Dear in Christ _________, I apologize for the extended delay in my response to your letter. In it you ask several questions motivated by the information you received from my spiritual son Ignatios that the Orthodox hold the practice of freemasonry to be incompatible with the Orthodox faith, and given the self-understanding of the Church, Read more about Response to a Freemason on Dialogue with the Orthodox[…]
In 2018, I wrote about the recent schism between Moscow and Constantinople from the perspective of the GOC/TOC. I was particularly interested in how the same people who clutch their pearls and condemn the Old Calendarists for separating themselves from the ecclesiological errors and subsequent heresy of the new Calendarists as they plunged headlong from Read more about The MP/EP Split – Five Years On[…]
A quick look at fasting rules of the Nativity Fast.
An introduction to different Church fasting regimens and the fasting periods
The Theological Basis of Fasting Do not say to me that I fasted for so many days, that I did not eat this or that, that I did not drink wine, that I endured want; but show me if thou from an angry man hast become gentle, if thou from a cruel man hast become Read more about Fasting 1 – The Scriptural and Theological Basis of Fasting[…]
It is a pious Orthodox tradition to light candles for personal petitions and intercessions when entering the church and venerating the icons. Lighting a candle is making an offering to God. It is offering our prayers and thanks to Him for His blessings. We may light candles for ourselves, for the health of each Read more about Orthopraxis – Lighting Candles[…]
A Short Message from Bp. Irineos on the Current Turmoil in the World These recent days of the pandemic, civil unrest and political conflict have had an impact on all of us. Particularly, I have noticed many people on social media expressing their fears of the inevitable downfall of our society and their inability to Read more about Struggle Against the World![…]
A 60 second thought I had: Is it a fair criticism of the Orthodox that we do not evangelize like the protestants, and especially the non-denominational protestants? Yes and no. In an absolute sense (and probably a per capita sense if such were measurable) I think it is true there is more emphasis on evangelism Read more about Do Orthodox Neglect Evangelism?[…]
People sometimes wonder why the Orthodox Church commemorates saints of the past during our service of worship to the One True God: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is because they serve as examples to us of how we may better fulfill the commandments of Christ. In their victory, we are made stronger; we Read more about The Example of St. Vladimir[…]
Q. I recently saw a video where a priest said that evolution and creation is irrelevant in Orthodoxy. He says it isn’t consequential. Is this right? A. I suppose we have to define consequential to decide whether it is right or not. On some very macro scale where the ultimate and only weight is one’s Read more about Creation v. Evolution: Does it matter?[…]