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Tag Archives: Orthodoxy
Life After Death and the Demonic Gauntlet
If Protestants love to debate the relationship between justification and sanctification and Catholics the extent and limits of papal infallibility, the Orthodox love to debate … aerial toll-booths! “Aerial toll-houses? Never heard of them.” I know. Few outside of Orthodoxy … Continue reading
Posted in Eschatology
Tagged aerial toll-houses, divine judgment, eternal damnation, hell, intermediate state, life after death, Orthodoxy
18 Comments
Is the Palamite Distinction Ecumenical Dogma?
1. The official "Message" of the Council (think cover letter), still in draft form, will affirm other Councils as "Ecumenical." — George Demacopoulos (@GDemacopoulos) June 21, 2016 2. Council of 879 (ending poorly-named Photian Schism) and Councils of 1350s, endorsing … Continue reading
Posted in Theology
Tagged deification, dogma, ecumenical councils, essence and energies, God, Orthodoxy, palamite distinction, theosis
73 Comments
Peter Leithart and the Return of Pontificator’s Laws
Since starting Eclectic Orthodoxy three years ago, I have generally tried to avoid ecclesiological debates and churchly apologetics. I know from personal experience how spiritually destructive these polemics can be. We want to prove to others why we were right … Continue reading
Posted in Theology
Tagged Catholic Church, John Henry Newman, Orthodoxy, Peter Leithart, Pontificator's Laws, Protestantism
38 Comments
Hell (Unfortunately)?
I have been asked by several readers to respond to the recent blog article by Orthodox priest Fr Stephen De Young: “Hell (Unfortunately) Yes.” I’m happy to do so, especially considering that Fr Stephen has given us something different from … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Eschatology
Tagged apocatastasis, damnation, dogma, hell, Orthodox Church, Orthodoxy, universal salvation, universalism
18 Comments
St Vincent of Lérins: The Consentient Council of the Doctors of the Church
When one is involved in a knock-down, drag-out doctrinal debate, a dogmatic definition is awfully handy to have at hand. It always puts one’s opponent on the defensive. Occasionally it even wins the argument. But what if the Church has … Continue reading
St Vincent of Lérins: How Do We Discern Christian Doctrine?
“In the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all” (Commonitorium 2.5). During my 25 years as an Episcopal priest, I recited this famous canon of … Continue reading
Orthodoxy and the Damnation of the Damned
Last night I was reading a tract titled Juridical Justification Theology by Dr Kharalambos Anstall and Fr Michael Azkoul. The authors express what has now become recognized as the Orthodox understanding of perdition: It can be truly said that the … Continue reading
