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The First (Pure) Monday of the Great Fast.

03/02/2020

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 15, 2010  [Pure] Monday marks the beginning of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church (which liturgically begins at Forgiveness Vespers on Sunday). Though Great Lent is kept with rigor in Orthodox Tradition, there is nothing unusual asked of believers – nothing that we do not do on many days throughout the rest of the year. We fast; we pray; we give alms; we attend services, etc. But we do these

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

Put the Dickens back in Christmas

12/19/2019

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, December 20, 2017 In the late 1600’s in colonial Boston, the celebration of Christmas was against the law. Indeed, anyone evidencing the “spirit of Christmas” could be fined five shillings. In the early 1800’s, Christmas was better known as a season for rioting in the streets and civil unrest.1 However, in the mid-1800’s some interesting things changed the cultural response to the feast and, in 1870, Christmas was declared a federal holiday

Praying with the Entire Church

08/08/2019

“O you apostles, assembled here from the ends of the earth, bury my body: And You, O my Son and my God, receive my spirit” (Exapostilarion of Dormition of the Theotokos) To be a genuine Orthodox Christian is to share in the joy of fellowship gathered around the holy Mother of God, Mary the ever-virgin one. Yet in America a hesitancy arises even with the Church among the faithful. What is so normal and self-evident

The Dormition Fast: Ending another Year of Grace in Our Lord

08/01/2019

The Byzantine Church since at least the 5th century has practiced a period of fasting prior to the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. This ancient custom has much to offer contemporary Christians. Christians of the East have always recognized the mystery of Our Lady’s Dormition, her ‘falling asleep’ at the end of her natural life. The passage of Mary the Virgin Mother of God from this life to life eternal is a cause

The Seventh Friday after Pascha. The Lord and Giver of Life

06/14/2019

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 31, 2015  The opening verses of Genesis offer the mysteries of creation for our consideration. Of particular note is the primary role of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters… “Light and dry land are made to appear and then, the miracle of life: “Let the earth bring forth…” The earth is, above all, the planet on which life comes forth. For although we

The Sixth Friday after Pascha. Getting Back Up

06/07/2019

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 8, 2015  One of the fathers was asked, “What do you do all day in the monastery?” He replied, “We fall down and get up; fall down and get up; fall down and get up again.” This, I think, may be the most accurate and faithful description of the Christian life that I know. We fall, and we fall repeatedly. Our very best intentions often serve to make the sting

The Sixth Wednesday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Persons in Communion: From Individual to Person (Part I)

06/05/2019

The Body of Christ is not only unity but interchange, by which the ‘movement of love’ of the Trinity is conveyed to humankind. This movement, in which each effaces himself in order to give, is the transition from individual to person, a growing to maturity certainly, but only achieved by means of a succession of death-and-resurrections, in the course of which we are stripped down and recreated. We become unique, escape the repetitive character of

The Sixth Monday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! Venerable Kevin of Glendalough, Wonderworker

06/03/2019

Venerable Kevin of Glendalough St. Kevin (also known as Coemgen) is one of the greatest saints of Ireland and founder of the famous and important Glendalough Monastery. He lived in the 6th and early 7th centuries. His Life was written some four hundred years after his repose. The future saint was born in the Irish province of Leinster to a noble family and was related to the royal house. His name, according to the most

The Fifth Friday after Pascha. CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Last Pascha – A Reverie

05/31/2019

By Stephen Freeman, May 31, 2015  I had a reverie around the time of Pascha. My life has had many chapters. I have loved friends and lost friends. My memory is filled with much that is bittersweet – not my favorite flavor. But my reverie was a dream of Pascha – the Last Pascha. I wrote this in a Facebook post and have looked it up numerous times for balm for my tired soul. Today, I

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