by Fr. Johannes Jacobse People say that the Liturgy is the Kingdom of God entering time and while this definition works I suppose, I have never really understood what it really means. Yes, I understand it abstractly, but abstraction has only a limited usefulness. So I’ve come up with another. Worship is necessary because it creates the place where the soul can experience a measure of the necessary reordering that fosters healing. The soul has structure, and the healing of the soul, which is also the healing of the person, is one of the concrete, experiential constituents of salvation. Salvation is not metaphorical. It is real which means that it is experiential and affects concrete change … [Read more...]
On the Building Of Churches
by St. John Maximovitch Our father among the saints, John Maximovitch, was a diocesan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) who served widely from China to France to the United States. Countless miracles have been attributed to this holy bishop, both during his lifetime and since his repose. ASONA entreats his assistance as we raise funds and prepare to build. Some people are saying: “The time is not come to build the Lord’s house.” Among them are many who are buying houses for themselves, who live in their own houses in full satisfaction of their material needs, or who are selling their homes to move into better and better dwellings, increasing their assets. … [Read more...]
2026 AZ Liturgical Practicum: The Venerable Vigil – Valuable, Versatile, Vexatious
This coming Nov. 18-21, 2026 ASONA will host the 3rd Annual AZ Liturgical Practicum. The Venerable Vigil V A L U A B L E , V E R S A T I L E , V E X A T I O U S November 18-21, 2026 Location: All Saints of North America Church 18700 N. 107th Avenue Unit 5 Sun City, AZ $300 in person/$200 via livestream CLICK HERE TO REGISTER The schedule available shortly. Watch this space! Hotel Information Both hotels seem to have the best deal through Super.com SPEAKERS Fr. Patrick O’Grady | Fr. Christopher Horsley | Fr. Daniil Millwood Fr. Patrick O'Grady - A renown expert on Orthodox liturgics, Fr Patrick served as a Protestant pastor for 25 years and an Orthodox priest … [Read more...]
What Is Orthodox Mystagogy? Life After Baptism
Baptism is not graduation day. It is birth into the life of Christ. That is why the question, what is Orthodox mystagogy, matters so much for anyone preparing to enter the Church or seeking to live faithfully after entering her. Mystagogy is the Church's patient, deliberate work of helping the newly illumined grow into the Holy Mysteries they have received. A person may spend months or years learning the Orthodox faith before baptism or chrismation. He learns the Creed, the Scriptures, the commandments, the shape of Orthodox worship, and the claims of the Church. Yet receiving this instruction is different from living it. After baptism, the Christian must learn how to pray as one united to … [Read more...]
How to Use a Prayer Rope in Orthodox Prayer
A prayer rope is not jewelry, a lucky object, or a way to measure spiritual achievement. It is a humble tool for gathering a wandering mind before God. Learning how to use a prayer rope begins not with counting knots perfectly, but with standing honestly before Christ and asking for mercy. In Orthodox Christianity, the prayer rope accompanies the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. This short prayer carries the confession of the Gospel. Jesus is Lord. He is the Christ, the Son of God. We need His mercy. Repeated quietly and attentively, it can become a steady thread running through the day. What a prayer rope is for A traditional Orthodox prayer rope … [Read more...]
Orthodox Fasting Versus Dieting: The Difference
A grocery list can make Orthodox fasting versus dieting appear almost identical. Both may involve eating less, avoiding certain foods, planning meals, and resisting appetites. But the resemblance is only outward. A diet asks, “What will this do for my body?” Orthodox fasting asks a more searching question: “What is ruling my heart, and how can I offer my whole life to Christ?” The Church does not give us fasting as a religious version of meal planning. She gives it as an ascetic discipline: a concrete way of learning repentance, self-command, prayer, generosity, and dependence on God. Food matters because we are embodied persons. Yet fasting is never finally about food. Orthodox Fasting … [Read more...]
What Is an Orthodox Sacramental Worldview?
A glass of water can be ordinary, necessary, and easily overlooked. Yet at Holy Baptism, water becomes the appointed means by which Christ grants new birth. Bread and wine remain bread and wine, yet in the Eucharist they become the true Body and Blood of the Lord. This is not religious imagination added to an otherwise secular world. An Orthodox sacramental worldview begins with the conviction that God made the material world good, entered it in the Incarnation, and uses it to bring His people into communion with Him. For many modern people, reality is divided in two: spiritual matters belong to private belief, while ordinary life belongs to work, politics, technology, consumption, and … [Read more...]
Orthodox Scripture Interpretation in the Church
A Bible opened alone can become a mirror. We may find our assumptions, preferences, fears, and arguments reflected back at us. Orthodox scripture interpretation begins with a more demanding and more life-giving claim: Holy Scripture belongs to the Church that received it, proclaimed it, prayed it, defended it, and lives by it. This does not mean ordinary Christians should avoid reading the Bible for themselves. Quite the opposite. The Orthodox Church calls her people to hear, read, memorize, sing, and obey the Scriptures. But she does not ask anyone to become his own final authority. The Bible is the Word of God, and it is rightly heard within the worshiping people of God. Scripture Is the … [Read more...]
Why We Build Churches
by Fr. James Coles We do not build churches merely because we need more room. We build them because man needs a place where his heart can be gathered into the presence of God. A church is a place where heaven touches the earth, where we stand together before Christ, where our children learn to pray, where the departed are remembered, and where the Holy Mysteries sanctify our whole life. When a parish grows and we build, we are not simply constructing a larger building; we are preparing a larger dwelling place for prayer, for communion, and for the generations who will come after us. We build with gratitude for those who came before us, with love for those who stand beside us today, and with … [Read more...]
Liturgical Worship Versus Contemporary Services
When Christians weigh liturgical worship versus contemporary services, they are often asking deeper questions: What is worship for? Who is the Church? How does a person actually grow in communion with God? These questions deserve more than a debate about hymn preferences, instruments, or clothing. A church service is never merely a matter of style. Orthodox Christianity answers from the life of the Church received from the apostles. Worship is not a weekly religious event designed around personal taste. It is the gathered people of God entering, by grace, the worship of heaven. The Divine Liturgy forms us because it places Christ at the center and asks us to bring our whole selves before … [Read more...]
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