Reflections on the Philokalia, instructions for beginning to pray.
Author: Bert
Bert is a writer, artist, armchair theologian, and Orthodox Catechumen. He enjoys reading the Church Fathers and has a special fascination with all things hesychasm.
He lives in Minnesota with his wife and son.
St. Pachomius’ Prayer Rule
Christ is risen! Yesterday, we celebrated St. Pachomius. While scrolling though the daily readings, this name popped out to me. It was last year, while reading through On the Jesus Prayer by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov that I came across a very simple prayer rule: "An Angel of God taught St. Pachomius the Great a rule … Continue reading St. Pachomius’ Prayer Rule
What I Love Most About the Orthodox Church… and What Makes Me Uneasy
A few reflections on what I love about Orthodoxy, as well as some things that still make me uneasy as I continue to draw closer to the Church.
The Saints “Hearing” Our Prayers
A common objection to the theology of Saintly intercession is that the Saints can't "hear" us. While there is a theological argument to be made that they, in fact, can hear us, I think that's going to be a separate post. For now, I'd like to look at the biblical case for the Saints being … Continue reading The Saints “Hearing” Our Prayers
Asking Saints to “Save Us”
A quick study on the term "save" as used in contexts other than Christ's direct work with regards to the accusation of asking the Saints or the Theotokos to "save us" being heretical.
God Incarnate: Jesus Christ is Divine
I've had a lot of people tell me that in order to understand the Orthodox view of the atonement, one must start with the Orthodox view of the incarnation. At first, this made little sense to me. However, what little knowledge I had before has helped to make sense of why this is the case. … Continue reading God Incarnate: Jesus Christ is Divine
Contra Mundum
I have often remarked about how I am surprised by the wealth of knowledge found in the Church Fathers. This may seem obvious to the lifelong Orthodox, but to someone who grew up as a Lutheran and served as a Baptist pastor, little more than lip service was given to the Early Church unless a … Continue reading Contra Mundum
Catechetical Lectures: Faith
St. Cyril of Jerusalem's Catechetical Lectures: Part V Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. ---Hebrews 11:1-2 Having read through a few of St. Cyril's lectures now, I half-expected the one on faith to be his Magnum Opus, … Continue reading Catechetical Lectures: Faith
Catechetical Lectures: Points of Doctrine
St. Cyril's Catechetical Lectures (Part IV) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, etc. ---Colossians 2:8 With this passage, St. Cyril begins his instruction on proper doctrine for the catechumen. It seems this lecture is being framed as the opposite … Continue reading Catechetical Lectures: Points of Doctrine
What A Month!
May Was Crazy I feel like I owe you all an apology. You see, I love writing and I love exploring Orthodoxy. I also love sharing that exploration with all of you. But this past month has been crazy. Mothers' Day This year, Mothers' Day was going to be rather quiet. My mother was on … Continue reading What A Month!