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Archbishop Dmitri (Royster)
On this Independence Day, July 4, we offer a word from the much-beloved Abp. Dmitri (Royster) which reminds us of the spiritual freedom in Christ that we ultimately seek as Orthodox Christians, of which our earthly freedom is a shadow and reminder.
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The following is a brief reflection on the Gospel reading for the Sunday after Pascha, John 20:19-31
God literally entered the world, into time and history. He was physically present in the midst of His people, His creatures whom He loves. Our Lord took on human nature in order to reconcile unto Himself, man who had strayed far from the Source of his life.
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The disciples fell on their faces, for they could not bear, as created beings, the vision of glory. Only when Jesus touched them and told them to arise and not be afraid, were they able to return to the reality they knew. Our own credal statement, "Light of Light," with reference to the Son is testimony to our faith that God is light and that the Son is also light, and is related to this vision as the eternal, uncreated light on Mt. Tabor.
At Babel a false unity established out of pride led to a scattering of all men, confusion among the citizens of the earth. Diverse "tongues," in this case, became indicative of divisions, man’s inability to understand God, his fellow man and environment. On Pentecost, however, the many "tongues" of the Divine Spirit became a sign and source for unity, a profound unity established through love for Christ that can only be granted by God Himself.
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The Incarnation of God was foretold in the Old Testament. A race was chosen for a specific purpose: to produce a holy humanity from which God could take flesh. Mary is the one who, in the Lord's words, "heard the word of God and kept it." (Luke 11:28) Through her personal sinlessness she fulfilled all the hopes and prophecies of Israel. She figured greatly in the very prophecies, the most important of which is that of Isaiah: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel."
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Because of recent discussions about the Catholic Church’s considering defining a new dogma concerning the Virgin Mary it might be of interest to Christians of other Churches to have some explanation of the Orthodox Church’s position concerning her.
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The Cross is our badge and emblem as Christians. Remove the Cross from our lives and we have nothing. Without the Cross, both in Christ’s life and in ours, there is no genuine Christianity and consequently, no reason to observe Lent or any other sacred season. This fact may seem self-evident. Yet ours is a time in which words like sin, repentance, sacrifice, the Cross and crucifixion, are misunderstood, being viewed even by some Christians with suspicion, as "negative" terms, at least when applied to our own lives.
