Witness, NM

Category: Orthodoxy

  • Meaning in Virtue

    Meaning in Virtue

    The Sunday of St. John of the Ladder “Above nature are chastity, freedom from anger, humility, prayer, vigil, fasting, constant compunction. Some of them men teach us, others angels, and of others the Teacher and Giver is God the Word Himself” – St. John Climacus, the Ladder My Theories of Religion course had us analyze…

  • Crossing the “I”

    Crossing the “I”

    The Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross Epistle—Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:1-6 Gospel—Mark 8: 34-38; 9:1 In addition to the Gospel readings for the Lenten Fast, I have been reflecting on the Gospel of St. John. This week’s Gospel passages naturally intersect with those reflections. After a weeklong break from screens, as a form of…

  • Reaching Out into Infinity

    Reaching Out into Infinity

    Trading enlightenment for illumination “And Jesus, having seen their faith, saith to the paralytic, ‘Child, thy sins have been forgiven thee” (The Gospel According to St. Mark 2:5). Epistle — Heb. 1:10-14;2:1-3 Gospel — Mk. 2:1-12 St. Gregory Palamas lived in the 14th century and was one of the last witnesses of Christ before the…

  • The Canon of Truth

    The Canon of Truth

    Another historical essay Well, turns out keeping up with weekly posts during mid-terms and the start of Lent is a tall order. So, here is what has been keeping me busy lately—an essay from my History of Christianity to 1517 class. I, for one, oppose the rational skepticism that underlies the course’s material, but I…

  • With Arms Outstretched

    With Arms Outstretched

    Reflections for Forgiveness Sunday “My friends, pray to God for gladness. Be glad as children, as the birds of heaven. And let not the sin of men confound you in your doings. Fear not that it will wear away your work and hinder its being accomplished. Do not say, ‘Sin is mighty, wickedness is mighty,…

  • He Who Has Ears

    He Who Has Ears

    Reflections on Luke 8:5-8 “A Sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns,…

  • Repentance: A Beginning

    Repentance: A Beginning

    Reflections on Luke 7:44-48 “Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to…

  • Romanticism, Slavophilism, and the Philosophy of Division

    Romanticism, Slavophilism, and the Philosophy of Division

    A follow-up to the “Messiah or Mouthpiece?” series The transition from Romanticism to Slavophilism in 19th-century Russia shaped the nation’s collective consciousness, fostering a search for a uniquely Russian identity grounded in Orthodoxy. In contrast to Romanticism’s fragmentation of spiritual authority in the Protestant West, Russian Romanticism provided a philosophical framework for reclaiming Orthodoxy as…

  • Prelest or Life

    Prelest or Life

    Reflections on Luke 6:6-10 When Christ healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, He asked, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” (Luke 6:9). The hearts of the Pharisees, hardened by self-love and legalism, are unable to perceive the…