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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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Faith Encouraged
The Protection of the Theotokos
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“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…
Word of the Day
Once Alienated Now Reconciled (Wed. Oct. 28)
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The word of the day is “alienated.” In our reading of Colossians 1:18-23, St. Paul proclaims that Christ has “made peace through the blood of His cross” (vs.20). Why did it take the suffering of the Cross for the Father to “reconcile all things to himself”? Why couldn’t some sweet words of His lovingkindness have accomplished it? Why couldn’t our Heavenly Father have declared his unmerited forgiveness of sinners without such the shedding of the Lord’s blood? Theologians have wrestled with these questions throughout the centuries. In our reading, St. Paul refers to the “human condition” to give one answer. He states, “you… were once were alienated and enemies [of God] in your mind by wicked works…” (vs. 21).  Paul…
The Morning Offering
Struggling with Prayer
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What do we do when our prayer becomes dry? When we find ourselves struggling with prayer, and feel that it has become dry and lifeless, we are sometimes tempted to stop praying. When our prayer has become a struggle, it is good to remember that God knows our needs, and even knows what we want to say when we don’t…
Orthodox Reformed Bridge
No Bowing Allowed?
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A reader recently wrote: My greatest struggle with Orthodoxy is the veneration of saints, angels, and Blessed Mary. In the Book of Revelations there is a scene that plays on 22:8 where John bows to an angel and the angel rebukes him. Typically, Roman Catholic and Orthodox say that he was rebuked for trying to worship the angel (not venerate). The problem though (in my view) is that is the Beloved…
Beyond the Bars
The Challenge of Prison Ministry during the Pandemic
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It’s Wednesday morning and I say my prayers before a small copy of the Hawaiian myrrh streaming Icon of the Theotokos and I anoint myself with the holy myrrh and ask for Her Holy intercession and protection as I leave the Church rectory for a short 15 minute ride to the state institution at Waymart, Pennsylvania, where I serve as a contract chaplain and coordinate a visitation internship program with St. Tikhon’s…
Glory to God for All Things
What a Caveman Said: To Perceive That Which Is Eternal
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Fr. Alexander Schmemann described “secularism” as the greatest heresy of our time. He didn’t describe it as a political movement, nor a threat from the world outside Christianity. Rather, he described it as a “heresy,” that is, a false teaching from within the Christian faith. What is secularism? Secularism is the belief that the world exists independent of God, that its meaning and use are defined by human beings. Things are merely…
Faith Encouraged
Ask Seek Knock!
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We moderns love systems. What I mean is we read all the time about “10 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism,” “4 Steps to a New You!,” “8 Days to a Clean House!,” and so on. We simply can’t resist clicking on those links to read those stories. We seem desperate to find the right “system” to address our worries, concerns, and hopes. And yet, all too often, these articles are filled with…
Word of the Day
The Ladder of the Knowledge of Christ (Tuesday, October 27)
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The word of the day is “knowledge.” Today we begin reading St. Paul’s letter to the  Colossians.   In this passage of Chapter 1:1-2, 7-9, the Apostle writes that he constantly prays for the congregation at Colossae, near Ephesus.  As we open this epistle, we immediately note Paul’s special concern and why he wrote the letter. Paul prays “that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (vs. 9). Paul Confronts False Knowledge You see, St. Paul writes  to refute an early form of the heresy of “Gnosticism.” He refers to this false teaching in Chapter 2:9; “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men…”…
The Morning Offering
Divided Loyalties
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We only think we can be of Christ and of the world “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). As you begin your day, be mindful of where you place…
Faith Encouraged
Having Healthy Relationships
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What is it about close relationships that either blind you or enlighten you? What I mean is, I’ve known folks who were so close to someone else that they were absolutely blind to that other person’s faults. I’ve seen it get so bad that the two people were so enmeshed with each other that they really were their own worst enemies when it came to other friends and relatives. There’s nothing like…
Word of the Day
Offerings: a Means of Expressing Devotion (Mon. Oct. 26)
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The word of the day is “gift.” St. Paul closes our reading of the Philippians with our reading of Chapter 4:10-23. This passage is a skillfully written thank you note for the generosity of Paul’s favorite congregation. To conclude his letter, Paul expresses his exuberant gratitude for the gift of monetary support that the Philippians have sent. Somehow something must have held up that donation’s arrival. But Paul graciously overlooks the delay. The Philippians “lacked the opportunity,” he writes (vs. 10).  But now Paul is pleased that their concern for him has blossomed like the flowers of spring. Accomplishing Everything Through Christ Yet Paul wants his favorite congregation to know that the important thing is not his need. He knows…
The Morning Offering
Holy Images
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God infuses His Energies into the icons The Old Testament God was revealed to us by Christ Jesus. Prior to the incarnation of the Logos, God’s people were forbidden to make any image of Him, for no one had seen His face. Yet when Christ said to His disciples, “he who has seen Me has seen the Father”, the fullness…
The Morning Offering
The Holy Images
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Abbot Tryphon’s homily on the Holy Icons (click above to view the 7 minute sermon).
Word of the Day
The Origin and Nature of Holy Tradition (Sun. Oct. 25)
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The Word of the Day is “revelation.” In our reading of Galatians 1:11-19 today, St. Paul defends His Gospel message, “But I make known to you, brethren that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ (vs. 11-12). These words refer to the origin of Holy Tradition as The Orthodox Study Bible notes, “Apostolic tradition is grounded in divine revelation from Jesus Christ” (OSB fn. on 1:11,12). But what was the revelation? It was not a bound book drifting down from heaven or a discourse dictated by an angel. According to 2 Peter, “we [the apostles] did not follow…
The Morning Offering
The Gift of Laughter
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Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence One of the teachings of recent saints that has struck many people in recent times has been the teachings of Saint Paisios of Mt. Athos, and Elder Thaddeus of Serbia, to consciously cultivate godly, positive ways of thinking and feeling. Although we have no written evidence that Our Lord Jesus Christ laughed,…
Eastern Christian Insights
What Truly Satisfies Those Who Bear the Image and Likeness of God?: Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Luke in the Orthodox Church
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Luke 8:26-39             It is much easier to notice the failings of others than to see our own. When our passions are inflamed, the last thing that we want to do is to calm down and take a clear look at ourselves. The problem, however, is that when we mindlessly give ourselves to fulfilling our self-centered desires, whatever they may be, we do not live as those created in the image and…
Word of the Day
Prayer Participates in God’s Work (Sat. Oct. 24)
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The word of the day is “deliverance.” In our reading of 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, St. Paul writes that God has delivered “us” from some unnamed peril. Some believe that the Apostle refers to the menace of his adversaries in Ephesus (1 Cor. 6:9). But Paul’s story is filled with plots, threats, slanders, imprisonments, beatings, illnesses, and shipwrecks. He was lost at sea, in frequent danger from robbers, and even stoned (2 Cor. 11:25). But if Paul divulges the sense of danger and distress in this unidentified incident, it is only to emphasize his deliverance. In Dire Straits The word “trouble” is too weak for what Paul endured. At its root, the Greek word for “trouble” is “to be pressured” or…
The Morning Offering
The Wonderful Truth
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It is God Who sought me out I’m facing another three day hospitalization on the 2nd of November. My cardiologist has decided they need to do another procedure for my heart, so, once again, I am facing my mortality. I turn 75 on the 9th of November, so I am nearing the age when my own father died of heart…
No Other Foundation
The Beatitudes – “Blessed are the poor in spirit”
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We now begin our series on the Beatitudes. Today we examine our Lord’s word, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”. We have said before that the Beatitudes should not be read as moral maxims applicable to everyone, like a Christian version of advice such as “Honesty is the best policy” or “A stich in time saves nine”. Rather, the Beatitudes were words of encouragement to…
A Lamp for Today
From, In, and For God: the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
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Gal 1:11-19; passages from Jeremiah; 1 Cor 15 On FaceBook this morning, an argumentative friend in a Dialogue group responded to a wise saying of a Church father by reminding us that all prayer in the New Testament is directed towards God, not the saints. Her fear concerning mediation, of course, is shared by many Protestants, who believe that both our esteem of the saints and our traditions separate us from God,…
Faith Encouraged
Renewing You: A Priest, A Psychologist, and a Plan!
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Faith Encouraged
Truth Matters; Life Matters More
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My dear friend Hank Hanegraaff has a book out called “Truth Matters; Life Matters More” and in it Hank goes through the journey of revelation about his move into the Orthodox Church BECAUSE of his discovery that the continuity of Faith was about more than religious ideas or philosophy but a living communion between real people holding to the LIFE of the faith, not merely the ideas of the Faith. And it…
The Morning Offering
Reclaiming Our Common Heritage
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Replacing political correctness with love and respect I have witnessed many changes in this nation during my 75 years, but the one change that has saddened me the most is that the influence of Christianity has been replaced by virtues running wild – particularly “a hungering and thirsting for righteousness”,extracted out from its original Christian foundation. These berserk, secular “virtues”…
Word of the Day
To Gain Christ (Fri. Oct. 23)
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The word of the day is “gain.”  In our reading of Philippians 3:8-19, St. Paul states, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” (3:8). But this lofty statement begins in the middle of the Apostle’s thought. Paul has railed against the Judaizers who are promoting circumcision to bind believers to the Mosaic Law. Like them, he says he once entrusted his salvation to his circumcision and obedience to the Law of Moses. He lists his credentials as a “Hebrew of the Hebrews,” a Pharisee who excelled in the…
Behind the Scenes
Unveiling Morwenna: How a Twenty-First-Century Researcher Fell in Love with a Fifth-Century Saint
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When Seven Holy Women was just a gleam in the eye of Khouria Melinda Johnson, she gathered around her a group of seven not-especially-holy women and started doling out saints. Each one of us authors was to write about one of the venerable figures Melinda had identified; each one of the saints was a lover of Christ from another age, honored by Christians in both East and West – lesser-known and deserving…
Faith Encouraged
How Long Before I Start to Die?
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The girl needed a transfusion and the only suitable donor was her brother, and he was just 11 years old! So, the family talked it over and said it had to be up to the brother to do this. The doctor approached the boy and asked if he’d give his blood to save his sister’s life. The boy thought for only a moment and said “yes.” So, they took the boy in…
Word of the Day
Worship That Ascends to the Throne of God (Thurs. Oct. 22)
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The word of the day “Spirit.” In our reading of Philippians 3:1-8, St. Paul warns again about the Judaizers who would persuade the Philippians to be circumcised to become true Christians. The Apostle cautions that circumcision is merely an outward sign in the physical body, the “flesh.” What counts is the “circumcision of the heart” as the prophet Jeremiah declared” (Jeremiah 4:4). To this Word of the prophet, Paul adds, “…and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter” (Romans 2:29). Worship Inspired and Empowered by the Spirit If so, then Paul can say without hesitation, “We are the circumcision.” St. John Chrysostom asks, “Which is superior, the soul or the body? Evidently the…