Daily Meditations Archives - Page 106 of 351

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Fourth Monday of Pascha: The Kingdom of God Is Not a Choice We Make

05/24/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 29, 2008 Part of the spiritual landscape of American religion is the sizable role played by choice in a culture shaped in the free market – with freedom as a mythic symbol. It is not unusual to hear American politicians describing solutions to social problems as a matter of “trusting Americans as consumers.” It is as though we could “shop” our way out of life’s difficulties. And thus it is that Calvinism,

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Friday of Pascha: Equal of the Apostles and Emperor Constantine with his Mother Helen

05/21/2021

The Church calls Saint Constantine (306-337) “the Equal of the Apostles,” and historians call him “the Great.” He was the son of the Caesar Constantius Chlorus (305-306), who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain. His mother was Saint Helen, a Christian of humble birth. At this time the immense Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern halves, governed by two independent emperors and their co-rulers called “Caesars.” Constantius Chlorus was Caesar in the

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Thursday of Pascha: Restoration

05/20/2021

The restoration of our true nature By Abbot Tryphon, May 3, 2016 Saint Seraphim, who lived deep in the Forest of Sarov, always greeted visitors with the words, “My joy”. This saint’s words bespoke of his continuous joyful state. His holiness was not a sadness, but a joyfulness that everyone encountered when coming into his presence. His whole goodness and kindness shown forth as a votive light in the darkness, and “a thousand around (him)

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Wednesday of Pascha: From Evening to Morning and from Darkness to Light

05/19/2021

By Michael Haldas, Quotes of the Day for April 20, 2020 “From the beginning of the world’s creation until this time, the course of time was so divided that day preceded night, according to the order of primeval making. On this night, because of the mystery of our Lord’s resurrection, the order of time was changed. He rose from the dead during the night, and on the following day, He showed the effect of His

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Tuesday of Pascha: Sentenced to Immortality

05/18/2021

A Paschal Homily, by Blessed Justin Popovich Sentenced to Immortality Man sentenced God to death; by His Resurrection, He sentenced man to immortality. In return for a beating, He gives an embrace; for abuse, a blessing; for death, immortality. Man never showed so much hate for God as when he crucified Him; and God never showed more love for man than when He arose. Man even wanted to reduce God to a mortal, but God

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Monday of Pascha: A Letter from Butyrskaya Prison – Pascha 1928

05/17/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 4, 2008 Serge Schmemann, son of Fr. Alexander Schmemann, in his wonderful little book, Echoes of a Native Land, records a letter written from one of his family members of an earlier generation, who spent several years in the prisons of the Soviets and died there. The letter, written on the night of Pascha in 1928 is to a family member, “Uncle Grishanchik” (This was Grigory Trubetskoi who had managed to

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Friday of Pascha: The Boundaries We Draw and the Boundaries God Draws

05/14/2021

By Stephen Freeman, May 1, 2008 I pushed the envelope a little in my last post, intentionally pressing against what I understand to be false boundaries created by an inadequate understanding of Scripture and a view of the world that establishes limits at places they need not be. I am not an enemy of boundaries – indeed – without them we would not exist – at least not as Persons. Even though the Orthodox faith

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Thursday of Pascha: Theosis

05/13/2021

Christ’s resurrection paves the way for transformation Abbot Tryphon, December 23, 2016 The fact that we Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of original sin as espoused in the West, does in no way suggest that we do not need to be born again (born anew). We believe, as did the Early Church Fathers, that we inherit only the results of Adams sin, not his guilt. This is known as ancestral sin because the sin

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Wednesday of Pascha: Thoughts on the Resurrection

05/12/2021

By Michael Haldas, Quotes of the Day for April 17, 2017 “Jesus did not “cheat” death—He destroyed the power of death. We will not cheat death either. Each of us will eventually die an earthly death, but because the Resurrection destroyed the power of death over us, when we die on this earth, we will be resurrected with Christ. The power “death” has over us will indeed be destroyed.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis) “I believe

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Tuesday of Pascha: The Christian Concept of Death

05/11/2021

The Christian Concept of Death, by Father Alexander Schmemann Indeed “if Christ is not risen, then your faith is in vain.” These are the words of the Apostle Paul, and they remain fundamental for Christianity to this day. “He suffered and was buried. And He rose again…” After the Cross, after the descent into death there is the Resurrection from the dead — that principal, fundamental and decisive confirmation of the Symbol of Faith, a