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
Introduction Yesterday we celebrated the raising of Lazarus which was, as we sang, the “prefiguring of the General Resurrection”, when all mankind will be raised from death. “Those who have 1done what is good will rise to life, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.” John 5:29 Christ was demonstrating, […]
Read More »Orthodox Holy Week Now we begin our twice-daily commentaries on the services and themes of Holy Week and Pascha – based on talks I gave at these services during the twenty-five years when I was Pastor of Saint Nicholas Church, Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Each year I’ve altered them just a bit as I’ve come across new […]
Read More »This story has always captivated me, for reasons I can’t explain. The Monastery of Saint Savas (Mar Sabas) in the Palestinian West Bank down below Jerusalem is one of the oldest continually functioning monasteries in the world. In the late Fourth Century monks from Mar Sabas spent much of Lent alone in the desert. A […]
Read More »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 […]
Read More »Lest we forget: The Third Sunday of Great Lent It’s Mid-Lent. A good time to review your Lenten Rule. Is it too easy to be challenging? Too difficult to be kept? Say a prayer and adjust it, if need be. Great Lent Does the Holy Orthodox Church ever change? Actually, yes. But not […]
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