Shocking images have surfaced, revealing the alleged desecration of Christian churches in Syria by Western-backed rebels. The pictures, taken by local Christians outraged at the violence, were published by PrisonPlanet.com. In one of the photos a man who is said to be a member of the Free Syrian Army poses in a stolen priest’s robe while brandishing a looted cross in one hand and a machine gun in the other.
Rating: 6,6|Votes: 5
At the heart of this community is the Orthodox Church of St. George. The church broke ground in 1884, when the Greek Orthodox community saved enough funds to start construction. But to the surprise of the builders, under it were the remains of a Byzantine dating back to the 3rd century. It was on the floor of this ancient Greek church that the earliest, most extant map of Palestine was found; it literally put the map on the map.
Fr. Brendan Pelphrey
Rating: 10|Votes: 2
Occasionally, friends ask about our conversion because they themselves are contemplating going away from the Church. They do not understand why someone would deliberately change their faith or join an Orthodox congregation. “Look at all the problems,” they say. In this case, our answer is to testify to the truth of Orthodoxy and to the splendor of Orthodox faith and worship. This is the Church of Christ. This is where we, and they, belong.
Following their literal understanding of some of Jesus Christ’s teachings, these monks abandoned all their possessions and families (Mark 10:17-31) to live a life of chastity, fasting and asceticism in the desert.
From day one, when I met him, he was bigger than life. Physically he was tall, robust and exuberant in nature. He reminded me of Paul Bunyan
