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"Again magazine is the front porch of American Orthodoxy, the place we gather from all our different backgrounds to discuss issues, learn new things, and encourage each other. Pull up a chair." - Frederica Mathewes-Green, award-winning author, syndicated journalist and radio commentator Again is an Orthodox Christian magazine proclaiming the power of the ancient Christian faith as it is lived today. The mission of Again is to explore the beauty of the Way of Christ and to confront the challenges facing His followers in the 21st century. Again is crisp, readable, balanced, and upbeat - ideal for both Orthodox believers desiring a deeper relationship with God, and for inquirers interested in encountering the enduring wisdom and spiritual tradition of the Orthodox Church. For almost 30 years, AGAIN Magazine has been dedicated to proclaiming the power of the ancient Christian faith and exploring the beauty of the Way of Christ. The definitive source for lively reflections on the Orthodox experience, AGAIN is home to the most compelling voices of today’s American Orthodox community. If you don’t yet subscribe to AGAIN Magazine, and don’t want to miss some of the best original writing in our Church today, join the family! And if you already do subscribe, refresh your loved ones and neighbors with the Good News of our Lord all year long by giving them the gift of an AGAIN subscription this Christmas by ordering our 2006 AGAIN gift package! |
For a limited time, Conciliar Press will help you make this gift all the more memorable – everyone who receives a gift subscription to AGAIN this year will also receive an inspirational, festive Nativity icon from Conciliar Press to welcome them to our family of readers. Click here to order this one-of-a-kind gift.
We’ve received wonderful praise for AGAIN’s special Summer 2006 Unity issue:
“I’m writing to add my words to all those giving thanks for your summer issue on Orthodox Unity. The issue was timely and very informative. ... AGAIN has performed a valuable service.” – George Karcazes
“The Unity issue has lived up to your great standard.” – John Hammond
In our Fall 2006 issue we ask: Are Orthodox Christians today using their spiritual gifts to build up the Body of Christ? Or are most of us content to sit back as passive spectators while our clergy and a small number of laypeople burn themselves out attempting to do all the work? This crucial question is explored in “Living Stones.”
Fr. Kevin Scherer writes: “The faithful must obediently embrace the spiritual gifts God has given them through their baptism. When this happens, the Church in North America will finally discover its true identity and become a light to the nations.”
Our prayer at AGAIN is that together we can share in the joy of the Risen Christ, and spread His light to all.
- The Editors
Fr. Kevin Scherer: “A CALL TO SERVE”
“Today, most of us in the Church are familiar with the old adage that ten percent of the people do ninety percent of the work. The real statistics may be even grimmer. The Church is full of burned-out priests and stressed-out parishioners who regularly make real sacrifices for the good of the local parish, only to find that their personal offerings are met with indifference and criticism.
“Discouragement and even despair run rampant in the Church. Year after year, the Church loses more and more good workers because they simply refuse to put up with the stress anymore. Despite the best strategies and creative ideas of these few, most of the members of the average parish seem comfortable with a passive role and unwilling to change. Who can blame the workers who have given up? Many of them have suffered personal health problems and family strife due to the stress of their commitment. In many cases, priests even feel guilty asking for help, because they know what eventually awaits the eager response of the innocent and naive. ...
“Most of us are more than content to sit back when others step up. Our tendency toward laziness is a very common and real distortion of our true identity and vocation. We are called to work because we are made in the image of the One who works. God the Father creates, begets, heals, raises—He works. And in His Son Jesus Christ, we witness the perfect incarnation of this work on the cross. Jesus comes to do the work of His Father (John 5:36) and calls us to partner in this work, before the night comes and no one can work (John 9:4). ...
“The time has come for the Church to return to a biblical paradigm of ministry wherein the one priesthood of Christ is shared by every baptized Christian. In order to realize this, the clergy must seek to give away their ministries with humility and generosity, and the faithful must obediently embrace the spiritual gifts God has given them through their baptism. When this happens, the Church in North America will finally discover its true identity and become a light to the nations.”
“AN AGAIN INTERVIEW WITH DR. BRADLEY NASSIF, THEOLOGIAN AND WITNESS”
“In working with ordinary Christians over the years, I’ve concluded that most of us have underestimated our spiritual potential. Our existing attitudes and practices in many Orthodox parishes around the world have effectively disempowered common Christians as second-class citizens in the Church. ...
“The most urgent need in world Orthodoxy at this time is the need for an aggressive internal mission of rededicating or converting our priests and people to Jesus Christ. The Great Commission demands it. But we aren’t focusing on that. Instead, we’re constantly contrasting ourselves with the Catholics or Protestants and letting that dictate the emphases of our ministries. This is very dangerous because it takes our attention off the Lord and onto theological differences. As a theologian, I know very well that differences do matter and it’s important for our people to become aware of them—especially in the Bible belts. But enough is enough. We’ll be better off spiritually if we take massive action to help our parishioners simply grow in theosis (divinization).”
Conciliar Press provides a wide variety of orthodox books, icons, cards, music and more. Our two quarterly publications, AGAIN and The Handmaiden, offer insightful articles on relevant issues in today's world from an Orthodox perspective.
Please visit our site at: http://www.conciliarpress.com/
Special Feature: Again magazine interviews Metropolitan Philip and the Road to Orthodox Unity (PDF)
