Yin and Yang in the Altar

Without doubt there were deaconesses in the early Church. What you call the “liturgical and pastoral functions” of these women never included, however—and in an Orthodox context never could include—“leading a service”. An all-male priesthood has always been the norm...

Seeing the Life Above

You are struggling, you say, with belief in an afterlife. There are a variety of reassurances one might provide. How I might address a given interlocutor (including you) depends on what sort of background and what set of assumptions he brings to the conversation. I...

A Truly Transformative Ascesis

The main reason for fasting and other forms of ascesis is, ideally, to break our attachments, or else, when that proves too difficult, at least to make us more keenly aware of them than we ordinarily are. So the first question we have to ask ourselves is: To what am I...

The Vibration of the Whole

As I’m sure you know, there have been a number of official statements, issued by various Orthodox jurisdictions, stating that Orthodoxy and Masonry are not compatible. I think we may, and must, treat these as authoritative, and non-negotiable. Even so, I understand...

Comment on The Centering Prayer

It has come to my attention that the comment function is not working on this weblog, and apparently has not been for some time. My apologies to any and all who may have wished to respond to my observations. I am looking into fixing the problem. The friend who alerted...