by St. Theophan the Recluse The Lord accomplished our salvation by His death on the Cross: on the Cross He tore up the handwriting of our sins; through the Cross He reconciled us with our God and Father; and through the Cross He brought down upon us grace-filled gifts and all heavenly blessings. But this is the Lord’s Cross itself. Each of us becomes a partaker of its salvific power in no other way than through our personal cross. When the personal cross of each of us is united with Christ’s Cross, the power and effect of the latter is transferred to us and becomes, as it were, a conduit through which every good gift and every perfect gift (James 1:17) is poured forth upon us from the … [Read more...]

National Preparedness Month (NPM) is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster planning now and throughout the year. As our nation continues to respond to COVID-19, there is no better time to be involved this September. 2020 is the poster child year for preparedness, and who knows what the rest of the year will bring. Therefore, as a public service, we are encouraging all of our parish members, catechumens, inquirers, and interested visitors  - anyone and everyone - to take the time to make the most of National Preparedness month in their own households. Use this 'calendar' to complete your preps. Remember, it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and … [Read more...]

by Fr. Lawrence Farley When was the last time you heard a sermon or read an article or blog post on Romans chapter 16? Apart from Rom. 16:1, which describes Phoebe as “a diakonos of the church which is at Cenchrea” (the darling verse of those advocating the restoration of an order of deaconesses), most people pretty much ignore the whole chapter, which consists largely of a list of names of people in the Roman church to whom Paul sends greetings. Greet Prisca and Aquila, greet Epaenetus, greet Mary, greet Andronicus and Junia, greet Ampliatus. The list goes on and on, and most people give it no more attention than they do names in a phone book. As far as most people are concerned, the … [Read more...]

by Jonthan Zecher Acedia: the lost name for the emotion we’re all feeling right now With some communities in rebooted lockdown conditions and movement restricted everywhere else, no one is posting pictures of their sourdough. Zoom cocktail parties have lost their novelty, Netflix can only release so many new series. The news seems worse every day, yet we compulsively scroll through it. We get distracted by social media, yet have a pile of books unread. We keep meaning to go outside but somehow never find the time. We’re bored, listless, afraid and uncertain. What is this feeling? John Cassian, a monk and theologian wrote in the early 5th century about an ancient Greek emotion … [Read more...]

by Fr. Geoffrey Korz At every liturgy in the Orthodox Church, just before the singing of the Nicene Creed, the priest or the deacon intones the words, "The doors! The doors!" This call dates back to the earliest times, when the doors of the church had to be barred shut, to prevent outsiders (in those days, Roman soldiers) from entering the church, witnessing those who confessed the faith, seizing them, and killing them. Being a Christian was not safe. Centuries later, under the Muslim Turks, Crypto-Christians - those who lived publically as Muslims, but secretly as Orthodox Christians - attended Liturgy in secret churches, often hidden beneath secret doors in the floors of their own … [Read more...]

by Abbott Tryphon The USA is now like Russia before the overthrow of the tsar facing a pre-revolutionary situation similar to that in 1917 in Russia, says Abbot Tryphon (Parsons). The Abbot of the monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in honor of the All-Merciful Savior in Washington state, which became one of the first epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and subsequently mass protests that swept the country, believes that the United States is in a pre-revolutionary situation similar to Russia in 1917. It was written by the ROCOR website. According to him, the reason why violent protests that had recently swept across the United States … [Read more...]

by St. Leo the Great For the apostles, who really needed to be strengthened in faith and initiated into a knowledge of every thing, from that miracle comes another lesson. In fact, Moses and Elijah — the Law and the Prophets — appeared hobnobbing with the Lord. This happened so as to perfectly accomplish through the presence of five people what is written: “Every word is confirmed, if delivered in the presence of two or threewitnesses “(Deut. 19.15 Mt 18:16). To proclaim it, the two trumpets of the Old and New Testament resound in full agreement and everything needed to witness to it in ancient times is reunited with the teaching of the Gospel! The pages of both of Testaments, in … [Read more...]

Today, July 24th, marks the beginning of islamic services in Hagia Sophia again. A tragedy for Christians, demonic worship in the house of Christ, and the beginning of the end of the reign of Islamist rule in Turkey. No islamic chant can match the beauty of the Christian voices raising glory to God in the sanctified space which was built for it. Enjoy this, from Cappella Romana, sample of what it sounds like when Christian worship hymnography is sung in Hagia Sophia.  … [Read more...]