Dear Taylor,
You ask how our view of the afterlife differs from that of other Christians; I am not sure any of us will have the answer you might want, since we can really only say what our Church teaches, which is, indeed, that the way to salvation…
Dear Taylor,
No, I don't think you are being confusing, but the question you put is a difficult one, because, of course, we believe that being in the Church and receiving its sacraments is the path to salvation, it is the spiritual hospital in whic…
Dear Taylor,
Hope the answers are helping. In terms of baptism, as you can see, although the Eastern Orthodox would recognise it, you would not usually be able to communicate.
You ask
what about sexuality? What of homosexuals and chastity and cel…
Dear Taylor,
The Orthodox teaching is that the bread and wine are the body and blood of Our Lord, but unlike the Catholics we do not presume to say how that happens; in other words we do not believe in transubstantiation in the way Roman Catholics …
Dear Taylor,
Among the Oriental Orthodox family of Churches, yes, but not in those in the Eastern Orthodox family. This means that the following would recognise your baptism and chrismation and hold you in full communion:
Armenian Orthodox Church
…
Dear Taylor,
It is interesting to note that both Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia rejected religion - the societies which they created were not ones most people would want to live in.
What Our Faith teaches us is that it is human nature, in its fall…
Dear Κηφᾶς,
Indeed, you are quite correct. It is a Gnostic heresy to believe that sexual intercourse is, in itself, sinful. Of course, improperly directed, that is in fornication or adultery or in some other non-blessed way (Sodomy for example) it …
Dear Mike,
You are no more a 'vessel of Satan' than anyone else; we are all sinners - but we all try, through Him and His Church to travel on the road of Theosis.
How do we know we are made in God's image? Because the Bible tells us so:
Genesis 1:…
My understanding, from my priest, is that the Church sees nothing but good coming from pregnant women taking communion; both mother and baby benefit from the spiritual good done to the mother. For the rest, as has been said, the Church has been deal…
Dear Iqbal,
Indeed, and thank you for this. At the heart of our Faith is the personal encounter with the Risen Lord at the Eucharistic feast; it is the encounter of our person with His Person - and through that we shall know Him. You do (as always)…
Dear Vassilios,
How fortunate you are in your fiancee; may you both be blessed with many years and much happiness. In the words of the traditional Celtic blessing:
[center]May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
The sun …
Dear Vassilios,
The answer to the question of 'what can I do?' lies with you as a Christian. Your priest has clearly offended you deeply, and not only yourself. The injuries to yourself are best dealt with by forgiving him; holding on to a personal…
Dear Αριψαλιν,
God has given us all free will, therefore it is not, strictly speaking, God' will that Pilate and Judas were guilty of anything - it was their freely taken choice. Like all of us, they were responsible for what they did. They couldn'…
Dear Vassilios,
I am in agreement with Κηφᾶς.
The very question, what happens if you break up is, again, culturally conditioned. In the west in most quarters the answer is 'so what?' In Egypt and other cultures of the east, this would be a matter …
Dear Vassilios,
I look forward to seeing how Kerestina responds to your teasing post.
I suspect the answer to the question is a culturally conditioned one. In the UK there would be nothing at all wrong with it; it would be otherwise in Egypt. And …
Dear Κηφᾶς,
You are, of course, quite correct, and one must not go for a simple reading, denying the other possible readings that could be made.
That most original and difficult of all the Fathers, Origen, once wrote thatJohn called God love, and …
Dear Κηφᾶς,
As you say, there have been a few adverse comments from the prurient-minded on the Song of Solomon; but it is, like so many of the Psalms, beautiful, moving and poetic.
There will, of course, always be those who purport to find bad thi…
Dear Vassilios, Dear jydeacon,
Many thanks, not least to jydeacon for the weblink, which was excellent.
Prof. Bebawy, has, alas, lapsed from the True way. This illustrates one of the problems when one decides to interpret Holy Scripture and the Fa…
Dear Vassilios,
You highlight the question of the difference between ethnic practice and Orthodox praxis.
It is only natural, I suppose, that when abroad one seeks out one's fellow countrymen (the English in Spain are notorious for this!). Natural…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
An interesting question, which could have several long answers, and which I am sure is covered elsewhere on this site. I wonder if I might add this as one who has converted into the Coptic Orthodox Church from A…
Dear Vassilios,
An intriguing question.
For the baptised and chrismated Christian the bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Our Lord; for the baby in the womb they are simply part of the nourishment received from the mother. That the mother is …
Dear Vassilios,
He couldnt distinguish between "BASTARD" and "BARRISTER".
A problem some of us will have had in our time, I fear ... ;)
On the subject of the past few posts, I think calm has descended, and would like to thank Vassilios for his apo…
It had better be, since I was baptised by Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury!
The answer, of course, is that it is. Did someone say it wasn't?
In Christ,
John
Dear Mike,
It is usually unwise to get this hung up on a detail. Talk to your priest if you are in doubt. Fasting is about showing our obedience and love to God - not about getting obsessed on points of detail for their own sake - remember the Phar…
Of course, and I would stress that nothing I have written should be taken as expressing any opinion on anyone else's practice. The BOC does what it does because it has always done that, and because it has the warrant of St. Cyril for its practice. T…
Dear Ophadece,
Thank you so much for that thoughtful post which draws together so much of what we have been discussing here.
At the end, the important thing is to behave in a manner that does not intentionally cause discomfort to others. Of course…
Dear Kerestina,
Not at all an irrelevant question. I am an English convert, and a member of the British Orthodox Church, which comes under Alexandria.
In Christ,
John
Dear Vassilios,
The advice from Hizz was excellent, and it looks like you're taking it, which is excellent.
Too right that you don't mess with the MIB.
In Christ,
John
Dear Vassilios,
You make some excellent points here.
A few weeks ago I went along with others from the British Orthodox Church to an Oriental Orthodox festival at the new Coptic Cathedral of St. George in Stevenage (a wonderful building). There we…