The Status Of The Unborn: Again, An Orthodox Statement On Abortion

by Fr. John Breck At the end of each January we commemorate “Sanctity of Life” Sunday and focus our attention on the tragic number of abortions in the United States and elsewhere throughout the world. It’s a time when we again recoil from the realization that the highest abortion rates, as far as we know, occur in “Orthodox” countries. It seems appropriate, then, to consider once more the “status of the unborn,” and prevailing attitudes in our own country that permit and even  [Read more...]

Liturgical Dysfunction?

by Fr. John Breck People will persist in dysfunctional patterns of behavior simply because they’re familiar. A woman who divorces an abusive alcoholic husband will be very likely later on to marry someone with a similar addiction. The “good ol’ boys” will continue to tie one on Saturday nights, even though the Sunday morning hangover is inevitably excruciating. A parishioner (only the Orthodox are guilty of this, it seems) who habitually arrives at the Sunday Liturgy after the Lesser Entrance and still wants  [Read more...]