The Church is THE Essential Institution

Orthodox Christian Church Liturgy, communal and sacramental faithby Abbot Tryphon –
A nation that forbids her people from participating in corporate worship, is a nation that is doomed.

Christianity is a communal faith, one that requires its followers to be actively involved with others. The Church’s worship is communal, and salvation itself is a corporate act, one that necessitates interaction with others. One is not “saved” in a vacuum, but as part of the corporal life of the Church. Your salvation must be as much a concern to me, as is my own salvation. My relationship with Christ is not about me, but about us. Our sins are not just against God, but against the Body of Christ, the Church. Our love of God can not be salvific if we do not love others, for just as the Lord said, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20)”. [Read more…]

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Ultimate Goal of ANTIFA and BLM = Dismantle Western Christian Civilization

Ultimate Goal of ANTIFA and BLM = Dismantle Western Christian Civilizationby Abbot Tryphon –
For all those individuals who have seen the mass demonstrations in the streets of Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, and countless other cities across the country, and still believed we were, as the mayor of Seattle proclaimed, coming upon “a summer of love,” I would call your attention to what happened in Portland a month or so ago.

The usual “peaceful demonstration” that took place in front of the Federal Courthouse saw the burning of an American flag, but for us Christians, the much more ominous burning of Bibles. How on earth could these people think they were demonstrating for equal rights for our black citizens, and an end of “police brutality,” by burning Bibles? [Read more…]

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Pride and Vanity are Most Dangerous Passions

Pride and Vanity are Most Dangerous Passions by Olga Rozhneva –
In the world, pride and self-esteem are sometimes raised almost to the status of virtues or signs of the nobility of one’s nature. This view is erroneous and happens, according to the words of St. Macarius, “out of ignorance or from darkening by the passions.” The elder wrote to a spiritual child:

“In your previous letter you mention your self-esteem more than once and, as if you hold it in high regard, you show it off like some adornment. You need to extirpate it from yourself by all means—it is the cause of all our evil and vices. Worldly people still regard it as a virtue and as nobility, and this is out of ignorance or from darkening by the passions; while we have to oppose it in everything by humility and selflessness.” [Read more…]

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Fr. Christopher Calin Endorses Pro-Abortion, Pro-LGBTQ, Anti-Christian Biden-Harris Candidacy

Fr. Christopher Calin Endorses Pro-Abortion, Pro-LGBTQ, Anti-Christian Biden-Harris Candidacyby Jennifer Davis –
Fr. Christopher Calin, priest in the OCA, publicly posted a Biden/Harris 2020 campaign sign on his Facebook page. He proudly endorses some of the most radically pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQ Democrat candidates this country has seen. The Biden/Harris platform is anti-life and anti-Christian, it goes against unchanging moral principles and teachings of the Orthodox Church. But that does not bother Fr. Calin in the least. He still embraces the Biden/Harris ticket. [Read more…]

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Archbishop Kyrill Protests Against California Ban on Church Singing

Archbishop Kyrill Protests Against California Ban on Church Singing A brave and faithful Orthodox archbishop speaks out against California’s scandalous ban on singing in houses of worship. He provides the entire Church and all the other bishops with a great example of how a faithful shepherd protects his sheep and fights back against tyranny. AXIOS!

“For it is a commandment of the Lord not to be silent at a time when the Faith is in jeopardy. Speak, Scripture says, and hold not thy peace.” ~ St. Theodore the Studite

Open Letter to The Honourable Gavin Newsom, Governor of California from His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America in light of the decree issued by the Governor of California that forbids choral singing in churches. (July 8, 2020)
+KYRILL, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America (ROCOR)

Your Excellency,

I hereby express my protest against the recent prohibition of liturgical singing in houses of worship, which is an infringement of the rights and religious freedoms of the clergy and faithful of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Diaspora, the other Local Orthodox Churches, performing their ministry in this state, as well as other religious bodies. [Read more…]

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Know Your Enemy: Undeniable Truths About the Left and Communism

Communists hate liberty and America. Know Your Enemy: Undeniable Truths About the Left and Communism Leftists love Marxism and therefore hate liberty and hate America. … Never give up, never lose hope, never lose faith and stand in the strength of Almighty God.
by Dex Bahr –
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”— Sun Tzu

Freedom-loving, patriotic Americans need to take a deep breath, calm down and accurately assess the current cultural and political situation in the country. It is time to stop reacting to what the left does and instead focus on some undeniable truths about our enemies. Victory only comes after finding your opponents’ weaknesses and exploiting them, but such flaws cannot be found without honest and careful study. This is how patriots fight. [Read more…]

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The Stars and Stripes Forever – Stand Up to Marxist Evil Threatening America

The Stars and Stripes Forever – Stand Up to Marxist Evil Threatening Americaby Abbot Tryphon –
Stand up to those who would destroy our nation’s heritage.

Earlier today it was announced that the statue of Christopher Columbus that has long stood before the state capital in Columbus, Ohio, has been removed. But what really shocked me was hearing that they are now considering changing the name of their city, seeing Christopher Columbus as responsible for the genocide of indigenous peoples.

That we Americans are allowing ANTIFA Marxists to dictate the destruction of national symbols of our history is unbelievable. That there are leftists demanding the removal of the presidential images on Mt. Rushmore, the toppling of statues, not only of Confederacy, but even of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, all in the name of social justice, is appalling to me. The fact that some of these Marxists have even gone so far as to demand all images of Jesus Christ, and His Holy Mother, be destroyed as symbols of white supremacy, is beyond belief. [Read more…]

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Russia Affirms and Defends Traditional Marriage, Rejects LGBTQ Delusion

Russia Affirms and Defends Traditional Marriage, Rejects LGBTQ Delusionby Fr. Ioannes Apiarius –
Russia’s Constitution now openly honors God, affirms marriage, and supports the Christian faith. It officially recognizes the authority and role of the Orthodox Church in the life of the people.

Voters in Russia have approved constitutional amendments that enshrined traditional Christian values in the country’s supreme laws. The new Russian Constitution defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. There was widespread support for these new amendments that uphold the traditional definition of marriage and declare “faith in God” as a core value. Russia’s Central Election Commission reported that 78% of Russian voters approved these changes to the country’s laws. Voter turnout was also an impressive 65%.

Russia’s Constitution now openly honors God, affirms marriage, and supports the Christian faith. It officially recognizes the authority and role of the Holy Orthodox Church in the life of the people and the state. This is a blessing for the Russian faithful. [Read more…]

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Destruction of Western Civilization – Nihilism, Nietzsche, and the Anti-Christian Crisis

Western culture and civilization are rooted in Christianity. Remove Christianity and the foundations crumble to dust.by Wen Wryte –
Western culture and civilization are rooted in Christianity. Remove Christianity and the foundations crumble to dust. Which is exactly what we are seeing today as nihilism pervades our culture and society.

Nihilism is now a pervasive feature of Western society. Friedrich Nietzsche gave us the formulation of nihilism that is now commonly accepted: a sentiment that nothing really matters, and that there is no point in life. In the most extreme manifestations, life itself is considered worthless.

Passive nihilism consists of simply withdrawing from life-affirming activities (this was Nietzsche’s verdict on Schopenhauer’s pessimistic philosophy). It is demonstrated in the hopelessness and despair of those seemingly condemned to a life constrained by adverse circumstances or their own lack of imagination or resourcefulness. Some go further than resignation — for example, the slow suicide of opioid addicts attests to the life-denying motivations of passive nihilism. [Read more…]

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Archbishop “Many Spoons” Elpidophoros – Heresy to the Nth Degree?

Archbishop Many Spoons Elpidophoros Lambriniadis from Monomakhos Blog –
Is heresy far behind? One would think so, because these directives indicate that we don’t really believe that the Chalice contains the real Body and Blood of Christ.

Archbishop Elpidophoros Lambrianides of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, implemented some significant changes to our Tradition. Troubling changes. Everything from how we commune, to how we venerate the icons, greet one another, engage in fellowship, to participating in Divine Liturgy has been modified.

Though he specified these were “temporary” changes, it’s hard to understand why he would move forward with them now, after the lifting of the restrictions in the outside world. This leaves one to wonder if what we’re seeing really is just “temporary”. After all the hard work it took to draw up these directives, what’s to say this isn’t the “the new normal”. Viruses aren’t going to go away. [Read more…]

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