Gladsome Light Dialogues – An Orthodox Blog
A journey through our Orthodox faith as we live it every day
1. What is the meaning of the word Liturgy?
The word Liturgy comes from the Greek word leitourgia meaning service or public office. In the primary Church the word liturgy was referring not only to the Church services but to any services rendered to the Christian community Continue reading
The Monastery: Mr Vig & The Nun
Nicholas Cabasilas A Commentary on the Divine Liturgy
A remarkable product of Byzantium’s last great flowering of theology. Essential reading for the fields of comparative liturgy and history of liturgy.
Robert F. Taft Through Their Own Eyes: Liturgy as the Byzantines Saw It
To follow up on our discussion about the end of days here is an interesting book that looks at the book of Revelations from an Orthodox perspective.
This verse by verse commentary, a translation of an Russian original by Seraphim Rose, is a based on the commentary by St. Andrew of Caesarea. Continue reading
Since next week due to Christmas services schedule we are not going to have our monthly Film Dialogues I thought about reminding you of a movie that we’ve seen about an year ago that I think we need to see over and over as refresher.
The movie, for those that haven’t seen it yet, is about a man that becomes a monk… Continue reading
Much of the post-holiday blues and Christmas depression that occur in the United States may have something to do with the way Americans celebrate Christmas. The Orthodox Nativity fast may be the remedy many people need.
When people are suffering in their lives with things like divorce or other losses, financial stress, aging or illness; the sudden onset of pre-Christmas cheeriness may leave them feeling even more isolated and deprived, because the rest of world is portrayed as happy and fulfilled in stark contrast to how they feel.
Others who do embrace pre-holiday celebrations often feel let down and weighed down by food and debt shortly after Christmas day. The novelty of the new material things wears off quickly, friends and family go home, and people may be left feeling blue. This is the feeling known as post-Christmas let-down.
The Orthodox way of celebrating Christmas can yield completely different results. Continue reading
For a first comer in an Orthodox Church the thing that strikes the most is the richness of traditions that abound in the life of the faithful. It seems that we have a tradition for everything: the way we light the candles, the way we venerate the icons, the way we cross ourselves and so on. All conforms to some unwritten rules that are puzzling and difficult to follow Continue reading
I recently came across this impressive book that features a collection of daily Bible readings according to the Orthodox Ecclesiastical Calendar.
So far nothing exciting, there are many like this. What is unique about this book is that it features commentaries from the Orthodox Fathers. This makes it a unique daily companion for the Orthodox seeker of divine knowledge. Continue reading
“Strictly speaking, there never was a Bible in the Orthodox Church, at least not as we commonly think of the Bible as a single volume book we can hold in our hand. Since the beginning of the Church, from the start of our liturgical tradition, there has never been a single book in an Orthodox church we could point to as the Bible. Instead, the various Books of the Bible… Continue reading
