Worship With Incense
From The Orthodox Life blog. I like this article because it shows precisely why we Orthodox Christians do everything we do: it’s Biblical! “Let my prayer arise … as incense” (Psalm 141:2) Throughout Scripture we see the inward and outward aspects of worship offered to God in unity with one another. For example, Scripture tells us to lift our hands and our hearts to God. The hands are outward, and the heart is inward. God is glorified by both, and He commands us [Read more...]
The Church and the Cremation Problem
By Archbishop John (Shahovskoy) of San Francisco and Western America “. . .and [the spirit] cast him into the fire…” (Mk. 9:22) As pastors we frequently heard and continue to hear the question: “Why does the Church not bless cremation of a departed Christian’s body?” I will try to answer this as briefly as possible. Yes, the Church is against the burning of human bodies because this does not reflect the spirit of faith and the evangelical, biblical understanding of human worthiness. Junk, [Read more...]
Being American… Being Orthodox…
“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, and unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Leviticus 25:10 As Orthodox Christians our primary action is worship and our principle act of worship, eclipsing all others, is an act of Thanksgiving (eucharisto – giving thanks). We Americans should love their country and be grateful to live in America! Liberty is a Biblical theme, as you can see from the quote above from Leviticus. Why should we be grateful to live in America? These are historic reasons. 1. America [Read more...]
