Fr. Orthoduck and a Kitsune

Father Orthoduck recently received the drawing above. It is a drawing of Father Orthoduck with a Kitsune. The message said in part: You have an avatar as Fr. Orthoduck … truth be told I have an online persona as it were too. She’s a … fox (or as the Japanese call them, Kitsune … mythical foxes/tricksters that serve the Deity Inari in Shinto myth) So here she is … reading... [Read more]

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Phronema and American Orthodoxy

Yesterday I mentioned that there are two great streams of Orthodoxy currently, the Russian and the Byzantine. But, even those streams of Orthodoxy have some variation in different countries. Thus, Romanian Orthodoxy has a different but very similar phronema to Russian Orthodoxy. And, potentially, in the future there could be additional great streams that make up Orthodoxy. For instance, should the... [Read more]

Missions and Phronema

What does the Greek term “phronema” mean? According to the Wikipedia, “Phronema is a transliteration of [a] Greek word, . . . which has the meanings of ‘mind’, ‘spirit’, ‘thought’, ‘purpose’, ‘will’, and can have either a positive meaning (‘high spirit’, ‘resolution’, ‘pride’) or a bad... [Read more]

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Missions and difficult transitions

One of the most difficult transitions for a mission to a new area to make is the transition from being a church that looks like a transplant to being a church that culturally fits into the country into which it was planted. What do I mean? Well, you can see the struggle in Scripture and you can even see the struggle in Orthodox history. The issue has spilled reams of paper and gallons of ink, not only... [Read more]

On the reality of this world

Responding to a post by another Christian, I posted the reply below. See what you think of it. The original post had to do with a couple who went into missions based on a “faith call” and ended up nearly destroyed. My wife and I were missionaries. We saw crashes; we saw successes; we ourselves went through pain and agony, but also saw great successes and victories. Even now, a decade since... [Read more]

Tight shoes, Good Samaritan, and Roman Catholics

Do you remember what Our Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan Woman when they had their discussion about worship? “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither... [Read more]

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Tight shoes, the Good Samaritan, and Our Lord Jesus Christ

It will be helpful to look at the ten northern tribes of Israel, nicknamed the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.” As with most nicknames there is some truth and some exaggeration to it. For those of you who may not have heard that nickname before, let me give you a very short summary of a lot of history. After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became the next King of Israel. But, for various reasons,... [Read more]

No Western Orthodox Patriarch and tight shoes

There is a most interesting fact that points to a very interesting idea. Do you realize that the Orthodox have never appointed a replacement Patriarch of the West? There are many Eastern Orthodox Churches in the West. There are many Metropolitans in the West. There are various jurisdictions in the West. But, there is no universally recognized autocephalous autonomous Church in the West. (I say universally... [Read more]

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Tight fitting shoes and truth

Yesterday I said: But, this does not answer the deeper question. How do we know what is truth if our perception of truth is influenced by our culture? And, what mechanisms did God put in place to ensure that the truth would indeed be passed on? Right up front, I need to tell you that part of the answer is faith. But, that is an accurate statement not only for Christians, but also for every human... [Read more]

Tight fitting shoes and Ecumenical Councils

Three days ago, I posted a note on women wearing shoes, for the sake of fashion, that are so badly designed that the women end up with deformed feet. I commented on that post that: Rather, I am making the point of how powerful is the formative power of culture. Most of us do not realize just how powerful, how strong, culture is internalized. From the moment you leave the womb, even how you leave... [Read more]