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Speaking of Reality

01/14/2020

By Father Stephen Freeman, June 4, 2015 The idea that certain realities are “social constructs” is in the process of becoming mainstreamed with its popularization in the culture’s discussion of sex and gender-related issues. The argument is that various aspects of reality are only perceived in a certain manner because of a social agreement – a sort of collective prejudice. We see and we label because we have been taught to see and to label. And what can be

Forgiveness: Including Everything

01/13/2020

The True Self is always humble. It knows that we didn’t do it right and that it isn’t even about doing it right; it’s just about doing it. Our True Self knows that everything belongs. That means holding together the good and the bad, the dark and the light, the sinner and the saint—which are two parts of me and two parts of everything. It is our participation in divinity which allows us to be this large.

Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa

01/10/2020

Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, was a younger brother of Saint Basil the Great (January 1). His birth and upbringing came at a time when the Arian disputes were at their height. Having received an excellent education, he was at one time a teacher of rhetoric. In the year 372, he was consecrated by Saint Basil the Great as bishop of the city of Nyssa in Cappadocia. Saint Gregory was an ardent advocate for Orthodoxy,

Strife and Division

01/09/2020

Recent disturbing events within the life of the Church have left many, including some clergy and monastics, with the sense of gloom, wondering what’s coming next. During times like this it is good to remember that nothing has changed during the two thousand years of our Orthodox Christian faith. There have always been attacks on the integrity of the Church. Sometimes these attacks have been directed head on toward the Church, such as the atheistic

Prayer of the Heart in an Age of Technology and Distraction, Part 11

01/08/2020

By Fr. Maximos (Constas) What is the Jesus Prayer and how old is it? Who is the Jesus Prayer for? Where can the Jesus Prayer be found in Scriptures, and how does it differ from the mantras of eastern traditions? How ought we to practice the Jesus Prayer, and what do we find when we do? This talk is about the Jesus Prayer, something that we all know about and hopefully something we all practice, but

Feast of Saint John the Baptist

01/07/2020

By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, January 7, 2019 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for He was before me.’ I myself did not know Him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel.” And John

Theophany and the Gates of Hades

01/06/2020

By Father Stephen Freeman, January 6, 2015 For an Orthodox priest, the services of the Church involve many “comings and goings.” Part of any service takes place within the altar area, which is usually enclosed by an iconostasis, a wall on which icons are hung. The wall does not truly separate one area of the Church from another so much as it marks one area off from another – the space of the Church is

You Are My Beloved Son

01/03/2020

By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, January 5, 2019 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the

On the Sunday before Theophany

01/02/2020

By Fr. Patrick Reardon, January 2, 2005 In the Christian East it is the Baptism of our Lord that receives the dominant emphasis in the Church’s annual celebration of Theophany (commonly called Epiphany in the West) on January 6. This feast is celebrated, moreover, as the manifestation of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This emphasis is clear in the troparion of the day: “When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the

A Sermon for the New Year, by Father Leonidas Contos

01/01/2020

A Sermon for the New Year, by Father Leonidas Contos The Israelites, frequently in doubt, sometimes in despair, gradually learned to perceive the guiding presence of the Lord even in calamity. God’s Providence becomes quite real to us when we learn to see His mighty hand in all things. It is not right for us to look for signs; but it is essential for us to recognize them when they are given. The difference is

Blog

Forgiveness: Including Everything

Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa

Strife and Division

Prayer of the Heart in an Age of Technology and Distraction, Part 11

Feast of Saint John the Baptist

Theophany and the Gates of Hades

You Are My Beloved Son

On the Sunday before Theophany

A Sermon for the New Year, by Father Leonidas Contos

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