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The Seventh Tuesday after Pascha: Human Beings and the Cosmos (Part I): The Mystery of Created Being

05/26/2015

For the Christian the world is not an orphan; nor is it simply an emanation of the absolute. Springing fresh from the hands of the living God, there it stands, desired by God, rejoicing and delighting in him with the joy described in the psalms and in the book of Job, when the morning stars sang together – a ‘musical commandment’, a ‘marvelously composed hymn’, as St Gregory of Nyssa said in his commentary on

The Seventh Monday after Pascha: Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part III

05/25/2015

By Harry Boosalis The broad appeal of the writings of Saint Silouan is based on a combination of other factors as well. The fact that he was uneducated and ‘almost illiterate,’ having attended the village school for ‘just two winters,’ attracts many readers because it reinforces the idea that the heights of Orthodox spiritual life are open and accessible to all. It illustrates the truth that one does not need a degree in theology to

The Sixth Friday after Pascha: Piety and Reason Joined: Insights from St Gregory of Nyssa, Contra Eunomium, Book I

05/22/2015

By Father Matthew Baker In his first book against the Arian heretic Eunomius of Cyzicus (d. 393), St Gregory of Nyssa (333-393) demonstrates a balanced appreciation for both the limitations and the importance of rational argument in theology. Modestly denying his own philosophical powers, he observes that “there are thousands in the Church who are strong in philosophical skill” (I: 2). Such skill, however, has its efficacy for truth never simply as an individual possession, but solely

The Sixth Thursday after Pascha: The Ascension and the Glorification of Man

05/21/2015

By Father Lawrence Farley In contemporary Orthodoxy, we are accustomed to referring to Christ as one of the Holy Trinity. He is usually referred to as “Christ our true God”, and the Gospel of John, which stresses His divine status, is, I would suggest, our favourite of the four Gospels. When announcing the reading from (say) Matthew’s Gospel, the deacon says, “Bless master him who proclaims the good tidings of the holy apostle and evangelist

The Sixth Wednesday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Stand Fast and Watch! (Part II)

05/20/2015

By Saint John Maximovitch of San Francisco and Shanghai Watch, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (I Cor. 16:13). The Apostle gives Christians this important counsel to bring their attention to the danger of this world, to summon them to frequent examination of their hearts, because without this one can easily bring to ruin the purity and ardor of one’s faith and unnoticeably cross over to the side of evil

The Sixth Tuesday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Stand Fast and Watch! (Part I)

05/19/2015

By Saint John Maximovitch of San Francisco and Shanghai Stand fast on spiritual watch, because you don’t know when the Lord will call you to Himself. In your earthly life be ready at any moment to give Him an account. Beware that the enemy does not catch you in his nets, that he not deceive you causing you to fall into temptation. Daily examine your conscience; try the purity of your thoughts, your intentions. There

The Sixth Monday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part II, Russian village

05/18/2015

By Harry Boosalis The Saints challenge us to reach beyond the common conception of salvation that predominates in the West. For the Orthodox Church, salvation is more than the pardon of sins and transgressions. Salvation is more than being justified or acquitted for offenses committed against God. According to Orthodox teaching, salvation certainly includes forgiveness and reconciliation, but by no means is it limited to them. For the Saints of the Church, salvation is the

The Fifth Friday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! How Do We Pray the Psalms?

05/15/2015

By Jim Wellington How do we pray the Psalms? We should surely take our lead from the Holy Fathers of the Early Church and learn from their wisdom. Whilst researching the origins of the Jesus Prayer, I came across some fascinating insights in psalm-commentaries accredited to Fathers of the third, fourth and fifth centuries. These insights and the understanding of the Psalms which they promote, would have been available to the earliest monks and nuns

The Fifth Thursday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! On India and Buddhism—Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Part II)

05/14/2015

Conversations with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew by Olivier Clement Everything, the patriarch adds, centers on the concept of the “person.” According to Buddhism, the person does not exist. The Christian, however, affirms the existence of the person. But Orthodoxy does not identify the person with the individual, with the “individual substance of a rational nature,” as Boethius awkwardly stated in the Latin world. This would mean that the person is nothing more than a mask, which

The Fifth Wednesday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! On India and Buddhism—Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Part I)

05/13/2015

Conversations with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew by Olivier Clement Behind the “New Age” movement one can also discern a rediscovery of India, and particularly of Buddhism.  Many westerners today report that they find true serenity in Buddhism. They learn that there exists a dharma (to use the Sanskrit word), a path of salvation, a world order; one could even call it Wisdom, almost in the Biblical sense of the word. And this dharma, not unlike the

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