As we continue our fast for the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity, we consider the following wisdom from St. John Chrysostomos whose feast we joyfully celebrated today. The Golden-Mouth counsels us to thank God for our enemies who actually help us in our journey to the eternal Kingdom. Enemies, he tells us, provide us with […] The post Thank God for Enemies! appeared first on Become Orthodox.

500 metres away from the famous monastery of St. Pishoy (Deir el Anba Bishoy), is the less known, but still known, monastery of the Syrians, “Deir El Sourian”. The monastery itself has had its recent greats. Bishop Theophilus will go down in history as one of the most charismatic abbots of that monastery. He was … Continue reading Abouna Antonious El Souriani →

For those of us following the Old (Julian) calendar, as we do in the Coptic Orthodox Church, we have just begun the Nativity Fast, which culminates in the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity in the flesh on January 7, 2017. Throughout this Fast, we commemorate the events that preceded the birth of our Lord Jesus […] The post Beginning the Nativity Fast: More than a Diet appeared first on Become Orthodox.

This is the third and last installment in this series. You can read the first two here and here. I want to discuss some of the issues and characteristics that I’ve seen come up time and time again in this journey. I’m not claiming this to be an exhaustive piece or even a comprehensive one. … Continue reading Theosis and other problems: On Orthodox dis[unity] – Part 3 →

This is the second of probably three parts in this series. The first one was done in allegory, and now I want to apply that allegory to real life through the lens of my own experience in this. I hope in the next one to talk about modern “issues” that we all have and of … Continue reading Personal pilgrimage: On Orthodox [dis]unity – Part 2 →

As Orthodox Christians, our departed loved ones are never far from our minds and the consciousness of the Holy Church. From the very beginning, the Church established special prayers and memorials for the repose of their souls, a practice which stems from our faith that those who have departed continue to live in Christ and […] The post The Third Day Memorial: No More Clichés appeared first on Become Orthodox.

Question: Why am I not allowed to believe in the Big Bang Theory?Question: Why am I not allowed to believe in Evolution?Question: What is my stance supposed to be on dark matter? There are too many questions of this kind that I cannot encapsulate them all other than the [insert theory here]. Response: Well, the simple answer for those who do not want to read the long answer, is you can. You can believe in – …

School’s in! Well, I know that in Canada everyone’s been back a couple of weeks, but in America some people are just starting and others have yet to begin! So for those who think this is late, and for those who think it’s early, I apologise. I know that I lived away from home for almost all of my post-secondary education, and there were things I did well and things that I did not do – …

There have been many fights lately about Christian unity. Oriental Orthodox vs. Eastern Orthodox. Catholic vs Orthodox. Protestant vs Catholic. You name it. We have acronyms to express every denomination and viewpoint on the planet. I cannot speak to most of those, but I want to reflect a little bit on the division between the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox. This first blog will be an analogy of sorts from which to work from, and the – …

This one is very long – more of an article than it is a blog – but it’s also important. If the Antichrist were to come in our time, what would it look like? How might we be deceived? Would it really be so obvious as doing signs and wonders, and if so – how would we not be able to recognise him?  Background We just finished a time of the year that is different from the – …

As we celebrate the Feast of the Departure of Abba Bessarion tomorrow, it is good to meditate on his beautiful encounter with Thais, the harlot who received crowns in the Kingdom of Heaven, as recounted in the Paradise of the Holy Fathers. AND now I desire to narrate unto you the excellent history and the great repentance of the blessed woman Thais or Thaisis, for speech concerning her is most excellent, and it is full – …

Recently, I came across an anonymous blog post written by a Coptic Orthodox woman expressing her frustration over several supposed inequalities and injustices in the Church. At the outset, let it be clear that I don’t doubt this woman’s sincerity. I might even agree with some of what she wrote. It was beneficial to see different viewpoints and understand how some people feel. At the same time, it left me wondering why some people see – …