In symbol and truth Leviathan is trodden down by mortals: the baptized, like divers, strip and put on oil, as a symbol if Christ They snatched you and came up: stripped, they seized the soul from his embittered mouth. St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns on Faith, 82.10. We too follow Christ in our baptism. As... Continue Reading →
By His Baptism He Brings Us to Life
"Christ, though immortal by nature, clothed himself in a mortal body; He was baptized-and raised up from the water the treasure of salvation for the race of Adam" St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns on Virginity, 7.10. See Theophany – The Spirit Descended and Remained Upon Him for a more indepth treatment of how Christian theology sees... Continue Reading →
Theophany – The Spirit Descended and Remained Upon Him
In the life of the Church we come to different festal seasons and our attention is directed to various elements and times in the life of the Lord and the life of the Church. After we celebrate the Nativity we soon come upon the liturgical commemoration of the feast of Theophany. For many of... Continue Reading →
We Must Be Born as He is
"It was He who was begotten of Divinity, according to His nature, and of humanity, which was not according to His nature, and of baptism, which was not his habit; so that we might be begotten of humanity, according to our nature, and of Divinity, which is not according to our nature, and of the Spirit, which is not our habit." St. Ephrem the Syrian, Homily on Our Lord, 2.1.
The Holy Theophany
But when the Word of God became Man, He received the Spirit from the Father as one of us, (not receiving it for Himself individually, for He was the Giver of the Spirit); but that He Who knew no sin, might, by receiving It as Man, preserve It to our nature, and might again implant... Continue Reading →
The Giver of The Spirit Receives The Spirit
With the feast of Theophany coming soon for those who have just kept the feast of The Nativity on January 7th, let us contemplate a saying of St. Athanasius' which we will hopefully come to understand further as we near the feast: “Through whom, and from whom should the Spirit have been given but through... Continue Reading →
An Ancient Faith For a Modern World 