The celebration of Anna’s conception of Mary is a cause for joy because it begins a series of messages that establish our faith that we belong to God’s communion.
Read moreAuthor: Nicholas Denysenko
Nicholas Denysenko serves as Emil and Elfriede Jochum Professor and Chair at Valparaiso University. He previously taught at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (2010-2017). Denysenko is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (B.S. in Business, 1994), St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (M.Div., 2000), and The Catholic University of America (Ph.D., 2008). His most recent books are The People’s Faith: The Liturgy of the Faithful in Orthodoxy (Rowman and Littlefield), and The Orthodox Church in Ukraine: A Century of Separation (Northern Illinois University Press). He is a deacon of the Orthodox Church in America, ordained in 2003.
“What We’re Reading”
I had conflicting feelings of belonging: I belonged to God; but did I? What does it mean to be without grace, or schismatic? The way we employ our sacramental vocabulary inherited from late antiquity matters today, because ultimately, Christianity is about belonging to the communion of the Holy Spirit.
Read moreEarthquakes and Liturgy
On Sunday in the Orthodox Church, we will commemorate the Great Earthquake in Constantinople in 740 CE. We will sing the following Kontakion: Deliver us
Read moreThe Sacramentality of Second Marriage: Divine Mercy after Divorce?
The guidelines state that the bride’s gown may not be white, her father may not give her away, there is to be no bridal procession, and the clergy are not to attend the dinner. From the outset, a sense of gravitas permeates the entire celebration.
Read moreLiturgical Sharing, Catholic/Orthodox
Recently, an ordained friend who shepherds an Orthodox parish in the Upper Midwest wrote to ask me and some other friends for our opinions on concelebrating an “Akathist” (a non-Eucharistic prayer service consisting mostly of elaborate hymnography devoted to the Mother of God or a saint with elements from the Byzantine Liturgy of the Hours) with a Roman Catholic priest and parishioners from his church.
Read moreLiturgical Reform, Human and Divine
The challenges confronting the contemporary Church are well-known. Scandals, war, poverty, poor leadership, and the growing phenomenon of addiction challenge pastors in every corner of the globe. The time for responding with creativity is at hand: implementation of liturgical reform has the capacity to form Christians who can remain faithful as they negotiate these times of troubles.
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