On Western Christianity

These articles are relevant to all "Western Christians"—Roman Catholics or Protestants.

Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, a collection of articles from the ROCOR Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, DC. An older version of this collection may contain some additional articles and is worth perusing.

Theology and Mysticism in the Tradition of the Eastern Church, by Vladimir Lossky. Introduction to his book The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church.

Way Apart: What is the Difference Between Orthodoxy and Western Confessions? by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev and Galic.

The Difference Between Orthodox Spirituality and Other Traditions: Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos. More information on his books and various articles.

The Historical Study of Orthodox Theology: Some Basic Guidelines. Lecture 1 from Orthodox and Roman Catholic Relations From the Fourth Crusade to the Hesychastic Controversy. by Archbishop Chrysostomos.

Franks, Romans, Feudalism and Doctrine: an outstanding set of three unabridged lectures by Fr. John Romanides (originally published in 1981 by Holy Cross Press). Provides a much needed corrective to the typical Western understanding of the Roman Empire and the history of the Christian Church.

The River of Fire, by Dr. Alexander Kalomiros.

Original Sin According to St. Paul: Fr. John S. Romanides. On this see also the following three-part essay published in St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly, by David Weaver: "The Exegesis of Romans 5:12 Among the Greek Fathers and Its Implications for the Doctrine of Original Sin: The 5th-12th Centuries" (Vol. 27, No. 3, 1983 & Vol. 29, Nos. 2-3, 1985). Part I in Vol. 27 is titled "From Paul to Augustine: Romans 5:12 in Early Christian Exegesis."

The Cure of the Neurobiological Sickness of Religion, by Fr. John Romanides.

Are Protestantism and Roman Catholicism Heretical? A timely compilation given some of the false teaching prevalent in some Orthodox circles these days.

The Blessed (Saint) Augustine of Hippo. His Place in the Orthodox Church: A Corrective. This is a compilation of a variety of articles and excerpts from the Fathers dealing with the proper Orthodox view of St. Augustine.

The Non-Orthodox: The Orthodox Teaching on Christians Outside of the Church: by Patrick Barnes. My humble attempt to answer a common question of inquiring Protestants and Roman Catholics.

Recommended Books

The Ancestral Sin. Many thanks to Father Gregory Telepneff for alerting me to this new book by the late Father John Romanides. Father Gregory writes:

"This book is a translation of Fr. Romanides' doctoral dissertation from Thessaloniki decades ago. Readers of his various articles will recognize many of his favorite themes from Patristic theology.

"Theologically, the scope of this work is very broad. Although primarily a book contrasting the Patristic doctrine of Ancestral Sin with the Western, juridical notion of Original Sin, it necessarily also, as you can see from the back cover statement (below), traces fundamental ideas on theological anthropology, soteriology, and the Essence-Energies distinction—ideas which are at the heart of the profound theological differences between Orthodoxy and the West.

"I regard this work, frankly, as an essential read for an understanding of Orthodox theology. It strikes even deeper than Lossky's otherwise fine Mystical Theology."

The Roman West and the Byzantine East, by Archbishop Chrysostomos and Bishop Auxentios. Available from The Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies. This is a superb, short treatment of general differences between East and West. "This little book takes us back to the quest for truth and tells us why we Orthodox believe that our Church is true to the Church established by the Apostles, why she has historical and spiritual primacy. It does so by pointing out differences and by the bold proclamation of Orthodoxy's uniqueness." [from the back cover]. Also, I cannot resist including this excerpt from p. 10: "All history, one might say, is artificial... The Western view of the Christian past, however, is particularly artificial—it is a rather a "whopping lie," as the modern idiom would have it, if only because it ignores the historical experience of more than half of the Christian world, the Christian East, from which Western Christianity itself derives! Yet, it has gained such ascendancy that one is hesitant to challenge it. It is so ubiquitous that even Eastern Christians, especially those living in the West, often embrace it themselves. And if they do not, in fact, embrace it as their personal view, they often feel compelled to speak within its framework in trying to present their own perspectives on the Christian past. The Western view has, indeed, become triumphant, despite its inadequacies in accounting, as we shall see, for a vast part of Christian history."

The Collected Works of Georges Florovsky. Vol. XIII, Ecumenism I: A Doctrinal Approach. Vaduz, Europa: Bchervertriebsanstalt, 1989. I cannot too highly recommend this book. Father Florovsky is one of the most noteworthy scholars of the twentieth century. He was a man very well acquainted with Protestant thought. Practically every chapter is loaded with insights that are applicable to the Reformation, the Church, and Orthodoxy. Though out of print, some of the volumes in his Collected Works can still be found in Orthodox bookstores.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective, by Daniel Clendenin. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1994. A very lucid and helpful introduction to the Orthodox Church for a Westerner. Written by a fairly well-informed evangelical protestant. It contains very good footnotes and an extensive bibliography. The only drawback is that he does not deal with the two major areas of ecclesiology and sacraments. See also his Eastern Orthodox Theology: A Contemporary Reader. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995, which is a good supplement to his first book. It contains a collection of hard to find classic articles and chapters from books by Orthodox theologians.

Dancing Alone: The Quest for Orthodox Faith in the Age of False Religions, by Frank Schaeffer. Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Press, 1994. Frank Schaeffer is the son of the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer. The first half is a jolting polemic concerning the problems in Western Christianity, followed by a thorough treatise of the author's solution: Eastern Orthodoxy. Though often unfair and sweeping in some of his criticisms of the West, Frank has done an excellent job of stirring people up to consider the "western dilemma" and to seriously consider a discovery of the riches of the east. Worthwhile reading, but beware of polemic overgeneralizations and attitudes that are often not accepted by many seasoned Orthodox Christians.

Truths regarding the creation ex nihilo, the destiny of man, Adam's sin and fall, the origin of death, soteriology and God's relations with the world were exposited as the doctrines of the primitive Church by the Apostles and post-Apostolic Fathers of the first and second centuries. Hindered by the paradigms of post-Augustinian thought, Western Christianity has rarely understood these doctrines that predate by several centuries the commonly held juridical ideas of original sin and atonement.

—From the backmatter for The Ancestral Sin

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What we post as related to those things similar to various articles which might have a political theme, of sorts, does not mean or imply that we are supportive of, or against something articulated in an article, so much as it is NEWS and our faithful should be made aware.

“I prefer a defeat accompanied by humility to a victory accompanied by pride.”

--An Elder

There are unscrupulous people on the internet these days. Some of them are not who they claim to be and in order to disrupt honest spiritual pursuits, they are known to send out e-mail under someone else's name or the name of another church or jurisdiction with attachments. Anyone can do this, if they want. Some of them exist in Toledo, Ohio... Some in Texas... Others in Michigan, California and many other places... Some are "haters of truth" who follow (whether they are willing to admit it) those who have sway over less educated or ignorant people... as their are also those who do not even know what they are doing because they seek glory to satisfy their own vanity and selfish pride to take over a church or jurisdiction of another, or to wreck havoc over those whom they hate without considering the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ.

If you should ever receive an e-mail with an attachment purporting to be from anyone at "apostle1.com" - "apostle1.org" or even "apostle1.net" - - - know that our policy is to not send out e-mail from any of our domain names with an attachment. Therefore, don't open it! If you receive any e-mail from apostle1.com, apostle1.org or apostle1.net and have never before communicated with us... even if you have communicated with us... verify, verify and again, verify.

Unless we know exactly from whom an e-mail comes... nothing is clicked on or opened, not even attachments! You would be surprised from whom 'hate' e-mail arrives and what attempts and extremes they go to make their e-mails "look" official when it is a lone person or persons who hate TRUTH and love lies, hate anything from being posted that involves TRUTH because they may be affected with exposure to the LIVING TRUTH of Jesus Christ's Love.

Also: Hang Up Telephone Calls constantly get to you?

We get them all the time. But one thing we do that many are unaware of... We keep an automatic telephone log and then we turn them over to the same group who monitors and interacts with the hackers, etc. (see: Privacy Watch NOTICE to VISITORS ABOUT OUR E-MAIL POLICY UPDATED

It no longer matters if the caller calls once in a day, every other day or every day or several times a week, once a week for several months... All get logged, even those who think they have escaped notice by using the actual I.D. Caller number of "000-000-0000" which is being used of late.

It is known that a telephone number showing up may actually be a telephone service provider phone number, yet... they too keep logs and information as to each individual cellular or local (their locale) phone usage...

In the not-to-distant future, we intend to post some of those telephone numbers which constantly show up as "harassing hang-up" callers. May be, you too have the same? If so, may be we can assist in interacting to go further in bringing them to justice...

Contact us by E-Mail... provide us with your telephone number (U.S. residents only)... so that we may telephone you and assess the information.

Keep Watch!

Those who do such unscrupulous things, HATE some of the news, quotes, and such as to inform the general public. Some of them pose as clergy, while a few are actually clergy from various "other" offshoot AMERICAN ORTHODOX CHURCH or other jurisdiction(s) of the same or similar name of which we are, in some instances, their former MOTHER CHURCH (as is the same named Toledo, Ohio based, an offshoot, who had once been a part of us and unknowingly to our unworthy selves, were once a part of the clergy but they did not obtain permission to leave the jurisdiction they were under, according to Canon, and thus obtained for themselves re-ordination and consecrations, several times... and then using a variety of church names, including our own after they were defrocked and excommunicated, having more than three (3) times being excommunicated by other legitimate apostles/bishops); having joined in and with "Independent" churches who have nothing to do with us or even true Orthodoxy.

They seek to go out of their way to character assassinate and disparage religious web sites who do not meet their own brand of standardization which is evidence of their being not "Orthodox" "Christian" or even "Catholic" no matter what their nomenclature corporate name may be. The Toldeo, Ohio based same name group under their so-called leader has been deposed, defrocked and excommunicated more than three different times by various bishops/apostles. He, and several others, have become just as bad as the modern day Ecumenists of the National Council of Churches, World Council of Churches, the World Council of Bishops and more. Their ultimate aim and goal is destruction to those from whom they had either originated from or gone through to obtain the same named "church" they claim to hold to by the state's civil law in which they reside alone. They are not a "Schema-monk" or even a true "monk" for they were deposed and excommunicated for violations of the Holy Rule they claim to subscribe to, giving and openly providing false misleading and inaccurate information about other more honorable clergy. These 'wolves in sheep's clothing attract other nefarious and questionable persons whose aims are similar: for fame, image, power and glory.

Remember, anything that is a HALF TRUTH is not truth but a lie! Many there are that you may know who fit those descriptions... pray for them. Pray that God will send his Spirit of Truth upon them and lead them to Salvation through tears of Repentance, conversion of their cold and calculating hearts toward seeking forgiveness from God and those whom they attempt to harm.

Those who receive e-mail from us, know who we are and from where we send mail. There are also many who know that they can send e-mail under another group or person's e-mail address, which has been happening. If you receive e-mail that purports itself to be from us, verify first by hitting your "reply" button and ask, "I received this e-mail but would like verification if it is from you."

If you are of another jurisdiction, you too could find that your parishioners, clergy and faithful might become subject to the same as we have recently found.

Let this be a warning to visitors so as to be safeguarded against unscrupulous e-mails which contain viruses, worms and unsavory material from person(s) organizations or institutions that are more self-serving than uplifting and informatively news worthy.

For ourselves, we have, as in the past, so once again, acquired the assistance of those who are able and capable of tracing e-mails back to their source and taking appropriate action in North America.

We have learned that the organization we subscribe to, whose members come from various legal and law enforcement backgrounds amongst other areas of society, are committed to the faith even though they may hold different theologies. Yet, in their monitoring of electronic communications of various persons or people, they do not always make haste to bring perpetrators to justice until after enough evidence has been gained in order to build a solid case. We do not always know what information they have gained, but we do know the organization, whom we've been asked not to name, has had a 97% success rate in bringing to justice and obtaining a conviction against individuals, people, and sometimes even religious organizations of a persona that gives the appearance of both secular and religious bearing but who abuse and misuse technology. The organization views those who abuse and misuse the internet and other technologies as nothing more than a form of "domestic terrorism" - - - - and, it would seem to appear that the courts are in agreement!

Those kinds of people, organizations, etc. who misuse and abuse communication technologies are no different than those who attempt to use coercive measures, and in some instance, even blackmail for the same idea is involved... to cause havoc and wreckage, to destroy the spirit and activity of those who struggle in the faith out of pain of heart for the Orthodox Church which is TRUTH. The degree that some have been known to go to, as seen by other jurisdictions, is to take advantage of questionably mentally challenged or those who have a lack of education and understanding to get them to make statements, even outright lies, in writing, in order to destroy. Such persons or groups are spiritual terrorists for unholy and un-Orthodox causes, aims and goals.

Yes, our Metropolitan Archbishop, +Joseph Thaddeus, SSJt., Ph.D. strongly defends the Seals of the Confessional for such leads to true Repentance in thought, word and deed whereby the penitent is required to make amends, where possible, to seek forgiveness of those harmed by his actions whether real or imagined, and to give his forgiveness to those who have harmed him before taking the Holy Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The reality of this understanding is bound up in and with the findings for which cause he, himself, had been character assassinated by his detractors who claim the courts prevented him from breaking the Seals of the Confessional which is not the truth at all.... Click here to see what another bishop's findings are...

The workings of Holy Spirit will not be daunted by those who attempt to cause disruption! It is for these and other reasons that you are urged to read what true repentance and forgiveness means for real "Christians".

"It would be better to have ten (10) true repentant X-felons who ask for and give true forgiveness than it would be to have one (1) non-x-felon or common person whose self-righteousness exceeds even the Pharisees, Sadducees, the gossip mongers, slanderers and un-repentant; for the repentant x-felon understands the true meaning of the Church's purpose as being the spiritual hospital." (siq) +Joseph Thaddeus, OSB, SSJt., Ph.D., Metropolitan Archbishop, Archabbot, Primate

Yes... "Prejudice Makes Prisoners of the Hated and the Hater..." (1992-Fr. Alan Stanford)

One can ask, "What part of 'Prejudice' and 'hate' do you not understand? Are you a complacent person? In light of the saying, examine yourself! You may be surprised if you are honest with yourself for your soul may convict you before Jesus Christ convicts you in the times to come!

"When tested by some trial you should try to find out not why or through whom it came, but only how to endure it gratefully, without distress or rancor."

St. Mark the Ascetic.

"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit." Psalms 32:1-2

For further information about how spammers, hackers and those who are angry with you can or will attempt to do damage, we offer the following link as regards some of the computer - internet problems:

http://msn.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,116258,00.asp

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