The Church’s definition of repentance The act of repentance is the moment when we recognize the wrong we’ve done, either to another person, or to God. At the moment we accept we’ve failed to live as God intended, we must seek out to rectify our transgression by reaching out to
Category: The Morning Offering
We must struggle to put off the old self As we struggle to make spiritual progress we do battle with the old self. We work against old habits that have kept us stuck and prevented the change we so desire in our quest for communion with God. Our sins and
We must pray for help in our struggle for repentance 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
And the opening of the doors to repentance In the Orthodox Church, the seal of confession is absolute, and there is no situation that will allow for the revelation of anything said in confession. As a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains, I, as an Orthodox priest, am
The role of godparent is an awesome responsibility Since many baptisms took place on Holy Saturday, it is a good idea to revisit the important role godparents play in the life of the newly baptized child. Godparents are also expected to play an important role in the religious and spiritual
The difference between the doctrine of Original Sin and Ancestral Sin 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
Closed communion protects those who do not hold to the Church’s teachings regarding the Holy Mysteries “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and
When God seems absent We all have those moments in our lives when we feel as though God is absent, even perhaps nonexistent. Those times leave us feeling alone and abandoned, as though we are lost in an empty stadium. We feel as though we are on a boat that
The Church must encourage her children It deeply saddens me when I see some in the Church taking the stand that the Church must be the enforcer of God’s law. In this view the Church becomes like some arm of the military, dishing out punishment, or excluding some of her