Our Life in Christ

Following Chastity in the the list of virtues in St. Ephraim's prayer comes Humility. Reading from the Fathers, we find that humility is not merely a state of mind, but a mystery that comes about as the result of labors of the soul and body, mirroring the Incarnation itself, and so it is by nature incomprehensible. We look at humility and its opposite, pride and prelest. to try to gain even just a little more understanding of this virtue and why it is central to our life in Christ.

We finish this Lenten series discussing the virtues of patience, love, and not judging our brother. Again, the Orthodox axiom of working out the virtues in the body is true, and we learn that patience is not merely a passive state, but also requires spiritual/bodily effort to restrain evil thoughts/actions, choosing to perform God's will instead. Love for God, neighbor, enemies and the whole of creation is our aim, cultivated with our growing awareness of God's pure and captivating eros coming down from heaven. Engulfed in this love we lose interest in the world and adopt the humble mind of Christ, whose words on the Cross, "forgive them for they know not what they do," are to become our own towards all men.

We continue our discussion of Great Lent by reviewing, with many quotes from the Church Fathers, the famous Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian that is used during all the weekday services. Writing in the 4th century, St. Ephraim's hymnography captures the Spirit of the Lenten Season and has been a vital standard for the Orthodox Church ever since. In its simplicity and penetrating quality we learn that we are at once helpless and in need of God's grace to overcome our sinful nature, and yet must also pursue repentance and the virtues in faith continually, to be both emptied and filled.

The Nativity Fast

An interview with Fr. Chris Salamy

We've gotten several requests over time to do a program on the Orthodox view of "speaking in tongues" and the charismatic movement within the Evangelical Churches. After avoiding the topic for a couple years we decided to do a series on the Orthodox Church's understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. With all the claims and experiences regarding the Holy Spirit today is there a way to discern what is real and what is perhaps a spiritual deception? We begin the series at the beginning: the role of the Holy Spirit in creation.

In this episode, Steve and Bill discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing salvation to the human race through the person of Mary on whom the Holy Spirit descends to incarnate the second person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ. This is understood as the "economy" or the role of the Spirit as the one who does not manifest Himself, but reveals Christ. But then something happens during the second break and... well, don't reveal the suprise ending of this program to anyone.

Icons and the Theology of Light, the Orthodox View of Salvation - Part 2

It is said that if you are familiar with the book of Revelation you will feel right at home in an Orthodox Church. The interior of the Church is modeled after the vision of St. John, who on the Lord's Day in worship, sees the heavenly worship he is participating in here on earth. The 'sacred space' of the Church building is the joining of us who are still 'in the world but not of it' to those who are before the altar of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world in the Heavenly Jerusalem in eternity. This is not mere symbolism, but the mystical reality of the communion of the saints spoken of in Hebrews 12. Steve and Bill give an 'audio tour' of an Orthodox Church building and talk about the meaning of the things that you will see beginning from entering the doors from the west parking lot to the easternmost back wall behind the altar.

What accounts for the differences between the Eastern and Western churches? Many things of course, but primarily the development in the West - through those such as Anselm and Aquinas - of an emphasis on human reason and intellect in the pursuit of theological understanding. Returning briefly to our discussion of Rome and the Eastern Church, we contrast rationalism with the Eastern tradition that bows to the Mystery of the Incomprehensible, that proclaims that "theologians" are pure in heart through love of God (the eastern Church grants the title of Theologian to only three Saints in all of Church History), and we begin to see how steeped our modern culture and we ourselves are in scholastic thinking.

Continuing with our discussion about Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology, we turn to the question of what happened to the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in the first centuries following the death of the Apostles, and specifically the relationship between the Eastern Churches and the Church at Rome. Contrasting the Petrine Doctrine and the conduct of Roman Bishops with that of the Eastern Bishops through the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the first millenium, we find that the collegial model was maintained as it had begun in Acts 15, and that Rome, despite certain attempts to exert universal authority over the Churches, was subject to the Councils and their declarations.

We continue our discussion of apostolic succession by examining some common objections given by Protestants, found in a sermon outline published on Calvin College's CCEL Historical Church document site. It becomes clear that for Protestants, reaction against apostolic succession is not based on solid Biblical or historical grounds, but rather on the need to question and reject the authority of Rome (papal and magisterial) and its excesses, which are not necessarily a part of the Eastern Orthodox Tradition.

First Visit to an Orthodox Church: 12 Things I Wish I'd Known - Part 2

Icons and the Theology of Light, the Orthodox View of Salvation - Part 1

First Visit to an Orthodox Church: 12 Things I Wish I'd Known - Part 1