Month: June 2009
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By Your Prayers
It is a common phrase in Orthodoxy, “By your prayers.” it is a recognition that we cannot make this journey alone. I have days when I think I’m doing ok, and then there are much longer periods when I realize that only by the prayers of others and the mercies of God will I make…
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Multifarious Trials of Repentance
Through repentance a person receives back that knowledge which was given to him as a pledge in baptism…. Repentance arises in a person through the activity of divine grace in the soul. It begins when God bestows on us a consciousness of our own sins. This consciousness penetrates into our thoughts as God sees to…
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We Have Seen
St. John, in the prologue of his gospel, says the following: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father (John 1:14). In his first Epistle he says the following: That which was from the beginning,…
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For Your Kindness
For the kindness of those who expressed their thanks for this blog – I offer my heartfelt thanks. The Eastern Christian Blog Awards have just been posted. Your kindness voted Glory to God for All Things “best” in two categories: Best Individual Blog and Best Theology Blog. I enjoy reading the blogs of others more…
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Living on the First Floor
I am currently working on a small book that gathers many of my thoughts on the metaphor of the “one-storey universe.” Readers of this blog should be well familiar with the image. I cannot claim to be its originator – I can think of several sources that first suggested this way of explaining things. It…
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Poems of Pentecost
Among the many friends I have had who have now entered the larger life, several were poets. Francis Hall Ford was a parishioner in St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Mission in Chattanooga, which I had a share in founding. She and her family had year’s before entered Orthodoxy through the Greek Church. In later years she split…
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The Strange Land of Liturgical Knowledge
I have been involved in Christian liturgical life for most of my adult experience. The first part of that experience was as an Anglican – a liturgical experience that is both Western and reformed. I have been involved in the liturgical life of Orthodox Christianity on one level or another for the past 16 years…
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Babylon and the Trees of Pentecost
From the Feast of Pentecost The arrogance of building the tower in the days of old led to the confusion of tongues. Now the glory of the knowledge of God brings them wisdom. There God condemned the impious for their transgression. Here Christ has enlightened the fishermen by the Spirit. There disharmony was brought about…
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In the Secret Place of the Most High God
This article first appeared in 2007. It speaks of one of the most essential elements of our spiritual life – the secret place. I have not written often on the topic – but it bears repeating. Without a proper regard for the ‘secret place of the Most High God’ and the secret place that is…
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Eastern Christian New Media Awards Voting
Eastern Christian New Media Awards has opened its voting for its annual blog awards. There are a growing number of excellent Orthodox and Eastern Christian websites, worthy of reading, and worthy of encouraging with a thank you for their work. Glory to God for All Things is nominated in two categories. My podcast, Glory to…
Thank you for this lovely reflection, Father Stephen. My earliest memory, which was before I was walking so very early,…