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Image and False Image

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 18, 2016 at St. Mary Orthodox Church. Holy Orthodoxy has a vision of human nature than is unrelentingly positive.  This vision originates in the biblical reference from Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Because this is so, to know the truth of who we are, is to know God. St. Clement of Alexandria wrote that, “…if one

The Fourth Friday of Great Lent. The Ladder of Divine Ascent and Moral Improvement

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 4, 2019  The Fourth Sunday of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church, is dedicated to St. John Climacus, the author of the ancient work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. It is a classic work describing “steps” within the life of the struggling ascetic. There is an icon associated with this work, picturing monastics climbing the rungs of a ladder to heaven, battling demons who are trying to pull them off. However,