Home / Work of the Church / Reflections in Christ
Your Eminences, Your Graces,
Father Chad, faculty and staff of the seminary,
Members of the seminary board of trustees,
Students commencing and continuing,
Assembled clergy and faithful:
Christ is risen!
These commencement remarks are not a homily, but I would like to begin with the words of the Preacher—Solomon, son of David, king of…
Sunday of the Cross
Saint Innocent Cathedral
Anchorage, Alaska
March 27, 2022
Your Grace, I am filled with joy at your enthronement as the Bishop of Sitka and Alaska, the mother diocese of the Orthodox in America.
Saint Herman, the patron saint of our Church and our land, resides bodily in his relics on the territory of this diocese, territory…
Saint Innocent Cathedral
Anchorage, Alaska
March 27, 2022
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
On this Sunday of the Cross, the gospel reading is short. But each expression, if weighed carefully, has much to teach. The Gospel begins:
“When he had called the people to himself, with his disciples also.”
Speaking of…
Saint Mark Orthodox Church
Bethesda, Maryland
March 13, 2022
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Your Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin,
Your Grace, Bishop Daniel,
Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers,
Beloved Children in the Lord,
Today, as we celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy, we are reminded of the fundamental truth of…
February 20, 2022
Holy Annunciation Albanian Orthodox Church, Natick, Massachusetts
Luke 15:11-32
I Corinthians 6:12-20
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Today, my beloved children in the Lord, we have heard the beautiful parable of the Prodigal Son, a parable which the Holy Fathers have called a “miniature…
Sunday, February 13, 2022
Saint Sergius Chapel, Syosset, NY
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Today we have heard the seemingly straightforward but spiritually powerful parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. On the surface, the parable simply describes two men who went up to the temple to pray. The one, a…
Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
January 30, 2022
I offer my paternal congratulations to you, Father Chad, and also to all the faculty, staff, students, and other members of the seminary community, on this patronal feast day of the seminary Chapel. These two years, and counting, of COVID-inflected studies have been trying for our…
Friday, January 21, 2022
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
By the grace of God, we have assembled this morning to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, the source of all authentic life. We have gathered as hierarchs, clergy, and laity to hear the sacred words of scripture and behold the awe-inspiring liturgical rites. We…
Saint Nicholas Cathedral, NY
December 19, 2021
It is a great joy to be with you today at the beautiful and historic Saint Nicholas Cathedral, and to receive your wonderful hospitality. Among the first, I am grateful to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the blessing to celebrate here today. I look forward to traveling to Moscow whenever this becomes…
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Your Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, I welcome you to the monastery of my repentance, Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery, and also to the seminary that has the same heavenly patron.
This sacred monastery stands as the oldest Orthodox monastery in the Western world. In June 1905, Saint Patriarch Tikhon, then laboring as…
November 14, 2021
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My Beloved Children in Christ,
Today a certain lawyer comes to our Lord and asks what he shall do to inherit eternal life. And our Lord’s answer is strikingly simple, but also incredibly daunting. Jesus Christ tells us that we have but to love God with all…
October 3, 2021
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Your Eminences and Your Graces,
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Speaking plainly. The great Apostle Paul tells us that God has spoken to us in many and diverse ways (Heb 1:1): through dark sayings, in parables and riddles, in prophecy and law, and in…
125th Anniversary of Three Saints Church, Ansonia, CT
September 26, 2021
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This morning, the words of the Evangelist come to us and ask us to consider the meaning of faith. We know that faith is of the highest importance to us. We all want…
Orthodox Monastery of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
South Canaan, PA
September 10, 2021
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
My beloved children,
We gather in this holy temple to offer hymns of falling asleep to the newly departed servant of God, Archpriest Sergei, whose voice we hear echoed in the words offered at the…
Orthodox Church of our Lady of Kazan
Sea Cliff, NY
August 11, 2021
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
We gather this evening to offer hymns of falling asleep to the newly departed servant of God, Protopresbyter Leonid, whose voice we hear echoed in the words of the Apostle Paul in the third epistle from the burial…
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today we hear about our Lord entering a town. As He is on His way to the house where He will stay, two blind men follow behind Him, crying out, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Those of us who are blessed with healthy vision, even if we have to wear glasses, probably have…
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Lord has revealed to us many mysteries today in the midst of our sacred gathering, and the revelation of others will yet happen. Many words were spoken and will be spoken; but lest we lose some spiritual benefit, it is well pleasing to God to stop and take a moment and…
May 15, 2021
Christ is risen!
Your Eminence and Your Graces,
Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers,
Father Chad, our Esteemed Seminary President, and
Members of the Seminary Administration,
Distinguished Faculty and Hard-Working Staff,
Venerable Members of the Alumni and Board of Trustees,
Beloved Seminarians,
Honored Graduates of the Class of…
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
East Meadow, NY
March 29, 2021
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Your Eminence Archbishop Michael,
Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers,
My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ is in our midst!
The newly-departed priest of God, the Mitred Archpriest Basil, was many things…
Christ the Savior Orthodox Church
Berlin, MD
On behalf of the Holy Synod of Bishops, I extend the heartfelt condolences and sincere prayers of all the bishops, monastics, clergy, and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America to Matushka Evdokia, to Matushka Annice and to Larice, as well as to the entire extended family, at this moment when we…