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The Eleventh Day of Christmas. The Theophany and Healing (Part I)

By Fr. George Morelli [1] “And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His word. O Christ our God, who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee!” “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (Mt 9:12) The Feast of the Theophany of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ brings greater understanding of God’s encounter with His Chosen

The Third Day of Christmas. Saint Stephen: The Death of a Revolutionary

By Father Lawrence Farley Saint Stephen is usually hailed as the first Christian martyr, but he is more than that. His death was also a boundary, and the blood which flowed from his body as the stones hit him became a river, one which separated the faith of the Christians from the religion of Judaism. For unlike the martyrs who followed him, Stephen was not killed by the pagan Romans, executed under a law which

The Twenty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent. The Fire of Christmas

By Father Stephen Freeman As a child of the South, accustomed to the tones and the tales of my region, I was well aware of the “fires of hell”. Roadside signs proclaimed the eternal destiny of those who were not saved. I have discovered in later years, that many adult Christians remain committed to the most literal possible version of the fires of hell and will argue as though heaven itself depended on the burning

Inner Stillness: The Language of Stillness

In Living Prayer, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom wrote, “The Greek Fathers set this silence, which they called hesychia, both as the starting-point and the final achievement of prayer.” What does this silence look like? Silence is a way, a state of soul, in which all the powers of the soul and the faculties of the body are completely at peace, quiet, and recollected, perfectly alert yet free from any turmoil or agitation. 2 In the Philokalia,

The Container and the Contents

Theologically and objectively speaking, we are created in union with God from the beginning (e.g., Ephesians 1:3-6). But it is very hard for people to believe or experience this when they have no positive sense of identity, no strong boundaries, and little inner religious experience. Thus, the first part of the spiritual journey is about externals, formulas, superficial emotions, flags and badges, correct rituals, Bible quotes, and special clothing, all of which largely substitute for

Transfigurating Practices

By Aristotle Papanikolaou, PhD What happened on the day of our Lord’s Transfiguration? On this day, Jesus took with him three disciples, Peter, John and James, three of the better-known disciples. He took them to a ‘high’ mountain, the Bible tells us (Mt 17:1-9; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36). They are at the ‘high’ mountain, which is often a place of revelation in the Bible, and at this mountain Jesus is transfigured. St. Matthew tells us,

THE MYSTERY AND THE GOSPEL OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS CHRIST (Part I)

A Sermon by Father Peter A. Chamberas The holy Transfiguration of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ is commemorated in the Orthodox Church with great solemnity on August 6th as one of the major fixed Feast days of the year. On the day before, the faithful are introduced to the Transfiguration: “Come, let us all welcome the Transfiguration of Christ, and joyously celebrate the bright prefestival…” After the Feast day itself on the

Feast of the Ascension of our Lord. He Ascended in Glory

So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19 (From the Third Eothinon Gospel of the Sunday Orthros) “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” And when He had said this,

Friday of the 5th Week of Pascha. Grace and Truth Supersede the Law

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 (From the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy on Pascha) Christ is Risen! I remember from my college days that I was a really good test-taker. I had this system that I called “read, retain, regurgitate, release.” I would read the information, retain it in my brain, regurgitate it for the exam, and then it was released from my brain

Wednesday of the 5ch Week of Pascha. Show Me Your Glory!

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. John 1:14 (From the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy on Pascha) Christ is Risen! How often do you think of the word “glory”, specifically, God’s glory? Have you ever wondered what “the glory of the Lord” might look like? Most of us probably don’t think about this