It is unfathomable for me to think what my life might have been like had I never become Orthodox, and never entered monastic life. The joy I feel at having tasted from the ocean of grace that is Orthodoxy! Orthodoxy has filled me, completed me, made me whole. Her gates
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
God is everywhere. Where are you? #prayer #peace #God
The Enemies Are Not Armies, But Demons Many people are convinced we are living in the end times. They look to changes in the earth’s climate, ever more disastrous storms and the failing economy, as well as the political upheaval in our land, as signs of the end times. Coupled
“Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Matthew 15:10-11 #Bible #Fast #lent
God is Heard in the Silence of the Heart The very heart of Orthodox monasticism is found in hesychia, that is, keeping stillness.The hesychast denies in order to affirm. Based on Christ’s injunction in the Gospel of Saint Matthew to “go into your closet to pray”, hesychasm in tradition has
Are you holy enough?
We are not Compelled to Love God We are not compelled to love God, having been created with free will. God does not, nor can He, compel His creatures to love Him. Mutual love requires, by its very nature, freedom to either respond in love, or not. Yet when we
Would you judge an icon?
The Ignored Heart is a Lost Heart It is important that we direct all our thoughts, all our actions, and all our desires towards a burning love for God. Our heart must become inflamed with the love of God, and all our intellectual and emotional striving must be directed towards
Love and forgive like a saint or you will never learn to become one!