| On the surface, social arrangements like “friends with benefits” would seem to exalt sexuality by making it widely accessible. No longer restricted by commitment, no longer strangled by the tedium of marriage, we can all now “celebrate our bodies” however we want (as long as we are consenting adults in the privacy of our homes). In reality, the “friends with benefits” culture degrades the body and its life. Casual sexuality (like excessive drinking or eating, unnecessary sleeping, or any other physical activity undertaken self-indulgently) devalues the humanity that God paid the ultimate price to redeem. The Incarnation reminds us that we were meant to be so much more, and calls us to treat our bodies with the reverence of God’s own dwelling place. Source: Saint Aidan Orthodox Church Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Related articles I read the bible through the first time when I was in high school. I was… A small but always persistent discipline is a great force; for a soft drop, falling persistently,… Years ago, I heard a statement from an American monk: “The contemplative need go no further… |
| Among the areas of cooperation Metropolitan Hilarion mentioned education, cultural exchange, pilgrimage, charity and social ministry. Answering the question of a venue and time of a meeting of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia with the Pope of Rome, Metropolitan Hilarion remarked that at present it is hard to say when this meeting may become possible. He added: ‘We always say that this meeting should be thoroughly prepared as it will be a historic one because the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Pope of Rome never met. This meeting should open a new page in relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of Rome.’ Metropolitan Hilarion mentioned the situation of Christians in the Middle East as a main topic of a possible meeting. That same day in the evening, members of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church who took part in the Conference with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia attended Vespers at the Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Warsaw. After the service, which was celebrated by Archbishop of Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, Metropolitan Hilarion read out the final document of the Conference. Source: DECR Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Conference ‘The Future of Christianity in Europe.’ completes its work in Warsaw admin On 30 November 2013, the Russian-Polish Conference, ‘The Future of Christianity in Europe. The Roles of Churches and Peoples of Poland and Russia,’ completed its work at the Stefan Wyszyski University in Warsaw. Prior to the final session, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. |
| News, especially TV news, account for these changes in no small measure. It is much easier to show events than to analyse or comment. In journalistic terms, a growing tree is incomparably harder to ‘cover’ than a tree uprooted by a hurricane. One needs special skills to see the event in its context, to observe an emotional upsurge and a deep feeling, to discern facts from comments. News radically accentuate the key problems of Christian apologetics. According to the news, the world consists only of wars, calamities, crime, political and social conflicts. Such picture pulls the carpet from under the viewers and makes preaching the Divine love manifested in history an enormously difficult task. News in their essence are a telling illustration of the Lord’s words from the Gospel of Matthew: You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (…) Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold (Mt 24,6-7.12; NIV). Eschatological character of TV news is amplified by their hourly repetition. Our contemporary doesn’t read the Scriptures every day, or listen to a good sermon every week, but he or she sees a catastrophe, a tragedy or a crime presented as the main news of the day. As a result, the world seems to be more frightening and dangerous than it really is. Beauty of the world vanishes from the news. And by beauty I mean not an aesthetical category (from that perspective TV does more than enough to set or even impose trends and preferences on us) but one of the key notions of Christian theology, beauty that inspires us to long for our Creator. One of the most respected American journalists, Tom Fenton, claims that news media focused on entertaining instead of educating is not just irresponsible but truly dangerous. As an example, I can share a story of how information delivered by the ‘entertaining news’ affects our church life. Some years ago, on the first day of Lent, NTV channel in Russia aired yet another spot of what has become a traditional series, ‘Lent time has arrived for Orthodox natives’. This spot featured some infographics on what foods fasting believers cut back at this time of the year: here’s a slab of meat, and now you see it crossed with red lines. Here are dairy products, and here they are crossed as well. Eggs follow suit. And then we see carrots and tomatoes – again forbidden. Before I even had the time to raise my eyebrows, the narrator explained: carrots and tomatoes are banned for being red, which is the colour of Christ’s blood. At that moment, I could only give a hearty laugh at this naïve but provocative dilettantism of the news writer. |
| From this we understand that each one of us has the potential to be just as bad as Herod, and even worse because unlike Herod, we have all tasted of the grace of God and been enlightened by the Holy Spirit and yet we sometimes choose to fall away without aiming to repent and return. Our hearts can turn cold just as Herod had an icy cold heart. What is the solution to this terrible problem? How can we keep from stumbling and falling as did Herod? First, we have to honor the voice of the Lord in the little day to day things. If we do not honor the still, soft voice of God when He comes to us gently, how will we honor Him when He comes as king and judge over all creation? So we honor Him by honoring His commandments and His teachings and by honoring His words to each of us. When we honor the small, we receive the greater. When we read the gospels every day with more eagerness than we give to football games and video games and social media and novels and news reports, we then show ourselves to be worthy recipients of God’s Son. It is like we are welcoming Him into our home instead of chasing Him out of our minds and into a foreign place (which is Egypt). Herod was not a worthy recipient of the news of the birth of the one born king, and because he did not accept the news with joy, he lost the opportunity to be saved through this amazing gift. But his failure did not end there. We can also keep from stumbling like Herod by acknowledging that there can only be one king and His name is Jesus Christ, the name which is above all others. We are required to do what Herod in his pride and arrogance would not do. We are called to fall on our knees and submit with gratitude to the Son of God and His lordship over our lives. Am I ready to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the master and I am the servant or slave of God? Or am I like Herod, simply unable and unwilling to accept that anyone should have lordship over me and my life? Herod thought of his life, his position and his status as his own. He was in delusion. This is the delusion of sin which leads to death. He thought of his status and position and life as things that should be protected at all costs, even the murder of tens of thousands of innocent children, even the attempted murder of the new born messiah. Are we also in delusion? Do we think of our life as our own? How could we possibly think that our life was our own? You did not give yourself life. Life was breathed into you by the One to whom you owe your very existence. The One who gave us life also bought us at a price and redeemed our lives from sin and death. For this we ought to be eternally thankful and joyful and in this joy we must not walk but run to embrace Jesus Christ with our very lives. Run to Him! Grow in Him! Become one with Him! |
| Guard your eyes: The eyes are the lamp of the soul. Lent is a great time to really pay attention to what we read and see. It is now an established fact that social media such as facebook has tragic consequences on teens and youth, but it is also becoming clear that these forms of social media are poisonous to most people (even, or especially those in denial). In addition, we know of the poisons in the entertainment industry as well as pornography and news. All of these things, even when they seem innocent or harmless, are of questionable value because they usually distract our minds away from the things of God and direct them to the things of the world. Perhaps this Lent can be a time for you and your family to dramatically cut your screen time, whether it is games or tv or web browsing. Perhaps we can use this extra time for activities that build up the family like group reading of good stories or board games. Perhaps it could even be used for more personal reading and prayer. This doesn’t apply only to youth, but to parents. Parents, let’s try to put down our phones from dinner time until the children go to bed. Let’s give them our attention and not withhold our love to focus on trivialities. Either way, let’s guard our time and our minds through the gateway of the eyes. Guard your lips: Our Lord Jesus tells us that it is not what a man puts in his mouth that makes him unclean, but the things that come out of his mouth. During this season we are keen to focus on the food we eat and to try our best to observe the rules of the fast. Let us not forget that the fast is but one way, albeit a powerful one, of attracting the grace of God. But if we fast from certain foods but don’t abstain from gossip or evil words, the grace of God will not rest on us. Then we will be in worse shape then before we fasted. On the other hand, some of the fathers of the Church tell us that practicing silence can greatly help us to receive the grace of God. The lips are connected to the mind and heart. When one is silent, the others begin to quiet down and give room for God to speak to us in our depths. |
| The world is in a period of radicalization. From the returning Caliphate, to the separatists in the Ukraine, to the radicalization of Muslims in northern and sub-Saharan Africa, to the increasing militancy of Hindus in India, we are seeing a world that may very well be headed toward some type of social/cultural explosion. We have not been immune from that climate here in the USA. However, our disagreements have been merely loud and obnoxious. Our elections are now ugly in a way they were not before. Constant legal challenges face every law. Our national leadership is no leadership. Both our Court and our Congress continually give divided decisions that hinge on a few votes. As a result, the decisions of the Court are less and less respected, while the Congress lurches from crisis to crisis. Nevertheless, we remain free of physical conflict and internal terrorism. For that we are to be thankful. It is when I read stories like the story of Meriam that I realize how thankful I am that we Americans may scream a lot, but we have not yet descended to physically harming each other. And, the few times that an American has tried an act of mass harm, all political sides unite and chase the persons until caught. There are many countries that have not felt violent social upheaval. May the Lord continue to preserve them. May all of us countries who merely have strong verbal disagreements keep them as merely verbal disagreements. May our God help bring peace to those countries in violent conflict. As the troparion says: O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross preserving Thy Kingdom. Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. |
| c). We can make sure that we are well informed, so that we can talk intelligently with our friends and coworkers about these issues, and hopefully sway them over time. d). Some may be called to run for public office themselves, and there is no reason why a pious Orthodox layman should not pursue so a path, if they feel that this is what God has for them to do. e). You can support groups that defend Tradition values with your time and/or your money. You can also engage in lawful protests. f). And if it should come to the point that the government is either asking us to do things that we cannot in good conscience do, or forbids us from doing things that our conscience requires us to do, we can engage in civil disobedience. I would encourage you to read The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church , especially the section on the relationship between Church and State , Christian Ethics and Secular Law , and the section on the Church and Politics . Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Related articles I read the bible through the first time when I was in high school. I was… |
| My FB friends who are “real” European football fans reported the same in their experiences at the games and the parties after the games. It hasn’t been just the fans talking about the dissonance between what they were told to expect and what they actually have experienced, however. I read many reports filed by journalists from outside of Russia reporting on the same phenomenon. The one that surprised me the most was by Steven Goff of The Washington Post. The Washington Post has been one of the “lead dogs” in anti-Russian propoganda production. Goff admits even up until the last moment he was wishing he did not have to go to Russia. His experiences here were not at all what he expected, however. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and his description of Russia is quite different from what one expects to find in The Washington Post . I have no doubts that the anti-Russian propoganda will continue, but for those who have been paying attention it will be a harder sale. It was gratifying to me and to other Americans living here in Russia to see and hear of the experiences of others who discovered the truth of what we have been saying: the Russia you read about in the main stream Western press is a creation motivated by the political and/or social agendas of the writers. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Also by this author Today " s Articles Most viewed articles Functionality is temporarily unavailable. Most popular authors Functionality is temporarily unavailable. © 2008-2024 Pravmir.com |
| Thanks be to God that our Church’s witness continues to grow through its martyrs. Sadly though, for every post and article I see about these powerful witnesses, I see another one complaining and whining about how hard it is to be a Christian here in America. It’s not. And, if it is, and if we are truly being marginalized, maligned, and persecuted, than thank God for the opportunity to witness Him, and how he reacted to being marginalized, maligned, and persecuted (and killed…). “My grace is sufficient for you” unless the walmart clerk forgets to wish you a Merry Christmas when you are buying tons of useless holiday junk… “By this all men will know…” Someone on my floor in college said to me once “I was so surprised to learn your were a Christian, ’cause you’re so nice!” For better or for worse, the public, at least where I am from, has a largely negative view of Christians (judgmental, doctrinal, self-righteous). It’s up to us to change people’s hearts and minds (perhaps I should stop shouting at people on the subway…). Courtesy, patience, love are not just touchy-feely buzzwords, but expected behaviors of all Christians. Looking at our facebook groups and blogs, what stands out is our animosity, combativeness, and our love of calling people (the actual definition of a heretic can be found at the end of this article). We don’t put our best foot forward into the public world of social media, instead we shamefully witness our disunity and lack of basic Christian charity. I have to read tons of online industry forums for work, where people disagree politely and thoughtfully. Meanwhile, I tell people constantly to avoid certain “orthodox” websites and facebook groups where we gather to publicly complain, mock, and judge. So, what should we do? If we shouldn’t be like talking heads on cable news or cowardly internet trolls, then what is our model for our behavior in the public sphere? What is God calling us to do in the workplace, our schools, with our neighbors, on facebook? |
| Dad, thanks to you, I have not forgotten my Judeo-Christian roots nor the history of our ancestors. As Russian Patriarch Kirill has stated, “We know, including from the lessons of our own history, that a people that has lost its historical benchmarks, that has renounced the continuity of generations, is easily converted into an object of social and ideological experiments. And the cost of such experiments is too high.” Yes indeed. You can be sure that Anastasia and I will do everything in our power ( including prayer ) so that we energize our love for each other and produce a family where we try every day to serve the others and live in accordance with the Judeo-Christian marriage covenant. There is no doubt that it is in the family environment where earth meets heaven. I agree with J. R. R. Tolkien who said in The Hobbit : “There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.” In this connection, more people should speak about marriage and its benefits to society. And so, your letter made an impact on us – thanks! It is worth passing along to others. You can be sure that Anastasia and I will do our best to be faithful to each other, pray together and grow in the virtue of generosity each day. By so doing, our dignity as human beings and spouses will more and more reach towards the heavens in an effort to reflect the wisdom of God and his divine plan for each of us. Talk to you soon Dad. Come and visit. Cheers, Alexandre (and Anastasia) PS: If you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, I highly recommend it. _________________________ See: Pope Benedict XVI , Charity in Truth, “Caritas in Veritate.” San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2009. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. |
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