I was very blessed to attend catechumen classes with Fr Andrew, and he has a lovely family and parish! Also C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite writers, was reading his books long before I became Orthodox! I highly recommend Mere Christianity to everyone, especially non-Christians and atheists!
While a student at Oxford, I was lucky to have an old friend who lived at The Kilns. I once had dinner there with a group of wonderful people, some of whom became warm acquaintances, in part because the CS Lewis Society also met on grounds which were shared with my college (i.e. Pusey House/St Cross). Thank you for this wonderful talk. As someone who was raised (American) Greek Orthodox Christian, I am very pleased to see Fr. Andrew's presence in those same 'halls', inviting fellow Orthodox in. I am now more motivated than ever to read Mere Christianity, but I'm afraid it will have to wait until I'm finished with my thesis. ;-)
I grew up on Chronicles of Narnia, not knowing their significance in Christian literature and though to myself as a kid “Aslan died and came back like Jesus, cool!” 😂😂
I grew up on Snow Queen not knowing Gerda was praying "Our Father" on the way to the Queen's stronghold; this part was censored out; it remained a Christian story even that way.
Greetings, Fr. Andrew Cuneo is at my local parish, but I have yet to visit as I am just converting to Orthodoxy. Do you know of anything that could help me assimilate into the church? God bless. ☦️
Dear Fr. Andrew, your blessing. I am an orthodox Greek and have just recently discovered CS Lewis. An absolut revelation for me. I read The Great Divorse in Greek translation and am reading the Mere Chritianity in English. He exposes my sinful passions in a strong manner, but does not offend me, and that's amazing. I discover subtle nuances of the spiritual life with his writings and it resonates so wonderfully with the Orthodox Desert Fathers and the Bible. I am on a journey (with God's Grace) out of my pharisaic self. Glory to God for all things!
Definitely! It was perhaps 3 months that prepared me for my first experience of an Orthodox Liturgy after deciding to take my Christian faith seriously as a teenager. (I was pretty much converted in one day, or at least I knew I couldn't turn back) During that 3 months it was 3 things that really opened my mind and heart to accept the true faith. 1. Reading the Bible zealously, everyday and loving it, 2. CS Lewis's Mere Christianity, especially his description of theosis, the theology of our salvation, 3. Becoming more open to the possibility of the supernatural. So it makes me quite happy if I hear a Protestant friend is reading CS Lewis!
There are a great many Orthodox teachings that would have been much harder to wrap my head around without reading Mere Christianity and some of Lewis' other works first. He has such a knack for making things relatable and simple.
Beautiful. I was raised Baptist. Always loved & tried to walk with Our Heavenly Father, of course I fell prey to this world, long story short, 12+ years working in Jail Ministry, alot of struggles, because what my church was saying & what Our Father was saying to me was 2 different things!! Lol. This led me to question different religions..ALL OF THEM. Discernment is an amazing gift, that has grown stronger throughout the years. My Daddy became ill in late 2016 by May of 2017 he was gone. I was the epitome of a Daddy's little girl, I was his world, he was mine. I was very afraid his death would send me over the edge, back into the thrall's of addiction, like my brother's death did in 1997, that is how I was led to Jail Ministry, one night in jail I discovered they're people out there, who had never even seen a Bible! Completely floored me. ( I had a very sheltered life) I love to write & I have the ability to condense things remarkably, yet still hold all viable content. ( Couldn't tell it here, Huh?) 🤗 Anyway, I wrote things that led people who had never even heard about our Father in depth, to give their lives to Him the moment they read it! Somehow I can "see" what a person needs, I know how to get to them, that's apart of my discernment, it used to scare me, until I realized what was going on! BUT... because it was not "mandated" by the State Prison System...it could not be used. This made me start questioning WHO my church was actually for, that is what led to my belief about organized religion, it's not supposed to be, they're is only 1 decree we are to follow & THAT'S OUR HEAVENLY FATHER'S!! Anyway, WOW did I digress..but I guess I wanted to give you a little insight on my being, because I came across a Monk's video, who's words made me subscribe, because he was actually speaking some things I've been having conversations with our Holy Father about...SO....oh wait...I just remembered WHY I was texting in the 1st place...🤦🏼♀️ My bad. Coming across this, I believe is my confirmation...back to my Daddy's illness...I dove completely into Our Heavenly Father, immediately after learning about it, during & after his death on May 11, 2017. Really so after he left me. Anyway this leads us to July 23rd 2020, something happened to me that I can not explain, I was somewhere amidst the feelings of sobbing, hyperventilating, complete wonder & awe, praise, amazement, even now thinking about it my Spirit soars...but anyway...I was convicted. From scripture given to me about persecution of Our Holy Father's word, to the Wedding Parable to Revelations telling me to REMEMBER MY FIRST LOVE, RETURN AND REPENT OR MY LAMPSTAND WILL BE REMOVED. He called me into jail ministry TO WRITE. What did satan do through man????? TURNED ME AWAY. So this leads me to here, because I went as far as I could go in researching documented academic history, every doctrine Our Father led me to AND I NEED REST. I've already publicized everything He revealed to me publicly on Facebook, from the beginning to now. But His Revelations aren't viewed by all. I sent out a plea today, telling people who are seeing the horrors of this world and know something is occurring & are curious about our Heavenly Father but do not know Him. To get a Bible, preferably a NKJV, although scripture is changed & reworded, it is not to the extent that all over versions other than the KJV are, (but it can be very misunderstanding to someone who doesn't understand the ways of dialect in those times) Read the Bible, if you come across something you don't understand, DO NOT GO TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, we ARE TOO CLOSE TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER'S RETURN, HE WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS HIMSELF BY IMMEDIATELY GIVING YOU THE INSIGHT OF TRUTH. Continue reading, HE KNOWS YOU'RE SEEKING HIM, YOU ARE OK. GET READY!!! Now it's on me to rest....so here I am. Please help me rest! I don't think we're getting Halloween this year.....it's that close...I believe Nov 1 starts a whole new world for us.
Thank you for wonderful interview. The subject is so ineresting however not easy to approach for most. I grew up receiving some symbolical meaning so present in many Russian folktales and as Tertulian told us that the soul is in its fundaments a Christian some of the Christian virtues and ideals are contained in this folklore. It was manifested in Romanian also when I read in the past Eliade Mircea works. Speaking of the Russian folk tales there is also big research done on this subject. It is not just "an adventure" they teach to understand christan values and symbols and go for the essence of the symbols. So rich the subject it is not enough of the space to share in the comment.
Can a suggest that Dorothy L Sayers plays show this . They were written in 1940 for the BBC at the beginning of WWII. C S Lewis admired the plays... they can now be found online. He was a Professor of Late Medieval English so he was influenced by the Medieval views of late Roman Literature available to the authors he studied.
Hi there Is there any proof of the early church (33ad-300ad) using insence, praying to mary/saints for intercession. I'm a prespyterian woman in love with a orthodox man and its troubling me, I'm trying to understand but can't help but thinking revering the saints/Mary will be idolatrous in my heart. If there is any evidence or history alluding that they did these practices please share Kindly yours Natasha
Forgive me, but the more important question is whether or not you can trust the Church (I believe that you can!) If you don't trust the Church, you will constantly find things in the life of the Church that you're asking for "proof" for. (That said, the answer is that yes, there is plenty of proof but if you don't trust the Church, it's likely that you won't trust the proof.) As regards "idolatry"...what do you understand that word to mean? Whether or not you are idolatrous is up to you...things are not "idolatrous" in and of themselves...they become so when you idolize them. The Orthodox do not idolize them...
What is the Orthodox teaching on thesis/deification in regards to 'the person'? Does the mind / ego / person become absorbed into the 'mind of Christ'? If so what about the concept of 'person'. Is that also absorbed? The result being no identity of what was formerly known as 'the person'. No more struggle with thoughts. Just total awareness in God consciousness...
We believe that Christ does not over come, or destroyed our uniqueness when we enter into complete and total communion with Him. We are diminished to make “room” for Him, but we are not absorbed so to speak.
Deification is none but REVELATION of God’s intended good will for us as we are created in His image! Because of how infinite He is, we are infinitely unique. None of us is similar to other so as we grow in Grace, we retain our uniqueness and become uniquely deified! It is the same as art. Art, and all beauty, derives from the infinite beauty of God, and each piece of art is unique as each artist is unique! Sin on the other hand is infinitely boring because it has no true existence. It was not created because all created was beautiful but is a distortion of created beauty!
I'll be honest I think Orthodoxy is so beautiful and uplifting, but I just can't bring myself to believe in the Trinity...I've tried to study it, appreciate it, but the entire concept gives me a headache. Anyone have any suggestions?
Fwiw...my advice would be to just take your time. There's no rush...continue to go to church, learn about the faith, etc....in time, the mysteries of the faith will be revealed to you...everything good requires patience.
Could you possibly explain your confusion? On one hand, Trinity is in principle transcendent and incomprehensible; on the other, there are many pedagogic earthy triune analogies. Also, I must note, though Orthodoxy is beautiful and uplifting, and I wholeheartedly wish you to be an Orthodox Christian, it's hardly the right reason to be an Orthodox. It's like marrying a women because she is beautiful and cheerful. (That said, I myself became an Orthodox for a wrong reason, and also married my wife for a wrong reason, and glad I did.)
📙 FREE eBOOK on the wisdom of modern Orthodox Christian elders:
social.protectingveil.com/freebook1
Every time I hear the introduction to the show, my heart goes into ‘peace-mode.’ Blessings to you.
Thanks to God! If you'd like to hear more of this music, please check out my music channel! ua-cam.com/users/newhagiography
Today agree, I love the theme song too ... ❤️
I was very blessed to attend catechumen classes with Fr Andrew, and he has a lovely family and parish! Also C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite writers, was reading his books long before I became Orthodox! I highly recommend Mere Christianity to everyone, especially non-Christians and atheists!
As always, I am looking forward to the next interview. I haven't read any C. S. Lewis lately, but I cannot deny the influence that he had on me.
While a student at Oxford, I was lucky to have an old friend who lived at The Kilns. I once had dinner there with a group of wonderful people, some of whom became warm acquaintances, in part because the CS Lewis Society also met on grounds which were shared with my college (i.e. Pusey House/St Cross).
Thank you for this wonderful talk. As someone who was raised (American) Greek Orthodox Christian, I am very pleased to see Fr. Andrew's presence in those same 'halls', inviting fellow Orthodox in. I am now more motivated than ever to read Mere Christianity, but I'm afraid it will have to wait until I'm finished with my thesis. ;-)
pussey house lol
I grew up on Chronicles of Narnia, not knowing their significance in Christian literature and though to myself as a kid “Aslan died and came back like Jesus, cool!” 😂😂
I grew up on Snow Queen not knowing Gerda was praying "Our Father" on the way to the Queen's stronghold; this part was censored out; it remained a Christian story even that way.
This, along with part 1, was excellent. I could listen to Father Andrew for hours :)
What is your experience with CS Lewis? Did he play a role in helping you orient yourself towards Orthodoxy?
Greetings, Fr. Andrew Cuneo is at my local parish, but I have yet to visit as I am just converting to Orthodoxy. Do you know of anything that could help me assimilate into the church? God bless. ☦️
Dear Fr. Andrew, your blessing. I am an orthodox Greek and have just recently discovered CS Lewis. An absolut revelation for me. I read The Great Divorse in Greek translation and am reading the Mere Chritianity in English. He exposes my sinful passions in a strong manner, but does not offend me, and that's amazing. I discover subtle nuances of the spiritual life with his writings and it resonates so wonderfully with the Orthodox Desert Fathers and the Bible. I am on a journey (with God's Grace) out of my pharisaic self. Glory to God for all things!
Definitely! It was perhaps 3 months that prepared me for my first experience of an Orthodox Liturgy after deciding to take my Christian faith seriously as a teenager. (I was pretty much converted in one day, or at least I knew I couldn't turn back) During that 3 months it was 3 things that really opened my mind and heart to accept the true faith. 1. Reading the Bible zealously, everyday and loving it, 2. CS Lewis's Mere Christianity, especially his description of theosis, the theology of our salvation, 3. Becoming more open to the possibility of the supernatural. So it makes me quite happy if I hear a Protestant friend is reading CS Lewis!
There are a great many Orthodox teachings that would have been much harder to wrap my head around without reading Mere Christianity and some of Lewis' other works first. He has such a knack for making things relatable and simple.
Congratulations from Brazil. Excellent interview. C.S. Lewis is an example for the christians of all times.
God bless you!
Excellent ! Ευχαριστώ !
Enjoyed the interview!
A wonderful reflection thank you so much for introducing me to C S Lewis Reverend Father.
Beautiful. I was raised Baptist. Always loved & tried to walk with Our Heavenly Father, of course I fell prey to this world, long story short, 12+ years working in Jail Ministry, alot of struggles, because what my church was saying & what Our Father was saying to me was 2 different things!! Lol. This led me to question different religions..ALL OF THEM. Discernment is an amazing gift, that has grown stronger throughout the years. My Daddy became ill in late 2016 by May of 2017 he was gone. I was the epitome of a Daddy's little girl, I was his world, he was mine. I was very afraid his death would send me over the edge, back into the thrall's of addiction, like my brother's death did in 1997, that is how I was led to Jail Ministry, one night in jail I discovered they're people out there, who had never even seen a Bible! Completely floored me. ( I had a very sheltered life) I love to write & I have the ability to condense things remarkably, yet still hold all viable content. ( Couldn't tell it here, Huh?) 🤗 Anyway, I wrote things that led people who had never even heard about our Father in depth, to give their lives to Him the moment they read it! Somehow I can "see" what a person needs, I know how to get to them, that's apart of my discernment, it used to scare me, until I realized what was going on! BUT... because it was not "mandated" by the State Prison System...it could not be used. This made me start questioning WHO my church was actually for, that is what led to my belief about organized religion, it's not supposed to be, they're is only 1 decree we are to follow & THAT'S OUR HEAVENLY FATHER'S!! Anyway, WOW did I digress..but I guess I wanted to give you a little insight on my being, because I came across a Monk's video, who's words made me subscribe, because he was actually speaking some things I've been having conversations with our Holy Father about...SO....oh wait...I just remembered WHY I was texting in the 1st place...🤦🏼♀️ My bad.
Coming across this, I believe is my confirmation...back to my Daddy's illness...I dove completely into Our Heavenly Father, immediately after learning about it, during & after his death on May 11, 2017. Really so after he left me. Anyway this leads us to July 23rd 2020, something happened to me that I can not explain, I was somewhere amidst the feelings of sobbing, hyperventilating, complete wonder & awe, praise, amazement, even now thinking about it my Spirit soars...but anyway...I was convicted. From scripture given to me about persecution of Our Holy Father's word, to the Wedding Parable to Revelations telling me to REMEMBER MY FIRST LOVE, RETURN AND REPENT OR MY LAMPSTAND WILL BE REMOVED. He called me into jail ministry TO WRITE. What did satan do through man????? TURNED ME AWAY. So this leads me to here, because I went as far as I could go in researching documented academic history, every doctrine Our Father led me to AND I NEED REST. I've already publicized everything He revealed to me publicly on Facebook, from the beginning to now. But His Revelations aren't viewed by all. I sent out a plea today, telling people who are seeing the horrors of this world and know something is occurring & are curious about our Heavenly Father but do not know Him. To get a Bible, preferably a NKJV, although scripture is changed & reworded, it is not to the extent that all over versions other than the KJV are, (but it can be very misunderstanding to someone who doesn't understand the ways of dialect in those times) Read the Bible, if you come across something you don't understand, DO NOT GO TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, we ARE TOO CLOSE TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER'S RETURN, HE WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS HIMSELF BY IMMEDIATELY GIVING YOU THE INSIGHT OF TRUTH. Continue reading, HE KNOWS YOU'RE SEEKING HIM, YOU ARE OK. GET READY!!!
Now it's on me to rest....so here I am. Please help me rest!
I don't think we're getting Halloween this year.....it's that close...I believe Nov 1 starts a whole new world for us.
God bless C S. Lewis!! I loved Mere Christianity and the Four Loves!! May his memory be eternal!!
This is so good I have to listen to it again
That was lovely.
Thank you for wonderful interview. The subject is so ineresting however not easy to approach for most. I grew up receiving some symbolical meaning so present in many Russian folktales and as Tertulian told us that the soul is in its fundaments a Christian some of the Christian virtues and ideals are contained in this folklore. It was manifested in Romanian also when I read in the past Eliade Mircea works. Speaking of the Russian folk tales there is also big research done on this subject. It is not just "an adventure" they teach to understand christan values and symbols and go for the essence of the symbols. So rich the subject it is not enough of the space to share in the comment.
Excellent comments!
Thank you for this interesting comment.
Thankyou...Blessings and all-your prayers for Germany and North Western Europe!
Can a suggest that Dorothy L Sayers plays show this . They were written in 1940 for the BBC at the beginning of WWII. C S Lewis admired the plays... they can now be found online.
He was a Professor of Late Medieval English so he was influenced by the Medieval views of late Roman Literature available to the authors he studied.
Hi there
Is there any proof of the early church (33ad-300ad) using insence, praying to mary/saints for intercession. I'm a prespyterian woman in love with a orthodox man and its troubling me, I'm trying to understand but can't help but thinking revering the saints/Mary will be idolatrous in my heart. If there is any evidence or history alluding that they did these practices please share
Kindly yours
Natasha
Forgive me, but the more important question is whether or not you can trust the Church (I believe that you can!) If you don't trust the Church, you will constantly find things in the life of the Church that you're asking for "proof" for. (That said, the answer is that yes, there is plenty of proof but if you don't trust the Church, it's likely that you won't trust the proof.) As regards "idolatry"...what do you understand that word to mean? Whether or not you are idolatrous is up to you...things are not "idolatrous" in and of themselves...they become so when you idolize them. The Orthodox do not idolize them...
I wish Lewis could have met Saint Tikhon as a young man.
Fr. Cuneo has Italian origins because there's a city in Piemonte (near France) with the name
What is the Orthodox teaching on thesis/deification in regards to 'the person'? Does the mind / ego / person become absorbed into the 'mind of Christ'? If so what about the concept of 'person'. Is that also absorbed? The result being no identity of what was formerly known as 'the person'. No more struggle with thoughts. Just total awareness in God consciousness...
We believe that Christ does not over come, or destroyed our uniqueness when we enter into complete and total communion with Him. We are diminished to make “room” for Him, but we are not absorbed so to speak.
Deification is none but REVELATION of God’s intended good will for us as we are created in His image! Because of how infinite He is, we are infinitely unique. None of us is similar to other so as we grow in Grace, we retain our uniqueness and become uniquely deified! It is the same as art. Art, and all beauty, derives from the infinite beauty of God, and each piece of art is unique as each artist is unique! Sin on the other hand is infinitely boring because it has no true existence. It was not created because all created was beautiful but is a distortion of created beauty!
@@basemmwilliam Your description sounds like a poem. Thank you.
Jehovah bless you
@@basemmwilliam Thank you, an eloquent and profound statement
Saint Clive Staples Lewis, Lord Protector of Narnia, please heal my heart and soul...
I'll be honest I think Orthodoxy is so beautiful and uplifting, but I just can't bring myself to believe in the Trinity...I've tried to study it, appreciate it, but the entire concept gives me a headache. Anyone have any suggestions?
Fwiw...my advice would be to just take your time. There's no rush...continue to go to church, learn about the faith, etc....in time, the mysteries of the faith will be revealed to you...everything good requires patience.
@@ProtectingVeil Thank you so much! Glad to hear it
Could you possibly explain your confusion?
On one hand, Trinity is in principle transcendent and incomprehensible; on the other, there are many pedagogic earthy triune analogies.
Also, I must note, though Orthodoxy is beautiful and uplifting, and I wholeheartedly wish you to be an Orthodox Christian, it's hardly the right reason to be an Orthodox. It's like marrying a women because she is beautiful and cheerful. (That said, I myself became an Orthodox for a wrong reason, and also married my wife for a wrong reason, and glad I did.)
C S Lewis was Anglican.