Sister Hatunes, an Orthodox Christian nun, is working to help some very unfortunate Christian souls who have been abused and terrorized by Islamic radicals. May God bless her and the girls and families she is helping. [Read more…]
AOI | Fr. Johannes Jacobse | Feb. 21, 2010
On this day we celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the commemoration of the defeat of the heresy of iconoclasm. The word “heresy,” as we know, means “false teaching” and the false teaching that was finally vanquished was iconoclasm.
“Iconclast” comes from the Greek work that means “icon-breaker.” The iconoclasts were those who smashed the icons because they believed that the Orthodox faithful, in venerating icons, were breaking the first commandment that says, “Thou shalt not make unto yourself any graven image.”
Of course the objection ran deeper than that. Look at it closely and you see that the false teaching – the heresy – of iconclasm taught something else too. It taught that Jesus Christ never really existed. The second person of the Trinity, the Word (capital W) of the Father never really became flesh and dwelt among us. [Read more…]
AOI | by Fr. Johannes Jacobse | Feb. 9, 2010
The Russian Orthodox Church is on a roll!
Russia has defeated Canada and Saudi Arabia in a tender for a plot of land in downtown Paris and will build an Orthodox Christian spiritual and cultural center on the banks of the Seine River near the Eiffel Tower. [Read more…]
AOI | Feb. 5, 2010
Russian Orthodox Church leaders called on Christians on Thursday to be firm in defending traditional marriage and lamented the family crisis in the country.
According to some estimates, over half of the marriages in Russia end in divorce. Women in the 140-million-strong country undergo some 1.5 million abortions annually.“We, Christians of different denominations, should profess the inviolability of the evangelic norms on the holy matrimony between man and woman,” Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said in a welcome message to participants of an inter-Christian forum for former Soviet republics held in Moscow. [Read more…]
Orthodox Forum | by Cathy Tatusko | Jan. 28, 2010
I write in support of two Orthodox priests, Fr. Patrick Reardon and Fr. Mark Hodges, for their principled and public stance on the decision by St. Vladimir’s Seminary to invite Rowan Williams to deliver the Schmemann lecture and to confer upon him an honorary Doctorate of Divinity. As Fathers Reardon and Hodges so accurately and forcefully state, these actions are scandalous not only to many of the faithful Orthodox Christians in this country whose priests have been schooled and formed at this seminary, but also to the many Anglicans and other Protestants who may have been contemplating a move to the Orthodox Church to escape the immoral practices within their own communion with respect to homosexuality. [Read more…]
Speaking the Truth in Love | Fr. Thomas Hopko | Jan 21, 2010
What is the relationship between the concepts of natural selection and Christian theology? Fr. Tom begins a series of reflections on Charles Darwin and what he has learned in his research may surprise you!
Darwin and Christianity – Part 1 – 1/21/2010 http://audio.ancientfaith.com/hopko/stt_2010-01-20.mp3|titles=Darwin
OrthodoxyToday | by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon | Dec. 20, 2009
Just as interesting as the recent Manhattan Declaration, perhaps, is the variety of responses the document elicited among those conservative Christians who declined to endorse it.
Commenting on this subject not long ago, I was reluctant to ascribe motives to such individuals, beyond the reasons they explicitly offered. I had my suspicions, nonetheless, as I hinted by mentioning their refusal to “associate with the other signers.” That is to say, I suspected that the identity of some of the signers was taken, in certain cases, as a reason for not signing. [Read more…]
OrthodoxyToday | by Fr. Hans Jacobse | Jan. 11, 2010
If you want to improve your prayer life, the time to take action is now. These ideas may seem of little significance, but can help you make leaps and bounds in the intensity and consistency of your prayer.
1. Designate A Prayer Space
Whether it is in the corner of your desk or a little stand in your room, it is important to have a place where you can put your Bible, Icons, etc. Dedicate the use of that space for God alone.
2. Acquire A Time
Incorporate prayer in your routine and set time aside to center your thoughts to God. [Read more…]
A beautiful Russian Orthodox choir signing Lord Have Mercy! Magnificent pictures included in the video.[Read more…]
Acton Institute | by Rev. Gregory Jensen | Dec. 15, 2009
Contrary to the popular understanding, the natural sciences are not morally neutral. Not only do the findings of science have moral implications, the actual work of scientific research presupposes that the researcher himself is a man of virtue. When scientific research is divorced from, or worse opposed to, the life of virtue it is not simply the research or the researcher that suffers but the whole human family. [Read more…]