Category: history
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Pedigree of the Patriarchs of Antioch
Antioch is where the disciples of Christ were first called Christians. Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. There is an…
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Hidden History of Early Christian Art
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Thoughts on Authorship of the Pauline Corpus
Modern scholarship sees some of the letters of Paul as being genuinely written by Paul and others as written later by others. There is strong consensus in modern New Testament scholarship on a core group of authentic Pauline epistles whose authorship is rarely contested: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon.…
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Nazarite Vows
Josephus briefly recounts an episode where, in the 12th year of the reign of Nero, during the outbreak of the First Jewish-Roman War, Bernice (the sister of King Agrippa II) had put herself under a Nazirite vow and had come to Jerusalem thirty days before she was to offer her sacrifices, Wikipedia Did Mary take…
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Church Fathers 2024-11-25
Catherine the Great Martyr of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine[a] (Greek: Αίκατερίνη) is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a princess and a noted scholar who became a Christian…
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The Seven Great Ecumenical Councils
It’s really the beauty of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. They took the Fathers and the Scriptures and reached the conclusions we have today in the Church. The Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the selection of the canon, rejection of iconoclasts, and many others. It was all based on the pattern from the first council in…
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Epistle Reading 2024-11-22
ST. PAUL’S LETTER TO PHILEMON 1:1-25 PAUL, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker, and Apphia our sister and Archippos our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God…
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Web Resources on the Church Fathers and the Bible
Helpful Study Resources This list should grow with time but here’s a start with the tools I’m using presently. Saints of the Day – Detailed accounts of the lives of the Saints of the Day CatenaBible – Click on a verse and see commentary from the Church Fathers on the verse BlueLetterBible – Useful for looking…
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Orthodox Apologetics Calvinism V. Arminianism
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The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians – Early Church Structure
In Ignatius Chapter 8: He that is within the altar is pure, but he that is without is not pure; that is, he who does anything apart from the bishop, and presbytery, and deacons, such a man is not pure in his conscience. The Letters of Ignatius are very early. Hisg seven epistles preserved under…
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Orthodoxy on Calvin and Calvinism
The Orthodox Church produced the following document: The Confession of Patriarch Dositheos of Jerusalem (1672). This Confession of Faith has been ratified by all of the autocephalous Churches (Jerusalem, Russia, and Georgia in 1672; Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and the Bulgarians under the EP at the Council of Constantinople in 1723. St. Justin Popovich and St.…
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The Perspicuity of Scripture
One of the more curious novelties of the Protestants is the notion of the “The Perspicuity of Scripture”. One definition of this idea is found here: The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture (often called the “perspicuity of Scripture”) teaches that “the meanings of the text can be clear to the ordinary reader, that God uses…
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Saint Peter on Saint Paul – Scripture and Tradition
Saint Peter wrote about the writings of Saint Paul. 2 Peter 3:15-16 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are…
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Inscription of Abercius
The inscription of Abercius is the Greek epitaph of Abercius who was probably Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia. It is an important example of early Christian epigraphy. The Inscription The citizen of a chosen city, this [monument] I made [while] living, that there I might have in time a resting-place of my body, [I] being…
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Megiddo Mosaic Circa 230 AD
From “Earliest inscription declaring ‘Jesus is God’ discovered in Israel“. The 581-square-foot mosaic features the ancient Greek writing: “The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.” Also found in the same mosaic: References The Ancient Church at Megiddo: The Discovery and an Assessment of its Significance The Megiddo Mosaic
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Sola Scriptura is Contrary to Scripture Itself
Defining Sola Scriptura Sola scriptura (Latin for ‘by scripture alone’) is a theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The Orthodox churches consider Sola scriptura to be contrary to the phronema (Greek…
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Review of Father Josiah Trenham’s “Rock and Sand” book
This is a great review of “Rock and Sand”. I’m only three chapters through the book (due to some vision problems). I took Reformation History at Fuller as well as a class on John Calvin at a secular university. I also did quite a bit of reading of Reformation History along the way so I…
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Theophan the Recluse
I asked a friend for help finding a Saint name for when I get received into the Orthodox Church. My birth name, Douglas, isn’t a Saint’s name. I was stuck. He suggested I look at the meaning of Douglas but it came back as something like “dark waters”. I couldn’t find anything redemptive in that…
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Another Old Testament Prophecy of Christ and the Church
Here is another prophecy of Christ and the Church Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.…
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Old Testament Prophecy of the Church
There’s a prophesy of the church found in the Old Testament Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be…
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Orthodoxy and Freemasonry
In 1933, the Orthodox Church of Greece officially declared that being a Freemason constitutes an act of apostasy and thus, until he repents, the person involved with Freemasonry cannot partake of the Eucharist. This has been generally affirmed throughout the whole Eastern Orthodox Church. The Orthodox critique of Freemasonry agrees with both the Catholic and…
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Orthodox vs Protestantism
Background My faith background was as an Evangelical Protestant. I attended two Evangelical seminaries and got a Master of Theology degree and a Master of Divinity degree. I was an Evangelical church pastor for a few years. It didn’t end well. Good Things about being an Evangelical One thing I am thankful about being an…
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Anabaptists Go Crazy – The Dark History of Münster…
Wikipedia article
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Apostolic Succession: Common Objections Refuted w/ Perry Robinson
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Perpetual Virginity of Mary
I’ve had a change in my view of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary. I now believe it is more than an optional doctrine, but a necessary one to guard the virginal conception of Jesus.