Again, an interesting way of looking at it. If two men have a relationship which is like that of David and Jonathan, no problem - if they take it to Brokeback Mountain lust enters in and they commit a sin.
It seems clear that the Church has always …
Dear Why,
Chrismation is the anointing with holy oil which happens when you are baptised. It is one of the sacraments, and through it we received the Holy Spirit; it confirms our membership of the Church. The Holy Bible mentions this Anointing in 1…
Dear Mike,
The Son is of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made. The Son is God Incarnate. The how and the way of the economy of the Trinity cannot be known to us - except through those whings which Christ told us - such as that …
Dear EpNomos EnTaio,
Interesting points you make here.
Can I respond by avoiding the language of psychology and psychotherapy perhaps? I'm not comfortable with what I take to be a largely secular way of categorising this. 'A perversion of the mind…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We must always remember the command to humility and to love one another; let us not seem as though we are puffed up with pride in ourselves.
There is a great mystery at the heart of this discussion: God's love …
Dear Κηφᾶς,
I am so glad it went well - congratulations. You have chosen a demanding vocation - but one that gives the potential to bear a powerful witness to the Lord. May He strengthn and sustain you.
In Christ,
John
Dear EpNomos EnTaio, Dear Minagir, Dear Kerestina,
Yes, I fear I could not but post on this one; it occupied far too much time at Church meetings when I was an Anglican.
We are all grateful for the document Kerestina directed us towards; the Chur…
Dear Minagir,
It depends which of the many splits you are talking about. The first one is in 451 over the definition of the nature of Christ, with the Chalcedonians taking one view and the non-Chalcedonians another (though many people now think thi…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
You just have to accept that western Churches get worked up on this issue. Until the later twentieth century when liberal western thought began to question whether homosexuality was not, in fact, 'natural', no o…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Certainly some Protestant groups, particularly the Quakers, would take these verses and make the point that is being made here. This suggests the dangers inherent in the habit of reading verses out of context.
…
Dear God's Kid,
I hope that Κηφᾶς has answered your questions.
It is clear that Melchizedek is a 'type' of Our Lord, and he may even be, as has been suggested, a theophany - that is an appearance of the Word - who, as we know, existed from the beg…
Dear God's Kid,
Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14:18-20; he is both a priest and a king; he reconciles the justice of God (the king's business) with his mercy (the function of the priest). His name means 'the king of righteousness', and the title '…
Dear Kerestina,
Interesting question.
There are some Protestants who object to swearing on the Bible; and, of course, many atheists who also, for different reasons, object. But for Orthodox Christians there is nothing wrong, and much right, with s…
Dear Κηφᾶς,
My prayers are with you. It can be quite an ordeal - but consecrate it to Him, and it will be less so.
I hope - and pray - it goes well.
In Christ,
John
Dear Lover of the Father,
An interesting question, on which it would be good to have some comments.
One key difference is that someone with low self-esteem has no trouble being humble - those fighting self-righteousness and pride are involved in a…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Fr. Malaty's commentaries are excellent, and if you can get them to be preferred to the more common Matthew Henry ones. Dr. Henry was a God-fearing man whose views command respect, but he was not an Orthodox Chr…
Dear Why,
The links should give you the information you need.
But in short:
It was written by St. John the Apostle at some point between 90-95 A.D. The similarities in language and style to St. John's Gospel are so striking that it would be aston…
Dear Vassilios,
You make some good points (and what I was thinking was that the ideas of the moderators about refocusing the forum so that we could get more such points made, was an excellent one).
You are right that the choice of a wife is no sma…
Dear Kerestina,
You are quite right. Some of these people try to draw people into arguments so they can unsettle their faith and try to 'convert' them.
Just do what you rightly say - live your faith and love the Lord.
In Christ,
John
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I hope that Iqbal is happy that the plans for this forum are producing what he hoped for - which is some good discussion on important topics; I know he came in for some criticism at the time, but I think we can …
Dear habesha and tifshet,
There is much good sense in what has been said.
There will always be people who set themselves up a judges of what others should wear; they should, perhaps, remember that we are told in Acts 15 not to make the 'yoke' too …
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
St. Paul certainly was not married. Our brother here, Κηφᾶς , gives the most compelling evidence not only for this, but for the dangers of reading the Bible out of context. There is nothing in any Christian trad…
Dear Hos Erof,
What St. Gregory meant when he wrote that what was not assumed could not have been healed was that if the Incarnate Word had not been fully human, He could not have healed what was wrong with us by restoring us to our real destiny of…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The Coptic Orthodox Church provides us with a wonderful range of sources from which to become more informed about out Faith - from the Liturgy and Icons, to the homilies from our priests, to the writings of the …
Dear Kerestina,
You are right. There is little profit in such arguments. However, when it comes to non-Trinitarians, and indeed, non Christians, such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, we have to accept that they are simply wrong. Their teachings …
Dear Κηφᾶς , Dear Hos Erof,
John 8:46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?
We do not take the Augustinian view of sin, namely that we are born with it; Κηφᾶς is quite right in his formulation; we are b…
Dear Kerestina,
You speak well. He tells us to love each other that the world might know whose disciples we are; it is a good thing to follow that lead. We are mired in sin, yet He emptied Himself and made Himself like to us in everything save sin,…
Dear God's Kid,
You are so right; by not behaving in the way in which those of some other faiths have behaved, we have shown whose disciples we are.
One of the massively impressive things about the Coptic Church is the manner of its witness; despi…
Dear Κηφᾶς
The advice you are giving is surely correct.
Miss Maryam's culture is, thankfully, a good deal less morally relaxed than that we are accustomed to in the west, and her own attitude seems entirely sensible and most becoming a young C…
Dear Ophadece,
I do agree with you; it is better to stand when one can; it is more respectful to God, and it reminds one that one is in His presence in Church.
Some people can get really heated over this question, but I prefer your attitude, which…