Search results for: “church as cross”
-
Ecclesiology of the Cross – Pillar and Ground of the Truth – Part 3
Read more: Ecclesiology of the Cross – Pillar and Ground of the Truth – Part 3Following 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 […]
-
Ecclesiology of the Cross – The Pillar and Ground of Truth – Part 2
Read more: Ecclesiology of the Cross – The Pillar and Ground of Truth – Part 2I 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 […]
-
Passionately Drunk
Read more: Passionately DrunkThe Philokalia, that wonderful collection of writings by the fathers on prayer of the heart, has as its full title, The Philokalia of the Neptic Saints gathered from our Holy Theophoric Fathers, through which, by means of the philosophy of ascetic practice and contemplation, the intellect is purified, illumined, and made perfect. Little wonder it is […]
-
What’s with the Kingdom of God?
Read more: What’s with the Kingdom of God?Thy Kingdom Come Blessed are You on the throne of the glory of Your Kingdom, seated upon the Cherubim; always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. It was You Who brought us from non-existence into being, and when we had fallen away You raised us up again, and did not cease to do […]
-
The Erotic Language of Prayer
Read more: The Erotic Language of PrayerThe very heart of true prayer is desire, love. In the language of the Fathers this desire is called eros. Modern usage has corrupted the meaning of “erotic” to only mean sexual desire – but it is a profound word, without substitute in the language of the Church. I offer a quote from Dr. […]
-
Overcome Evil by Doing Good
Read more: Overcome Evil by Doing GoodDrawing on the Book of Proverbs, St. Paul offers a simple admonition to his readers: “…if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Romans 12:20) He then adds: Do not be overcome by evil, but […]
-
Robed in the Glorious Garment of Salvation
Read more: Robed in the Glorious Garment of Salvation“My soul shall rejoice in the Lord, for He has clothed me with the garment of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of gladness; as a bridegroom He has set a crown on me; and as a bride adorns herself with jewels, so my God has adorned me.” With these words from Isaiah, […]
-
Baptism and the Final Destruction of Demons
Read more: Baptism and the Final Destruction of Demons“Final” is not a word you often hear in Christian teaching. Most Christians leave the final things until, well, the End. But this is not the language of the fathers nor of the Church. A good illustration can be found in the Orthodox service of Holy Baptism. During the blessing of the waters the priest […]
Kevin said: “A Christian can desire to care for God’s creation and mitigate the suffering of the poor, who will…