Father Bill's Orthodox Blog – Orthodoxy from the Third Coast
A Variety of Topics: Saints, Seasons, Society, the Moral Life, plus Travels mostly to Greece, and more, by Father Bill Olnhausen
Here’s the humorous question with the obvious answer: “Is the Pope Catholic?” The Orthodox answer (to be uttered with a slight air of mystery in your voice) is ”Well… …?” Or sometimes we hear this from non-Orthodox folks: “You’re almost like the Catholics.” The proper Orthodox response (to be offered as humbly as possible) is […]
Read More »But first, let’s get Christmas out of the way. Sorry, folks, it’s all over. Western Christians get a full 12 days of Christmas, but we Orthodox get only 7. In our liturgical calendar December 31 is the “Leavetaking (last day) of Christmas”. No fair? Or is it over? Our fast-free period lasts for 12 days […]
Read More »“It was early morning, when I was seven years old, that I saw the angels. I am as sure of it now as I was then. I was not dreaming, nor “seeing things” – I just know they were there, plainly, clearly, distinctly. I was neither astonished nor afraid. I was not even awed – […]
Read More »“Mommy, does Grandma have wings now?” “Yes, dear, when Grandma died she went to heaven and turned into an angel.” Wrong! Statistics say 80% of Americans believe in angels, but I wonder what they believe about them. My wife wisely cautions that when people are grieving is not the time to argue the point with them. […]
Read More »Yes, I know I promised an article on the Bodiless Powers of Heaven this week. But then I saw that this Sunday’s Gospel reading is the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31), and I couldn’t resist. This is one of my favorite parables. Introduction Have you noticed how often our Sunday Gospels […]
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