A Variety of Topics: Saints, Seasons, Society, the Moral Life, plus Travels mostly to Greece, and more, by Father Bill Olnhausen
In the year 767 Stephen of Constantinople saw soldiers trampling an icon. He objected and was told it was ok – it was only a picture. So he took a coin with the image of the Emperor and trampled it, explaining it was only a picture. We celebrate the feast of Saint Stephen the New Martyr every […]
Read More »Did you ever watch a classic iconographer paint (“write”} an icon? This requires many layers of egg tempura paint, each properly prayed over. The iconographer begins with a plain board, correctly shaped and prepared. (I’m omitting much of the process here.) Along the way a layer of clay earth tone is used, then later white […]
Read More »The Triumph of Orthodoxy? That sounds brash and prideful, as if we think we Orthodox have beat everybody else out in this “religious game”, that we have all the truth and others have none because we’re so smart and everybody else is so stupid (sounds like modern politics), or that we’ve taken over the world or […]
Read More »In the Sunday Epistle: Romans 13:11-14,14:1-4 Saint Paul makes creative use of night/day, winter/spring imagery. “Brethren, salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is gone; day is at hand.” That’s the truth. Time is passing. We don’t have forever to wake up and shape up. How much time any of […]
Read More »MEATFARE SUNDAY It’s time to talk about Fasting. This coming Sunday is popularly called “Meatfare Sunday”, the last day for meat till Pascha. Beginning next Monday we get serious about fasting. Why does meat go off before Lent begins? Because the Orthodox Church leads us into all things gently. No instant salvation here. Likewise, there’s no […]
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