Middle East Archives - Saint Sophia

Before the Judgment Seat of Christ

03/08/2024

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 23, 2017 For a Christian ending to our life: painless, unashamed, and peaceful; and a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ, let us ask of the Lord. From my childhood, I have memories of the phrase, “Great White Throne of Judgment.” It comes complete with an abundance of frightening images and threats. It is the last possible moment before all hell breaks loose and the preachers at

A Remarkable Royal Family: Feast of Saint Werburga

02/03/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, February 3, 2017 W. J. Lillie February 3, Feast of Saint Werburga While it may be true that history doesn’t repeat itself, it is also true that human beings do. Each generation, each person, is born into the same spiritual state as the generations who have gone before. It’s true that a child will benefit from a loving environment, a good education and a proper formation in the faith, but that

You Barely Make a Difference and It’s a Good Thing

06/28/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, December 1, 2015 You are not saving the world. In fact, you barely make a difference. These are harsh words. They are meant like a splash of cold water to wake us up from the dream in which we live. They are by no means meant to say that you don’t matter. In fact, you have infinite value. But your value is not based on saving the world or making a difference. I’ll

Eastern Christianity: The Patristic Period

11/03/2020

As I [have] shared …the desert fathers and mothers focused more on the how than the what. Their spirituality was very practical: virtue and prayer-based. Now we turn to its parallel, the Patristic Period, which emphasized the what—the rational, philosophical, and theological foundations for the young Christian religion. This period stretches from around 100 CE (the end of the Apostolic Age) to either 451 CE (with the Council of Chalcedon) or as late as the eighth century (Second Council of Nicaea

Becoming a Philanthropist

06/10/2020

By Abbot Tryphon, October 7, 2019 The act of giving can change everyone’s life for the better As any history buff knows, these times we are living in can sometimes seem like reruns. News reports are filled with stories of wars, disasters, dictators, attacks on the innocent, increased crime, and the ever present persecution of Christians in various parts of the world. We’ve witnessed increased attacks against Coptic Christians in Egypt, as well as the

The Gift of Silence

07/17/2018

The Gift of Silence (I) The second-century Latin theologian Tertullian declared that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. This remains true to our day, as witnessed most poignantly by the martyrdom of bishops, priests and lay people during the Communist era, in Russia, Romania and elsewhere, and in the ongoing persecution of Christians at the hands of Muslim extremists in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Toward the end of

The Fall of Constantinople Had Profound Consequences

05/29/2018

By Cody Carlson On May 29, 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. The fall of this great city signaled the end of the Byzantine Empire, the medieval incarnation of the Roman Empire, and saw the armies of Islam spread into Europe from Asia for the first time. In A.D. 330, the Roman Emperor Constantine founded the city of Constantinople on the Greek village of Byzantine to be the new imperial capital. Sitting on the

The Fortieth Day of Christmas Advent (Christmas Eve). Ecumenical Patriarch’s Christmas Message: Christ Conquers Violence and Evil through Love

12/24/2017

By His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I + BARTHOLOMEW By God’s Mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch To the Plenitude of the Church: Grace, mercy, and peace from the Savior Christ, born in Bethlehem Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, “Christ is descending from the heavens; let us meet Him!” God has appeared on earth and, at the same time, we have seen the perfect man together with the inconceivable value of the

Archive

Before the Judgment Seat of Christ

A Remarkable Royal Family: Feast of Saint Werburga

You Barely Make a Difference and It’s a Good Thing

Eastern Christianity: The Patristic Period

Becoming a Philanthropist

The Gift of Silence

The Fall of Constantinople Had Profound Consequences

The Fortieth Day of Christmas Advent (Christmas Eve). Ecumenical Patriarch’s Christmas Message: Christ Conquers Violence and Evil through Love

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