Traditional theology about the importance and function of fathers can show up in all sorts of unexpected places. Take, for example, the John Denver song Thank God I’m a Country Boy, written by John Sommers. A few lines of this song read,...
Significantly the story of the salvation of the world began in a pagan place far away from what would eventually become the Promised Land. That is, it began in Ur of the Chaldeans with the emigration of the family of Terah (Genesis...
Every once in a while I am asked why I say the prayers aloud when serving Divine Liturgy, and do not serve in the more “classic” manner of silently reciting the prayers (such as the Anaphora, or prayer of the consecration of Bread and...
Anyone who believes Christ’s word that the gates of hell will never prevail against His Church and that the Spirit will guide the Church into all truth (Matthew 16:18, John 16:13) must also believe that God watches over His Church to...
A favourite phrase from the American Declaration of Independence tells us that one of our inalienable human rights is the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This legitimate political goal has morphed into a personal...
An old proverb says that whoever dines with the devil must use a long spoon—i.e. one should be very careful and keep as much distance as possible. I suggest the same advice is suitable for dining with Caesar. When Caesar is unfriendly to...
I am often asked why the Orthodox Church doesn’t use musical instruments in its worship. After all, we seem to be the odd man out: classic Roman Catholic and Protestant churches used the organ in their services, more modern Evangelical...
It is, I suppose, because I’m the type that doesn’t get out much that I had never heard of Hunter S. Thompson before now. As the better-informed may recall, Thompson was the father of so-called “Gonzo Journalism”. His break-through book...
Several times a week I drive past a certain church, and recently I was moved by curiosity to find out what their services were like. Since our province is currently under lockdown and gathering for Christian worship inside is against...
One great difference between Orthodox and Evangelicals is their reaction to the little word “tradition”. The former regard it as a kind of armour and as an immune system, while the latter regard it almost as a disease to guard against....
Everyone you meet and have ever met wears a mask. You do too. (And no, I am not talking about the current pandemic.) From the time we were children, we have been taught that certain things were acceptable and certain other things were...
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question...
Not so long ago I was asked by a very young child at church the question, “Fr. Lawrence, does God have a body?” She was not thinking of the incarnate Christ our God, but of God in the Old Testament, Yahweh, the pre-incarnate deity, the...
Throughout the years, I have had the privilege of receiving a number of people into the Orthodox Church—indeed, our own little mission consists overwhelmingly of converts and their children. Most of the converts come from various kinds...
Zacchaeus lives in the Church, abiding as an image of us all. In some sense, everyone of us is Zacchaeus, for everyone of us is a sinner at heart. That is why Zacchaeus is invoked and his example recalled every time the priest enters...
