by deacon Valery Timofieiev. Translation, links & illustration by Frank Pax.* In the Creed adopted by the New Believers, instead of the ancient “to His kingdom there is no end,” there is the following: “to His kingdom there will be no end.” In order to correctly assess the catastrophism of the change from the ancient […]
Preterism in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Part 9. Conclusions and Questions
In my humble opinion, the Orthodox position is one of a factual, but unacknowledged Preterism, one of living the kingdom now, mystically and practically, the place closest to heaven being the church, especially its monasteries, the apex being the liturgy and communion. Then upon death the true believer enters that Kingdom, which is Heaven, Paradise, […]
Preterism in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Part 8. Summary.
Much of I have been saying can be summarized in the words of Orthodox architect, historian and author Andrew Gould as stated in his brochure soliciting help to build a church at Holy Cross Monastery: When we are in church, it should be as though we dwell in the Kingdom of God. We have icons […]
Preterism within Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Part 7. Theosis or Deification
After analyzing bits of Preterism in Orthodox texts concerning typical eschatological subjects, let us now delve into an issue traditionally not discussed by eschatologists: Theosis. Traditional Christianity with different terms and more in the East than in the West, has always embraced the concept of the faithful, through grace and a pious life, transforming himself […]
More Preterism in the Orthodox Liturgy?
In a prior article I mentioned the two individuals who first made me aware of elements of Preterism in Orthodoxy: Conley, a Futurist (or Partial Preterist? I can’t really tell), who was citing Vaughn, a full Preterist. Vaughn had originally brought up this prayer from the Anaphora, a section in the liturgy of Saint John […]
Preterism in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Part 6. Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven
After analyzing at length in part 5 Preterists bits on the Resurrection of the Dead, let us now look at the same in relation to the Kingdom of God, which is to say the Kingdom of Heaven. The prayer book reads: “But let the burning coal of Thine all-holy Body and precious Blood be for […]
Preterism in Eastern Orthodox Christianity Part 5- The Resurrection of the Dead
After discussing possible Preterist soundbites in Orthodox texts concerning The End of Age/Last Days and The Second Coming/Final Judgment, let us now deal with the Resurrection of the Dead. The Prayer’s Book Sunday Troparia and Kondakia, hymns to be sung on Sundays, have plenty of examples that at face value suggest that the general resurrection […]
Preterism in Eastern Orthodox Christianity part 2 – Introduction.
My first encounter with a Preterist element within Orthodoxy took place when I came across an article written by an Orthodox author in response to a Protestant Preterist author writing about the Orthodox liturgy. The article is titled Response to JL Vaughn On The Divine Liturgy by Lazarus Conley. I have never been able to […]
Preterism in Eastern Orthodox Christianity part 1 – Foreword
There is more to Preterism in Eastern Orthodoxy than what meets the eye. This is my story of how I became both, a Preterist and an Eastern Orthodox Christian. I was raised an atheist in a communist country of non-Orthodox background. During my university years I realized that atheism was false. Shortly before coming to […]
Preterism in Eastern Orthodox Christianity Part 4 – The Second Coming and The Final Judgment
In Part 3, after reviewing the prayer book in relation to the Orthodox view about the Last Days/End of the Age, as well as related translation inconsistencies, let us now look into another eschatological subject, that of the Second Coming and the dreaded Final Judgment. The Akathist to Our Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ says: “…Thou […]