OCTOBER 13, 2019 - "THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD"

Do you realize that Jesus Christ did not put even ONE of His divine thoughts into writing? Fortunately, men like the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did, enabling us to learn the wonderful, meaningful teachings that our Lord gave to the world.

Throughout the course of Church History, the written word has had great significance and importance. The works of such illustrious Church Fathers as Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom have been preserved and handed down to us. Their sound explanations of the Scriptures as well as their commentaries on daily living have been of great value to the Christians of later generations.

When Orthodoxy reached the shore of America, there was a scarcity of books and publications available about our precious faith in English. Consequently, the Church found herself in a time of crisis: if we could not LEARN about Orthodoxy, how could we be expected to LIVE it? Through the grace of God, however, the potential gravity of this situation was recognized by the hierarchs of all jurisdictions. Religious materials for faithful of all ages now exist. Every diocese has their own newspaper and other publications for the edification of their flock. The printed word not only provides permanence and has regularity but also offers participations to the layman. Many brilliant Orthodox Christians have left us their thoughts. Yes, we can be rightly proud of the use of the written word in today’s Church. May it continue to enlighten our darkened society!