by His Grace, the Right Reverend Alexei, Bishop of Sitka and Alaska Humility, chastity, and modesty are virtues that especially adorn the most Pure Virgin Mother of our God. Modesty is itself one of the fruits of the Spirit enumerated by Saint Paul. Modesty is a kindness towards one’s neighbor, a humble goodness that provokes neither envy nor desire, and love that thinks more of others than of self. When we pray in Church, we are especially called to modesty, which enables us to approach God with that humble and contrite heart that He will not despise. Our Lord Himself was modest, modest about His miracles, modest in His speech, modest in His example, modest in the washing His disciples' … [Read more...]
What Is Authentic Interior Worship?
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Perhaps among the least appreciated, and seldom thought on, descriptions of Jesus our Lord is the one given by John the Baptist: “His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor; and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12). Threshing is a violent activity. It is done by pounding the grain repeatedly on a stone floor with a shovel or a flail, in order to separate it from the husks which enclose it. The discarded husks are called chaff. When this beating of the grain has been done, the thresher uses his shovel to throw it into the air, so that the wind … [Read more...]
The Reason Orthodox Christians Cross Themselves from Right to Left
Orthodox cross themselves from right to left. first we will describe the mechanics of making the cross, then explain why it is indeed important that we make the sign of the cross correctly. Placing the cross on oneself 1) We place our thumb and first two fingers together in a point, and our last we fingers flat against our palm. The three fingers together represent the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the two fingers in the palm represent the two natures of Christ. 2) We touch our forehead, then our belly, tracing the vertical part of the cross. 3) From our belly, we bring our hand up to our right shoulder, touching it. 4) We finish placing the cross on ourself by … [Read more...]
2025 Arizona Walk for Life
Members of All Saints of North America Orthodox Church participated in this year's Arizona Walk for Life in downtown Phoenix on Sunday, March 16, 2025. Parish members from several local Orthodox parishes took part in this annual event. A gallery of pictures from the Walk for Life is below. God is glorified in his saints! … [Read more...]
Out of the Cross
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon When we speak of excruciating pain, we do well to look at the etymology of that adjective: ex cruce, “out of the cross.” It is nearly impossible to exaggerate what the Savior suffered on the cross. Whether the cause of Jesus’ death was asphyxiation, or hypercarbia, or hypovolemic shock, or heart failure, or exsanguination, or total physical exhaustion brought on by tetanic contractions throughout his entire body—or any combination of these, or any other plausible suggestion—the astounding fact is that Jesus, at the very end, “cried out again with a loud voice.” From a medical perspective, this is surprising. Surely, it was the last thing anyone on … [Read more...]
Why the Holy Church proclaims “Anathema”
By Sergei V. Bulgakov The terrible word anathema, by which the Holy Church punishes those who betray the right belief, means excommunication and exile from the society of believers, cutting off from the spiritual and mystical body of Christ, deprivation of all spiritual rights which the faithful children of the Church are used to. To be cut off from the Church means to lose everything that the Heavenly Father through the incarnation of His Only-begotten Son and that were granted to us through faith in Him, to lose the grace of baptism and adoption by God the Father, the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, by which we were signed in the Sacrament of Chrismation; to lose the most heavenly … [Read more...]
On the Procession of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
The Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent. It is the celebration of the victory of the iconodules over the iconoclasts by the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. Therefore, the service is to commemorate the restoration of icons for use in services and private devotional life of Christians. Services usually include a procession of icons around the Church. Orthodox Parishes, Monasteries, Cathedrals, and Chapels all over the world will be celebrating this important feast, and will be doing their own processions, just as we will. We at ASONA will be keeping this tradition and having the annual Procession of Icons after Divine Liturgy. … [Read more...]
2025 Liturgical Practicum Held in Phoenix, AZ
With the blessing of His Eminence, Archbishop Kyrill, a “Liturgical Practicum” was convened from 13-17 February 2025 (President’s Day Weekend) in Phoenix, AZ. Sponsored by the Western American Diocese Liturgical Committe, GreatMartyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy, and All Saints of North America Orthodox Church, the practicum went for 5 solid days. The first day was a day dedicated to subdiaconal service and training, especially for hierarchical liturgy celebration. In addition to liturgical praxis, and many informative Q&A sessions following each liturgical service (all of which were livestreamed along with the practicum), there were Academic sessions which covered at a … [Read more...]
Why Does the Church Repeatedly Bless Water?
The Baptism of The Lord The Lord came to the Jordan and was baptized of John not because he was in need of that cleansing, but so that He might fulfill all that was attributable to human nature, which He had assumed, and to show that He had a true body and that he truly was an actual man. He did not want to transgress the law, and so answered: For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness (Math. 3:15). It was for this reason that He entered into the waters of Baptism. But in so doing, He gave them incomparably more than He could receive from them, for he was in need of nothing. For with His light He illuminated those very waters, and gave them a certain special power by which those … [Read more...]
Hotel Information for 2025 Liturgical Practicum
Click HERE to Register for Practicum NOW Hotel information A block of rooms for Practicum participants has been reserved at the local Drury Inn 2335 W Pinnacle Peak Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85027 Ask for group: All Saints of North America Orthodox Church Click here to register: https://www.druryhotels.com/bookandstay/newreservation/?groupno=10139584 Please make your reservations by Thursday, January 30, 2025 to receive your group rate. Reservations made after this date will be subject to prevailing rates and availability. Reservations may also be made by calling 1-800-325-0720 and referring to your group number 10139584. Questions? Email office@orthodoxacademy.org Sponsored by The … [Read more...]
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