future. When the site was started it was one of the first Orthodox Christian sites on the Internet. Since then, a lot of good content has come online, and there is no need to continue updating this site; nor are there sufficient resources to do so: actively maintaining a site of this size would take many hours per week, and a small staff of people.
Church Calendars and Lives of Saints
For years this site made use of two Google Gadgets to display the Church calendars, Saints commemorated, daily readings, fasting rules, etc. Google dropped support for this around mid-November 2014. Until a suitable replacement is found for a "widget" to display this information, you can use the following:
* Commonly called the "Old" Calendar, but properly understood as the traditional and canonical Church Calendar, in use by most Orthodox Christians, if not the majority of Orthodox parishes around the world.
** Commonly called the "New" Calendar, but properly understood as a crude combination of the Gregorian, or Civil, calendar and the traditional Paschalian, which was uncanonically foisted upon the Church by the Pan-Orthodox Congress of 1923. It is in use by the majority of Orthodox churches in America, as well as the Churches of Greece, Romania and a few other historically Orthodox countries. Many of us must live with this unfortunate legacy. Let us pray for the restoration of liturgical unity, i.e., the return of the "New Calendar churches" to the traditional Church Calendar. [ Learn more... ]
Recent Additions
"A Christian Understanding of Homosexuality": Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Complete Article as PDF. This is the best series of articles on this topic that I have ever read. Very thorough and balanced. The following introductory text was sent to me to include with these articles, and has also been posted to Pravoslavie.ru: "In light of the confusion stirred in some readers of recent texts on Social Media and other online portals, regarding the Church"s clear teaching on homosexuality and the pastoral need to care for those suffering in particular from the social trend to regard it as "natural" or a thing to be accepted as part of human nature, the following text is provided for contrast. Presented as a "reference text" at a clergy meeting of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in the USA last year, it offers a clear response to many of the social arguments used in the attempt to diminish the Church"s pastoral teachings, which always aim for the loving care and conversion of all who fall into any sin."
What is Orthodox Christianity? An Answer in Three Parts (Video). Part One: "The Teachings of Christ" (40 min); Part Two: "Falling Away From Christ" (45 min); Part Three: "The Life in Christ" (40 min). This wonderful and instructive multimedia presentation was produced over several years by Fr. Daniel Mackay, rector of St. John the Wonderworker Serbian Orthodox Church in Eugene, Oregon. It is truly a "labor of love" by a Priest with a missionary heart.
Saint Paisios the Athonite (Video): this is an excellent Russian film about the recently glorified Saint Paisios the Athonite (+ 1994). English subtitles.
Table of Contents and Excerpts from Rock and Sand: An Orthodox Appraisal of the Protestant Reformers and Their Teachings, by Fr. Josiah Trenham. Published by New Rome Press.
Part 1 of Kevin Allen's AFR Interview With Fr. Josiah Trenham, concerning his new book Rock and Sand: An Orthodox Appraisal the Protestant Reformers and Their Teachings. UPDATED: Part 2!
Interview With Jonathan Jackson: "What Orthodoxy Means to Me". Mr. Jackson is a Hollywood actor and recipient of five Emmy Awards. He was interviewed by Pemptousia during his recent visit to the Monastery of Vatopaidi on Mt Athos.
Revelation: The Seven Seals: Exerpts from a highly recommend series!
Homosexual Marriage at the Dusk of Liberty, by Fr. Johannes L. Jacobse.
Hidden Fire: Orthodox Perspectives on Yoga, by Joseph Magnus Frangipani.
"Monogamous Communion": A Defense of "Closed" Communion, by Fr. Michael Shanbour.
Meta-Patristic Theology: Are the Fathers Relevant Today?, by Monk Moses the Hagiorite.
Results of the Petition to Oppose the New Ecclesiology of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Statement on the Comments of Fr. Robert Arida on Homosexuality. Thank God for clergy such as these who are united enough, and who care enough about their flocks, to take a clear and public stance on this issue. And let us pray for the OCA Hierarchs, that they will be as firm and as bold.
For all those who wonder what happened to the daily Scripture readings and lives of the Saints panels/blocks that appeared above this section for years: these were both Google Gadgets, which Google dropped support of around mid-November 2014. I am looking for a suitable replacement, but this may take some time. If anyone knows of some good options, please let me know. Until I find a replacement you can use the following: Church ("Old") Calendar | New Calendar | Lives of Saints (Prologue from Ochrid [DEAD LINK]).
Against Those Who Have Abandoned the Church and Deserted It for Hippodromes and Theatres, by St. John Chrysostom. A Homily of St John Chrysostom.
Do all Religions Have the Same Heavenly Father?, by Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis, a Priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America (GOA). His courage to be outspoken is much appreciated.
Further Thoughts on the Ancient Faith Today Discussion: The Pope and the Patriarch, by Fr. John Whiteford.
On the Recent Events in Jerusalem and their Ecclesiological Underpinnings, by a Greek Orthodox Priest.
True and False Unity, a homily by Fr. John Whiteford.
Concerning the "Historic Meeting" Between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis (May, 2014), by Patrick Barnes.
Pious Kings and Right-Believing Queens: An Encyclopedia of the Royal and Imperial Saints of the Orthodox Church, lengthy excerpts from a new book by Protopresbyter James Thornton. Order from The Institute of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies.
A Letter to Pope Francis Concerning His Past, the Abysmal State of Papism, and a Plea to Return to Holy Orthodoxy, by His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Piraeus, Seraphim, and His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Dryinoupolis, Andrew, both of the Church of Greece.
Shifts in Paradigms: An Orthodox Psychiatrist on Homosexuality, an interview with Dr. Lynne Pappas from Pravoslavie.ru.
The Mystery of Marriage: A Fellowship of Love, by Hieromonk Gregorios. This excerpt is provided by the translator and publisher, Fr. Michael Monos, the proistamenos of St. Luke Greek Orthodox Church in Columbia, MO and founder of Newrome Press.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son: A Commentary in the Light of the Fathers, by Hieromonk Gregorios. Published by Newrome Press.
The Orthodox School of Bethany, which is adjacent to the Holy Monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene, has an immediate and ongoing need for "Suitcase Partners." Sister Martha has found that shipping to Israel/Palestine is expensive and unreliable. Whenever she needs to make an important order, she tries to ship things domestically to someone whom she knows will be coming to the Holy Land. If you know of anyone who is coming to the Holy Land for pilgrimage or business and might be willing to carry a few items for them, please contact the Bethany School.
The House of the Father, by Fr. George Florovsky. An important essay on ecclesiology by a tremendous theologian of our times.
Be Ready: An Approach to the Mystery of Death, by Hieromonk Gregorios. This lengthy excerpt is provided by the translator and publisher, Fr. Michael Monos, the proistamenos of St. Luke Greek Orthodox Church in Columbia, MO and founder of Newrome Press.
Repentance and Confession, by Hieromonk Gregorios. Published by Newrome Press.