Author: Abbot Tryphon

Loosed from the stench of sin In the mystery that is the sacrament of holy confession, which Christ established after His Resurrection, He said to His disciples, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit: Whose so ever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven” (John. 20:22-23). As we wind down our Lenten journey,

Confronting our weaknesses As we continue our Lenten journey, this is a time when the Church puts much emphasis on the role of repentance. We strive to go to confession more frequently during Great Lent, just as we’ve increased our level of fasting, and frequency of attending the services. Holy

Educating the mind while ignoring the heart The stress that is placed upon the importance of educating the mind is enormous, yet misplaced. Without a good solid education, we are told, our life will amount to nothing. One of my grandmothers grew up in Wisconsin as a simple, uneducated woman.

Accusing only ourselves We see people’s sins, but we don’t know whether they have made peace with God. We don’t know if the person who has sinned regrets it, but we are not called to judge them, but only to forgive them. As we become aware of our own sins,

Thoughts on the afterlife, and the place of animals in the Kingdom 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

Know who you really are We are all surrounded by fictional characters, persons who are the invention of filmmakers, promoters, and even self-inventors. The original meaning of the word “hypocrite” was “actor”, and it is ignorance of our true nature as children of God that keeps us living as fictional

The Tradition of the Paschal Egg There is a beautiful tradition within the life of the Church for believers to have as their last meal before beginning the Great Lenten Fast, to eat a hard boiled egg, white in color. This egg represents our sinful nature, and we eat this

Sharing the Truth in a world devoid of hope If you wish to share the truth of the Orthodox Faith, and Christ Who is her head, you must give witness to the love of Christ by loving everyone. Without Christ, Orthodoxy is just another religion, devoid of the power to

Glory to God for all things! My cardioversion took place on Thursday morning at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma. After two attempts, where they stopped my heart and used electric shock in an attempt to restart the heart in the correct rhythm, the cardiologist was unable to reverse my

Praying for God’s will in our lives When we consider the words of the Our Father, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”, we must remember, as Christians, that our prayers must always be focused on the knowledge that, ultimately, we must desire that God’s will