idolatry Archives - Page 2 of 3

Feast Day of the Holy Martyr Procopius

07/08/2022

On July 8, the Greek Orthodox Church commemorates the Feast Day of Agios Procopius. Procopius was born in Jerusalem of a Christian father and a pagan mother. At first, his name was Neanias. Following the death of his father, his mother raised her son completely in the spirit of Roman idolatry. When Neanias had grown up, Emperor Diocletian saw him, took a liking to him, and brought him to his palace for military service. When

Pentecost Sunday: Pentecost Is Not the Church’s Birthday

06/12/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 28, 2018 It is a commonplace in some circles to celebrate Pentecost as the Church’s “Birthday.” It is well-intentioned, perhaps even true in some sense, but tends to render the Church as something it is not. St. Paul calls the Church the “pillar and ground of truth.” The sort of institutional concept that would mark some date in 33 AD as a founding date (like the founding of Rome or

Finding the True God

01/31/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 6, 2016 The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach was among the first modern thinkers to attack the classical notion of God. He suggested that God was simply the outward projection of our inward human nature. His thought gave rise to many varied theories. Freud thought God was nothing more than a projection of the Super-Ego, a sort of cosmic version of our parents. Durkheim suggested that God was simply a projection

Athanasios and Cyril, Patriarchs of Alexandria

01/18/2022

In the half-century after the First Ecumenical Council held in Nicea in 325, if there was one man whom the Arians feared and hated more intensely than any other, as being able to lay bare the whole error of their teaching, and to marshal, even from exile or hiding, the beleaguered forces of the Orthodox, it was Saint Athanasios the Great. This blazing lamp of Orthodoxy, which imperial power and heretics’ plots could not quench

Idolatry

11/11/2021

The idolatry of self-esteem By Abbot Tryphon, January 15, 2020 Among the contributors to self-worship, is the possibility of falling into a form of idolatry associated with self-esteem. It is easy to fall into this form of idolatry, since our society has placed a great deal of emphasis on the need for self-esteem. The modern religion of psychoanalysis has promoted self-esteem as though it were the modern equivalent of enlightenment. The priests of this modern,

Thoughts on similarities of ancient and modern cultures. Thoughts on who we are.

10/20/2021

Thoughts on similarities of ancient and modern cultures. By Michael Haldas, July 26, 2016 “We are confronted today with a choice no less momentous than the Israelites’ choice between the Lord and Baal. Here is a broad road that leads down to destruction; there, a way narrow and difficult that leads upward to life (Matt. 7:13–14). God doesn’t share devotion with anything or anyone. We have to make the choice to be on God’s side—we

Three Things and the One Thing

08/30/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 2, 2016 In a comment, I recently described three dominant concepts in our modern culture. They are so dominant that questioning them can actually be disconcerting. I have questioned them before and been hammered more than once as a result. But I am sure of my ground and offer these thoughts for however they may be of use. The ideas: We define ourselves and our world by the choices we

Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr

07/07/2021

Saint Kyriaki was the daughter of Christian parents, Dorotheus and Eusevia. She was given her name because she was born on Sunday, the day of the Lord (in Greek, Kyriaki). Kyriaki was raised in a Christian enviornment and was highly respected, extremely educated, and philanthropic, but also very beautiful. Dorotheus and Eusevia were elderly and wanted security for Kyriaki upon their deaths which could be obtained through marriage. Kyriaki, being very devout in her Christian

The Fourth Monday of Great Lent: As Lent Moves On – The Greatest Fast Awaits

04/05/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 9, 2019 As Great Lent has passed its mid-point, attention begins to move towards Holy Week itself and its very intense focus. It has been an unusual time for me, having traveled on two successive weekends to lead retreats. Travel is always disruptive, and absence from your own community creates a break in the normal continuity of the Fast. I have great sympathies for those whose jobs involve frequent travel.

The 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste

03/09/2021

In the year 313 Saint Constantine the Great issued an edict granting Christians religious freedom, and officially recognizing Christianity as equal with paganism under the law. But his co-ruler Licinius was a pagan, and he decided to stamp out Christianity in his part of the Empire. As Licinius prepared his army to fight Constantine, he decided to remove Christians from his army, fearing mutiny. One of the military commanders of that time in the Armenian

Archive

Feast Day of the Holy Martyr Procopius

Pentecost Sunday: Pentecost Is Not the Church’s Birthday

Finding the True God

Athanasios and Cyril, Patriarchs of Alexandria

Idolatry

Thoughts on similarities of ancient and modern cultures. Thoughts on who we are.

Three Things and the One Thing

Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr

The Fourth Monday of Great Lent: As Lent Moves On – The Greatest Fast Awaits

The 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste

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