Ah, England. I love it: the home of Shakespeare, the Crown Jewels, London Bridge, Big Ben…and constant ecclesiastical weirdness. It seems just yesterday that we were treated to the spectacle of two lesbian priestesses exulting over the Church of England’s decision to bless the union of gay and lesbian couples. Now, hard […]
Author: Fr. Lawrence FARLEY
Closing The Doors
In every Orthodox Liturgy there comes a moment when the deacon cries out, “The doors! The doors!” This is not (as one parishioner once informed me) the directive to open the Royal Doors of the iconostas, but to make sure that the main doors into the church (the original “royal doors”) […]
Speaking Out Against Anti-Semitism
Authentic Orthodox Christianity is opposed to anti-Semitism. That said, the Orthodox Church throughout the world is a far-flung family, not a centrally-controlled cult, so that it cannot police or control every utterance made by its members. That being so, it must be admitted, with much sadness and regret, that anti-Semitic […]
What’s Wrong With Suicide?
The motivation of those who killed themselves was not to inflict guilt or pain upon those surviving, but simply to make their own interior pain stop.
“What Colour Was The Blood?”: Reflections On Pedagogy
It is into those young hearts that we must pour our saving Tradition—a Tradition as unvarying as the true colour of blood.
The Essence Of Orthodoxy
I suggest another marker as the essence of Orthodoxy: love—specifically, love for God and its corollary, love for one’s neighbour.
Debating Baptism With Baptists
With the fall of Christendom and the rise of a robustly secular West we are returning to the situation that characterized the early church.
The Gift Of Gender
We must not bow down before the idol of transgender ideology with its insanity and lies and throw back into God’s face the gift of gender that He gives us.
On Racism And Other Evils
In an interview that was part of the BBC 2005 documentary on Auschwitz there is a chilling interview with a person (then quite old) who took part in the shooting of Jewish men, women, and children in Ukraine. He said that he felt nothing when shooting them, “because my hatred […]
In Search Of Ancient Roots
Most churches now identified as conservative and Evangelical have indeed only been created in the last 120 years, and have lived in blissful ignorance of their ancient roots.
Arguing With Culty Fundamentalists
As long as the world remains a dark place, the temptation will abide to sweep away the uncertainty and grey areas with a culty fundamentalist vision.
Scepticism And The Holy Fire
What we believe always remains intellectually possible. The Holy Fire is given to comfort and encourage believers, not to convert sceptics.
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