From the Inkless Pen, the Blog of Fr. Zechariah Lynch Below the reader will find my translation from the Russian of sermon number 15 by St. Seraphim (Zvezdenski), On the Divine Liturgy. These sermons by St. Seraphim are of the uttermost importance for Orthodox Christians today. He tells us clearly that there is no greater gift on Earth than the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is the very heart and soul of the Body of Christ. St. Seraphim makes clear to us today the extent that the early Christians went to in order to protect and attend the Liturgy. Speaking from the harmonious voice of the Fathers, he tells us that for the sake of the Divine Liturgy the sun shines and the earth brings … [Read more...]

We have much to be thankful for. by Abbot Tryphon Thanksgiving has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. The “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated by the Pilgrims after having been safely delivered by God to the shores of the New World. This feast lasted three days, providing enough food for thirteen Pilgrims and ninety Native Americans. The feast consisted of fish (cod, eels, and bass) and shellfish (clams, lobster, and mussels), wild fowl (ducks, geese, swans, and turkey), venison, berries and fruit, vegetables (peas, pumpkin, beetroot and … [Read more...]

by Fr. Stephen Freeman Everyone capable of thanksgiving is capable of salvation. - Fr. Alexander Schmemann I do not believe it is possible to exhaust this topic. I have set forth a few suggestions of how we might build and maintain a life of thanksgiving. Particular thought is given to those times when giving thanks is difficult. 1. I must believe that God is good. I struggled with this for many years. I believed that God was sovereign; I believed that He was the Creator of heaven and earth; I believed that He sent His only Son to die for me. But despite a host of doctrines to which I gave some form of consent, not included (and this was a matter of my heart) was the simple, … [Read more...]

by Fr. Zechariah Lynch In true Christianity — Orthodoxy — right faith and living go hand in hand. For instance, a person cannot confess that "Jesus Christ is not God" and be an Orthodox Christian. In confessing something contrary to the revelation of God in His Church, such a one is setting himself at odds with that revelation. Of course, one may repent, that is, change his faulty confession and receive the true confession of Christ in His Church. Yet a person who willingly persists in a false teaching, willingly sets himself outside of Christ and His Body. A person who rejects the manifest teachings of true Christianity is not a Christian at all. Such a one subscribes to heresy and is a … [Read more...]