Monthly Archives: March 2025
Introduction to St. John of the Ladder and His Work
St. John of the Ladder, a prominent figure in Orthodox Christian spirituality, is best known for his profound work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Born in the early 6th century, he became the abbot of the monasteries on Mount Sinai and dedicated his life to asceticism and spiritual guidance. His feast day, celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, invites the faithful to reflect on the teachings encapsulated in his iconic text, which serves as a spiritual roadmap to achieving union with God.
The Ladder of Divine Ascent has exerted a significant influence on Orthodox… Continue reading
I decided to do a review of the Book of Romans during the second half of Lent in anticipation of the resumption of teaching Bible study classes in my parish after Pascha.
This morning’s review brought me to chapter 3 of Romans and a passage that has had a lot of traction in the West since the Reformation:
“we previously warned both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written,
There is no one righteous; no, not one.
11 There is no one who understands.
12 There is no one who seeks God.
They have all turned aside.
They… Continue reading
One of the most complex and frequently debated questions in Orthodox ecclesiology concerns the recognition of sacraments performed outside the canonical boundaries of the Orthodox Church. While there is a hardline rigorist strain in contemporary discussions that attempts to present the practice of baptizing virtually all converts as THE historic Orthodox tradition, historical evidence reveals a more nuanced approach in both the Greek, and particularly within the Russian Orthodox tradition.
Early Church Foundations: The Baptismal Controversies That Influenced the Creed’s Statement About “One Baptism”
Whether heterodox baptisms performed in water in the name of the Trinity should be accepted first came up in the controversy… Continue reading
A lot of ink has been spilled among Western Christians in the debate concerning Faith vs. Works. What place do works, if any, have in our salvation?
From the Protestant “faith alone” side, it is insisted that works have nothing to do at all with our salvation, we are saved solely by believing in Christ apart from how we live. One of their primary proof texts is, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)
From the Roman Catholic side, it has often been… Continue reading
The daily readings during Lent are from the Old Testament. Specifically, from Genesis, Proverbs, and Isaiah.
I have been thinking about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. What does it signify? Why was eating of it bad?
If we read the other extant creation stories of the Middle East, the Tree of Life appears in them, which represents God’s intention, and Man’s desire for immortality. But, interestingly, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil only appears in the Hebrew story of Creation.
Many interpretations of this Tree exist, but the one that seems to most plausible to me is that… Continue reading