Seasons – Page 16 – Fr. Bill's Orthodox Blog – Orthodoxy from the Third Coast

362. 1) From Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus in five images, 2) Six Surprising Ways Jesus Changed the World, 3) Nativity Poems by Saint Ephrem the Syrian and by G K Chesterton

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Fr. Bill

1. Santa Claus! And now you know why Santa Claus is dressed in red. 2. Six Surprising Ways Jesus Changed the world by John Ortberg, Senior Pastor, Presbyterian Church, Menlo Park, California My notes: This article was written during the 2012 Presidential campaign. I left it unaltered, except for two explanatory footnotes. We hear much […]

361. Orthodox Music for the Nativity of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ

Posted on December 16, 2022December 23, 2024 by Fr. Bill

Here is the entire Christmas story in one icon. Have you heard some of the following music on this Blog before? Probably. No matter. At this time of year, Christians everywhere love the same old songs – sing them and listen to them again and again. And now we can even see them. Here I’ve […]

356. The Nativity Fast – which we’ll come to if you just keep reading long enough

Posted on November 11, 2022November 12, 2022 by Fr. Bill

A Meandering * Introduction Did you know that word came from the Meander (now “Menender”) River in Asia Minor which meanders its way toward the Aegean Sea, and this is it: So now you’re prepared for what follows. This morning my wife asked me what I’ll write about in the Blog this week. I answered […]

354. Ghosties and Ghoulies and Long-leggety Beasties and Things that go Bump in the Night

Posted on October 28, 2022October 28, 2022 by Fr. Bill

It’s Hallowe’en! Let’s begin with a little something to get you in the mood. It’s alright, folks. That was taken from (would you believe?) a 1940 Walt Disney movie: “Fantasia”. The music “Night on Bald Mountain” was composed by Russian Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1891), inspired by a short story by Nicholas Gogol. Here’s how it was […]

332. Sixth Sunday of Pascha: The Man Born Blind – how Christ opens our eyes.

Posted on May 27, 2022August 26, 2022 by Fr. Bill

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen! The Great Forty Days of Pascha conclude next Wednesday, so by the time our next Post comes out, it will be all over. Oh… I’m not ready to give it up yet, but life moves on. So let’s go out with a holy bang: Now, students, we are […]