April 24th marks two very different anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Holocaust and Genocide and the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Telescope. The first anniversary represents the darkest side of human nature, while the second represents humanity at its most inspiring. The killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks began …
The Gospel of Touch
The place of the Gospel of John relative to the other three Gospels. Its use in the Orthodox Church in the cycle of readings. Midnight service of Pascha: We begin with Mark 16:1-8 and that amazing conclusion that trails off into the night: εφοβούντο γαρ. But at the Liturgy that follows we read John 1:1-17 …
The Only Proof God Offers
What proof do you want to believe in God? Do you want a scientific proof or a proof by logic? Do you want a big miracle? Like solving climate change, so we can continue our wasteful and polluting life styles? God did a big climate-change thing long ago (Genesis 7), but people still didn’t believe, …
A Sabbath for the whole world
The great Moses mystically prefigured this present day when he wrote: "And God blessed the seventh day." For this is the blessed Sabbath, this is the day of rest, on which the only-begotten Son of God rested from all his works... Except he really didn't rest. Though his body lay in a tomb, in spirit …
Learning to be human
I had a few hours of newsletter work to do this afternoon, and I chose to do it while listening to the four symphonies of Johannes Brahms, performed by the greatest conductor of all, Wilhelm Furtwängler, in live recordings made in 1948-1952. Brahms, the most humane of the major composers, and Furtwängler, the most humane of all the …
Lessons from a hero
Where do people earn the Per Capita Income? More than one poor starving soul would like to know. In our countries, numbers live better than people. How many people prosper in times of prosperity? How many people find their lives developed by development? Eduardo Galeano, quoted in Partner to the Poor: A Paul Farmer Reader, …
“You should never be a bystander”
While all the American "news channels" spent the morning covering the non-blizzard of New York-New Jersey, BBC World News immersed the viewer in complete live coverage of the Auschwitz ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of that awful death camp by the Soviet army. Several survivors spoke, including Roman Kent who spoke passionately …
Untitled
A sad day for freedom of expression.
The Scoop on “Orthodox Christmas”
You undoubtedly heard or read at least one reference today to this being "Orthodox Christmas." One of my cousins posted this article on his Facebook page; it's typical of the misunderstanding that exists about January 7th being "Orthodox Christmas." Orthodox Christmas 2015: Russian, Greek and Other Eastern Churches Begin Celebrations Some of the information in this …
Twelve Days of Incarnation
CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM! ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΓΕΝΝΑΤΑΙ. ΔΟΞΑΣΑΤΕ. That is the traditional Christmas greeting for Orthodox Christians. It is analogous to the more familiar Easter greeting: "Christ is Risen! Truly he is risen!" The Christmas greeting comes from the first words of the Oration on the Theophany by St. Gregory of Nazianzus, which you can …
Ancient Answers 