by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher The Apostle describes the Church as a Body, and Christians as members of that body.  “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.  For in fact the body is not one member but many…Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Cor. 12:12-14, 27). In its most basic … [Read more...]

by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher John the Baptist declared, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11; cf. Mark 1:7-8; Luke 3:16; italics mine) When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, He told John that in doing this “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).  Coming up from the water, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a dove … [Read more...]

by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher [This article is the fourth of four explaining the Orthodox Christian meaning of important topics and practices commonly misunderstood by the non-Orthodox.  The four topics are: 1. Praying to Saints, 2. Prayers for the Departed, 3. The Veneration of Icons, and 4. The Sinlessness of the Virgin Mary.] From the outset, one must be clear that the Orthodox meaning of The Sinlessness of the Virgin Mary does not refer to an unchangeable state of sinlessness or incapability of sinning pertaining to the Virgin Mary.  … [Read more...]

[In the Icons above, with Greek abbreviations Jesus (IC) Christ (XC) is identified as God, He Who Is (O wN; Exodus 3:14).  Likewise the Virgin Mary is identified as Mary (MP) Theotokos (OV), literally, the Birthgiver-of-God.] by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher [This article is the third of four explaining the Orthodox Christian meaning of important topics and practices commonly misunderstood by the non-Orthodox.  The four topics are: 1. Praying to Saints, 2. Prayers for the Departed, 3. The Veneration of Icons, and 4. The Sinlessness of the … [Read more...]

by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher [This article is the second of four explaining the Orthodox Christian meaning of important topics and practices commonly misunderstood by the non-Orthodox.  The four topics are: 1. Praying to Saints, 2. Prayers for the Departed, 3. The Veneration of Icons, and 4. The Sinlessness of the Virgin Mary.] Prayers for the Departed are prayers offered to God on behalf of persons departed this life, that is, they have died a bodily death.  Bodily death occurs when the soul, or spirit, of a person departs their body and … [Read more...]

by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher [This article is the first of four explaining the Orthodox Christian meaning of important topics and practices commonly misunderstood by the non-Orthodox.  The four topics are: 1. Praying to Saints, 2. Prayers for the Departed, 3. The Veneration of Icons, and 4. The Sinlessness of the Virgin Mary.] Much of the misunderstanding of the practice of Praying to Saints comes from a restriction of the definition of the English word “pray.”  For instance, in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary the verb “pray” means the … [Read more...]