by Fr. John Parker
The Great 40 Days are generally considered to be a time of introspection and repentance. The very first words of the Great Canon of Saint Andrew indicate the way: “Where shall I begin to lament the deeds of my wretched life? What first-fruit shall I offer, O Christ, for my present lamentation?”
The kontakion we sing in…
During Catechumens class last weekend, I offered an explanation of the Icon of the Nativity. How beautiful it is that this Holy Icon tells the entire Nativity Story in one remarkable image! In the upper left, we see the three magi, those remarkable Persian Stargazers, who feature prominently in the Troparion of the Nativity:…
All-hallow’s Eve—Halloween—is the night before the sacred remembrance of the Feast of All Saints on the calendars of the Roman Catholic and some Protestant Churches.
The word “saint” evokes many images in our minds. For some, saints are religious heroes of old, whose lives of piety and good works are the “stuff of…
For the first several days of October, South Carolina was hit by a storm of epic proportions. Boone Hall Plantation—three miles from my residence—received 26.88 inches of rain in three days time. While numbers vary according to temperature, that would be the equivalent of 268 inches, or 22 feet, of snow. Charleston, SC,…
In a single sentence, it could be said that evangelization is everyone’s business, since it is every baptized Christian’s vocation to bear witness to what he or she has seen and heard, to speak of all the good that God has done in his or her life, to share the “Good News” of the Gospel in word and deed with everyone who will…
In early May 2012, Jessica Precop, on behalf of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministry, traveled to the Dormition of the Mother of God Monastery in Rives Junction, MI, to interview Archimandrite Roman [Braga], who grew up and served in Romania under the…
When I was young, I would get to watch some great TV cartoons during the Christmas season. Waiting to devour a bowl of popcorn, I would anxiously anticipate the appearance of the “special presentation” logo and with abandon throw myself into the stories of Frosty, Kris Kringle, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Nowadays,…
“Before Thy cross, we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy resurrection we glorify.”
In our culture, crosses appear everywhere—on the train, at the mall, cut and designed from metals, stones, and wood, and dangling on chains around the necks of men, women, and children. Crosses are emblazoned as tattoos on…
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not…
This article, recently translated by Archpriest Alexis Vinogradov, appears in a collection of talks and essays titled L’Appel de l’Esprit, Église et Société, les Editions Cerf, Paris 2001. The text originally appeared in “To Christians of My Nation,” Lissan-ul-Hal, January 14, 1968.
An except from The Incarnate God: Feasts of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, Volume 1
Catherine Aslanoff, Editor of the French Edition – Translated by Paul Meyendorff
It’s our Ecclesiastical New Year, but you will not see any fireworks. It quietly comes once a year in September so…
If one reason why parishes and dioceses and local churches sometimes do not grow is because they are comfortable in simply ministering to their own ‘people’; another is because when they actually have the opportunity to welcome people into the Church, they become nervous and worry about the risks. And it seems that there are…
Many gay men and lesbians claim that the Christian faith is the guiding rule of their lives. Some of them hold that their sexual orientation is given by God, that it is good, and that there is nothing wrong or sinful with their homosexual activities. These persons say that the Bible and Church Tradition do not condemn…
Great Lent is a wonderful, if trying, time. It’s an opportunity to recharge our spiritual batteries and tell ourselves that despite falling down all year, now is the time to get back up. It’s a time to guard ourselves and give of ourselves in a multitude of ways. We often hear that it is not enough to merely abstain…
When Lent arrives, parents have schedules to maneuver, menus to plan, and services to squeeze in on busy school nights. We take stock: when does Holy Week fall? Whose birthday will be trumped by Lent this year? How will we make it to the extra services when we are in the middle of Little League season?
The following collected words of wisdom from…
This past summer, I was working out at the YMCA for an hour a day, five days a week. Thanks to free child-care, I was able to aerobicise, weight lift, and torture my core muscles via Pilates on a very regular basis, and I felt strong, lean, alert. When fall rolled around, however, my schedule got a whole lot tighter and more…
by Metropolitan Jonah
In what is necessary, unity; in what is dubious, diversity; in all things, charity.
— St. Augustine of Hippo
Creativity is inherent within the Tradition, as synergy vivified by the energy of the Holy Spirit. It is the power that fuels the continual growth of the life of the Church, and its adaptation to each new cultural…
Despite her trembling limbs and the contorted expression on her tear-stained face, I thought she was graceful and beautiful, like a Barbie Doll. I was seven-years-old, drinking ginger ale straight from the can on a queen-sized bed in a Holiday Inn. On the television screen in our hotel room, a sparkling evening gown clad…
Over Christmas break, while staying with my parents and brother’s family at the endearingly rustic Turkey Run Inn in Southern Indiana, the unseasonably warm weather and our wide open schedule beckoned us out of doors for a nature hike. We made for a motley crew of explorers, my husband, Troy, our three oldest kids, niece…
St John Chrysostom’s Catechetical Homily, proclaimed during the Paschal Vigil at Matins, is one of the most profound moments of the Resurrectional Celebration. It paves the way for the rich celebration of the Paschal Divine Liturgy, leaving no one without cause for receiving with joy the triumphal news, “Christ is Risen!” It…