Two days ago I posted an answer to someone’s question on homosexuality and the Orthodox Church. I posted only one reply out of several possibilities–from the Q&A section of the OCA website–and it raised a legitimate concern from a fellow Orthodox believer. Let me quote of what s/he says below: I understand and adhere to the viewpoint […]
Pacifism, the military and Orthodoxy
I keep receiving questions from people about the military, particularly in a time of war. As you know, I work for a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and have a daughter who has served in Iraq. Yet, I have written about just war theology and the need to refrain as much as possible from conflict. So, […]
The most God-believing nation in Europe and Asia
A person commented on my Tolstoy post by sending me a link from an article in the Christian Science Monitor called, How Russians survived militant atheism to embrace God. It is an article worth reading in its entirety. Below are a few quotes from the article: Sometimes really huge news stories occur that receive almost […]
Travel Day
Today is a car travel day as I return home. May the Lord bless all of you and prepare you for the Lord’s Day. For today, I will simply include a copy of Metropolitan Jonah’s message for Sanctity of Life Sunday. It is one of the most balanced pro-life messages that I have seen. === […]
Patriarch Alexiy of Russia – 1929 to 2008
This morning, Patriarch Alexiy of the Russian Orthodox Church died at the age of 79. He was the man credited with restoring much moral authority to the Russian Orthodox Church after the years of Communism. He became patriarch in 1990, shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union. I can remember that he faced serious […]
And the bishop cried
Have you ever heard a bishop cry? I do not mean the crocodile tears that some pastors seem to be able to drop on cue. I mean, the honest release of emotion that expresses our deep inner feelings. No, most of us have not. The last two days have again delayed my planned blogging, but given […]
St. Luke and the Prophet Joel
Every so often the liturgical calendar has a happy confluence. This weekend is such a one. Earlier today I concelebrated Orthros and Divine Liturgy for St. Luke the Evangelist. Tomorrow is the day of the Prophet Joel. And, the two are intimately linked. You see, the Prophet Joel prophesized the coming of the Holy Spirit. […]
Hellenists and Converts, oh my, part 03
There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead; when she was good, she was very, very good, and when she was bad she was horrid. — Mother Goose The Orthodox Church in the United States is somewhat like that apocryphal little girl of Mother Goose fame. […]
Hellenists and Converts, oh my, part 02
Two men behaving badly have clearly exposed some of the arguments going on within the Orthodox Church in the USA, as I mentioned in part 01 of this post. At the same time, both of them have shown, almost crudely, the bad thinking and misunderstandings going on behind the arguments. So, let’s look at them […]
Hellenists and Converts, oh my, part 01
I have seldom seen the Bible come to life as much as I have in the last month as I have read two articles, one by a priest and one by a layman, that exemplify the great disputes going on within Orthodoxy in the USA. The first article, “The Orthodox Church of Tomorrow†was published […]
