What will we experience in the after life? There is no formal doctrine in the Orthodox Church concerning the afterlife for animals, including our pets. Those Fathers of the Church who have expressed themselves on this matter were simply expressing theological opinions that have not become universally accepted, and remain
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 new religions of America At seventy-three, I have witnessed many changes in the United States, but the one change that has saddened me the most is that Christianity has been replaced as the common faith of our nation, by a new religion. This new religion is devoid of Christ,
Pride destroys virtue and renders it useless The absolute necessary element for salvation is faith, and the enemy of faith is pride. Our faith in Christ will bring us into everlasting life, because faith brings us into communion with God. Pride destroys faith because it makes us believe we do
The two natures of the Church image the two natures of Christ Christ, the God-man, was equally divine and human, and His Church is an image of this dual nature. Since we are not fully realized as the children of the Most High, journeying, as we are, to the Kingdom
Thinking upon our own death Saint Sisoes, the great ascetic, standing before the tomb of Alexander the Great, beheld the skeletal remains of one who was once covered in magnificent garments. Astonished, the saint mourned for the vicissitudes of time and the transience of glory, and tearfully proclaimed, “The mere
Disappointments are meaningless with peace of heart We often find ourselves disappointed in life. The job we really wanted is given to another person. An associate at work doesn’t invite us to the dinner party, yet invited a coworker and his wife. A person we’d love to have as a
Blame for all that is wrong with the world rests with me “Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like. If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we
Your closest friend should be yourself If you have never learned to accept and love yourself, you will never be able to love another person. If you don’t learn to forgive yourself, you will never be able to forgive another person. You must learn to be your own best friend.
Those occasions when we mature into spiritual adulthood There are those times in our lives when God seems distant, even absent from us. These are usually times when our faith seems weak and we struggle to believe God really cares for us, or perhaps we begin to question whether God
Embrace your material self, together with your soul Unlike angels, who are entirely spiritual beings, God has made each of you as creatures dwelling in a material world. To be whole, you must worship God both in body, soul, and spirit. This teaching is central to our Christian faith and