Archives for 2014

Tomorrow is the Sunday of the Last Judgment, also called Meatfare. Because it is the Sunday of the Last Judgment, there is a quote from the Russian Orthodox Church’s “The Basis of the Social Concept” that is worth considering: The primary cause of crime is the darkened state of the human heart: «for out of […]

The book, Positive Discipline, has an excerpt that says: One of the most encouraging things parents can do for their children is to spend regular, scheduled special time with them. You may already spend lots of time with your children. However there is a difference between have to time, casual time, and scheduled special time. […]

From “The Basis of the Social Concept” of the Russian Orthodox Church: [The Church] is the community of the children of God, «a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people… which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God» (1 Pet. 2:9-10). The unity of […]

For the last two days, I have been publishing commentary on a very important document from the Russian Orthodox Church. That document sets out the theology of the Russian Orthodox Church with regards to society. I, again, say that it is a document worth reading, given that Orthodoxy in the USA is not yet at […]

As a result of yesterday’s post, a question has come up as to where one can find a copy of the Russian Orthodox Church’s statement, “The Basis of the Social Concept.” Thankfully, you can find an English copy of the document posted by the Russian Orthodox Church herself at https://mospat.ru/en/documents/social-concepts/. It is a document worth reading […]

Recently, there was a small discussion on a friend’s Facebook© page concerning Orthodoxy and the blessing of weapons. Below is an ancient service for the blessing of weapons. Above is a photograph of a Russian priest blessing weapons. It should be noted that the Great Book of Needs, published by St. Tikhon seminary in 1999 […]

Kontakion of the Prodigal Son O Father, foolishly I ran away from Your glory, and in sin, squandered the riches You gave me. Wherefore, I cry out to You with the voice of the Prodigal, “I have sinned before You Compassionate Father. Receive me in repentance and take me as one of Your hired servants.” […]

The history of Saint Valentine is somewhat shrouded in history. In fact Valentinus was a common enough name that there are at least three different Saint Valentines, one of them a bishop. Generally, the one that has to do with February 14 is Saint Valentine of Rome in the third century, during the reign of […]

From a published article: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jordan Bennett was suspended from his central Florida public school last year for playing cops and robbers. The 8-year-old’s crime? Using his thumb and forefinger to mimic a gun. … In the last 12 months, a seventh-grader in Rhode Island was suspended over a miniature toy gun keychain […]