Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? This account is for posterity.
Joined January 2023
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Censers and Lamps retweeted
Erick Ybarra moves the goalposts here. He has to. He needs Nicea II to be a development of dogma to prove Vatican I papacy and Roman-style innovation. This statement—which he claims is the crux of the debate—“the Apostles taught that icon veneration was specifically necessary to do by divine mandate in order to get to heaven?” goes further than Nicea II. Rather, Nicea II sets the floor: one must not be against the icons and their veneration, and antipathy toward them is a grave issue for that person’s soul. Just as love for God and/or a saint is referred via the icon, so is disdain for them. Who can be in heaven with those whom they will not look upon or kiss here on earth?
Craig Truglia vs. James White
"Icon Veneration AS DEFINED by the Second Nicene Council is Apostolic."
After watching this debate and seeing the responses by Catholics and Orthodox, I believe that there was a major misperception of what the resolution of the debate really was.
I think many Catholics and Orthodox heard a long list of evidence of artwork and the religious depictions of Christ and the Saints, and thought that Truglia pulled off his job.
But that would be to miss the crux of the debate, which James White kept his finger on.
The crux of the debate was whether icon VENERATION being OBLIGATORY and NECESSARY for salvation was taught by the Apostles.
Both White and Truglia both agreed on this major point: Nicaea 787's definition of icon veneration is PRECISELY that it is NECESSARY for salvation. So even if the viewer thinks otherwise, both White and Truglia were on the very same page: icon veneration is an essential practice for the Christian in his walk with God in order to make it to heaven, and this divine mandate goes back to the Apostolic imperatives.
And so the job is not to show that artwork and depictions of Christ/Saints existed in early Christianity. The job is not to show that the veneration of artwork and depictions of Christ/Saints existed in early Christianity.
That doesn't get Truglia to the touchdown, by HIS OWN self-proclaimed burden. He stood up and repeatedly said that Nicaea 787 made icon veneration an obligatory means to salvation, just as necessary as PRAYER is for salvation. In other words, Truglia believes that Nicaea 787 teaches that from the very beginning of the New Covenant, icon veneration was a necessary means to obtain eternal life.
To make this practical, Truglia believes that on the day of Pentecost, the Apostles included the teaching that creative artists and painters are immediately required to make images for the purpose of saving the souls of the people baptized in Jerusalem by setting up the practice of icon veneration, because the latter is necessary for the Christian life and necessary to obtain heaven.
In case what I'm saying is not clear enough, let me give you a perfect analogy by which to understand the burden that Truglia willingly put on himself.
The "Holy Kiss."
Who can deny that early Christians practiced the Holy Kiss? We read of it Scripture (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:2; 1 Thess 5:26; 1 Pet 5:14). We read of it in the early Christian fathers (Justin Martyr, Athenagorus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, Hippolytus's Apostolic Tradition, Apostolic Constitutions, Athanasius's Festal letters, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, Augustine of Hippo, Jerome, Ambrose of Milan, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Pope Innocent I, etc. etc.).
Ok, so the Apostolic historicity of the Holy Kiss is quite clear, and I'm not aware of any historian or theologian who would dispute this.
And yet, do we have evidence that the holy kiss is necessary for salvation, such that if you don't do it you are lost?
The evidence of the existence of icons in the Apostolic age and in early Christianity (especially before Nicaea) is nowhere near the evidence for the Holy Kiss.
But EVEN IF we did have the same amount of evidence, or even more, of icons during the Apostolic age and early Christianity, it would still not get us to the resolution of this debate between White and Truglia.
Did Truglia get us to the place where he proved the Apostles taught that icon veneration was specifically necessary to do by divine mandate in order to get to heaven?
No.
Truglia took the positive position (the affirmative, proposer, claimant) and, as such, bore the burden of proof.
James White had zero burden of proof because he simply took the negative, i.e., arguing that the proposer didn't prove what he was proposing.
Having said that, I think Truglia was well-spoken, very respectful, entertaining, charismatic, and did an absolutely fantastic job proving that religious artwork existed in Church history, even before Nicaea 325. To be fair to Truglia, he did not demand that the way in which 9th century icon veneration looked would be perfectly the same in all places and at all times, but he attempted to show that there is a bare minimum-- an image and religious respect to the prototype through the image. All of that information was done well and he certainly did his homework for that particular task.
One particular Eastern Orthodox theologian (Byzantinist, even) that Truglia cited in support of the existence of icons prior to the 7th century was Fr. Andrew Louth. Interestingly enough, Louth says elsewhere that the NECESSITY of venerating icons would not have been found in the 4th century:
“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘩-𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩-𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩-𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴..” [“Is Development of Doctrine a Valid Category?” in 𝘖𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘹𝘺 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷 𝘗𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2005), 47]
youtube.com/watch?v=tK5qq87U…
Censers and Lamps retweeted
God’s decree is eternal. If He decreed the Fall, then Adam’s sinful choice was inevitable. Given the infallibility of the decree, Adam could not have done otherwise. The sin was therefore necessary, despite Adam being its secondary cause.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
I’m happy to begin with the premise that Adam, before the Fall, possessed a natural will that was not forced or determined by necessity toward good or evil. Do you agree?
Censers and Lamps retweeted
The hardest part about converting to Orthodoxy is not being convinced of its Truth, its teachings, or leaving past beliefs behind.
The hardest thing is living it and being transformed by it.
In comparison, the former is much easier and thats why many choose to stay there.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
Saying God owes no one mercy does not settle the question. Divine freedom is not freedom from divine goodness, nor does sovereignty erase God’s universal love (Rom. 5:18; 1 Tim. 2:4). Christ enlightens every man, though His light is received differently (John 1:9–13).
Censers and Lamps retweeted
Not really. Romans 5:18 could support universalism, but it’s certainly difficult for Calvinists to deny: “the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” That sounds universal in extent, not merely limited in efficacy.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
Calvinism is internally consistent if its foundational premise is granted: that God has eternally and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass. But that premise itself must be established. It is the “head of the snake”; if it fails, the rest of the system cannot stand.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
The context concerns Israel’s remnant, while the following verses discuss unbelief, faith, and being grafted in or cut off. Context matters.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
A 19-year-old conceived through a purchased egg reached out to the woman who is her biological mother, saying she had always felt "empty and disconnected" and wanted to get to know her.
The woman's response?
"Egg donation is a confidential business transaction... I got my check and went on with my life. Don't contact me again."
This story is a heartbreaking and sobering reminder that while adults may get what they want, it's often the children who bear the lifelong emotional cost.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
You're conflating mediation with the intercession.
Christ alone is the Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5) because He alone united God and humanity through His Incarnation, death, and Resurrection. No saint, including the Theotokos, shares that role.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
🔸 July 29 - Saint Bogolep the Child Schema-Monk 🔸
Saint Bogolep was born in Moscow in 1647 to the pious Jacob Lukin Ushakov and his wife Catherine, and was baptised with the name Boris. Even in infancy, he revealed an extraordinary inclination towards ascetic labours, refusing to drink milk from his mother’s breast on Wednesdays and Fridays. Whenever the church bells rang for the Divine Services, the child would begin to cry, and would only be comforted when taken to church, where his face became radiant with joy.
When a plague swept through Russia, the pious child fell gravely ill. His legs became covered in deep and painful sores, yet he continued to attend church. Through the care of his parents and physicians, his legs healed, but a form of leprosy then appeared on his face. When a monk came to visit the sick child, Boris became even more inflamed with love for God. Recognising that their seven-year-old son was not destined for life in the world, his parents entrusted him to the monastic life.
In the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, the righteous child was tonsured a monk with the name Bogolep (the Russian equivalent of the Greek name Theoprepius), and soon afterwards was clothed in the Great Schema. The child Schema-monk was not granted long to astonish everyone by his ascetic labours and divinely wise life. Two days after receiving the Great Schema, he fell gravely ill, and on the third day surrendered his soul to the Lord and entered the heavenly Kingdom in 1654.
The blessed child was buried in Chorny Yar, near the church where he had received the Schema. In 1670, during the rebellion of the Don Cossack leader Stenka Razin against Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Razin sent a regiment of Tatars to destroy Chorny Yar. As they approached the city, the rebels saw a child Schema-monk walking upon the walls, saying, “Depart from here, wretched ones! You cannot do anything to this city, because God has appointed me to guard it.”
The rebels were prevented from entering the city by an invisible power and were suddenly struck blind. Only after they had fled many miles was their sight restored, and Moscow’s troops soon regained the city.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
Burning incense doesn't automatically make something an idol. The priests also incense the Gospel book, the altar, the cross, and the gifts. Those are not idols. The act of incensing doesn't determine whether something is worshiped; the intention and object of the honor do.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
During the expansion of a maximum-security prison in Megiddo, Israel, archaeologists uncovered a 1,800-year-old mosaic beneath the prison floor.
It reads in ancient Greek: “The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.”
It is the earliest known inscription in history declaring Jesus as God — dating to around 230 AD, nearly 100 years before Christianity was even legal in the Roman Empire.
The mosaic was part of the world’s oldest known Christian prayer hall. It was funded by a Roman military officer named Gaianus, who paid for it out of his own pocket — at a time when Christians were being actively persecuted by the very empire he served.
The mosaic also features images of fish — one of the earliest Christian symbols — referencing the Greek word ΙΧΘΥΣ (Ichthys), an acronym for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”
The CEO of the Museum of the Bible, where the mosaic is currently on display, called it “the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
For 1,800 years it lay hidden beneath a prison floor. The stones cried out. They always do.
🤖 Made with AI
Censers and Lamps retweeted
The demons work through thoughts. St. Anthony the Great—a man who spent decades in the desert face-to-face with demons—spoke of this directly: 'The demons have no power over us by themselves. They merely suggest thoughts to us—nothing more.'
What was he thinking? He refers not to the thought itself, but to the first impulse—a spark. Have you ever noticed this? You are calm, and then suddenly, for no reason, a feeling of frustration toward a loved one arises. Or a heavy, unnecessary gloom descends like a fog; or you suddenly want to say something offensive, and the words are already on the tip of your tongue."
Abba Dorotheos of Gaza described Eight Generic Logismoi (tempting thoughts):
1. Gluttony (gastrimargia): Excessive focus on food/drink.
2. Lust (porneia): Sexual immorality or delusional thoughts.
3. Avarice (philargyria): Attachment to money/possessions.
4. Sadness (lype): Grief arising from unsatisfied desires.
5. Anger (orge): Malice or rage.
6. Acedia (akedia): Spiritual listlessness, the "noonday demon".
7. Vainglory (kenodoxia): Seeking human praise.
8. Pride (hyperephania): Self-exaltation and separation from God.
Eight doors and at each door someone is waiting for us when we open it. Abba Evagree spoke not of sins, but of thoughts, of the first movement, because sin does not begin when we have done evil, but the moment we held on to a thought, we accepted it, we began to consider it. Abba Dorotheos of Gaza explains it this way: In the beginning, a thought comes. This is not yet a sin. Then we start talking to him, this is already a danger. Then we agree, this is already a defeat.
Three steps. Every single time. No exceptions. And the amazing thing is that this is exactly what is described in the Gospel, in the story of Christ's temptations in the desert. The devil did not force Christ with force, but offered, throwing away the thought: Turn stones into bread because you are hungry - this is reasonable. Throw yourself down, angels will catch you, that will prove your faith.
Bow down and ye shall receive all the earthly kingdom of the world - this is effective. Every time - a reasonable argument, every time - logic, and every time Christ responded with the word of God. Not with your own reasonings, but with the Word. This is a lesson for each of us. But here arises the question that is more important than it seems: If the devils only throw our thoughts at us, then they do not know what is inside us, then they act blindly? Pay attention here, because the answer to this question explains a lot of things in your life..
Censers and Lamps retweeted
You’re reading it like a rulebook instead of a teaching story. Like Christ saying “pluck out your eye” in Matthew, it’s an intentional exaggeration to stress one point, not the whole doctrine.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
In his second term so far, Trump, who just mocked Christians by reposting a meme of himself as Jesus Christ, has:
- Created a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias.
- Established the Religious Liberty Commission.
- Pardoned Christians prosecuted under the FACE Act.
- Ordered guidance to safeguard the right to pray in schools.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
Because we're the same Church in 2026 as we were in 1054, as we were in 33, and we will be until the end of the world.
Censers and Lamps retweeted
📜✨ "Hosanna: They Knew What This Meant" — Palm Sunday Was a Public Claim to Divinity
Palm Sunday wasn’t a parade.
It was a declaration.
Most people see a humble moment—Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, crowds waving branches, shouting “Hosanna.”
But the people there?
The ones who knew their Scriptures?
They knew exactly what this meant.
Zechariah didn’t just say a king would come.
He said the King would come like this—humble, riding a donkey… and yet somehow, impossibly, this King is also the Lord who reigns over all the earth.
Psalm 118 doesn’t just say “Hosanna.”
It tells you who that cry is for.
“Save us, Lord.”
That word—Hosanna—is a prayer directed to God Himself.
And yet… they shouted it at Jesus.
Not by accident. Not as a vague hope.
But as a recognition.
The same crowd lays down palm branches—literally acting out the Psalm:
“Bind the festal procession with branches…”
This isn’t random.
This is Scripture coming alive in real time.
And then it gets sharper.
The children cry out His praise—and when the leaders object, Jesus doesn’t correct them.
He points to Psalm 8… a Psalm about praise offered to the Lord.
In other words:
He accepts it.
Because He knows exactly what they’re saying.
Palm Sunday isn’t subtle.
It’s not just “Jesus is the Messiah.”
It’s:
The King has come.
The Lord has come.
God has come… in the flesh.
And they knew it.
🎶 "Hosanna: They Knew What This Meant" — a track for Scripture nerds, converts, lifelong Catholics, and anyone who’s ever been told Palm Sunday is just a nice little parade.
#Catholic #CatholicFaith #PetersBarque #HolyWeek #PalmSunday #BibleStudy #Theology #CatholicTruth #JesusIsLord
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Peter’s Barque is a catechetical music project by Justin West. The music and art are created digitally—but the theology, the words, and the heart behind it are entirely his.