Your Nativity, O Virgin, has proclaimed joy to the whole universe! The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone from you, O Theotokos! By annulling the curse, He bestowed a blessing. By destroying death, He has granted us eternal life. -Troparion of the Feast The first Great Feast to fall in the Church Year is the Nativity of the Most-Holy Theotokos. It is entirely fitting that at the beginning of the new religious year all Orthodox Christians should come before the highest example of human holiness that the Orthodox Church holds precious and venerates — that of Mary, the Theotokos and Mother of God. This day is seen as one of universal joy; for on this day — the boundary of … [Read more...]

A grassroots effort has begun to unify Arizona Christian pastors around the sanctity of human life while providing a clear voice against the proposed “Arizona Abortion Access Act” (Prop 139) that will most likely be on the ballot November 2024.  The proposed constitutional amendment called “The Abortion Access Act” makes abortion a “fundamental right” in Arizona. It puts that newly created right above the health and safety of girls and women and the life of the unborn. The amendment is written so broadly that, according to attorney analysis, it: Allows unlimited abortion up to birth under the broad “mental health” exemption that is frequently used to rubber stamp late-term abortion. … [Read more...]

On Sunday, July 14, 2024, ASONA celebrated our Patronal Feast, and the hierarchical visitation of Bishop James of Sonora. It was the first time one of our bishops attended the new location for ASONA. A feast followed the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Here is a photo gallery of the event. … [Read more...]

Apologetic students take notes! by Fr. John Whiteford We have previously discussed Aristotle Papanikolaou's strange notion that, unlike the dogmas of the Church, Orthodox Christian morality is open to dispute and change (see The Living Church 2.0). In the wake of a recent conference in Oxford of Orthodox "scholars, pastors, clinicians, and other experts" who gathered to "dialogue" about LGBTQP+ issues, Papanikolaou has asserted that never in the history of the Church has the term "heresy" been used to describe a false teaching on a moral issue. In the course of a Twitter exchange about the problems with this conference, I commented: "It's the idea that holding the position that … [Read more...]

by Fr. John Whiteford If we look at the Scriptures and to Jewish custom, the answer is clearly “No.” Another grand slam from the Bible – from Fr. John’s “Stump the Priest” column Question: How would you answer a Protestant who considered our veneration of the Cross (bowing down before it and kissing it) to be idolatry? First we should consider whether or not bowing down before something or kissing it entails the worship of adoration that is due to God alone. If we look at the Scriptures and to Jewish custom, the answer is clearly “No.” Abraham bowed himself before the people of Hebron (Genesis 23:7, 12); Joseph’s brothers bowed before him (Genesis 42:6; 43:26, 28); and many other … [Read more...]

A question asked by many is, “Why did Jesus need to be baptized?” To answer this, let’s first explore the nature of baptism as explained by Saint John Chrysostom. Jewish Baptism Saint John Chrysostom points out that the Jewish Baptism was one of cleansing. He says, There was a Jewish baptism, which cleansed from bodily impurities, but not to remove sins. Thus, whoever committed adultery, or decided on thievery, or who did some other kind of misdeed, it did not free him from guilt. But whoever touched the bones of the dead, whoever tasted food forbidden by the law, whoever approached from contamination, whoever consorted with lepers — that one washed, and until evening was impure, … [Read more...]