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Orthodoxy Versus Christian Materialism (Part I)

10/29/2024

By Father Stephen Freeman Over the years I find myself coming back to a number of ideas within the modern world that differ markedly from Orthodox thought. These are ideas that are imbedded so deep within our culture that they seem self-evident to most people. Many Orthodox believers hold to one or more of them, distorting their understanding of the faith. This article is an effort to create a list and address each one. If

The Search for the ‘Place of the Heart’ [II]: A Life-Giving Discipline

09/04/2024

Our whole spiritual progress is a ‘search for the place of the heart’. Little by little, the conscious self frees itself from idols, strips away the dead layers and illusions, and ‘descends’, like Psyche holding a lighted lamp, into the dark crypt of the heart. Sanctuary, crypt and tomb become the bridal chamber; the ‘heart-spirit’ is remade in the fire of grace, it trembles with joy, it bursts into flames, the world and humanity are

Get Your Soul Back

09/29/2023

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 24, 2017  When was the last time you heard someone express concern for their soul? When was the last time you listened earnestly as a friend lamented a psychological or emotional struggle? The reason for the difference is simple: we have become a “soul-less” psychologized society. The classical concern for the soul has been replaced by an overwhelming interest in psychological and emotional “health.” We are becoming a “well-adjusted” society. The soul

Unknowing: Listening and Learning

07/06/2021

Human history is in a time of great flux, of great cultural and spiritual change. The psyche doesn’t know what to do with so much information. I am told that if you take all of the information that human beings had up until 1900 and call that one unit, that unit now doubles every ten years. No wonder there’s so much anxiety, confusion, and mistaking fact for fiction and fiction for fact! In light of

Growing in Love’s Likeness: Becoming Fully Human

09/10/2020

The glory of God is a human being fully alive. —St. Irenaeus of Lyon [1] Like every believer I know, my search for real life has led me through at least three distinct seasons of faith, not once or twice but over and over again. Jesus called them finding life, losing life, and finding life again, with the paradoxical promise that finders will be losers while those who lose their lives for his sake will

Have You Lost Your Soul?

06/05/2020

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 1, 2015 When was the last time you heard someone express concern for their soul? When was the last time you listened earnestly as a friend lamented a psychological or emotional struggle? The reason for the difference is simple: we have become a “soul-less” psychologized society. The classical concern for the soul has been replaced by an overwhelming interest in psychological and emotional “health.” We are becoming a “well-adjusted” society. The soul

The Search for the ‘Place of the Heart’: A Life-Giving Discipline

07/17/2019

Our whole spiritual progress is a ‘search for the place of the heart’. Little by little, the conscious self frees itself from idols, strips away the dead layers and illusions, and ‘descends’, like Psyche holding a lighted lamp, into the dark crypt of the heart. Sanctuary, crypt and tomb become the bridal chamber; the ‘heart-spirit’ is remade in the fire of grace, it trembles with joy, it bursts into flames, the world and humanity are

The Third Monday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Connecting with Universal Meaning

05/13/2019

Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing: God never changes. Patience obtains all things Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices. —St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) [1]   Contemplation is a most radical form of self-surrender and kenosis (letting go). Yet surrender is only possible if there is a profound trust that there is Someone trustworthy to whom we can surrender. Paradoxically, self-forgetfulness leads to a firm and fearless sense of

Superstition and the Material God

02/15/2019

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 23, 2015 People gather at the end of Church for a “travel blessing.” A priest chants a prayer and sprinkles water over them with a brush. They cross themselves and have some sense that their travels will now be better. Many modern people watching this procedure would describe the process as “superstitious.” It appears to them that physical actions (sprinkling water) are expected to have some remote effect on later

Orthodoxy Versus Christian Materialism (Part I)

06/14/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman Over the years I find myself coming back to a number of ideas within the modern world that differ markedly from Orthodox thought. These are ideas that are imbedded so deep within our culture that they seem self-evident to most people. Many Orthodox believers hold to one or more of them, distorting their understanding of the faith. This article is an effort to create a list and address each one. If

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