Orthodox Roundup 4

Welcome to Roundup 4 !
The blessings of the Feast of the Nativity to you all !

Deb has a great post about the significance and meaning of the icon of the Nativity of Christ here

Matt posts a great item, a homily by St John Chrysostom on the Feast of the Nativity. No wonder they call St John "the golden-mouthed" !

Fr Stephen has a lovely post about one of my favourite saints, St John of Kronstadt. With good reason, he is called the "priests` priest". We have an icon of him in our "beautiful corner", and his book "My Life in Christ"is truly a blessing of spiritual refreshment. My personal project for 2007 is to read through the entire book, hopefully to my spiritual benefit, as in the past I have only ever dipped into it and read a few pages at a time.......

Fr Stephen also writes about "How do we see our neighbour?" and the implications that our viewpoint of others has on showing our spirituality - or lack of it. All I can say is "mea culpa" and strive to do better......
He also describes the theory of the Atonement he was brought up with, and how different the Orthodox viewpoint is and also here.
Fr Stephen`s blog is an absolute gem and I cannot do it justice. Please go and read him :-)

What it truly means to live one`s life as a Christian is exemplified in the life of the recently reposed Anastasia Titov , described lovingly by Fr John Whiteford.

Fr Peter writes about the meanings behind the Orthodox funeral services here and here , and about Memorial services .

Laura blogs about Bibles as fashion in a fascinating post; be sure to read the illuminating comments too ! Empresses Irene and Theodora`s importance to the Church also captured Laura`s ready pen........

The undivided Church`s heritages, both Eastern and Western are important and to be cherished, and have especial meaning to those of us who are from Western European backgrounds. Full article here , and it is well worth reading.

Fr Joseph spills the scoop about a new film about St Nicholas of Myra , and MaryPoppinsNot engagingly describes St Nicholas` Day at her Byzantine Catholic home. Can I come next year, please ? LOL.
The Basilica of St Nicholas in Prison in Rome can be seen here courtesy of the RC blogger Orbis Catholicus.

And to end on a a note I found fascinating, those of you who like Star Trek might enjoy reading about the original Jewish source of the Vulcan "live long and prosper" greeting here .

See you all in the New Year !

Share with friends using the share button below.