Month: April 2007

  • Speaking Ecumenically

    A recent note from a young Orthodox acquaintance referred to me as “irenic” in my writings. I was grateful for the description and glad that something I actually intend is also actually conveyed. I learn a lot from other Orthodox bloggers or frequent posters on other sites where the discussions can get heated (I think…

  • More Thoughts on a Metaphor

    Some metaphors are just that: metaphors. Images that are useful for thinking or working our way through something. They are a roadmap – not the road but the map. The image of Christ’s Descent into Hades, though it provides a metaphor, is more than a metaphor. Christ truly died, truly descended into Hades, truly trampled…

  • Watch Your Metaphors

    Metaphors are very important when thinking about any aspect of our salvation. People can sometimes state what they believe as doctrine very precisely without thinking about what their beliefs imply about God, the world, or themselves. Metaphors can work in a very hidden way – particularly those that are referred to as “root metaphors.” A…

  • With Heart and Mind

    When mind and heart are united in prayer and the soul is wholly concentrated in a single desire for God, then the heart grows warm and the light of Christ begins to shine and fills the inward man with peace and joy. We should thank the Lord for everything and give ourselves up to His…

  • Praying with Icons

    In one of our recent services (Paschal Vespers as I recall) we had a handfull of visiting Russian Nationals. I’ve noticed this before – it’s sort of a cultural distinction – but the women (they were all female) came in, and stood for extended lengths of time before the icons, as if waiting for something,…

  • Deep in the Heart of Texas

    Today (Wednesday) and tomorrow I am in Dallas, Texas, with my Archbishop, DMITRI of Dallas and the South (OCA). I’m here for a small meeting with him and my fellow deans. Probably more social than practical – but time will tell. The Church in Dallas could have been pulled from the countryside of Russia. Built around…

  • The Struggle for Prayer

    Fr. Sophrony relates part of his struggle for prayer and the grace he received to help others. The passage is from On Prayer. …On more than one occasion I felt as if I were crucified on an invisible cross. This would happen on Mt. Athos when I got angry with those who vexed me. My…

  • Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev on the Descent into Hades

    Thank you to LadyMacbeth for the lead to the following link. Bishop Alfeyev is an excellent source and worth reading! http://orthodoxeurope.org/page/11/1/5.aspx  I commend him to you!

  • A Journey through the Heavens

    Not to be too melodramatic, but I will be traveling today at about 20 to 30,000 feet to the city of Dallas, yes in a airplane., to meet with my Beloved Archbishop Dmitri and fellow Deans of the Diocese of the South. I have a post loaded alreday which should appear around noon. I’ll check…

  • Carolina in my Mind

    Some readers might appreciate the fact that I was born in South Carolina. For some other readers, I think especially of our Europeans and others across the internet globe, South Carolina means little. It is “Deep South” in the U.S., with its own distinctives. Perhaps one of its striking characteristics is that it has a…


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