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Ancient Faith Blogs presents a select group of writers and thinkers who regularly post on matters of theology, culture, art, parish, and family life.
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Divine Council of Nicea
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Sunday after Ascension / Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, June 16, 2024 Acts 20:16-18, 28-36; John 17:1-13 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. In this period between the feasts of the Ascension of Christ and Pentecost, we celebrate on this Sunday the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, who met in…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Bending Toward Bethlehem
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Sunday before the Nativity / Eve of the Nativity, December 24, 2023 Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40; Matthew 1:1-15 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. All things bend now toward Bethlehem. From Nazareth, the righteous Joseph, the betrothed of the Virgin, comes to Bethlehem, the city of David his forefather, at the summons of…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
St. Ignatius on the Nativity: Abolition of Death, Re-creation of the World
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Five days before the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox Church celebrates the great hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch. As he was traveling to Rome to be torn apart by lions, he wrote six epistles to Christians who met with him along the way, as well as an additional one sent ahead to the Roman Christians. Among these epistles is one sent to the…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Should Orthodox Christians Talk to False Teachers?
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I understand that some people believe that one should simply never, ever even talk to people who say things that are false, that doing so constitutes endorsement of their teachings, and they believe that this is the Orthodox way. But as someone who knows Church history pretty well, I know that that is not the Orthodox way. Indeed, some of the most prominent moments…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Transfiguration on Eden
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Holy Transfiguration of Christ, August 6, 2023 II Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today we behold the restoration of Eden. Today we see the door of Paradise standing open, and we gaze within, seeing there the Kingdom of God. Today we behold the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
How "Nous” Became a Trojan Horse For Secularism, and Why it is So Difficult to Translate
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Anyone who has been involved in Orthodoxy in America will likely have seen much discourse (often polemical in nature) about the “nous.” In fact, the nous plays a pivotal role in anti-western polemics since it has become a trope that “the West doesn’t have a concept of the nous.” Accordingly, the nous functions as a type of secret thing you can only…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
I am faithful to one God, the Father Almighty
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We’ve mentioned a number of times on the Lord of Spirits podcast that usually where you see faith or believe in the Bible it is better translated “faithfulness” or “be faithful to.” Many verses of the Scriptures become much clearer when read this way, e.g., “For by grace you have been saved through faithfulness” (Eph. 2:8a). The many references to “increasing” faith also make…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
NEW RELEASE: The Wolf and the Cross
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I am ecstatic — yes, actually ecstatic — to announce the release of the first episode of my new documentary podcast series The Wolf and the Cross: An Orthodox Christian Pilgrimage in Lithuania, which I am creating along with my friend and collaborator Richard Rohlin. In August 2022 we made a pilgrimage to the Baltic country of Lithuania, and in this documentary we’ll be…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Christ, Myth & Tolkien: 5-Part Seminar Begins Oct. 25
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Present and Future of Orthodox Christian Media
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Lamp of the Body
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
A Historic Day for Life
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Justice is Coming
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Sin, Holiness and Human Nature
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Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
How COVID-19 Led to a Spiritual Pandemic
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
No, the Paschal date difference is not about Passover (and other Orthodox urban legends)
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Martyrs’ Blood Against the Demon Hordes: A Reflection on the Akolouthia of the Three Martyrs of Vilnius
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Is There a Triumph of Orthodoxy?
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Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Review: "A Spiritual Revolution" by Andrey V. Ivanov
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Purification for Pascha
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Ignored by God
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The City Which is to Come
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The False Virtue of Woke Puritanism
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The Whole Counsel Blog
Paul's "Works of the Law" in the Perspective of Second Century Reception, by Matthew J. Thomas - A Review
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Easily the most important work in Pauline Studies, and likely in Biblical Studies as a whole, of the current decade is Matthew Thomas’ published Oxford dissertation, Paul’s “Works of the Law” in the Perspective of Second Century Reception. This book is not merely an entry into the ongoing discussion of various perspectives on St. Paul’s understanding of salvation and relationship to Judaism. Thomas bridges the fields of New Testament studies and patristics to deliver what may be a definitive blow to the Lutheran, and thereby typical Protestant reading of St. Paul. As a published dissertation with minimal editing, this book is written in academic form and makes its arguments in academic fashion. If one follows through on the threads here…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Lady at the Center of a Christian People
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Not By Heroism, Lest Anyone Should Boast
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Angels are the Original Saints
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