1 John
St. John repeated this term numerous times when he wrote, "Do not love _____ or the things in ______. If anyone loves _____, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in _____ – the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of _____. And ______ is passing away, and the desires of it; but the person who does the will of God abides forever."
What is "the world"?
Advent is a fasting season in preparation for the Feast of the _______ of Our Lord.
What is Nativity?
On November 21, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of Entrance of the Theotokos into _____.
What is the Temple?
This word is used by the the Apostles and other teachers in the Apostolic Tradition to refer to an overpowering, disordered and misdirected emotional longing which leads to suffering.
What is a passion?
In the Eastern Orthodox Tradition, the Advent season is a fasting season in which members of the Church are encouraged to abstain from eating meat, eggs, and dairy for this number of days.
What is 40?
The Ever-virgin Mary was entrusted into the care of the High Priest until she was a teenager at which point she was entrusted to this man who was betrothed to marry her.
Who is St. Joseph?
When the Apostles write about resisting the "desires of the flesh", they tend to be referring to the human tendency to pursue _____ and avoid ______.
What is pleasure and pain?
Santa Clause is a secularized, imaginary version of this real life saint who is commemorated during Advent on December 6th.
Who is St. Nicholas of Myra?
According to the liturgical texts of the feast, the High Priest brought the Ever-virgin Mary into this room which only the High Priest was supposed to enter on the Day of Atonement.
What is the Holy of Holies?
Modern western societies are heavily influenced by this philosophy which claims that humans should determine right and wrong based primarily on their own experiences, values, needs, interests, freedom and ability to improve their own life and society without any involvement from divine beings.
What is (secular) humanism?
This biblical theme about the period that the Israelites spent living in Babylon is referred to in the lyrics of this Advent hymn:
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely ____ here
until the Son of God appear.
What is exile?
Because the Theotokos's body contained Jesus—the Word of God—in her womb, the hymns of the Feast of the Entrance compare the Theotokos to this gold-plated box which contained the tablets of God's words that were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
What is the Ark of the Covenant?
In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul lists nine virtues that followers of Jesus are meant to develop. St. Paul refers to these nine virtues as the _______?
What is the fruit of the spirit?
In many American parishes in North America, Orthodox Christians take a break from the Advent fast to celebrate Thanksgiving. This celebration is fitting because this Greek word for "Thanksgiving" also refers to the most central practice of the Orthodox Church.
What is Eucharist (or Evcharistia / Εὐχαριστία)?
The narrative of St. Anna with St. Joachim dedicating their daughter Mary to serve God and entrusting her to the care of the High Priest at a young age mirrors the story of a mother named Hannah who dedicated this Old Testament prophet to serve God.
Who is the Prophet Samuel?