Here’s some quotes of note from a recent interview with Terry Mattingly. There’s more where these came from; click the link below. In the West the forms of church life that were most compatible with Orthodoxy were killed off. I believe it’s Fr. Michael Keiser who has the wonderful quote, “People need to remember that Orthodoxy in the West didn’t die, it was murdered.” The heart of the Anglican compromise boils down to putting St. John Chrysostom and John Calvin... Read more

Matins begins with the reading of the “Six Psalms,” i.e. Psalms 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, and 142, read in that order, and combined into a single whole. The faithful should be aware of the fact that the reading of the “Six Psalms” is one of the most important points in [Matins or] the All-night Vigil, a time when all should put aside other thoughts, stand quietly, and concentrate on these penitential prayers. The Six Psalms comprise an entire scale... Read more

We were young … in high school … carefree … and mischievous. It was the first day of a new semester with a new history teacher, let’s just call him: Mr Garris. Being new, he didn’t know us from Adam. So, Rex, Steve and I decided to have a little fun. When, as teachers do, he called roll on that first day … we’d decided we’d switch names. I was Rex, Steve was Me, and Rex was Steve. So …... Read more

In response to the recent document from the Vatican, here’s an Orthodox view of “Unity” which, although fashioned 50 years ago, warrants a reading … Statement of the Representatives of the Orthodox Church at the North American Faith and Order Study Conference,Oberlin, Ohio, September 3-10, 1957 As delegates to the North American Faith and Order Study Conference we want to make the following preliminary statements. We are glad to take part in a study-conference, devoted to such a basic need... Read more

LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy – Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches. The document said Orthodox churches were indeed “churches” because they have apostolic succession and that they enjoyed “many elements of sanctification and of truth.” But it said they lack something because they do not recognize the primacy of the pope — a... Read more

Imagine, if you will, a parish that is fairly new, one that is struggling to define itself. It is a parish that is located in an environment where most of the people around it do not understand what the parish believes or how it worships. This small parish does not have a building of its own. Usually it meets in borrowed space or in the home of one of its members. Its members sometimes face hostility from their own family... Read more

Here’s an update on that story of the priestess who “converted” to Islam …The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding, a local Episcopal priest who announced she is both Muslim and Christian, will not be able to serve as a priest for a year, according to her bishop. During that year, Redding is expected to “reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and what I see as the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam... Read more

Then suddenly, my eyes glimpsed someone I knew — a sinner from earth! I said to the angel “Surely you must be mistaken. I am not in heaven — for look there, that man is a sinner! I knew him. I doubt he believed in Jesus Christ … and, as far as I know, he never went to church a day in his life! What is he doing here?” “He was invited,” said the guide. “He came.” For a brief... Read more

During a recent workshop, the question was asked: What does America need most when it comes to Evangelism? My immediate response: MONASTICISM. By that I don’t mean a group of cloistered church geeks who can’t wait to tell you how bad your local congregation, priest, bishop, spouse, or jurisdiction is. For whatever it’s worth, that “vocation” is already filled. Rather, what’s needed are more places of prayer — first and foremost for Monastics who are praying for their own salvation... Read more

Considering the Patriarch of Antioch has been living in Damascus for centuries, what’s the inherent problem with moving another patriarch? Now my suggestion, which is guaranteed to irritate everyone, is this: from what I understand (though I haven’t looked up the numbers) a majority of Constantinople’s flock is in the US. So move the EP to America. That way, we get undisputed autocephaly, and even a patriarch of our own. That, and everyone is mad, so by the Calvin and... Read more