To Judge or Not To Judge

A very good read...(a similar theme can be found on this page: http://www.antiochian.org/content/what-about-non-orthodox-exclusive-claims-church )

TO JUDGE OR NOT TO JUDGE

by Vladimir Moss on November 1/14, 2007.
Source: http://www.orthodoxchristianbooks.com/articles/209/-judge-or-not-judge/

If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?I Peter 4.18.

     “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7.1) – we all know this very important commandment of the Lord. We know what it means: to express condemnation of a person with hatred or derision. And we know, if we are honest with ourselves, that we very often sin against it… However, the word “judge” has many meanings in the English language; and there is a tendency to use the commandment not to judge in this sense as an excuse for inaction, as a stick with which to suppress dissident opinions, and even, sometimes, as an argument in favour of ecumenism. Let us look at these different meanings.

The Eucharist Is...

A Poetic Compilation by Fr John Finley based on the writings of Fr Alexander Schmemann.
Source: http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/triumphalhymn/the_eucharist_is_._._

A Prayer for Enemies

This prayer has been posted before and I'm reminded again how truly humbling and difficult prayer it is...

A Prayer for Enemies
By Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic 

A Serbian Bishop and writer of the spiritual book called the Orchid

A prayer composed by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, Serbian Bishop who spoke out against the Nazi regime, was arrested, and taken to Dachau.

Stand, Bow, Prostrate: The Prayerful Body of Coptic Christianity

by Bishoy Dawood, Ph.D. candidate in Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.

http://www.clarionreview.org/2013/12/stand-bow-prostrate-the-prayerful-body-of-coptic-christianity/

Many in the West tend to look at prayer life as a mental thing: we praise, we thank, we confess to, and we confide in God – with words. And yet, some kind of bodily movement always accompanies our prayers. Indeed, a great body of Christian wisdom has long known that while we think or pronounce our prayers, our bodies, too, are at work expressing and shaping our souls.  In the Coptic tradition it is the Liturgy of the Hours and the Divine Liturgy that become the occasions of formal psycho-physical prayer. Liturgical postures and gestures involve the whole person, for Christian prayer is not merely a mental activity, but rather one that proclaims and seeks to realize the union of body and soul. It recognizes, through the liturgy, that such unity is how God intended to create and save the human person.[1]

The Praises of Kiahk

The Praises of Kiahk

by Hegomen Pishoy Kamel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVQGr-ijDkk

The praise of Kiahk (also called "7 and 4") on the Eve of Sunday is the praise of every eve of Sunday all year, since Sunday is the day of the Resurrection when the Church stays awake until daybreak. Eventually, it contacts the dawn of eternity, whose sun never leaves, because the Lord Jesus, the true Light, the Sun of Righteousness, will be its light. This article explains the parts of the Midnight Praise during Kiahk.

About Confession

St. Nikolai (Velimrovic) - Letter # 86 - About Confession

You wanted to know if Confession was really necessary. You used to go to Confession often, but then someone mocked you for it so you stopped. You should not have stopped. Whom have people not mocked? You know what the Seer said, "Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep."

More On Joint Commission

Two Families of Orthodox

http://lacopts.org/orthodoxy/orthodox-life/two-families-of-orthodox/

Realizing Unity

"restored unity will therefore be a test of humility for some and of charity for all"
+ Fr John Meyendorff

+ + +

Chalcedonians and Non Chalcedonians: Realizing Unity

Peter Bouteneff

The modern situation of the dialogue between the two church families, the Chalcedonian or "Eastern" Orthodox and the Non-Chalcedonian or "Oriental" Orthodox churches, is simultaneously encouraging and frustrating. On the one hand, the encounters of the past decades (and particularly the official dialogues since 1985) have produced some striking results which brought many people to raise hopes and expectations for imminent reunion. On the other hand, it seems that there has been little visible change "on the ground," and little recognition or awareness of the dialogues in our local churches. My purpose here is to set out some of the issues which have already received attention (at times, perhaps, insufficient attention), as well as some of the other factors which contribute to slowing the realization of our unity.

The Liturgy is Joy

"...when the liturgy is over, maintain this joy, a joy stronger than any other, the silent joy of hearing the still small voice of the Holy Spirit within you."

+ Matushka Juliana Schmemann, The Joy to Serve (Montreal: Alexander Press, 2009) 17.

The Priestly Vocation

"The Church does not interfere in politics but if the health or life of only one of my fellow men is put in danger, it is my duty as a priest to intervene" 

+ Fr Vasile Laiu

From: http://www.enca.com/technology/cleric-fights-save-rural-romania-fracking