If God is Love, why Hell, “Purgatory”, Judgement, Eternal Punishment, Darkness and the Lake of Fire? I want to speak very much more briefly on a second topic, which is how we reconcile the idea of a God of love with the punishment of those judged unworthy, however this is understood, which is described in […]
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go […]
Eutyches and the Oriental Orthodox tradition The Oriental Orthodox communion has been regularly and routinely accused of following the teaching of Eutyches, the controversial archimandrite of Constantinople. Historical sources, such as the Catholic Encyclopaedia, conflate the teaching of Eutyches with monophysitism, and then insist that all those who speak of one nature may be indifferently […]
I recently discovered an interesting book, Sinai and Golgotha: A journey in the East, which was published in 1849. I enjoy finding the different accounts of Egypt written by visitors at this period. It was one among many written by travellers in the 19th century. The author was Frederick Adolph Strauss, a clergyman in the […]
When our Lord Jesus was about to teach his disciples how to pray in the words that begin, Our Father… he warned them, do not use vain repetitions, as it is translated in the New King James version of the New Testament. (Matthew 6:7). This often seems rather an embarrassing verse for Orthodox Christians, since […]
We only understand how we are who we are when we consider the influences that have come to bear on our ancient community. This is true of the controversies and pressures which were faced in the distant past, in times of theological disagreement and persecution, but also in regard to more recent experiences which have […]
Someone asked me… if God cares infinitely for every soul, then what does our prayer for one another add or what’s it’s purpose? This is a good question. I would start by saying that we can care for someone and yet not wish to do everything for them or without their participation because we might […]
How was Christ said to become a curse for us? Of the three thousand or more letters which we know that St Severus wrote during his very active ministry, we have several hundred persevered to our own times. Letter LXV, has the title: From the Letter of the same Holy Severus to Eupraxius the Chamberlain […]
Wales is a land which has rightly been said to have been built on the saints, and almost every other town or village is called Llan-something, which represents the Welsh word for a monastery or church enclosure. Usually the name of the place refers to the ancient Orthodox saint who founded the monastery or church. […]
Our Lord Jesus famously spoke about the new birth when he addressed Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, who had come to Jesus in the night. In John 3:3-7 he says… “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a […]