Reflections in Christ

by Fr. Stephen Freeman

St. Gregory Palamas, freedom, and the self

Fr. Stephen Freeman · March 07, 2012

St. Gregory Palamas

Part of the experience of being involved in religious activities in the late 60′s and early 70′s was the not infrequent encounters with members of cults (they seemed to be everywhere). I’m not certain how I would...

The Nativity Fast – Why We Fast

Fr. Stephen Freeman · November 08, 2011

Fasting is not very alive and well in the Christian world. Much of that world has long lost any living connection with the historical memory of Christian fasting. Without the guidance of Tradition, many modern Christians...

Getting Past Religion

Fr. Stephen Freeman · September 03, 2011

I knew an elderly monk, himself a convert to the Orthodox faith. In his later years, he lapsed into one of the many forms of senile dementia. To the occasional dismay of the other monks, he enjoyed walking through the...

Risking Everything

Fr. Stephen Freeman · September 03, 2011

If you read across Orthodox books that center on the issue of Personhood – a common theme becomes visible. Our fall and our brokenness leave us vulnerable, even in our religious efforts, to the development of a “false...

Forgive Everyone for Everything

Fr. Stephen Freeman · September 03, 2011

’Mama,’ he replied to her, ‘do not weep, life is paradise, and we are all in paradise, but we don’t want to realize it, and if we did care to realize it, paradise would be established in all the world tomorrow.’...

The Shadow of Death

Fr. Stephen Freeman · September 03, 2011

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them,...

The Benefits of Ignorance

Fr. Stephen Freeman · September 03, 2011

Having gotten that out of the way, I want to spend just a few moments on the benefits of ignorance. Several years ago I was blessed to have a conversation with Fr. Thomas Hopko while we waited in line to greet the new...

Communion as Salvation

Fr. Stephen Freeman · August 18, 2011

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe...

You Are Not a TV Show

Fr. Stephen Freeman · June 27, 2011

The modern world, with the advent of technologies such as the internet and other instantaneous forms of digital creation, has created what is easily described as a virtual world. In digital comprehension, a virtual world is...