Pavel Florensky, while in a gulag, was able to write to his family, telling them about his day-to-day life, but also to give them advice, encouraging them to live in the world the best they could. While he was a priest and a theologian, he was also a scientist, and it is as a scientist his skills were sometimes put to use, as his scientific qualifications were recognized by his fellow scientists, and this, it can be said, was one... Read more
Both Christ and his mother, Mary, are known for their compassion, for the way they love humanity. Both of them are concerned with the salvation of our souls but not to the exclusion of our bodies and the suffering we experience in and with them. They know the sorrows of life because they likewise experienced them, each in their own way. For example, Jesus wept when Lazarus died; his sorrow was real, as his friendship and love for Lazarus was... Read more
It seems as if every day I want to pray using the cries of the martyrs from the Apocalypse and say, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?” ( Rev 6:10b RSV). How long, O Lord, can this go on? “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and thou wilt not hear? Or cry to thee ‘Violence!’ and thou wilt not save?”... Read more
We should never try to impose limits upon God, especially to God’s goodness and love. God is offering mercy and grace to everyone. There is no one who God does not love; there is no one God does not wish to save. There is no one who cannot be saved. This is one of the many reasons why we should not make hasty judgments, especially the kind which suggests someone is unequivocally and necessarily bound for perdition. Just as it... Read more
When many Christians talk about demons, it often seems as if they believe demons are all powerful, that when a demon can and sometimes will take absolute control over the lives of those they prey upon. This has often led many Christians to suggest that when someone does evil, if is often not their fault, that a demon made them act as they did. This is a sentiment which the desert fathers and mothers not only rejected, but believed their religious... Read more
God is full of love and mercy. Why, then, do we read about various threats which appear as if they come from God, such as those given to the people of Israel by the prophets, threats which seem to suggest God wants to punish people instead of showing them mercy? How can this be if God a God of love? It is all due to how we understand those threats; instead of seeing them as an indication that God is... Read more
In a world filled with violence and hate, division and injustices consistently dominate society. The more such hate is solidified, the more humanity ends up fighting against itself, hindering its full potential. What is good and true must be promoted, hatred must be resisted, and injustices must be rectified, if there is to be any future for humanity. While this is not exclusive to Christianity, Christianity certainly finds these concerns to be central to the way Christians are to engage... Read more
When we commemorate the first six ecumenical councils, councils which were focused especially on the doctrines of the Trinity and the incarnation, we often do so by talking about the “Fathers” of the six ecumenical Councils. This is how the day, as it is celebrated in the Byzantine tradition, is listed on the Byzantine calendar: “Fifth Sunday after Pentecost; Fathers of the first six Ecumenical Councils.” But we must not forget that along with the fathers, the clergy at the... Read more
I believe that those who take their Christian faith seriously, those who try to live it out, will let their faith change them; they will learn from what Christ teaches, and engage those teachings, trying to become better, wiser persons over time. There are many different way this will happen, depending upon the person, their abilities and interests, and the situations they find themselves living in. Those who have the time, ability, and resources to study and learn Christian doctrine... Read more
In a way, we can say life is suffering. This is not because life should be so filled with suffering that all we think about when we think about life is such suffering; rather, it is because suffering is all around us, and is something we will experience throughout our lives. Evil, both that which we do, and the evil which others do, creates the conditions for such suffering. “Evil is a world-wide fact; all natural life begins in violence... Read more
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