He was a student of Rabbi Gamaliel, and converted by the direct revelation of Jesus Christ, on the road to Damascus. Paul's preaching often either converted his listeners or left them enraged, and they often had him stoned, beaten with rods, flogged, imprisoned and falsely accused. When he reached the end of his earthly journey, he was beheaded in Rome - according to Tradition, on the same day St. Peter was crucified. Now that's great preaching! … [Read more...]
Metropolitan Jonah to ACNA
June 29, 2009 By
This speech contains many of the elements of the classic Orthodox Christian sermon. Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, preaches a word of humility, love, repentance, and "with open arms" calls out to the members of the Anglican Church of North America at their recent convention. You can comment on it in the forum. … [Read more...]
St. Peter – Prince of the Apostles
June 24, 2009 By
He was a fisherman, and Jesus' premier apostle during His earthly ministry, and after the Ascension. To him, Christ gave the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. He preached in Jerusalem, converting over 3,000 souls on Pentecost. He also preached in Antioch and Rome. For his evangelistic successes in Rome, he was crucified upside down in a.d. 64. Now that's great preaching! … [Read more...]
Homily 1 – Against Those Who Say Demons Govern Human Affairs
June 23, 2009 By
By St. John Chrysostom The mighty preacher, St. John, Archbishop of Constantinople, provides an excellent example of his homiletic prowess in this sermon - as poignant today as it was then in the 4th century. It is easy to see why St. John is the patron saint of preachers. Against those who say that demons govern human affairs, and who are displeased at the chastisement of God, and are offended by the prosperity of the wicked and the hardships … [Read more...]
Sermon 1 on the New Testament
June 22, 2009 By
By St. Augustine of Hippo The first of many sermons on the New Testament by the blessed bishop of Hippo, this sermon displays Augustine's keen intellect and attention to details in Scripture, in this case, answering questions regarding the genealogies in the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke. Of the agreement of the evangelists Matthew and Luke in the generations of the Lord. May He, beloved, fulfill your expectation who has awakened it: for … [Read more...]
Sermons and Snickers Bars
June 12, 2009 By
by Fr. John A. Peck This little article recounts an important object lesson, given at a St. Herman Seminary homiletics class in 1996. I attended St. Herman Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska. At that distant outpost of theological instruction, we took homiletics very seriously, as we knew that on any given day or week, we might be called upon to travel to a local village and provide not only readers’ services, but a basic homily. We also knew that the … [Read more...]
First Theological Oration (Oration 27)
June 12, 2009 By
By St. Gregory Nazianzus (the Theologian) In this, St. Gregory's first theological oration, we have an excellent apologetic use of reason and Holy Scripture, in an initial refutation of the Eunomians, who sought to defend the fullest errors of Arianism on the basis of Aristotelean dialectics following the First Council of Nicea. I am to speak against persons who pride themselves on their eloquence; so, to begin with a text of Scripture, "Behold, … [Read more...]
Brother, Can You Spare A Paradigm?
June 10, 2009 By
by Fr. Aris Metrakos This essay was first published June 30, 2006 on Orthodoxytoday.org, and not only uncovers the dangers of old paradigms of priestly identity, but also reveals the only one of value in the Church. We reproduce it here with permission. Is it time to retire "paradigm shift?" This overwrought cliché is used to describe everything from new laundry soap to the wireless mouse. Even worse, religious types have taken a liking to it. … [Read more...]
The Troublesome Nature of Apologetics: Part 2
June 10, 2009 By
A continuation of last week's Pastoral Pondering on Apologetics, for Sunday, June 21 2009. I have suggested that the discipline of apologetics, the reasoned defense of the Christian faith, is sometimes troublesome to the pursuit of theology. It seems to me that the history of soteriology, the theology of salvation, manifests a singular case in point. When it starts from apologetics, soteriology is somewhat compelled to commence outside itself, … [Read more...]
The Troublesome Nature of Apologetics: Part 1
June 10, 2009 By
One of Father Pat's Recent Pastoral Ponderings, this one for June 14, 2009: All Saints Sunday An important part of the proclamation of the Christian faith to the world is, of course, a proper defense of that faith. We are not surprised, therefore, that this defensive ministry, called "apologetics," is very much in evidence in our records of the apostolic preaching to those outside the faith. The Apostle Paul, for instance, wrote of his "defense … [Read more...]
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