Author: Abbot Tryphon

Letting the Church be put in order Whenever we hear of problems in the Church it is our natural inclination to want to read all about it and root out all the details. Yet if we really want to benefit our soul, we should take the advice of the Elder

God’s love consumes all According to Saint Gregory of Nyssa, heaven and hell are not about location, but about relationship. God is everywhere, and He did not create a heaven for some, and a hell for others. If we love God, His fire will be a comforting warmth, but if

The role of obedience in the acquisition of humility In the Christian life there are two paths to salvation and whichever road you chose must be embraced with your whole being. The married state and monasticism both have as their primary means of aiding in your salvation the acquisition of

We inherit only the results of Adam’s sin, which is death The fact that we Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of original sin as espoused in the West, does in no way suggest that we do not need to be born again (born anew). We believe, as did the

Waging war against the flesh Since the eyes and the ears are the doors of the soul, an Orthodox Christian must not leave the body without attention. Unlike the religion of Gnosticism, which teaches the separation of soul and body, with the physical world being evil and something to be

Wednesday January 28, 2015 / January 15, 2015 34th Week after Pentecost. Tone eight. Fast. Fish Allowed St. Paul of Thebes, Egypt (341), and St. John Calabytes (“Hut-dweller”) of Constantinople, monks (450). New Hieromartyr Michael, priest (1942). New Hieromartyr Benjamin, bishop of Romanov (1930). Monk-martyr Pansophius of Alexandria (249-251). St.

Good deeds and vainglory If the performance of good deeds are done in order to attain personal benefit for oneself, or to receive the praise of others, it falls under the sin of avarice, vanity, and greed. Anyone who performs good deeds for such purposes is guilty of sinful pride,

The saints serve as our guides in serving the poor Our Orthodox Church is very clear in her teaching regarding the poor. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us by His example as the great philanthropos, and we can do nothing less than follow His example. Christ commanded us to love

Putting aside all hypocrisy and living for Christ How easy it is to worship with all piety and correctness while standing in a service within an Orthodox temple, yet make no effort to live Orthodoxy during the rest of our week. If we are abusive towards our spouse, abrasive with

The saints are alive in Christ Jesus Vigil lights are placed before the icons of the saints, according to Saint Symeon the New Theologian, as a way of showing that without the Light, Who is Christ, the saints are nothing. It is only as the light of Christ shines on