by St. John Chrysostom But why did the Holy Spirit come to them, not while Christ was present, nor even immediately after his departure, but, whereas Christ ascended on the fortieth day, the Spirit descended “when the day of Pentecost,” that is, the fiftieth, “was fully come?”(Acts 2:1) And how was it, if the Spirit had not yet come, that He said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit?” (John 20:22) In order to render them capable and meet for the reception of Him. For if Daniel fainted at the sight of an Angel (Dan. 8:17), much more would these when about to receive so great a grace. Either this then is to be said, or else that Christ spoke of what was to come, as if it came already; … [Read more...]
Is God a Fool?
by Fr. Stephen Freeman Few things are as awkward (and even painful) as “feeling like a fool,” whether it is the mild thing we call “embarrassment,” or the stronger things that make us want to disappear or run away. No one wants to be the fool. Nevertheless, I have come to see God as a “fool,” and those rare saints whom we name the “holy fools,” to be amazing exemplars of this way of being. I do not mean to scandalize anyone by saying that I’ve come to see God as a fool. I mean, rather, to suggest that we seem to constantly ignore His abiding foolishness and, as a consequence, fail to understand His love. St. Isaac of Syria wrote about God’s “manikos eros” (literally, “crazy desire”) for … [Read more...]
To Sincere Converts to the Orthodox Faith, and those who are Seeking
by Fr. Thomas Soroka To sincere converts to the Orthodox Faith and those who are seeking: I descend from a very long line of Orthodox Christians by the mercy of God. I also descend from generations of Orthodox clergy. My father, two uncles, my grandfather and great uncle were all priests, having been raised in a pious lineage of Orthodox Christians. Our family life in the church goes back for generations upon generations. I want you to know that you are valued as a convert by those of us who were born into the Church and seek to maintain Her Tradition. No matter your ethnic background, family lineage, previous religious affiliation, or educational level, you are a full member of the … [Read more...]
Metropolitan Hilarion Reposes in the Lord
Today, May 16, 2022, the feast day of St Theodosius of the Kievan Caves, at two o’clock New York time, following a lengthy illness, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, reposed in the Lord, in a NYC hospital. His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese, performed the “Canon of Supplication at the Parting of the Soul.” His Grace was joined by Archpriest Serafim Gan and Hierodeacon Panteleimon (Jigalin). A pannikhida will be performed at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York at 7:30 pm tonight. Further information will be provided … [Read more...]
Ninety Percent of Orthodoxy Is Just Showing Up
by Fr. Stephen Freeman Sometime back, I was asked about “being present.” The question was rooted in the problem of a “wandering mind.” My answer was simple and straight-forward: “You are always present. It comes with having a body.” We speak of the mind “wandering,” and it is a colorful metaphor, but it’s not true. The “mind” hasn’t gone anywhere else, it is simply thinking about something other than where your body is, or, it’s not “thinking” at all. Many times the noise in our head is just an artifact of other things, including our bodies. If we define “thinking” as a rational, intentional act in which we attend to something (whether physical or mental), then we actually think far less … [Read more...]
On the Feast of the Myrrhbearing Women
by St. Theophan the Recluse O tireless women! They didn’t let their eyes sleep and their eyelids close until they found the Beloved One! It seemed that the apostles balked at it. They went to the tomb and saw that it was empty, but they were puzzled and unable to tell what it could mean because they hadn’t seen the Risen Lord. Does it mean that they had less love than the women? No, but theirs was a mindful love, afraid to err because the stakes were too high and the Object of love was so exalted. As soon as they saw and touched Jesus with their own eyes and hands, then each of them professed with their hearts and not just with their mouths like Thomas, "My Lord and my God," (John … [Read more...]
Fifty Days of Sundays
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon When, at the Council of Nicaea, the Church formally determined that Pascha should always be observed on a Sunday, that determination necessarily affected the final day of Pentecost. Thus, beginning and ending on a Sunday, the whole fifty days of Pentecost began to take on some of characteristics associated with Sunday, the day of the Lord’s Resurrection. This adjustment involved two disciplines in particular: the fast days and the posture of prayer. First, because the entire fifty days of the Paschal season was a celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection, Christians began to observe that interval as a non-fasting period. That is to say, from the fourth century … [Read more...]
It’s Time to Abuse the Devil
by St. Innocent of Kherson Translation by Jesse Dominick By the grace of God we have, brethren, finished another Holy Lent. Much has been acquired by those who spent it as they ought, but likewise, it’s no small loss for those who didn’t spend it as they ought. The Church doesn’t force anyone to fulfill the statutes, but those who don’t, punish themselves. When those who have labored well in fasting now enter into the joy of their Lord, the weak and disobedient sons of the Church must necessarily feel some deprivation and sorrow. It’s good if God allows them to live again until another Lent to correct the present omission (although it’s no longer possible to fully get back what was lost); … [Read more...]
On the Mystical Supper
by Archpriest G. C. Debolsky On the day of the feast of unleavened bread, when according to the Law of the Old Testament a lamb was to be slaughtered and eaten, the hour was come that the Savior should depart out of this world unto the Father (cf. Jn. 13:1). Having come to fulfill the law, Jesus Christ sent His disciples, Peter and John, to Jerusalem to prepare the Passover, which, as the shadow of the law, He wanted to exchange it with the New Pascha—His own Body and Blood. When evening had come, the Lord came with His twelve disciples to a large, prepared upper room of a man who lived in Jerusalem (cf. Mk. 14:12–17) and reclined there. Telling them that the Kingdom of God, which is not … [Read more...]
What is Eucharist? From 106 AD
by St. Ignatius of Antioch “Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God….They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes.” Letter to the Smyrnaeans … [Read more...]
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