by St. Cyril of Jerusalem Let us not curiously pry into what is properly meant by the throne; for it is incomprehensible. But neither let us endure those who falsely say, that it was after His Cross and Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, that the Son began to sit on the right hand of the Father. For the Son gained not His throne by advancement; but throughout His being (and His being is by an eternal generation) He also sitteth together with the Father. And this throne the Prophet Isaiah having beheld before the incarnate coming of the Savior, says,  I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up  (Is. 6:1), and the rest. For the Father no man hath seen at any … [Read more...]

by Vladimir Lossky The feast of Mid-Pentecost occupies a place (Wednesday of the fourth week after Pascha) between the Resurrection of Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit [Pentecost], and thus it is adorned with the especial glory characteristic of “the root of the greatest feasts” (see Matins, the canon of Theophanes, Ode 5). Just like the majority of “ideological” feasts, this mysterious celebration of grace (unknown in the West), apparently dates back to deep antiquity. In fact, our present-day feast of Pentecost contains, besides the stichera of a later period (early eighth century), liturgical elements ascribed to Holy Hierarch Elias of Jerusalem (494–513) or Holy Hierarch … [Read more...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

On The Liturgy: Theology, Meaning, and Serving Thursday February 13 – Monday February 17, 2024 IN PERSON: $300     ONLINE LIVESTREAM: $175        In Person limited to 30 spots               Online participants limited to 100 spots    Location: All Saints of North America Orthodox Church    18700 N. 107th Ave. Ste. 5   Sun City, AZ With the blessing of His Eminence, Archbishop Kyrill, a “Liturgical Practicum” will be convened from 13-17 February 2025 (President’s Day Weekend) in Phoenix, AZ. This is the inaugural practicum, with the intention, that it will become an annual event. The event is open to: all potential candidates to ordination. all readers and subdeacons who wish to … [Read more...]

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...]