“Custom is the plague of wise men and the idol of fools†— Thomas Fuller One of the mistakes that is common in liturgical groups is to mistake anything which has been done for a while with Holy Tradition. Even among the Orthodox, there is a common tendency to see what is as what must […]
Can a heretic be saved?
Since the Middle Ages, it is quite common to assume that if one is a heretic, then one cannot be saved. This is not surprising, since it seems that one of the favorite words of the Roman Church was “anathema” (or accursed) in those days. Meantime, the Reformers did their own bit of burning and cleansing. […]
Hmm, back to infallible and imperfect
Ephesians 2:19-22 – “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in […]
Heavenly clouds on Christmas Eve
We had the traditional Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil on Christmas Eve, late afternoon. We had the unexpected addition of two visiting chanters who volunteered to help our lone chanter. As a result, we had some wonderful three-part chanting going on. It really helped the congregation join in. On the funny side, I got just […]
What priests sometimes wish they could do
Mind, you, sometimes as a priest, there are some people that I think would really find it helpful and useful to have that happen to them. And, no, no, no, I do not believe in this type of penance. But, just sometimes there are people who could stand to be wrapped in chains like Marley […]
Still infallible and imperfect – shh
There are three Scriptures that I would consider important to the ongoing debate over infallibility. Ephesians 2:19-22 – “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the […]
Infallible and Imperfect, you have got to be kidding!
You will say to me, “Infallible and imperfect, you have to be kidding!” Is it not a contradiction to say that the Church is imperfect and infallible? Well, not necessarily, but, let’s back up a minute an approach the subject from different direction. I will argue that all of Christianity is actually aware that something […]
St. Cyprian on traditions
I have to travel unexpectedly today, so for those of you waiting for the follow-up post on the Church, I leave you with the following. I am quite well aware that not all traditions are equal. In fact, so were the Early Church Fathers. St. Cyprian said: “Custom is often only the antiquity of error.” […]
Wait, so the Church is not perfect?
No, as I pointed out in my previous post, the neither Jesus nor the Apostles claimed the Church was already perfect. In fact, they were overwhelmingly aware of her lack of perfection. But, if you would permit me to use two theological terms, I think they would see the Church as indefectible and infallible. While […]
Who are we, really?
Too many of our discussions about the Church suffer from a failing that I pointed out in an earlier post about heroes. We tend to lionize the Early Church far beyond what the Bible itself, nay Jesus Himself, says about the Church. Mind you, as an Eastern Orthodox priest, I am sold on the Church. […]
