Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Recovering a Full Theological Vision of the Ascension
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And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. —John 12:32 Ascension Day is possibly the most forgotten of the great feasts of the Lord. Why? In part because, unlike all the other feasts of the same rank, it can never fall on a Saturday or Sunday. Forty days after Pascha is always a Thursday,…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
How Death Unlocks Life
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Myrrh-bearers Sunday, May 15, 2016 Acts 6:1-7; Mark 15:43-16:8 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! Today on this third Sunday of Pascha, we return for a little while to a precious moment in Holy Week, when on Holy Friday and Saturday we encounter the…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Can a Historic Christian Be a Nationalist?
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Lately I’ve been seeing nationalistic / racialistic rhetoric from some who identify as Christian. Some say that this is just their politics and has nothing to do with their religion. That is, of course, a distinctly secular idea, that one can practice some part of life in a way that is separate from religion. While we don’t have to pursue theocracy, dominionism, etc., to…
Nearly Orthodox
The Benefits of Doing it Wrong
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“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” –Frederich Buechner My writing style is sometimes described as “confessional” and that seems about right. I want to be honest and vulnerable in my work. When I sit down to put things to paper, I don’t hold back in that first draft. I put it all down there. The second draft is where I ask myself whether I really…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Church is Not the Building... Right?
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I hate it when people say that. Yes, there is a certain truth to the statement The Church is not the building. But it is usually said in the context of talking about buildings, and so what is meant by it is not really a counter of an obviously ridiculous idea, namely, that the Church is equal to a building. It is somewhat ironic,…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Preaching the Gospel "That Our Joy May Be Fulfilled"
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Thomas Sunday / Feast of the Apostle John the Theologian, May 8, 2016 1 John 1:1-5; John 20:19-31 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! The Gospel story begins today with the gathering of the disciples of Jesus in a room where the doors were…
Nearly Orthodox
Mother's Day Gifts
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My youngest son, Miles, gave me a head cold for Mother’s Day. I felt it coming on last night as we sat together in the park near our home and watched a lighted parade of bicycles dressed as bison. My husband has a small non-profit street opera company called Opera-matic, here in Chicago and this odd, but beautiful parade was a part of a gathering they organized with the people in the…
Nearly Orthodox
On Holy Fools as Family...
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Nearly Orthodox
Holy Saturday/Glorious Pascha
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Will you be there? The question came from a friend as I was leaving the Good Friday service and then, from someone else today, this Holy Saturday, through Facebook. Yes. I will be there. I cannot tell you how good it is to be asked this question. For me, spending a lot of time on the edges of social gatherings, church meetings, any kind of event that requires me to “be” there…
Nearly Orthodox
Good Friday: Breath and Bones
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Good Friday always finds me lacking, or running, or desperate to “catch up.” So, in an effort to dial things back a notch and at the same time, dig in to the quiet moments of a crazy life, I’ll just offer this today. I offer it because poetry has the ability to reach those deep places in me no matter what the circumstances of my life. And I want to connect with…
Nearly Orthodox
Holy Thursday: Still
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O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. -St. Ephrem The Syrian Every morning during the week I drop…
Nearly Orthodox
Holy Wednesday: Oil and Air
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O Lord who, in thy mercies and bounties, healest the disorders of our souls and bodies, do Thou, the same Master, sanctify this Oil, that it may be effectual for those who shall be anointed therewith, unto healing, and unto relief from every passion, every malady of the flesh and of the spirit, and every ill; and that therein may be glorified Thy most Holy Name, of the Father, and of the…
Nearly Orthodox
Holy Tuesday: Clearing Clutter
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He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. -Matthew 23:11 A few weeks ago I had this great idea. I looked at the crazy clutter of things on my desk that defined my next few weeks and I thought I’d get a jump on posts for Holy Week. I thought that I’d write a short post for…
Nearly Orthodox
Holy Monday: Keeping Pace
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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. -Galatians 5:22-25 As I write this, birds are singing just outside my window. The rolling green of middle Tennessee fills…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Who is God? (Part 8 of 8): God is Our King
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Palm Sunday, April 24, 2016 Philippians 4:4-9; John 12:1-8 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today, on the final Sunday of the Triodion, Palm Sunday, we wrap up our series in which we have been asking the question “Who is God?” This is eighth part of this…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Are Mormons Developing Toward Greater Orthodoxy?
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Today I ran across this fascinating piece over at First Things by Richard J. Mouw: “Mormons Approaching Orthodoxy” (“Orthodoxy” here is what we might call “small-O orthodoxy”). In this, Mouw, the former president of Fuller Theological Seminary, makes observations about his relationship with Mormons that resulted from his participation in years of Evangelical-Mormon dialogue, which he uses to interpret statements made by…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Vladimir Lossky on Ecumenical Dialogue
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I recently came across Paul Ladouceur’s translation of an article by Vladimir Lossky on “The Doctrine of Grace in the Orthodox Church,” published in the St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 58, no. 1 (2014). The whole article contains matters of interest to readers here, but I’d just like to highlight its inclusion of a rare statement by Lossky on his understanding of ecumenical…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Who is God? (Part 7 of 8): God is Our Salvation
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Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, April 17, 2016 Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 10:32-45 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. We are now getting very close to Holy Week, and the final journey to Jerusalem for the Lord Jesus is about to begin. We focus very much now…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Follow-up from Nicholas Marinides on Non-Chalcedonian Christology
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Editorial introduction: Here is a follow-up response from Dr. Nicholas Marinides commenting on the reply he received from Coptic author Mina Soliman on his piece from earlier this week, “Chalcedonian Orthodoxy and Non-Chalcedonian Heterodoxy.” For the full context, you’ll want to take a look at the previous posts: Read Dr. Marinides’s initial post. Read Mina Solimon’s response. Thanks Mina, for taking the…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Response to Nicholas Marinides on Non-Chalcedonian Christology
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We’ve received a note regarding a more thorough response from a Coptic writer, Mina Soliman, regarding Nicholas Marinides’s recent post, “Chalcedonian Orthodoxy and Non-Chalcedonian Heterodoxy.” Mina is a lector (reader) of the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. Here are some excerpts from his piece: You begin with the ecclesiological issues. One is left in a quandary over two traditions, split for…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Who Are Funerals For? And Who Are They About?
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It’s an old question: Who are funerals for — the living or the departed? If I had to give a quick answer, I would say that funerals are for all concerned, including the departed (in many Christian traditions, we are praying for the departed). But in terms of their impact “on the ground,” they are probably mostly for the (earthly) living. But the bigger…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Early Pentecostal Speaking in Tongues was About Foreign Languages
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The following two excerpts are from the revised text of Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Finding the Way to Christ in a Complicated Religious Landscape, which is due for publication by Ancient Faith Publishing in December 2016 (see the full Table of Contents here). The chapter on Pentecostalism from which these sections are drawn is completely new for this edition. The “Parham” mentioned in…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
Chalcedonian Orthodoxy and Non-Chalcedonian Heterodoxy
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The title of this essay may startle many who assume that union of the Orthodox with the Non-Chalcedonians (the historic Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, West Syrian (Syriac/Jacobite), Armenian, and Indian (Malankara) churches) is imminent. Such an assumption is due to ignorance among many Anglophone Orthodox of the criticism to which eminent Orthodox theologians in other countries have subjected the dialogue between the Orthodox…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Who is God? (Part 6 of 8): God is Our Hope
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Sunday of St. John of the Ladder, April 10, 2016 Hebrews 6:13-20; Mark 9:17-31 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. We are now on the sixth Sunday of our eight-part series asking the question, “Who is God?” We’re just a few weeks away from Pascha now, and…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Who is God (Part 5 of 8): God is Our Priest
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Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross, April 3, 2016 Hebrews 4:14-5:6; Mark 8:34-9:1 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today is our fifth meditation in our eight-part series asking the question, “Who is God?” Today is also the third Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday…
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
What's in the Revised Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy? Here's the TOC
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I’m getting pretty close to done with my edits for the revised, expanded version of Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, which is now available to order. The final word count will be about 125,000 136,000 words, which makes it about 75% 90% larger than the first edition (which was about 72,000 words). Now that I’m almost done we’re in the editorial stage, I can…
Nearly Orthodox
Binge and Purge, Give and Take
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I recognize this pattern. I participate in it often without even questioning it. I make jokes about it and write about it, and still, I participate. It’s okay these days to openly fall into a binge and purge pattern on some things, not others. Because of awareness campaigns, after school specials, celebrity struggles or well-versed friends, most of us have been warned off binging and purging where food is concerned. We see…
