On September 1st, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine moved to the Revised Julian (“New”) Calendar. Fixed festivals will now align with Gregorian Calendar dates. In a statement, the OCU Synod stated that the Julian (“Old”) Calendar had become associated predominately with the Russian tradition. In addition, they point out that the Julian system has no…
Continue readingHistory is Not Your Friend
Christian Pacifism and the Imagined Past
It perhaps goes without saying that we have a tendency to construct our historical narratives less out of concern for accurately depicting the past and more out of a desire to make sense of the present, particularly where “making sense” means finding in history evidence for our own views with respect to contemporary debates. In…
Continue readingMartyrdom without Miracles
The 9th-Century Church Controversy in Córdoba and Modern Orthodoxy
Between the years 850 and 859, something unexpected happened in Córdoba. Some forty-eight Christians were martyred. Contemporary church historians usually refer to them as “voluntary martyrs” because almost all of them, by their own will, presented themselves in front of the Muslim authorities and confessed themselves to be Christians, denouncing Islam and Mohammed as a…
Continue readingCelebrating Early Christian Women at Prayer
by V.K. McCarty “We have heard as they were read aloud those words,so shining and luminescent, we have taken in by ear,we have considered in our mindsand honored in our belief.” It is wonderful to be able to share with you how grateful I am for all the encouragement and support from the team at…
Continue readingThe Origins of Anti-Jewish Rhetoric in the Hymns of Good Friday
by George Demacopoulos | български | ქართული | ελληνικά | Română | Русский | Српски The oldest-surviving Christian hymns designed exclusively for Holy Week are a set known as the Idiomele. In the modern Orthodox Church, they are sung during the Royal Hours service of Good Friday morning (the final hymn is sung during two…
Continue readingLessons From the American Revolution for the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine
by Very Rev. Dr. John A. Jillions Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine is still uncoiling, but the destruction he is inflicting on the people of Ukraine has already succeeded in uniting the fractious Orthodox churches in Ukraine around defense of their homeland. He has also ensured that the Patriarchate of Moscow—so closely aligned with…
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