Below is a translation of a short encouraging word from Met. Luke of Zaparozhye. He is a hierarch in the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. His diocese is located in Western Ukraine, the area where the most intense trials and tribulations are occurring (please see "Orthodox situation in Ukraine" in categories for more on this topic). …
Tag: Orthodox Church
The Church of Smyrna: Times of Persecution
The message to the church of Smyrna is the shortest of the seven letters. “And to the angel of the Church in Smyrna write: “These things says the First and the Last, Who became dead and came to life ...” (Rev. 2:8). Also, see Rev. 1:17-18. Archimandrite Athanasios understands “angel” to refer specifically to the …
The Power that Pulls the Strings of Anti-Orthodox Intrigue
True Christianity is concerned with true underlying principles and reality, that is, what are the real factors, the real movers behind a situation? In the book of Revelation when the Lord speaks to the seven churches, He reveals to them the real force behind the immediate physical manifestation of persecution that some were suffering. He …
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Extensive Study of the Book of Revelation in English
Dear Readers, As I slowly continue to produce brief studies on the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation, I wanted to provide you with the link to the extensive study by Archimandrite Athanasios of blessed memory. It is a voluminous work which seems to be firmly grounded upon the Patristic ethos. Link - Study …
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The Church of Ephesus: Praise and Rebuke
“To the angel of the Church in Ephesus write: 'These things says the One Who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One Who walks about in the midst of the seven golden lampstands” (Rev. 2:1). According to the Patristic understanding, the seven stars represent bishops and the lampstands the churches. Christ the …
The Seven Churches of Revelation: A Message to the Church For All Time.
Introduction. “Write these things which you saw, and the things which are, and the things which are about to take place after these things” (Rev. 1:19). In the opening pages of the most cryptic book of the New Testament, the book of the Apocalypse, or Revelation, Our Lord Jesus, the First and the Last, addresses …
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The New Epoch and the Loss of Personhood and Self-knowledge
“We must speak with children about the dangers of temptation. Toward the end of the 1950s, a new epoch dawned in Europe, and two misfortunes came quickly upon us: the post-Christian era and globalism, along with the erosion of faith and the crumbling of morality. Now that I have reached old age, I have begun …
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Moral Heresy
In true Christianity, Orthodoxy, right faith and living go hand in hand. For instance, a person cannot confess that Jesus Christ is not God and be an Orthodox Christian, in confessing something contrary to the revelation of God in His Church such a one is setting himself at odds with that revelation. Of course, one …
You’re a Fundamentalist!
One of my favorite responses of those who are attempting to deconstruct the Orthodox Faith from within (lovingly called “liberal” or “progressive” Orthodox) when they are confronted with indisputable Scriptural and Patristic realities that clearly refute their secular “opinions” is – “your a fundamentalist!” Or, “That's a fundamentalist stance/argument!” Clearly, there is nothing more horrible …
The Cosmic Significance of Tsar Nicholas II
“Give ear, you that rule over the multitudes and boast of many nations. For your dominion was given you from the Lord, and your sovereignty from the Most High, Who will search out your works and inquire into your plans.” Wisdom 6:2-3. The Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II is, I would contend, one of the most significant …
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The Inkless Pen 