by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher “Flee Sodom and Gomorrah.  Flee the flame of every irrational appetite.” (Ode 3, Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete)  We pray this during the first week of Lent. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah exemplify the depth of humanity’s sin especially practiced as sexual perversion.  The story of these cities situated at the south end of the Dead Sea is recorded in the Book of Genesis, chapters 18 and 19.  “Then the Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah has been completed, and their sins are exceedingly … [Read more...]

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by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher The practice of abortion continues to be an ever-present subject of society both ancient and modern.  Much like the historically common practices of slavery and extra-marital sex (e.g., pre-marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, pedophilia, and pornography), the abortion issue is nothing new. In Western culture the issue is shaped by two opposing limits: the ideological justification to dispose of the inferior/weak for the good of the superior/strong; and the basic human instinct exemplified by the … [Read more...]