Orthodox Apologetics

The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, by Michael W. Holmes

Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers, by Andrew Louth and Maxwell Staniforth

Free Choice in Saint Maximus the Confessor, by Joseph P. Farrell

The Ancestral Sin, by Fr. John S. Romanides

The Orthodox Way, by Met. Kallistos Ware

For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, by Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Early Christian Attitudes Toward Images, by Steven Bigham

A Biblical Defence of Orthodoxy

• Atonement
• Baptismal Regeneration
• Infant Baptism
• Chrismation
• Fasting
• Icons
• Justification
• Mary, the Ever-Virgin Mother of God
• Mary, the Ever-Virgin
• Salvation, 1
• Salvation, 2

A Defense of the Holy Icons

1. Introduction
2. Presence of Icons in Early Christianity
3. Veneration of Icons in Early Christianity
4. Necessity of Iconography
5. Necessity of Veneration
6. Dangers of Idolatry
7. Conclusion

• Old Testament Icons
• Third Century Jewish Icons
• Fourth Century Arian Icons

Double Standards and Other Fallacies

• Atonement
• Christ's Divinity
• Islam
• Justification, 1 (Christology)
• Justification, 2 (Saint James)
• Original Sin
• Priesthood of All Believers
• Protestantism and Historical Continuity
• Sola Scriptura, 1
• Sola Scriptura, 2
• Others...

Eastern Orthodoxy NOT Refuted

• Eastern Orthodoxy NOT Refuted 01-07
• Eastern Orthodoxy NOT Refuted 08-09
• Eastern Orthodoxy NOT Refuted 10-12
• Eastern Orthodoxy NOT Refuted 13-15
• Eastern Orthodoxy NOT Refuted 16-19

Fasting


Is Eastern Orthodoxy Christian?

1. Is Eastern Orthodoxy Christian? Part 1
2. Is Eastern Orthodoxy Christian? Part 2
3. Eastern Orthodoxy Teaches What?

Islam and the Jehovah's Witnesses

• Christ's Divinity
• Islamic Double Standards
• The Deen Show and Christ's Deity
• The Invincible Trophy (The Cross)
  
• True Islam

Myths of the Council of Nicaea

1. Saint Constantine the Great
2. Christ's Divinity, Part 1
3. Christ's Divinity, Part 2
4. Church and State
5. The Truth about the Council of Nicaea

Debates

• Papacy Debate
• Sola Scriptura Debate

The Berean Call

1. The Berean Call, Part I
2. The Berean Call, Part II
3. The Berean Call, Part III

Why I'm Not An Atheist

1. Logical Inconsistency
2. Outstanding Examples
3. Atheist Moral Objections
4. The Phantom Menace Of "Religion"
5. Christ Is Risen!
6. The Holy Orthodox Church
7. If You Don't Go To Church, You're Not A Christian

B

Byzantine & Medieval Studies Sites

D

Deuterocanonical Books in the New Testament

Dictionary of Orthodox Terminology

E

Early Christian Manuscripts, Patristic Literature

Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith ( by St. John Damascene )

J

Jewish Roots of the Trinity

Jewish Roots of Holy Icons

Jewish Roots of Intercessory Prayers

N

North American Society for Christian Arabic Studies

O

On-line Liturgical Resources

Orthodox Church and Bible Study Links

Orthodox Theological Resources

First and foremost on every topic: the Holy Scriptures and the Church Fathers.



Introductory:

The Orthodox Church - Metropolitan Kallistos (Timothy Ware)



Atheism:

Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies - David Bentley Hart



Church History:

Story of Christianity: An Illustrated History of 2000 Years of the Christian Faith - David Bentley Hart

How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe - Thomas Cahill



Icons:

Epiphanius of Salamis, Doctor of Iconoclasm? Deconstruction of a Myth - Fr. Steven Bigham

Early Christian Attitudes Toward Images - Fr. Steven Bigham



Scripture:

The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels - Thomas Cahill

Whose Bible Is It?: A Short History of the Scriptures - Jaroslav Pelikan



Spirituality:

The Way of a Pilgrim

The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality - Kyriacos C. Markides

St. Gregory Palamas and Orthodox Spirituality - Fr. John Meyendorff

The Illumined Heart: Capture the Vibrant Faith of the Ancient Christians - Frederica Mathewes-Green



Virgin Mary (Theotokos):

Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture - Jaroslav Pelikan

Orthodox TV

Orthodoxy Now TV

David's Videos:

Introduction to Orthodoxy:

• What Is the Orthodox Church? (A Short Overview)
• The Filioque: An Orthodox Perspective
• Holy Tradition
• Seven Ecumenical Councils
• More Councils of the Orthodox Church
• Orthodoxy & the Papacy
• What Are You Wearing?
• Santa Claus Lays the Smack Down!
• Holy Icons: The Ancient Christian Tradition of Images

Myths of the Council of Nicaea:

• Saint Constantine the Great
• Christ's Divinity, Part 1
• Christ's Divinity, Part 2
• Church and State
• The Truth about the Council of Nicaea

Orthodoxy & Scripture:

• Septuagint vs. Masoretic
• Writing the New Testament
• History of the New Testament, Part 1
• History of the New Testament, Part 2
• Sola Scriptura

History of Christianity:

• The Apostolic Church
• Bishops and Apologists
• Age of the Martyrs
• Trials and Triumphs
• A Century of Giants
• Schism and the Seeds of Schism

Who are the Fathers?

The term "Church Fathers" refers to the great theologians, writers, mystics, and apologists of the Church throughout history and even today. This section will be focusing on those highly influential figures of the first five centuries of Christianity who are often called "Early Church Fathers." The Fathers of this early, formative period of the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, combated frequent pernicious heresies, formulated and standardized theology and worship, and even gave us the Bible!

A special and greatly honored class of Church Fathers, called the "Apostolic Fathers," are those Fathers who lived in the first and second centuries. As the title of this class implies, many of the Apostolic Fathers were friends and disciples of Apostles. Some, such as St. Polycarp of Smyrna and St. Ignatius of Antioch, were appointed directly by Apostles to take over leadership of the Church after the passing of the Apostles. The writings of the Apostolic Fathers are our greatest source of information on the early Christians' beliefs and practices.


Meet the Fathers...

St. Ignatius of Antioch (ca. AD 30 - 107)
St. Justin the Philosopher (ca. AD 100 - 165)


What did the Fathers say about...

Abortion

The Eucharist

• Closed Communion
• The Eucharist as a Sacrifice
• The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist

Free Will

• Free Will
• More on Free Will
• Foreknowledge, Part I
• Foreknowledge, Part II

Prayers to the Saints

Sola Scriptura

• Introduction
• The Didache (AD 60)
• Clement of Rome (AD 95)
• Ignatius of Antioch (AD 107)
• Papias of Hierapolis (AD 120)
• Polycarp of Smyrna (AD 110)
• Justin Martyr (AD 150)
• Melito of Sardis (AD 170)
• Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 180)
• Clement of Alexandria (AD 180-200)
• Tertullian of Carthage (AD 197-220)
• Hippolytus of Rome (AD 170-235)

The Virgin Mary as the New Eve

The Society for Orthodox Apologetics was formed in November 2009 with the intent of creating a website which would provide those inquiring into Orthodoxy with information and answers to questions, provide an Orthodox perspective on modern issues, and address the claims of various heterodox, heretical, and anti-Christian organizations and individuals.

The Society's members are:


John Norman

I was raised Baptist but in my high school to early college years became heavily influenced by the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Around my sophomore year in college was when I started getting into a lot of arguments with my friends on such issues as the Sabbath, the Trinity, Baptism, once saved always saved...etc. These talks eventually led me to the Early Church Fathers for some of my friends who were Seventh Day Adventists and Oneness Pentecostals would bring up church history when our talks over scripture didn't go anywhere. And I've been reading them ever since. I tried to become Orthodox back when I first started reading the Fathers in 1997/1998, but the church I called in the phone book never returned my phone call. It was hard to remain Protestant when I embraced a high view of the Mysteries. I tried the Episcopal Church for awhile, but left after my Episcopal influences started to crumble. It was extremely difficult to partake of communion in other protestant churches. My conscience wouldn't allow it. So I went East. I finally became Orthodox the day before Pascha of 2007. This time around I found a priest online who guided me on what to do and who to contact.



John a.k.a. Chris

Faceless, nameless, mysterious Austrian Orthodox Christian (no wonder he decided to become a member of an apophatic mystery-religion like Eastern Orthodoxy in the first place), and a huge fan of Saint John Chrysostom.







Thomas Seraphim Hamilton a.k.a. Kabane the Christian

Hey, I'm Tommy. I'm 15 and I have two YouTube channels: Kabane52, defending evolution, and KabaneTheChristian, defending Christianity. At this point in time, I prefer my second channel, as I have come to enjoy apologetics far more than evolution. Apologetics will be the primary focus of this blog, where we'll be discussing the issues of apologetics and the evidence for Christianity, and I hope you'll enjoy it!



Lvka

My name is Craciun Lucian, and I'm a Romanian Orthodox Christian, just like any other of the over 86% of Romanians, who are also Orthodox Christians. (In other words, I'm special: just like everybody else). My entire life has been a journey from being a failed perfectionist to becoming a perfect failure. After almost two decades of education, I'm about to flunk the school of life. My existence has been foretold by Saint Paul the Apostle in his Letter to the Romans 7:19, where it says that the good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do; and by Father Nicolae Steinhardt, in his Diary of Happiness, when he wrote: to Satan they consecrate their sinful life, and to Christ their speeches and writings praiseful of the purity most refined.



Richard A. Shaward

Hello, my name is Richard. My Christian journey has been one of 24 years length to this point. I am waiting to see what the Lord has in store for me now. I have been a bit depressed not Pastoring and Teaching (I am a teacher at heart – it drives me). Will I become an Orthodox Priest? I wait now. I wait in silence until I hear what is next. I hope it is not too long, as I am not getting any younger!