Author: Abbot Tryphon

Can God’s Temple Be Duplicated At Home? Over the years I have met people who have chosen not to join a church, choosing, rather, to “worship” at home. Some have convinced themselves church is a waste of time, and feel they can be close to God while staying home on

The Place of the Holy Virgin in the Life of a Christian The Holy Virgin is a stumbling block for many protestants looking into Orthodoxy. The idea that this woman described in the Gospels in such humble terms could be called Mother of God seems unbiblical to them. She was

Holy Tradition is the Church’s Guide to Interpreting Holy Scripture The Bible can only be understood through the Church, for the Holy Scriptures came forth from the Church. The reformers dumped the papacy only to replace that institution with themselves as the ultimate authority. Since reason and logic ruled, there

Holiness Comes Only to Those Who Struggle Not an hour should pass without taking time to examine our heart, for the hour of judgement can come at any time, and we must be ready to give account to God for our life. There is no spiritual improvement if we do

All Important for the Preservation of Orthodoxy When parishes are forced to close, it is not just because the children have moved away, and the old folks have died off. The problem is much greater than this. With increased numbers of immigrants joining parishes, often with the expressed desire to

The Family Gathered Around the Hearth The recent severe winter storms hitting the United States have resulted in outages that have left millions of homes without power. In an age when most depend on electricity for warmth, light, and cooking, these outages are particularly devastating. Knowing the history of lengthy

The Feast of Saint Herman of Alaska Saint Herman of Alaska was a Russian Orthodox monk and missionary to Alaska, which was then part of Russian America. His gentle approach and ascetic life earned him the love and respect of both the native Alaskans and the Russian colonists. He is

The Cure for the Snares of the Enemy As we struggle with our passions, the only way we can overcome our sin is through humility. The snares of the enemy are all around us, and if we think we can win the battle with the enemy without humility, we are

We Inherit the Results of Adam’s Sin, and not His Guilt The doctrine of original sin as espoused in the West, is foreign to Orthodoxy, yet in no way suggests we do not need to be born again (born anew). We believe, as did the Early Church Fathers, that we