One sometimes comes across mild debates in Orthodox circles about whether or not our Sunday Divine Liturgy should employ the archaic forms (e.g. “Thou hast”) or the contemporary ones (e.g. “You have”). Our own O.C.A. website has perhaps...
The Feast of the Meeting of Christ in the Temple (February 2) is a feast of the elderly. When the Holy Family entered the Temple courts to offer the required sacrifice for the purification of Mary after her giving birth to Jesus, her...
For the Orthodox priest, preaching is a fearful responsibility: the Holy Gospel has just been solemnly chanted in Church, and the assembled people of God have greeted the Lord in their midst with the words, “Glory to You, O Lord, glory...
In his list of virtues which comprise the fruit of Spirit working in one’s life, St. Paul lists that of “goodness” (Greek agathosune, αγαθοσυνη) about midway in the list (Galatians 5:22f). One scarcely speaks of goodness as one of the...
The existence of a “Queen James Bible” is something one might ordinarily expect to find in a recent edition of the satirical news source The Onion or perhaps a copy of Mad Magazine. But I swear the thing exists. I discovered it online...
Tom Harpur is dead at 87, having crossed over into the other world on January 2 of this year. Most Americans may not have heard of the Reverend Thomas Harpur, who was more famous in his native Canada than down south. He was born in...
Christmas Day and the post-Christmas season usually bring with them a number of things not overwhelming helpful—Boxing Day stampedes, post-Christmas let-down, unwelcome news when stepping on the bathroom scale, and polemical digs about...
Part of my seasonal reading included a book by Andrew T. Lincoln, entitled, Born of a Virgin?, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans in 2013. Lincoln is a Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Gloucestershire, and the author of...
If you are at all like me, it is not Christmas until you have seen the holiday special A Charlie Brown Christmas, which has been shown seasonally every year since it first appeared in 1965. I have watched it faithfully every year since...
In the world’s hagiology, it seems that untimely demise bestows a scent of secular sanctity, that those who die before their time are endowed with the status of saints. Take for example the untimely death of Princess Diana. Despite some...
It used to be the norm in western culture for men to wear hats, and there was a common and recognized etiquette regarding the wearing of the western hat. One did not wear it, for example, when in someone’s home, or in a house of worship....
If you haven’t yet purchased a Hipster Nativity Set, you might be too late—despite their $129.99 price tag, they are flying off the shelves, even at a limit of three to a customer. The set includes the traditional figures, but all in a...
Lately I came across an interesting bit of theologizing. The author (who shall remain nameless) spoke of his love for Psalm 139 (“one of my absolute favorite psalms”). In it he said that “right smack dab in the middle of this Psalm, King...
Today, November 22, is the anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis., and in honour of the day I would like to offer a book review on a book about C.S. Lewis, The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis, edited by Robert MacSwain and Michael...
November 21 commemorates the first time the young girl destined to be the Mother of God entered into the Temple at Jerusalem. Though now long gone, the Temple must have presented an awe-inspiring sight to the young child, with its white...
