Vladimir Lossky: Essences and Energies

. . . [T]he theology of the Eastern Church distinguishes in God the three hypostases, the nature or essence, and the energies. The Son and the Holy Spirit are, so to say, personal processions, the energies natural processions. The energies are inseparable from the nature, and the nature is inseparable from the three [...]

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Orthodoxy Is the Thinking Man’s Faith (Why Orthodoxy? XI)

One does not normally associate theoretical or intellectual rigor with Orthodoxy. By that I don’t mean that Orthodoxy is incoherent, or doesn’t stand up to rigorous philosophical inquiry. After all, among the most brilliant of thinkers in the history of the Church are the Cappadocians, St. Maximus, and St. Gregory Palamas (who, I [...]

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Tech Update

There have been several updates to software products that I use regularly, and I thought I’d alert you all to some fantastic, free software that is cutting edge.
OpenOffice.org
First, there is the OpenOffice Suite 2.0 Beta. The list of the enhancements will give you a good idea of what to expect. (A full list [...]

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Deliberately Sinful, Deliberately Virtuous

I wanted to take the opportunity to offer another reflection on the “cash value” of the theological concepts on soteriology that have been discussed on this and other blogs over the last few weeks; namely, personhood, nature, will, choice and act.
Those who’ve followed the discussion will remember that my argument has been that it is [...]

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An Account of the Conversion of St. Vladimir the Great

From A. Mouravieff : Introduction of Christianity into Russia:
A certain philosopher, a monk named Constantine, after having exposed the insufficiency of other religions, eloquently set before the Prince those judgments of God which are in the world, the redemption of the human race by the blood of Christ, and the retribution of the life to [...]

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How the Monarche of the Father Relates to Potty Training

Okay, I’m really not going to be able to deliver on the title of the post. But I do want to indicate in broad outline how it is that the recent posts on soteriology (human nature, person, will and freedom) with all their “high-falutin’” jargon actually matter in the here and now.
Take the thesis [...]

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A Nice Paper by Metropolitan JOHN Zizioulas

The abstract of On the Holy Spirit reads:
The only way for creation to be saved and deified is through communion with the uncreated. This communion is the work of the Holy Spirit, who is ‘life-giving’. Life and communion coincide only in the realm of the uncreated, since in creation death overcomes communion. The Spirit gives [...]

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Lactantius: On the Superiority of the Christian Argument

There is no occasion for violence and injury [i.e., the persecution, torture and killing of Christians], for religion cannot be imposed by force; the matter must be carried on by words rather than by blows, that the will may be affected. Let them unsheath the weapon of their intellect; if their system is true, let [...]

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Soteriological Sidebar III: The Father’s Personal Existence Precedes the Divine Essence

Kevin reponds to my second post on the Trinity with his, Of Wills, Words, and the Monarche. I’m extremely grateful for his reply, most especially for his work in delineating a harmonization between St. Gregory of Nyssa (on the monarche of the Father) and St. Athanasios (on the not involuntary generation of the [...]

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Till . . . We Have Faces

Kevin has responded to my last reply to him in his Till…God’s Great Judgment Seat. He has also replied to Perry’s comments (at Kevin’s “Synergies of Christ”) in his (Kevin’s) most recent post Real Union and Legal Talk. I’m grateful for both his replies, as they offer some important clarifications. But as [...]

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