In today’s brief Gospel, if we read it superficially, we come away with a quaint and softly comforting picture familiar from dated religious art of mediocre quality: a non-threatening Jesus sits…
In the Byzantine period, it was customary to build chapels to St. Elijah in mountainous places, presumably so he could aid those who fared in those places by his prayers. In old Rus…
The person, the family, the Church—the Body of Christ. The theme of this archdiocesan assembly is both profound and timely. Contemporary Western culture is fixated almost exclusively on the first of these categories, that of the person. ...
“Christ is risen, my joy!” St. Seraphim’s characteristic greeting is well known. Also well known is his love for animals and his friendship even with bears. However, we should not allow St. Seraphim…
Prior to his conversion, St. Vladimir was an infamous polygamist, fornicator, and worshipper of idols. And indeed, we know from the story of Solomon that these behaviors—sexual incontinence…
St. Sergius of Radonezh is considered among the greatest of the Russian saints and, as the patron of the chapel at the old chancery in Syosset, he also has a special relationship to the Orthodox Church in….
The twelve apostles shine as precious stones in the breastplate of the Great High Priest Jesus Christ; their ministry and martyrdom are the foundations of the Church forever, as the…
In the persons and lives of the holy chief apostles whom we celebrate today, we can discern any number of similarities, any number of parallels. Both took new names that signified their…
The two chief apostles of the Church are, to paraphrase one of the hymns of the day, the two wings upon which the Gospel of Christ is carried throughout the world. The complementarity of…
We are accustomed to speaking of twelve “great feasts” of the Church; at least one earlier traditional list contains only ten feasts and includes certain celebrations that we now consider…