by Fr. John Whiteford One of the earliest heresies that the Church had to confront was the Marcionite heresy, which taught that the God of the Old Testament was not the God of the New Testament. The God of the Old Testament was evil, whereas the God of the New Testament was good. Consequently Marcion […]
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 […]
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 […]
Did the Early Church Venerate Icons?
October 24, 2016 By
from his “Stump the Priest” Series by Fr. John Whiteford Question: “Isn’t the fact that there were controversies over icons well into the 9th century proof that the early Church did not venerate icons?” There were indeed controversies at various times, most notably the Iconoclastic controversies of the 8th and 9th centuries, but these controversies […]
Bible Beatdown! The Septuagint Text VS. The Masoretic Text
September 2, 2016 By
Septuagint (LXX) text vs. Masoretic (MT) text Old Testament – know your Bible! by Fr. John Whiteford In the “Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs” of 1848, which was a reply to the epistle of Pope Pius IX, “To The Easterns,” the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, along with the other assembled bishops stated: […]
About Orthodox Communion Spoons
April 2, 2016 By
by Fr. John Whiteford In the Orthodox Church, Holy Communion is administered to communicants using a special spoon. Some have asked, doesn’t the 101st canon of the Council of Trullo forbid the use of Communion spoons? And why are the laity not allowed to receive Communion in the hand and from the chalice, as they […]
On Corrective Baptism
November 14, 2015 By
Another excellent post from our friend, Fr. John Whiteford in his ‘Stump the Priest’ series. Question: “I am/was a Baptist convert to Orthodoxy, and though it’s been many years (about 20) that I was accepted into Orthodoxy through Chrismation, I have read things in the Rudder, and Canons which state that this was an anathema […]
