An Opportunity to Empty Ourselves to Make Way for the Lord Monday is the beginning of the Nativity Fast. Fasting has always been an important element in the life of Christians. The Lord Himself fasted in the desert for forty days before beginning His ministry and both the Old and
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
Children learn love of God by the example of their parents Every Orthodox parent wants their children to grow up attending Sunday Liturgies and staying active in the life of the Church throughout their lives. Yet many parents don’t demonstrate the importance of having a personal relationship with God in
Being a Member of the Body of Christ Each and every time we gather together to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, we are not simply commemorating an event that happened almost two thousand years ago. We are not simply commemorating the Last Supper, when Christ shared a meal with His disciples.
We Must Vomit Up The Evil Fruit At the moment we’ve committed ourselves to a life in Christ, change takes place. We begin walking the path of repentance, putting off the ‘old man’ and putting on Christ. The waters of baptism began this change, and the life-giving waters of regeneration
Uniting Together in Giving Thanks to God It has become the practice in America for many Orthodox Christians to gather in their temples for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Thanksgiving Day. As we gather together with friends and family, sharing in the traditional turkey dinner, we remember that
The Ability to Express One’s Emotions, and be Empathetic to the Needs of Others When we are in our head, we are more judgmental, yet when we are in our heart, we become non-judgmental. Being critical of others is not an Orthodox trait, for being critical, whether of other people,
The Capacity to Forgive and the Capacity to Love The capacity to forgive is directly related to the capacity to love, and it is in our act of forgiving others that we find forgiveness. For it is in turning away from our own self-concern, and our own self-will, that we
Our Enemy is Not of Flesh and Blood The Church Militant, which is the Church of Christ here on this earth, is in the midst of a battle. Our enemy is not one of flesh and blood, but one of darkness and evil. The survival of humankind is not dependent
The Critic, Fearing He Will Fail, Does Nothing It is easy to be critical of another person, finding fault with what we perceive they are doing, have done, or have not done. Yet the man who points out how another man has stumbled, finding fault in something he himself has