The Morning Offering
Sunday, July 5 / June 22 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the…
Praying in the Rain
Bear One Another's Burdens
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When St. Paul at the end of Galatians tells us to bear one another’s burdens and “so fulfill the law of Christ,” What exactly is he telling us to do? Just three verses later, St. Paul tells the Galatians, “Each one shall bear his own load.” Is this a contradiction? Most of us, I think, never thought about this. Even if we knew both verses, we would quote them for different purposes.…
Glory to God for All Things
Hopko on Life and Death
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Glory to God for All Things
Prayers By the Lake XXII - Shatter the Narrowness of My Soul
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O Only Son of God, receive me into Your wisdom. You are the head of all the sons of men. You are their heavenly comprehension, illumination and jubilation. You are the One who thinks the same goodness in all men: the same thought and the same light. A man recognizes another man through You. A man prophesies to another man through You. Through Your voice men hear each other. In Your language they understand.…
The Morning Offering
Saturday, July 4 / June 21 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saint John the…
Glory to God for All Things
Civilizations and the Kingdom - A Call for Prayer
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This reprint (with changes) seems fitting for America’s Independence Day celebrations this weekend. I give thanks to God that priests are forbidden (by canon law) to hold political office – not that I would ever be elected – but that I would never want to stand in the place where my Christian faith was so torn – between what I might think good for the state and what would seem obedient to…
The Morning Offering
Friday, July 3 / June 20 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the…
The Morning Offering
Thursday, July 2 / June 19 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the…
The Morning Offering
Wednesday, July 1 June 18 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the…
Glory to God for All Things
Rightly Reading
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This is a reprint from last October. 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 of mind down on you. Know, then, that not every book that teaches about religion is useful for the purification of the consciousness and the concentration of the thoughts.…
The Morning Offering
Tuesday, June 30/ June 17 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the…
The Morning Offering
Monday, June 29 / June 16 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the…
Glory to God for All Things
You Are Not A Bible Character
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Events which receive more than their share of news coverage are not my favorite topics for blog posts. However, this past week’s revelations of yet another politician’s infidelity offered one aspect worthy of comment (or so it seems to me). That is the use of the Bible as a means for reflecting on one’s personal situation in life. There is a long history of just such usage. The pilgrim fathers who came…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Arrival
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The Morning Offering
Sunday, June 28 / June 15 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the…
The Morning Offering
Saturday, June 27 / June 14 (Church Calendar)
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The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the…
Glory to God for All Things
Belief and Practice
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A friend sent me a review of the book The Byzantine Lists: Errors of the Latins by Tia M. Kolbaba (University of Illinois Press). The review is by Elesha Coffman, associate editor of Christian History. An excerpt from the review offers an interesting insight: According to Kolbaba, historians have never really studied the lists because of their unusual content: a mixture of theological, liturgical, and seemingly personal disagreements. Keroularios’s list accuses Latins…
The Morning Offering
Friday, June 26 / June 13 (Church Calendar)
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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the Day June 13 / 26. Martyr Aquila of Byblos in Syria. St. Triphyllius, Bishop of Leucosia (Nicosia) in Cyprus. Martyr Antonina of Nicaea. St. Anna and her son St. John of Constantinople. St. Antipater, Bishop of Bostra in Arabia. St. Andronicus, disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh, and St.…
Glory to God for All Things
St. Paul's Salvation
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What things were of gain to me – these I have counted as loss for Christ. Indeed, I count all things as 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 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which…
Glory to God for All Things
Are You Saved?
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The Morning Offering
Thursday, June 25 / June 12 (Church Calendar)
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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the Day June 12 / 25. Saints Onuphrius the Great, and Peter of Mt. Athos. St. Arsenius, abbot of Konevits. Saints John, Andrew, Heraclemon, and Theophilus, hermits of Egypt (also 2 December). St. John the Soldier of Egypt. St. Onuphrius, abbot of Malsk (Pskov). Saints Onuphrius and Auxentius, monks of…
Glory to God for All Things
Calvinism As Heresy
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Met. Jonah of the OCA today addressed a group of conservative Anglicans. In the course of outlining what would be necessary for true ecumenical dialog and union, he stated, “the renunciation of Calvinism as a heresy.” This probably came as a surprise to many of the evangelical Anglicans in the audience. Appended here is the proclamation of the Council of which proclaimed, from an Orthodox perspective, certain aspects of Calvinism to be…
The Morning Offering
Wednesday, June 24 / June 11 (Church Calendar)
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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the Day June 11 / 24. Holy Apostles Bartholomew and Barnabas. Opening of the Relics of St. Ephraim, abbot of Novotorzhk. St. Barnabas, abbot of Vetluga. Translation of the Relics of St. Arcadius, monk of Vyazma and Novotorzhk. Commemoration of the appearance of Archangel Gabriel to a monk on Mt.…
The Morning Offering
Tuesday, June 23 / June 10 (Church Calendar)
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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the Day June 10 / 23. Hieromartyr Timothy, Bishop of Prusa. Martyr Alexander and Virgin Martyr Antonina at Constantinople. St. Bassian, Bishop of Lodi in Lombardy. St. Theophanes, monk of Antioch, and St. Pansemne, the former harlot of Antioch. St. John Maximovitch, Metropolitan of Tobolsk. St. Silvanus of the Kiev…
Glory to God for All Things
Not in Vain and Not by Chance
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Not in vain and not by chance Was life granted me by God And not without God’s hidden will Has it been condemned to death. I myself through willful power Summoned evil from the dark abyss And my soul I filled with passion, Stirring up my mind with doubts. Remember Him whom I’d forgotten Pierce through with light the gloom of thoughts Then it will be, through You created A heart that’s…
Glory to God for All Things
A Sacrifice of Emptiness - the Fullness of Life in Christ
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Conversation this past week on this site has centered around mercy and justice and the understanding of the sacrifice of Christ. I began with an article on a quote by St. Isaac of Syria, who famously questions the human concept of justice and its relation to God. The Christian treatment of the atonement – what does it mean to say that “Christ died for us” – has found expression in a variety…
The Morning Offering
Monday, June 22 / June 9 (Church Calendar)
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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever! Saints of the Day June 9 / 22. St. Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria [Heb 13:7-16; Matt 5:14-19]. St. Cyril, abbot of White Lake (Byelozersk). St. Alexander, abbot of Kushta (Vologda). Five nuns beheaded in Persia: Martyrs Thecla, Mariamne, Martha, Mary, and Enmatha. Righteous Cyril of Velsk or Vazhesk (Vologda). (Greek Calendar: Hieromartyr…
