Category: Orthodox

What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?

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“Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is to attribute His operations to the opposite spirit, as says Basil the Great. How does one do this? Whenever one sees miracles brought about by the Holy Spirit or any of the other divine gifts in any of his brethren – that is compunction or tears, or humility, or divine knowledge, or a word of wisdom from on high, or anything else that is bestowed by the Holy Spirit on those who love God – and says that this comes from the deceit of the devil. But he also blasphemes against the Holy Spirit who works in them, who says that those who as sons of God are led by the divine Spirit, and perform the commandments of their God and Father, are being deceived by demons. This is what the Jews of old said against the Son of God.

“Like unbelievers and those completely uninitiated into the divine mysteries when they hear anything about divine illumination, or of the enlightenment of soul and mind, or of contemplation and freedom from passion, or of humility and tears that are poured out by the working and grace of the Holy Spirit, the eyes of their hearts are darkened rather than enlightened . . . They audaciously aver that these things come from the deceit of demons . . . To deny that at this present time there are some who love God and that they have been granted the Holy Spirit . . . that they have become gods by knowledge . . . and contemplation, that wholly subverts the Incarnation of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ! It denies the renewal of the image that had been corrupted and put to death, and its return to incorruption and immortality” (Saint Symeon the New Theologian, The Discourses).

First time after 1000 years

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“That they may be one as We are One” – Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill

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Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia (as released by the Vatican Press Office).

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13).

1. By God the Father’s will, from which all gifts come, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit Consolator, we, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, have met today in Havana. We give thanks to God, glorified in the Trinity, for this meeting, the first in history.

It is with joy that we have met like brothers in the Christian faith who encounter one another “to speak face to face” (2 Jn 12), from heart to heart, to discuss the mutual relations between the  Churches, the crucial problems of our faithful, and the outlook for the progress of human civilization.

2. Our fraternal meeting has taken place in Cuba, at the crossroads of North and South, East and West. It is from this island, the symbol of the hopes of the “New World” and the dramatic events of the history of the twentieth century, that we address our words to all the peoples of Latin America and of the other continents.

It is a source of joy that the Christian faith is growing here in a dynamic way.  The powerful religious potential of Latin America, its centuries–old Christian tradition, grounded in the personal experience of millions of people, are the pledge of a great future for this region.

3. By meeting far from the longstanding disputes of the “Old World”, we experience with a particular sense of urgency the need for the shared labour of Catholics and Orthodox, who are called, with gentleness and respect, to give an explanation to the world of the hope in us (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).

4. We thank God for the gifts received from the coming into the world of His only Son. We share the same spiritual Tradition of the first millennium of Christianity. The witnesses of this Tradition are the Most Holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, and the saints we venerate.  Among them are innumerable martyrs who have given witness to their faithfulness to Christ and have become the “seed of Christians”.

5. Notwithstanding this shared Tradition of the first ten centuries, for nearly one thousand years Catholics and Orthodox have been deprived of communion in the Eucharist. We have been divided by wounds caused by old and recent conflicts, by differences inherited from our ancestors, in the understanding and expression of our faith in God, one in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are pained by the loss of unity, the outcome of human weakness and of sin, which has occurred despite the priestly prayer of Christ the Saviour: “So that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you … so that they may be one, as we are one” (Jn 17:21).  Continue reading ““That they may be one as We are One” – Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill” →

Are the Orthodox part of the Roman Catholics in the Book of Revelation?

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The question was asked, “Are the Orthodox part of the Roman Catholics in the Book of Revelation?” In brief, the answer is a resounding “yes, of course!” I was surprised when I found the above question because the Book of Revelation does not pertain to a single denomination, no matter how much various denominations of one stripe or another may desire to hijack this part of Scripture – indeed, any part of Scripture, if we come to that – to accomodate their self-serving, self-righteous agendas. It is also not non-denominational as the term is currently understood, to be crystal clear.

What is presently happening in our world is a sifting – of those who truly desire the Triune Continue reading “Are the Orthodox part of the Roman Catholics in the Book of Revelation?” →