October 24, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, communist countries, Cuba, Eastern Orthodoxy, Fidel Castro, Greek Orthodoxy, Havana, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Church, orthodoxy, Raul Castro, religion, Russian Orthodoxy
The other day Cuba’s first Russian Orthodox Cathedral was consecrated by a high-level bishop from Russia. It was built in Old Havana largely by the Cuban government itself, beginning in 2004.
Earlier this year the government gave the Greek Orthodox Metropolis covering Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and nearby parts of South America, a large old building [...]
October 17, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, deification, Divinization, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, glorification, Hesychasm, noetic, noetic prayer, nous, Orthodox Christianity, prayer, purification, religion, salvation, spirituality, Theosis
No, I wasn’t one of those kids who enjoyed reading dictionaries (much) … but you may do well to pray the O Heavenly King before reading this essential, profound definition-list ‘in a nutshell’ from Metropolitan HIEROTHEOS of Nafpaktos, courtesy of this website:
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and filleth all things, [...]
October 16, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, Early Christian Writers, early Christianity, early church, Early Church Fathers, Eastern Orthodoxy, Fathers of the Church, humility, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, religion, self-restraint
From one of the greatest Fathers of the Church, St. Gregory of Nazianzus (presumably Gregory the Theologian, aka Nazianzen), honored East and West, courtesy of the masthead at http://www.palamas.info/:
Not to everyone, friends, does it belong to philosophize about God, not to everyone; the subject is not so cheap and low. And, I will add, not [...]
October 16, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, deification, Divinization, Eastern Orthodoxy, free will, Holy Spirit, IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, NLCS, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, prayer, religion, salvation, seminary, sports, sports nostalgia, Theosis, Trinity, Uncreated Energies, Uncreated Energy, World Series
Have you ever heard a couple million people cheer all at once? Have you ever heard them continue cheering for three-quarters of an hour? It was moving, but also a little creepy!
So there I am, IBS’ing under an open window (upper pane) a little after 11:30 ET tonight (Wednesday), out of reach of TV and [...]
October 12, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, church patriarchs, Constantinople, Eastern Orthodoxy, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical meetings, Greek Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Church in America, Orthodox diaspora, Orthodox Unity, orthodoxy, religion, Russian Orthodoxy
This weekend 9 Primates and 5 other Bishop-representatives of Orthodoxy’s 14 universally-recognized Autocephalous Churches convened a “synaxis” in Istanbul chaired by the First Among Equals, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople BARTHOLOMEW. Their end-of-summit communique, released just today, is worth reading in its entirety. In particular, Section 13(ii) declares
our desire for the swift healing of every canonical anomaly [...]
October 12, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: orthodoxy, Orthodox Christianity, Russian Orthodoxy, Orthodox mission, Christianity, religion, Eastern Orthodoxy, evangelism, evangelization, Orthodox conversion, missions, China, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Moscow Patriarchate, patriarchate of constantinople, Chinese Orthodoxy, PRC, Hong Kong, Orthodox Churches, Shanghai, Communist China, Mainland China, Patriarchate of Moscow, Christianity in China, Chinese church, Cultural Revolution, religion in China
Just last week, the “fellowship” in Hong Kong associated with Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev, which I believe includes both ex-patriates and Chinese, was formally reactivated as a parish by the Moscow Patriarchal Synod, 36 years after its closure following the repose of its last pastor. Many years to the new parish and its new rector, Fr. [...]
October 9, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: 2 Cor 11, 2 Cor 11:14, 2 Corinthians 11, angels, apparitions, ascetic theology, Christianity, contemplation, deception, deification, delusion, devil, discernment, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Orthodoxy, experiential theology, humility, illumination, meditation, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox way, orthodoxy, plani, prelest, private revelation, purification, religion, repentance, salvation, satan, self-restraint, spiritual advice, spiritual direction, spiritual discipline, spiritual parent, spirituality, theophanies, Theosis, Uncreated Energies, Uncreated Energy, Uncreated Light, visionaries, visions, visualization
This is common and EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ADVICE for Orthodox, seemingly paradoxical considering all the talk about Uncreated Light, angels, theophanies, visions, etc. “Even the devil can appear as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). We’re even supposed to avoid visualization-meditation of any kind, which he can make use of. And if we do see some apparition, [...]
October 9, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: apatheia, Christianity, deification, dispassion, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Orthodoxy, fools for christ, glorification, Hesychasm, hesychia, humility, indifference, Macarius of Egypt, Macarius the Great, Makarios of Egypt, Makarios the Great, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, purification, religion, spiritual discipline, stillness, Theosis, Uncreated Energies, Uncreated Energy, Uncreated Light
From St. Feofil, the Fool for Christ’s Sake, courtesy of this blog:
If you are praised, be silent. If you are scolded, be silent. If you incur losses, be silent. If you receive profit, be silent. If you are satiated, be silent. If you are hungry, also be silent. And do not be afraid that there [...]
October 9, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: aphorisms, Christianity, communion, deification, Divine Energies, Divine Energy, Divinization, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, Eucharist, glory, glory of God, Greek Orthodoxy, heaven, hell, humility, John Romanides, liturgy, mercy, mysteries, Orthodox Christianity, orthodoxy, prayers, purifying fire, religion, sacramental preparation, sacraments, salvation, Theosis, Uncreated Energies, Uncreated Energy, Uncreated Light, worship
Every time I made it to Divine Liturgy while he was with my parish, or just about,* the priest who Chrismated me, preceded Communion with a collective reminder about the o/Orthodox understanding of the Mysteries (sacraments) as special encounters with God’s Uncreated Energies. I can’t remember it verbatim, but he said Communion is like a fire that risks [...]
October 8, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Africa, African Orthodoxy, Alaska, aleuts, American Indians, Antiochian Orthodox Church, Christianity, Dagsboro, Delaware, Delmarva, east coast Indians, Eastern Orthodoxy, evangelization, Fenwick Island, Great Commission, incarnational missiology, inculturation, Indian River Hundred, indigenous peoples, Innocent of Alaska, Ioann Veniaminov, Millsboro, mission, missions, Nanticoke Indians, Native Americans, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Church in America, Orthodox mission, orthodoxy, powwows, religion, Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodoxy, Siberia, Sussex County, Unangan
There’s a new mission (OCA) in Dagsboro, Sussex County, Delaware, originally located in Fenwick Island, DE. Another recent mission (Antiochian) is in nearby Lewes,* Delaware [known somewhat for the Cape May-Lewes Ferry across the mouth of Delaware Bay, a neat boat ride in nice weather, by foot or by motor vehicle].
These drew my attention because my [...]
October 8, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christ, Christianity, deification, distractions, Divine Energies, Divinization, Early Christian Writers, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, Fathers of the Church, God, heart, Hesychasm, hesychia, Jesus, mental health, mental illness, nepsis, neptic, noetic, nous, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Psychotherapy, orthodoxy, psychology, psychotherapy, purification, religion, saints, sin, spiritual direction, spiritual discipline, spirituality, temptation, Theanthropos, Theosis, Uncreated Energies
From Saint Symeon the New Theologian, one of the key Fathers of the Church (his feast is commemorated this Sunday 12 October, and two hymns of his feast are here):
Our holy fathers have renounced all other spiritual work and concentrated wholly on this one doing, that is, on guarding the heart,* convinced that, through this practice, they [...]
October 1, 2008 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: ceaseless prayer, Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, Jesus Prayer, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Church, orthodoxy, pray without ceasing, prayer, prayer in the Spirit, prayer of the heart, prayer to the saints, prepared prayer, quiet time, relationship with God, religion, religious icons, saints, self-acting prayer, spirituality, worship
A very insightful post at Alana Roberts’ blog. She’s converted from Evangelicalism.
