Joan and I have returned home from our adventure in Alaska this past June. The trip was both challenging and refreshing. We are so glad to have gone, but are also happy to settle back into our home in Chicago. We decided to go to Alaska about nine months ago when some close friends of ours told us about the work they had been doing at a Camp out in a section of Alaska called the Bush. The Bush is... Read more

A little while ago I put up a video about the controversial mosque that was being put up near ‘ground zero’ in New York. In it a bunch of leaders lined up to talk about how the right of the muslim community to build there. This brought up an interesting issue. There was a Orthodox Church that was destroyed in 2001 in the 9/11 attacks that still has not been rebuilt. I thought it would be fair to post a... Read more

This week the Church in the West remembers Gregory the Great (Gregory the Dialogist if you are Orthodox). Gregory was the Bishop of Rome during a time of great trouble. He was a great man who found himself in a position of power, although he did not want it. He was a monk who sought to live out his days in quite prayer. When he was elected Pope in 590 he laid aside his own desires and took of the... Read more

This week’s Patristic quote comes from Saint Basil. It deals with how Scripture and tradition interact with one another. I would like to hear different people’s perspectives on this. Is the Gospel indeed “Bare Words” without the traditions of the Church? Why? Concerning the teachings of the Church, whether publicly proclaimed (kerygma) or reserved to members of the household of faith (dogmata), we have received some from written sources, while others have been given to us secretly, through apostolic tradition.... Read more

This week the Western Church remembers Augustine of Hippo. If you are a part of the Orthodox church you may remember his feast a couple months ago on June 15th. Augustine is THE teacher of the West. He was hugely influential on both Catholic theology and the theology of Luther and Calvin. Much of his theological influence came out of his fights against others which led to some strong positions on the nature of Original Sin, and predestination. Augustine was... Read more

This week I would like to highlight two sayings by one of the fathers, St. John Climacus  Both of these quotes are related to the dangers of a conscience that no longer bothers you… “We ought to be on our guard, in case our conscience has stopped troubling us, not so much because of its being clear, but because of its being immersed in sin. St. John Climacus “A ‘good’ conscience is one that stands ready to convict oneself immediately with shame. There... Read more

This week the Western Churches remember Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard worked for peace within the church during a time of division.  Born in 1090 he lived through a time of tumult in the church. The church had just split with the east, and the crusades were about to begin. Bernard played a major role in the history of the church during his life. I have always had a bit of mixed feelings about Bernard. On the one hand he fought against... Read more

Hey everyone! I have decided to incorporate some weekly series into Orant. One of which will be called “Meet the Church Fathers” in this section I will be sharing patristic quotes and sayings that I find to be life giving and shed some wisdom on the Christian life. Today’s quote comes from Saint Anthony, the father of Monasticism. It reflects on the merits of working with our hands in our battle against personal sin. When the holy Abba Anthony lived in... Read more

Hey After a lot of thinking I have come to the conclusion that that facebook “Page” application is actually much better for Orant then the “Group” Application Thus I have decided to create a page…PLEASE go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Orant-Billy-Kangas-Blog/143799592314775?ref=ts and click LIKE Or just do it here: I will make it worth your while… I promise The page aplication allows me to do some great stuff this group does not allow me to do. Also Orant now has a Domain http://www.patheos.com/blogs/billykangas/... Read more

This week New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke in favor of building a Mosque in New York. It’s a powerful and moving speech. It reflected a great deal of insight into the history of the struggles of religious groups in New York. It was also refreshing to see a politician stand up for religious groups, even to the point of showing personal emotion I was bothered after the speech though when Christine Quinn began her speech by calling people who resisted the... Read more