Category: history

  • Pork?

    From grok The question of whether early Christians ate pork (or followed Jewish dietary laws prohibiting it, as in Leviticus 11:7–8 and Deuteronomy 14:8) has a nuanced answer based on the New Testament and historical evidence from the apostolic era.Key Biblical Developments Practice in the Early Church In summary, while the very earliest Jewish followers…

  • Men’s Book Club

    Our Men’s group finished Fr Andrews Stephen’s book on St Ignatius of Antioch. Ignatius of Antioch (/ɪɡˈneɪʃəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, romanized: Ignátios Antiokheías; died c. 108/140), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (Ἰγνάτιος ὁ Θεοφόρος, Ignátios ho Theophóros, ‘the God-bearing’), was an early Christian writer and Patriarch of Antioch. While en route to Rome, where he met his martyrdom, Ignatius wrote a series of letters. This correspondence forms a central…

  • Saint Theophan the Recluse

    My Patron Saint is Theophan the Recluse. I was looking for a patron saint and went down a particular path. My first name, Douglas has various meanings but one of the common ones is “dark, moody waters.” There are no Orthodox saints with the name Douglas. I tried finding a Celtic Orthodox Saint with a…

  • Dying to Join

    From Inquirer to Newly Illumined You are already convinced enough in your mind that you want to become Orthodox, but it seems like the Church/Priest are not quite sure about you. What’s up with that? Inquirer Phase A lot of Inquirers have already engaged with books like Ware’s book or one of the Evangelical Orthodox…

  • Gnostic Christianity

    The early Christian church (what became the Orthodox tradition, before the East-West schism) did oppose Gnostic groups and their teachings, labeling them as heretical. They worked to suppress Gnostic writings, and later—after Christianity gained imperial support in the 4th century—some texts were indeed banned, confiscated, and destroyed (including burning in certain cases). But the idea…

  • Incense in the Church

    Yes, prior to the Reformation, the Christian Church (both in the East and West) consistently interpreted Malachi 1:11 as a literal prophecy fulfilled in Christian worship — specifically, the use of literal incense alongside the “pure offering” understood as the Eucharistic sacrifice. This understanding appears very early and remains uniform across the patristic period (roughly…

  • Orthodox Calendar(s)

    There’s a weird claim out there. Excuse you actually Holy Orthodoxy and its insistence on a calendar that is literally wrong comes from St. Mehmed II, Pillar of Orthodoxy and Equal to the Apostles (pbuh) The Reality There is zero historical evidence that Mehmed II ever issued any decree, spoke, or intervened regarding the Julian…

  • Joseph Adopted Jesus

    In the New Testament, Mary was initially betrothed (engaged) to Joseph (Matthew 1:18), a legally binding commitment in first-century Jewish custom—stronger than modern engagement and requiring a formal divorce to break. When Mary was found to be pregnant (by the Holy Spirit, according to the virgin birth accounts), Joseph considered divorcing her quietly. But an…

  • Intercession of the Saints

    No early Church Father (typically defined as writers from the 1st to 5th centuries, especially ante-Nicene and Nicene eras) explicitly denied or rejected the intercession of departed saints in a clear, systematic way — that is, no major patristic figure wrote a treatise or statement outright condemning the belief that saints in heaven can pray…

  • 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…

  • First use of the word “Jew”

    The four earliest uses of “Jew” by the time(s) they describe are: 2 Kings 16:6: Describes events ca. 735–732 BCE (Syro-Ephraimite War, during King Ahaz’s reign), where Rezin of Aram drives the “Jews” (Yehudim) from Elath. Jeremiah (e.g., 34:9): References events ca. 588–586 BCE (Babylonian siege of Jerusalem). Zechariah 8:23 (chapters 1–8): Set in 520–518…

  • 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.…

  • Letter to a Friend

    Friend below is from the church I pastored from July 2004 to Fall 2005. Our skeeters are few and far between here, but we have them. Lots of trees for them to come out of but less standing water here to breed them. Everything is hilly and most water flows down. I have scars from…

  • Happy Hannukah

    Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem for Hannukah, and the Jews there tried to kill Him. Recapitulating the slaughter of the innocent martyrs in Maccabees. The miracle that happened then was Jesus escaped their hands. John 10 portrays Jesus as fulfilling or surpassing the rededication theme, claiming divine unity in the very space rededicated…

  • 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…

  • Persian/Jewish Massacre of Christians

    The Sasanian Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614 CE According to most sources (especially Christian ones), when the Persians finally broke in, a large-scale massacre followed. Tens of thousands of Christians were killed (estimates in medieval sources range from 57,000 to 90,000). Crucially, the Persians (with help from local Jewish forces) seized the True Cross—the…

  • Jews in Palestine/Israel

    Historically, very few Jews have lived in Palestine/Israel… Summary Throughout all of Jewish history (from roughly 1200 BCE to November 2025), approximately 3–8% of the total Jewish population (measured in person-years) has lived in the Land of Israel/Palestine, while 92–97% has lived outside it in the Diaspora. Grok Determining the exact percentage of Jews throughout…

  • 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…

  • Palestine Historic Timeline

    Here’s a concise, fact-based historical timeline of the region known as Palestine (historic/geographic name for the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River) from ancient times to November 2025. It focuses on major turning points, rulers, and demographic/political changes. Ancient and Classical Period ~1200 BCE – Biblical Exodus (traditional date; historicity debated) and…

  • Josephus | The Jewish Roman War

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  • 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…

  • Luke 21:20 and Partial Preterism

    The Destruction of Jerusalem – 70 AD Luke 21: 20 And when you shall see Jerusalem surrounded with armies, then know that its desolation is near. Eusebius of Caesarea AD 339 By the desolation of Jerusalem, He means that it was never again to be set up, or its legal rites to be reestablished, so that…