Author: Abbot Tryphon

Today is Thomas Sunday, called so after Saint Thomas the Apostle, who wanted to place his hands in the wounds of Christ, before he would believe that He had risen from the dead. Thomas is like all of us. He is the “everyman”, who would one day be a great

The centrality of repentance in the life of a Christian In our struggle on the path to God, repentance must be the central theme. Only in repentance will we find the true meaning of life, for only in repentance can one enter into communion with God. This life has been

The Church begins and ends with Jesus It would seem so obvious, but this truth must become paramount to our thinking, since it is often forgotten. We can get so caught up in all the ecclesiastical, social, political, and cultural aspects of our life in the Church, that the gospel

At Baptism we receive the gift of a new birth from above At the time of our baptism the Church gives us the gift of a new birth from above, and welcomes us into the Body of Christ, which is the Church Herself. It is our membership in Christ’s Church

Jesus never apologized for offending the Pharisees  The legalistic and cunning minds of the Pharisees, the basis of their hypocrisy, was the focus of much of Christ’s condemnation. The Pharisees were good actors, seeming to be pious and staunch purveyors of correctly practiced religion, yet they were personally offended by

The restoration of our true nature Saint Seraphim, who lived deep in the Forest of Sarov, always greeted visitors with the words, “My joy”. This saint’s words bespoke of his continuous joyful state. His holiness was not a sadness, but a joyfulness that everyone encountered when coming into his presence.

And the Resurrection of Jesus Christ The jubilation of the Church is also the jubilation of the Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity at the accomplishment of our salvation. The resurrection of Christ, which brought on the defeat of the power of death, is the cause of joyful praise, because

The Resurrection of Our Lord, God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! Хрїстóсъ воскрéсе! Воистину воскресе! Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig oppstanden! Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ανέστη! Христос воскресе! Воистину воскресе! Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha

The Orthodox Observance of Great And Holy Saturday On Great and Holy Saturday the Church observes the day on which Christ reposed in the tomb. Foreshadowing this day as the blessed the seventh day, by Moses, the Church sees it the Blessed Sabbath. In other words, this is the day

The Orthodox Observance of Great and Holy Friday The commemorations of Holy Friday begin with the Matins service of the day which is conducted on Holy Thursday evening. The service is a very unique Matins service with twelve Gospel readings that begin with Christ’s discourse at the Last Supper, and