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by St. Basil the Great from the blog, Lord I Have Cried Unto Thee. Another patristic witness of the sentiment and wisdom behind the words of Abba Xanthios. "A Dog is better than I because he loves and does not judge." So I just recently referred a friend to St. Basil the Great's Hexaemeron - his fourth-century commentary on the six-day creation of the world found in the book of Genesis - and I started re-reading and came across … [Read more...]
By St. Nikolai Velimirovich Abba John the Short asked the monks: "Who sold Joseph?" [Genesis 37-50] One monk replied: "His brothers." To that, the elder replied: "No brethren, rather his humility. Joseph could have said that he is their brother and could have protested to being sold but he remained silent. His humility, therefore, sold him. Afterward, this same humility made him master over Egypt." In surrendering ourselves to the will … [Read more...]
by St. John Maximovitch Soon after the teaching of Christ began to spread among the Gentiles, those who came to believe in Christ and became His followers began in Antioch to be called Christians (Acts 11:26). The word “Christian” indicated that the bearer of that name had given himself to Christ, with all his heart he belonged to Him, and he followed His teaching. The name “Christian” - which defines well the essence of the followers … [Read more...]
by Fr. Aris Metrakos This article contains excellent advice for anyone contemplating the priesthood or discerning a vocation in the Orthodox Church (or any 'church' for that matter). Fr. Aris nails it. Aren't we disgusted with the shocking number of high-profile cases of priests engaged in pedophilia, homosexual activity, and adultery? Some excuse this behavior with the platitudes "a sin is a sin" and "we are all sinners." Uh, excuse … [Read more...]
By Father Daniel Daly Several years ago during the Christmas season, a religious program on television caught my attention. The program featured a discussion on the dangers of cults, especially to young people. I found myself agreeing with the panelists as they warned young people about the hazards of involvement in occult or “new age” spirituality. During the interview, however, one participant made a statement that shocked … [Read more...]
by Hieromonk Damascene (Christensen) This is from a talk given at a conference sponsored by the Northern California Brotherhood of Orthodox Clergy and held at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Sacramento, California, October 21, 2006. 1. WHY PREACH THE GOSPEL The theme of today's conference, "Preaching the Gospel of Christ in the Modern World," is relevant to everyone here, not only to those who are called to preach … [Read more...]
by Archbishop Lazar Puhalo A retired hierarch of the Orthodox Church in America, Archbishop Puhalo is the Abbott of New Ostrog Monastery in Dewdney, British Columbia, Canada, and the author of a multitude of books and articles on the Orthodox tradition. This paper was written for a symposium in Romania, and appeared in OrthodoxyToday.org in March of 2005. It is even more timely now. Paper for a conference on the Post-Christian Era The … [Read more...]
by St. Anastasius the Sinaite St. 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 other Christian writers, but also classical erudition and a solid grounding in Aristotelian philosophy. … [Read more...]
by Fr. John A. Peck The final installment of our five part series A Short History of the Liturgical Location for Preaching: The Ambo, the Pulpit and the Lectern. The Lectern (Analogion) The Lectern (from the Latin lectus, past participle of legere, "to read") is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to a some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading … [Read more...]
By Fr. John A. Peck Part One of a Five Part Series A Short History of the Liturgical Location for Preaching: The Ambo, the Pulpit and the Lectern Throughout history, the place occupied by the preacher has changed based on liturgical and theological need. Primarily of course, the purpose of changing the location was of necessity – to be seen and heard by those listening and looking. Our Lord Himself ascended a mountain for the “Sermon … [Read more...]
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