Welcome
Ancient Faith Blogs presents a select group of writers and thinkers who regularly post on matters of theology, culture, art, parish, and family life.
Explore the blogs » More about Ancient Faith »What’s new?
Behind the Scenes
Ancient Faith Women's Retreat 2022: Speakers and Topics
·
We are overjoyed to announce that the in-person Ancient Faith Women’s Retreat is back! This beloved gathering will take place on November 10-13, 2022, at Antiochian Village Conference and Retreat Center in Bolivar, PA. REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION ARE AVAILABLE HERE. Our theme this year is the Theotokos, and we have invited four wonderful women to lead us in learning more about the Mother of God. Below you’ll find their names, together with…
Every Thought Captive
Orthodox Social Thought and Monastic Enterprise
·
Inasmuch as the present rests on the shoulders of the past, we can generally claim that our contemporary economic life is built upon the foundations set by the ascetic monastic labor of medieval Europe. ~ Fr. Sergei Bulgakov In the early twentieth-century, Adolf von Harnack observed in his historical study that “in Western monasticism we have to recognise a factor of the first importance in Church and civilisation.” The sociologist Max Weber, Harnack’s contemporary, also acknowledged this, for the West, in his major work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. By contrast, both figures…
Glory to God for All Things
The Gift of Hospitality
·
This delightful gem from the Desert Fathers comes from Benedicta Ward’s The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers (157) There was a saint in Egypt who dwelt in a desert place. Far away from him there was a Manichean who was a priest (at least what they call a priest). Once, when this man was going to visit one of his confederates, night overtook him in the place where the orthodox saint was…
Walking an Ancient Path
Liturgy Quick-Start Guide #6: The Liturgy after the Liturgy
·
Hello, fellow pilgrims. I want to share with you a quotation from St. Gabriel the Confessor of Georgia. He wrote, If you only knew how great a blessing comes from the Divine Liturgy, then you would collect even the dust from the floor of the church to wash your faces with it. His words about Orthodox worship put my sometimes sleepy and distracted Sunday-morning attitude in perspective. We’ve traveled the entire…
Faith Encouraged
Marvelous In Our Eyes
·
I always wonder at those who constantly insist “You can’t judge me.” I don’t need to judge you. We always judge ourselves. Our words, our actions, and our thoughts all contain all that is needed to “judge” rightly the true state of our souls. It is also why the Last Judgement and our constant Orthodox prayer “For a Christian end to our lives, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good…
The Word of the Day
The Difference Between Trial and Temptation (Wed. Jan. 19)
·
The word for today is “trials.” Today in our reading of James 1:1-18, we begin our study of the New Testament book of James. Two themes serve as bookends for this opening passage: trials and temptations. The apostle asserts that when we endure trials patiently, they are constructive. He writes, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…” (vs.2). Yet, when we give in to temptations, they are destructive. The apostle writes, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires…[and] when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin… and brings forth death” (vs. 14-15). The Divine Gift of Wisdom To distinguish between trials and temptations takes wisdom. Wisdom is…
Living Water
All Alone Without A Service in Sight on Theophany
·
The wisest way to proceed in life, I’ve often been advised, is to go slowly. Don’t make impulsive decisions. Don’t respond to emails immediately. Set down that phone and PRAY before you reply to a text. And. Attend services every chance you get. If that’s the only advise I ever receive from my confessor I’d be well counseled and just as “falling short” as ever! It seems that I’m always behind, rushing to catch up and never, ever the calm, collected, prayerfully peaceful individual I daily ask God to create in me. This New Year is no exception and I…
No Other Foundation
On Masking One’s Face
·
As the Covid pandemic drags on into its third wearying year, the debate regarding the legitimacy of certain government restrictions grows ever more shrill, and people ever more divided. For Christians for whom their primary allegiance is to Christ—and therefore to each other—this division is problematic. We exclude heretics from our Eucharistic fellowship and regard them as religiously “Other” because of their fundamentally incompatible understanding of Christ. But should differences regarding our…
Faith Encouraged
The Kingdom of God
·
I love what I read recently about being famous: “Being famous on Instagram or Facebook is like being rich in the game Monopoly.” That is so true. But we have a shallow culture today that seems to be addicted to being famous or “great” in the eyes of the people we want to think well of us. Our young people go through that period of maturity where being popular and belonging to…
The Word of the Day
Against a Casual Attitude Toward Sacred Things (Tues. Jan. 18)
·
The word for today is “refuse.” In today’s reading of Hebrews 12:25-26, 13:22-25, we hear that we should not disregard the Word of the Lord when He proclaims it to us. The apostle writes, “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks…” (vs. 25). To understand this warning, we must explain the preceding verses. Beginning with Chapter 12:18, the apostle contrasts Mt. Sinai where Moses received the Law with Mt. Zion, the city of the living God” (vs.22). This heavenly city is the meeting place of angels and the assembly of those whose names are “registered in heaven.” Thus, it is the company of the righteous who are “firstborn,” firstborn in the sense that they are first in the line of inheritance of the…
Faith Encouraged
God IS Speaking! Are You Hearing?
·
In the beginning, God said… And with that action, God has been using speaking and hearing to start the process of metanoia (repentance) in the hearts of those who have “ears to hear.” There are so many examples of this pattern of God’s actions that there are too many to mention them all. God “called” Abraham from the land of his father. God “called” the prophet Samuel and the prophet Isaiah in…
The Word of the Day
Faith Tested and Proven (Mon. Jan. 17)
·
The word of the day is “tested.” In today’s reading of Hebrews 11:17-23, 27-31, the apostle recalls the faith of those who endured numerous and unspeakable trials “by faith.” The apostle begins, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son…” (vs. 17). How Faith Empowered and Inspired Consider what faith empowered and inspired the people of God to do: offered up his only son, blessed Esau and Jacob, blessed the sons of Joseph, gave instructions for his burial in the holy land, hid the baby Moses from being slain, left the luxury of Pharaoh’s palace and Egypt and chose to suffer with the people, sprinkled…
Beyond the Bars
Mentally Ill Prisoners: Icons of Christ
·
For nearly three years, Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM) staff have been regularly writing to a prisoner, whom I will call Michael, who lives in a state mental hospital and suffers from delusions. The staff send Michael personal letters, cards with pictures of nature and wildlife, icon cards and even funny illustrations. Often, Michael’s letters are full of his delusions, but sometimes he has moments of clarity, such as when he wrote…
The Word of the Day
Watchfulness: The Virtue on Which All Others Depend (Sun. Jan. 16)
·
The word of the day is “watch.” In today’s reading of 1 Corinthians 16:13-24, Paul writes “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (OSB vs. 13). Note that the apostle begins this closing of his letter to his flock in Corinth with the word, “watch” (OSB vs. 13). This order of thought teaches us that watching is the one thing on which all the other virtues depend. If we are sleeping, unaware, and unconscious, then we cannot respond to or react to anything. Thus, all the other virtues that Paul lists depend on our wakefulness. We cannot “stand fast in the faith.” We cannot “be brave.” Nor can we “be strong” unless we are on guard in…
Eastern Christian Insights
Learning to See and Serve Outsiders as Neighbors: Homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday After Pentecost & the Twelfth Sunday of Luke in the Orthodox Church
·
Colossians 3:4-11; Luke 17:12-19 One of the most memorable trips I have ever taken was to Syria in the fall of 2010, only a few months before the nation descended into the chaos of bloodshed and humanitarian crisis. The conference I participated in was sponsored in part by the Patriarchate of Antioch, and it was wonderful to visit and pray in ancient and beautiful churches and monasteries, to receive a blessing…
Shepherding our Little Flock
One Word for 2022 - Faith
·
For we walk by faith, not by sight. – 2 Corinthians 5:7 Christ is born! One thing I love about following the Julian Calendar is that my family gets to begin each new year with the birth of Christ – one more reminder of God’s goodness and care after the hum of holiday festivities and the promise of a New Year have died down and just before we hunker down for the…
The Word of the Day
The Power of Imitation for Good or for Ill (Sat. Jan. 15)
·
The word of the day is “imitate.” Most often if we want to know something we look it up. We used to consult a book or encyclopedia. But nowadays we will probably ask “Siri,” search on Google or YouTube, or consult our friends on face book. But how do we find out how to live the Christian life? Of course, we can read our Bibles, hear sermons, or study both ancient and modern sources. But how do we apply their teachings, guidelines, commands, counsels, and directions? Today’s reading suggests that the best thing to do is to find an example that will show us how to put the words of instruction into practice. Thus in today’s reading, the apostle begins…
Frederica
How Can We Evangelize Today?
·
[January 14, 2022] Someone once emailed me to ask me about evangelism in Orthodoxy. I wanted to share my reply, because it’s worth discussing. +++ After my husband’s and my chrismation, I was frustrated to see that most Orthodox “evangelism” seemed to be aimed at evangelicals. I asked why that…
The Word of the Day
A Better and Heavenly Country (Fri. Jan. 14)
·
The word of the day is “country.” As we begin the new year, hardly anyone of us would like to go back to the difficulties of the past year. We wish for a better time ahead despite the current challenges our society faces. Our passage of Hebrews 11:8, 11-16 also writes about hope. But it is not a hope for a better life here on earth. t is the longing for celestial world far above the struggles of this life. Thus, the apostle writes about those who have spent their entire lives in the expectation of a greater kingdom. He says, “but now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called…
Faith Encouraged
Let Us Commend Ourselves AND One Another!
·
The first time I heard this, it hit me like a ton of bricks! “Let us commend ourselves, ONE ANOTHER, and our whole life unto Christ, our God. To You, O Lord.” “One another?” How do I “commend” someone else to “Christ, our God?” Aren’t they responsible for themselves? What does this mean? Well, of course, each of us is responsible for ourselves, but, from the very beginning when Cain asked God…
Praying in the Rain
The Muskox Response To COVID-19
·
Last night I watched an episode of Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet on Disney Plus. It was about Dr. Oakley treating an muskox. The episode is called, “One Angry Muskox.” In order to treat this animal, they had to tranquilize it, but before they could tranquilize it, they had to separate it from the herd. And the reason they had to separate it is what I want to talk about. They had…
Faith Encouraged
Wisdom Transforms Rules to Discipline
·
One of the most difficult realities I’ve had to face as an adult, as a priest, as a husband, and as a father is waking up to the reality of the complexity of each human person I encounter, including myself. This continuous process of discovery has me regularly seeing places of spiritual progress and immaturity in my heart first of all. All leading to the unmistakable conclusion that the taming of the…
The Word of the Day
Hang Onto the Shield of Faith (Thurs. Jan. 13)
·
The word of the day is “confidence.” In times of trial, what do we need to endure? Our reading of Hebrews 10:35-11:17 answers, “Therefore, do not cast away your confidence which has a great reward” (vs. 35). The Greek word that is translated as “confidence” is derived from the term for outspoken speech. From this, we get the thought of “boldness” (Strong’s #3954, 194). Such assurance will see us through the ordeals that we face until we receive the reward of our determination. Do Not Cast Away Our Shield By all means, the apostle teaches that we must never “cast away” our confidence. The author may have been thinking of the shield that soldiers in Greece and Rome carried into…
No Other Foundation
A Christianity of the Catacombs
·
I begin with a quote from an article that is almost 60 years old, but which has lost none of its timeliness: “Since the Byzantine era, Orthodoxy was always brought to and accepted by whole nations. The only familiar pattern of the past, therefore, is not the creation of mere local churches, but a total integration and incarnation of Orthodoxy in national cultures; so that these cultures themselves cannot be separated from…
Faith Encouraged
Faith Isn't Do It Yourself
·
Asking for help isn’t really my strong suit. Frankly, I hate doing it. And I hate doing it not because of pride or ego, but because of fear. I’m afraid of appearing weak. I’m afraid of being vulnerable. And yet, most of the times in my life where I’ve finally overcome my fear and asked for help, I was glad I did, even when the other person said ‘No!” There’s something truly…
The Word of the Day
The End of Sacrifices for Sin (Wed. Jan. 12)
·
The word of the day is “sacrifice.” In today’s reading of Hebrews 10:1-18, the apostle announces the end of sacrifices for sin. He writes, “For by one offering He [Christ] has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (vs. 14). Consequently there is no longer a need for any more offerings for sin. All that is necessary for our redemption has been fulfilled. A One-Time Offering The apostle argues at length that the sacrifices of the Old Testament were ineffective because they had to be repeated again and again (vs. 11). But Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was “once and for all” (10). The proof of its efficacy was that Christ “sat down at the right hand of God” after He had finished His mission…
Glory to God for All Things
As the End Draws Near - Silence
·
St. John the Baptist said of Christ that His “winnowing fork is in His hand.” (Lk 3:17) That farm implement is a tool for separating the wheat from the chaff, that is, to separate the edible part of the wheat from the husk that is to be discarded. It is, in that sense, an instrument of judgment. The character of Christ, who is the Image according to which we are created, is…