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  1. K

    Regarding the number of bishops in the Roman Empire during the council of Nicaea.

    Hello Forum, I've been researching the history of the ecumenical councils and keep running into the claim that Constantine invited all bishops in the empire and that these would amount to about 1800. However, i can't find any contemporary source confirming this. Sources available from that time...
  2. K

    The traditional perspective on God's state before creation

    What is the orthodox view on God's state prior to the creation of the universe? Are there any early theologians considered to be authoritative that have dealt with this topic? The main questions i'm looking to get an answer on is whether God has always had a plan to create the universe, and...
  3. K

    Inquiries into God's state before creation

    Having read many different theological works about a wide variety of subjects, i've never come across a specific outlining of God's state prior to the creation of the universe. My main question relates to what the traditional perspective is on the degree to which God knew that He was going to...
  4. K

    What was it that convinced early Romans and Greeks to convert?

    Are there any surviving writings that go into detail about the specific reasons that inspired people from classical antiquity to convert to Christianity, in contrast with remaining, for instance, Platonists? It always surprises me that a civilisation with predominantly ideologies based on reason...
  5. K

    Questions about the lifestyle of the desert fathers/mothers

    The abandonment of civilisation by the desert fathers and mothers in the 4th century is well known, yet how much is known about the particular preparations preceding their march into the wasteland? Did the Roman government allow cells to be set up in the wilderness without any purchase of land...
  6. K

    Problems of the essence-energy distinction

    I'd like to start of by saying that this will be a relatively long post, yet the nature of the subject doesn't allow my writing to take on a shorter form if i want to adequately represent my views. If there are any theological steps i have missed in my analysis, i hope to be corrected by...
  7. K

    A complaint about the current state of the orthodox churches

    For the past few years i've developed a sincere interest in religion, have (for all intends and purposes) become religious myself, have regular debates on the inconsistencies of materialism and atheism with friends and family-members and spent copious amounts of time researching subjects...
  8. K

    What is the Orthodox argument against the Old Believers?

    On what grounds was there such a big dispute between those that supported Patriarch Nikon's reforms and those that opposed it, and why did both sides refuse to compromise? It seems odd that many Russian Orthodox chose to follow his reformations even though he was stripped of his authority by an...
  9. K

    What is the Orthodox perspective on nations and war?

    After having consumed a reasonable amount of literature that relates to (Eastern) theology and the history of the development of the Christian faith, i was left with some specific questions that i hope can be answered by someone with a more advanced understanding of Orthodox theology then i do...
  10. K

    In defence of Origen's belief in pre-existence

    In this thread i'd like to lay-out my arguments that, in my opinion, rule out the possibility of Origen being a mere heretic when he speaks about controversial subjects relating to theology. I will defend both his view of the possibility of previous worlds and the pre-existence of the soul as...
  11. K

    What is expected of you in a Russian Orthodox service?

    Since i've lost faith in Protestantism and have concluded Eastern Orthodoxy to be the most authentic form of Christianity in the present age, i've been considering attending the services of a Russian Orthodox church i've discovered being active in my city. For the last couple of months i've been...
  12. K

    How do we rule out the possibility of Gnosticism being true?

    Mainstream (Catholic and Orthodox) theology is defended with arguments that, essentially, tend to boil down to appealing to the writings of the Apostolic fathers. According to many Christians, these writings in combination with the gospels give the most comprehensive view of the original...
  13. K

    What specific method was used to establish the Biblical canon?

    After having read a decent amount of theology of early Church fathers i've developed an increasing interest in the specific analytical method used to determine which writings were inspired by the Holy Ghost, and which were not. Many early Christian writers, who used to be considered expert...
  14. K

    A sincere inquiry about the ecumenical councils

    Hello, My question relates to details about the validity of the ecumenical councils. The past seven years i have been studying religion in my free-time, especially Eastern religions. This ultimately inspired me to study Christianity and became very impressed by it's depth and consistency...