Posts

Which God Are You Sacrificing To?

If we want to be like Jesus Christ, then we have to worship Him by sacrificing to Him. Sacrifice always means giving over something valuable that then becomes a means of sharing and communion with God. A Christianity that is convenient, that is without sacrifice, is not the true Christianity that worships Christ.

St. Nicholas and the Battle Against Idolatry

A couple brief incidents from the Life of St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, whose feast we celebrate today, which are perhaps less well-known than other tales of the Wonder-worker: After the persecution of the Church was lifted in AD 313, St. Nicholas began to travel freely throughout his diocese of Myra in Lycia. He found that there were many altars built throughout his…

Day Thirty-One: Idolatry

Why does everything circle back to fasting with me? Transitioning to the Orthodox practice of fasting during Advent has been a bumpy road to say the least. I sat down this weekend to make a list of the meals I prepare that my kids actually like and eat without whining and you know, every single one of them has meat in it. It’s a sad commentary really. I’ve tried all kinds of…

The Worship of Fire

While I was in Toronto a few weeks ago for an educational event, I had the delight to spend many hours with a good friend from my seminary days. He turned out to be a fine guide to introducing an American to Toronto. One of the many places we stopped was a place of some religious curiosity that he’d apparently always wanted to look…