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by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos Pleasure and Pain According to St. Maximus the Confessor In his Centuries on Theology St. Maximus the Confessor refers to the nexus of the dualism of pleasure and pain, which, by any standard, is an important subject. This means that we cannot discuss Orthodox Theology if we fail to face this crucial point, because the transcendence of pleasure and pain is, precisely, a prerequisite for correct Orthodox … [Read more...]
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Docetism, one of the earliest Christological heresies, derived its name from the Greek verb dokein---to "seem." This name was descriptive: It indicated the teaching that God's Son only "seemed" to be a human being. His presence on the earth, though real in itself, was conveyed by way of a revelatory appearance, not connected with His being. His humanity was a kindly illusion. According to this opinion, the Son of God … [Read more...]
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos After all that has been reported we must end with a few conclusions, without, of course, having exhausted this great theme. a) Only in Christ is there salvation. Since the saints of the Old Testament saw the unincarnate Word and the saints of the New Testament saw and see the incarnate Word and have close communion with Him, this means that man's salvation takes place only … [Read more...]
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon The permanence of the soul, its continued life after death, was not in contention among the early Christians. Indeed, thanks in part to Plato, some form of belief in a spiritual afterlife was quite in fashion in the Greco-Roman culture where the Apostles proclaimed the Gospel. The Apostle Paul, for his part, certainly anticipated an afterlife immediately following death. This persuasion prompted him to "desire to … [Read more...]
by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos But before I proceed to elaborate the subject of the "origin and revelation of the Church", I would like us to take a look at the etymology of the word "Ekklesia", because it will help us to understand better what is going to be said further on. The word 'Ekklesia' derives from the verb meaning 'to call out' 'call', 'call together', 'gather together'. Thus 'Church' means a gathering of people, a … [Read more...]
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Discussing the earliest theology of the Resurrection, we are restricted mainly to the sermons and discourses in the Acts of the Apostles. The theological horizon is broadened considerably, however, when we turn to the Church's first literary theologian, St. Paul. His epistles, composed over a dozen or so years and addressed to a variety of pastoral circumstances, demonstrate how the power and purpose of the … [Read more...]
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon A progressive scheme of images is developed through the first three psalms: First, the Man (Psalm 1), then the Messiah (Psalm 2), and finally the Suffering Servant (Psalm 3). Since this triadic pattern of reference runs throughout the Psalter, one may regard these three psalms as the book's proper "introduction." They form the tripod on which the Psalter stands. First, the Man: Psalm 1 is not a prayer in … [Read more...]
by Fr. Michael Shanbour The Holy Apostle Paul made it abundantly clear that the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith when he wrote to the Corinthians: “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). It would be fair to say that one who does not believe in the Resurrection of Christ cannot be called a Christian. But what does it mean to believe in … [Read more...]
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by Doulos This comes to us from the Semantron blog. Enjoy! Christianity makes no sense. At least not rationally, and this is a problem for a large population of the world. The concept of a sort of “meta-person” who exists and has the ability to create, control and interact with creation can be a difficult concept for some, but the idea that that person could then die, and that be a good thing, complicates it exponentially. In a letter to … [Read more...]
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon When Flavius Josephus misrepresented the faith of the Pharisees---claiming they believed in the transmigration of the soul, instead of the resurrection of the body---he did so to avoid ridicule from contemporary Greco-Roman pagans. Although the latter differed among themselves with respect to an after-life, none were disposed to take seriously a belief that the dead would really rise. Even the most broadminded of … [Read more...]
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