Category: Orthodox Christianity
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Preserving Peace of Soul
From the teachings of St. Seraphim of Sarov One must by every means strive to preserve peace of soul and not to be disturbed by offenses from others; for this one must in every way strive to restrain anger and by means of attentiveness to keep the mind and heart from improper feelings. And therefore…
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From the Desert Fathers
It was said that there were three friends who were not afraid of hard work. The first chose to reconcile those who were fighting each other, as it is said, “Blessed are the peace-makers’ (Matt. 5). The second chose to visit the sick. The third went to live in prayer and stillness in the desert.…
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Ecclesiology of the Cross – Pillar and Ground of the Truth – Part 3
Following earlier posts on this subject, I take up the second of four points: 2. Any imitation of God, any conformity of our life to His, will involve this same self-emptying [as the self-emptying of God on the Cross]. There is a tendency when we think of the Church to think in institutional terms – to…
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A Morning Prayer to the Holy Trinity
by St. John Chrysostom Glory to You, our God, glory to You. Glory to You, O Lord our God, Who always overlooks our sins. Glory to you. O Lord our God, who enabled me to see this day. Glory to You, O most-holy Trinity, our God. I venerate Your ineffable goodness. I praise Your inexplorable…
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Ecclesiology of the Cross – The Pillar and Ground of Truth – Part 2
I suggested in my previous post on this topic that the Cross be a central part of our understanding of the Church. There is a natural tendency to compartmentalize in theology – it’s hard to think of everything all the time and everywhere. And yet, it is important that we always remember that our salvation is…
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Our Capacity for Love
Our first child was born over 26 years ago. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the event – staggered at the seriousness of what had happened in my life. Evey aspect of her coming into our life was new – and I felt completely unprepared. On her first night home from the hospital, I slept…
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Some Ground Rules for Blogging Here
Glory to God for All Things, has been up for a little over a week. We’ve been blessed with very good readership (around 8,000 views). I am moved and grateful. I took the liberty of removing a couple of comments today, including one of mine, and am taking this opportunity to state what I will…
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Believing in God
There was a time in my life that I thought belief in God was easy, and that those who did not believe in God were just obstinate or wrong-headed. As years have gone on, I’ve come to think that belief in God is a very hard thing – perhaps the hardest thing of all. Much…
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The Pillar and Ground of Truth
Writing to the young Timothy (first letter) St. Paul gives this homey admonition: These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar…
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The Icon We Love the Most
Years ago when I was studying in an Anglican seminary (mid-70’s), I had the beginnings of my interest in icons. I owned a couple, and read what little was available on the topic in English at that time (believe it or not there was a time when not many books were available in English on…
Thank you so much Dee, Fr. Stephen and Michael.