Category: EOC

  • Orthodoxy and Forgiveness

    The Eastern Orthodox Church does not generally teach unilateral forgiveness in the sense of always requiring or mandating complete, unconditional forgiveness of others without any regard to repentance — but the teaching strongly emphasizes forgiving everyone from the heart as a personal spiritual necessity, even (and especially) when the offender shows no repentance. This is…

  • Did Calvin teach unilateral forgiveness?

    John Calvin did not teach unilateral forgiveness (i.e., a completely one-sided, unconditional granting of full relational pardon and reconciliation without any regard to the offender’s response or repentance). Calvin’s teaching on forgiveness aligns closely with the biblical pattern: Christians are commanded to maintain an attitude of love, forbear love, and readiness to forgive even toward…

  • Early Life Abuse

    (Part 1 Therapy for the soul) Most of the saints had very Godly mothers so this doesn’t apply as much to them as it does to us regular folks.. Orthodox Christian “therapy for the soul” (as described in the Patristic tradition and especially in Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos’s Orthodox Psychotherapy) does involve dealing with the deep…

  • Therapy for the soul

    Orthodox Christian “therapy for the soul” (often called Orthodox psychotherapy or the science of spiritual medicine) refers to the entire ancient tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church as a healing system for the human soul, mind, and body, wounded by the Fall, sin, passions, and death. This understanding is most famously articulated in the modern…

  • Prayers for the Dead

    Prayers for the dead were a Jewish practice in the Second Temple period, before the time of Jesus Christ (who lived circa 4 BCE–30 CE). The clearest evidence comes from 2 Maccabees 12:38–46, a Jewish text composed around 124 BCE during the Hellenistic era. In this account, Judas Maccabeus and his men discover that fallen…

  • Two Branches

    The post-crucifixion history of the separation between followers of Jesus (early Christians) and non-following Jews was a gradual process, not a single event. Modern scholars describe it as the “parting of the ways,” spanning from the 1st to the 4th century CE, with Christianity emerging as a distinct, predominantly Gentile religion while Judaism evolved into…

  • Jewish Physicians

    There is a historical canon in the Eastern Orthodox Church that prohibits Christians from seeking medical treatment from Jewish physicians. This is found in Canon 11 of the Council in Trullo (also known as the Quinisext Council, held in 692 AD), which is accepted as part of the canonical tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church.…

  • More Hannukah Details

    Continuing the Hannukah theme (Part 1) (Part 2) Looking deeper into Hannukah. During Hanukkah celebrations in December 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly referred to the five brave brothers—the sons of Mattathias—who sparked and led the Maccabean Revolt. In a speech at the Western Wall while lighting Hanukkah candles with IDF soldiers and U.S.…

  • Prayer Posture

    Posture during prayer during the time of Jesus involved various positions. It was common for full prostrations to be done in the First Century both in the Temple and in private prayers. This practice was phased out after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD by Judaism and later forbidden in the Talmud. This…

  • POPE LEO XIV Calls for FULL COMMUNION with ORTHODOX

  • Two Parishes

    I know two parishes well. The city parish is near several top tier universities. Catechumen classes are on Wednesday nights, but only during the school year. The cradle priest says he’ll meet with you privately but frequently cancels meetings because Catechumens are at the bottom of his priority list. During finals week the Catechumens number…

  • Hannah / Mary Parallels

    Yes, the Eastern (Greek-speaking) Church Fathers explicitly draw the Hannah–Mary / Samuel–Jesus parallel more frequently and earlier than is sometimes realized in Western scholarship. The connection is especially prominent in homiletic, liturgical, and exegetical texts from the 4th century onward. Key Eastern Fathers and Sources Summary The Eastern Fathers not only see the parallel —…

  • Noahide Law and Orthodoxy

    The first of the Noahide Laws is: Prohibition of Idolatry Do not worship idols or any entity as a deity besides the one God. This includes denying God’s unity or bowing to false gods. Relation of Orthodoxy Orthodox theology, as defined by the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicaea II, 787 CE), holds that venerating (proskynesis) icons…

  • Orthodox vs Reformed

    Theosis vs Union with God Summary: Both traditions teach an intimate, life-giving union/communion with God through Christ, but the Reformed tradition is extremely cautious about any language that sounds like we become divine in our being, whereas Orthodoxy embraces that language (with careful Palamite qualifications) as the very heart of the gospel. Here’s a clear…

  • Orthodox Zionism?

    Zion as a Historic Location 2 Samuel 5:7Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). 1 Kings 8:1Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant…

  • Lord’s Prayer in the Quran?

    Muslims claim the Lord’s Prayer is in the start of the Quran. This is false. No, the Lord’s Prayer (as found in the Bible, primarily Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4) is not in the Quran. The Quran does not contain the exact text, structure, or sequence of the Lord’s Prayer, which is a Christian prayer…

  • Fragrance of Relics

  • Manifesting

  • Praise God for those Who Misuse us

    Before I moved to Chicago (to attend NorthPark Seminary) I was an assoc pastor to an abusive Senior Pastor in So Cal. It was a difficult situation, but I was obedient. After I left, I reached out to one of the previous assoc pastors and learned his story was like my story. I had a…

  • St Justinian and Symphōnia

    Saint Justinian I (c. 482–565 CE), Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565, is one of history’s most influential figures in harmonizing ecclesiastical and imperial authority—a relationship often termed the “symphony” between church and state (from the Greek symphōnia, meaning “agreement” or “concord”). Though the term itself was formalized later (notably in the 6th-century Epanagoge under…

  • Low Carb Orthodox Fasting Recipes

    Orthodox Nativity Fast (Nov 15–Dec 24 on the New Calendar) is strict: no meat, dairy, eggs, fish (except with oil on certain days), wine, or oil on Mon/Wed/Fri. Oil & wine allowed Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun. All recipes below are oil-free on strict days (marked ✦) but use oil minimally on permitted days (marked ✓). Every dish is…

  • Messianic Judaism

    I went to a Messianic Jewish synagogue for 1.5 yrs back in the mid 1990’s. I mistakenly thought if I went to a Messianic synagogue, I’d get to learn the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. What I got was the form of rabbinic Judaism that was practiced after the temple was destroyed. I learned…

  • The Chosen People

    New Testament fulfillment of Old Testament passages.

  • Najran Massacre

    The Massacre of Christians in Najran (523 CE) The most prominent historical event referred to as the “massacre of Christians in Yemen” is the persecution and mass killing of Christians in the city of Najran (in modern-day southwestern Saudi Arabia, but part of ancient Himyarite Yemen) in 523 CE. This event, carried out under the…