Author: Abbot Tryphon
Children Must be Taught Kindness at an Early Age More and more frequently we read about children taking their own lives, having reached a place where they would rather be dead than live another hour suffering from bullying. Too often parents and teachers have ignored the problem of bullying, dismissing
We Are A Culture On The Brink We have moved from a period in which little Samuel said, “speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth,” to one in which we now say, “Listen, Lord, for thy servant speaketh.” Our American culture has become so enamored, even consumed, with the importance of
Moving Beyond the Swamp of Despondency Depression is one of the plagues of the modern age, overtaking many with it’s insidious poison, and ravaging many a life. The pain and suffering that comes with deep depression can infect those who surround the sufferer, for the depression of one person can
When We Fall We Must Get Up Again It is often the case that we fail to keep God’s commandments and find ourselves despondent, unable to make progress in the battle over our sins. The same sins seem to constantly plague us. Despondency is our enemy, for it is the
The Similarities Between the Trainer and the Spiritual Director Just after my graduation from college I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I worked at various jobs, including waiting tables in an upscale restaurant (to this day, I’m a good tipper), bartender in a small Irish pub (I’m one 62% Scottish,
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
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
An old monk ventures to learn the technology of the young For years it troubled me that most Orthodox Christians knew little about the faith. The theological books available were, in most cases, too lengthy for the average reader. I thus asked God to help me write short and simple