OrthoAnalyika Shownotes: 21 February 2010 Note: be sure to subscribe to the podcast The Triumph of True-Worship and Defeat of Iconoclasm(and why it matters) Note about length of services. This is traditionally a time of catechetical instruction, so sermons may be longer than usual. Your priest will do what he can to ensure that this […]
Unity, Authenticity, and the Paranormal
November 22, 2009 By
OrthoAnalyika Shownotes: 22 November 2009 Note: be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Homily/Lesson (24th Sunday after Pentecost) Epistle: Ephesians (2: 14-22) For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments […]
Stigmata, Music, Priestwives, and Redeeming Time
October 4, 2009 By
OrthoAnalyika Shownotes: 4 October 2009 Note: be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Mail Call: What did you mean about crucifixes, stigmata and stations of the cross? Basic point was that the Orthodox tend to focus on the transformative effects of the Resurrection. There is a trajectory, even in the East, that reveled in defeating […]
Some thoughts on death, community, love, and funerals
April 8, 2009 By
As persons made according to God’s love, we were made to live in community. So it is natural for us to provide mutual support to one another through hard times. When one of us is sick, we visit them. When one of us is grieving, we console them. We reach out and, whether the medium […]
Of Mother Earth and the Invisible Hand
February 24, 2009 By
It’s been a real blessing to teach a course at seminary this semester. It’s not just that I love teaching no matter what the context (I do); it is just much more satisfying to work with people who share the same assumptions and goals I do, and to do so in a forum where we […]
On the Spirituality of Sleep
February 3, 2009 By
This month I started teaching a theology class on “Kyivan Spirituality” here in the parish and at our seminary in New Jersey. They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Given how mundane (i.e. non-spiritual) I am, there has been a LOT of prep work involved. St. Theophan describes this […]
The Orthodox Witness of Peace and the Repose of +Ihumen Gregory
November 23, 2008 By
It is with a “profound depth of sadness and prayer” that I share the news that the servant of God, Ihumen (abbot) Gregory fell asleep in the Lord this past Thursday evening. You will remember that I have asked all of you to pray for him: please continue to do so. Those of us with […]
On the Obligations of Christian Citizenship
October 20, 2008 By
The demands of sacrificial love and citizenship are hard to reconcile. Christ demands that we welcome strangers, turn the other cheek, and love our enemies. But the governments we elect have immigration laws, prisons, and armies that they use to turn away strangers, imprison those who assault others, and fight against those who declare war […]
Taking Responsibility for Falling to Temptations
July 24, 2008 By
The American heritage is one of a strong work ethic and a deep sense of personal responsibility. These individual traits, together with civic engagement, are the cultural foundations of American prosperity. Originally, these traits sprang forth naturally from America’s Judeo-Christian roots. Max Weber and De Tocqueville both warned what would happen if these individual traits […]
Music and Science – missing the obvious point
July 22, 2008 By
My apologies if you were hoping to read more exciting thoughts on bureaucracy, elections, and tyranny, but I am going to take a few minutes to share some random thoughts on something more fundamental : music. There is much that could be said, but I want to focus for a moment on the questions of […]
