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Preaching Christ in a World That Doesn’t Need God: Orthodox Christianity and Secularism

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The following is from a larger talk I am working on about Orthodoxy in the West. Secularism is essentially the idea that one can conceive of a world without God. It is the belief in an autonomous order existing apart from the divine order. It is not necessarily a denial of God’s existence, by the way. Such outright atheism has never been that attractive


12 More Things the Normal Orthodox Christian is Doing

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
As a follow-up to my previous post, 12 Things the Normal Orthodox Christian is Doing, I thought I might offer a few more “every day” kinds of things that I associate with being a “normal” Orthodox Christian—that is, one who is living according to the norms of Orthodox Christianity. (This will unfortunately differ from what the “average” Orthodox Christian is doing.) And thank you


12 Things the Normal Orthodox Christian is Doing

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The normal Orthodox Christian—who is living according to the norms of the Orthodox faith—will be doing the following (this is not an exhaustive list, nor is this in order of priority): 1. Participating in church services as often as possible. Attendance at every Sunday morning liturgy is a minimal baseline for worship life—in most cases, it is not enough. And participation doesn’t just mean


Come Out and Be Separate: Redeeming the World by Standing Apart

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost / First Sunday of Luke, September 27, 2015 II Corinthians 6:16-7:1; Luke 5:1-11 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. I had a friend who was a Ph.D. student at a university in New York City. He was a brilliant, traditional Orthodox Christian who


You Bleed Just to Know You’re Alive

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Forefeast and Sunday Before the Elevation of the Cross, September 13, 2015 Galatians 6:11-18; John 3:13-17 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. This week, I noticed a pattern in popular music of our time that I had not noticed before. It was something I heard in


Warnings at the Wedding Feast

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost / Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew, September 6, 2015 II Corinthians 1:21-24, 2:1-4; Matthew 22:2-14 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. The Gospel passage this morning is one that we do not hear every year in our lectionary. It is appointed for the Fourteenth


The First Fruits of Achaia: Setting Ourselves for the Ministry of the Saints

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost / Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew, August 30, 2015 I Corinthians 16:13-24; Matthew 21:33-42 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Many times when we’re reading something, we come across a phrase or two in parentheses, and we might skip over that part because it’s