Know thyself. The Christian understanding of self-knowledge is substantially different from that of the world. The Christian call is not one of egocentric self-fulfillment or self-gratification. The danger of a quest to “know thyself” outside the bounds of revealed truth manifested in Christ Jesus is that, to some degree or another, it has elements of …
A Courageous Voice in a time of False Peace
Bishop Theophan of Poltava, of blessed memory, writes, "All has been put to disorder and is worsening. And I grieve over this, but I also rejoice. I grieve because we have no peace, but I rejoice because peace will come! And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds …
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Is Christ Faithless? Examining Protestant Ecclesiology
Is Christ Jesus faithless? Or is He eternally faithful? How does one's view of the Church reflect on the faithfulness of Christ? Proper Ecclesiology (theology of the Church) has always been vital to true Christianity. A staple doctrine of Protestantism teaches that the Church (again using this word loosely) fell into relative darkness just after …
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The Protocol of the Court Case between Western Society and Christ
The West is not failing but has failed. All its promises of freedom, happiness, rights, equality and so forth have been found to be but lies and falsehood. I live in one of the golden experiments of European “values” – America. The festering wounds of “freedom” from God begin to bear more and more fruit, …
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Leave it not to the Tyranny of the World
Excerpts from an extremely pertinent sermon by New Hieromartyr Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) which he gave in 1901 (at the consecration of Met. Tryphon (Turkestanov)). “...With the current fomenting of minds and religious contradictions, there is no small number of people in Christianity who do not think like Christians, who consider God's wisdom, hidden in mystery, to …
Not for Cowards
When clear matters of the faith are blatantly assaulted, every sober-minded Orthodox Christian is called to stand up and make a courageous answer. There exists a pseudo-humility. This false idea turns humility and meekness into spinelessness and cowardice, in which a person is unable to address anything at all. All such a one can do …
A New Charisma in the Early Church
In the town of Phrygia, central Asia Minor, about the year 160AD, a man named Montanus claimed to be “seized” by the Holy Spirit. He began to receive “special” messages, “speak in tongues,” “prophecy,” and so forth. Two women “prophetesses” soon join him: Priscilla and Maximillia. According to a Charismatic/Emerging Church history scheme, about 300AD …
The Charisma of the Age: An Orthodox critique of the Charismatic Movement
The modern world is not just secular. It is also the result of a great religious formation. Although I have argued elsewhere that even the secular world is “religious” in a broad sense, and I hold to it, at current I am using “secular” and “religious” in their classical juxtaposition. One of the most prominent …
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Heavenly Revelation
Why Orthodox Christianity? Through the deafening din of the modern age, Orthodoxy may appear as just another voice in the babble, and just another flavor choice on the “what would I like today” buffet. (To clear something up from the start, Orthodoxy Christianity is not a denomination. Denominations are the result of the Protestant Reformation …
Firsthand Reflection
I have just returned from a two and a half week trip to Ukraine. Although the trip entailed personal factors, one of my goals was to acquire a firsthand experience of the ongoing situation in Ukraine, specifically regarding the Church. To this end, I was blessed to have the opportunity to speak with some of …
