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The first thing we should recognize is that the Bible frequently employs legal, sacrificial, military, familial, agricultural, and medical imagery to describe salvation. None of these images stands alone. Each illuminates one aspect of the mystery, but none is intended to become the entire explanation of the Cross.

Canon 47 Concerning the Donatists it seemed good that we should hold counsel with our brethren and fellow priests Siricius and Simplician concerning those infants alone who are baptized by Donatists: lest what they did not do of their own will, when they should be converted to the Church of God with a salutary determination, the error of their parents might prevent their promotion to the ministry of the holy altar. But when these things had been begun, Honoratus and Urbanus, bishops of Mauritania Sitifensis, said: When some time ago we were sent to your holiness, we laid aside what...

In the late 2000s, Li became a believer through a campus Bible study shortly after he began attending its meetings. Li worshiped in an evangelical church that held contemporary services shaped by joyful, fast-paced praise songs. But the upbeat worship music, coupled with his busy work schedule, “made his heart even less quiet,” said Li, who is in his mid-30s. Then he stumbled upon Ancient Faith Radio, a digital network of broadcasts offering Eastern Orthodox liturgical music and teaching. The melodies he listened to were simple, solemn, and contemplative. “It felt like another world,” he said. Li began exploring the...

Inside a majestic domed church at one of Russia's oldest monasteries, bearded priests in red-and-gold frocks recite prayers calling for "victory" in the four-year war against Ukraine. But on the cobbled streets of the Pskov-Pechersky grounds -- close to the border with NATO and EU member Estonia -- some Orthodox pilgrims were more concerned with bringing the conflict to an end, as soon as possible. "The Church prays for the soldiers. We pray for only one thing right now: we pray for peace," said Valentina, a 69-year-old pensioner. Institutionally, the Russian Orthodox Church has stood full-square behind President Vladimir Putin...

BELGRADE, Serbia — More than a million people traveled to the Church of Saint Sava over the past several weeks to witness a holy relic of the Virgin Mary, a piece of a belt she wore when pregnant with Jesus Christ. The belt, on display for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the last couple of weeks, was flown in from Mount Athos in Greece, where it is normally kept — the first time in centuries the relic had been returned to Serbia. Orthodox Church officials, per a Serbian government official, formally estimated that more than 1.1...

The Merneptah Stele (or Israel Stele) is an engraved stone slab which describes Pharaoh Merneptah’s military victories in 1207 b.c.e. The stele itself is dated to the year 1205 b.c.e. Renowned British archaeologist Flinders Petrie discovered this two-meter-tall, inscribed granite monument in 1896 at Thebes. It contains the earliest undisputed extra-biblical reference to Israel to date. Israel is mentioned by name in three different 9th century b.c.e. artifacts: the Mesha Stele, Tel Dan Stele and the Kurkh Monoliths, but the 9th century is still 400 years after the dating of the Merneptah Stele. The mention of Israel in this 3,200-year-old...

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – The situation is "difficult”, the Christian community is “under pressure”, and the most disturbing aspect involves the current Israeli leadership, because for “the first time" it includes people "who hate Christians, who are notorious Christian haters”, this according to Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel, a German-born Benedictine monk who heads the Basilica of the Dormition on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel spoke[I] to AsiaNews, at a time of growing attacks by Jews against the Christian minority, including Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon attacking Orthodox Christians and Israeli settlers attacking Christians, especially in Jerusalem. In the past, the...

In my last post, I evaluated the tradition that the apostle Thomas ministered in India. While the evidence for Thomas in India is not as strong as for Peter and Paul in Rome, it is at least probable that he founded the church in India. But did Thomas die as a martyr? THE ACTS OF THOMASThe Acts of Thomas (c. AD 200-220) is the earliest literary account of the martyrdom of Thomas in India. It begins with the apostles in Jerusalem dividing up the world for missions. According to lot, Thomas was assigned to go to India, but he reluctantly...

In my recent book The Fate of the Apostles, I examine the evidence the apostles of Jesus died as martyrs. Because the evidence is early and consistent, there is widespread agreement that Peter, Paul, and both James died as martyrs. But scholars are much more divided over the tradition surrounding “doubting” Thomas. Did he really make it to India, as tradition suggests, and die there as a martyr? The Eastern Church has consistently held that Thomas ministered in India. Alphonse Mingana notes: It is the constant tradition of the Eastern Church that the Apostle Thomas evangelized India, and there is...

A nationwide commemorative assembly marking the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising of 1876 was held at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, under the patronage of Vice President Iliana Yotova. Earlier in the day, a memorial service for the heroes who gave their lives for Bulgaria’s freedom was held at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky. The service was led by Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil, concelebrated by Bishop Gerasim of Melnik, Bishop Ioan of Branitsa, and clergy from the capital. Among those attending were Vice President Yotova, Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, members of the academic community, politicians, and public figures....

A 37-year-old Coptic Christian researcher and YouTuber has filed an appeal to overturn his conviction for posting online videos about Christianity. He was sentenced in January to five years’ imprisonment with hard labor.Augustinos Samaan filed the appeal last week, according to ADF International, the international religious freedom legal advocacy organization representing him.He was arrested in the early hours of Oct. 1, 2025, by masked special forces officers who seized his laptop, phone, books and personal papers, reports Coptic Solidarity, a U.S.-based advocacy group for Egyptian Copts and persecuted minorities.Samaan runs a YouTube channel with more than 800,000 subscribers. His videos...

The Orthodox Church begins with the human condition. Humanity turns from God, who is Life. The result is not a legal sentence imposed from without, but corruption arising from within. Death enters human existence as the intrinsic consequence of separation from God. Scripture names the problem plainly. “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23 (LSB) Death is not something the Father needs to be paid. It is what follows when creatures cut themselves off from the source of life. The question salvation answers, therefore, is not how God can be persuaded to forgive, but how humanity can be rescued...

Like clockwork, whenever there's a military conflict in the Middle East, articles begin popping up regarding the rebuilding of the Third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Some claim that construction is already secretly underway. Others maintain that the Temple can not be rebuilt except by the Messiah. The topic even came up at a White House press briefing last October when a reporter asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt if the topic of rebuilding the Temple had been brought up in Trump cabinet meetings. "It has not," Ms. Leavitt replied. "No it hasn't" Given that the Temple Mount is currently occupied by...

Saint of the Day – 21 February – St Peter Mavimenus (Died c737) Martyr and probably the Bishop of Damascus. The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Damascus, St Peter Mavinemus, who was killed by some Arabs who visited him in his sickness because he said to them “Whoever does not embrace the Christian and Catholic Faith is lost, like your false prophet, Mahomet.” Peter was Martyred in Damascus (in modern Syria) by the Muslims who, visiting him when he was on a sickbed, had openly said to them : “Whoever does not embrace the Christian and Catholic Faith is lost,...

The decline of religion remains a fundamental reality in most Western countries, particularly in Europe, where over 50% of those under age 40 do not identify with any faith. Even in more religious America, some estimate that as many as 100,000 churches will close in the near future. Meanwhile, the ranks of “Nones,” those outside religious communities, have grown so large that their numbers rival those of Catholics and evangelical Protestants.Yet, as we document in a new report for the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, there are signs that religion is enjoying more than a nascent revival. Data emerging...

Justin Li grappled with questions about justice, morality, and the meaning of life. Li became a believer through a campus Bible study shortly after he began attending its meetings. Li worshiped in an evangelical church that held contemporary services shaped by joyful, fast-paced praise songs. But the upbeat worship music, coupled with his busy work schedule, “made his heart even less quiet,” said Li. Then he stumbled upon Ancient Faith Radio, a digital network of broadcasts offering Eastern Orthodox liturgical music and teaching. The melodies he listened to were simple, solemn, and contemplative. “It felt like another world,”. Li began...

Today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a moment to reflect not only on the Lord’s Baptism but on our own. In an extended sense, when Christ is baptized, so are we, for we are members of His Body. As Christ enters the water, He makes holy the water that will baptize us. He enters the water, and we who are members of His Body go with Him. In these waters He acquires gifts to give us.Let’s examine today’s Gospel in three stages:The Fraternity of Baptism – The text says, Jesus came from Galilee to John at the...

Orthodox Christmas will be observed on January 7, by millions of Christians across Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. While much of the world celebrates Christmas on December 25, Orthodox Christians follow a different liturgical calendar, making their celebration fall 13 days later... The difference in dates arises from the use of two calendars. Most Western Christian churches follow the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to correct inaccuracies in the older Julian calendar. This reform fixed the date of Christmas as December 25. However, many Orthodox churches chose not to adopt the Gregorian calendar for...

As explained in a previous post, the Nativity of Jesus has been celebrated by Christians on December 25 since antiquity. The feast of the Nativity has always been an opportunity for homiletic fireworks on a grand scale, and the Fathers of the Church took full advantage of the sacred day to wax eloquent. In keeping with this theme, here are a few excerpts from some of the earliest extant homilies delivered by various Church Fathers to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God. The first comes from Pope Liberius who reigned in the mid-4th century AD....

On December 6, we celebrate St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the fourth-century archbishop of Myra in Lycia (on the southern coast of modern-day Turkey). None of his writings is extant, but his examples of Christian generosity, virtue and love endure to this day. St. Nicholas is the living embodiment of the words "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20). He is also the patron and protector of two cathedrals – Brooklyn and Los Angeles – in our Archdiocese. St. Nicholas of Myra, along with St. Patrick of Ireland, has the rare distinction of being one of the only saints in our...