Category: Reflections on Current Affairs

In recent times, the office of auxiliary bishop has been introduced into the Orthodox Church. But is this office consistent with the sacred canons?Let us examine the question. From the beginning, the Church recognised one bishop in each diocese. And when a bishop resigned, he lost not only his administrative authority but also the honours…

As early as the 4th century, some celibate bishops in the West regarded marriage as incompatible with the priesthood and ordained only celibate priests. The Western Church attempted to impose clerical celibacy throughout the entire Church, in both East and West.     The issue was discussed at the First Ecumenical Council in 325. The bishops at…

Of course, for the true Christian, the essential struggle is not whether his body will be consumed by worms or by fire, but whether his soul will be delivered from the eternal flames of Hell and counted “among the righteous and perfected spirits.” As a Christian, especially an Orthodox Christian, one honors the tradition of…

To find the answer, let us consider an event recorded in Scripture. When the Israelites offered sacrifices to foreign gods, God said that they “sacrificed to demons, not to God” (Deuteronomy 32:17). In other words, God identified the gods and idols of the nations as demons. With this in mind, the translators of the Septuagint…

Yoga is part of Hindu worship. The same is true of meditation. Just as we Orthodox Christians have kneeling and prostrations as part of our worship and spiritual life, Hindus, who do not believe in the divinity of Christ, have yoga. Is it appropriate for an Orthodox Christian to adopt practices of worship from another…

On this specific issue, there are two views: one holds that the Ecumenical Patriarchate does not have authority over the entire Orthodox Church, while another maintains that the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as the first among the Orthodox Churches, cannot be considered to have the same attributes as the other Orthodox Churches. Our personal view is that,…

The division of Orthodoxy in Ukraine remains one of the most complex ecclesiastical crises of the modern era, shaped by theology, history, and geopolitics. From the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of competing church structures to the granting of the Tomos of Autocephaly in 2019, the Ukrainian ecclesiastical question has deeply affected…

Many people today wonder whether the Church is affected when priests or bishops fall into sin. If those who serve at the altar fail morally, does this mean that the Church itself is harmed or even corrupted? The answer requires a correct understanding of what the Church truly is. There is no Church without the…