“Life in Christ”

Patristic tradition made a distinction between “theology” and other forms of discourse. Theology spoke of God: the being, interpersonal relationships and saving purpose of the Holy Trinity. Other matters fell outside the realm of genuine theology: anthropology, worship, mission, and so forth. Gradually the term “theology” came to embrace all aspects…

How far we have come from that understanding of the purpose of “theology” in the life of the Church! The term implies a divine word, one that derives from and speaks with awesome wonder of the God who is beyond all language because He is beyond all human comprehension. Yet God reveals Himself to us and makes possible our understanding and…

A very active and faithful member of our parish came by the other day and we talked for a while. As she left, she asked a familiar and awfully difficult question: “What translation of the Bible should I read?” In reply, I began as I usually do: “It’s a shame there’s not an Orthodox English translation….”

Although several Orthodox scholars in this…

Orthodox Christians have always known theirs to be a “biblical Church.” The Bible play a key role in virtually every aspect of our life, from personal meditation to the public Liturgy and mission outreach.

Yet it is true that we more often venerate the Bible than read it. We hear it in church, we encourage our children to peruse and even memorize…

Last night I read an article by a well-known Anglican theologian that pointed up the radical difference in world-view that separates him, and people who think as he does, from the Orthodoxy that I treasure.

Well crafted and articulate, the article lays out reasons why the author cannot accept traditional dogmatic statements that speak of God,…

The previous column in this space arose out of a concern for balance in our preaching and teaching of the Gospel, whether from the ambon of our churches, in Bible study groups, or at our children’s (and grandchildren’s) bedsides. In a stress-filled and often threatening world like ours, there is a temptation on the part of many of us to lay…

In a world marked by such things as childhood trauma, terrorist attacks and a collapsing economy, the anxiety level is understandably high.

We have structured our lives in such a way as to shield ourselves as much as possible from the violence, corruption, sickness and death that provoke that anxiety. Yet most of us still live with uncomfortable…

Orthodox Christian life is filled with paradoxes, what the Holy Fathers referred to as antinomies: conflicts between two principles, laws or truths that seem equally valid. An example would be “bondage to sin” and “freedom in the Spirit,” both of which accurately describe the Christian person (Luther’s simul iustus et peccator). Another would be the…

There is an extraordinary beauty in Orthodox trinitarian theology. I all too easily lose sight of that beauty, but it came back to me again the other day after a conversation I had with a non-Orthodox friend.

To his mind, God is beyond any formulation we can make of Him. He is the “wholly Other,” taken literally: a God beyond all creation and all…

I don’t have nightmares very often, but when I do, I wish I hadn’t.

Waking up in a cold sweat, heart pounding away, feeling totally vulnerable—but to what? Often I can’t even remember what I was dreaming about, or if I do, it seems insignificant, silly or absurd.

Sometimes, though, it’s terrifying.

Some nightmares recur frequently enough that…

For a quarter of a century the Orthodox Church in America has been blessed by the leadership, the vision and the prayer of Metropolitan Theodosius. From seminary commencements, to All-American Councils, to Ground Zero and beyond, he has represented and articulated the concerns, aspirations and supplications of our faithful in ways that honor both…

Dylan Thomas wrote some eminently quotable lines on the subject of death. The most familiar and powerful are also the most troubling.

“Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

This ringing summons to courage in the face of one’s approaching end betrays an all too common attitude toward death. In this…

Miraculously, Orthodox Christianity has preserved the essence of “the faith once delivered to the saints.” By the sheer grace of God, it has maintained the Apostolic Faith in the face of extraordinary pressures, from persecution and martyrdom to Western secularism and pluralism. Without that grace, Orthodoxy would have disappeared before the end of…

In Orthodox liturgical tradition, the rhythm of Great Lent is interrupted, and in an important sense fulfilled, by the Feast of the Annunciation. As we journey with Christ through the last days of His earthly ministry, our attention is focused on His impending crucifixion and resurrection. Yet this mystery is possible only because of another,…

There are questions little children ask that never seem to receive a satisfying answer. The toughest and most urgent tend to be religious, such as “Who is God?” or “Where is God?” In the wake of recent tragic events that have so shaken our country and others, a great many grown-ups are asking the same things.

As adults we may formulate the…

“No need to rush,” my wife assured me as we bumped over ruts and small branches strewn along the dirt roadway that leads through the woods to the main road nearly a mile from our house. “We’ve got plenty of time.” It was early morning and we were headed for church. A wind storm the night before had brought down all sorts of debris, the roadway was…

The Feast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple, celebrated on February 2, is one of the twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox liturgical year. Its theme is expressed with particular poignancy by the icon we venerate on this day, as well as by the feast’s liturgical hymns.

The icon of the Meeting places the Theotokos and the Righteous Simeon with…

Over the past few months the media have focused almost exclusively on the continuing threat of terrorism at home, in Afghanistan and elsewhere. As a result, our attention has been drawn away from what is potentially a more dangerous threat to our well-being: the virtually uninhibited manipulation and destruction of human embryos in the interests of…

This is a date we shall never forget. Images of planes hurtling into the twin towers, the collapse of the buildings, the faces of the police, firefighters and other rescue workers who lost so many friends and co-workers, the anguished cries of family members who refused to accept the obvious. Images, too, of the Pentagon in flames, followed by the…