Church History

Publications: 25

Religious Calendars in Antiquity <br><span style='color:#8D8381;font-size:18px;'>Some Background to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine’s Recent Calendar Switch</span>
Biblical Studies, Church History

Religious Calendars in Antiquity
Some Background to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine’s Recent Calendar Switch

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…

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History is Not Your Friend <br><span style='color:#8D8381;font-size:18px;'>Christian Pacifism and the Imagined Past</span>
Christian Practice, Church History

History 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…

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Martyrdom without Miracles <br><span style='color:#8D8381;font-size:18px;'>The 9th-Century Church Controversy in Córdoba and Modern Orthodoxy</span>
Church History, Public Life

Martyrdom 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…

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The Origins of Anti-Jewish Rhetoric in the Hymns of Good Friday
Church History, Liturgical Life

The 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…

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Lessons From the American Revolution for the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine
Church History, Inter-Orthodox Relations

Lessons 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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Public Orthodoxy seeks to promote conversation by providing a forum for diverse perspectives on contemporary issues related to Orthodox Christianity. The positions expressed in the articles on this website are solely the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or the Orthodox Christian Studies Center.

Attribution

Public Orthodoxy is a publication of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University