Orthodox Tradition
A RC in one of my forums asked why Orthodox find Purgatory objectionable when we also pray for our departed:
One chief difference between the RC and Orthodox views on the Intermediate State is that we don’t go for the whole purgatorial fires thing.
In RC purgatory, forgiven sins are still being punished in some way, while in the Orthodox view forgiven sins are forgiven and the damage it caused is being healed in a place of refreshment. RC descriptions of purgatory, especially before Vatican 2 often presented it as horrible as hell but just with a time limit. We do not accept such a… Continue reading
We have just finished the fast-free week of Pentecost and tomorrow we go back to regular fasting in a big way with the Apostle’s Fast for the next month.
Of course, there is testimony in the New Testament that the Christians continued keeping the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, albeit with new nuances to the meanings of that feast. Tertullian, Origen, and others testify to this continued practice in sub-apostolic times.
The fast-free week following Pentecost is also very ancient and is mentioned in the Apostolic Constitutions of the fourth-century, which is a work compiling ante-Nicene practices of the Christian Church.
It mentions the weeklong celebration of… Continue reading
