Gladsome Light Dialogues – An Orthodox Blog
A journey through our Orthodox faith as we live it every day
I found this interesting article on the net, for those that are stil debating if you want to send your kids trick or treat tonight…Pretty scarry!
Should you and I be involved in the celebration of Halloween?
Finding the answer to this question has been an interesting journey in itself. I interviewed several people and then researched what many leading Continue reading
After a few weeks “on-the -air” I wanted to thank everyone that has already started visiting our blog. Please keep doing it and share it with your friends. You can copy and paste our blog address and send it into an e-mail fairly easy.
I also wanted to make sure that everyone understands that the purpose of this blog is not just to provide you with information Continue reading
The Orthodox Christian, in traditional view, canonical regulations on divorce and remarriage are based on two presuppositions. 1) Marriage is a sacrament conferred upon the partners in the Body of the Church through the priest’s blessing. As any sacrament, marriage pertains to the eternal life in the Kingdom of God and therefore, is not dissolved by the death of one partner. An eternal bond is created between them-“it is given Continue reading
Marriage, an Orthodox Perspective – Fr. John Meyendorf
An excellent study on Christian marriage of the former dean of St. Vladimir Seminary that represents a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand the Orthodox perspective on marriage. In it John Meyendorff examines marriage in the Church from the contexts of Judaism and the New Testament, the early Church and Roman law, sacramental life, and contemporary society. Specific issues discussed include: second marriages, “mixed” marriages, divorce, abortion, family planning and responsible parenthood, married clergy, celibacy, and the monastic life. Essential reading for all pastors, it is also useful for parents, newlyweds and those preparing or the sacrament of marriage.
LOVE CONQUERS ALL; But for decades a village paid the price of
AMANDA DOHERTY
IT was one of Ireland’s most shocking episodes. The mixed marriage of Sean and Sheila Cloney hit the headlines in the 1950s when it led to the bitter Fethard-on-Sea boycott in Co Wexford.
Catholics refused to buy goods from their Protestant neighbours after Sheila refused to honour the infamous Ne Temere pledge to send her daughters Eileen and Mary to the local Catholic school. So great was the pressure on Sheila that she fled to Belfast and then Scotland with her daughters.
This prompted local priest Fr Stafford to order… Continue reading
The writer of Genesis said of Adam and Eve: “And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it;’ Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 1:28; 2:24). St. Paul wrote in Hebrews: “Let marriage be held in honor among all . . .” (Hebrews 13:4).
St. John Chrysostom typified the Orthodox Church Fathers: “From the beginning God has been revealed as the fashioner, by his providence, of this union of man and woman, and He has spoken of the two as one: ‘male and female He… Continue reading
“Marriage As a Path to Holiness: Lives of Married Saints” is a very interesting book taking a closer look at saints that lived a married life.
Here is an excerpt from the foreword by Bishop Kallistos Ware
“Drawing on that rich but often neglected source, the Lives of the Saints, this book provides us with a representative selection of models, of icons in words, to encourage us on our own journey to the kingdom, whether we are married or not. . . . What is striking first of all about the examples chosen is their diversity. They are spread in time across nearly four thousand years, from the Old Testament era up to our own day. In space… Continue reading
“Everybody’s sin is nobody’s sin, and everybody’s crime is no crime at all.” This quote allegedly attributed to Alfred Kinsey, the parent of modern “sexology”, if such a “science” exists, seems to become more and more the motto of our society. If everybody does something it has to be accepted and it has to be good. Continue reading
O gladsome light of holy glory, of the immortal Father, heavenly and holy, blessed Jesus Christ; now that we have come to the setting of the sun, and see the light of evening: we praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God. It is worthy at all times to praise You, with voices of joy, Son of God and Giver of life: therefore, the world does glorify You… Continue reading
Family or Group Prayer
Leader: May the grace or our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.
All: And with your Spirit.
All: You have given us grace at this time to offer You a common prayer together and have promised that when two or three are gathered together in Your name, that You will grant their requests; fulfill, Lord, the prayers of Your servants, which are for our welfare, grant us the knowledge of Your truth in this world and life everlasting in the world to come. Amen.
(At this point you may add your own private prayers and intercessions, using your own words or some of the prayers… Continue reading