Author: Abbot Tryphon

Tending the Garden of the Heart Both my grandfather, and my mother, were avid gardeners, so I grew up surrounded by the beauty of plants and flowers. The cottage garden is a distinct style of garden that is certainly my favorite. The use of traditional materials, in an informal design,

The Importance of Sharing Orthodoxy With This Present Generation Recently, we received a text message from a woman, telling us that she had been getting telephone calls concerning Abbot Tryphon. She claimed there are people who saw the photo of me standing with a group of young men in the

Fasting Gains Freedom, Sobriety, Purity, and Strength Our fasting is pleasing to the Lord when it is accompanied by mercy and kindness, and done without hypocrisy or pride. Fasting brings the passions under control by not only taming the body, but bringing victory over the demons. Fasting gives us power

The Enemy Of Christ Stops At Nothing For those of you who have been reading my blog articles concerning The Orthodox Montanica Conference that took place at Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Butte, Montana, you are already aware of how excited we all were that 95 percent of the

When Prayer Becomes Dry When we find ourselves struggling with prayer, and feel that it has become dry and lifeless, we are sometimes tempted to stop praying.  When our prayer has become a struggle, it is good to remember that God knows our needs, and even knows what we want

Without Having Christ As Our Lord and Saviour, We Dare Not Call Ourselves Christian Church attendance means nothing if we remain unrepentant. Metropolitan Anthony Bloom said, “The Church has a glorious aspect and a tragic one. Each one of us bears the aspect of the Church’s infirmity. We are within

Icons Act As Windows Into Eternity Upon entering an Orthodox Christian church one is immediately taken by the icons and frescoes that adorn the walls. These are not displays of Christian art but reminders that when we enter into our temples for worship, we are surrounded by “the unseen hosts

Waging War Against The Flesh Since the eyes and the ears are the doors of the soul, an Orthodox Christian must not leave the body without attention. Unlike the religion of Gnosticism, which teaches the separation of soul and body, with the physical world being evil and something to be

Avoiding This Present Darkness For those who embrace the enjoyment of partying and entertainment, all in an attempt to avoid the hardships and life struggles that make great souls, they will have failed to embrace the essential element that makes this life journey salvific. They will have avoided their service

In Christ We Have Victory Over the Evil and Darkness of this Present Age In monasticism a monk weeps during the night over his sins that he might rejoice during the day. He knows that there is a danger in emphasizing God’s all loving nature to the exclusion of His