This deserves a wide readership – please share liberally on social media and email. by Fr. John Whiteford We have previously discussed Aristotle Papanikolaou’s strange notion that, unlike the dogmas of the Church, Orthodox Christian morality is open to dispute and change (see The Living Church 2.0). In the wake of a recent conference in Oxford […]
Septuagint Quotes in the New Testament
August 21, 2019 By
Yes, the proper understanding of Scripture is a game changer (as it should be). Of the multitude of Old Testament quotes in the New Testament, most of them came from the Septuagint (abbreviated LXX – the Greek translation of the Old Testament). This translation of the Old Testament is the oldest in existence, was widely […]
Elder Cleopas On Why Baptise Infants?
January 22, 2019 By
There are some who say Baptism should only be given to adults because we must first have repentance and faith. Earlier I was asked to comment on this subject and recently found the teaching of Elder Cleopa on this topic. The Elder begins his explanation by pointing out the precursors to Baptism found in the […]
Eucharistic Bread: Leavened or Unleavened?
June 5, 2017 By
In the ninth century the use of unleavened bread had become obligatory in the West, while the Orthodox continued the exclusive offering of leavened bread. The issue became divisive when the provinces of Byzantine Italy which were under the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople were forcibly incorporated into the Church of Rome following their […]
Are John 3 and 6 About Baptism and Eucharist?
April 4, 2017 By
by Seraphim Hamilton There is a convergence of language in John 3 and 6. Both chapters contain the rare (for John) phrase “Son of Man” a reference to the ascending High Priest in Daniel 7. Both contrast flesh and Spirit. Both refer to the promise of the new exodus. Both allude strongly to Ezekiel 36-37. […]
The Shape of the Lord’s Prayer
November 26, 2016 By
by Fr. Sava Medakovic And to everyone who has ever attended one of my Bible studies – see, I was right! In biblical studies there has been a group of scholars who have been looking at the shape or the literary structure of scripture to determine more precisely the author’s intended meaning of scriptural passages. […]
On Infant Baptism – Is it Biblical?
November 23, 2016 By
by Robert Arakaki Another exceptionally well written and reasoned piece, from the Reformed-Orthodox bridge. Martin wrote: I have a question. Baptists and Pentecostals say infant baptism is not biblical. Do we find infant baptisms in the Bible? I heard someone say that this practice started around year 200. Where can I find the earliest teachings […]
An Uncomplicated Truth
October 13, 2016 By
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon It is reasonable, I suppose—or at least natural—for modern students of religion to wonder how the earliest Christians, all of them Jews, were able to reconcile their belief in the divinity of Christ with the monotheism enshrined in Israel’s Sh’ma’. Indeed, historians of Christian thought have devoted many studies to […]
