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?
The Morning Offering
A Consuming Fire
·
God is a consuming fire and His fire scorches everything That God would allow evil to exist in the first place is a mystery, for the scriptures do not explain this. Yet we do know through the scriptures that true love must express itself in action, and in the face of evil and suffering, a Christian is called to action…
Eastern Christian Insights
Humble Faith, Not Legalism: Homily for the 12th Sunday After Pentecost, the 12th Sunday of Matthew, and the After-Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
·
1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Matthew 19:16-26 A common temptation for religious people is to fall into a form of a legalistic self-righteousness. It is appealing to assume that what God requires may be boiled down to a simple code of behavior such that those who obey it earn a reward, while those who do not merit condemnation. People who are not religious may certainly have their own forms of legalistic self-righteousness, but…
The Morning Offering
Loving Support
·
The reason for my blog articles and podcasts In today’s world, it is more important then ever for we Orthodox Christians to support one another in any way we can, that we “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). My reason for writing each day is to try and lend support to fellow believers…
Father Bill's Blog
79. "Weeping Icons? Get Serious..."
·
That would have been my reaction when I was a Protestant long ago, even when I was an Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian. We didn’t disbelieve in miracles. We knew there were miracles in New Testament times and afterwards. Roman Catholics claimed to have them. But this just wasn’t part of our experience. Not us. Not here. Not now. And then I saw one. I think it was in the spring of 1987 that an…
Faith Encouraged
The Reason for Fasting
·
When I was just learning about the Ancient Faith, I was struck by the wisdom of fasting from certain foods. You see, I had been raised to think that a fast was no food at all, just water. And I would hear stories of Pentecostal pastors “fasting” for a month or even 40 days and “great miracles” occurring because of their fasting. So, of course, I tried that and failed every time…
The Morning Offering
Narcissistic Clericalism
·
Clericalism shouldn’t have anything to do with Christianity The recent release of the findings of the District Attorney of Pennsylvania, have resurrected the memory of the failure of the hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church to properly address the problem of the continuing sex abuse in the Catholic Church. As a priest, I am deeply shocked, almost beyond words, and…
Faith Encouraged
A LIVE Q&A with Fr. Barnabas on Patreon.com
·
Faith Encouraged
Abandon the Faith? Really?
·
Why do people stop practicing the faith? Why are we seeing so many young people abandon the faith of their youth? Countless studies have been done trying to answer this question. Every time I travel to speak around the country in parishes big and small, I get asked this question as well. And there are as many answers as there are studies. All of these articles and writers usually have some good…
The Morning Offering
The Struggle
·
Our struggle against the passions and our victory in Christ As we struggle with anger, gluttony, with judging others, sexual impurity and a myriad of others passions, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. We find ourselves feeling defeated and tempted to give up the battle. Sometimes we even tell ourselves that we have no choice, for we were…
The Whole Counsel Blog
Is the Book of Revelation Canonical in the Orthodox Church?
·
To ask in the present day whether or not any book of the New Testament is truly canonical in the Orthodox Church may seem odd. While the history of the canonization process of the Old and New Testaments took place over several centuries and is neither neat nor tidy, it is an issue, particularly in the case of the New Testament, which has been settled for more than a millennium at this point. It is taken for granted that the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Protestants all share the same list of 27 canonical New Testament books. Delving into the history of the book of Revelation in particular, however, and the arguments for and against its canonicity, reveals…
Faith Encouraged
Blessed Are You Among Women!
·
“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” This saying has been around a long time and been attributed to several famous and not-so-famous people, but it rings true, doesn’t it?: It’s hard to communicate AND easy to miscommunicate, especially if both speaker and hearer want to misunderstand! We are a people strongly shaped by an inherent mistrust of all…
The Morning Offering
Wisdom
·
Wisdom is not based on age It has been said that wisdom comes with age, and to some degree this is quite true. I’ve often had conversations with old college friends about how nice it would have been to have had the knowledge and wisdom we have now, back when we were young. Knowing what we know now, back then,…
Orthodox Reformed Bridge
Memory Eternal! Kevin Allen
·
One of contemporary Orthodoxy’s greatest evangelists in the blogosphere was Kevin Allen, host of The Illumined Heart. Many who visited the site have been touched by the many fascinating one-on-one interviews Kevin did with people from a wide range of faith backgrounds who came to Orthodoxy. On 7 August 2018, Kevin passed away from ALS aka Lou Gehrig’s disease (source). This progressive neurodegenerative disease is dreaded by many due to the…
No Other Foundation
Cutting Up Cadavers
·
You will perhaps not be surprised to hear that I have never stood before a naked corpse and cut into its flesh with a sharp knife. That is, I have never participated in the dissection of a cadaver as is done as part of one’s medical education or at an autopsy, but I know a number of people who have done so. A deacon at our little church took part in such…
Faith Encouraged
It's WHY You Say It!
·
“We must speak out! We CANNOT be silent! Silence makes evil possible!” We hear this a lot nowadays, and I confess, I have great sympathy for this message. I’m a preacher, after all. And the public and fearless declaration of the Gospel is normal for we Christians through history. But, as usual, a one-sided perspective on this will lead to a lack of sobriety and balance. There is an equal witness to…
The Morning Offering
My Own Sins
·
I must accuse myself, blame myself, judge myself I see people’s sins, but I don’t know whether they have made peace with God. I don’t know if the person who has sinned regrets it, but I am not called to judge them, but only to forgive them. As I become aware of my own sins, and begin to realize how…
Glory to God for All Things
Why Mary Has Always Been Honored
·
This Wednesday (August 15) is the Feast of the Dormition, the Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary. I offer this article as a reflection. The most difficult part of my Orthodox experience to discuss with the non-Orthodox is the place and role of the Mother of God in the Church and in my life. It is, on the one hand, deeply theological and even essential to a right understanding of the Orthodox faith,…
Behind the Scenes
Two Become One: A Riddle and Its Answer
·
Roads from Emmaus
The Churching of Infants: Reflections on Liturgics in a Pan-Orthodox World
·
Among my less-public duties is that I serve in the Department of Liturgics for the archdiocese in which I serve. I am not a liturgical scholar nor a translator. My job is mainly to help make sure that the English we use is the finest and most appropriate. I am, however, a liturgist in the sense of being a liturgical celebrant at the holy…
Growing the Church
Church in the Land of Commerce: 2. Management/Administration: Introduction
·
In the world of commerce, the seminal work of Frederick Winslow Taylor The Principles of Scientific Management is considered to have influenced almost all subsequent thinking on management.[1]According to him “The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee.”[2]After bemoaning the fact that early 20thcentury American industry was suffering from defective systems of management and thus rampant inefficiency…
Faith Encouraged
The Time is Fulfilled
·
The American astronaut Buzz Aldrin once said “Timing has always been a key element in my life. I have been blessed to have been in the right place at the right time.” And, of course, this reminds me of the old saying in comedy, “Timing is everything.” It really is amazing when all the elements of time, opportunity, ability, and circumstances all mix together to create just the right environment for things to happen! Frankly, I could…
The Morning Offering
Unbelief
·
The Ultimate Sickness Humankind’s ultimate sickness, is that of unbelief. This world is the place of preparation for our life in eternity, the place where we are prepared for the Kingdom that is to come. Within this world, Our Lord Jesus Christ established a hospital in which the medicine for the cure of our sickness is available, and this hospital…
Faith Encouraged
Here's Your Chance to Spend some Time with Fr. Barnabas
·
Eastern Christian Insights
Personal Transfiguration in Holiness: Homily for the 11th Sunday After Pentecost, the 11th Sunday of Matthew, and the After-Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ
·
1 Corinthians 9:2-12; Matthew 18:23-35 There is a lot going on the life of the Church this time of year. Even as we continue to celebrate our Lord’s Transfiguration, we prepare by fasting to observe the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos during the coming week. In order to enter into the good news proclaimed through these feasts, the eyes of our souls must be cleansed so that…
The Morning Offering
Holistic Orthodoxy
·
Our Orthodoxy must be holistic in practice As an adjective, the word holistic is characterized by the comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole. Holistic Medicine is characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a…
Faith Encouraged
That is Enough to Give Me Hope
·
Today we welcome a guest contributor to the Faith Encouraged community, Christina Kampas. From time to time on the weekends, we will be featuring guest writers on the Faith Encouraged blog. May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him. Romans 15:13 I am 25 years old and landed a corporate dream job, only to realize that months later my health would take a turn for…
The Morning Offering
Representing Orthodoxy
·
On being ambassadors for the Faith It was relatively late in my life when I embraced Orthodoxy. Having wandered in a spiritual wasteland, and knowing I was drying up spiritually, I found myself looking for something that would fill the void. Orthodoxy had not been in my scope, seeming, as it were, to be some exotic, eastern form of a…