Interesting question, but, just as with the Roman Catholics, not all our Popes have been saints.
The Synaxarium is very frank about the shortcomings of some Popes, but we have to remember that some of them (and John VII is a good example) lived in …
Dear Dcn. Amde,
Welcome to this forum - good to have you here and with such a strong voice.
I agree with much of what you say, but perhaps we should beware of just blaming something called 'the west'; that's too easy and allows us to ignore our ow…
We must remember that 'drugs' as we know them were not around in Biblical times, but all the warnings against the sins of the body are relevant here. We have to remember that our body is the temple of the Lord and we must not abuse it. The followi…
It is an easy thing to be misled about.
Protestants tend to mistake our own veneration of the blessed Theotokos for 'worship', so it is not surprising that the same thing is said about the Roman Catholics. But, like us, they venerate her, and would…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We must remember that western secular ideas such as feminism get applied to the Faith in the west (and elsewhere). This attempt to construct a Church in our image is a sign of the sin of pride. Although we are m…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We have to accept that the Holy Trinity is a great mystery, and all that we know of it is what the Incarnate Word has told us. It is the property of the Father to create, as it is of the Word to be Incarnate, an…
Dear Minagir,
Some excellent points.
The Coptic Church has remained faithful to the Faith and its own heritage under some of the greatest persecution imaginable, and over a very long period. Under HH. Pope Shenouda and his predecessor it has, once…
Dear EpNomos EnTaio,
I do think that what you write is absolutely correct. No one is arguing for a kind of Coptic fundamentalism, in which everyone learns it or else ... . It is simply about cherishing part of your heritage. If, as you suggest, the…
Dear Vassilios,
Well said!
Vatican II, like the various Anglican attempts at reform start from the wrong end of things. We should be adapting sinful selves to the demands of the Church - not trying to create a Church that is in our image; that way…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
If we had waited until 4 May and read the Synaxarium for Barmoudah 26, we would get the answer to the question:
[2] The Departure of Pope Youannis VII, 78th. Patriarch.
__________________________________________…
I do think that it is a good point to say no one here is 'mocking' anyone; but there is no point ducking some basic facts.
This is from the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in the USA on dealing with other Churches:
The Ecclesiological princ…
The advice to ask your mother how she can help you be a better Christian seems a possible line of approach.
She clearly feels very hurt by whatever it was you did; she may also feel that it reflects badly on her as your mother, and that she has, in…
I think that Vassilios has guided us aright here.
His Holiness, Pope Shenouda III has written:
She is the mother of all of us, the lady of all of us, the pride of our kind, the queen at the right side of the King, the Virgin with perpetual virgini…
Dear Minagir,
Good post, for which many thanks.
I would agree about the use of the word 'heretic', were it not for the fact that the EO still seem to use the word 'monophysite' to describe us, and that, of course, is a heresy; it happens to be one…
Dear Vassilios,
You have experienced this very sharply, of course; but I doubt any of us who have had any prolonged contact have not experienced something of the sort.
The EO, of course, regard St. Dioscorus as a heretic, as they do St. Severus of…
Dear EpNomos EnTaio,
The very fact that 'we' have tried to 'reconcile' with them makes the EO even surer in their own ecclesiology. For them, they are THE Church, and it is our job to repent, say very, very sorry, and ask humbly to be rebaptised. T…
Dear Vassilios,
Who's the 'we'? The guys who say you can't communicate?
I fear that no regime in Turkey would ever contemplate handing this back to the Orthodox Church - their own public opinion would not allow it.
In Christ,
John
Dear Vassilios,
LOL ;D
That was priceless - I'm glad that being in Turkey hasn't dampened that sense of humour.
You sure they didn't swing the censer in your direction a few times - just in case? We'll await the report on the Armenians!
Many tha…
Dear Vassilios,
I suspect you know the answer to the question What do the Greek patriarchate want exactly??? And what will it take it to give it to them.
What they want is for you to 'convert' to what they insist is the only 'real' Orthodoxy - so …
Dear Kristina, Dear Kerestina,
I suspect Kristina's concern is well-placed. As she says, there are people who are trained in techniques designed to unsettle people who are not used to their style of argument.
The very moment anyone says 'show me …
Dear Vassilios,
I sympathise. But I think you'll find it is no longer a mosque, either - Ataturk had the Cathedral of St. Sophia turned into a museum, which is what it is today. Indeed, given where you are, you will find Muslims who are angry and w…
Dear Of All Nations,
You should be careful dealing with this person.
It is commonplace in some Protestant circles to preach what is called a 'feminist theology' - i.e. 'God the Mother' - often called 'Sophia' or 'Mother of Holy Wisdom'; this is he…
Dear Miss Maryam,
Can I say how very impressed I am with your Christian attitude to these things? Your parents must be rightly proud of their daughter - and your future husband is a fortunate young man.
May He be with you and watch over you,
In C…
Vassilios is quite correct; it is attitudes such as these which made me decide, sadly, that although there are many good people in the Anglican Church, and although it does much good in the world among the poor and the suffering, it is not an Orthod…
Dear Brothers and Sister in Christ,
Perhaps events in the USA this week again raise this question?
The answer is He is everywhere, as is His love. Why do bad things happen? Because there is evil in the world. Why is that? Because we wilfully stray…
I'm so glad.
St. Paul's epistle to the Colossians (which was written about 61 A.D.) addresses the gnostic heresy directly.
The Colossian heretics thought they were wiser than the Apostles, because they drew knowledge from Jewish and Persian tradit…
Dear Why,
Excuse me if I generalise, but it may be easier to do it this way.
St. John wrote as an eye witness to testify against false teachings which were being used by those who had left the Church.
Some of that false teaching is what scholars …
Do not worry if we do not fully understand - how could we? Any God man thinks he can understand is not the true God. He is so far beyond us in wisdom and power that we cannot see Him - except through the Son.
What matters is that He loves us so muc…