The evil eye has no power

In a discussion of what to do with wedding crowns, the question was asked if something would happen to us if our ex-spouse threw away our wedding crowns after the divorce. In truth, we cannot be hurt by the actions of others. As Orthodox Christians, we do not believe in curses, bad luck and most especially the “evil eye”. It is enough to believe in the power of God for our protection, although sometimes our faith is weak. Thankfully the Church offers us prayers and blessings even in our weakness.

How do we dispose of blessed objects?

The question was asked, “What should we do with the Sunday Bulletin when we are finished reading, since it has an icon on the cover. Can it be thrown away?” This is a wonderful and thoughtful question which reflects a deep faith and love for the Lord and His Church. There is a simple answer, but as with many questions about our Faith, there is always more to the question than meets the eye?

Christian VS Jewish Pentecost

We received this question from a fan...

"I know some of the Jewish / Christian feasts and their differences. I am no familiar with the Jewish Pentecost vs the Christian Pentecost. Could you explain?

The Jewish Pentecost is the Feast which commemorates the giving of the Torah to the Jews by God. It is 50 (thus it's name) days after Passover and was the Feast the Apostles had gathered to celebrate. It has been fulfilled in the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church. While the Torah guided Israel before Christ, the Holy Spirit now guides the Church.

Please feel free to submit questions using the “tell us what you think” form to the left, and we might post your question and answer here!

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What's the deal with death?

Our “Ask Father” sermons each summer are quite popular, but there are always more questions than Sundays on which to preach an answer. Therefore, I have decided I would continue to entertain questions throughout the year and provide answers here on the blog. You never know....maybe YOUR question will become a sermon some day! Please use the “tell us what you think” button to the left to submit your questions.

This question was submitted via our YouTube Channel...

My question is, why do we say that death entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned. Notwithstanding the teachings on this subject from the Holy scriptures, ie, Gods commandments made know to Adam and Eve, and in there disobeying Him, the consequences, God said to them for if & when you eat of the tree of good and evil, you shall surely die. Is God just referring to a spiritual death, as well as a physical death of humans, (that's the only conclusion i can come to) for these sayings. But why does the Church say then that death entered the world after the fall of Adam and Eve. Because we learn from science, physics relics, from antiquity, that the evidence is quiet, overwhelming, that death has been around for billions of years, long before the human species ever came into existence. Surely, death of all things that was ever brought into existence, has followed the same predictable pattern for billions of years, plants, animals, stars, galaxies, suns moons, all are born, all mature, and eventually, all die. How do we substantiate, this claim that the Church, in fact most Christian, religion makes the same claim, that death entered the world from the sin of Adam and Eve. Would very much appreciate hearing back from you, maybe, shed some light on how we are to reconcile this issue in our own minds today, with all the advancements and knowledge that science has shown us, even proved through math, and relics.

– Question submitted by James (Demetri)

Thank you for your question Demetri. Let me begin with a clarification between the death of Adam and Eve as distinct from the death of plants and animals. God commanded our ancestors, “You may eat food from every tree in the garden; but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you may not eat; for in whatever day you eat from it, you shall die by death.” (Gen 2.16-17 SAAS) This commandment was directed at Adam. I am not aware of any Church Father equating Adam’s death due to sin, with the death of every living creature on Earth. Saint Athanasios comments about Adam’s flesh rotting in the grave, but does not refer to other plants and animals. The fact that science reveals that plants and animals have been dying for so many years before modern man appeared on Earth is not in conflict with Genesis. This would be a good time to remind you that the Church does not ignore science as a God-given talent which ASSISTS us in understanding His creation. God’s creation was given to us to help us reach God.

That brings me to my next point about the consequences of Original Sin. Humans, having been placed within creation, are expected to live as part of creation as lord of creation. There is an important symbiotic relationship between lord and subject. As a consequence of The Fall this symbiotic relationship has been disrupted. God said, “Because you heeded the voice of your wife, and ate from the one tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground in your labors. In toil you shall eat form it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground from which you were taken.” (Gen 3.17-19 SAAS) This teaches us that the struggle between man and creation, rather than the death of plants and animals, is a consequence of The Fall.

As lord of creation (small “l” since God is the LORD of creation) our sin affects the creation. Our greed causes us to abuse creation for profit, causing excessive pollution of our air and water. Our lust causes us to rape the soil of nutrients so we can eat till our heart is content leaving soil barren and in need of chemical fertilizers. Our thirst to live wherever we please, irrespective of natural resources, causes or rivers to run dry. I think you get the point...

I pray this helps.

State Law vs Religious Law

Our final “Ask Father” sermon for the season answers the question, “What is our Church view on the state law and our religious law?” During election season the balance between Church and State is often brought into the highlight. It can be a bit confusing navigating between the issues to determine if we as Orthodox Christians are obligated to follow the State or follow the Church. A brief study of the words of Saint Paul (Romans 13.1-7) helps us see the governing authorities have an obligation as well, to defend goodness. There might reason to ignore certain laws, but that does not eliminate the consequences. The end has a bonus question, so watch until the end!

 

Two Voices

This week’s “Ask Father” is a follow-up to last week’s “What is God’s Plan?” Following last week’s answer I was approached by several people challenging my position on God’s plan. Since I always want to maintain a dialogue about the teachings of the Church, this week I will pause our “Ask Father” series and address some of follow-up issues that several have mentioned.

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10.10) This quote from our Lord is often used to claim that God wants us to live comfortably and without struggle. Jesus was not speaking about life as the world knows it. He was comparing Himself to the enemy. Here is the full quote:

“Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10.7-11)

There are two voices in the world – the voice of God and the voice of the enemy. The abundant life that God promises is eternal communion with Him in Heaven. There can never be anything more abundant than God’s loving embrace for all eternity. Christ left a voice, HIS voice – The Church, when He returned to His Throne. Any other voice seeks to steal and kill and destroy. But we don’t have to be afraid.

A world without fear is not the same as a world without struggle and suffering. Consider the story of Peter walking on water. The disciples were in the middle of the sea “tossed by the waves” when they saw what they thought was a ghost. They were terrified when Jesus said, “"Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." (Matthew 14.27)He did not say, “Ok, I’ll make the waves go away.” He did not say, “Just believe in me and everything will be smooth sailing.” Peter said, “"Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." (Matthew 14.28)

This story is really important to understanding the difference between what the world calls an abundant life and what God calls an abundant life. During the entire time Peter was on the water, the waves were beating against him, but as Peter set his eyes on Christ, he walked out on the stormy waves. It wasn’t until Peter took his eyes of Christ that he began to sink. So long as Peter focused all his attention on Christ, he never noticed how the waves were beating against him. He struggle was bearable because his eyes were on Christ.

God’s plan isn’t that the waves don’t come, but that we can live focused on God and not take notice of the waves. Any voice that says “LOOK OVER HERE! I can teach you how to avoid the waves,” is a voice that is calling your attention away from God and toward the waves. Just as Peter sank when he noticed the waves, you will sink if you focus on the waves rather than God.

What is God’s Plan?

Living in the Bible Belt, it has become a daily experience it seems to hear the phrase, God has a plan for you. When good-intentioned people say this, they usually are trying to comfort a friend or family member who is in some sort of transition. A lost job, a serious illness, or even some tragedy, nothing seems to be beyond a friend using the phrase, “It is going to be ok. God has a plan for you.” Let me just say, I REALLY DON’T LIKE this saying, and it is definitely NOT Orthodox.

In this week’s “Ask Father” series we will answer the question, “What is God’s plan?” Every day we are faced with choices, some life-changing, when we deeply depend upon understanding that God does indeed have a plan for us. The problem is contemporary American Christianity tends to view God as handing out material blessings in exchange for our loyalty. This also is NOT Orthodox. We can never forget that God said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 8.34) Clearly He couldn’t have meant that His plan was to shower us with material blessings.

The proper understanding of God’s plan is crucial to our relationship with Him. If we constantly look to God as the bestower of material blessings, we will doubt Him when those blessings do not come at our requested time. The truth is God’s plan has NOTHING to do with material blessings and EVERYTHING to do with eternal comfort embraced by His unending love. How we choose to accept His plan will not only impact how we live now on Earth; it will affect how we experience His love in Heaven.

Questions and Answers: Too Many Translations

With over one hundred translations of the Bible into
English, it can be daunting task for even the most serious Christian to choose.
A wealth of vocabulary of the original can create a variety of translation
options which is understandable. However the American trend to alter
translations to suite a personal or Church agenda is dangerous and we do well
to avoid such editions. Since the Holy Scriptures are central to understanding
our relationship with God, it serves our soul well to use caution and faith in
choosing just the right translation.

What’s in a Translation?

As a continued effort to answer fresh and important questions about the Church, this week’s question is central of understanding our relationship with our Lord. We all know, or at least we should know, the New Testament was originally written (with the exception possibly of the Gospel of Matthew) in Greek. We also know most of the world does not speak Greek, so the Church has been translating the Holy Scriptures into local languages since the earliest days of the Church. Form the moment of Holy Pentecost, the Church has always presented the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the language of the people. As Saint Paul said, “For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10.13-14)

So you don’t speak Greek and you want to study the Holy Scriptures? All you have to go to a bookstore or online and buy a Bible right? But which Bible should you buy? There are so many to choose from, you don’t know where to start! You aren’t imaging things. In fact there are over 100 DIFFERENT English translations of the Bible in use today. Why so many? How do you pick? Does it even matter? That is the essence of this week’s “Ask Father” question.

The Church has a great deal to offer in this discussion, since the Holy Scriptures are have been established, written, authorized and interpreted by the Church. It is virtually impossible to create a perfect translation from one language to another. Cultural understandings and vocabulary are drastically different from one time to another and from one place to another. That has always been the case, even when the Old Testament was first translated from Hebrew to Greek more than two hundred years before the Birth of Christ. Is there a right or wrong translation? That, all depends on the motives of the translators. Motives are EVERYTHING when trying to sort out a translation of Holy Scripture.

Learning to Trust God through Tithing

There are many things that can help us to trust God. Just like learning how to swim requires us to build trust in our teacher little by little, tithing helps us to learn how to trust God. Saint Paul knew this truth when he reminded the Romans, “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10.9) Since we have been saved from death, we have nothing to fear. When we tithe to the Church, we learn that God is always looking out for us. Nothing can hurt us without God’s permission. Even the demons were not allowed to enter a herd of pigs (Matthew 8.31-32).

Patron Saints and Welcoming the Holy Spirit

This week there are two questions in our “Ask Father” series. Our first question, “Why are some Patron Saints more popular and more recognized than others?” explains why some names are more popular than others in the Church. The tradition of being named after a Saint or event in the life of Christ is an ancient but sometimes confusing tradition. Our second question, “How should we prepare our homes and our life for the Holy Spirit?” continues to follow-up with the issue of welcoming the Holy Spirit into our life. The simplest answer is “we should live the life of the Church.”

 

Communion is the Center of Life

 When it comes to Holy Communion, there are many different opinions about how often, when, how and is what spiritual condition we should receive. This week’s “Ask Father” sermon returns again to topic of Holy Communion, this time more with a more functional perspective. But if Holy Communion is left to a Sunday only experience, then instead of life-giving and life-saving, it can become condemning and a source of death. If we want life then we will live the entire Orthodox Life of prayer, fasting, reading the Holy Scriptures and being in a state of constant preparedness for Holy Communion, as Saint Basil said, every Sunday, and every Wednesday and every other day it is offered. It will be the center of life.

Is it sinful to step back and let something happen?

The question of whether to step back and allow something to happen or to step in and get involved to stop an evil is a challenge with which Christians have been struggling since the first days of the Church. The witness of the Holy Scriptures, Holy Canon s and the Holy Fathers is consistent in the call for each Christian to take advantage of the free will given to us by God. Only when we remember that God has given us a free will to use for good can we grow closer to God in our choices.

 

Is it sinful to step back and let something happen?

Last week we heard of the tragic news of a mass shooting in a night club in Orlando. Our hearts weep for the families of all those affected. Not only did fifty people die leaving behind loving families, but the tragedy has left countless others who either survived or witnessed the shooting. This week's "Ask Father" question has a deep connection not only to the shooting in Orlando, but addresses every time we find ourselves in a position of “doing something” or “letting something” happen.

In the days and weeks after such a tragedy many will ask themselves, “Why didn’t I do something sooner?” We have heard reports of some who knew directly of the plans for the shooting, and others who knew the perpetrator but did not take action to interfere. Still others attempted to be involved to no avail.

The truth is, the question of whether or not to intervene is an ancient dilemma for Christians. One very famous opportunity to “do something” was when Pontius Pilate washed his hands ceremonially in an attempt to remove his guilt in the crucifixion of Our Lord. He continues to be associated with that event to this very day, and we often find ourselves washing OUR hands of getting involved to help others or to stop a tragedy. It may be an ancient dilemma, but that doesn’t mean the answer can’t help us for today.

Stay tuned for this week's "Ask Father" Sermon....

What can non-Orthodox Christians do in the Church?

This week’s “Ask Father” question is a follow-up to last week’s topic about Holy Communion. Now that we understand why a non-Orthodox Christian cannot receive Holy Communion in our Church, and why we cannot receive Holy Communion in a non-Orthodox Church, this week’s question asks, “So what can a non-Orthodox Christian do in our Church?” This is a very timely and practical question since most of us have at least one family member who is not Orthodox, and ALL of us have non-Orthodox friends who visit our Church either for sacraments or Divine Liturgy. Our Orthodox way of life is an expression of our belief in Jesus Christ, so many of the daily activities we do can also be done by non-Orthodox Christians. Although our non-Orthodox friends and family members can do some of the physical things we do, we still must be careful not to allow what we do to become nothing more than empty customs.

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT:

Hello. My name is Father Athanasios Haros and I'm the Pastor here at the Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, South Carolina, and I'm your host for Be Transfigured Ministries. Here at Be Transfigured, as we say, we invite you to live to a new life in Christ. We feature our sermons and our Bible studies and other special events in the life of the Church. We do it to inspire you to join us living a new life in Christ. I hope you'll join us. I'll be back in a moment after this video to share some information about our ministry.

I really enjoyed this morning's question. Our “Ask Father” this morning is a continuation of a conversation that I had during the week. We were discussing lighting candles in the Narthex and the question was asked, can a non-Orthodox Christian light a candle in the Narthex? I thought, what a wonderful question. How wonderfully convenient, really, the question not just about candles, but in general, what can non-Orthodox Christians do in our Church? Because many of us have non-Orthodox members of our family, all of us have friends who are not Orthodox who might visit our Church for a wedding or a baptism or to come to Divine Liturgy to visit or to one of the other services of the Church, so I thought what a wonderful opportunity based on this one simple question about candles to discuss what non-Orthodox Christians are allowed to do in our Church.

Remember last week, we talked about communion, that we cannot receive communion in a non-Orthodox Church and non-Orthodox Christians cannot receive communion in our Church, but there has to be something they're allowed to do. We'll begin with the candles in the Narthex. If you remember our conversation last year about candles in the Narthex, when we light the candle in the Narthex, we are proclaiming our faith in the light of Christ. We are declaring Jesus Christ as the light of the world, and so as long as someone believes that Jesus Christ is the light of the world, then by all means, they should be able to light a candle in the Narthex.

The question is not just whether they believe. You see, one of the reasons these questions come up is so many of us have fallen into the habit of participating in these various physical parts of our faith and we really don't know why we do what we do. For many of us, it has become an empty tradition. We light candles simply because we've always lit candles; we don't quite sure know why, and that was, of course, that was last year's conversation, but just as a reminder, we light candles to proclaim our faith in the light of Christ.

Of course, a non-Orthodox Christian is allowed to light a candle and to make an offering to God, and to pray for people living and dead as we do when we light our candles in the Narthex. Let's remember when we do it, we need to do it with our faith and with our belief. We should be better to make sure that we understand why we're doing things, as well. As I was looking into some of the other topics of the things that we do and some of the services that we have, believe it or not, there is not a whole lot of clarity in the Church Canons about what nonmembers of the Church can and cannot do except anything associated with the Holy Communion and the Sacraments of the Church, the Church is very specific on who is and who is not able to receive the Sacraments.

From there, the discussion rests on is the practice being done, is it somehow connected to Holy Communion? I'll give you an example. It says in the Holy Canons that only members of the Church who can receive Holy Communion are allowed to bring the Prosphoron that becomes Holy Communion. Only members of the Church may make the offering of the bread and the wine that becomes Holy Communion. Nonmembers of our Church may not bring loaves of bread that are made/used for Holy Communion.

However, there are other things that we do with bread. For example, we distribute bread to the poor. We use bread for Andidoron, for the blessed bread at the end, and so the Church is not exactly clear, so long as the bread is not being used for the preparation of Holy Communion, a non-Orthodox Christian can make an offering of bread in the Church. Right? We use bread for different things, to feed the poor, things like that. Then the question is who can receive the bread at the end? We always say that non-Orthodox Christians can come forward and receive the Andidoron, the blessed bread, at the end of Divine Liturgy.

Although this is true, there is a statement in the Canons, which states that nonmembers of the Church may not receive the Andidoron if it comes from the bread that was used in the preparation for Holy Communion. Now there's an interesting distinction, and this is the pattern that I kept seeing over and over again. It's impossible for us to sit here this morning and identify each and every single thing that non-Orthodox Christians can do, so we're just going to touch on a couple of them.

Because I reserve the portion of bread that is used for the preparation of Holy Communion, I reserve that off to the side. The bread that is brought out at the end of Divine Liturgy is for anyone to participate in. Members of our Church, nonmembers of our Church. What about holy oils? We hear a lot of things these days about essential oils and the anointing and all of this reference in the Scriptures of the anointing of oil. What about the question of oil? Can a non-Orthodox Christian be anointed with oil from the Church?

Again, the Church says where is the oil coming from? If the oil is coming from Holy Unction, which is a Sacrament of the Church, which has its roots in Divine Liturgy, there's the connection again, Holy Unction is only to be received by members of the Church who are in good standing. There are other oils in the Church. For example, if you look over at the Koukoulkion, there is Kandili burning next to the Saints, the relics of the Saints, St. Athanasios and St. Basil. That oil is not Holy Unction. The oil in that Kandili is intimately connected to the intercessions of St. Basil and St. Athanasios.

When we go to the relics and we either anoint ourselves or the priest anoints us with the oil from the relics, from the saints, that anointing is the intercessions of the saint. For example, I have many oils that I have in the Altar, I have oil from St. Nektarios, I have oil from Saints Cosmas and Damien. I have oils from St. John Maximovitch of San Francisco. We have all these different kinds of oils that burn in the Kandili of the relics of those saints.

Because that is not Holy Unction, nonmembers, non-Orthodox Christians can be anointed with the oil from those Kandilia. However, this is where in my feeling, we have to be very careful. If someone comes to us and does not believe in the Veneration of the Saints, does not think that we should pray to the saints for healing and for intercession, that particular person I don't think should be anointed with the oil from the saints because the oil from the saints is directly connected to the intercession of the saints, and we don't want to have empty traditions, we want to have faithful traditions.

There becomes a little bit of gray area, but so long as a Christian believes in the Intercession of the Saints, I see no reason why a non-Orthodox Christian could not be anointed with the various other oils that the Church has from the various saints of our Church. I know many of you have oils in your home altars from Greece, from St. Nektarios, from St. Demetrius, all these different oils from the Panagia, I know that many of you have the oils in your homes, and I would just ask you that when you're using those oils, remember what they represent. It's not just olive oil; it is the intercessions, it is the prayers of those particular saints, and that should be done with knowledge and faith and with humility in those particular things.

Then the next question comes in. The other thing that we have is Holy Water. The Church celebrates the Agiasmos service every month, and of course, the Great Blessing of the Waters in January, and so sometimes the question arises, can a non-Orthodox Christian have their house blessed or their business blessed? I see absolutely no reason to forbid nonmembers of the Church from having their homes or their businesses blessed, provided that there is faith that the Holy Spirit is working in the water that is blessed by the Church.

It is not Holy Communion, it is a completely separate service of the Church, it is a blessing from God. As long as the person believes that the water is blessed by God and believes in the Trinity, I see no reason to forbid people from having their home blessed or their businesses blessed or from coming forward in those particular services and to receive the blessing of the priest. The issue, my brothers and sisters, is not whether or not someone is inside the Church or outside the Church in terms of whether they can receive God's blessings. God's blessings are for all humanity.

We, as the Church, have been given an awesome responsibility to bring God's blessings to the people. There are certain things that are intimately involved in Holy Communion. Those things are reserved for members of the Church for the reasons that Holy Communion is reserved for members of the Church. It is a deep, pious understanding of our unity as Orthodox Christians. Beyond that, the Veneration of Holy Icons, coming to Church and standing in front of the icon of the Panagia for Paraklesis or going to venerate one of the many miracle icons of the Panagia that tour our beautiful country, and to go and be anointed with the oil of those particular miracle icons is for the whole world to receive God's blessing.

My only request is that we, as members of the Church, continually educate ourselves so we have a proper understanding of our traditions so that when our friends ask us questions, we know the appropriate answer. Don't be afraid to call me or to email me or to submit another question for another sermon. This is what it means to be able to have our opportunity of dialog and education to learn that our traditions are not empty. I wrote in the Sunday bulletin today that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their empty traditions because they had forgotten the original purpose of those traditions. Our job is to remember the reason to do what we do as Orthodox Christians.

Those are just a couple of examples, lighting candles, anointing with oil, the Veneration of Icons, Holy Water. One final thing I want to bring to you, and that is that this Church, my brothers and sisters, is a place for every human being to come and encounter Jesus Christ. As such, our job as members of the Church is to always make sure our Church is available to anyone and everyone who needs God in their life. This is what it means to be a faithful Orthodox Christian, to bring the faith of God and to bring the hope of the Gospel, and to bring the blessings of God to the entire world.

Certain blessings are reserved for members within the Church. Other blessings are for all people who believe in God. Of course, it doesn't make any sense to ask if a nonbeliever is able to light a candle. A nonbeliever has no business lighting a candle because they don't believe in anything the candle stands for. I'm not even going to discuss what nonbelievers. Nonbelievers are nonbelievers, but even nonbelievers are welcome to enter into our Church so that they might also receive the revelation from the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ was sent from God for our salvation and that Jesus Christ is a member of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

If we do not welcome those nonbelievers into our Church, if we continue the idea that our Church is just for us, then we've lost hope, then we may as well not even light candle in the Narthex because the light of Christ shines in the darkness and we, as Christ said, are a light on a hill, and we are for all people to see. Christos Anesti.

Well I'm back and I hope this video was an inspiration to you. I hope it helps you live a new life in Christ. Please share our message of hope with your friends and family, and invite others to live a new life in Christ. Find more information about Be Transfigured Ministries by joining us on our website at liveanewlifeinchrist.org. You can also find many of our videos on the Orthodox Christian Network, our partners at myocn.net. As we say at Be Transfigured, until next week, God bless you, and don't forget to live a new life in Christ.

Be Transfigured is a production of the Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, South Carolina, and presented by the Orthodox Christian Network. Contributions and support of this ministry may be sent to Be Transfigured, 2990 South Cashua Drive, Florence, South Carolina 29501, or online at our website at www.liveanewlifeinchrist.org.

Questions and Answers: What do the Fathers say about mental illness?

In the final episode of our special questions and answers summer sermon series, we have attempted to share with you a brief introduction to how the Church Fathers may be able to guide us in understanding, or at least coping with, mental illness. Taken from the perspective of science as informer to the Church in terms of how we understand the human brain, the Fathers offer us the vantage point of understanding our original state, namely that humans were created in the image and likeness o God. In the case of mental illness as “not the normal” we may better understand the affect of sin on the human soul and mind, and work toward healing which is only possible in Christ.

Questions and Answers: Wedding Rings and the Meaning of Marriage

Did you know there was a reason why the Priest placed your wedding ring on your right hand? Are you one of the many who have changed your ring to your left hand to “fit in” to our American society? In this week’s episode of Be Transfigured! we will answer the question, “Why do Orthodox Christians wear their weddings on their right hand?” You may be inspired to change it back...if you have the courage. 

What Should I Focus on During Holy Confession?

A follow up question from our previous episode on “Preparing for Holy Communion” last week, this question focuses more attention on the actual Mystery (or Sacrament) of Holy Confession and what our attitude should while we are confessing to a Priest. The Mystery of Confession is expressed as a communion between the one who is confessing and God, once we have opened our heart to Him.

Preparing for Holy Communion

As a continuation to our “New Priest – New Gospel” question and answer  session, this episode of Be Transfigured! focuses on our preparation for Holy Communion. How should we fast? How often should we attend Holy Confession? This episode will outline, based upon the Canonical Tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church, a better understanding about the connection (or lack of connection) between Holy Confession and Fasting as they both relate to Holy Communion.

New Priest - New Gospel

When a new or visiting Priest arrives, it sometimes seems as if he is changing the rules. Why do different Priests do and say different things? PLUS a bonus question at the end....