Faith – Page 14 – Royal Doors

Apr

25

2015

Herald of Heavenly Mysteries

Faith

Since the second century Christians have been accustomed to identify the second of our four Gospels by the name of its author, Mark the Evangelist. The Gospel itself, however, never identifies its author by name or gives us any clue to the author’s identity. What, then, is the source of this identification with Mark and what do we know about him? It is the early second-century bishop of Hieropolis in Asia Minor, Papias, who identified the Gospel writers in his work, Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord. St Irenaeus of Lyons (+ c.202) tell us that Papias had ties…

Apr

24

2015

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Why Are There Two Paschas?

Christian Life, FaithPascha

A sore point in the relationship between the Churches concerns the date on which we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Often one group of Christians is observing Pascha while their neighbors may have up to a month to go before they do the same. While some people may enjoy having two festive meals as a result (they rarely observe both fasts), Christians have always seen this as a regrettable, if unavoidable anomaly. The Quartodecimans The oldest celebration of Christ’s resurrection is not Pascha (Easter) but every Sunday, the Lord’s Day. When an annual festival came into being is not known…

Apr

24

2015

By Fr. Roman Planchak

A Lamb Without Blemish and Without Spot

Faith

What’s in a name?” This question, which Shakespeare put in the mouth of Juliet, has become something of a cliché ever since. Nevertheless, it is certainly a valid question when we look at our name for the Feast of Christ’s Resurrection. In AD 725 St Bede the Venerable, an English monk and scholar, addressed this question in his work, The Reckoning of Time. He tells us that the word “Easter” was the Old English term for the month which we call April and which, in turn “was once called after a goddess of theirs named Ēostre, in whose honor feasts…

Mar

31

2015

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Christ in Prophetic Song

FaithMatins, Old Testament

Source: Eparchy of Newton When the Risen Christ joined the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Gospel says that, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). Where and how did Moses and the prophets speak of Jesus, whom the biblical teachers of His day did not recognize? The Church Fathers described the references to Christ in the Old Testament as a typology. A Biblical “type” is a person or event which points beyond its original meaning to something greater to come. The human author –…

Mar

07

2015

By Fr. Roman Planchak

“See, See That I am God”

FaithGreat Lent, Matins, Old Testament

Source: Eparchy of Newton PEOPLE FAMILIAR WITH the Church’s morning service (Matins or Orthros) would recognize the term “Ninth Ode.” It refers to the Biblical canticle of the Theotokos which begins, “My soul magnifies the Lord…” (cf., Luke 1:46-55) sung at this service. This hymn expresses the joyful gratitude of the holy Virgin at the incarnation of Christ in her womb. Calling this canticle the “Ninth Ode” raises a question. Where are the other eight? We rarely, if ever, hear of them. There are nine Biblical canticles which at one time were sung at Matins/Orthros. With the development of the…

Mar

03

2015

By Robert Taft

Anamnesis not Amnesia – The Healing of Memories and the Problem of Uniatism

Christian Life, Faith

21st Kelly Lecture, University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto, Canada 1 December 2000 The Very Rev. Archimandrite Robert F. Taft, S.J., Vice-Rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome No one who keeps abreast of the religious news can be unaware that ecumenical relations between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches are in a period of crisis, worse, perhaps, than at any time since the official international ecumenical dialogue between these two communions began in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. The Eighth Plenary Session of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox…

Feb

08

2015

By Fr. Michael Winn

Sacred Space

Faith, News

Presentation on the 100th Anniversary of Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church, Rossdale, Manitoba (2014) When we stand in our church building, we are in a sacred space. But what does that mean? All of God’s creation is supposed to be in some sense sacred, so what makes this place different? Isn’t God everywhere, you might ask? Even though we know that God is everywhere present and filling all things, if we saw Him, in the flesh, walk through the door right now, our response would show that we would consider that kind of presence by Him different than our…

Dec

30

2014

By Fr. Michael Winn

The Real Face of Santa Claus

FaithNicholas of Myra, Santa, Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, St. Nick

When you were a child, how badly did you want to sneak downstairs on Christmas Eve and see what Santa really looked like? You probably imagined him with a big white beard, jolly belly, red cheeks, and fur lined coat. But according to scientific analysis and computer models, Saint Nicholas, the 4th century Bishop of Myra who Santa Claus is based on, would have looked a bit different than the Nordic woodsman of popular culture and more like a 4th century Byzantine Bishop. According to The Saint Nicholas Center St. Nicholas’ remains are buried in the crypt of the Basilica…

Dec

18

2014

By Fr. Michael Winn

I Saw Santa Punching Arius

FaithSt. Nicholas

I saw Santa punching Arius in the council chambers at Nicaea. He just couldn’t stand to hear the heretic expand his theory how Our Blessed Lord was not much more than just a man. Then I saw Santa grabbing Arius by the beard to pull him off his chair. The other bishops were justified, in assuming this was undignified throwing Santa in a cell for the night. I saw Jesus and His Mother come to Santa praying in his chains. Christ asked, “Why are you here?” “All for my love of You.” Off fell the chains and to him was…

Sep

17

2014

By Respected Author

Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God

Faith

“We sing your praises, O Most Holy Virgin, Mother of Christ our God, and we glorify your all-glorious patronage.” (Hymn of Praise from the Sixteenth Century) Among the Marian feasts listed in our Liturgical Year, the feast of the Patronage of the Most Holy Mother of God deserves special consideration. The cult of the Mother of God as the Protectress of our nation reaches like a golden thread from the times of the Kievan princes to the present day. The secret of honouring the Mother of God as a Protectress lies, perhaps, in the fact that we are dealing here…