~By Father Stephen Freeman Pascha (Easter) comes with a great note of joy in the Christian world. Christ is risen from the dead and our hearts rejoice. That joy begins to wane as the days pass. Our lives settle back down to the mundane tasks at hand. After 40 days, the Church marks the Feast of the Ascension, often attended by only a handful of the faithful (Rome has more-or-less moved the Ascension to a
~By Father Stephen Freeman Orthodox Christianity often seems inherently conservative. The unyielding place that tradition holds within its life seems ready-made for a conservative bulwark against a world all-too-ready to forget everything that is good or beautiful. There are subtle but important distinctions that make this treatment of Orthodoxy misleading and can lead to the distortion of the faith and an almost reverse image of our true salvation. Orthodox Christianity does not seek to preserve
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Protopresbyter Vasileios Kalliakmanis, Professor of the Theological School, A.U.Th. Divine compassion, as a consequence of the mystery of divine self-emptying, isn’t restricted to the Cross and burial. It continues after the Resurrection as well. The risen Lord had no wish to impose the glad tidings on people by force. Nor did he require them to embrace the news unconditionally. As the glorified Lord, he agreed to be the object of
~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 15, 2016 And here, as we approach Christ’s death on the Cross, it is appropriate to ask, “Why death?” There are many meditations on the death of Christ. Meditations that see Him as the Paschal Lamb sacrificed for us, as the “Serpent lifted in the wilderness,” and others. Here, temptation sets in and Christians seek to explain Christ’s death by comparing it to their own faulty understandings of lesser things.
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 15, 2016 Several years ago, someone wrote and asked, “Why did Christ have to die on the Cross?” It is the question that prompted this article. Recently, we have been having a discussion regarding the atonement within the comments section of the blog. I have pointed out that the notion of Christ being punished by the wrath of God for our sakes is not, in fact, found in the Scriptures. Sin
~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, November 18, 2007 Luke 12:16-21 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! There is a misconception that the Christian life is supposed to be miserable. Why, if that is not true, would the Church ask us to fast, to sacrifice and to deny ourselves the pleasures and goods of this life? But
~By Father Jeremy, February 6, 2019 Today, February 6th, we commemorate a man who has been hated in the West and revered as a great saint in the East. Some historians say he was second to St. John Chrysostom in influence on the Constantinopolitan throne. On the other hand, some scholars call him the “Father of the Great Schism.” As of January 2019, I am working on a thorough research project regarding the life of
As the close of January draws near, a month filled with feasts commemorating prominent Church Fathers of the Orthodox Faith, comes to an end with the Feast of the Three Hierarchs. The Three Hierarchs are none other than: St Basil the Great, St John Chrysostom and St Gregory the Theologian. Each of these great Fathers have their own feast day: St Basil on January 1, St John Chrysostom on November 13 and January 27 and St Gregory
Saint Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria, was a great Father of the Church and a pillar of Orthodoxy. He was born around the year 297 in the city of Alexandria into a family of pious Christians. He received a fine secular education, but he acquired more knowledge by diligent study of the Holy Scripture. In his childhood, the future hierarch Athanasius became known to Saint Alexander the Patriarch of Alexandria (May 29). A group
~By Father Stephen Freeman, July 17, 2023 The language of “self-emptying” can have a sort of Buddhist ring. It sounds as we are referencing a move towards becoming a vessel without content – the non-self. Given our multicultural world, such a reference is understandable. It is, however, unfortunate and requires that we visit the true nature of Christian self-emptying. Our self-emptying is deeply tied to shame and the Crucified Christ. As a touchstone, I cite
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