Putting The Blame In The Right Place “A humble and spiritually active man, when he reads the Holy Scriptures, will refer everything to himself and not to another.” Saint Mark the Ascetic We all have a natural tendency to lay blame on others, when in truth we must blame only
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
The Jesus Prayer, and the Acquisition of Inner Peace The Jesus Prayer, also known as the Prayer of the Heart, is the central prayer for monastics. One of the early desert fathers, Saint Macarius the Great, said of the phrase from the Psalms, “The meditation of my heart is in your
The Eucharist Imparts Life And The Life Is The Life Of God We do not attend the Divine Liturgy, but participate in the Divine Liturgy, for in communing with God, we receive the Bread of Life. The Liturgy lifts us up above the disordered and dysfunctional world, and we are
Thoughts That Arouse Us To Judge Our Neighbor At the very first sign we are tempted to judge our neighbor, we must condemn ourselves. Self-condemnation is the only weapon that assures us of escaping the sin of judging another, for when we make ourselves confront our own sin, the sin
We Must Impart The Faith As A Missionary People Two Byzantine brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius, brought Orthodox Christianity to the Slavs in the ninth century. The brilliance of Eastern Orthodox missionary outreach, as opposed to that of the Latin Church, was in the very use of the vernacular. These
Anger and Road Rage Banished with the Jesus Prayer The very best tool to banish anger and road rage is the recitation of the Jesus Prayer. Calling upon the Holy Name of Jesus, when under spiritual attack, is a quick way to dispel the demon of anger. When confronted with
The Transformational Power of a Faith Unchanged In an age when many Christian denominations are trying to appear relevant and modern, I am finding that large numbers of people are drawn to the Ancient Faith by the beard and robe. I am constantly thanked for dressing as I do by
The Church Is Forever United With Christ The Church Fathers saw Orthodoxy as a Way of Life rather than a religion. Although the Church has many of the same attributes as religion, this does not mean she is herself a religious institution. Rather, she is a Hospital for the Soul,