Category: Prayer
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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…
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Wednesday – The Cross and the Betrayal of Christ
Wednesdays and Fridays of the Orthodox week are always observed more solemnly than other days in terms of fasting and prayer. The use of these days in this manner can be dated as early as the first century. The Didache, a Palestinian Christian document as old as many parts of the New Testament but not included…
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Mission and Worship – America and the Orthodox
The following post is an expanded version of a comment I wrote in a recent thread. The question to which it responds is the Scriptural mandate of St. Paul (1 Cor. 9:19-23): For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. To…
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Sunday Morning – Resurrection
God willing, I offer a set of short meditations this week – on the days of the week. In Orthodoxy each day has its own “dedication,” something which marks the day and its hymnody, etc. Some of those days are more obvious than others. Perhaps the most obvious day of all is Sunday – the…
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Happy Thanksgiving (American Holiday)
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thess. 5:18).
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A Little Child Enters the Temple
The story in the gospel of Christ’s visits to the Temple in his childhood – the first at 40 days of age (marked by the Feast of the Presentation and the occasion of prophecy by the Elder Simeon and Hannah the Prophetess) and at age 12 when He is lost and later found giving instruction…
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A Faith Worth Believing
In the past month of more I have been working from time to time on posts about a “One-Storey Universe” versus a “Two-Storey Universe.” The comments and the readership have said to me that I am writing about a topic that touches many. Perhaps the most poignant responses I have had have been those who…
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St. Ignatius Brianchaninov on Prayer and the Fire of the Spirit
St. Ignatius Brianchaninov was an early 19th century Russian Bishop and saint. His teachings on prayer, drawn from the fathers are among the best modern commentaries. His work, The Arena, is a must-read on the subject of spiritual delusion. The following excerpt is from his book, On the Prayer of Jesus, in which he draws…
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The Mystery of the Human Heart
St. Macarius is famously quoted: The heart itself is but a small vessel, yet dragons are there, and there are also lions; there are poisonous beasts and all the treasures of evil. But there too is God, the angels, the life and the kingdom, the light and the apostles, the heavenly cities and the treasuries…
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Writing Plans – Zizioulas Made Plain
I hope to spend some time next week “unpacking” (as they say) some of Met. John Zizioulas’ theology. It is very helpful in understanding the true nature of the Church. This weekend I am in Clarksville, TN, near Fort Campbell, to explore the possibilities of a new mission. I would much appreciate your prayers. It’s…
David, et al The author, Serge Schmemann, is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter. Of course, he is the son of…