Miscellaneous

makeup

Is it appropriate for women/girls to wear make-up in church?

An open Bible displayed in a church setting, symbolizing Christian teachings and differing traditions of Orthodox and Evangelical churches

If the Orthodox Church is the “true Faith,” why are Evangelical Protestants more successful in making converts?

Holy town

Why do so many towns in the Holy Land begin with “Beth?”

Traditional Orthodox icon depicting Jesus Christ as Pantocrator with blessing hand

Did Jesus ever laugh?

poisonous snakes

Why do some Pentecostal churches use poisonous snakes during their services?

orthodox church

How many Orthodox Seminaries are there in the United States?

oil

What type of oil did the people of the Bible use?

A group of women standing together, symbolizing the Myrrh-bearing Women from the Gospel who went to Jesus’ tomb to anoint His body after the Resurrection

Miscellaneous Pascha / Easter

What are the names of the Myrrh-bearing Women?

Why did Saul change his name to Paul?

Religious illustration depicting Cain and Abel offering sacrifices

Why did God accept Abel’s offering and not Cain’s?

Christmas Miscellaneous

What ever happened to the gifts that Jesus was given by the Three Wise Men?

Orthodox Study Bible opened for reading

Who decided how the Bible chapters and verses would be numbered?

sheeps

Why did the Israelites describe the Promised Land as the “land of milk and honey?”

Orthodox cross with Russian inscription

I recently purchased a cross to wear around my neck and on the back there is something written in Russian. Do you have any idea what it might say?

Pope greeting people in Saint Peter’s Square

Why don’t the Roman Catholic Popes typically wear beards?

Religious artwork representing Jesus

A few weeks ago you gave a sermon and mentioned that Jesus’ name was actually a derivation of the name Joshua. Can you explain more about this?

Night sky filled with stars and constellations

Are the constellations ever mentioned in the Bible?

Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada head of Orthodox Church in America

How do we go about electing a new Metropolitan? Will the candidates be made known to the people as when we elected our diocesan bishop?

Music performance illustrating biblical influence in songs

In last week’s Q & A (which was very interesting, by the way), you mentioned that there were perhaps many songs which have used biblical verses within their lyrics. My family and I were trying to come up with some, but couldn’t. Do you know any other songs whose lyrics were taken from the Bible?

Guitar

My mom was driving me to school and a song came on the radio which she said was made up from verses of the Bible. I don’t remember the name of the song, but is this true? Is there really a rock song that contains lyrics from the Bible?

church

How many people belong to the Orthodox Christian Faith?

A female wishpering inside church

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of people talking during the time of Holy Communion and also after the dismissal as people are waiting to go up and venerate the cross. Should this be happening?

Priest giving a blessing during worship

During an office break we were discussing whether a soldier who lost his right arm/hand in battle could salute by using his left hand. During this same conversation I mentioned that you had once said that a man cannot be a priest if he is missing a finger. Now maybe that was in context that if he is not a yet a priest and is missing a finger he cannot become a priest. But, I recall you saying that he cannot properly give a blessing without all his points. Someone then posed the question, can a priest be a priest if he losses a finger after being ordained? Can he have a prosthetic finger?

Historical scene representing biblical teaching

Periodically we hear about “lawyers” in the New Testament. Are these lawyers similar to those we have today? And if not, what did they do?

Star of David symbol

Why do the Jews use a “star” as a symbol of their faith?

Biblical scene representing Christ’s arrest

During the time of Christ’s arrest, who is the man who runs away naked?

Amish man with traditional beard

I heard that those Amish men who were arrested for shaving off the beards of others did so because it had something to do with the Bible. Is this true?

Orthodox cross with engraved inscription

I recently purchased a cross to wear around my neck and on the back there is something written in Russian. Do you have any idea what it might say?

Locusts and natural food symbolizing John the Baptist’s diet

Did John the Baptist really eat bugs?

The word “YOU” written on a wall, symbolizing language and forms of address.

I recently attended another Orthodox Church where they said You and Your as opposed to Thee and Thou. I found this refreshing. After further thought it came to me that visitors might find it more welcoming; especially non-cradle Orthodox. Has there been any thought of changing this practice at St. Michael’s?

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In Jesus’ parable of the “Wheat and the Tares,” what are tares?