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Are You On the Fringe… Or Not?

02/17/2022

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week: Are You On the Fringe… Or Not? “…We must remember this, brothers and sisters—the martyrs are always at the fringe…. They are the definition of a fringe group. This is where every Orthodox Christian should expect to be. It is really our natural place…. Whether it is the throwing to the lions of martyrs in Rome, or a bribe to deny Christ in

Sermon on St. Theodore of Tyro

02/17/2022

In the life of the Church, we have many striking examples of being a faithful Christian. Many of these exemplary people became known as Holy Martyrs (Witnesses), responding to the great love that God has for humanity, which was ultimately demonstrated with the sacrifice of His Son at Calvary. Out of love for Christ, the Holy Martyrs were willing to give their lives for His sake. Among them is St. Theodore (Tyro), who is celebrated

Words of Love (Part II)

02/16/2022

[There are] many kinds of love that characterize our lives and our relationships. How is agape, the unconditional love to which we are all called, related to the loyalty of philia or the warmth and affection of family life (storge)? What are some of the concrete ways we can cultivate agape for God and neighbor? And who is our ‘neighbor’ anyway? Does eros have a positive role to play in one’s spiritual life? How about the love of animals, or the love for

Words of Love (Part I)

02/15/2022

How can you possibly define love? Aside from love being undefinable, English-speakers face the added difficulty of having only one word for love. We often use the name of love in vain. We hear the verse “God is love” and the next minute we say how we ‘love’ our favorite breakfast foods. This naturally leads to a fair amount of confusion and prevents us from honing in on love’s true meaning. To clear this confusion, we

Who was Saint Valentine?

02/14/2022

February 9, 2011 The Martyrdom of the Saint in Rome Saint Valentine lived in Rome in the third century and was a priest who helped the martyrs during the persecution of Emperor Claudius II the Goth. The great virtue and catechetical activities of the Saint had become known. For this he was arrested and brought before the imperial court. “Why, Valentine, do you want to be a friend of our enemies and reject our friendship?”

Topic of the Week – The Triodion

02/11/2022

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – The Triodion “…If there exists in us even a faint inclination towards things spiritual, then, however deeply we are engrossed in a distracted and busy life, we await with hope and trepidation the approach of the great days of repentance, and each time we hope to step a little higher on that mysterious ladder which lifts our hearts toward heaven.

A Bunch of Stuff We Don’t Know

02/11/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 25, 2016 Reading discussions about life after death, it is easy to get the impression that people actually know what they’re talking about, that perhaps they have been there, seen what goes on and therefore authoritatively opine on the nature of things. But, the truth is that we mostly don’t know. We have a few things given to us in Scripture, and even those few things are often somewhat cryptic

Feast Day of Saint Haralambos

02/10/2022

The holy, glorious Martyr Haralambos lived at the time of the Emperor Septimus Severus (194-211) in the city of Magnesia on the River Meander near Ephesus. He was 107 years old and had ministered as priest to the Christians of the city for many years, devotedly instructing them in the way of truth and preaching Christ to all, regardless of the threats of the pagans. When he was denounced as a dangerous mischief-maker and brought

Thoughts on Modernism, Relationship with Faith

02/09/2022

Thoughts on Modernism By Michael Haldas, August 8, 2016 “A symbol has an ontological connection with what it symbolizes not just an arbitrary connection assigned by human culture…There is a great tendency in our modern society to reduce symbols to mere signs. This stems from a secular view of the world which views the universe not as the Spirit filled creation but as a cold, external and empty void, devoid of human meaning and independent

The Great Martyr Theodore Statelates (The Commander)

02/08/2022

The Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates came from the city of Euchaita in Asia Minor. He was endowed with many talents, and was handsome in appearance. For his charity God enlightened him with the knowledge of Christian truth. For his bravery St Theodore was appointed military commander [stratelatos] in the city of Heraclea, where he combined his military service with preaching the Gospel among the pagans subject to him. His gift of persuasion, reinforced by his

SSCORRE!

Are You On the Fringe… Or Not?

Sermon on St. Theodore of Tyro

Words of Love (Part II)

Words of Love (Part I)

Who was Saint Valentine?

Topic of the Week – The Triodion

A Bunch of Stuff We Don’t Know

Feast Day of Saint Haralambos

Thoughts on Modernism, Relationship with Faith

The Great Martyr Theodore Statelates (The Commander)

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