This Side of the Pulpit » Entries tagged with "Orthodoxy"
What Is Worship?
I have been struggling to define “worship” to myself and my congregation for some time now. As usual, someone else has defined this much better than I can: Fr. Stephen Freeman at his blog Glory to God for All Things. Some Lutherans may take umbrage with a few points he makes, especially emphasizing the “exchange” in the Eucharist (of giving our bread), but I don’t find anything wrong with this point. Truly the bread and wine are our gifts and, unlike Roman Catholics, the Orthodox teach with us that our “sacrifice” in the Eucharist is not the body of Christ, but more the bread that we offer for God’s use. Here’s the essay: It is not uncommon for visitors and members alike to comment on the length of an Orthodox liturgy. … Read entire article »
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Funeral for Patriarch ALEXY II Streaming Live Tonight
For those of you who may be interested, the Funeral and Internment rites for Patriarch ALEXY II of Moscow and All Russia will be broadcast live on the ‘net. See here for more details. The broadcast will begin at 10pm CST. … Read entire article »
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Patriarch Alexiy II –Memory Eternal
I just read a report that Patriarch Alexiy II of the Russian Orthodox Church has reposed. The entire story can be read here. While he was a controversial figure for many, he was controversial for many good reasons, and the story does a good job summarizing his life and his importance in Russia. “He served the church when there were only 40 places of worship in Moscow and now by his grace there are more than 500. So one can only imagine what this tragedy will mean for the church,” [a spokesman] told Reuters. Memory eternal! … Read entire article »
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Death and Capitalism
From Second Terrace: …the Christian Right complains about abortion, the destruction of embryos, hyper-socialism, termination of the aged and disabled, and the chic redefinition of aberrant sexual proclivity as conferring “minority” status – these are all issues about which I wholeheartedly agree with my right-wing heterodox friends. But they are not-so-strangely silent, in their insouciance, about encroaching totalitarianism, consumerism, war-as-aggrandizement, environmental rapine, and hyper-capitalism: these concerns are just as Biblical, and should be just as salient — even in such a restricted view thatsola scripturaallows. You would be hard pressed to find a fundamentalist Christian who will say a critical word about capitalism, given their multi-generational catechism that defines the Beast as a red communist for sure. If you turn the radio dial enough, late at night (or the url-bar), you can still … Read entire article »
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Do Not Seek to Avoid
Fr. Stephen Freeman’s latest post asks: This may seem an entirely innocuous question. But I ask it in earnest. What do you want from God? On the level of the trite, we may want more of what we already have, but have it in abundance. We may want less of what we have, only have it in a healthy manner (relationships come to mind). What is more difficult, for the heart, and for the spiritual life in general is to say: “I want God, and more of Him.” This is the statement of someone who has tasted of the heavenly gift and cannot be satisfied with less. It is rare. Though it is rare, it is the common confession of the saints. What do you want? Is there some degree to which you want … Read entire article »
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Judgment and Repentance
It is certain that on the Last Day we will be judged on what we have done. “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done” (Rev. 20:12 ESV; see also Matt. 25:35). It is certain that our salvation depends not upon our keeping the Law, but upon the grace of God who gives us faith (Eph 2:8-10). Salvation cannot be earned or merited. Salvation–having eternal life in the Body of Christ is something outside of us that must be granted to us. Christ came to make the dead live, after all, and … Read entire article »
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Decrying Minimalism
This time from an Orthodox priest, and a well-known and loved blogger, Fr. Stephen Freeman: There is a tendency in our modern world to make things as simple as possible. We hide the complexities behind a keyboard (I don’t know how my computer works – or not very well) or we treat things that seem complex as unnecessary obfuscations. This same drive to simplify was very much alive in the 16th century as Christianity underwent reform in many places of the world. Thomas Cranmer, the English Reformer, railed against the complexity of the service books required for a Roman Catholic Mass and managed to bring everything down to one small book. Every service required by a cleric could be found in the one Prayer Book, which also contained the book of Psalms. Cranmer’s … Read entire article »
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Luther and the Apocraphya
Here’s a brief introduction to these books of the Bible by Rev. Paul McCain: In the past several decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in the so-called “missing books” of the Bible. The work of persons such as Elaine Pagels has made a career of trying to popularize the Gnostic Gospels and other Gnostic literature. The most dramatic discovery of Gnostic texts occurred in the upper Egyptian city of Nag Hammadi. The Gospel of Thomas was found as a complete text. These Gnostic texts are often referred to in populist works and the major media as the “missing books of the Bible.” Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. They were never regarded as being part of Christian Scripture. Gnosticism, in its variety of forms, was a mixture … Read entire article »
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Who To Be at Your Funeral
Here’s a great post by semi-regular commenter “-C” at her blog Transposzing. “He Spent His Whole Life Preparing for this Day” That’s what she said. Was she a wife talking about her husband on the day he won the Tour de France? Was she a mother, talking about her son as he was about to begin his debut performance at Carnegie Hall? Actually, she was a daughter talking about her father at his funeral. Now I am not generally much of an appreciator of the comments or shared memories of family and friends of the deceased which are made during a funeral service. There are alot of reasons I don’t care much for it, some of which are theological, some practical, and yet other reasons are nothing but a matter of personal preference. But that … Read entire article »
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Liturgical and Historical Questions
St. Hippolytus the Anti-Pope (what a great name!) wrote Apostolic Traditions out of concern that certain ancient customs were being lost. The Traditions date to the early 3rd century. He includes some early liturgy, and here is the anaphora/Eucharistic Prayer: We give thanks to you God, through your beloved son Jesus Christ, whom you sent to us in former times as Savior, Redeemer, and Messenger of your Will, who is your inseparable Word, through whom you made all, and in whom you were well-pleased, whom you sent from heaven into the womb of a virgin, who, being conceived within her, was made flesh, and appeared as your Son, born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin. It is he who, fulfilling your will and acquiring for you a holy … Read entire article »
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