Fr. Stephen Freeman Archives - Page 15 of 17

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Monday of Pascha: Knowing God – After Pascha

05/09/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 10, 2007 We approach things so differently in our modern world (as opposed to the ancient world). All of us have access to a great deal of information, although the information that comes to us when we are in the passive mode is less than useless (here I mean television and popular media). Thus I would paraphrase Our Lord and say, “How hard it is for a couch potato to enter the

The Holy and Great Friday: Unbelief and Good Friday

04/22/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 5, 2018 Christmas and Easter are often difficult days for those who do not believe in God. Christians are more public about their faith than at other times of the year and this brings with it an annoyance. Christmas bespeaks the birth of God as a human being. Easter bespeaks a resurrection from the dead. For those who do not believe, such miracles, spoken of so glowingly and with such

Lazarus Saturday

04/16/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 24, 2021 Largely ignored by much of Christendom, the Orthodox mark the day before Palm Sunday as “Lazarus Saturday” in something of a prequel to the following weekend’s Pascha. It is, indeed a little Pascha just before the greater one. And this, of course, was arranged by Christ Himself, who raised His friend Lazarus from the dead as something of a last action before entering Jerusalem and beginning His slow

The Sixth Friday of Great Lent: An Atonement of Shame – Orthodoxy and the Cross

04/15/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 6, 2017 Some decades ago in my early (Anglican) priesthood, a parishioner brought a crucifix back from South America. The question for me as a priest was whether I would accept the crucifix as a gift and place it in the Church. I like crucifixes, my taste was always towards the Catholic direction. But, you have to bear in mind that Spanish/Latin crucifixes have a tendency to be, well, rather

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent: The Healthy Shame at the Heart’s Core

04/11/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 20, 2017 Imagine: A large crowd has assembled and you know that something special has been planned. Unknown to you, however, is the fact that the something special is for and about you. At a given moment, you are called forward. A short speech detailing some extraordinary thing you have done is given. You had not thought anyone would notice, and you did not expect them to. However, you are being

The Fifth Friday of Great Lent: The Danger and Shame of Forgiveness

04/08/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 27, 2017 Forgiveness is so terribly hard. On a psychological level, it feels dangerous. The shame engendered by any insult or injury is our experience of vulnerability, and we instinctively react to protect ourselves. That, we must understand, is not a sin, it is an instinct that is a gift from God. The example of Christ, who did not “turn His face from the spitting and the shame,” is also

The Fifth Monday of Great Lent: Forgiveness for All the Sundays to Come

04/04/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 23, 2017 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (John17:20-21) The Elder Sophrony, together with St. Silouan, wrote about the “whole Adam.” By this, they meant all the human beings who have ever existed and those yet to come. They were, for them, something known in the present tense, a “hypostatic” knowledge of the fundamental unity of the human

The Fourth Friday of Great Lent: Secularized Sin

04/01/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 13, 2016 I have had numerous responses across social media about yesterday’s article on sin. It’s title, “Sin Is Not a Legal Problem,” drew some strong reactions. A particular concern is worth thinking about carefully. There is, as many have pointed out, plenty of juridical language in both the Scriptures and in the liturgical tradition of the Church. Quite specifically, someone noted that 1John 3:4 has this: “Sin is lawlessness.” One translation

The Second Friday of Great Lent: Unmediated Grace

03/29/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 30, 2013 This Sunday the Orthodox Calendar commemorates St. Gregory Palamas – perhaps the most significant theologian and teacher of the late Byzantine period. He particularly is important when considering the nature of the Christian experience of God. Orthodoxy believes that it is truly possible to know God though He remains unknowable. The mystery of this true knowledge constitutes the heart of St. Gregory’s work. I first encountered St. Gregory’s

The Fourth Monday of Great Lent: Sin Is Not a Legal Problem – Athanasius and the Atonement

03/28/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 12, 2016 I often struggle when people speak of their “sins.” Indeed, it is not unusual to be asked, “Is ___ a sin?” The question always makes me feel like a lawyer. Imagine that, instead of a doctor, you have a lawyer whom you consult for your medical problems. You are having trouble breathing. You’re short of breath and occasionally you cough up blood. You go to your doctor (lawyer)

Tags

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Monday of Pascha: Knowing God – After Pascha

The Holy and Great Friday: Unbelief and Good Friday

Lazarus Saturday

The Sixth Friday of Great Lent: An Atonement of Shame – Orthodoxy and the Cross

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent: The Healthy Shame at the Heart’s Core

The Fifth Friday of Great Lent: The Danger and Shame of Forgiveness

The Fifth Monday of Great Lent: Forgiveness for All the Sundays to Come

The Fourth Friday of Great Lent: Secularized Sin

The Second Friday of Great Lent: Unmediated Grace

The Fourth Monday of Great Lent: Sin Is Not a Legal Problem – Athanasius and the Atonement

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