622. Is Orthodoxy conservative or liberal?

    That was a trick question.  The answer is Yes and No and Both and Neither, depending. Here’s why. Orthodoxy is Traditional, grounded in the Holy Tradition of the Church. While everything else in the world keeps shifting, mutating, coming and going, moving right and left, the Church is unchanging. Well, almost unchanging. But […]

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608. Judaism: Part Two – What does the New Testament say about Israel? Israel and the Palestinians, Christians in the Holy Land, and more.

“What is the solution?” I asked. “I don’t think there is one”, she answered sadly, Some years ago a young American woman * , wife of the mayor of Taybeh, one of the last Christian Palestinian towns in the West Bank, spoke at our Saint Nicholas, Cedarburg. During her presentation about the situation there she […]

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607. Judaism: Part One – Christianity’s Old Testament Foundation, Judaism in America

This is an approximate quote from Father Thomas Hopko (of blessed memory+): “At inter-religious conferences, at first you find Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and Protestants together ‘over here’ and Jews ‘over there’. But as we get down to the nitty-gritty of what religion and life are all about, you find Orthodox Christians and Jews together […]

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592. Holy Thursday Night: Matins of Holy Friday: “The Twelve Gospels Service”

Some advice:  For the remaining three days of this Holy Week, do not read this Blog. Or rather: if it’s a choice between reading this Blog and going to church, Go to church. If you can’t get to church, worship Live-stream either live or by video. This Blog may help you (and me) to understand […]

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579. Fourth Sunday of Great Lent: Saint John Climacos – Climbing the Ladder to Heaven

  The theme for this Fourth Sunday of Lent is Saint John Climacos (of “the Ladder”) so called because of his book The Ladder of Divine Ascent, one of the most popular books in the ancient world. More about him in a bit. A Wandering Introduction to the Ladder of Saint John Climacos Two stories: 1 […]

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