The Difficulties A Convert Faces In Approaching Orthodoxy
by Ekaterini I am a convert to Orthodoxy and live in regional Australia. I came to my local Greek Orthodox Church from the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch whose Patriarch is based in Syria. In Australia, this Church is known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church. There are five traditions of World Orthodoxy represented in my [...]
The Temptations Of Church
by Fr. Stephen Freeman I have sometimes said (in a light-hearted manner) that God gave us the Church to keep us honest. The truth is, that God gave us the Church that we might be saved. The failure to see why and how the Church is the ark of salvation is a failure to understand [...]
Baaaad Exegesis
by Fr. Aris Metrakos Scripture separated from its context can be confusing, misleading, and even destructive. Take the well-worn Bible college criticism of the way Orthodox and Roman Catholic faithful address their clergy, Matthew 23:9 (call no man father). The literal application of Mark 16:19 (snake-handling) is downright scary. Women’s southern summertime fashions being what [...]
Incarnational Approach in Indonesia
An Interview with Fr.Dionysios (Rm.Dionisius Surya Halim) and his presbytera Artemia Rita: Orthodoxy was first established in Indonesia in Batavia, Java as a parish of the Harbin Diocese in accordance with the Ukase of the Harbin Diocesan Council of November 23, 1934. In the late 1940′s, the parish was under the omophorion of Archbishop Tikhon [...]
Why Few Disillusioned Anglicans Will Join Orthodoxy
by Fr. Andrew Phillips With four decades of divisive turmoil, you would think that most Anglicans would recognize that by allowing so much liturgical, theological and pastoral nonsense throughout the decades within their gates, they are now the inheritors of a ship which is on the bottom of the ocean. Sadly, this is not always [...]
Christianity & Islam Compared
by Photios Kontoglou “Eastern peoples are more religious”, an ancient writes, wishing to say that Easterners are more religious than people in the West, in Europe. Note that East is also the Balkans together with Russia. To an Easterner feeling is more intense than reasoning, while the opposite happens with a European; and since faith [...]
Orthodoxy In China: Difficulties & Prospects
From Interfax (with a hat tip to John Sanidopoulos at Mystagogy, one of our favorite blogs) China is a country that isn’t associated with Orthodoxy, however, according to tradition, Christianity was preached here by the Apostle Thomas and Orthodoxy came to the Chinese land in the late 17th century when the Chinese Army captured Cossacks [...]
THINK HYBRID
A Word to the Fore I found this article on a site I look at from time to time. It is from a heterodox source, but I confess that this is one of the serious issues facing Orthodox missions – that of homogenia, or homogenous faith communities. While it worked well enough in the Old [...]
Strangling On Opinions
by Fr. Apostolos Hill This excellent article comes to us from the excellent blog Again And Again In Peace. I’ve been enthralled over the last few days with a book sent to me by an associate of mine, an out-of-state Protestant minister who has been investigating Holy Orthodoxy and whose travels have taken him into [...]
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