Free Republic

The Hastings College Choir, under the direction of Dr. Fritz Mountford, performs our realization of a simple canon, or round, by the early America singing master, William Billings.

Father Antonio Spadaro, the director of the Italian Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica, has conducted a lengthy interview with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches. The Ecumenical Patriarch spoke about the challenges facing the contemporary world, his admiration for Pope Francis, the upcoming pan-Orthodox synod, and Orthodox spirituality. “Ultimately, it is essential to change the present mindset and abandon a lifestyle of over-consumption and unrestrained greed that inevitably lead to social injustice and inequality,” he told Father Spadaro, who interviewed Pope Francis in August 2013. Interview of the Ecumenical Patriarch...

The New Testament was written in the language used in the Greek-speaking world from about 300 B.C. to A.D. 500. It was known as Koine or "common" Greek because it was street language—the language of the people—as opposed to the classical Greek of literature. Koine Greek was devised within the ranks of Alexander the Great army for one reason: to conquer the world. When Alexander first began pulling together an army from the Greek city-states over which he had won ascendancy, he found he had a serious problem. When his drill sergeants bellowed, "Left face, forward march," every soldier moved...

On His “Glory to God for All Things” blog last week, Orthodox priest Fr. Stephen Freeman posted on the Orthodox perspective on Jesus’ atonement in contrast to the theory of penal substitution (penal substitution is the theory that Jesus died instead of you to take on the punishment due to you from God for your sins). Fr. Stephen argues that even the passages that seem to directly imply “penal substitution” atonement, or at least some form of “satisfaction theory” (i.e. Jesus died as a substitution in place of us to satisfy some demand of God), actually do not inherently suggest...

On Easter Day (April 5th, 2015), faithful Christians will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus bodily from death. Later on this year, faithful Christians will also (on August 15th, 2015) celebrate the resurrection of Mary the mother of Jesus (before her body could see decay) and her Assumption into heaven. With the shows on CNN (Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact and Forgery) and O'Reilly's book, "Killing Jesus" on television (both this Sunday), there seems to be an uptick in the interest on the life of Jesus, the Apostles and early followers of Jesus - as well as Mary's role, too.

Praying The Rosary Is Not Biblical, And Is A Form Of Idolatry Just last Sunday, a local newspaper paper released an article teaching that the praying of the Holy Rosary is Bible-based. In the first two paragraphs, the writer admittedly says that there is no passage in the Bible teaching nor mentioned about the praying of Rosary. However, in the following paragraphs, the writer justified the praying of the Rosary basing it on the repetition of historical events of some Bible characters (like Gideon as he mentioned) about Israel’s history. I don’t know if the writer of this article did...

Certain situations coming up now will not be explainable or even understandable without first coming to the Shepherd of your ways for truly as "THE" WORD(Eternal) now my children of light "will see" that to step out into unfamiliar ground will be utter futility and that inquiring first of Me before they take a step or speak a word will bring the correct illumination, judgment and the eventual decision or action to take . Here are the Keys to The Kingdom seek Me first in all you do and the other keys will reveal themselves to you . Matthew 26:40...

There has been an less-than-productive discussion on this thread regarding the last words of Christ on the Cross. It could be because it started with the suggestion--right in the title--that Catholics don't understand Jesus. Not a great way to initiate dialogue and ecumenism. I would like to take a different approach here. I would like to hear my Protestant brethren explain these words of Christ from the Cross:My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? What does it mean? Why did He say it?

Finding the International Museum of the Reformation is almost as complicated as explaining the historical movement it chronicles. You must first navigate the labyrinth of Geneva’s Old Town, down narrow, cobblestone streets and then up a long flight of stone stairs, skirting the shadows cast by a towering 13th-century cathedral. Finally you arrive at the tranquil courtyard of the Maison Mallet, the 14-room 18th-century mansion housing the museum, which opened in 2005. [SNIP] Given how practices have changed, museum officials set out to create a space that contemporary visitors, Protestant or not, would find appealing and meaningful, with creative high-...

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — KCBS has learned that Saint Mary’s Cathedral, the principal church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, has installed a watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral’s doorways. The cathedral, at Geary and Gough, is the home church of the Archbishop. There are four tall side doors, with sheltered alcoves, that attract homeless people at night. “They actually have signs in there that say, ‘No Trespassing,’” said a homeless man named Robert. But there are no signs warning the homeless about what happens in these doorways, at various times, all through the night....

John 16:7-15 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you. And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged. I have yet many things to say...

Frank the Hippie Pope and Bart the Patriarch Sing Love Songs

Acknowledging that the primacy of the pope is the greatest dogmatic obstacle to the reunion of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Greek Orthodox scholar Demetrios Bathrellos has attracted attention to the view held by the dissident 14th-century Byzantine Greek archbishop of Thessalonica, who held that see for some 20 years. This he does in an article, “St. Symeon of Thessalonica and the Question of the Primacy of the Pope,” which appeared in Sobornost, vol. 30 (2008), and which is worthy of being brought to the attention of Catholic ecumenists. Noting that Symeon was canonized by the Church of Greece...

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once wrote: “There are not over a hundred people in the United State who hate the Roman Catholic Church; there are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church.” I was one of those who hated because of what I wrongly believed about the Catholic Church. The reason I had these beliefs was due to being told what to believe about the Catholic Church from those who were told what to believe about the Catholic Church. No one was willing to find out what the bottom line was concerning the Catholic Church....

Somewhere along the line of modern history, the idea has taken root, spread, and become commonly held among seculars that religious people hold to a Faith that is separate from, and at odds with, natural reason. Modern science, following the lead of modern philosophy and modern secularized religion, has fallen for the heretical notion that there are two separate tracks of history: a material track, which many assume to be the true one and to which many attach all their trust, and the spiritual one, which is reduced by many to mere fantasy; a delusion held by believers to bring...

There’s a scene in Robert Duvall’s film The Apostle where the renegade evangelist, Sonny Dewey, comes upon a boat blessing ceremony on the river. “You do it your way, I’ll do it mine,” Sonny allows, acknowledging the efforts of the presiding priest, “but we get it done, don’t we?”

Pope Francis has declared Gregory of Narek to be a "Doctor of the Church." This is one of the highest honors conferred by the Catholic Church on saints. Only a handful have been so honored. The only problem is that as far as I am able to tell, Gregory of Narek was not Catholic. He was a monk of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is part of the non-Chalcedonian (Oriental Orthodox) communion. The Armenian Church has not been in communion with the Pope of Rome since at least the sixth century. The very small Armenian Catholic (Eastern Rite) Church did...

 Jesus Was Resurrected on the Day After the Sabbath  The Feast of the First Fruits, Resurrection Day, was the Day after Passover, Which is Always on the Sabbath.    salvationhistory.com/studies/courses/audio/feasts_of_faith The Feast of the First Fruits was One of Ancient Israel's Seven Feasts   Technically speaking, Christians are now worshipping on the Eighth Day, the First Day of the New Creation, the Day After the Sabbath.  They are Commemorating the New Order of Creation with Christ, on the Day of the Resurrection.  

It's that time of year again: the ancient tradition of Lent, kick-started by Ash Wednesday. It is also the time of year when us confessional types brace ourselves for the annual onslaught of a more recent tradition: that of evangelical pundits, with no affiliation to such branches of the church, writing articles extolling Lent's virtues to their own eclectic constituency. Liturgical calendars developed in the fourth century and beyond, as Christianity came to dominate the empire. Cultural dominance requires two things: control of time and space. The latter could be achieved through churches and relics. The former was achieved through...

Vatican City, Feb 17, 2015 / 02:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Following an ecumenical meeting with Pope Francis on Monday, the moderator of the Church of Scotland said the gathering was significant, and could signal the end of its tensions with the Catholic Church. The Church of Scotland is an ecclesial community in the Calvinist and Presbyterian tradition. As its moderator, John Chalmers serves as the ecclesial community's official representative. “Scotland too has suffered in the past from a sectarian divide. Meetings like today marking our two churches and talking to each other on a very significant level means almost the...