Q: I wonder if it is ok to eat food that has blood in it? What about Acts 15 where the Apostles forbid it and what about blood transfusions? A: Actually – and this is not well-known – the Orthodox position is that the Apostolic Council is still binding, and this includes the prohibition on […]
St. Photius the Great, The Photian Council, and Relations with the Roman Church
November 12, 2017 By
by Dr. David Ford Introduction There is considerable discussion today within the worldwide Orthodox Church about the status of the so-called “Photian Council,” held in Constantinople in 879-880. This is an exceedingly important council in the history of the Orthodox Church, and therefore deserves to be much more widely known among the Orthodox faithful. […]
How do you know that the Orthodox, not the Iconoclasts, preserved the more ancient Christian view of Icons?
November 6, 2017 By
For one thing, Iconoclasm would have thrived in Islamic dominated territory… but it didn’t. The first out break of Iconoclasm began in Moslem territory, though this was not Christians destroying images, but Moslems destroying Christian images (Pelikan, p. 105). There is also reason to think that Moslem influence inspired the Iconoclastic Emperors (for one, all […]
Can the Dead Repent?
November 1, 2017 By
If someone dies without repentance, is it possible for such a person to repent after death? Fr. John Whiteford answers this question through the writings of the holy fathers of the Church. by Fr. John Whiteford Scripture, as explained by the Fathers of the Church, states that this is not possible. Psalm 6:5 says: “For […]
Why Should Reading in the Orthodox Church be Unemotional?
August 24, 2017 By
By Fr. Andrew Chizhenko I remember the words of Alexander Griboyedov from his play “Woe from Wit”: “Read it not like an altar server, but with passion”. For centuries, that aphorism was the reason of sarcastic mockeries about church readings in intellectual circles. In fact, they do not correlate with the truth and ancient thousand […]
Prayers for the Dead in the Bible and in Tradition
August 20, 2017 By
From Fr. John Whiteford’s blog, originally titled ‘Stump the Priest: Prayers for the Dead in the Bible and in Tradition’ by Fr. John Whiteford Question: “Where do we find any evidence that praying for the dead is a biblical? From what I have read it appears that the Bible almost says the opposite of this […]
St. Gregory the Theologian and the Literal Interpretation of Scripture
August 11, 2017 By
by Fr. John Whiteford On interpreting Scripture, one must be intellectually honest about quotations. George Demacopoulos gave another lecture at the Eagle River Institute which was recently posted on Ancient Faith Radio, and in the course of that lecture he made the following statement: “St. Gregory the Theologian actually wrote, in one of his most […]
The Cross: A Sign for All Christians
August 1, 2017 By
Originally titled: Should Protestants Make the Sign of the Cross? A Response to Pastor Doug Wilson by Robert Arakaki In a 30 December 2012 canonwired podcast, Pastor Doug Wilson was asked what he thought about Protestants crossing themselves. Apparently, this question was asked because growing numbers of Protestants have started crossing themselves. In short, Pastor Wilson’s answer […]
