What wonders has your love effected!When someone is still alivehe has left this world:though his bodily condition remainswith the world’s bodily condition,yet his spirit has been raised up towards You,so that for a period of timehe is where he knows not,being totally raptured and drawn towards You. — John of Apamea, in, “The Syriac Fathers On Prayer And The Spiritual Life,” translated from the original Syriac-Aramaic by Sebastian Brock, Cistercian Publications. Taken from a Yahoo list on Christian Mystics. Read more

Some Orthodox Christians believe that the bodily ascent of the Mother of God is actually a dogma in Roman Catholicism only and nothing more than a theological opinion in Orthodoxy. On the other hand, there are many who believe that the dogma is one and the same in both Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. If we were to subscribe to either of these views, however, we would be in disagreement with the Church and the consensus of the fathers. The Orthodox... Read more

The thing about being a Southern native, especially with a web site and email addy using the word Dixie, is: Some folks make assumptions about you — a sort of profiling, if you will. Not all folks think this way. These days, lots of folks think being Southern is cool. To paraphrase Barbara Mandrell: “I was Dixie … When Dixie wasn’t cool.” Having recently returned to Houston from my home state of North Carolina, I’m still amazed at how overgrown... Read more

The Rev. Timothy Holder, Editor “If Jesus were alive today, he would have been a rapper.”–The Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam. Psalm 23as adapted by Ryan Kearse The Lord is all that,I need for nothing.He allows me to chill.He keeps me from being heatedand allows me to breathe easy.He guides my life so thatI can represent and giveshouts out in his Name.And even though I walk throughthe Hood of death,I don’t back downfor you have my back.The fact that you have... Read more

“We urge the Orthodox in America, and all those concerned about the escalating humanitarian crisis in both Lebanon and Gaza, to support IOCC’s $500,000 Emergency Appeal for the Middle East,” says IOCC CEO Constantine M. Triantafilou. “The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making a direct cash contribution that will allow us to continue to acquire and transport these life-saving supplies.” To make an online contribution, go HERE,or call toll free 1-877-803-IOCC (4622). For media calls:... Read more

O most holy Mother of God, O only Lady who art utterly pure in both soul and body, look upon me, abominable and unclean, who have blackened soul and body with the stains of my passionate and gluttonous life. Cleanse my passionate mind; set aright my blind and wandering thoughts and make them incorrupt; bring my senses to order and guide them; free me from my evil and repulsive addiction to unclean prejudices and passions which torment me; grant my... Read more

As many prepare for the Dormition Fast, in honour of the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God, Seraphim writes on MARY. The Orthodox Church year begins on September 1st and contains 12 Great Feasts. The first Feast of the year is the Birth of Mary (the Theotokos) on September 8th. The final Feast of the Church Year is the death of Mary — or, the Dormition — on August 15th. THEOTOKOS: Theotokos is a compound of two Greek words,... Read more

The following originally appeared H E R E (complete with comments, 3/05). What if we were held accountable for posts & comments within a classroom? All posting members — bloggers & commentators — would be required to gather periodically within an academic setting of accountability. We’d have to brush up on particular terms and their definitions in order to: (1) understand the professor’s moderation, (2) correct our own errors, and (3) grow, both personally and communally. Here are some examples:... Read more

Remember the former Priestess who was leaving the Episcopal Church for Orthodoxy? Here’s an explanation … her own words. The Episcopal Church is so removed from the Church Fathers that the word “tradition” on revisionists’ lips causes me to shudder. ECUSA’s new gospel is madness, and this same madness is sweeping through the liberal mainline denominations. It is not the gospel of Jesus Christ once delivered to the Church. Many will be fooled by this counterfeit gospel, but in the... Read more

by Fr Chris MetropulosA convert to Orthodoxy was approached by a precious Orthodox lady at coffee hour. She commented that his last name on his name tag wasn’t common in the ethnicity of that parish. My friend told her that he wasn’t of that ethnic background. This dear lady got a puzzled look on her face and innocently asked, “Then what are you doing here? Don’t you have your own church to go to?”Now before you are too harsh with... Read more