Search results for: “st mary of egypt”
-
St. Mary of Egypt and Moral Progress
Read more: St. Mary of Egypt and Moral ProgressThe suggestion has been made several times recently that my criticism of moral progress is not supported by the example of the saints. Surely, it is said, the transformations we read about in the lives of the saints are clear examples of moral progress. A noted such example, perhaps the greatest story of repentance and asceticism known in the Church, is that of St. Mary of Egypt. It is worth looking carefully at her life (for which we have a canonical narrative) and consider what it is, exactly, that we are seeing. She is, indeed, a proper example of the transformation of…
-
St. Mary of Egypt
Read more: St. Mary of EgyptOne of the most remarkable stories of the early Church, read each year in the 5th week of Lent during the Canon of St. Andrew, is the Story of St. Mary of Egypt. This Sunday is also dedicated to her on the Church Calendar. If you have not taken time or had opportunity to hear or read her story, follow the link. Do yourself a favor and ponder the mercy of God. The Story of St. Mary of Eygpt by St. Sophronius of Jerusalem.
-
St. Mary of Egypt
Read more: St. Mary of EgyptOne of the most remarkable stories of the early Church, read each year on this day in Lent during the Canon of St. Andrew, is the Story of St. Mary of Egypt. I know of nothing better to do this day than read it (or attend a service in which it is read – I did the latter this morning). Do yourself a favor and ponder the mercy of God. The Story of St. Mary of Eygpt by St. Sophronius of Jerusalem.
-
An Important Conversation – How Should We Think About the Bible as History?
Read more: An Important Conversation – How Should We Think About the Bible as History?A recent conversation on the blog seemed worth a full article. The question centered around the problem of the historical character of the Biblical record. I’ll let the question speak for itself: I have a question to ask about the historicity of the New Testament, one that’s been gnawing at me for quite some time. Paul was wiling to interpret Scripture allegorically, as his treatment of Galatians makes clear. How, then, do we treat 1 Corinthians 10:1-11? As far as I can see, Paul considers the events of the Exodus as literal history, especially in verse 11: “Now these things…
-
The Scope of Passover and Penal Substitution Theory
Read more: The Scope of Passover and Penal Substitution TheoryOne of the terms used in the early fathers when interpreting the Scriptures was the “scope” of Scripture. By this they meant backing away from the detail of the text to see the larger picture, the “scope” of a broad reading. This technique was particularly valued in the so-called Antiochene School of interpretation, which is usually associated with a more historical/literal reading of Scripture. The failure to see the “scope” of the text all too easily exalts stray details to an unwarranted position. You cannot understand a tree until you see its place in the forest. This understanding of the “scope”…
-
The Forty Days of Christmas
Read more: The Forty Days of ChristmasMy title is slightly misleading. There are not “forty days of Christmas” in the Orthodox Church – but there is a major feast that marks the fortieth after Christmas: the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, sometimes called the Feast of the Meeting (February 2). It occurs forty days after Christmas in accordance to the requirements of the Jewish Law. Tradition holds that Joseph and Mary brought the child to Jerusalem before departing for Egypt. There are two significant “meetings” that occur in that feast: the encounter with the Elder Simeon who has long awaited the Messiah and had been…
-
The Forefathers of Christ
Read more: The Forefathers of ChristAmong the greatest blasphemies ever constructed by humankind was that of Nazi Germany. Not satisfied with their political dominance, they also sought a religious dominance as well. The notion of an “Aryan Christ” was perhaps the depths of their theological blasphemies mirrored in their dehumanization and murder of the Jews. At many points in the past two millennia, the relationship between Christians and Jews has hit low points – with the Jews almost universally at the short end of the stick. But to seek to create a Christ who Himself was not a Jew is (for a Christian) the worst…
-
The Church of the Second Storey (And Why There Isn’t Really One)
Read more: The Church of the Second Storey (And Why There Isn’t Really One)For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness…
-
Christianity in a One-Storey Universe
Read more: Christianity in a One-Storey UniversePreliminary – Death in a Two-Storey Universe I have written before about the two-storey universe that is part of our cultural inheritance in the modern world. I have noted that the default position of our culture is secular protestantism. I have explained that I mean not that we do not believe in God, but that in our dominant cultural metaphor the God we believe in is removed from our everyday affairs. Often what we are left with is a collection of doctrines to which, for one reason or another, we have given allegiance. But there remains the two-storey universe. Now the…
-
Death in a Two-Storey Universe
Read more: Death in a Two-Storey UniverseI have written before about the two-storey universe that is part of our cultural inheritance in the modern world. I have noted that the default position of our culture is secular protestantism. I have explained that I mean not that we do not believe in God, but that in our dominant cultural metaphor the God we believe in is removed from our everyday affairs. Often what we are left with is a collection of doctrines to which, for one reason or another, we have given allegiance. But there remains the two-storey universe. Now the primary difficulty of the two storey…
Thank you for those images, Helen. Very helpful.