Icons or Idols? A Faulty Understanding of Exodus 20

The issue of icons and idols is a long-standing one within Protestant circles, namely those of the Reformed persuasion. The Reformed traditions often take extreme approaches to the issue of icons, declaring temples embellished with these holy images as “synagogues of Satan” and accusing Christians who affirm the necessity of icons in Christian temples as…

The East Rejected Papal Claims: Fr. Richard Price On Reason & Theology

Today, Reason & Theology, a YouTube show largely focused around disproving Eastern Orthodoxy, co-hosted the infamous Latin Priest and Scholar, Fr. Dr. Richard Price, Professor of the History of Christianity at Heythrop College in London and Priest within the Archdiocese of Westminster. Many theologians and students of history may already be familiar with Fr. Price’s…

Communion Under One or Two Species: An Evaluation of Rome’s Inconsistencies Over the Centuries

It has been no long-held secret that the Latin tradition has overwhelmingly administered Communion under one kind or “species” to its laity. In fact, this practice has become so pervasive throughout the last several hundred years that even the Eastern Uniate Rites, or as a few like to call themselves, “Orthodox in communion with Rome,”…

Evaluating the Antiochian-Syriac Joint Declaration

On November 12, 1991, the Antiochian Orthodox Synod (EO) and the Syriac Orthodox Synod (OO) came into agreement on matters related to faith and practice, creating a Joint Declaration, which was approved and signed by Antiochian Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim (EO) and Syriac Patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas (OO). This document, though not well-known today, instituted…

Orthodoxy and Rome: No Excommunication but No Communication

While the Orthodox Church and the Roman Church continue to have critical issues dividing our communions, I wanted to hearken back to the time when Constantinople and Rome mutually dropped excommunications (“into oblivion”) pronounced against each other and their respective communions. While we are no longer under mutual excommunication, nor under communication, it would appear…