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The Sixth Wednesday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Persons in Communion: From Individual to Person (Part I)

The Body of Christ is not only unity but interchange, by which the ‘movement of love’ of the Trinity is conveyed to humankind. This movement, in which each effaces himself in order to give, is the transition from individual to person, a growing to maturity certainly, but only achieved by means of a succession of death-and-resurrections, in the course of which we are stripped down and recreated. We become unique, escape the repetitive character of

The Sixth Tuesday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1)

In ecclesiastical circles today one often hears the lament, “The faith is evaporating.” Despite an unprecedented “pastoral approach”, the faith of many Christians in fact appears to be” growing cold” or even, to put it colloquially, to be “evaporating”. There is talk of a great crisis of faith, among the clergy no less than among the laity. This loss of faith, which is so often lamented in the West, stands nevertheless in contrast to a

The Sixth Monday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Venerable Kevin of Glendalough, Wonderworker

Venerable Kevin of Glendalough St. Kevin (also known as Coemgen) is one of the greatest saints of Ireland and founder of the famous and important Glendalough Monastery. He lived in the 6th and early 7th centuries. His Life was written some four hundred years after his repose. The future saint was born in the Irish province of Leinster to a noble family and was related to the royal house. His name, according to the most

The Fifth Friday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Last Pascha – A Reverie

By Stephen Freeman, May 31, 2015  I had a reverie around the time of Pascha. My life has had many chapters. I have loved friends and lost friends. My memory is filled with much that is bittersweet – not my favorite flavor. But my reverie was a dream of Pascha – the Last Pascha. I wrote this in a Facebook post and have looked it up numerous times for balm for my tired soul. Today, I

The Fifth Thursday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Members of One Another (Part XII): Compassion Towards Plants

The compassionate love of St Silouan extends beyond animals to plants: ‘Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees’ (Revelation 7:3). On one occasion when the two of them were walking together, Fr Sophrony struck out with his stick at a clump of tall wild grass. The Starets said nothing, but he shook his head doubtfully; and at once Fr Sophrony was ashamed. In his own writings St Silouan says: That green leaf

The Fifth Wednesday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Black Tuesday, May 29, 1453, The Fall of Constantinople

Constantine XI Paleologos, the last Emperor of the East Roman Empire, who was martyred by the forces of Sultan Mehmet during the assault on The City on May 29, 1453, was a man whose personal life was marked by tragedy, but who above all maintained steadfast his Christian faith and his dedication to his duties as the Christian Emperor. He is venerated among Orthodox for his deep faith in Christ, his faithfulness to his people

The Fifth Tuesday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Desert and Temptation (Part I)

One of the great themes of monasticism is the desert. The monks deliberately went into the desert to be alone and to seek God. The ancients considered the desert the dwelling-place of demons. Anthony went into the desert to fight the demons on their own turf. It was a heroic decision to push his way into the realm of the demons — and a declaration of war on the demons that plagued him and sought

The Fifth Monday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Venerable Saint Bede of Jarrow

By Vladimir Moss Our holy Father Bede the Venerable was born in the year 673 on the lands of the monastery of St. Paul at Jarrow in Northumbria. At the age of seven he was entrusted to the first abbot of Jarrow, St. Benedict Biscop, and after his repose to his successor, St. Ceolfrid. There is a tradition that during a plague that swept England during St. Ceolfrid’s abbacy, only the abbot and the young

The Fourth Friday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Paschal Gift

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 18, 2017  It is impossible to describe the joy of Pascha, particularly as I experience it as a priest. This year, I was deeply aware that I stand in a place that was both created for me, and for which I am unworthy. The joy of such a combination is the realization of the Gift. When you are trying to find a gift for someone, the most difficult part, it

The Fourth Thursday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Members of One Another (Part XI): Compassion Towards Animals

St Silouan gave careful thought to our relationship as humans with the animals. This is only to be expected. He had grown up in an agricultural community. The Holy Mountain which then became his monastic home abounds in living creatures, in birds, butterflies, snakes and jackals, and also (at any rate in the days of the Starets) in wolves and wild boar, not to mention the domestic animals, the horses and mules, that the monasteries