Writing as Religious Defiance

“My parents taught me to believe that through the creative act, we’re able to transcend and give a response to desecration.” – Atom Egoyan

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Akathist Hymn

A Rampart art thou for virgins and all that have recourse to thee, O Theotokos and Virgin, for the Maker of heaven and earth prepared thee, O Immaculate One, and dwelt in thy womb, and taught all to cry out to thee: Rejoice, Pillar of virginity. Rejoice, gate of salvation. Rejoice, Leader of spiritual restoration. [...]

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The Lessons: The Sunday of the Prodigal

From the Prophet St. Isaiah: Comfort, O comfort my people; says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of [...]

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The Treasure of the Church

St. Lawrence was summoned to the Emperor, who demanded he turn over to him the treasure of the Church. St. Lawrence ’s response was to beg for time, which he received.
He then went and redistributed the material wealth of the Church to those who needed it (legend says that it was Lawrence who sent the [...]

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Bloodguiltiness and States

“The world is soaked with mutual blood. When individuals commit homicide, it is a crime; it is called a virtue when it is done in the name of the state. Impunity is acquired for crimes not by reason of innocence but by the magnitude of the cruelty.”– St Cyprian of Carthage, To Donatus, chapter 6
“I’m [...]

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Secret Prayers vs. PA (Public Address System)

“I would like people not to forget this: why is it forbidden to read the secret prayers aloud? Why is it very harmful for the priest and the bishop to start reading the secret prayers aloud. The question why the Holy Fathers forbade reading them aloud must be explained…it is completely unOrthodox and it must [...]

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On the Myth of General Absolution

“General confession is a not a mystery. We do not understand this simple fact even today. It is dangerous to do a general confession and then read the prayer of absolution for all, not letting people come individually to the priest” (Vol 2, P. 106). “General confession has no validity. It does not absolve sins, [...]

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Christ vs. the Messiah of Culture

“Whereas the Jesus of scripture wants to change the world, the Jesus that we invent in the American society approves of the world the way it is; he legitimates the social order. It becomes the OK world. And as a matter of fact, once we use Jesus to legitimate the society, youth leaders are basically [...]

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The Illusion of Freedom

One can easily observe those who say, “I am young. I am going to make my own choices and enjoy life.” transform into “That’s life. That’s what life throws at me. This is just the way things are.” They laugh, but it is increasingly the hollow, forced laugh of neurosis. The illusion of liberty, [...]

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Half Life

I often observe that we’ve become a culture of constant stimulation. The TV must be on, we cannot drive without the radio or walk without an mp3 player. A large part of our populace lives in video games or myspace. It is the equivalent of the soul being kept alive, in a kind of half-life, [...]

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Origins of Conversations

Grasp the depth of Blessed Theophylact’s point: “While the activity of the demons operates, even though we appear to be speaking, we are not.” Consider what assaults us through the channels, airwaves, and other media of contemporary life: the messages appear to be human speech but actually they are demonic chatter and lies. [...]

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Redemption of the World

“The deification or theosis of the creation will be realized in its fullness only in the age to come, after the resurrection of the dead. This deifying union has, nevertheless, to be fulfilled ever more and more even in this present life, through the transformation of our corruptible and depraved nature and by its adaptation [...]

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St. Anthony on Deviance

A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, “You are mad, you are not like us.” – St. Anthony

This is, in fact, the theme of every zombie-genre film from 28-Days to I am Legend: a race of people who are [...]

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Our Mother

Rejoice O Jerusalem. Keep the feast all ye who love Sion. Today, the ancient bonds of Adam’s condemnation hath been loosed. Paradise hath been opened unto us. The serpent hath been destroyed. He who deceived our first Mother of old, hath now seen a Woman become the Mother of the Creator. O the depths of [...]

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