Dear Vassilios,
I am so sorry you have had to go through this. But I think you will take from it some lessons, and that they will, in time, be helpful ones. The wider question your experience raises is an important one, to which, alas, there is not…
Kerestina's comment is well made and her point taken. We do need to be mindful of the fact that this is a public forum, and how we conduct ourselves will reflect on how others regard our Church.
Thank you, Kerestina, for reminding us of our duty.
…
Dear Vassilios,
It is odd how often people mistake ethnic practice for Orthodox praxis. What matters is that we treat each other and God's house with due respect.
We have to recognise, when in another country, that things are done rather different…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Some interesting and helpful points here - for which many thanks.
God gives us all free will; if we refuse to be saved, He can be sorrowful for that and for our loss, but He cannot save us against our will. Thi…
Dear Vassilios,
I am beginning to get quite worried for you. First your bad experience with your own priest, now this. Still, I guess you can look at the Catholic Church and think 'hey, and I thought it was bad at home!' so to speak. ;)
In Christ,…
Dear EpNomos EnTaio,
You don't come off as rude; in fact you supply a dimension we need in this discussion. Priests are called by God, and they are held to the highest standard of behaviour; they are Fathers, and it is impossible to retain respect …
That was certainly my (limited) understanding. But Κηφᾶς is usually pretty knowledgeable, and it would be good to know more about the line of thinking he mentions.
Of course, to God, everything is possible, and that is why Fathers like Origen and S…
Dear John,
Thanks for the link. It shows how the Church has a real pastoral concern for us all. The Catholic position is uncharitable and illogical. Why allow relations before marriage but now permit those in marriage to regulate the size of their …
Dear John,
These people are, I think, rather sad in many ways. If they don't believe, well that's their business I suppose - but why try to upset the faith of others? What is really going on here? Is it that they feel less alone if they can shake o…
Dear Vassilios,
You're quite correct, and as I say, that's one of the many reasons I left the Church of England. Of course there are many Anglicans who believe what we do, but the problem is that it is perfectly acceptable in the C of E to believe …
Dear Vassilios, Dear Mina,
Yes, on the contraception part, that's correct; unlike the Catholics we take a more pastoral line; what is the use of encouraging people to have more children than they really want; that's not very sensible. Yet again, th…
Dear Vassilios,
No, I don't think you are judging him; but I know that it is disturbing you and preventing you from having a quiet mind - and that is something no priest should be doing.
But remember, it is the Body and Blood of Our Lord you recei…
Dear Vassilios,
A very sad reminder to us all of how all humans err. How much we all stand in need of His redeeming love - and how unworthy we all are of it. What a good thing it is that He makes the judgements.
I am sad for you, because you shoul…
Dear Iqbal,
You're right on both counts.
It is a false deduction stemming from St. Cyril's greatness of spirit in agreeing to the reconciliation of 433. There is no sign that he repented of what his uncle had done, because, frankly, there was no n…
Dear Iqbal,
Good to have you back here - and with a post of real weight.
The Holy Ghost, the Comforter is the third part of the Trinity, as you say. Being of one essence with the Father, He is of one essence also with the Son, which is, I think, w…
Dear Κηφᾶς,
An interesting idea, and I wouldn't mind knowing a little more about that line of thinking.
I am not sure why timelessness would, of itself, make repentance impossible, although I think I can see where the argument comes from. It would…
Dear Vassilios,
It does, however, raise interesting questions about our understanding of our faith - and the importance of using one's reason, properly guided. There are, as the initial post reveals, dangers is simply accepting one version of what …
Dear Vassilios,
Whilst this anger flames so brightly, you cannot forgive totally. I am not saying you are wrong. I don't know the details, but have immense respect for you and feel you wouldn't be this angry if you and your friend had not been very…
Dear Vassilios,
It is indeed a sad situation. But for your own sake you have to find a way to forgive him - that is the hard road Our Lord set us on - the forgive those who spitefully use us. Sure isn't easy for any of us - but it is good for the s…
Dear Mike,
That's a very interesting question, on which opinion is divided. There are some Fathers, such as Origen and St. Isaac the Syrian who hold that it is possible even for Satan to repent and to be saved; others hold the contrary view.
I can…
Dear Vassilios,
Of course he should have tried to make peace with you. All I can guess is that he reconciled himself to giving communion to others because of the wider need to consider them; how, in so doing, he could not consider you and your frie…
Dear EpNomos EnTaio,
We have to remember that the purpose of the Incarnation was to redeem mankind - that is why Our Lord was fully human and fully divine, so that he could, by assuming our nature, heal it. The angels are not human and so did not h…
Dear Vassilios,
I am sorry that you are having such a hard time of it; this sounds horrible.
You were quite right not to partake of communion in the mood you were in; let us not judge the priest, his sins are irrelevant to the communion he gives, …
Dear Gregory,
Most assuredly, Nestorius was deposed because he refused to attend the hearings at Ephesus where he was charged with heresy. His teachings were condemned as heretical and he was exiled.
Although some modern scholars have argued that …
Dear Egy,
Not necessarily. There may have been an element of self-will and pride in deciding not to stand - but only you and the Lord know if that was the case.
It probably struck those with you as impolite, but no more than that.
If you acted as…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I think we have agreement that this clip is not worth watching and that the man in it is saying nothing that any one of us wishes to hear; he is also saying nothing that some of us are not bored rigid with heari…