Some years back, there was a point in my life when I didn’t give a second thought to the Saints. I really didn’t see how they had any place within my faith. In Bible College and in Protestant seminary, I was fed the idea that saints were either a type of good luck charm to
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Church History Diagrams
A Collection of Church History Diagrams: The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational – it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. “Orthodoxy is
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How Does Sickness and Suffering Birth God Within Us? – Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra Monastery
We get sick and we suffer for different reasons, but often it’s because we have sinned, voluntary or involuntary, or because we have wandered away from God. But, if you are sick, don’t be afraid and don’t worry because sickness is a great gift from God. The sick are God’s special children. The sick are
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Why Have Thousands of Oklahomans Historically Celebrated Christmas on January 7th ???
For most of America, Christmas was over nearly two weeks ago, but for almost 300 million Christians around the globe, January 7th is Christmas day, and this number includes some Oklahomans. Since before 1897, small groups of Oklahomans have been celebrating Christmas on January 7th. Some of the first Christians in Oklahoma to celebrate
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“Do Not Resent, Do Not React, Keep Inner Stillness” – So How Do We Do This?
by Metropolitan Jonah Do not resent. Do not react. Keep inner stillness. These three spiritual principles, or disciplines, are really a summation of the Philokalia, the collection of Orthodox Christian spiritual wisdom. And they are disciplines every single one of us can practice, no matter where we are in life – whether we’re in the
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The Transfiguration – Was Jesus Changed or Was He Revealed ?
August 6th is the feast of Holy Transfiguration in which the Church celebrates an event in the life of Christ narrated by all three synoptic gospels. Christ foretold His disciples His impending passion, and then after six days revealed His divinity to them in a marvelous way. The question we want to address here is: Was Christ
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Types Of Depression – How Suffering Heals – The Orthodox View
Depression (from the Latin word depressio, which means to press, oppress) is a subnormal, depressed mood, accompanied by lethargy, fatigue, and a dull and pessimistic assessment of the situation. Mankind has known this suffering since time immemorial—since the time when the Fall of a man occurred. Yet Hippocrates described a similar mental state, which was referred
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32 SIGNS AND SYMBOLS IN CHRISTIANITY
The Ass The ass is frequently portrayed in Renaissance painting, particularly in pictures of the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Nativity, the Flight into Egypt, and the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem. The most familiar portrayal is in the Nativity scenes, where the ass regularly appears. The ass and the ox symbolize that the humblest and
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Russian Film ‘Ostrov’ (‘The Island’) Now Available Free Online – Youtube and Amazon Prime
Ostrov (The Island) is a 2006 Russian film about a fictional 20th century Eastern Orthodox monk. The film closed the 2006 Venice Film Festival, proved to be a moderate box-office success and won both the Nika Award and the Golden Eagle Award as the Best Russian film of 2006. The film is focused on Father
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SAINT ELIJAH AND THE POWER OF PRAYER
On the Feast of St. Elijah the Prophet, we read these words from the 5th chapter of the Universal Epistle of St. James the Apostle: “The fervent prayer of a holy man is powerful indeed” (James 5:16). The reason these words are read on the Feast Day of St. Elijah is because the holy
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