It seems that the larger the church, the more institutionalized and organized its teachings become. Hence why RC seem more scientific than EO who seem more scientific than us OO's. I suppose Assyrian Church of the East is even less nuanced.
I don…
"EOs have a tradition of liking to "break things down" to a science. "Two natures", "energies/essences", "two wills", all while explaining them with a framework that increases confusion and shows a mystery within these teachings."
The funny thing …
My limited understanding is that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ since it is Christ who sent Him into the world ("temporal mission") - and only in that sense. This has nothing to do with the fact that the man Christ/God the Word has a divin…
Hi mabsoota,
I didn't write that article myself, I copied and pasted it from here: http://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxyandheterodoxy/2012/06/19/whos-not-a-christian/
A relevant article against Anba Bishoy of Damietta:
http://www.stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/index.php/english/abouna-s-blog/107-the-holy-spirit-dwells-in-us-substantially-essentially
@idontknow
It's no bother at all.
When you ask "Who is a Christian and who isn't?" this opens up a huge theological can of worms, as you can see from what I posted above.
So it is better to ask your question directly, "Will I be able to marry aga…
I can recall growing up as the son of Evangelical Protestant missionaries being taught that Roman Catholics were certainly not Christians. I’m not sure whether my parents ever said that to me, but it was a marked theme in some of the preaching I hea…
What do you mean by "counts as a Christian"?
You need to define what you mean by Christian.
@mnc_hnn is right. Every "denomination" thinks that their version of Christianity is the most correct. However, traditional Christians (including especia…
Dear idontknow,
Your story is indeed a difficult one for anyone to be placed in. I thank God, that He has granted you the grace to recover faith in Him and see things in a renewed light.
As for your question: you will definitely be accepted into …
"It is subjective to the congregant how he wants to experience the liturgy."
I disagree. The liturgy is heaven on earth and as such is an objective reality of life in the Holy Trinity through the person of Jesus Christ.
You can either experience …
@katanikhoros
This is a fantastic question. Actually I don't think I exaggerate if I say this (and the presuppositions underlying it) may be *the* most important question we face in the Patriarchate of Alexandra today. However, to me the solution…
Why did this nameless Pope (;)) make the change?
In regard to spontaneous prayers, I fear that allowing that would open up a can of worms, particularly considering what passes for Orthodoxy nowadays in our churches.
Also, I think we should be caut…
I like the mention of education. Especially about soteriology...because what we understand about salvation probably shapes our understanding and methods of mission. [Is mission about getting people into heaven? Is mission about love? is mission abou…
@Remnkemi
It's no surprise that there are contradictory implications within Fr Michael's work, as it is a summary of a mission conference where there were 2 contradictory opinions: the Orthodox opinion of the LA priests and the relativistic perspec…
You've got the ISBN now, so you can call major bookstore chains and see which of their branches has it in stock, and then drive there to physically pick it up. Though I'm know you've probably considered that.
@Godhavemercy
No-one here (or at least I don't) disagrees with the concept of non-Egyptian culture parishes, what we do disagree is the manner of execution in some mission churches, particularly those without local diocesan bishops. I fully suppor…
@copticmission
Re: changing the date of Christmas -
"*Nowhere better seen than in the classical argument of the partisans of the "old calendar": on December 25th we can fully share in the "secularized" Western Christmas with its Christmas trees, f…
Im not saying that we know whos going where after physical life. Im saying we need communion for salvation and we need to show them that we have to go for communion no matter the priest /congregation
Who do we need to 'show' that we have to go for …
@qawe that they are not supporting something thats wrong and that they are instead abandoning salvation
You need to compare their actions with the Church as a whole, ie with Tradition (acceptable practice of the early church, as found in the Bible …
This sort of thing happened at times in the early church, and, by the grace of God, here we are today.
In any case, sacraments performed by an unworthy priest are still valid, to say otherwise is to fall into the heresy of Donatism.
Further, the pri…
You love God in 3 ways:
1) Behaving in a godly way (this actually encompasses #2 and #3 too)
2) Loving your neighbour, for "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:39)
…
Does that mean we shouldn't care how the state defines marriage - homosexual or otherwise - since it has nothing to do with us?
True. Most Orthodox Christians therefore oppose same sex marriage for social, not explicitly religious, reasons.