“For everything in the Orthodox Church points toward a way of life; the Church is connected to all aspects of life.”
+ FR. ALEXANDER SCHMEMANN
Orthodoxy is an ocean without shores. Such magnanimity cannot be confined within the four walls of a church building. Reducing orthodoxy to a few performative rituals is the greatest distortion one could possibly make of it. Orthodoxy is not a religious ideology but the most organic lifestyle initiated, practiced and traditioned to us by Jesus Christ for the integral healing of human beings and the wider creation. There is not a single aspect of human life and ecosystem which Orthodoxy does not encompass. A genuine inculcation of this lifestyle would lead us to the cross of Christ where we would discover our true life which is “hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3).
Organic Orthodoxy envisions to theologically engage with the social evils of the world that strive to upend the divine order and impede the realization of the reign of God on earth.
LATEST POSTS
Annunciation of Peace
Behind the sanitized, antiseptic and cellophane portraits of Mary one can find a despised single mother with callous feet and hands, perspiration on the brow, persevering to sustain her child and herself in a milieu categorically hostile to women. Therefore in her life and canticles, many women of similar sort find hope and courage toContinue reading “Annunciation of Peace”
Oscillating Ones
What are our kids? Entertainers who recite poetry, sing songs or dance to appease us? Or are they impressionable beings on whom the adults wield dominion in the guise of discipline taking advantage of their innocence and sheer dependence? Or even more are they pendulums vacillating between the desires of their parents and the moresContinue reading “Oscillating Ones”
Tread in Travail
In the process of theologizing, the position of the theologian is of paramount importance. This is very well discovered when we juxtapose the positions of Peter and the Centurion. Since Peter fled from the Cross of Christ, he could only testify Jesus as the Messiah (Mk. 8:29). On the other hand, it was the CenturionContinue reading “Tread in Travail”
Distortion Of The Cross
As we celebrate the Feast of the Cross it is most unlikely that one would not hear about sufferings. Yet certain things need to be made blatant. Christ never romanticized suffering rather He confronted, subverted and transfigured it. In fact, He taught to evade the sufferings which are possible to evade. For instance He said;Continue reading “Distortion Of The Cross”
Cherish The Mundane
Today the Church celebrates the nativity of the Jewish peasant girl Mary whose birth was so ordinary that it didn’t even find a place in Scripture. Yet she was filled with grace to bear the Son of God. People like Joachim, Anna and Mary are radical reminders that it’s the least likely ones who endContinue reading “Cherish The Mundane”
The Crisis of Education
The best means to crush the spirit of an egalitarian democracy and make its citizens absolute conformists is to colonize the education system. The profit-driven bourgeois spearheading the privatization of education know very well how to commodify, commercialize and contort the very concept of education by transforming students into “consumers” and teachers into “service providers”.Continue reading “The Crisis of Education”
Moisten Our Hearts
One of the despicable things that the pandemic has done is reduce death to mere statistics depriving its narrative. Consequently this has made us more callous to death. This callousness is further augmented by media especially the celluloids which make us consume violence to an exceptional degree such that we have grown anesthetic to theContinue reading “Moisten Our Hearts”
God in Tabernacle or Flesh?
Mountains do seem panacean sites where one could stay insular to the wounds of life and oblivious to the sufferings of the world, don’t they? Therefore we try our best to spiritually valorize them through some sanctimonious hermeneutics. What’s the point of life then if all we seek are just ways to circumvent pain atContinue reading “God in Tabernacle or Flesh?”
Do Not De-Incarnate Christ
How often do we whine about our youngsters not coming to church! We then devise ways to 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕 them to church as if church is an amusement park which just needs a few enticing upgrades – however evanescent they may be – for the pews to occupy. Their coming to church is predicated not justContinue reading “Do Not De-Incarnate Christ”
Confront Your Pain
There is nothing more upsetting than thinking of something that brought us harm let alone looking at it. Yet this is exactly what God wants us to do. Why else would He invite those bitten by the serpent to look at the serpent itself to be healed? (Num. 21: 8-9). Why else would He wantContinue reading “Confront Your Pain”
Radical Reversal
As a gesture of reverence towards St. John the Baptist, Christ begins His ministry only after the demise of John. Interestingly, the opening words of His ministry are; “Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matt. 4:17) the very same words with which John began his ministry (Matt. 3:2). So today’s Lection (Matt. 4:Continue reading “Radical Reversal”
Monstrous Mob
A mob is the metastasized version of individual anger and frustration. It’s an amorphous entity having no permanent principle of its own. It’s highly manipulative in nature. One day it shouts “𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢” and the next day it screams “𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘺”. The best way to commit a crime is to do it as a mob where individualContinue reading “Monstrous Mob”
Legacy of Sedition
John the Baptist was executed for speaking truth to power. He exposed the illegitimate and incestuous relationship of Herod with Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife (Matt. 14:4). That the slaughter of John the Baptist occurs in the midst of a sensual dance is indeed significant. It conveys that anyone who tries to disturb the intoxicatedContinue reading “Legacy of Sedition”
The Marital Mystery
The Economy of Salvation is a marital mystery. The Passion of Christ is the greatest paradoxical revelation of love wherein Christ the bridegroom dies to give life to His bride the Church. The Cross is the wedding feast where the bridegroom Himself becomes the food for His bride. As St. Jacob of Serugh writes; “WhoContinue reading “The Marital Mystery”
Family Sans Fences
As disciples of Christ our affinity shouldn’t be restricted to a particular place/people but should stretch “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The entire world is our home and family (Gal. 6:10). Christ comes into the world as a stranger to shatter our confines of family (Matt. 10:35-36). Right from the beginning weContinue reading “Family Sans Fences”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dayroyo Fr. Basil of the Syriac Orthodox Church holds a B.Div from United Theological College, Bangalore and an M.A. from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, New York. He also holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Nagpur University and has served in the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), Nagpur. As of now he serves at St. Avgin Monastery, Arth, Switzerland.
Urho, The Way 
Good initiative! Best wishes!!
I hope and pray that along with the social evils, Organic Orthodoxy will continue to address the evils and hypocrisy within the Christian Churches including our Church, which are part of the society/world.
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Deep thoughts refreshing the richness of Orthodoxy
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