When you hear Jesus teach his Gospel message in Matthew 11:27-30, it has all the seeds of a classic spiritual master imparting wisdom to those he loves—just like the Russian Staretsy of old, the great Orthodox Jesus-elders from the nineteenth century—but this is Jesus himself. We hear a loving invitation, one of the most celebrated…
Continue readingTell the Truth: We Must Have No Bogus History
by John Stamps | Ελληνικά “We must have no bogus history.” Austin Farrer, the great Anglican theologian, drew a line in the sand for Christians living in our post/modern era. We can’t erase, hide, or ignore history. Our #cancelled and #metoo and #woke friends won’t let us get away with it. In the good old…
Continue readingMen, Monks, and Making Saints
On his recent visit to Mt. Athos in October, 2019, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announced the imminent inclusion of five Athonite elders among the saints: Ieronymos of Simonopetra, Daniel of Katounakia, Joseph the Hesychast, Ephraim of Katounakia, and Sophrony of Essex. There is a phrase in the Sayings of Abba Macarius with which I can identify….
Continue readingContra “Father-ism”
by John A. Monaco In May 2018, I graduated with my Master of Divinity, and immediately following the graduation ceremony, I boarded a plane to Rome, where I intended to undergo the 30-day Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Although I had attended a renowned Jesuit university with one of the largest Jesuit communities…
Continue readingCan Saints Be Wrong? A Palamite Perspective
by Ivana Noble | ελληνικά What kind of authority does the experience of the saints have? Can those who are close to God be wrong in assessing the world or in their understanding of other people’s lives? Looking at the lives of the saints, do we find a notion of infallibility at work? In today’s…
Continue reading