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Equal of the Apostles and Emperor Constantine with his Mother Helen

05/21/2018

The Church calls Saint Constantine (306-337) “the Equal of the Apostles,” and historians call him “the Great.” He was the son of the Caesar Constantius Chlorus (305-306), who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain. His mother was Saint Helen, a Christian of humble birth. At this time the immense Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern halves, governed by two independent emperors and their co-rulers called “Caesars.” Constantius Chlorus was Caesar in the

Of Course We Are Called to be Moral—A Response to My Critics

05/18/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, December 19, 2014 Well, the firestorm has moved even to my host, Ancient Faith Blogs. There, you can find a response and a critique of my last article, The Unmoral Christian. I find nothing in the response with which I disagree. The author argues that externals are often important, certainly for beginners, and suggests that I have overplayed my hand in overemphasized the inner nature of our lives. That is perhaps true. Every child

Ascended in Glory (Part II)

05/17/2018

Most of us memorized John 3:16 in church school. Those familiar words contain the whole of the mystery of God’s ineffable love for us: “God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son,” that through His sacrifice death might be conquered, and we might receive the gift of eternal life. The great feast of Christ’s Resurrection, Holy Pascha, enables us to recall and to relive His victory over death. That victory becomes our

Saint Sophia Cathedral’s “Orthodoxy Boot Camp” Lecture Series

05/16/2018

Fellow Parishioners and Guests: You’re INVITED to Saint Sophia Cathedral’s “Orthodoxy Boot Camp” Lecture Series! TOPIC: Divine Mind in a Virtual Dilemma: Ancient Orthodox Teachings for our Digital Age FOR: Open to Everyone (Saint Sophia Parishioners and Interested Guests)!! **(If you attended the Orthodoxy 101 or 201 Boot Camps, you’re ENCOURAGED to attend too – new material!) DATE: Saturday, June 16 – 10am-2pm VENUE: Saint Sophia Cathedral’s Frosene Center (upstairs area) RSVP: Please fill out

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Pascha. Ascended in Glory (Part I)

05/16/2018

THE FEAST OF CHRIST’S Ascension is seldom given its due in the cycle of liturgical services, even within the Orthodox tradition. This is in part because it falls awkwardly on a Thursday, when most of our parishioners are at work. More significant is the fact that the theology, the deeply spiritual meaning of the feast, is not well understood. The Ascension is difficult for us to grasp because the image it evokes seems so improbable.

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Pascha. Divine Light.

05/15/2018

Only divine light, when it shines in us, allows us to see our sins. It is by prayer that our heart begins, little by little, to understand the influences of the spirits which fill the cosmos. Instead of making progress, we see with an ever greater acuteness the passions which possess us. Paradoxically, this feeling that there is no progress is itself progress. Even if we have not yet seen the uncreated light of God,

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Monday of the Sixth Week of Pascha. The Christification of the Universe.

05/14/2018

The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. —John 6:51 Jesus the Christ did not talk in this truly shocking way (see John 6:60) so we could worship bread and wine. He came so that we would recognize his presence in all things, not just in the human body of Jesus, not just in the human body of God’s people (1 Corinthians 12:12ff), but even in the nurturing

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Fifth Week of Pascha. The Unmoral Christian.

05/11/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, December 17, 2014 In recent articles I have challenged the place of contemporary morality in the Christian life. Some have had difficulty with this, wondering how we should then think about the commandments that are directed towards our behavior. Others have suggested that my challenge is merely semantic. There are certainly semantic distinctions being made here – but the reason for them is important and goes beyond mere words. But if it

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Thursday of the Fifth Week of Pascha. Atomization.

05/10/2018

One of the most astonishing features of our time is the tendency of spiritual truths, till recently known only to contemplatives, to become historical facts. So the splitting of the atom is only the outward expression in history of the spiritual state of disintegration in humanity known to Tradition and called just the same thing, ‘atomization’. When the self turns away from God, it can no longer contain its nature; it becomes an individual –

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Pascha. Endless Suffering

05/09/2018

Earthly existence is for man an endless suffering. Why do we bear all this? Because the Creator has come and has dwelt among us. And we now know Him personally. We are created ‘in the image and likeness of God’. When we measure the reality of our everyday life against this divine revelation, we fall into despair. Why is it so difficult to act as a Christian in the here and now? Because it is

Blog

Equal of the Apostles and Emperor Constantine with his Mother Helen

Of Course We Are Called to be Moral—A Response to My Critics

Ascended in Glory (Part II)

Saint Sophia Cathedral’s “Orthodoxy Boot Camp” Lecture Series

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Pascha. Ascended in Glory (Part I)

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Pascha. Divine Light.

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Monday of the Sixth Week of Pascha. The Christification of the Universe.

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Fifth Week of Pascha. The Unmoral Christian.

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Thursday of the Fifth Week of Pascha. Atomization.

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Pascha. Endless Suffering

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