Roger Pearse, that veritable zealot of Christian antiquity and free access to information, has commissioned the translation of several letters of our venerable father, St Isidore of Pelusium, whose feast we celebrated last Tuesday, February 4/17. (Our good friend Aaron Taylor, as is his wont, produced a marvellous post on St Isidore for his feast.) [...]
Felix Culpa on the the OSB, Pars Quarta
A short few days after my evocative mention of the much-missed author of the best “Orthodox blog” in existence, the estimable Felix Culpa, we have gladly witnessed his return to the blogosphere (and with a vengeance—witness his seven posts in a short two days!). In his most recent post, he has taken up again his [...]
Saturday à Machen: On Miracles
In the last Saturday à Machen, we had the opportunity to consider Machen’s argument for the miraculous occurrences of the New Testament. But in order to arrive there, he had previously addressed the idea of the “supernatutural” and the character of miracles, in that order. Since we started at the end, so to speak, let [...]
And the Winner Is…
…Peter Lopez of Beauty of the Bible! Peter didn’t get three entries for announcing the giveaway in two different blogs, as he suggested, but his eagerness must not have tempted the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing, for in the end his name was clearly written on the winning ballot. (Sorry, no [...]
Pre-Revolutionary Russian Orthodox Church Shows Militant Americanists How It’s Done
In a recent comment, Peter Kirk mentioned that the Tolkovaya Bible, a remarkable Orthodox study edition of the Holy Scriptures produced in Russia on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution, was reprinted by the Institute for Bible Translation as gift of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, and the Faroe Islands) to the Russian people on [...]
OSB To Leave the US in Attempt To Impose Militant Americanist Hegemony on Traditionally Orthodox Lands
It has just come to my attention that the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America (usually styled “the Metropolia”), with the blessing of its First Hierarch, has recently shipped 276 copies of the lamentable Orthodox Study Bible to various theological seminaries in Russia and the Ukraine. According to the news release, officials at the [...]
Fasting, Christians, and Jews in the Late First Century
It is well known that Orthodox Christians customarily fast on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year. There are four exceptions to this each year, however, one which is the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee: after hearing of the Pharisee who thanked God because he fasted twice a week, we take a break from [...]
Edgecomb on the "Historical Pharisees"
Our good friend Kevin Edgecomb, in a welcome burst of autokeraphonia (his delightful term), comments:
“Last summer I worked up a series of posts (Notes on Pharisees; The Gospels on the Pharisees, Parts I, II, III, IV, V, and VI) investigating the treatment of the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Gospels, inspired by the Jacob Neusner [...]
On the Use of the LXX (in Honor of International Septuagint Day)
Last year I noted with deep regret that I had come to find out too late about the IOSCS’s International Septuagint Day, observed each year on February 8, and that therefore I was unable to write anything of substance in time for the festivities. (For the reason why February 8 was chosen, see my [...]
Sundays with Silva: On the Conflict Between Jesus and the Pharisees
“Legalism, theologically understood, can manifest itself in a variety of ways. Whether or not the Pharisees explicitly taught a merit system [....], we must recognize that Jesus is never represented in the Gospels as criticizing them for believing that they could atone for their own sins. He does indeed condemn them for their [...]
On Missing the Point
While listening to the hymnody and Gospel reading for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, which we observe today, it occurred to me that perhaps I should share with you all an incident that I witnessed at a worship service just over a decade ago, and which makes for a most appropriate [...]
On Publicans, Pharisees, and Giveaways
Last Sunday, we heard in Church the account of the call and repentance of Zacchaeus (St Luke 19:1-10), which signals the end of the post-Pentecost period and the imminent arrival of the Lenten season; this coming Sunday, the first of the three preparatory Sundays before Lent, we will hear the parable of the Publican [...]
