Category Archive

“And I’ll tell you this, my child, that the days will come when the Christians will add to and will take away from, and will alter the books of the Holy Evangelists, and of the Holy Apostles, and of the Divine Prophets, and of the Holy Fathers. They will tone down the Holy Scriptures and will compose troparia, hymns, and writings technologically. Their nous (souls) will be spilled out among them, and will become alienated …

Recently, I had the blessing of attending a college youth meeting in which they were discussing the sanctity of marriage in Church and society. Not surprisingly, the issue of same-sex marriage came up and the servant asked the youth, “If you were invited to the same-sex wedding of a close friend, would you attend?” Quite surprisingly (at least to me), a couple of Orthodox Christian youth indicated that they would indeed attend out of a sense …

In 384 A.D., our father among the saints, the Holy Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzus) composed the following 111-line poem to Olympiatha, a young bride, on the occasion of her crowning and marriage to Nevrithios, an illustrious youth and official of the imperial city. Although the saint wrote this poem as advice to a young bride, it can be received as advice for all faithful women. My daughter, For your wedding, I, your spiritual father Gregory, …

Are you going to SMSP or SASC tomorrow? This question likely makes no sense to you, dear reader, but to a fictional youth deciding between two fictional parishes, St. Mark and St. Peter Church (SMSP) and St. Athanasius and St. Cyril Church (SASC), the question makes perfect sense, because each parish, of course, has an acronym. Wait… acronyms? For parish names? Why? Let me suggest with all love, respect, and sincerity, that this notion of …

When the Founding Fathers of this country, after having been oppressed in England throughout much of their lives, sought to define the inalienable rights to which every human is entitled, they came up with this phrase found in the Declaration of Independence: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We see that the pursuit of happiness was considered to be as important as life itself. Who among us doesn’t want this happiness and joy? It …

In the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Hatour, our Savior declared, “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Lk 14:27). From these divine words, we learn that suffering and tribulations in this world are part of the cost of discipleship and requirements for those who wish to bear the name “Christian.” The letter reproduced below is said to have been written by a modern Russian …

Any period of fasting is a time for reflection and sincere self-examination. What kind of person have I become? What motivates me? Who am I? Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos, who was recently canonized as a saint in the Greek Orthodox Church, offers a thought-provoking meditation on the two categories of people in this world: I know from experience that in this life people are divided in two categories. A third category does not exist; …

Fasting, coupled with prayer, is one of the most powerful spiritual weapons we have in our struggle against the devil, sin, and the passions. This is undoubtedly why the Holy Church, as a loving Mother, consecrates several periods of fasting throughout the year, including the 43-day Fast of the Nativity, which we just began. The power of fasting comes from its connection to self-denial, the practice of saying “no” or “not now” to our impulses. …

As we continue our fast for the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity, we consider the following wisdom from St. John Chrysostomos whose feast we joyfully celebrated today. The Golden-Mouth counsels us to thank God for our enemies who actually help us in our journey to the eternal Kingdom. Enemies, he tells us, provide us with the opportunity to be Christlike by practicing love, mercy, and forgiveness. As our Savior teaches us in His Sermon on …

For those of us following the Old (Julian) calendar, as we do in the Coptic Orthodox Church, we have just begun the Nativity Fast, which culminates in the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity in the flesh on January 7, 2017. Throughout this Fast, we commemorate the events that preceded the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and ultimately transformed human history. We are called to be attentive and faithful, awaiting the Feast of our Lord’s …