Dear Vassilios,
Thank you for this, there is a very great deal of wisdom in it; if we all did as this describes, the world would be a better place - and our relationships a good deal healthier.
Part of the problem is that historically men have ten…
I've never quite understood the point of forced conversions; what sort of faith is it that forces people to say they believe in it?
It would seem a bad advert for any faith, and I am glad Christians no longer behave in this way. We believe because …
I suspect you'll find that it was some interpretations of some of Origen's thinking that got some folk worried.
Origen liked to throw out ideas without being dogmatic - something that always worries those whose dogmatism exceeds their stock of idea…
It has long been Orthodox practice that whilst priests can be married, bishops, who should be monks, have to be celibate; this practice goes back far into the early Church, and certainly by the third century it was common practice.
The reason is th…
[quote author=Orthodox11 link=topic=5237.msg70927#msg70927 date=1179234820]
All of the Eastern Orthodox Churches perform baptisms by full immersion three times as a standard practice. The Coptic Church, as far as I know, never receives someone fro…
Dear Minagir,
thy're in unity in faith but not in rites and dogmas.
That's a tricky one, since most of their rites and dogmas are the same - but many of them do not consider that we are Orthodox. When you press them, however, most of them can only s…
That would depend entirely upon how you did it; it is perfectly possible to tell someone that you (and perhaps others) perceive something they have done as being impolite, or even rude - but seldom a good idea to do so in a rude way yourself.
In Ch…
I pray that you will be successful. Just remember, you would not use such words in front of your earthly father - so pay the same respect to your Father who is in Heaven.
In Christ,
John
We read many stories about 'persecution', and from the safety of the UK it seems unwise to comment, although I have Coptic friends who would use that word to describe their general treatment. But the Coptic Orthodox Church is founded by Christ and w…
My dear brother in Christ,
You write, with true Christian humility,
If I had the faith of the words I wrote I would be more sure and fearless that God is keeping this matter in check. I know this; I need to trust it more
so I can say to you, seein…
Dear Dcn. Amde,
For your true Christian words, and your strong Christian spirit, and your wise and humble advice, and for showing the true Orthodox Faith, you offer all here a blessing of great value.
What you say is so; they way you say it manife…
Interesting questions - and I suspect Minagir will refuse to rise to the bait!
Being a Saint is not the sign of a blameless life - if it were so then there would be no saints, except perhaps the Most Holy Theotokos, since all were born with sin, ex…
I think you'll find that Constantine did not actually convert until his deathbed, as being a Christian in those days was a pretty onerous thing, and he was not sure he could be Emperor and a Christian because of some of the things that politics woul…
Dear Dcn Amde,
There is much wisdom in what you say.
Western liberalism is an ideology which pretends that it is not one; it presents itself as normative in ways that allow it to present those who disagree with it as bigots. Thus it starts from th…
Dear PopeKyrillos,
I am not certain that the person you are talking to actually understands his own denomination, let alone our Church. The Quakers are a Protestant sect which originated in seventeenth century England. They believe in the ministry …
Dear Othodox11,
I wasn't aware of St. Ephraim's view - and thanks for drawing it to our attention. I have not seen other Orthodox Fathers or commentators taking this view, and suspect it may have been a local tradition.
It would be good to know mo…
Dear Karas7,
My prayers are with you, and with those whose questions you are answering.
It seems to me that it is our human nature weakened by sin which leads to our continuing to sin, even though we know what the consequences are; those consequen…
Dear Αριψαλιν,
I am glad that our words helped.
You clearly have a blessing in your parents, and from them an example of how mixed marriages can work well. It means that they will have a real understanding if you can talk to them about the girl yo…
Dear Αριψαλιν ,
What Ophadece offers is wise advice.
It is very hard for young Copts who have been brought up in the west; the culture there can be very different, and one's parents, brought up in a Coptic culture can also find it hard dealing wit…
Dear Orthodox11,
As always, I am in your debt, both for the content and the tone of your discussion; it makes it a pleasure - thank you.
I don't know that I was going as far as unity - yet. I suspect we are a way off that. After all, given our ecc…
Dear Orthodox11,
Ah, but I was not challenging the ecclesiology, simply its arrogation by one denomination, which goes on to deny that it can been as a denomination; that is where the imperial mindset may enter the equation.
In 'obvious schism', w…
That is what is often said, but it goes beyond that. It represents a lack of respect for yourself and for those who have to listen to you; and for a Christian it reflects badly upon the Church.
We are the children of God. Those of us who are father…
Our passions are not necessarily a bad thing, although given the effects of sin on our nature they can manifest themselves in bad ways.
We are made in the image of God, that image is marred by the effects of sin; the Christian life in a process of …
Language is a way of expressing who we are and what is inside us. I find it interesting that some people would wish to be seen as they will be if they use bad language.
As Christians we are resident aliens in a secular world; the more we accommodat…
Dear Vassilios,
Are you telling us that the Turks have put up a misleading notice in a building which they stole from the Christians? That, I guess, would be a really big shock! ;)
Given the inability of the Turkish authorities to admit to their o…
Orthodox11 makes some excellent points. The sad fact is that Agios Sophia was lost to Christians long ago; who knows, at some point we may even wake up to the fact that one of the reasons why the Muslims were able to conquer the Eastern Roman Empire…