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Though Bishop N.T. Wright is not Orthodox (he's the Anglican Bishop of Durham), he explains very well the Orthodox/New Testament teaching on hell. This was originally entitled "N.T. Wright and the Orthodox View of Hell." This is only 3 minutes long, but a very nice treatment of a contentious topic - at least, contentious since the middle ages and the publication of Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio. The 'tiered' understanding of the … [Read more...]
by Eric Simpson From the Huffington Post (!) Common depictions of the Christian doctrine of hell, perhaps borrowing images from classic literature and Dante, portray it as a place of literal fire, where tortured souls repose in anguish, a vision much used by itinerant evangelists and manipulative preachers. A further degradation of this cartoon vision finds human souls not only suffering extreme torture, but prodded by red devils … [Read more...]
by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos In many of his texts St. Gregory speaks of man's freedom of choice, which is not abolished by God, and also about the perpetuity of Hell. Both these positions of his remove every notion of the theory of the restoration of all things as affirmed by Origen. In his great catechetical oration, in which he refers to the Catechism and the value of Baptism, at the end he continues the subject of the … [Read more...]
by Fr. George Metallinos Part Four of his four-part series on Paradise and Hell in the Orthodox Tradition. The mystery of Paradise-hell is also experienced in the life of the Church in the world. During the sacraments, there is a participation of the faithful in Grace, so that Grace may be activated in our lives, by our course towards Christ. Especially during the Divine Eucharist, the uncreated-Holy Communion-becomes inside us either Paradise … [Read more...]
by Fr. George Metallinos Part Three of his series on Paradise and Hell in the Orthodox Tradition. The experience of Paradise or hell is beyond words or senses. It is an uncreated reality, not a created one. The Franks created the myth that Paradise and hell are both created realities. It is a myth that the damned will not be looking upon God; just as the "absence of God" is equally a myth. The Franks had also perceived the fires of hell as … [Read more...]
by Fr. George Metallinos Part Two of his series on Paradise and Hell in the Orthodox Tradition This is what is depicted in the portrayal of the Second Coming. From Christ a river flows forth: it is radiant like a golden light at the upper end of it, where the saints are. At its lower end, the same river is fiery, and it is in that part of the river that the demons and the unrepentant ("the never repentant" according to a hymn) are depicted. … [Read more...]
By Fr. George Metallinos This is part one of a four part series on Paradise and Hell by the Dean of the Athens University School of Theology. On Meatfare Sunday, as we prepare for the commencement of the Holy and Great Lent, we commemorate the Second and Incorruptible Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The expression "we commemorate" confirms that our Church, as the Body of Christ, reenacts in its worship the Second Coming of our Lord as an … [Read more...]
by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos serves the Metropolis of Nafpaktos in the Church of Greece. His study of the patristic texts and particularly those of the hesychast Fathers of the Philokalia, many years of studying St. Gregory Palamas, association with the monks of the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos), and many years of pastoral experience, all brought him to the … [Read more...]
By Peter Chopelas I (Fr. John) came across this excellent article recently, and used it to craft an important sermon on heaven and hell in the afterlife according to the Scriptures and the teaching of the Orthodox Church, and found it to be an excellent and thorough resource for this important homiletic topic. Since then, I've come to discover just how quickly this essay has spread throughout the English speaking Orthodox world. An early draft … [Read more...]
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