I am a lifelong Tolkien fan, but now that I have a Tolkien podcast, I’ve found more time to explore how my love for Tolkien fits into my spiritual life as an Orthodox Christian. And it turns out that there is actually a specifically Orthodox Christian reason to love Tolkien and other works of imaginative fiction.
When we look at the Twelve Apostles, we should know that we are looking not just at heroes who spread the faith and are admired for their work. We are looking at future kings who will reign with Christ over the nations.
Back in August, (formerly) Roman Catholic political columnist Damon Linker announced that he’d left the Roman Catholic Church, and this past week, he explained why, noting along the way some of the reaction against his announcement: It’s hardly surprising that writers deeply devoted to the Catholic Church would reject the reasons for my decision to leave the church. The former editor of Commonweal Paul…
There are generally three approaches that Christians have taken when it comes to their surrounding cultures: 1) Rejection, resistance, and hostility: This approach sharply distinguishes the Church from the world, emphasizing that the Church is so much “not of this world” that the world must be fled and an alternate community established. It is a posture that is fully closed to the world —…
Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost / Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew, September 3, 2017 I Corinthians 16:13-24; Matthew 21:33-42 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. If you have something truly wonderful to share with people, how do you get it to them? How do you get this wonderful…
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…
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and the Fifth Sunday of Matthew, July 9, 2017 Romans 10:1-10; Matthew 8:28-9:1 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:2) St. Paul says this…
Vespers for the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost, July 1, 2017 Mark 11:17, Isaiah 56:1-8 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Eastern Dioceses Parish Life Conference, Morristown, New Jersey In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. After the Lord Jesus upends the tables of the money changers in the Temple in Mark 11, He…