Monthly Archives: January 2017

Preaching the Politics of Pascha

Since November 8th, contributors to Public Orthodoxy have advanced various responses to the unexpected victory of Donald J. Trump. Fr John Jillions proposes that the Church needs to practice a politics of communion, which includes charitable works, prophetic political witness, and renewed … Continue reading

Posted in Preaching | 21 Comments

Action is the Revelation of Being

Action is the revelation of being. This principle, Norris Clarke tells us, is central to the metaphysics of St Thomas Aquinas. It also seems to be true. Try to imagine a non-acting being—an entity that never interacts with other entities, … Continue reading

Posted in Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

“Nothing can bind or impede the soul that senses God”

All who were called by the Lord obeyed his summons at once, provided love of earthly things did not weigh them down. For worldly ties are a weight upon the mind and understanding, and for those bound by them it … Continue reading

Posted in Citations | 3 Comments

“God is Working His Purpose Out”

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

“Nothing is contributed if the church merely echoes the current buzz-words”

Preachers ought not, I think, constantly to be preaching on political topics. As a student at an American University during the troubled Presidency of Richard Nixon, I recall a University chaplain who repeatedly made use of the pulpit for personal … Continue reading

Posted in Citations | 3 Comments

Those Darn Greeks: Metaphysics and the Hellenization of the Gospel

Readers of Eclectic Orthodoxy have no doubt observed that over the past six months I have been preoccupied with questions that might be called philosophical, even metaphysical (yikes!). Why this interest? Blame it on the writings of David Bentley Hart, … Continue reading

Posted in Theology | 9 Comments

Repentance and Salvation: Transcending the Pharisee Within

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt 16:25)—here is the heart of Orthodox ethics, Christos Yannaras passionately avers. This may come as a surprise to many. … Continue reading

Posted in Zizioulas & Yannaras | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Salvation of Lilith

I scrambled to find the right words. How to explain to my old friend Frederica Mathewes-Green the theme of George MacDonald’s great fantasy novel Lilith? But the words would not come. Well, perhaps that’s not quite true. Words came, but … Continue reading

Posted in George MacDonald | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments