On Iconoclasm

Some time ago I did two posts defending the use of Icons in Orthodox worship. The Orthodox Church, and therefore the Early Church, used Icons in their worship from early on. Saint Luke is said to be the first iconographer, making an icon of the Theotokos. But there is a period when the Church did not use Icons, and in fact forbade their use. This period came to be known as the Iconoclastic period.

On Celtic Christianity pt. 2

In my last post I talked about how it is very difficult to recreate an authentic Celtic Christianity. This is due to the lack of knowledge that we have about the Celts and how they practiced Christianity. Of course we do have the resources I mentioned, such as the Stowe Missal, the Antiphonary of Bangor, and the Rule of Tallaght, with which we could recreate a version of the Culdees. But there is another resource we can use for some insight into what is still a particular form of Celtic piety.

The Rule of Saint Benedict: Chapter 42

We now know the times when monks should eat - and interestingly enough I recently read an article that talked about the health benefits of skipping breakfast and doing intermittent fasting. Yes, we know when the monks should eat, but how should they conduct themselves afterward?

Christianity without Repercussions: Prayer pt 2

In the last post of this series, I covered how we Orthodox pray in just about everything that we do, trying to reach a point of praying without ceasing. I also wrote about how using formal prayers - and set times to pray - are biblical and were also used in the Early Church. I will cover why we pray to (and for) the dead, saints, angles, and the Theotokos.

Sunday of Orthodoxy

Triumph of the Icons

The Sunday of Orthodoxy is the first Sunday of Lent (which started last Monday for us Orthodox folk). This day commemorates the triumph of the iconodules (or iconophiles) over the iconoclasts. Basically, icons were removed from parishes for a number of years and then after a long struggle the icons were replaced. I'll explain a bit more below.

Music and Orthodoxy: Why we venerate saints

Music and Orthodoxy: Why we venerate saints: Wow, new blog. There is no mission statement as such. This is pretty much going to be random musings about music and Orthodoxy (though rarel...

In Defense of Icons Part 2

Veneration of Saints and Icons.

Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council