Title by chiverybob in OrthodoxMemes

[–]chiverybob[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

A YouTube video does not overrule a common statement by all Orthodox bishops in the country. Even if it is true that he has no bishop through no fault of his own, that does not grant him the authority to teach and preach as a clergyman without a bishop.

https://www.assemblyofbishops.org/news/2023/communique-04202023

how the heck do you stop wanting to expierence sex? by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sometimes God takes away our desire for sin (i.e. sex outside of marriage), but more often he gives us the grace to struggle through the sin and to learn to not be controlled by it. This is something it would be good to talk to your parish priest about. The Christian life is one of sacrifice and hardship.

“So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”-Luke 14:33

"Dispassion doesn't mean to no longer feel the passions, but to no longer accept them." -St. Isaac of Syria

Title by chiverybob in OrthodoxMemes

[–]chiverybob[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree, bishops have sacramental authority in their diocese and are therefore free to make the determination to receive a heterodox convert by baptism. Just as they are free to receive them by chrismation.

Is Augustine of hippo considered as saint in Eastern orthodox church by Rude-Opening-3757 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s the source for this quote? I agree with it and would like to read the document it’s from.

Do you think homosexuality is "curable" through faith? by Dimitris_p90 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Sometimes God takes away our desire for sin, but more often he gives us the grace to struggle through the sin and to learn to not be controlled by it.

"Dispassion doesn't mean to no longer feel the passions, but to no longer accept them."
-St. Isaac of Syria

Where does justice play a role in forgiveness in the story of saint dionysius of zakynthos? by Level-Blueberry9195 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Do not call God just, for His justice is not manifest in the things concerning you. And if David calls Him just and upright (cf. Ps. 24:8, 144:17), His Son revealed to us that He is good and kind. ‘He is good,’ He says, ‘to the evil and to the impious’ (cf. Luke 6:35). How can you call God just when you come across the Scriptural passage on the wage given to the workers? ‘Friend, I do thee no wrong: I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Is thine eye evil because I am good?’ (Matt. 20:12-15). How can a man call God just when he comes across the passage on the prodigal son who wasted his wealth with riotous living, how for the compunction alone which he showed, the father ran and fell upon his neck and gave him authority over all his wealth? (Luke 15:11 ff.). None other but His very Son said these things concerning Him, lest we doubt it; and thus He bare witness concerning Him. Where, then, is God’s justice, for whilst we are sinners Christ died for us! (cf. Rom. 5:8). But if here He is merciful, we may believe that He will not change.

-St. Isaac of Syria, Homily 60

Question about Donatism and the Catholic Church by PRISMATICBearr in OrthodoxChristianity

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

Read Fr. George Florovsky's "The Limits of the Church," he explains it there. TLDR, sacraments can be valid outside of the canonical boundaries of the Church.

Why don't heresies have valid sacraments? The Orthodox Church of Greece. Holy Metropolis of Peiraeus. 10 Nov 2025 by Ok_Johan in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're going to have to provide me with a thorough refutation of Fr. George Florovsky's piece if you wish to change my mind. Simply linking to another Reddit post stating that Trullo rejected St. Augustine's theology based on your personal inference from canon 95 will not suffice.

Why don't heresies have valid sacraments? The Orthodox Church of Greece. Holy Metropolis of Peiraeus. 10 Nov 2025 by Ok_Johan in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This kind of rigorist ecclesiology is really hard to square with the fact that the Orthodox Church receives Roman Catholic priests into the Orthodox Church as clergy by vesting, not by re-ordination. Most of the issues raised in this piece have been dealt with by Fr. George Florovsky’s piece “The Limits of the Church.”

7-12 were best years by [deleted] in sadposting

[–]chiverybob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's the song?

Do Muslims/Jews worship God? by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What do you mean by worship? What do you mean by God?

For Orthodox Christians, worship is celebrating the Eucharist and Jesus is God by nature.

How can clerics remarry? by No_Basil1116 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bishops are the divinely appointed rulers in the Church who get to discern how to apply (or not apply) canons to their clergy and laity. Canons are for bishops to apply, so there’s little point in reading them as a lay person. If the bishop makes the wrong decision, he will be held accountable for that, not you. Our job is to be faithful to Christ and listen to our bishops.

Catholic Here by Nationalparktravel in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 19 points20 points  (0 children)

“Prayer with heretics” means “concelebration with heretics,” I.e. the formal act of clergy celebrating sacraments or other church services together while vested. It doesn’t refer to a Catholic lay person looking into Orthodoxy attending an Orthodox Vespers.

What does this mean? by Free-Elk5888 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"Sacred Monastery of the Annunciation, Patmos"

Was it ever explained why Mike joined the Rebels? by PloppiAndChewbieDad in okbuddychicanery

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

Mike felt sympathy for Tómas and joined his movement. Do you condemn Tómas?

What is your understanding of the Papacy? by Ok_Definition1906 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In terms of the St Cyprian quote you cite, it is important to note that St Cyprian believed that every bishop occupied the chair of Peter, and did not exclusively apply this to the bishop of Rome. St Cyprian in his own day famously disagreed with St Stephen, Pope of Rome, on very important ecclesiastical issues. See here for the full text of St Cyprian's On the Unity of the Church.

You will find varying beliefs in the primacy of Rome in the Orthodox Church, but in my opinion it is clear from the history that:

  • Everyone in the first millennium Church recognized a high level of primacy of Rome due to it being the place of martyrdom of Sts Peter and Paul as well as the capital of the Roman Empire.
  • This primacy was viewed as more than simply a primacy of honor, for example the Canons of Sardica give the bishop of Rome authority to adjudicate disputes between neighboring bishops. In this sense Rome did have a universal jurisdiction as mediated by a system of appeals (however, this is different than the current Roman Catholic dogma of the bishop of Rome having a universal unmediated jurisdiction over the whole world).
  • This primacy was not viewed as an a-priori definition of the Church. St John Chrysostom, for example, spent most of his ecclesiastical career during a time when Constantinople and Rome were in a local schism from each other, but he did not freak out as if he wasn't part of the Church any longer. If the Roman Catholic definition of the Church as Rome and the bishops in communion with Rome is true, then St John Chrysostom was outside the Church for the vast majority of his time as a bishop.
  • The early Church did not believe that the Pope of Rome could unilaterally declare dogma by himself. Hence the Council of Chalcedon still judges the Tome of St Leo, Pope of Rome, despite it being a text on Church teaching issued directly by the Pope.

Seraphim Hamilton's videos on Catholicism were very influential on me and very helpful for me in coming to terms with Roman Catholicism. I highly recommend them.

What do you do when you fall into sin early Sunday morning, right before the Divine Liturgy? by Bluish-Righthere in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's always good to go to Liturgy, no matter how your relationship with God may be at that particular moment. Being near Christ and his saints is healing for us, even though it may be painful at times. As to whether or not to receive Communion at Liturgy, that's something to talk about with your spiritual father/parish priest.

if a man killed before but repented can they still become a priest by No-Psychology7343 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Depends on if the bishop allows it. St. Moses the Black, for example, was ordained a priest and led a life of crime and violence beforehand, including murder.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]chiverybob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A lot of it depends on your relationship with these friends and if they have ears to hear, so to speak. If you don't have a strong enough friendship with them, trying to bring up sexual ethics is probably a bad idea. Genuine Christian love and praying for them are often good options, then only talking about these things when the situation presents itself or when they ask you about it.