Posts Tagged ‘Church History’
The Unchanging Changing Church
Our Divine worship is ancient. Our Scriptures are original. Our way of life was established by the Holy Apostles. As Orthodox Christians we like to tell everyone we are the ancient Church that never changes. That isn’t exactly true and today is a reminder of why. Today is the Feast of Saint Photios the Great.…
Read MoreThe Truth Always Wins
Whether it is politics, the workplace or even Church, being surrounded by others with different beliefs can be very stressful. We struggle to ‘convince’ others our beliefs are true. We are tempted to ‘shut down’ those who disagree with us, but that only creates battles. The Lord said to the Jews who had come to…
Read MoreFaithful to the End
Being faithful today is synonymous with being loyal. We are loyal to friends. We are loyal to family. We are loyal to our employers. If any of these groups betray us, our loyalty fades or even disappears. As Christians our loyalty is to Christ, who never betrays us. In those days, Peter said to the…
Read MoreNot Too Old to Learn
One of my favorite sayings is, “I grow old always being taught.” For that to be true, that would mean I must try to discover something new every day. I’m not always successful, but today was a good day. I learned something new today. Today is the Feast of Saint Katherine the Great Martyr. Her…
Read MoreBe Blameless When Society Is Wicked
Sometimes we like to think is was ‘easier’ to be a Christian in the past. We read the stories about Church growth and mass baptisms. We then think of today. We can’t imagine the same stories taking place today. It is so much harder to be Christian today than ‘back then.’ Brethren, as you have…
Read MoreCultural Faith
You have read many times in this blog, and you have heard me say even more times in Bible Studies and sermons, that Orthodox Christianity is a lived experience. It is much more than just a system of beliefs. Orthodox Christianity is a life lived according to those beliefs, like today. For Greeks throughout the…
Read MoreTwo Faced Christians
For years I have witnessed with frustration Christians welcome visitors, even invite visitors, only to reject visitors who may want to join the Church. Its one thing to visit. Its another thing to join. So long as visitors keep a safe distance, we’re happy to welcome them. Just keep a distance. Brethren, when Peter came…
Read MoreExcel in Love
We often wonder what genuine love is, how we show it, or how we feel it. We say it all the time. “I love you.” Just because we say it doesn’t mean it is genuine. Most of the time the love we express and the love we feel is not genuine, but worldly and shallow.…
Read MoreKnow Your Family
For many of us the very name we use is a testament to our family history. I was named after my grandfather and my son is named after my father. Our last names tell the world what family we belong to when we meet strangers. Everything we do, our family is a part of it,…
Read MoreCommon Life
In every Divine Liturgy we proclaim our common life in Christ when we pray, “Let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.” We do not commend our unison lives to Christ. We commend our life, singular, to Christ. That should mean something. Brethren, let any one who thinks…
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