Prudence & Piety

Sober reflections on Orthodox thought, culture, and spirituality

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  • In Praise of the Ephemeral

    In Praise of the Ephemeral

    With the introduction of every new technology, the gain is offset by loss. Tools help man to mold his environment, to adapt to change, and to disseminate means of progress. With every new tool created, a commensurate skill is learned; yet these abilities often replace or alter the use of our innate, divinely-given tools: our […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    January 11, 2023
    Uncategorized
  • The Other

    The Other

    It was at an academic workshop in the Netherlands where I first heard the word “other” used as a verb (it was quite jarring to the ear). I was invited to offer my assessment of the historical tension between Christians and Jews in Late Antique Alexandria, but soon learned that my thoughts would be woven […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    October 28, 2022
    Uncategorized
    “Robyn Whitaker” “gender identity” “Orthodox Church” “The Congress” “Russian Orthoodox” Metaverse
  • Whence Cometh the Culture War

    Whence Cometh the Culture War

    Although the term “culture war” has been used to describe various phenomena throughout the twentieth century, it gained its current definition from the 1991 book of the same name, written by sociologist James Davison Hunter. The author documented the growing polarization within Western society as he observed two groups, rooted in opposing moral worldviews, emerging […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    September 30, 2022
    Uncategorized
  • Outside the Political Spectrum

    Outside the Political Spectrum

    Democracy has always been a bit of prickly pear for the disciples of Christ. How do we respond to a system that asks our participation and then makes us complicit in its unjust outcomes? This question is particularly apt in a democracy structured around two parties. Although a dearth of options can often be psychologically […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    May 10, 2022
    Uncategorized
    "political spectrum", christian politics, conservative, left right, liberal, politcal pendulum, progressive
  • The Mathetian Option (Part Two)

    The Mathetian Option (Part Two)

    This is the second part of this article. Click HERE for Part One. Mathetes explains to his interlocutor that Christians are to the world what the soul is to the body. They are dispersed throughout the world, and their presence of love towards the world is to its benefit, even if the world hates Christians […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    April 15, 2022
    Uncategorized
    charity, Orthodox Church, Red Pill, Roman Braga, Sophrony of Essex, Staniloae
  • The Mathetian Option (Part One)

    The Mathetian Option (Part One)

    The God of the Scriptures is a very specific sort of deity. He is the architect who created and fashioned all things in a logical and orderly sequence. While he does not permanently expel chaos from the cosmos, he makes clear that disorder is not good but a distortion of goodness and a movement towards […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    April 8, 2022
    Uncategorized
    Benedict Option, Diognetus, Mathetes, Orthodox Church, Politics, Rod Dreher, Society
  • The New Sergianism

    The New Sergianism

    Ever since Constantine saw the Cross appear in the sky prior to the Battle for the Milvan Bridge (AD 312), the relationship between the Church and the state has been a precarious one. In contrast to the romantic image of Holy Byzantium or Rus oft envisaged by eager young converts to Orthodoxy, Father Alexander Schmemann […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    March 23, 2022
    Uncategorized
    "Patriarch Kirrill", Invasion, Russian Orthodox, Sergianism, Ukraine, War
  • Remembering Matthew: On the Death of a Man

    Remembering Matthew: On the Death of a Man

    March 1 marked the seventh anniversary of the untimely death of my dear friend, Fr. Matthew Baker—a true scholar and a gentleman. As he’s been on my mind as of late, I post here the reflection I wrote after his repose. This was originally published on the Ancient Faith blog of Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    March 7, 2022
    Uncategorized
    “Matthew Baker” Damick complimentarity
  • The Wonder of It All

    The Wonder of It All

    It’s 7530 Annus Mundi, according to the calendar adopted by Roman Christendom (otherwise known as the Byzantine Empire). Every method of measuring time must have a starting point—a year zero—and for Eastern Christians it was the year in which the world was created, calculated using the historical markers and lifespans documented in the Septuagint. Today, […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    February 10, 2022
    Uncategorized
    Bill Nye, Charles Taylor, Creationism, Ken Ham, Pageau, Robert Jastrow, Science, scientism
  • Wrestling with God

    Wrestling with God

    I remember the first time I was approached by an evangelist, hoping to save my soul.  I was waiting to enter a concert venue, one of many impetuous young men standing in line.  Yet he approached me alone, perhaps sensing my discomfort with his preaching.  He couldn’t have known that at age ten I had […]

    Fr. Joseph Lucas

    January 29, 2022
    Uncategorized
    John Chrysostom, podvig, salvation, theophan the recluse, unseen warfare
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