Every so often one encounters something that breaks the head as well as the heart. By that I refer to things that not only wring the heart with grief, but also confound the head because they are so perversely stupid. One such thing is the recent conversion of a Tasmanian Orthodox priest by the name of David Gould who had been Orthodox for 45 years and who then converted to Islam two years after becoming a priest. He now goes by the name of Abdul Rahman.

I have just finished reading Crisis of Confidence: Reclaiming the Historic Faith in a Culture Consumed with Individualism and Identity, by my friend Carl R. Trueman. Dr. Trueman is professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Grove City College, and a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (which, despite the title, has no connection with our own Eastern Orthodox Church).

I remember once when a friend was sharing with me his distress at the liberalism afflicting his Protestant denomination, and the fact that many of their clergy were denying such things as the virgin birth and the divinity of Christ. While murmuring sympathetically, I mentioned that such denials were not the same problem in the Orthodox Church. He then asked me what sort of things we did argue about. When I replied, “Well, things like whether or not a woman can receive Holy Communion while she is menstruating,” he looked at me funny. He didn’t ask, “What planet are you guys on?” but I could tell he was thinking it. Loudly.

The feast of the Ascension is a feast of comfort and consolation for the people of God. But it can for some people represent a stumbling block. Looking at the ascension of Christ as it is narrated in Scriptures, does the Church then really believe that accepting the Ascension also involves accepting a literal three-storey universe?

The method by which the Orthodox Church receives converts is a very controversial topic, and one which has provoked much online discussion. Should a convert be received by baptism, by chrismation alone, or perhaps simply after a recantation of previously-held errors? All three methods have been used in the past. And which groups should be received in which ways? Should the Oriental Orthodox (such as Copts and Armenians) be received in the same way as Pentecostals? What about Roman Catholics? The issue is far from clear, and has usually generated much more heat than light.

Protestant critics of Orthodoxy fault us for many things, but one of the foremost of their objections is our devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Hostility to Roman Catholicism is built into Protestant DNA, so anything in Orthodoxy that resembles something in Roman Catholicism will be subject to criticism, including such more or less innocuous things like clergy wearing cassocks and calling themselves “Father”. Our Orthodox devotion to Mary (whom we call “the Theotokos”) often heads the list of Protestant objections, since it features so prominently in Roman Catholicism.

In his book Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis wrote a chapter on praising which began with him saying that “It is possible (and it is to be hoped) that this chapter will be unnecessary for most people”. In the same spirit, I hope that this and subsequent episodes on the topic of predestination will be unnecessary for most people.

In my last episode, I examined Paul’s words in Romans 9 and their bearing upon the classic Reformed teaching about predestination—i.e. the notion that before the creation of the world God had already chosen some to be saved and some to be damned, and that these choices were based solely upon His sovereign will, and that furthermore, our human choices to accept or reject Christ were simply the outworking of God’s primordial decisions. Those whom He chose to be saved He would draw to Himself so that they would accept Christ, and those whom He had chosen for damnation He would harden so that they would reject Christ. Those teaching this often refer to Paul’s words in Ephesians 1 in support of their views, so we will examine that passage here.

In this final episode on this topic, I would like to conclude my extended look at a Reformed view of predestination. There are certain aspects of it that fly in the face of much Biblical teaching.

I am sometimes asked if an Orthodox Christian can have an assurance that he or she will be saved. The question usually comes from my converts from Evangelicalism. They were previously taught that when one is saved, one is given the assurance that they are saved and this assurance offers a real and constant source of comfort. They ask me, “Were we misled? Can an Orthodox Christian have the same assurance of salvation?”

Recently a minor fracas in the narthex of our church was caused by (I kid you not) my long hair (see inset for a rear view of said hair). Since my hair steadfastly refuses to grow on the top of my head, you would think I could be cut a little slack for the bit that grows at the back, but apparently not.

Recently I have come across an anti-Orthodox polemic which rejects our veneration of icons on the grounds that venerating an image painted on a board of Christ, His Mother, or His saints is contrary to the practice of the apostles and of the earliest Church. The objection is stated with some sophistication, and is not the usual fundamentalist reference to the Mosaic Law’s proscription of carved statues used in worship (e.g. Exodus 20:4f). This more sophisticated objection acknowledges that there were indeed images of Christ, His Mother, and His saints used in the early Church such as can be found in the funerary art of the catacombs and on the walls of churches (such as that of Dura Europos). But, it points out, there is no evidence that these images functioned as anything more than mere decoration. That is, the people did not come up to the wall to kiss the wall art or venerate the images.

Fr. Apostolos asks the most important question that each of us must answer in this life: What comes next?

Fr. Apostolos reminds us that while prayer is difficult, it is essential to our salvation.

Fr. Apostolos begins a discussion of the Lord's Prayer.

Fr. Apostolos addresses parents' responsibility to rear their children in Church.

Fr. Apostolos talks about the difference that Christ's resurrection makes in our lives.

Fr. Apostolos shares on All Saints Sunday, "The memory of all the saints, those who we know and those whose names only God knows, may be we inspired by their witness and their confession from all of those from ancient times to more recent times for whom there was no turning back."

Fr. Apostolos speaks from the Gospel of St. John, chapter 3, "For God so loved the world...," exhorting us that "love alone is the surety of our doctrinal purity."

Fr. Apostolos speaks about accepting and rejecting Christ.

Fr. Apostolos encourages us that it is possible to change. May we approach the Feast of the Transfiguration "with a sense of humility and anticipation that we too might be radically changed into that same image from glory to glory."

In view of the national media's drumbeat of fear-mongering, Fr. Apostolos reminds us of angelic salutation "Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy!"

Fr. Apostolos shares the story of the Nativity of Christ, interspersed with Christmas carols.

Fr. Apostolos talks about the ascetic tradition of the Orthodox faith in light of St. Anthony the Great's feast day.

Fr. Apostolos shares from St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, "We are the temple of the living God."

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, Fr. Apostolos reminds us that unless we see the face of Christ in everyone we meet, to venerate our icons can be a form of idolatry.

At the beginning of the Dormition Fast, Fr. Apostolos shares about the role of the Theotokos in our salvation.

Working from the Epistle reading in Colossians, Fr. Apostolos underscores the basic spiritual truth that our oneness in Christ precludes every possibility for bigotry of any kind and that we, as Light-bearers, must light the way out of the fear and ignorance that gives rise to such base and passe divisions.

Fr. Apostolos introduces a miniseries of sermons about the spiritual depths of Divine Worship and starts by explaining the word leitourgia.

Fr. Apostolos speaks about the feast of the Transfiguration and the New Life in Jesus Christ which transforms us into the glorified Image of God He revealed on Mount Tabor.

Fr. Apostolos delivers a homiletic overview of the many Scriptural passages describing the "money trap" and the strict charges given by God in Holy Writ regarding justice and equity.

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the role of confession in maintaining a healthy spiritual life.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily on the Sunday of St. John of the Ladder, discussing the need for growth and progress in the spiritual life just as we anticipate growth in every other aspect of our lives and of our children's. The opening illustration referenced a song from the Dr. Demento Show.

Fr. Apostolos Hill speaks on moving past the staid "good boy" mis-characterization of salvation and toward the inner transformation exhibited in the feast. St. Athanasius wrote about the "fire in the sword" to describe the process of becoming by divine grace what Jesus is by divine nature.

Fr. Apostolos Hill preaches on the Prodigal Son and how easily we write off others and ourselves from the reach of God's love. Another impassioned plea that mostly falls on deaf ears in our fraught times.

"If you're suffering today, know this: you are on the right path. If you're not suffering, that's when you should be worried. If you are suffering in this life, God is with you. If you don't find life easy and comfortable, you're doing it right." On the Sunday of the Cross, Fr. Apostolos shares about the redemption of our own suffering through the suffering of Christ.

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the Gospel reading from Matthew 6 and the Sermon on the Mount. He conducts a brief overview from Holy Writ of the pitfalls of money and our pursuit of it and that Jesus didn't say we "mustn't" or "ought not" serve God and Mammon, but that it cannot be done. He also refers to the writings of Solomon, Isaiah, and Jeremiah who each underscored how oppression of the poor invited the correction of God which saw Israel captive in Babylon for 70 years.

After the recent news of Robin Williams' untimely death, Fr. Apostolos talks about depression and suicide, and the hope offered by Christ and His Church.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares Sunday's homily for the Holy Cross, at once a message easily understood enough but very challenging to accept.

On Stewardship Sunday, Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a homily that includes three testimonies from the newest Holy Trinity members and converts to Holy Orthodoxy.

In Fr. Apostolos' Cathedral homily, he talks about the challenges we are facing with COVID-19 as a Church and as a nation. Fr. Apostolos likened the shuttering of our various distractions to the "Alone with God" time our youth enjoy in the camping ministry.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a timely message of hope in the Gospel during this time.

Fr. Apostolos Hill preaches about All Saints' Day and what it means to be not of this world, or, Aghios. He reminds us of the distinction of being in this world but not of this world and the importance of striving to be Aghios each day.

Fr. Apostolos Hill gives a sermon on the Gospel reading from the Sermon on the Mount.

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the book "God and the Pandemic' by Anglican bishop N.T. Wright. This book, as Fr. Apostolos notes, is written for us to consider the Christian response to this crisis as one of lamentation.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily on Zaccheus' response to Jesus proclamation of salvation, the giving away of his earthly wealth and the restoration of those he had swindled.

Fr. Apostolos Hill gives a "book report" on the Ladder of Divine Ascent of St. John Climacus and the expectation of progress in our Life in Christ.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily about the 1st Ecumenical Council and how only the God-man Jesus Christ is the Bridge that unites Heaven and Earth.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers an offering on All Saints Sunday, a reflection on the gritty reality of the saints in all three dimensions of life and not the two-dimensional caricatures to which we often reduce them.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a scriptural survey of the demonic horde and what our response to their influence ought to be in this season.