SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Why Do the Orthodox Hold Religious Processions with Incorrupt Relics, the Cross, and Miracle-working Icons?     The origins of processions in the Church life is evident in both the Old and New Testament including the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant by King David.  “In the subsequent liturgical practice of

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – A Homily in Preparation for the Celebration of Christmas: According to Saint John Chrysostom A feast day is about to arrive and it is the most holy, august, and awesome of all feasts; it would be no mistake to call it the chief and mother of all holy days. What feast is that? The day of Christ’s birth in the flesh. It

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Imitate the Life of the Saint Whose Name You Bear “At Holy Baptism each person is given a Christian name—the name of an angel or of some holy person. This bestowal of a Christian name at baptism as a profound meaning and a great significance. A Christian name serves not only to distinguish one person from another, but also establishes an

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Persecution of the Faithful; An Example from the Life of St. Nektarios Throughout Church history the faithful have been persecuted by those outside of the Church, but sometimes by those within the Church. While the former is mostly easier for the faithful to recognize at the time that it is happening, sometimes the latter is only revealed to the entire

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Persecution of the Faithful Throughout Church history the faithful have been persecuted by those outside of the Church, but sometimes by those within the Church. While the former is mostly easier for the faithful to recognize at the time that it is happening, sometimes the latter is only revealed to the entire body of the Church years later. What is important

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Occasions and Spiritual Meditations Proceeding From Them “…one can turn his meditation from every occasion and from every visible creature to things invisible, for example: from the visible world to the invisible; from the visible light to the invisible and eternal Light, that is to God; from visible darkness to the invisible darkness, that is to the devil and sin, from

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week- Spiritual Counsels of the Elders of Optina “We must entrust everything to the will of God, even our being separated from each other. The Lord enlightens us in order that we not become attached to the things of this world, no matter how precious they might seem, in order that we might strive for the heavenly, saving our souls. Strive only to save your soul,

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – A Safeguard for the Soul, by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain Day 1 Concerning the Worth of Salvation   1) My salvation is a matter entirely my own. If I do not have concern for it, who else will? 2) My salvation is a matter concerning my whole soul and body. If I do not make sure of my salvation, who else will make sure

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Do Orthodox Christians celebrate Halloween? “…Where secular people may feel they have the option to divorce the spiritual realm from the physical and do one thing with their bodies while believing another in their minds, we Christian people do not. We know that the actions of our bodies, and the things we do with our lives, affect our hearts and are directly

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Going Deeper Lecture – Part III “…the humble soul is always looking to do good. If you ever read… Elder Paisios’ discourses… You’ve heard the word ‘philotimo’ is there, it’s used very often. Philotimo is a good word to understand and to try to put into practice. What is it? It’s doing good for the sake of God. For no other