Author: Abbot Tryphon

Where we find the good, the bad, and the ugly I often google topics that interest me, finding information that would have required hours in a research library in the past. I’ve visited Russian monasteries, watched videos of monks chanting in Greek monasteries, viewed Orthodox patriarchs serving the Divine Liturgy,

And the workings of the enemy of the Church Those occasional disturbances within the life of the Church leave many, including some clergy and monastics, with the sense of gloom, wondering what’s coming next. During times like this it is good to remember that nothing has changed during the two

You can better help your priest by understanding this one thing There are many difficulties and temptations that come with priesthood. Parish priests feel pressures that are found in no other profession. Although the type of man that generally is drawn to the holy priesthood is one who has a

As God’s love grows in us, so does love of neighbor If we find fault in others, our self-indulgent attitude keeps us from having a successful interaction with God. Prayer is born of love, while fault-finding, idle talk and self-indulgence are the death of prayer. Love and prayer are interconnected

Troublesome passages of the Old Testament It is important when reading the Old Testament, to remember that it was written as an account of a peoples journey to God. As the Israelites journey continued, they came to know God, little by little, through God’s self-revelation to their prophets, and their

The uncreated grace of God According to Orthodox teaching the uncreated grace of God that illuminates the righteous, also burns the sinner. This teaching is directly related to the fact that man is a person who can never be brought into non-existence, or non-being, precisely because Christ’s resurrection is the

Changing the world begins with me The Elder Sophroni of Essex said he believed in changing the world, one person at a time. These words are in agreement with those of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, who said acquiring inner peace causes a thousand around us to be saved. As long

How should we pray? Over the years, as strange as it may seem, we’ve had a number of people ask us if we’d pray they win the lottery, promising that if they did they’d donate a large portion to the brotherhood. The logic seemed to suggest that if the monks

The theological vision of God, and natural science Orthodoxy does not exclude from the theological vision of God the findings of natural science. Science and faith can be in concert with one another and our desire to reinstate our communion with God can involve both natural science, and the science

Man is made up of soul and body Our Orthodox faith does not teach the duality of body and soul, but rather that the whole of man is made up of both soul and body. Since the soul is the whole man, we do not put the emphasis of our