Dear Gregory,
You tells us:
One thing i'd like to add about Palestinian Christians, is that becasue of their dislike for the Israeli goverment, many have joined terrorist groups like "Fatth" which is not purely islamic like hamas....tihs info i g…
There does seem to be a fair bit of judging going on here. Being unclear how women who sell their services to men for money actually dress, I cannot pronounce with the finality and certainty of QT, who has the advantage of being more of an homme du …
Dear QT,
There is, alas, much truth in what you say about the English and clothes. Indeed in the UK it is because of what is revealed that people object to revealing clothing; too many pies! As one colleague said to me the other week having passed …
I fear that fighting over who 'owns' what is not restricted to the Oriental Orthodox family of Churches, as the infrequent bouts of fisticuffs on Mt. Athos show; we could all learn a few lessons from Our Lord on this!
The people for whom my sympath…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Modern Saudi Arabia is a post 1919 creation and could plausibly deny any connection with the guys who conquered Egypt so many years ago; it would be a bit like the English demanding compensation from the French …
Dear QT,
Thanks for the touching story.
I mentioned the title of this thread to a friend who said that her last relationship broke down because her boyfriend had found his real and lasting love in a mirror! ???
Makes you think!
Anglian
The teaching of the Church on this is not only clear and consistent, but at least two Bishops of Rome, Hadrian I (772-795) and Leo III (795-816) firmly rejected the addition of the filioque to the Creed. The addition is a sign of a very different Tr…
The history of Islam in Egypt and its treatment of the Copts hardly supports the idea that it is a harmless religion wanting only to live in peace. Of course, once the world is Muslim that may be the case, but since that is not going to happen, peac…
Ah, if only things were nice and simple!
As I have said previously, I have known at least two couples who have found each other on the Internet; whether they found love there is another matter - as their love grew as they got to know each other; bu…
Dear Copticcross3,
Κηφᾶς gives you the best answer.
As St. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:15
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
As we read in St. Luke 15…
An interesting discussion, and one which is to some extent culturally conditioned. What women and men wear to the beach in California would be unacceptable in Alexandria; but it would probably be equally unacceptable in Missouri or Norfolk UK. There…
There seems to be nothing incorrect in allowing others to have the use of our buildings when we are not using them; but, of course, generally we should not be worshipping with them - although it is allowable on occasions (for example in the UK when …
It is partly numbers, but also the way in which the Church has helped the nation recover from the revolutionary regime. It seems to me that the Ethiopian Church bears a great witness to the Faith.
In Christ,
Anglian
That is an excellent point. The Church in Ethiopia, as with the Church in Egypt, has borne a great witness to the Faith, and in both countries there has been a great revival of the Church in the face of great difficulties.
In Christ,
Anglian
I think we need to recognise in all humility that it is God who decides who is to be saved, and it is He who decides where the Church is. It may be that other denominations are, for some, a step towards the fulness we find in Orthodoxy.
In Christ,
…
Watching TV is an essentially passive experience, and the amount of stuff on it that is unChristian (not to mention anti-Christian) makes it undesirable that one should watch too much of it.
Like many things in this world, a little of it can be use…
Dear Mike,
I suspect that His Holiness makes reference to Our Lord's statement that we need to have the faith of a child to enter the kingdom. In the end we can read and intellectualise all we like, and argue until we are hoarse - but Christianity …
Dear Taylor,
Indeed! Our weakened nature leaves us open to Satan's wiles, and only through the help of God can we get the strength to resist.
In Christ,
Anglian
Dear Taylor,
Good point. We can repent, we can amend our lives, and we can try to bear witness to Him whose disciples we strive to be - and through the Church, and His redeeming blood we can come to Him - as He wills it.
In Christ,
Anglian
Dear Taylor,
The Scriptures are, of course, part of the Tradition of the Church, and whilst they can be read apart from that Tradition, they are most fully understood within it.
That is not to deny the insights of other Churches, or to be in any w…
Dear Orthodox11,
You are quite correct, and I apologise for the offence caused. I have, perhaps, relied overmuch on American friends who feel very strongly about this.
In Christ,
Anglian
Dear Copticcross,
I am inclined toward what Κηφᾶς wrote; after all there are many books in the west which describe 'alien abduction' and the like; I'm disinclined to give them any credit, and not sure about the 'near death' business.
We shall know…
Dear QT,
An interesting question. Since there is an element of gambling involved I have my doubts about this one - but then perhaps I am simply against gambling and think that one should not encourage it - especially in Church functions. If people …
Dear Thomas,
This has been rumbling on in the USA for a very long time now, and I fear the EO does not come out of it well; the instinct to 'cover up' and 'deny' is very human - but since the Church is supposed to be a hospital for sinners, one mig…
Dear Κηφᾶς, Dear QT,
Indeed, and we need to remember that even the Apostles were not immune from in-fighting and disputes - and we can see at the Council of Jerusalem how St. Peter has to come back into line and effectively apologise for backslidin…
Dear QT,
Thomas is correct in saying that there is nothing new in this. If one reads Cardinal Ratzinger's 'Dominus Iesus' (http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html) it is exac…