Within the next few days, the revision of Glory to God for All Things will be appearing. There will be some details that will be worked out after it first goes on line – thus I ask for patience ahead of time. I also offer my deepest thanks to those who have made this possible. I have developed a new catalog system for articles – though I’ve yet to enter it with the material. That process might take as much as a week (there are about 1500 articles to re-catalog and accurately characterize).
In the fairly short-term, I am working on a series of articles on the Sacrament of the Heart, in which I’ll look at the Orthodox understanding of sacrament and its connection with the teaching on the place of the heart. If “all the world is a sacrament,” as the Patriarch of Constantinople has written, then we must learn to live and perceive sacramentally to proper inhabit God’s creation. That can only happen in the place of the heart.
I am vacationing with family for a few days – seeing my two grandsons! – and hope to return to active duty after the weekend. Glory to God for all things, indeed!
Glory to God for All Things 
August 2, 2012 at 2:44 pm
[…] Elder Porphyrios, Wounded by love ☆ ☆ ☆ 3) Blog Debut Cominghttps://fatherstephen.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/blog-debut-coming/By fatherstephen on Thursday, Aug […]
August 3, 2012 at 9:10 am
Have a great time on vacation, Father. Nothing’s sweeter than family. Looking forward to the New and Improved version of your blog!
August 3, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Looking forward to seeing the new blog, Father. Meanwhile, have a wonderful time off with your family!
August 3, 2012 at 10:29 pm
Change?????????
August 10, 2012 at 12:31 am
I’m wondering which Patriarch of Constantinople said that “all the world is a sacrament”. I first read Fr Alexander Schmemann’s book For the life of the world back in 1969, when it was sold under the title The world as sacrament
August 10, 2012 at 8:11 am
Steve,
The current Patriarch, Bartholomew, has written that “all the world is a sacrament.”
August 11, 2012 at 2:24 am
That’s interesting — I wonder if he got it from Fr Alexander Schmemann, or if they both got it from somewhere else.
August 11, 2012 at 7:26 am
Steve,
I think the understanding is inherent in Orthodoxy, even if long unspoken. Schmemann predates the Patriarch, but it’s been a bit of a common understanding among many Orthodox for a while. I appreciate the Patriarch saying it so clearly. Now I can quote him and not quote myself.
August 11, 2012 at 12:18 pm
The world as sacrament seems inherent in the Scriptures to me especially with the Incarnation. Nevertheless, as the Sacrament of the Heart posts shows, the meaning of the word sacarment is not always shared.
August 11, 2012 at 2:18 pm
The world is a sacrament inasmuch as it allows created persons to partake of communion with the Uncreated Persons of the Holy Trinity. This is the point to which my meditations have brought me.
August 11, 2012 at 3:32 pm
PJ,
Precisely. I’m currently reading a series by Fr. Dumitru Staniloae, Romanian, and one of the greatest Orthodox theologians of the 20th century. I’ve been slowly working on a post drawn from his work on the subject. (You’ll be pleased, he quotes Rahner every so often). He quotes St. Maximus:
Staniloae says,
We should be careful to understand Staniloae’s use of “reason,” “thought,” etc. is a conscious use of variations of Logos. The complete text expands on this. Thus he is not reducing our communion to mere contemplation.
August 11, 2012 at 9:05 pm
It seems to me that, for the theist, understanding the world as sacrament is the only alternative to understanding the world as test. The former imbues creation with inherent meaning while the latter renders it a sort of virtual reality (definitely not one-story material!).
August 11, 2012 at 9:06 pm
By test I mean a trial to decide whether one goes to heaven or hell, as is commonly believed in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
August 12, 2012 at 2:13 pm
On the original topic of blog debut… prayers, we’re very close to completed (though I’ve still got to catalog the articles). Pray for a smooth transition…
August 12, 2012 at 2:44 pm
Will be praying.
August 13, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Father, I hope the new blog will keep the comments on the old posts. I found some of the comments you wrote in response to concerns and questions raised by readers to be as valuable to read as the articles themselves.
August 13, 2012 at 2:21 pm
David,
We plan to keep all of those things in place. They are a very valuable part of the blog it seems to me. The last few pieces are going in place today (hopefully) for at least a “debut.” Getting things set straight in the sidebar and the appropriate updated “widgets” will follow and the catalog of articles as well. The archives (by date) will also remain as well as the ability to search a word (for questions they may not be catalogued).
August 13, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Thank you, Father. I am glad to hear that. I fondly remember reading all your archived posts, including most of the comments, as a big part of my conversion to Orthodoxy. For months it was almost all I read. I think I’ve been away from your blog for too long now.