Reading for 1 November 2009

On 1 November 2009, we'll discuss the church cycle of prayers: vespers, matins, hours, compline and nocturne.

Being that its also his feast, we might sneak in a discussion of St. John of Kronstadt, perhaps even some readings from his My Life in Christ.

reading for 4 October 2009

Here is the reading for next week. Next week, we will discuss Unction, Orders (Ordination) and Marriage. This is also in The Orthodox Faith, volume ii: worship, by Fr. Thomas Hopko, pp. 40-50.

Reading for 27 September 2009

Next week, we will be discussing the Eucharist and Confession in the Orthodox Church. Click here for those preparatory readings.

Also, my mom swears by this book about confession by Fr. Hopko, which helps you prepare for confession.

I like this book, which is more of an explanation of why we confess and a broad overview of how to prepare.

Fr. Andrew likes this one, which is a little more geared towards priests and how they hear confessions.

Reading for 20 September 2009

For 20 September 2009, we will be discussing Baptism and Chrismation in the Orthodox Church. Here is the reading from Fr. Hopko's book. You can also find it on pp 28-33 of The Orthodox Faith, volume ii: worship, by Fr. Thomas Hopko.

Reading for 13 September 2009

Please note that we will not have class on Labor Day Weekend, although we will have hours and typika.

When we return on 9/13/09, we will have, I hope a great discussion on icons, vestments and Christian symbols.

Also, go here for video of the relics of St. Alexander of Svir, who we talked about today.

Reading for 30 August 2009

We're getting a little wild and crazy here, publishing information about the reading assignment a week ahead of time for the class! I guess that's a tongue in cheek apology for my laziness in posting reading assignments.

Here's the reading for next Sunday, which you can also get from Fr. Thomas Hopko's The Orthodox Church, volume ii: Worship, pp. 3-11.

So you should also know that we've moved to the next book in the series, which I don't believe is in the bookstore yet. Of course, get with Josh to see about getting a copy, but if you're as impatient as I can be, then you might look at Light and Life Publishing for it here.

Reading for 23 August 2009

Tomorrow we'll be discussing the concluding paragraph of the Creed. Here is that reading, or you you can read from Fr. Hopko's The Orthodox Faith, volume i: Faith, pp 123-134. This will conclude our doctrinal section of the adult education class. We will not be discussing the section on the Holy Trinity, as most of this has come up in our discussion of the Creed.

Today's Reading

Late, but here's today's reading on the Holy Spirit. If you have a hard copy of Fr. Hopko's Doctrine, it's on pp. 118-120.

Reading for 12 July 2009

We've covered the Incarnation, so now we're going to cover the other popular topic of apostolic preaching: the Resurrection. Click here for the reading.

Material for 21 June 2009 Class

The Reading for 21 June will cover the Incarnation of God. Click here or read pages 70-85 in The Orthodox Faith, volume i: Doctrine by Fr. Thomas Hopko.

This is a long reading, and the material is critical to understanding Orthodox and, really, just Christian theology, but you don't really hear these issues being discussed outside the Orthodox Church.

You might also look at some very well done podcasts that will cover some of these same issues by the same author. I find them to be very well done.

Please make a point to attend this class if at all possible. If you do not understand this about Orthodox theology, you are missing one of the two points that every apostle, bishop and prophet wanted people to understand. And, its the key to your salvation!!!!!

Reading for June 14

We will not have adult education class on May 31 or June 7. 

When we meet on June 14, we will discuss pages 61-69 in Fr. Hopko's The Orthodox Faith, volume i: doctrine. If you do not have the book, you can also find that reading here.

Next Week's Reading

Here's next week's reading. If you have the book, this is pp 52-60 of Fr. Thomas Hopko's The Orthodox Faith, volume i: Doctrine.

Extra Reading on today's discussion

In our discussion of The Creation, there are several important texts worth looking at:

1. The Hexaemeron of St. Basil the Great is a commentary on the verses in Genesis that review the six days of creation. This is probably the most commonly reviewed text for questions on The Creation.
2. Genesis, Creation and Early Man, by Fr. Seraphim Rose, has been a very influencial book in the last 30 years and supports a creationist approach based on patristic writings.
3. Orthodox Theology and Science, by Metropolitan Hierotheos, is a fairly good overview of such issues.

And on Angels...

1. On the Celestial Hiearchies, by St. Dionysius the Areopagite, is the definitive text on the angels, but all the writings of St. Dionysius are not the simplest to get through. 

Reading for Next Week

Reading 3 on Creation, Angels and Fallen Spirit, click here.

Some questions for reflection:

1. With what did God create the universe? How is this different from how we create things?
   
2. What does the Devil want? How has he spent the last several thousand years? How have the holy angels and archangels spent that time?
3. What is the "good counterpart" of the Devil? Is it God or, perhaps, the Archangel Michael?

The Mountain of Silence

Today, I will read a short passage from the book The Mountain of Silence, by Kyriacos Markides. This book is an easy-to-read introduction to the Orthodox faith, and I think that beginning readers could get quite a bit out of this book today.