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Ancient Faith Ministries RadioPodcasts Publishing Store Blogs: Blogs Home Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy The Whole Counsel Blog FilmsWelcome Ancient Faith Blogs presents a select group of writers and thinkers who regularly post on matters of theology, culture, art, parish, and family life. Explore the blogs » More about Ancient Faith » Go What’s new? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Bending Toward Bethlehem December 24, 2023 December 22, 2023 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Sunday before the Nativity / Eve of the Nativity, December 24, 2023 Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40; Matthew 1:1-15 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. All things bend now toward Bethlehem. From Nazareth, the righteous Joseph, the betrothed of the Virgin, comes to Bethlehem, the city of David his forefather, at the summons of… Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick St. Ignatius on the Nativity: Abolition of Death, Re-creation of the World December 20, 2023 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Five days before the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox Church celebrates the great hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch. As he was traveling to Rome to be torn apart by lions, he wrote six epistles to Christians who met with him along the way, as well as an additional one sent ahead to the Roman Christians. Among these epistles is one sent to the… Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Should Orthodox Christians Talk to False Teachers? October 20, 2023 November 1, 2023 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick I understand that some people believe that one should simply never, ever even talk to people who say things that are false, that doing so constitutes endorsement of their teachings, and they believe that this is the Orthodox way. But as someone who knows Church history pretty well, I know that that is not the Orthodox way. Indeed, some of the most prominent moments… Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick The Transfiguration on Eden August 6, 2023 August 7, 2023 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Holy Transfiguration of Christ, August 6, 2023 II Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today we behold the restoration of Eden. Today we see the door of Paradise standing open, and we gaze within, seeing there the Kingdom of God. Today we behold the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.… Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy How "Nous” Became a Trojan Horse For Secularism, and Why it is So Difficult to Translate May 19, 2023 October 19, 2023 · Robin Phillips Anyone who has been involved in Orthodoxy in America will likely have seen much discourse (often polemical in nature) about the nous.” In fact, the nous plays a pivotal role in anti-western polemics since it has become a trope that the West doesn’t have a concept of the nous.” Accordingly, the nous functions as a type of secret thing you can only… Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick I am faithful to one God, the Father Almighty May 5, 2023 May 5, 2023 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick We’ve mentioned a number of times on the Lord of Spirits podcast that usually where you see faith or believe in the Bible it is better translated faithfulness” or be faithful to.” Many verses of the Scriptures become much clearer when read this way, e.g., For by grace you have been saved through faithfulness” (Eph. 2:8a). The many references to increasing” faith also make… Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick NEW RELEASE: The Wolf and the Cross January 2, 2023 January 11, 2023 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick I am ecstatic — yes, actually ecstatic — to announce the release of the first episode of my new documentary podcast series The Wolf and the Cross: An Orthodox Christian Pilgrimage in Lithuania, which I am creating along with my friend and collaborator Richard Rohlin. In August 2022 we made a pilgrimage to the Baltic country of Lithuania, and in this documentary we’ll be… Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Christ, MythTolkien: 5-Part Seminar Begins Oct. 25 October 11, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick I’m going to be teaching live on Zoom for 5 nights in October and November 2022 reading Tolkien’s works and making use of both Biblical and mythological material — the very worlds in which Tolkien himself was steeped. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick The Present and Future of Orthodox Christian Media September 20, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick We have every right to feel that we may be at the beginning of a golden age of Orthodox content creation in the English language. But at the very same time that a renaissance of Orthodox content creation is happening, expanding into new platforms and providing insight and challenges for new fields of human life, there are marginal, extreme forces seeking to pierce into the middle. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick The Lamp of the Body July 4, 2022 July 4, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick If we sit depressed and are anxious over all the things that depress us, that anger us, that cause us to despair, then we become more like those thoughts. But if we orient our spiritual sight toward what is holy and good, then the evil thoughts being suggested by the demons will have no place in us to take root and grow. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick A Historic Day for Life June 24, 2022 June 25, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick With the declaration by the Supreme Court today that there is no constitutional right to abortion, this is a historic day here in America. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Justice is Coming May 29, 2022 May 27, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Justice is indeed coming, the very justice of God. This justice will wipe away every shred of demonic rule and influence from creation and set everything right. The cries for justice of those who have been crushed beneath the heels of the powerful and the violent have been heard by God, and they will be vindicated. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Sin, Holiness and Human Nature May 15, 2022 May 13, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick The Christian life is not easy, but it actually is simple. When we clearly understand what sin and holiness are, then our choice to turn away from sin and be holy becomes clear, too. Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy How COVID-19 Led to a Spiritual Pandemic May 5, 2022 May 9, 2022 · Robin Phillips As the Orthodox Church struggles to get back to normal in the wake of COVID-19, there is emerging a growing climate of division that threatens to engulf us long after the pandemic has subsided. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick No, the Paschal date difference is not about Passover (and other Orthodox urban legends) April 17, 2022 May 10, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Orthodox Christians should find their identity in Christ and in the saving dogmas proclaimed about Him universally in Orthodox tradition. How we calculate Pascha (which was not set by the Apostles) is not one of those things. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick The Martyrs’ Blood Against the Demon Hordes: A Reflection on the Akolouthia of the Three Martyrs of Vilnius April 14, 2022 April 13, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick The Scriptures and all the liturgical services of the Orthodox Church include the theme of spiritual warfare, but it is particularly prominent in the liturgical services for the martyred saints. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Is There a Triumph of Orthodoxy? March 13, 2022 March 11, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Ten years ago, I was present at a sermon on the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy given by the late Fr. Thomas Hopko, three years before he died. The title he gave the sermon was What Triumph of Orthodoxy?” And he said that there never really was such a thing. Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy Review: "A Spiritual Revolution" by Andrey V. Ivanov February 22, 2022 February 22, 2022 · Dylan Pahman Many converted to Orthodoxy from Western confessions. Some may wonder what of their past faith needs to be rethought and what they should retain. The good news is Orthodox engagement with nearly all contemporary Western teachings and trends can be found in this period. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick...