Faith Encouraged
Our Community Survey Results
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Faith Encouraged
Living Bread vs. Daily Bread
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Christ is risen! In the ancient Roman Empire there were three charges the authorities used to persecute the early Christians: 1. They were Atheists – You see, the Christians didn’t believe in the pagan gods. 2. They were incestuous – They had weekly “love feasts” and called each other brother and sister. 3. They were cannibals – They ate someone’s flesh and drank someone’s blood. Talk about misinformation! And yet, in the…
The Morning Offering
Struggling to Pray
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Struggling with prayer that has become dry and lifeless 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…
Roads from Emmaus
That Very Body
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Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers, April 22, 2018 Acts 6:1-7; Mark 15:43-16:8 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! On this third Sunday of Pascha, we are returned mystically to a series of events in Scripture which have to do with the body of the Lord Jesus. This is the Sunday…
Faith Encouraged
They Thought They Knew Him
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Christ is risen! It was both amusing and, yes, a bit hurtful. We were having an argument. It was one of those arguments that got real personal real fast. You know the kind of arguments between people who are family and think they really know each other well. Well, my relative did know me well a few decades ago but had really lost touch with me as I became a more mature…
The Morning Offering
Sharing Our Faith
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We are called to be evangelists for the faith As Orthodox Christians, we are duty bound to share our faith with others. Christ is for everyone, but with all the bad press Christianity has been getting during the past decade, it is especially important that we approach evangelism in light of the historic Church. The missionary mind of the Orthodox…
Growing the Church
The Operating Principles of the Contemporary Social Imaginary: 2. Rationalism and Scientism
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I come now to the second of the six principles that provide the basic operating principles that govern the contemporary social imaginary. In this case it has to do with the unfettered use of human reason. As Kant put it, “Sapere Aude! have courage to use your own understanding.”[1]In this case, Kant is speaking not just of the freedomto use reason, but rather of the sufficiencyof human reason itself. As Peter Gay…
No Other Foundation
“In the Beginning”: A New Look at the Origin Stories in Genesis
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If there is one thing that is often calculated to get the polemical blood flowing in the veins and send one rushing to the barricades, it is the origin stories in the Book of Genesis. One’s understanding of those first eleven chapters in Genesis involves much more than simple matters of exegesis. It also involves how one views the interplay of science and religion (and possibly the topic of whether creation or…
The Whole Counsel Blog
Marriage and Sexuality According to Christ
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While it has become a commonplace in modern rhetoric to minimize, or even deny, that Jesus himself had anything to say about sexual morality, this is simply not true. In answering a question regarding divorce in Matthew 19:3-12, Christ directs us back to the first two chapters of the book of Genesis in order to illustrate God’s plan for gender, sexuality, and marriage in his creation. By pointing to and reaffirming these passages, Christ in fact makes a strong statement which has consequences for the Christian understanding of issues as diverse as divorce, polygamy, and homosexuality. Understanding this teaching of Christ presents an additional hurdle, however, as the Genesis narratives to which he points have themselves been the subject of…
Faith Encouraged
Treasures Given to the Unexpected
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Christ is risen! I love this: Carl Rogers said “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” Isn’t that a wonderful and challenging paradox? The truth is life is filled with paradox, and Orthodoxy is the Faith of Paradox. After all, our Lord Jesus said if you want to live, you have to die; if you want to lead, you have to serve;…
The Morning Offering
Icons
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Protecting the full and proper doctrine of the Incarnation Unlike angels, who are entirely spiritual beings, God has made each of us as creatures dwelling in a material world. To be whole, we must worship God both in body and soul. This teaching is central to our Christian faith and is an affirmation of the sacramental nature of this material…
Glory to God for All Things
Do You Ever Think About Being A Hobbit?
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I stumbled into the Tolkien novels as a teenager (in the 60’s). They were a gift from an Aunt and so collected dust on a shelf for a year or more. A virus turned me into a shut-in for a short season, and I dusted them off out of sheer boredom. I extended my illness for a couple of weeks until the whole series was finished. It was a journey into another…
Faith Encouraged
True Bread From Heaven
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Christ is risen! It’s a running joke in the family: “Where do you want to go eat?” “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?” What ensues now is a comedy of conversation that sees me offer several places, all of which are rejected. So, I finally say “OK, where do you want to go? What are you hungry for?” and then I hear the answer that sends us right back…
The Morning Offering
Despondency
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When despondency seizes us 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 he was but a funnel from which…
Faith Encouraged
They Have No Excuse!
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Christ is risen! Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” and yet we humans love making excuses. One of the lessons I am trying to teach my daughters is when I have to correct them not to immediately make an excuse for their behavior: “She made me do it” “I didn’t mean to” I’m sure you’ve heard them all before.…
The Morning Offering
Avoid Isolation
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Isolation kills the soul, as it separates us from others The Church is the Body of Christ and by Her very nature is anything but an institution wherein one can be isolated from others. We only let it be so if we fail to involve ourselves as the people of God, with one another. The greeting given by Orthodox Christians,…
The Morning Offering
An Orthodox Church
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The link between the Old and the New Testament temple Orthodox temples have kept to the same form and function since ancient times. Using the Old Testament Temple model, Orthodox churches are divided into several courts or spaces peculiar to their function. The Holy Table, upon which is celebrated the Eucharist, is situated at the east end of the building…
The Morning Offering
Holiness
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The holiness of the Church During each and every celebration of the Divine Liturgy, we, as the people of God, recite the Nicene Creed. This ancient declaration is the very core of our common faith, and connects us to the teachings of the Ancient Church. In this creed we declare that we believe in “The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic…
No Other Foundation
The Defence of the New Deaconesses and the Rest of the Story
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Those contending for the creation of a new order of women clergy in the Orthodox Church under the guise of restoring the ancient order of deaconess (such as those at the St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess) make up in tenacity what they lack in historical balance. Their recent piece in the Public Orthodoxy site makes a number of statements and claims about the ancient order of deaconess. These statements are not…
Faith Encouraged
On the Next Faith Encouraged LIVE - Time & Despondency!
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Faith Encouraged
The Feet That Buried Your Husband...
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Christ is risen! OK, THAT got my attention! Bill was notorious for falling asleep in Mr. Thompson’s Lit class. To be fair, the class was right after lunch and all of us sometimes struggled to “stay focused” during some of Mr. Thompson’s lectures, but he really worked hard to keep things lively and to make the class both informative and fun. He was a good teacher. Well, this late and warm Spring…
The Morning Offering
Holy Tradition
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Holy Tradition supports the proper interpretation of the Bible Many evangelical protestants see Holy Tradition as standing in direct contrast to Scripture, as though Tradition is always relegated to “the traditions of men”. However, there are numerous references in Holy Scripture to Holy Tradition. For example: “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been…
Raising Saints
Anastasis: The Harrowing of Hades Retreat Wrap-Up
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Christ is risen! When we picture the Resurrection, we envision Christ rising from the dead, trampling down death by death, destroying the gates of Hades. But how often do we picture this scene from the perspective of the dead who await Him faithfully? tweet this This year, our parish has been studying the Old Testament together, and of course all of the prophets and the people (those who were righteous and those…
The Music Stand
Building your Church Music System, Part 1: Core Singers
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A lot of people who visit St. Tikhon’s Monastery nowadays remark on how beautiful the music is. I know this sounds self-congratulatory, but I don’t mean it be. The funny thing is that people tend to tell me this, as if I as the choir director were somehow singlehandedly responsible for the beauty of an entire cycle of services that involves a significant number of people knowing their job and executing it well,…
Roads from Emmaus
20 Years of Being Orthodox: 6 Things I've Learned
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Today marks the 20th anniversary of my reception into the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church — the Orthodox Church. I was just 22 years old at the time and still in college (I had something of a “career” in college, accumulating one BA, most of another, and three minors, all while working to support myself). In 1998, April 19 was Pascha, and at…
Nearly Orthodox
Running
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Remember when I said I don’t like to run? I mean, there’s a whole chapter in Garden in the East on exercise in which I make it super clear that I don’t like to run and that I am NOT going to run. I do other things. I enjoy Pilates and weight training. I’ll even sign up for Flamenco classes if the mood strikes, but I don’t like to run. Oh. Um.…
Faith Encouraged
Guess What Tomorrow Brings!
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