Prayer for the faithful departed and the invocation of saints have been long cherished beliefs and practices of the Christian Church. It was only by the 16th century or afterwards that any significant objection to these practices was raised. In fact, among the early Protestants, the ground of such objection
Patriarch Abdul Messiah in Malankara 1912-13 News of the activities of Patriarch Mar Abdullah in Malankara had reached the deposed Patriarch Mar Abdul Messiah in Syria. Fr.P.T. Geevarghese, a close associate of Mar Dionysius, had communicated with the Patriarch in all the developments and also had requested the Patriarch to
Severus: The celebrated Patriarch Without least hesitation, St. Severus, the Patriarch of Antioch (512-518), can be qualified as the theologian of Anti-Chalcedonian tradition and he enjoys there the greatest of all qualifications given to any Church Father. The Syrian Church extols him as the crown of Syrians, the eloquent mouth,
Is Christianity an impossible deal? The answer is yes and no. Yes, for only those who do not take the indwelling Holy Spirit seriously. The apparently impossible teaching of our lord can be practiced if we cooperate with the guiding spirit. That is why Christian life is often defined as
Jews who live anywhere outside the holy city of Jerusalem traditionally turn to the direction of Jerusalem in Palestine ( modern Israel) for prayer, Muslims anywhere in the world will turn to Ka'aba, the sacred black stone in Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the prescribed hours of prayer.
Human mind is provided with conscious, sub conscious and unconscious layers. Worship is not only the transfiguration of the conscious mind. It transforms the whole being . St. Paul expresses this process as follows
Tradition constitutes the Christian faith. It can be devoted as the act, by which something, which is handed down from ancestors of posterity. The Orthodox churches hold the view that apart from the Holy Scripture, other sources of divine revelation manifested through the incarnating Jesus also form part what churches
First, both Roman Catholics and Protestants are Western Christian groups. The Orthodox Church is not Western Christianity. Eastern in origin, it was from the beginning open to influences from all cultures. In the first century, Christianity was primarily an Asian-African religion.
Spirituality may be defined as the life in and with the Holy Spirit. It is an ascetic and pious struggle against sin through repentance, prayer, fasting and participation in the sacramental life of the Church. St. Paul Says: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of
Our Great Lent for the year 2006 started on Feb 27th, and Easter is fast approaching. Our Lord not only taught us the significance of Lent and fasting, but he also practiced it. His forty days of Lent were focused on receiving power in order to defeat Satan and his
