by Bishop Enoch Vicar of the Metropolitan in the Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North & South America and the British Isles Dr. Joseph Julian Overbeck “ History was always the weak point of the Jesuits, and consequently of the Papists. If this nasty and troublesome stumbling-block could be cleared away altogether, Romanism would be irrefutable. But it is with history as with conscience. Could the criminal only clear away his provokingly uncomfortable conscience, he would be a perfectly happy man. History is the conscience of mankind, and Rome by falsifying it has sealed her own doom .” (pg. 64, “A Plain View of the Claims of the Orthodox Catholic Church As Opposed To All Other Christian Denomination, by Dr. Joseph Julian Overbeck, published in 1881) Dr. Overbeck’s statement illustrates the fact that Papism’s claims to being the Church Christ established are fundamentally and exclusively built upon forgery and subterfuge. Every attempt by Papism...
“To Die Before You Die” by Stavroforemonk Symeon Agiomicheltítēs “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” — Psalm 116:15 (LXX) “He who fears death is not a Christian, for Christ has trampled down death by death.” — St. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation “O life, how can You die? How can You dwell in a tomb? Yet by Your death You destroyed the reign of death, and raised up all the dead from Hades.” — Lamentations of Holy Saturday, Stasis II The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity — activity designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for men… It is fateful and ironic how the lie we need in order to live dooms us to a life that is never really ours.” — Ernest Becker The dread of death is the universal ache of fallen man. Ernest Becker’s psychological treatise, The Denial of Death , identifies this f...
Participating in the Divine Liturgy Beyond Space & Time: A Patristic and Ecclesial Reflection on Digital Presence, Infirmity, and the Ontology of Worship Stavroforemonk Symeon Agiomichēlitēs Abstract: This article explores the Patristic and Orthodox understanding of participation in Divine Worship, particularly in light of contemporary digital phenomena and the pastoral needs of the infirm and isolated. Engaging with the theology of St. Maximus the Confessor, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory Palamas, and others, it argues for a robust distinction between sacramental participation and noetic participation, emphasizing the eschatological and ontological dimensions of liturgical life. The article also reflects on how grace may extend beyond physical boundaries without compromising the incarnational and sacramental nature of Orthodox ecclesiology. Introduction The Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Church is not an aesthetic performance or devotional exercise; it is a th...
Comments
Post a Comment