495. The Entrance of the Virgin Mary into the Temple: Is it Scriptural? Did it actually happen?

Notice above: In iconography for this Feast, the Virgin Mary is always depicted symbolically as a three year old “adult”, already full-grown spiritually. Before we talk about this lovely celebration, first let’s demolish a couple of objections to it. 1  It’s not Scriptural. This is the big Protestant objection. It troubled me before I became […]

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449. The Fifth Sunday of Lent: Saint Mary of Egypt – Penitence

I love this story. In the late Fourth Century monks from the Monastery of Saint Savas (Mar Sabas) * down below Jerusalem in the West Bank, spent Lent alone in the desert. A priest-monk Zosimas, walking alone one day on the Jordanian side of the river, to his surprise saw someone ahead of him. He […]

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446. The Holy Icons: Their History and Purpose – Part One

For those who didn’t tune in last week: I warned you that in the next couple of months you’ll see a lot of “re-runs” (albeit slightly revised), because my time will be limited. My wife and I are moving after 28 years in the same house, and some of you will know what that entails. […]

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445. The Triumph of Orthodoxy?

My wife and I love to watch old movies and television shows. The humor is always funny, the drama always exciting. This spring you’ll get the same opportunity with this Blog. Occasionally you’ll see some “re-runs” of previous Posts – revised just a tad. The reason: We are about to move from the house we […]

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443. “In the Heart of the Desert” by Dr John Chryssavgis

This Post contains small portions from the excellent book In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, published here with the generous permission of the author, the Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I think it’s appropriate reading as we near our annual passage through Great […]

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