No Other Foundation
Part Two: Not Like Religion - the Christian Calendar
·
In a previous post we looked at the difference between the Christian Faith and all the other religions, and suggested that the main difference lay in the fact that Christianity was not a religion, but rather the saving presence of Christ in the world, and through His Spirit, our participation in the powers of the age to come. The idea that Christianity is not a religion comes as a surprise to many,…
The Storyteller
How to Become a Russian Epic Storyteller
·
Russian epic poetry (which is sung, not read) has produced some of the most memorable characters in world literature. Many of the scenes, episodes, and characters from these epic poems inspire my own writing. If you happen to notice something familiar in the characters or events of my novel The Song of the Sirin, that’s probably because you’ve read a Russian fairy tale or epic poem (called bylini in Russian). But maybe…
Faith Encouraged
How Are the Dead Raised?
·
“But, how does it work?” That was the question burning in my mind as a young, curious, typical pre-teen boy. So, I did what any normal kid would do. I took the clock apart! Still didn’t get my question answered because I didn’t understand the concept of the gears and spring system AND the clock never worked again because I didn’t know how to put it back together again! Needless to say,…
The Morning Offering
A Sympathetic Heart
·
The importance of cultivating a sympathetic heart We humans are an odd species. We are capable of great sensitivity and compassion, yet we are also capable of terrible cruelty. Staring at people with facial deformities, or who may have peculiar, physically malformed bodies, may satisfy our innate curiosity, but the cruelty inflicted upon the sufferer is great. As a child…
Glory to God for All Things
The Struggle Against the Normal Life
·
Within the Christianity of our time, the great spiritual conflict, unknown to almost all, is between a naturalistic/secular world of modernity and the sacramental world of classical Christianity. The first presumes that a literal take on the world is the most accurate. It tends to assume a closed system of cause and effect, ultimately explainable through science and manageable through technology. Modern Christians, quite innocently, accept this account of the world…
Praying in the Rain
The Folly and Necessity of Rationalizing the Supra-rational
·
Several years ago I was leading a book study on St. Theophan the Recluse’ The Spiritual Life and How To Be Attuned To It. I had read the book at least twice before this study, so I was going through it a third time as I prepared for my talks. As I read, I was excited to discover that I seemed to be understanding his broader ideas and not getting so lost…
Faith Encouraged
Do You REALLY Believe?
·
Friedrich Nietzsche declared “Faith means not wanting to know what is true.” And Fr. Seraphim Rose responds: “Atheism, true ‘existential’ atheism burning with hatred of a seemingly unjust or unmerciful God, is a spiritual state; it is a real attempt to grapple with the true God.… Nietzsche, in calling himself Antichrist, proved thereby his intense hunger for Christ.” In our modern world, gripped by what I call the religion of scientism, reduces…
The Morning Offering
The Mystery of the Church
·
And the corporate nature of salvation There is a certain emptiness in trying to live the Christian life outside the life of the Church. This is because it is impossible to truly live as a Christian without the Church. The reading of the scriptures, and our commitment to prayer, are important foundations in the life of a Christian, but they…
Eastern Christian Insights
Seeing is Believing: Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration in the Orthodox Church
·
2 Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9 Seeing is believing. It is one thing to hear an interesting story or to entertain a bright idea. It is far different, however, to encounter an event or to participate in a situation such that we know its truth and are changed as a result. That is precisely what the apostles Peter, James, and John experienced on Mount Tabor when they were…
The Morning Offering
The Bee or the Fly?
·
Looking only for the good in others The newly glorified (canonized) Saint Paisios of the Holy Mountain said there are two types of people. There are the bees and the flies. The bees are attracted to flowers and sweet smells, whereas the flies are only attracted to dirt and stench. Ask a bee where there is stench, and he will…
The Morning Offering
Priests
·
Priests must serve as beacons of light The cure for all the passions of the flesh is to be found within the walls of Church. As the Body of Christ, the Church is the foundation of compassion and mercy. It is therefore not Christ’s Church that fails people, but sometimes her priests who can get caught up in the letter…
Roads from Emmaus
Are All Orthodox Christians Supposed to Evangelize? (UPDATED)
·
The following is culled from comments I made on a Facebook thread in a private group in which it was being alleged that most Orthodox Christians aren’t meant to function as missionaries. The argument was mentioned that the Lord’s command to go into all the earth and preach the Gospel was given only (or mainly) to the apostles. Allowance was made for certain rare…
Father Bill's Blog
24. My Travels: 2006, Part One - Saint Nektarios strikes again!
·
I try to post every Friday; otherwise who knows when I’d get them done. I’m sorry to be a week late with this one, without giving you fair warning. I was just too busy to post. Our Pastor Father David Moga was away at the national Antiochian Archdiocese Convention, so I the retired priest took the regular weekend and weekday services plus the usual behind the scenes work. And then one of our founding…
A Lamp for Today
Falling on our Faces: the Feast of the Transfiguration
·
Matthew 17:1-13; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Exodus 24 and 34; Daniel 10:5-10; 1 Kings 19; Malachi 4. St. Matthew tells us that when the disciples heard the voice of the Father, directing them to Jesus His Son, they “fell on their faces and were filled with awe.” All three synoptic gospels relate this event of Jesus’ transfiguration, with some difference in details and focus. But it is St. Matthew whom…
Faith Encouraged
A Heart Too Small
·
If you have a younger sibling then you’ve heard this before: “She did it! Why can’t I?” I know I’ve heard it in my house on numerous occasions, especially when the younger kiddo wonders out loud “What about me?” But sometimes (actually, many times) the younger child isn’t developmentally ready to take on the task that her bigger sister is doing. This happened recently as one daughter was walking to her bus…
The Morning Offering
The Garden
·
Tending the garden of the heart Both my Norwegian grandfather, and my mother, were avid gardeners, so I grew up surrounded by the beauty of plants and flowers. The cottage garden is a distinct style of garden that is certainly my favorite. The use of traditional materials, in an informal design, together with dense plantings, and a mixture of ornamental…
No Other Foundation
Part One: Not Like Religion - the Christian Clergy
·
According to Fr. Alexander Schmemann, Orthodox Christianity is not a religion. In his For the Life of the World, he wrote, “Christianity is in a profound sense the end of all religion…Nowhere in the New Testament is Christianity presented as a cult or as a religion. Religion is needed where there is a wall of separation between God and man. But Christ, who is both God and man, has broken down the…
Faith Encouraged
The 100 Campaign!
·
Faith Encouraged is launching our “100 Campaign” today! We want to reach our goal of 100 sustaining donors in the next month. YOU can help! Please visit our Patreon page to donate. https://www.patreon.com/FaithEncouraged As little as $5 a month can help us grow our outreach and help our Church fulfill the Command of the Lord to make disciples of all nations! Your support produces results like this: Dear Fr. Barnabas, I thank…
Faith Encouraged
The Cure I Need!
·
When I think of our requests we make of God, I find my own requests break down into a few categories – Personal needs, Family concerns, Parish concerns, and Hopes and Fears. But one of the blessings of being Orthodox is that the wise prayers preserved in the Faith cause my prayers to ever expand to include the whole universe. The regular litanies of the Divine Liturgy and other services allow me…
The Morning Offering
The Chief Criterion
·
The fulfillment of the law is love We can be rich in liturgical correctness and wealthy in traditions, but if we do not have love and mercy, we are in reality bankrupt. Our Lord Himself made love and mercy the chief criterion whereby we will be judged on the Last Day. The fulfillment of the law is love, not liturgical…
The Storyteller
Thor and Prophet Elijah: a case of mistaken identity?
·
I’m pleased and honored to welcome you all to my new online home on the Ancient Faith blogging platform. I am Nicholas Kotar, and I write epic fantasy novels inspired by Russian fairy tales. For me, these fairy tales are fascinating in and of themselves. But they also come from a complex history and folk culture that most people have never heard of. I myself knew it only superficially. So I started…
Faith Encouraged
The STONE the Builders Rejected!
·
Welcome to the second day of the Dormition Fast! The wisdom of the fasting disciplines of the Church are meant to reinforce the reality that unless the faith is holistically practiced, that is it affects every aspect of your person, the real danger of compartmentalization exists! I know this is a constant temptation for me! This idea that the faith is only one part of my life. When, in fact, the Faith…
The Morning Offering
Compassion
·
None can be saved without showing compassion for others We must not be so self-consumed as to have no compassion for others. Saint Basil tells us that a man who has two coats or two pair of shoes, when his neighbor has none, is a thief. In the Holy Scriptures we read, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness…
Glory to God for All Things
The End of Time Is Probably Not What You Think
·
I grew up near the end of the world. It was a generally accepted notion that we were living in the “end times,” meaning that Christ would soon return. We were taught that believers would be “raptured” out of the terrible things that would unfold and be with Christ in heaven. We were also taught that the end of the world would come about in a terrible world-wide conflagration. We hid under…
Faith Encouraged
It Is TRULY Right!
·
Everybody else was squirming. They were obviously having a hard time with the information and seemed to rather have been elsewhere. But I was at peace. It just made sense to me, I guess. Some of you know the story of how I entered the Orthodox Church. I was a pastor of a growing Pentecostal church in the Metro Atlanta area, and my best friend and I were really interested in Church…
The Morning Offering
I Don't Know Anything
·
Yet I am fortified and protected by the Light of Christ The renowned 19th century Russian saint, Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833), said of himself, “I don’t know anything”. These words were remarkable coming from a hermit who was the most sought after spiritual adviser of his age, with even the Tsar seeking out his counsel. Yet Saint Seraphim recognized that…
Eastern Christian Insights
The Eucharistic Context of Pastoral Response to Contemporary Challenges in Marriage, Family, and Sexuality
·
[Introductory Note: The short paper below was my presentation at a recent symposium on contemporary pastoral issues in sexuality held in the Netherlands.] The celebration of the Eucharist provides a necessary context for understanding the pastoral response of the Orthodox Church to contemporary challenges in marriage, family, and sexuality. As St. Nicholas Cabasilas commented on the Eucharist, “its aim is the sanctification of the faithful.”[1] Likewise, the aim of the union of husband…
