Homilies, commentary, and the shownotes for OrthoAnalytika, a podcast on spirituality, science, culture, prepping, the paranormal, and current events
The rhetoric from Moscow - to include from the Moscow Patriarchate and its daughter Churches - may be great at gathering support for Putin's domestic and foreign policy goals, but it is dividing Orthodox Christians in the West and threatens to do … [Continue reading]
https://youtu.be/uyNc1lKK3fE?t=23m7s Notes for a Homily on the Publican and the Pharisee (St. Luke 18:9-14) What was the purpose of this parable? Best to look at the context. In this case it isn’t hard. Here is the sentence right … [Continue reading]
Fedotov and the Spirituality of Kyivan Rus’ This semester, I am teaching a class on “The Spirituality of Kyivan Rus’”. It’s a fun course because I get to discuss topics like the dynamic between native cultures and Christianity and the effect this … [Continue reading]
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so … [Continue reading]
[Excerpted from the Homily on the Sunday of Zacchaeus.] There are three main steps in the life of the Christian – all of them are necessary. A Need. A sense of the gap between how things are and how they should be. This is often caused by a … [Continue reading]
Professor Anthony Esolen has a real gift for juxtaposing the depravities and weaknesses of modern culture with the strength of traditional Christianity. While his critiques are strong, one of the things I appreciate about him is that he is … [Continue reading]
The Setting: the church fire brings new challenges At four-thirty in the morning of the feast of St. Michael, the police came to the rectory bearing some terrible news: the church was on fire. It had obviously been burning for several hours; … [Continue reading]
Soviet Dissidents: martyrs and confessors of freedom, truth, and human dignity I chose to major in political science back in the 80's in large part so that I could study the Soviet Union, the "evil empire" that held a huge swath of the world's … [Continue reading]
Today's topic is "Eden". Genesis is one of my favorite books of the Bible, and its description of our life in paradise is certainly one of the reasons. Humanity has been plagued since that time by its sense of loss and emptiness and driven by the … [Continue reading]
Today's topic is "bread or beer"? I'm writing from Constantinople (Istanbul), a country that was once the heart of a vibrant Christian empire... but is now 99% Mulim. It's a shock. But I've seen it before even in my lifetime: so many Christian … [Continue reading]
