When We Live As Problem Centered People We Miss The Mark There are a lot of fear based communities in our world. Some are religious and some are political. All are guilty of missing the mark when it comes to the message of the Church. We Christians were not programmed
Author: Abbot Tryphon
I am abbot of All-Merciful Saviour Orthodox Monastery (ROCOR) on Vashon Island, WA. The island is a twenty minute ferry ride from West Seattle, and a fifteen minute crossing from Tacoma.
Surrounded by the Salish Sea, the island is some 87% undeveloped forest, with a rural population of around eleven thousand citizens. If you wish to contact me personally, you can email me at: abbottryphon@vashonmonks.com
Authenticity and the Authority of the Church If she is true to herself, the Church acts with an authority that is grounded in love. She holds within her realm the authority to make her people the children of God. She has the authority to forgive, and the capacity to love.
Birth Control, and the Orthodox Christian Marriage, for the Orthodox Christian, is to have as its foundation, Jesus Christ, and a commitment to live in full communion with the Church. When a couple are joined together in this mystical (sacramental) union with one another, they become one flesh, and begin
Without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5) If we are to be true to our calling as the children of God, we must live in imitation of Christ. We must imitate His meekness and humility. We must love others just as did He. We must be willing to be
Good Deeds Must Come From The Heart If the performance of good deeds are done in order to attain personal benefit for oneself, or to receive the praise of others, it falls under the sin of avarice, vanity, and greed. Anyone who performs good deeds for such purposes is guilty
Frank Atwood, Who Was Tonsured A Monk With The Name Ephraim, Has Been Executed By The State Of Arizona For eight years I served as the Orthodox chaplain in two State of Washington prisons, eventually stepping down to begin my eighteen years of service to our island’s fire department, as
We Must Embrace Our Material Self, Together With Our Soul Unlike angels, who are entirely spiritual beings, God has made each of us as creatures dwelling in a material world. To be whole, we must worship God both in body and soul. This teaching is central to our Christian faith
Prayer should be the vehicle that takes us into the Heart of God Over the years, as strange as it may seem, we’ve had a number of people ask us if we’d pray they win the lottery, promising that if they did they’d donate a large portion to the brotherhood.
Living Our Lives in Total Commitment Christianity is a religion of asceticism, instructing us to store up our treasures in heaven, where the benefits have eternal value. Throughout the New Testament we read of the importance of struggle, where focus on the acquisition of a humble and contrite heart is