Readings for 18 July 2010

Next week we will be discussing the last four sections of the Nicene Creed. These sections include a discussion of the Church, Baptism, and the Resurrection of the Dead. If you do not have the book, go here for the reading.

The question of "what is the Church?" should be at the forefront of every American Christian's search for the "true Church." As always, Holy Scriptures should be our first place to look for this, and both the Gospels and Epistles certainly address the issue.

St. Ignatius of Antioch is the next of our classical sources for understanding the Church. Here is his letter to Smyrna, which is particularly relevant to this discussion, and here is an article (a little heady, perhaps), which helps pull together some of his teachings on the Church.

St. Cyprian of Carthage is another saint who wrote about the nature of the Church. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press has published a book of his writings "On the Church," which you can buy on Amazon here.

Readings for 11 July 2010

Next week we will discuss the mysterious Holy Spirit. If you do not have Fr. Hopko's text on this subject, go here.

There is a classic text (besides the Bible!), by St. Basil the Great, called On the Holy Spirit. You can get it from Amazon, here. St. Basil is one of the classic Orthodox teachers.

Maybe a little more accessible: try Fr. Hopko's discussion of St. Seraphim of Sarov's famous Conversation with Motovilov, about the Holy Spirit. Here's the podcast. You could read the very accessible conversation on your own (and should), here.

Readings for 4 July 2010

We have one of our usually more interesting catechism lessons coming up: The Judgment and the Kingdom of Heaven. Read here if you don't have Fr. Hopko's The Orthodox Faith: vol. i, Doctrine. How do we reconcile fire and brimstone, the worm that never dies with a loving God who died for our salvation? In the Kingdom of Heaven are we all going to sit around with wings on our backs playing harps - please, tell me it will be something a little less boring! Come and talk about it with us next Sunday.

Readings for 27 June 2010

Next Sunday, we will discuss the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord. Go here for the reading if you do not have Fr. Hopko's book.

Readings for 13 June 2010

Forgive my not keeping this up to date.

Next week we will be discussing the incarnation of our Lord. The text for you to read ahead of time from Fr. Hopko is here.

The dominant text for discussion on this subject in the Orthodox Church is St. Athansius' On the Incarnation.

Christ is in our midst!

Readings for 9 May 2010

9 May 2010, we will begin working our way through the Nicene Creed. We will continue following Fr. Hopko's book on doctrine, the sections on The Nicene Creed, Faith, and One God the Father Almighty.

I would also like to point you to two of my favorite podcasts, both by Fr. Thomas Hopko, Speaking the Truth in Love and The Names of Jesus. These podcasts present great information to help explain the feasts, but they are also a great tool for learning our theology. Fr. Hopko brings together teachings for diverse Orthodox sources to show the same, single Orthodox teaching of the Church. Enjoy.

Also, next week we will celebrate our patronal feast. If you are not yet familiar with the life of St. Nicholas, you should consider at least reading this short life. We will sing his vigil Saturday night and divine liturgy and our parish feast Sunday morning.

For Next Week

For next we'll be reading the first section of Fr. Thomas Hopko's The Orthodox Faith, vol. i: doctrine, the section on Sources of Doctrine. If you don't have a copy, you can go here.

Today, we discussed basics of Orthodox practice that newcomers to the faith need to know immediately. These are things that are difficult to pick up on by yourself, and inquirers or catechumens should not hesitate to ask a clergyman or more experienced Orthodox Christian if any questions come up. We want you to feel comfortable in our worship, and we know that our worship can be both a little complicated and is completely new to most of you.

We also reviewed Fr. Thomas Hopko's 12 must-do's for those trying to learn Who God is.

We also looked at a list of good books for beginners. I'm including that here, with my notes for today's discussion.