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"What has not been assumed has not been redeemed". -Athanasius of Alexandria One of the doctrines which really perplexes me from some Protestant viewpoints is the teaching that human nature is totally depraved. The quote above illustrates the main reason that I reject the doctrine. If man is...

My sister recently had her tonsils removed and is in a lot of pain. Normally this operation is done in children, who recover very quickly, but she is nearly seventeen, and woke up this morning weeping in pain. She had to be taken to the hospital and given morphine and Zofran for the pain and...

A lot has been said to me recently in various threads by several people, claiming that the Orthodox and Roman Catholic claim that there is only one Church is an attempt to "divide the faithful". However, this is coming from a group that has, historically, been much more divided and disunited in...

I have noticed a disturbing trend that a few friends discussed with me yesterday. We are having churches that are shrinking, even though they bring in many people through the front door. One of the problems I think that causes this would be discipleship. A lot of churches have lost track of...

I've known for a while that I don't relate to the world quite the way others around me do. I've been afraid to admit that difference for quite a while, but I have an amazing girlfriend who has worked with autistic kids, and she has convinced me that I should, at some point, talk to an expert...

This is an interesting question that I have received from a friend: What are the rules that should be followed when Orthodox people or leaders dialogue with heterodox members or communities/communions with the goal of unity in mind? Such as the discourse with the Coptic Church or Rome, and...

Many times we Orthodox will claim that Authority rests in the Church through the Tradition of the Apostles. Sunlover1, a member here, asked me in another thread to answer the following question: What is Tradition? How do we know them to be Apostolic? This thread is to discuss what Tradition...

My girlfriend and I have been going strong for almost 2 years, now, and have been best friends much longer. Talk has been more and more shifting toward particulars of a wedding. One of the questions I have is the average cost of an Orthodox wedding. I know someone here has been there and done...

I don't usually have this issue at other parishes, but one parish I attend, this year for Pascha, is giving me issues with my asthma. I love the smell of the incense, but the priest apparently uses enough charcoal in the censer to cense for five pascha services. I've had to once step out for 15...

My girlfriend is still new to Orthodoxy and wanted to know why "such an important service is held at such an inaccessible time". Any help explaining it would be appreciated,.

I ran into this Flash program called Notessimo, which allows you to make music using a variety of instruments. So, I decided to use the sheet music for Christos Anesti with ocarinas on it. Tell me what you think: Christos Anesti! (Christ is Risen - Notessimo 2 - Songs - Browse - Notessimo

Legislators consider hurting those people who have already suffered the loss of a child, WHY? I am a member of the SIDS Alliance, and so am extremely angry about this [LAKE MARY, FL – JANUARY 23, 2013] The Florida Senate Policy Committee will begin discussion today to wipe out the gains...

I've been dating a beautiful and wonderful lady, for whom my love cannot truly be described in words, since the end of the summer. On the other hand, it is now two years today since I first met the person who is now my ex. I've been struggling on and off with reconciling the breakup from...

Any person who has strolled around the Soteriology forums on this site can tell that there is plenty of Scripture which seems to support all three of the theories of salvation more commonly stated. So far, however, there is very little discourse on a very important matter: What did the disciples...

What did the Church Fathers say about love? This thread is a light-hearted, but serious discussion of this. I'll start it off with this quote by St. Maximos the Confessor "God, Who is by nature good and dispassionate, loves all men equally as His handiwork. But He glorifies the virtuous...

I am extremely thankful that I have a godfather like I have been blessed with. To see a man drive for twenty minutes on Thanksgiving to find an open shop, just so he can get a meager thanksgiving meal for one homeless man has me nearly in tears of joy. If you have a godparent who is a...

I have chronic migraines, and am required to go to the chapels. As I do not interpret the chapels (Thank God!), I do not need to be up front, and I sit in the back with earplugs in my ears. even with high quality earplugs, I can hear the music and words so loudly that I am tempted to have an...

Well, the date has been set. This December 1st, I will be baptized into the Orthodox faith, to receive Communion on the 2nd for the first time. On that same day, my girlfriend is becoming a catechumen! I am nearly jumping out of my skin in nerves and planning the reception afterwards. I have...

I have been joyed to hear of one of my friends is going to be becoming a Catecumen after her graduation this December. She has asked me a couple questions about prayer, and among them, I had this response concerning making the prayers become personal to you, and not just "vain repetitions"...

Having read through the first part of another thread, I realized that the biggest problem we have that caused people to look elsewhere is the very obvious division in the Church. I, myself, have brought it up several times in various topics. So the question I put up is: Is the Church...