Dear Κηφᾶς,
I am grateful to you for underlining the main points.
As far as the general discussion goes, we have surely established that it is our understanding of what He wants that changes, not God; and that the new covenant is what enables our…
Dear QT,
If Adam and Eve's children were the only people in the world, who else were they going to reproduce with? Exceptional circumstance require unique solutions.
In Christ,
Anglian
Dear Mike,
No, I don't think it is wrong to think; indeed not to would be to behave like the steward who buried his master's money in the ground and never used it for anything. But thinking needs to be informed by the teachings of the Church, which…
Dear Orthodox11,
Renewed thanks for bearing with me.
It seems not to be much of an issue for the Coptic Church - which does not altogether surprise me. It may, as you say, be partly a cultural thing in so far as the speculations he makes are those…
Dear Κηφᾶς,
[quote author=Κηφᾶς link=topic=5514.msg73686#msg73686 date=1183404602]
[coptic]+ Iryny nem `hmot>[/coptic]
Correct me if I'm wrong John, but I believe that there are stories in the Synaxarium of saints who willingly sought out marty…
Dear Taylor,
[quote author=desertnurse link=topic=5513.msg73651#msg73651 date=1183330647]
I am looking for a role. A role to fill, and one that is more deaconess than deacon. I want to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and cloth the needy. I have …
I suspect the answer is that the Church would apply its compassion and wisdom to such an unfortunate circumstance, and that in its pastoral wisdom it would recommend whatever was most likely to sustain life.
It would be a most heartbreaking decisio…
Dear QT,
I'm all in favour of hypothetical questions - but come on now ...! As Kyrillos pointed out you can't do brain transplants (though there are those individuals where a brain implant might help!)
You can change the arrangement of your physic…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Martyrs should not, I think, seek what comes to them as martyrdom - in that sense, as in others, like Our Lord, they should pray that the cup passes them by - but willingly drink it to the full if it does not.
…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We have to be careful to remember that the job of the Church is to save and transform the world, not to be more like it.
It is true that there were deaconesses in the early Church, but their function was not th…
Dear Orthodox11,
From what I was told by a Coptic theologian friend of mine a while ago, Pope Cyril the V (please correct me if I'm wrong) made a decision to give the Deacon's vestments to those of the minor orders (such as anagnostis and psaltis, w…
Dear User00
You are correct, although the precise meanings are closer than you might think.
If I can quote from the Second Agreed Statement of the talks between our Church and the EO Church in 1990:
3. Both families agree that the Hypostasis of th…
Dear Orthodox11,
I am most grateful to you, not least for bearing with my own lack of information!
I suspect the comparison with Purgatory came from a source I was reading (critical of the idea, but EO) which said Rose bases his speculations on Gn…
Dear Orthodox11,
I wonder whether the Coptic usage is not based on that of the early Church, where, as you say, the title of Deacon referred to those in the first of the three orders; that is to a time before readers and cantors had yet emerged?
D…
Dear Taylor,
Thank you for an interesting post.
Either way, both Luther and Calvin missed something of supreme importance from the Orthodox point of view.
Scripture did not spring up in one place suddenly. The Gospels were written at different ti…
Dear Orthodox11,
Well, as I am far from conversant with most of the literature on this, it might be difficult. But my limited understanding was that there were a number of these toll houses in which demons confronted us with our sins and tried to l…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This topic has been dormant for a while, but may be worth reviving because there are a few things that can be added.
On the Cross Our Lord tells the thief that he will be with Him in 'paradise' 'today' - so no …
Dear Kerestina,
But this just reminds me of James Chapter 3 which says "but no man can tame the tongue".....what was he implying??
What I have been taught, and pass on, is that this is another reference to our need for God's help. If we think that w…
The Synod has pronounced him a teacher of heresy, so we wouldn't want to be going into what it is he teaches, because the Synod has said it is wrong.
He is, alas, like too many people, someone who cannot accept that he may have things wrong and the…
Dear Thomas,
An interesting line of thought - but the House exists to worship the Lord, and in serving it you should be serving Him whose House it is.
In practice, Protestants do tend to be very attached to whichever Church they are part of; it is…
Dear Thomas,
This is another common Protestant charge, based, as Iqbal advises you, on their inadequate understanding of what the Church is.
The Church is the body of the faithful. Who founded, it, Christ did. Its doctrine is Divine; as He tells u…
Dear Thomas,
It is worth spending time reading Iqbal's wise post carefully, for it really does answer your friend's question.
No one denies that at the heart of the Faith is a personal relationship with the Risen Lord - but how do you know your re…
Dear He Wept,
Yes, indeed.
When you remember that the Church teaches that sin is disobedience to the will of God, the Most Holy and Blessed Theotokos was always totally obedient to Him. She submitted herself to the role of the Theotokos, despite …
Dear Aidan, Dear Thomas,
For those wanting to know the background on this, this site http://www.orthodoxunity.org/ is very useful.
There are those among us who think that the talks have revealed that the differences which divided us sixteen centur…
Dear Taylor,
Iqbal sets out with great clarity the position of the Church.
This does not prevent us participating in the World Council of Churches and talking with the EO and the RC's in particular about moves towards unity.
The talks with the EO…
I do think it is important to stress that this is not about cultural practice - it is about obedience to the tradition of the Church and fidelity to the example set by Our Lord.
It is not for us to come over all early twenty-first century and say t…
I'm afraid it is very clear. This is a very common fraudulent practice on the Internet, and whatever she says she is doing, don't reply, don't give her your account details - and indeed, have nothing to do with it.
In Christ,
Anglian
Indeed, that is what the Catholics believe, but that is because of the doctrine of Original Sin. If you believe that our very nature is corrupted by the Fall, then the Blessed and Most Holy Theotokos can only be sinless by being born without sin. Si…