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QUOD APOSTOLICI MUNERIS (On Socialism) Pope Leo XIII Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on 28 December 1878. To the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World in Grace and Communion with the Apostolic See. At the very beginning of Our pontificate, as the nature of Our apostolic office demanded, we hastened to point out in an encyclical letter addressed to you, venerable brethren, the deadly plague that is creeping into the very fibers of human society and leading it on to the verge of destruction; at the same time We pointed out also the most effectual remedies...

THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY IN THE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH Written by His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas Introduction How greatly appealing the discourse about the Mother of God, the Holy Virgin Mary is! Our Holy Church fathers had had extensive scrutinizing studies of her biography; inspired ecclesiastical poets wrote beautiful poems in glorification of her; celebrated artists sculpted the most beautiful statues of her and skillful painters filled the world with her splendid portraits. The Virgin Mary is the Patron Saint of the most magnificent Cathedrals the faithful have erected for her worldwide. The Virgin Mary’s Feasts Ever...

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the Most Reverend William C. Skurla, as metropolitan archbishop of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. He will be enthroned in Pittsburgh on April 18, 2012. Skurla was born in Duluth, Minn., on June 1, 1956, the son of the late John and Mavis Skurla. He attended Catholic and public elementary schools and graduated in 1974 from Chisholm High School, Chisholm, Minn. He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1981 with a concentration in philosophy. He then studied at Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Northampton County, receiving a master's of divinity in 1986...

Introduction. 1. Soter, bishop of the church of Rome, died after an episcopate of eight years, and was succeeded by Eleutherus, the twelfth from the apostles. In the seventeenth year of the Emperor Antoninus Verus, the persecution of our people was rekindled more fiercely in certain districts on account of an insurrection of the masses in the cities; and judging by the number in a single nation, myriads suffered martyrdom throughout the world. A record of this was written for posterity, and in truth it is worthy of perpetual remembrance. 2. A full account, containing the most reliable information on...

"See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Christ Jesus does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles. Do ye also reverence the deacons, as those that carry out[through their office] the appointment of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is[administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude[of the people] also be; by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the...

Podcast. Click on the link. The religious right from an Eastern Orthodox perspective.

There are two basic senses of Holy Scripture: the literal (or historical) and the spiritual. The spiritual sense is further divided into the allegorical, the tropological (or moral), and the anagogical. St. Thomas cites St. Gregory the Great on the phenomenon of multiple senses in the Bible: “Holy Writ by the manner of its speech transcends every science, because in one and the same sentence, while it describes a fact, it reveals a mystery.”[1] The Master of Aquino goes on to explain that “The author of Holy Writ is God, in whose power it is to signify His meaning, not...

The key to understanding the ecclesiology of St. Ignatius is clearly his presuppositions concerning salvation. As will be indicated, the Church as the body of Christ exists, according to St. Ignatius, for the sole purpose of salvation in Christ. Thus his ecclesiology without at least a general examination of his soteriology would be incomprehensible. In the extant writings of St. Ignatius one cannot find any systematic exposition of soteriology. This is quite natural since he is writing to baptized Christians primarily concerning internal Church unity and order, against certain heretics, and also concerning his impending martyrdom. Nevertheless, in order that...

V. GOOD WORKS AND PRAYER 1. We believe that faith in Jesus Christ always leads a believer to produce works that are pleasing to God. "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17). As a branch in Christ the vine, a Christian produces good fruit (John 15:5). 2. We believe that works pleasing to God are works of love, for "love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10). Faith, however, does not set up its own standards to determine what is loving (Matthew 15:9). True faith delights to do only what agrees with...

"Tome of Leo" Letter of Pope Leo the Great to Flavian, bishop of Constantinople, about Eutyches, 449 Adopted by the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, 451 Excerpt Eutyches had no idea how he ought to think about the incarnation of the Word of God; and he had no desire to acquire the light of understanding by working through the length and breadth of the holy scriptures. So at least he should have listened carefully and accepted the common and undivided creed by which the whole body of the faithful confess that they believe in God the Father almighty and in Jesus...

Gaining the Attention of the Mind One of the major challenges in our prayer life is the wandering of our mind. Here is what some of the Holy People say about this. We begin with one of the Syriac Fathers, Evagrius: "Be careful lest your mind wander during your time of prayer, thinking about empty things. In that case you will stir the Judge to anger, rather than to good will, seeing that he has been insulted by you. Should you be afraid in the presence of ordinary judges but show contempt in the presence of God? How can a...

“Do you understand what you are reading?”… “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:30, 31) The “problem of biblical hermeneutics” – the question of how to interpret the scriptures – is by no means a recent one. Indeed, the Bible itself bears witness to the need for its careful interpretation, as illustrated by our epigraph. What our epigraph also illustrates is the kernel of the central thesis of this article: namely, that the church’s scriptures are best understood from within the ecclesial context for which and in which they were written. The Bible, as “the church’s book”, needs...

The Coptic Orthodox View Concerning Nestorius Fr. Moses Samaan | | No comments. [i]Syriac Dialogue, Vienna, February 1996./[/i] Saint Cyril wrote three letters to Nestorius asking him to reconcile his teaching with the orthodox teachings of the fathers of the church, but Nestorius did not accept. The letters of Saint Cyril always began with the salutation: "To the most pious and most God-loving bishop Nestorius". His third and last letter to Nestorius was sent from "Cyril and the synod assembled in Alexandria from the diocese of Egypt". On the other hand, concerning the man-God Christology, it is clear that this...

LETTER OF ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA TO JOHN OF ANTIOCH Edited and translated by E.A. Pusey, Oxford, 1872 To my Lord, Beloved Brother and fellow-minister John, Cyril greeting in the Lord. Let the Heavens rejoice and the earth be glad, [Ps. 96.11] for the mid-wall of partition [Eph. 2:14] is undone,, and that which vexed been stopped and the cause of all our dissension been taken away, Christ the Saviour of us all dispensing peace to His Churches, the most pious and devout kings calling us hereto, who most excellent emulators of ancestral piety, guard the right Faith sure and...

Introduction to Junillus's Instituta Regularia Mesopotamian Scholasticism: A History of the Christian Theological School in the Syrian Orient See also the Latin text and English translation of the Instituta Regularia Divinae Legis. In order to understand the Christian learning environment that produced Junillus's Instituta Regularia Divinae Legis (c.542 C.E.), one must return to the ancient Hellenistic school. Although early Christianity encountered difficulties with the Greeks' love of Homer and the Pantheon, the Church Fathers maintained a pedagogic, linguistic, and even philosophical connection to the classical school of antiquity. Indeed, the Syriac theological schools in Edessa and Nisibis, where Paul, the...

If the Church allowed women to be priests, the pews would be as full as mosques are right now. The message from headquarters was sent to field agents worldwide: “This is your mission, if you choose to accept it. Take one of the most powerful institutions in the history of mankind and change it so radically—in all the wrong ways—that in the span of 50 years, it will be a shell of its former self, relegated to a backwater shaped only by the sad ghosts of the past.” Was this a Mission Impossible communiqué sent at the height of the...

Nestorius of Constantinople, Second epistle to Cyril of Alexandria WRITTEN BY NESTORIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE Nestorius sends greeting in the Lord to the most religious and reverend fellow-minister Cyril. I pass over the insults against us contained in your extraordinary letter. They will, I think, be cured by my patience and by the answer which events will offer in the course of time. On one matter, however, I cannot be silent, as silence would in that case be very dangerous. On that point, therefore avoiding longwindedness as far as I can, I shall attempt a brief discussion and try to be...

During the 1960s a book Double Helix came out that described Francis Crick and James WatsonÂ’s discovery of the double helix structure that made up DNA. This was a landmark discovery for it enabled scientists to understand how living organisms were able to replicate themselves from generation to generation. DNA functioned as a unique blueprint for each human being: a set of instructions about the color of our eyes, the shape of our nose etc. In the 1980s scientists discovered the presence of telomeres, little bits of DNA located at the end of the chromosome chain. Telomeres function to keep...

THE CHURCH FATHERS: A DOOR TO ROME Aug/18/08 13:28 Filed in: Roman Catholicism THE CHURCH FATHERS: A DOOR TO ROME Updated August 18, 2008 (first published June 4, 2008) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) - Many people have walked into the Roman Catholic Church through the broad door of the “church fathers,” and this is a loud warning today when there is a widespread attraction to the “church fathers” within evangelicalism....

Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople Discourse On the Day of the Baptism of Christ We shall now say something about the present feast. Many celebrate the feastdays and know their designations, but the cause for which they were established they know not. Thus concerning this, that the present feast is called Theophany -- everyone knows; but what this is -- Theophany, and whether it be one thing or another, they know not. And this is shameful -- every year to celebrate the feastday and not know its reason. First of all therefore, it is necessary to say that there...