Category: Culture
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And Now For Something Completely Different – Music From the Ethiopian Orthodox
I am barely familiar with the Ethiopian Orthodox. They are in communion with the Oriental Orthodox Churches but have a very close relationship with the Eastern Orthodox. Among the most ancient of Orthodox Churches, they are also perhaps the most unique. Ethiopian and East African culture are seen clearly in this music, although this is…
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Traditions and the Keeping of Family
It would be easy to speak of families keeping traditions – we all have them – some of them silly – some of them profound. Some are inherited from generations, others develop completely independent of what has gone before. What I know, as the father of four (most now grown), is at least two things:…
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Apparently the Stakes are Being Raised
In a society marked by tragedies, it cannot be surprising that another lone gunman has let loose on a crowd (last week it was a mall, this week it was a Church and a Missions Center). More alarming was the reported “rant” that the young shooter posted on the internet in between the shooting at…
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Beyond Nature
Doing a little less than light reading today, I came across the following quote: “For the Fathers, indeed, personhood is freedom in relation to nature: it eludes all conditioning.” The true person then is one that is free, not so much to do something, but from the limitations of nature. From Papanikolaou’s Being with God,…
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The Fullness of Being
God is not only unity – He is also the fullness of being. When man seeks life’s riches he instinctively seeks for God. Even material riches involuntarily summon forth in the soul of a religious person the idea of Providence. The infinte diversity of being in the universe likewise turns us toward God. In religious…
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A Short Post on Culture
A short thought today on Orthodox Christianity and American culture. My intention in my recent post on this topic was not to lament the lack of Orthodox-produced culture in America, but rather to emphasize how productive of culture Orthodoxy is. It is something completely natural to Orthodox life if it is being lived in its…
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St. Nicholas is for Sale
Browsing the net can bring its surprises. The most dangerous thing in the world is to blindly type in whatever.com (meaning, “what you’re looking for” .com). Looking for things on St. Nicholas (whose feast is the 6th of December), I simply typed in saintnicholas.com and found a site which said: “Saintnicholas.com is for sale.” I…
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Culture and the Fullness of the Faith
I have posted several articles recently about the relationship of the Orthodox Church to American culture – most of which have been critical of one element or another of culture. I want to look at the whole question from a different angle today. First, it has to be observed and emphasized that, wherever Orthodox Christianity…
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Who Am I?
I ask a sensual man, “Who are you?” and he replies, “I am I,” and he thinks of his body. I ask a thinking man, “Who are you?” and he replies, “I see two sides in myself and I make my way between them, associating first with one and then the other,” and he is…
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In the Secret Place of the Most High God
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 There aren’t many secrets anymore. I live in a city that is known as the “Secret City,” because in the Second World War it was one of the main sites of the Manhattan Project…
Fr. Stephen said: “try to be kind to all around you. Be gentle. Be generous. Forgive. Do what love asks…