Orthodox Christianity

Drifting Away From the Christian Faith

Drifting Away From the Christian Faithby Fr. Luke A. Veronis –
Many people in our society have turned away from faith, from faith communities and from the faith in which they were raised. Yet, is it that so many have “turned away” from faith or is it that many have unconsciously “drifted away.’

We are all deeply influenced by everything that is around us in society. Surely there is much skepticism, doubt and uncertainty about faith which we hear and see constantly via the internet or in our daily conversations. This uncertainty may lead us to question beliefs we once held strong. [Read more…]

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Sermon on the Nativity of Christ by St John of Kronstadt

Sermon on the Nativity of Christ by St John of Kronstadtby St. John of Kronstadt –
The Word became flesh; that is, the Son of God, co-eternal with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit, became human – having become incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. O, wondrous, awesome and salvific mystery!

The One Who had no beginning took on a beginning according to humanity; the One without flesh assumed flesh. God became man – without ceasing to be God. The Unapproachable One became approachable to all, in the aspect of an humble servant. Why, and for what reason, was there such condescension [shown] on the part of the Creator toward His transgressing creatures – toward humanity which, through an act of its own will had fallen away from God, its Creator? [Read more…]

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Those Who Worshipped the Stars

Those Who Worshipped the Stars Magi at Nativityby Fr. Alexander Shargunov –
Astrology was a symbol of all man’s delusions, and that is why the Lord had to reveal a real Star.

Who were the Magi who journeyed from the East? We can’t say with full confidence from what country they arrived to Jerusalem—maybe from Persia, as the service books have stated or, like several holy fathers have suggested, Egypt, Babylon or even far-away India.

One church tradition insists they arrived from different Oriental countries, and once they met one another, continued on their way to Bethlehem. However, in the end, their country of origin isn’t the essence of the matter. What matters most is that they traveled on behalf of those “who worshipped the stars” to adore Him, “the Sun of Righteousness” [Read more…]

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The Nativity of Christ as Our Joy and Judgment

The Nativity of Christ as Our Judgmentby Met. Athanasios of Limassol –
By their prayerful experience, the holy fathers of the Church have proved that every time we stand before God in prayer in church or in our own homes, this standing has two characteristic features. It fills us with joy, because we are witnessing God’s great love for man. Our heart yearns to express great gratitude to God, as each of us, according to his own measure, feels this gift of the Lord to His creation.

But at the same time, this standing before God is also a judgment for us, especially on this holy feast, as on all great feasts and days connected with the events of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. But of course, the deepest meaning of these events and feasts is certainly not the condemnation of man, but his salvation. [Read more…]

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Christians Cannot Watch Indifferently and Allow Evil to Abuse Good and Destroy Innocence

Christians Cannot Watch Indifferently and Allow Evil to Abuse Good and Destroy Innocenceby Archbishop Averky (Taushev) –
When a gentle word of persuasion has no effect, when people are so steeped in evil that they do not yield to any admonishment and continue doing evil, a Christian cannot and should not take refuge in this teaching of the forgiveness of all, sit indifferently with his arms crossed, and apathetically watch as evil abuses good, as it increases and destroys people, his close ones.

To indifferently watch the ruin of a close one by one who has lost his senses and become a bearer of evil is nothing other than the breaking of the commandment of love for one’s neighbor. Every type of evil should be immediately thwarted with the most decisive measures, even including the sacrifice of oneself in an unequal struggle. [Read more…]

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Focus on God Instead of Ourselves

Focus on God Instead of Ourselvesby Fr. James Guirguis –
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (6:22-33)

Our Lord says “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

Often we hear or listen to these words and we think very straightforwardly that this is about what we look at with our physical eyes. Now there is certainly some truth to this, no doubt. But the Lord goes further and it helps to clarify the teaching for us. He says “No one can serve two master; for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” [Read more…]

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Hidden Source of Heresy is the Pride of the Human Mind

Christian Ecumenical Councils Hidden Source of Heresy is the Pride of the Human Mindby Fr. Boris (Dolzhenko) –
Heresy is an aberration of the Faith; it is a distortion of the true teaching of Christ, which was preached by the Apostles and preserved intact by the Church.

The hidden source of heresy is always the pride of the human mind, which does not want to submit to the teaching of the Church, but places one’s own mind, one’s own understanding, above that of the Church.

Heresiarchs were people who were self-assured, stubborn, and ready to resist even the obvious truth, going against entire Councils of the Holy Fathers. Taking care for the purity of the Orthodox Faith, the Fathers of the Church found an effective means for dealing with heretics: [Read more…]

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We Are Called to Proclaim the Good News of the Truth

Orthodox Christians Are Called to Proclaim the Good News of the Truthby Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) –
Today we may not face the heresy of Arius, but there are many other false teachings which are spreading among the people and are causing the faithful to go astray from the path to salvation.

On the Sunday after the Ascension we remember the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council. In honoring them, we remember an extremely special time in Church history which followed on the heels of three centuries of persecution. In 313 the Emperor Constantine the Great published the Edict of Milan, which gave the Christian Church the legal right to exist and essentially brought the Church out of the catacombs and into the open. A new epoch began in the life of the Church: everywhere churches were being built and thousands of people received baptism and started [Read more…]

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Baptism – Holy Sacrament of the Orthodox Church

Baptism - Holy Sacrament of the Orthodox Churchby Fr. Thomas Hopko –
The practice of baptism as a religious symbol did not begin with Jesus. Baptism, which means literally the immersion in water, was practiced among the people of the Old Testament as well as the people who belonged to pagan religions.

The universal meaning of baptism is that of “starting anew,” of dying to an old, way of life and being born again into a new way of life. Thus, baptism was always connected with repentance which means a moral conversion, a “change of mind,” a change in living from something old and bad to something new and good.

Thus, in the Gospel we find John the Baptist baptizing the people as a sign of repentance in preparation for the Kingdom of God which was coming to men with Christ the Messiah. [Read more…]

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All Mount Athos Monasteries Denounce Scandalous Conduct of Elpidophoros on Baptism for Gay Couple

All Mount Athos Monasteries Denounce Scandalous Conduct of Elpidophoros on Baptism for Gay CoupleMonks and Abbots of Mt. Athos –
It is clearly foreign to the teaching of the Gospel and the Orthodox ethos to allow it to be understood that a “same-sex couple” can be considered as a family and to recognize the right of such a couple to adopt children

On the occasion of recent public appearances and positions taken by members of the clergy of the Church, including hierarchs, who have created the impression that it is possible for the Church to accept any other form of family, apart from the one established by the Holy Gospel, the Holy Community of Mt Athos wishes to respond publicly.

The Holy Mountain, as a place of prayer and asceticism, in an unbroken liturgical and spiritual continuity, [Read more…]

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