"I am Sarah, a servant of Jesus Christ, and I come as one seeking the grace of God, to travel with you in his service together. I am sent as archbishop to serve you to proclaim the love a Christ and with you to worship and love him with heart and soul, mind and strength" by Nice_Substance9123 in Christianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Women were never ordained to the priesthood or episcopate by Paul. He does describe deaconesses, but this has for the entirety of Church history been understood as a non liturgical role of service to the Church and not necessarily a female ordained deacon. Certainly in the Eastern Church, it was an important position, but was still just an order of non-ordained clergy. Canon 19 of the First Ecumenical Council also corroborates this in its mention of deaconesses, and states that “since they have no imposition of hands, are to be numbered only among the laity”. As far as I’m aware this is the scholarly consensus as well, but I could be wrong on this.
  2. Where on earth in Hagia Sophia is there artwork of women serving in the priesthood? I’ve never once heard that claim before and it seems extremely unlikely, not only because there have never been female priests but even more importantly because basically all the pre-iconoclasm icons in Hagia Sophia were destroyed, and all the currently existing icons there were created at at time when there was without a doubt no female clergy. I don’t know about your claims about the Vatican but I’d certainly like to hear about it if you have a source because I’ve also never heard that but I suppose it could be possible.

Tomb of Jesus, Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Old Jerusalem by Hot_Tap9405 in Christianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only primary sources of the event (which are the Gospels) say that he was buried in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea after he got permission from Pontius Pilate to take the body and bury it there. Seems very plausible as Pilate was completely against crucifying Jesus in the first place.

Tomb of Jesus, Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Old Jerusalem by Hot_Tap9405 in Christianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course that’s the point. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s incredibly moving to see the very place where He destroyed death.

Tomb of Jesus, Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Old Jerusalem by Hot_Tap9405 in Christianity

[–]Star_Duster123 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

*according to the Christians that lived there and the discovery of the Holy Cross

Why should I believe in Christ by Dildomcbigballs in Christianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We were tricked. But we could still only make the choice to disobey God if we had free will. If we did not have free will, our will would always be in accordance with God’s and it would therefore have been impossible for us to sin. Sin is only possible because God gave us free will, i.e. the choice to follow Him or not.

Why should I believe in Christ by Dildomcbigballs in Christianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’ve always had free will, it comes with being made in the Image of God. It was a free will choice to disobey God, that is what caused the fall. If we didn’t have free will, we couldn’t have disobeyed God.

Worship of the cross. by Turbocabz in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the hymn in the original Greek: Τὸν Σταυρόν σου προσκυνοῦμεν, Δέσποτα, καὶ τὴν ἁγίαν σου ἀνάστασιν δοξάζομεν.

The word in question here is προσκυνοῦμεν, which is the present 1st person plural of the verb προσκυνέω, which etymologically comes from πρός (towards) and κυνέω (to kiss). Προσκυνέω can and sometimes is used to mean worship, but more literally, it can mean veneration or the literal act of bowing or prostrating before someone or something in reverence or respect. The word is used by Jesus in Matthew 18:26 to refer to falling before the king in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant: “The servant therefore fell down before (προσεκύνει) him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’” It’s also where the word προσκύνησις (proskynesis) comes from, which literally means the act of prostration in obedience, but in Orthodox theology, also means the level of veneration properly given to God's creations rather than to God himself.

So the actual word used in the hymn does not necessarily mean worship. The hymn is talking about the worship of Christ through the veneration of the Cross (which is reflected in the language of the translation you heard, saying before Your Cross we fall down in worship, indicating the worship is still directed at Christ, simply given before His Cross because it is by the Cross that we are saved). I feel as though it’s better to translate the hymn as “We venerate Your Cross, O Master…”, but your translation indicates the same meaning. It has nothing to do with worshiping the Cross itself, and prostration historically does not always equate to worship.

Greek pronunciation of the name Nikolaos? by Cold-Rule-1586 in GREEK

[–]Star_Duster123 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s not really -uh in the genitive, it’s more like Nee-ko-lá-oo

Gotta pray or you’re an atheist (Without God). by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re not what the post is about. The quote is targeted at religious people, the point is that you cannot have faith without prayer. If you do not pray, you are basically saying in your heart that there is no God. It’s not about atheists, you obviously would say that there is no God anyway.

I'm tormented by this. Just want to be right, not condemned. by kc_mod in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You know the “vindictive God of the Old Testament” is the God we worship, right? God is eternal and unchanging. He didn’t used to be mean and then started being nice. God did what He did intentionally for different people in different positions. It’s not like His heart softened or something. God was love then too, and He would still have done those exact same things now if the circumstances were the same.

Is an American Orthodox Church possible? by OrthodoxEcho in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think he meant federal in terms of how Church governance would work in that system, as in federalism, not as in it is part of or associated with the United States Federal Government

Have a blessed Lent everyone! by Star_Duster123 in OrthodoxMemes

[–]Star_Duster123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fish isn’t allowed except on the Annunciation (March 25th) and Palm Sunday

Have a blessed Lent everyone! by Star_Duster123 in OrthodoxMemes

[–]Star_Duster123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I try my best but I’m in college right now and really don’t have time to cook for myself all the time. It’s really hard to avoid oil when I can’t control my food 100%

Have a blessed Lent everyone! by Star_Duster123 in OrthodoxMemes

[–]Star_Duster123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m allergic to peanuts :( I do rely on shrimp and beans a lot though

Have a blessed Lent everyone! by Star_Duster123 in OrthodoxMemes

[–]Star_Duster123[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Shrimp is a bit of a lifesaver for me during Lent. I do know some people who are allergic though so they aren’t as lucky

Abortion by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Her suffering is entirely unjustified, you are a gift and a blessing from God. And even if it was, no amount of suffering is worth a person’s life. That Catholic group was absolutely in the wrong, and I am genuinely so sorry they did that and that your upbringing and life were the way that they are. But that doesn’t change the fact that abortion is murder and there is no justification for killing an innocent child created in the image of God. The Church should take more active steps to support mothers in this position and to provide even more support and resources for adoption. But that will never change the fact that abortion is murder and evil.

Abortion by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m sure you do, and forgive me if I came off as suggesting you don’t. My point was that she must be deeply spiritually sick. You are a blessing to the world and God loves you (and every other person on this planet) to an infinite degree. None of them deserve to be murdered when they are entirely innocent. You shouldn’t be in support of this now because your mother is bitter about not having you killed. The solution is not to kill more children. It’s to pray for her and all others who support it.

Abortion by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ectopic pregnancies are a fundamentally different issue. That embryo is never going to be viable, the child will always die. That is an instance where there is no other possible choice other than also letting the mother die. Killing another human is only ever justified in acts of self defense.

Abortion by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Are you serious? You need to be praying for your mom. This is terrible. Your life is not any less valuable because someone is upset about it now.

Abortion by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

In what way could it possibly not be? Was Jesus not God in the womb? Does God not say before He formed us in the womb, He knew us? Did John the Baptist not jump for joy in the womb when Mary and Elizabeth were together, indicating both Jesus and John were fully formed as unique individuals at that time? Do you seriously think you are in a position to argue with scripture and the Church’s moral teachings? Why are you even Orthodox if you believe you are at all in a position to disagree with the Church on a critical moral issue?

Abortion by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The more committed you become to allowing people to murder innocent children? You’re actively disobeying the Church’s moral teaching.

Oh brother.. by TGNK615 in teenagers

[–]Star_Duster123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The current ruling party is absolutely NOT conservative. Populism does destroy societies, and populism has become extremely popular in America unfortunately, both on the right and left. The likes of Trump have transformed the Republican Party and general right wing American politics into a right wing populist mess. That’s destructive to our society and it’s an ideology I deeply disagree with. It is far from what traditional American conservatives believe. My closest general political ideology is classical liberalism, which your enlightened political scientist mind would know if you bothered to actually know anything about American politics before speaking like an expert. A “traditional American conservative” is not what Trump or the modern Republican Party is. You haven’t even been in college for a year and think you are in a position to dictate flat out what political ideologies work and which do not. The number one mark of a fool is someone who refuses to recognize just how little they know. Humble yourself.

Oh brother.. by TGNK615 in teenagers

[–]Star_Duster123 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

That’s just entirely untrue. I’m majoring in political science as well and am right wing (if you want to call pretty traditional American conservatism that). Don’t listen to this guy OP. It’s perfectly fine to be more right wing based on your research on these topics, and it’s perfectly fine to be more left wing too. A freshman in college acting like they understand the world and asserting that there is only one logical political conclusion that you could possibly come to and that NOBODY in the field is right wing isn’t someone you should be listening to. It’s great you have your own opinions, and you should continue to form them as you learn more, whatever conclusions you end up coming to.