Category Archives: Orthodox Basics

Abortion as a Political, Philosophical, and Theological Issue: Connecting a New Society at an Orthodox Seminary with Orthodox Christians in North Dakota

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North Dakota has recently passed legislation restricting abortion.  Although, in part, it draws a line at a “heartbeat,” which does not define when conception occurs and allows for “the morning after pill,” and certainly does not eliminate any and all(early) abortions, quite a few have reacted against it.  Likewise, there have been objections to the bill requiring an abortion doctor to have admission privileges at a local hospital.  Finally, there has been outrage even over the bill prohibiting genetic selection as a reason for abortion.  Such bills are at least consistent with Orthodox Christianity (though Orthodox do debate how and when to legislate on moral issues, including abortion).  Certainly, Orthodoxy’s canon law prohibits abortion or even causing abortion.

Interestingly, it is not just here in North Dakota where abortion has risen as a hot issue.  I have recently learned that at one of our Orthodox seminaries, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, a pro-life society has begun.  I provide a link to their blog here, which I’ll likewise include in the “Related Orthodox Sites” widget:

http://www.stambrosesociety.com/blog/

The work of Dr. Jeff Bishop (at SLU, from which I earned my Ph.D.) is very fascinating in this regard.  This society did not exist while I was a student at SVS, but it has encouraged and enabled some thoughtful discussions concerning this issue.  One talk may be found here:

http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/svsvoices

Scroll down for the podcast entitled “St. Ambrose Society” for a talk given by Ian Jones, also an SVS alum, who is a doctoral candidate at Fordham.  It is a talk worth listening to and may be worth remembering as this issue continues to be debated and discussed in North Dakota, which will almost certainly happen in full force next year when voters decide on a “right to life” amendment.

St. Ephrem the Syrian and Lent

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This Wednesday, tomorrow already, we will discuss St. Ephrem the Syrian in our Wednesday educational meeting.  St. Ephrem is an important saint for many reasons, not the least of which is the Lenten prayer repeated so frequently throughout Lent:

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk, but grant, rather, the spirit of chastity humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.  Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages.

Many of us, however, may not know much about St. Ephrem.  We will discuss more and look at one of his Hymns on Paradise on Wednesday, but for those of you who cannot join us, let me share just a little.  He was born likely around or shortly after the turn of the fourth century to Christian parents.  He served as a deacon in Nisibis but near the end of his life, had to flee to Edessa along with other Christians, when the Byzantine Empire had to cede Nisibis to the Persian Empire after the pagan Emperor Julian was defeated by the Persians.  Ephrem was known for his writings, especially his hymns, as well as organizing charitable work during a famine in Edessa near the end of his life.  Those interested in learning more about him are welcome to join us tomorrow evening at 7:30 at Caribou Coffee, just south of 25th Street and 13th Avenue.

Orthodox Christians Enter Lent with Forgiveness Vespers

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Today, Orthodox Christians around the world entered into Lent.  Western Christians have been in Lent for some time.  Most years, Western Christian Easter does not align with Eastern Christian Easter (called Pascha, the Greek word for Passover).  This year is one such year and so the Lents do not align either.  This year, in fact, the East and the West are quite far apart.  There are historical, theological reasons for the different calendars, which could be summarized as: the Orthodox still calculate Pascha/Easter in keeping with how Jews calculate Passover and Pope Gregory XII changed to the modern “Gregorian” calendar, which Protestants also accepted.

Eastern Christian practice begins Lent in the evening with Forgiveness Vespers (at some parishes, observed in the afternoon), because liturgically, the day begins in the evening.  Those familiar with Ash Wednesday might be surprised to learn that Orthodox do not hold that service but instead a Forgiveness Vespers.  This vespers contains a penitential feel and during the service, the liturgical colors are changed from gold to a dark purple.  At the conclusion of the service, those present ask forgiveness of one another, individually.  This includes the clergy asking forgiveness from each and every parishioner present.  Some traditional Paschal/Easter hymns are then sung as well, as a foretaste of what’s to come at the end of Lent.

Although Orthodox Christians may be known for the restrictive fasting they are called to do during Lent, forgiveness is at the heart of Lent.  May God forgive us all!

Upcoming St. Nicholas Day Celebration

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October 28th, 2012

For Immediate Release

 

Saint Nicholas Day to be celebrated at local Orthodox Church

Popular Saint of Eastern Orthodox Christian Church has a rich real-life story and is held up as an example for modern holiday reflections on giving and charity.

 

Fargo, ND—Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church of Fargo will celebrate Saint Nicholas Day on Wednesday, December 5th with a Vespers service followed by refreshments and brief presentations.  All events are free and open to the public.

The event will be held at the Pastoral Center and Chapel of the Roman Catholic Archdiocesan Offices in south Fargo (5201 Bishops Boulevard) beginning at 7:00 p.m.

 

December 6th is the feast day in the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church for St. Nicholas, deemed the “Wonderworker and Archbishop of Myra in Lycia.”  It is commonly understood that the persona of “Santa Claus” has its origins with the life of this saint.  According to the Orthodox liturgical cycle, a Vespers is served the evening prior to the feast day.

 

1—Christmas Hymnography in Eastern Orthodoxy—Presented by Rev. Dr. Oliver Herbel

Choral pieces commemorating the Nativity in the Orthodox Church may sound quite different than the Christmas Carols to which we are probably accustomed.  The music, which in some cases dates back to the 9th century, is nonetheless poignant and rich with meaning and relevance to the holiday season.

 

2—Holiday Fasting in Orthodoxy—Presented by Mr. Lawrence Carcoana

Fasting during “the holidays” would seem out of place to most of us used to special holiday dainties served during this season of celebration.  The Nativity Fast is one of the four major fasts observed each year in the Orthodox Church.  The purpose of this practice will be explained.

 

3—The Life of St. Nicholas—Mr. Jason A. Kuntz, Holy Resurrection Choir Director

A special reading to summarize the life and work of St. Nicholas will be shared.

 

The congregation of the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Fargo is extending a warm invitation to all to attend this traditional event.  Experience the spirituality and atmosphere of the Holidays in Orthodox spirit and make this your Christmas-season tradition!

Reading the Bible

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It is common to hear Christians (Protestants, really) note “sola scripture,” or “scripture alone,” when discussing religious authority.  Of course, no one actually does that.  Sure, sit down a Jehovah’s Witness and a Baptist and it will seem that such is what they’re doing, but they’re not.  They each have their own traditions of biblical interpretation shaping their discussion.

For this reason, it is great to note that the Popular Patristic Series, published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, is now being integrated into Logos Research System’s biblical studies software.  This doesn’t mean people will be able to generate a “patristic” reading of any given text, but it does mean they will have recourse to some patristic uses of various texts and that can be helpful.  One can always hope that non-Orthodox Christians will pursue the idea of tradition further and consider biblical interpretation in light of it.  Of course, this new development also makes the Logos software more appealing to Orthodox.  You may read more here:

http://oca.org/news/headline-news/st.-vladimirs-seminary-popular-patristic-series-now-linked-to-bible-study

Christ is Risen! An Upcoming Bright Week Lecture

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Christ is risen!

As noted in the previous post, yesterday was Pascha for us Orthodox Christians, the day on which we celebrate the triumph of Life over death!

This makes this week “Bright Week,” and makes an upcoming paper of mine at NDSU’s Science and Religion Lunch Seminary on Tuesday all the more important.  You may see that listed here:

http://www.tri-college.org/tcu_calendar_of_campus_events/

More information on the SRLS may be found here:

http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cope/SRLS/

The working title of my paper is: “Neither Inherently Guilty Nor Secular: Eastern Christian Anthropology in Dialogue with Christian and Post-Christian West. “  The title itself needs work, I admit.  To clarify, by noting that Orthodoxy is not “secular,” I do not imply that Orthodoxy is against all forms of separation of Church and State.  I do clarify in the paper that I am picking up on the term “secular” and “secular humanism” from its past polemical context, in which it is linked to atheism and materialistic evolution.  The “inherently guilty,” is a reference to the general Western conception of fallen humanity as guilty for Adam’s fall.  Eastern Christian anthropology overlaps with both in some ways while also being distinct in some ways.  This paper is a modest attempt to discuss some of this.  There may be no better time to discuss humanity’s calling from an Orthodox perspective than on Bright Week.  This is a public event and all are welcome to attend.

Roeber and Mattox on Their Conversion Book

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Recently, I highlighted a couple of books on conversion to Orthodoxy.  I thought I would now emphasize an interview with two co-authors of one of them:

http://easternchristianbooks.blogspot.com/2012/03/does-rhine-flow-into-tiber-bosphorus-or.html

Both had been Lutheran and now one is Orthodox and one Roman Catholic.  The interview is very good, and the questions asked are insightful.  Much of our own parish growth (though not all, with the numbers of refugees!) has been from Protestants becoming Orthodox.  This interview is a must-read.

Christianity and Higher Education

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Dr. Jonathan P. Hill has recently taken on the claim by Rick Santorum that higher education leads to a loss of faith:

http://chronicle.com/article/Parsing-Santorums-Statistic/131113/

As Dr. Hill noted, that is not really the case and, in fact, there seems to be higher attendance rates among college educated people.

I raise this not just because I think Dr. Hill’s essay is good (and I must admit I appreciate his ending, wherein he noted that railing against the academy is something often done to spur on conservatives, in large part because I consider myself somewhat “conservative”).  I also raise it because one of the interesting aspects of Orthodox Christianity is that many converts to Orthodox Christianity tend to be college educated.  In many cases, even with graduate degrees.  I cannot find the study off hand, but there was a study published back in the 1980s that noted that within the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), of which our parish is a part, there seemed to be a combination of high education but modest financial means.  I don’t know what to make of that. What I can say is my experience accords with what Dr. Hill noted and I think, at least in many Orthodox parishes, college education is the norm.  Certainly, I can say college education has not prevented people from becoming Orthodox.  Rather, in America, where there is a tradition of antitradition, if you will, I think it takes a person with a good historical sense combined with a good set of critical thinking skills to swim upstream and enter the historic Orthodox Church.