Glory to God for All Things
Transfiguration and the Bridal Chamber
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There is a propensity in our modern world to break things down – to analyze. We have gained a certain mastery over many things by analyzing various components of their structure and manipulating what we find. It has become the default position of modern thought. This power of analysis, however, is weakened by its very success. Frequently the truth of something lies not in the summary of its parts but in theā¦
Praying in the Rain
50 Years And Not Much Like a Saint
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Today is my birthdayābig 5-0. Am I an adult yet? Bonnie and I were talking this morning over oatmeal and blueberries (the blueberries this year are awesome) about the bishops and the scandals and the various responses. She said, āI wonder what St. Nektarios would do?ā That was a word to my heart. St. Nektarios didnāt fight, he bore and prayedāand became holy. May God grant us wisdom to speak our conscience,ā¦
Glory to God for All Things
The Fullness of Faith
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I prefer to use the term “fullness” when describing the Orthodox faith because it is far more explanatory than simply saying that we are the “true Church,” etc. “Fullness,” of course does not deny this, but it moves us onto more fruitful ground. In this post I offer a short list of what seem to me important consequences of giving one’s life to the “fullness of the faith.”Ā This is a reprintā¦
Glory to God for All Things
Speaking With Authority
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And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,Ā for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes (Matt. 7:28-29). Authority is an interesting phenomenon – though not often what people may think. I remember the first few years of my ministry – fresh from seminary. There is probably no one in the religious world who knows more than a newly-graduated seminarian. I wasā¦
Praying in the Rain
Me and Elder Prophyrios
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No, I have never physically met Elder Prophyrios. My relationship with the Elder began the first time his book, Wounded by Love came into my house. Everyone, it seemed, was talking about it, so I got a copy. I jumped right in when my copy arrived and was quickly disturbed by what I read. Obedience is the theme of the Elderās monastic training, and I found that disturbing. It was disturbing notā¦
Glory to God for All Things
Rightly Reading - Yet Again
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I am reprinting this short article on “rightly reading” in response to comments on my last post. I suspect that this article will be reprinted often when the subject of the study of Scripture arises. The course of your reading should be parallel to the aim of your way of life…. Most books that contain instructions in doctrine are not useful for purification. The reading of many diverse books brings distraction ofā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
"This ancient and honorable name"
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The image above is of the Knauss Homestead, one of the founding family homes in Emmaus, established in 1777. It was the patriarch of the clan, Sebastian Knauss, who first donated land in 1759 on which Emmaus was to be built. The Homestead property borders directly on that of St. Paul Orthodox Church, where I am pastor. It’s probably a decent assumption that weā¦
Glory to God for All Things
The Orthodox Reading of Scripture
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The following quote is from the Christian history website maintained by Christianity Today (anĀ evangelical source).Ā Ā It describes the crucial teaching role of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, an early Bishop of the Church and later a martyr, and perhaps the most articulate spokesman of Orthodox theology in the 2nd century. The article discusses Irenaeus’ refutation of the Gnostic heretics, particularly their misuse of Scripture. It sheds light on how the Church rightly divides theā¦
Glory to God for All Things
Usefulness and Beauty
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The recent questions about knowing God – which I have described as something that often comes to me in the “peripheral vision” of my life – seems somehow related to the perception of beauty as well. Beauty often seems to be “greater than the sum of its parts.” We see beauty not simply byĀ looking at a thing – but byĀ seeing it. Many people look at icons – a rightly prepared heart isā¦
Glory to God for All Things
With What Little We Know - It Is Enough
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The question was offered earlier today:Ā What is the place of asceticism in the life of a family? Should we learn to guard the intellect, strive for pure prayer, etc. in a similar way as a monastic would? I offer here a reprint that speaks to the question. For the truth is, we will know little about the deeper forms of asceticism – even if we read books on the subject (or especiallyā¦
Glory to God for All Things
To Gain Paradise
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I stumbled across the following quote from St. Cosmos of Aetolia: The Martyrs earned paradise with their blood; the Monastics, with their ascetic life. Now we, my brethren, who beget children, how shall we earn paradise? With hospitality, by relieving the poor, the blind, the lame, as Joachim (the father of the Theotokos ) didā¦. Almsgiving, love, and fasting sanctify man, enrich him in both soul and body, and bring him toā¦
Glory to God for All Things
The Fascination of Wickedness
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For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good (Wisdom 4:12) Man has such powers that he can transmit good or evil to his environment. These matters are very delicate. Great care is needed. We need to see everything in a positive frame of mind. We mustn’t think anything evil about others. Even a simple glance or a sigh influences those around us. And even the slightest anger or indignation does harm.ā¦
Praying in the Rain
Last Day in Palm Springs: Heavenly Visions
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Itās 7:00 pm and 108ā° outside. The conference is over. Iām tired. The hierarchical Divine Liturgy this morning was an amazing experience for me. I have seen and concelebrated many hierarchical Divine Liturgies. This one, for me, was different. Perhaps it was different because I was standing at the side, instead of in front, and I saw more of the movement of subdeacons, altar boys and non-celebrating priests. It seemed for aā¦
Glory to God for All Things
The Ancestors of God
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Part of the consciousness of the Orthodox faith was forged in the defense of the Divinity of Christ. The Church was clear in its understanding that Christ is truly God – truly God and truly man. The great councils of the early centuries of the Church stated this understanding time and again, refining each statement as various challenges were offered to the fundamentals of the faith. It is in the context ofā¦
Praying in the Rain
Discontent in Palm Springs
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So the discontent emerged. Unfortunately, it was not handled as well as it could have been. To start with, however, I must commend the Metropolitan for recommending an audit before one was recommended from the floor. Personally, I am happy with this step. Probably, the audit will not be as thorough as some want, but it is a big first step. Once the Archdiocese gets used to having external audits, and nowā¦
Praying in the Rain
Explosion in the Philippines
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Business meetings all day today. I did learn that an āOld Catholicā university in the Philippines has asked to come under the Episcopal oversight of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. The Metropolitan of Australia Chrismated 250 of the 800 student earlier this year. There has been an explosion of interest in Orthodoxy in the Philippines. They have had to bring in a celibate priest (archimandrite) just to go around teaching (catechising) the groupsā¦
Glory to God for All Things
True Knowledge of God - Living the Tradition
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Tradition (the subject of my last post) is understood within the Orthodox faith in a manner that is quite different than the word’s use in the vocabulary of many other Christians. Tradition is the continuous Life of God in the Church. There are many things that give expression to this life – but Tradition itself is not the expression but the content that gives rise to the expression. The Christian faith isā¦
Praying in the Rain
A Man Plans His Ways, But...
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Proverbs 16: 9–A man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps. Or, to put it another way: Life (Godās life, the life of faith, the life that we live and give to God) is what happens after we make our plans. This morning I looked at the conference schedule and realized that there were no meetings that I had to attend, so I decided that I would go for Divineā¦
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Religion's Changing Face in Emmaus
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My koumbaro (fancy Greek term for “ecclesiastical relative,” in this case, my daughter’s godfather) is visiting with us here for a few days, and this afternoon, he and I visited my favorite local coffeehouse to get a little caffeination and chat in. While we were there, we talked a bit with the proprietor, as well as with a fellow who stopped in and wasā¦
Glory to God for All Things
At The Edge of Tradition - More Notes from the Edge
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There are many things that we see in our lives to which the word “traditional” may be attached. It can refer to a style of dress or an understanding of relationships. In Church it may refer to the use of certain kinds of music or a sytle of worship. Many years ago, pastoring my first parish as an Episcopal priest, I had a young couple who were Roman Catholics, who had comeā¦
Praying in the Rain
Clergy Meeting with the Metropolitan
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Today I was impressed by Metropolitan Philip. I watch him answer questions from the clergy, some of whom were aggressive in their questioning, with openness and willingness to accept suggestions. Metropolitan Philip’s answers were clear (although sometimes off point) and for the most part satisfactory. I do not agree with all he has done or is doing, but to my satisfaction he has explained why he has done what he has, andā¦
Glory to God for All Things
More Notes from the Edge
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I began last week with an article on the End of the World and the Orthodox view of the “last things.” I have followed this with thoughts about life on the “edge.” That image, a common metaphor within a number of 20th century Orthodox writers, is continued in this post – and likely in several more to come. Perhaps it is an aspect of our modern life that we frequently find ourselvesā¦
Praying in the Rain
Restore to Me the Joy
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Most people think the opposite of joy is sadness. I donāt think so. Joy and sadness can coexistādo coexist. One of the names for the feeling of mixed joy and sadness often used in the Orthodox Tradition is ābright sadness.ā It is one of those feelings, or I might better say it is one of those experiences, for which words seem completely inadequate; so I will not try to explain it. Whatā¦
Glory to God for All Things
At the Edge
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A reprint…since we were discussing the end of the world… One of the peculiar marks of life in the modern world is the sense one has of standing on the edge. We are always (it seems) either standing on the edge of disaster or on the edge of some great discovery. Of course, a lot of this is simply the way we market the world to ourselves. But it is an inherentā¦
Praying in the Rain
Am I an Evangelical?
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In my Protestant days, when I began reading Medieval writers, I was often confused by their use of the adjective, āevangelical.ā The reference was often made of monks and other holy people that they lived an evangelical life. At that time, the only meaning for evangelical I knew was based on my understanding of Evangelical Protestants. An Evangelical, I thought, was a Christian who emphasized evangelism: aka proselytzation. It took me quiteā¦
Glory to God for All Things
In the Grasp of Wonder
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Concepts create idols; only wonder grasps anything. St. Gregory of Nyssa St. Gregory of Nyssa’s marvelous dictum is among a handful of things that describe what is required for the Christian life. So much of Christian history has been marked with a bifurcation – a split between those who study the faith and those who live it. It is not a necessary split – only a common one. Of course there isā¦
Glory to God for All Things
The End of History
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The first part of this article is from one of my earliest posts. Appended to it are some current reflections. If it was worth reading the first time… O, Mama, can this really be the end? To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues again. Bob Dylan Ok. I’ll confess it right up front – I’m a Dylan fan. It shows my age and generation. My children have had toā¦
