Category: The Morning Offering

And the flowering of a monastic brotherhood Inside the Great Lavra One’s first sighting of the Great Lavra is overwhelming. Constructed over a thousand years ago to withstand attacks by pirates, Latins, and Muslim invaders, it looks like the ancient medieval fortress town that it is. When entering the main

And the flowering of a monastic brotherhood The Holy Community Arriving in Karyes, Father Basil and I proceeded to the Holy Community in order to present our passports and visas, thus gaining official entrance to the Holy Mountain, the world’s only monastic republic. Mount Athos is governed by an assembly

And the flowering of a monastic brotherhood The Holy Mountain In May of 1989, a little over a year after moving to Vashon Island, my friend Father Basil Rhodes took me on a month’s journey to Greece. We spent time in Athens and Thessaloniki, before heading for our ten day

And the flowering of a monastic brotherhood (part 4) The Move to the Island After packing our belongings we returned to the island from Oregon, with the camper so full we scraped the bottom as we drove onto the ferry. We gave thanks to God as we stood on the

And the flowering of a monastic brotherhood (part 3) The House in Medford With the prospect of winter ahead, we knew our days of camping had come to an end. Visiting a small Orthodox mission parish in Medford, Oregon, we were invited to move into the vacant house next door,

And the flowering of a monastic brotherhood (part 2) The Search In early 1987, after receiving a blessing from our bishop to relocate the monastery, we rented a storage unit in Santa Rosa, packed away our library, icons, and furniture, and left the Bay Area in search of our promised

And the flowering of a monastic brotherhood (part 1) In many ways this monastery was founded as one would plant a garden. The germination took place in a small blue collar house in a poor part of Richmond, CA, in 1983, where we struggled in a neighborhood constructed for ship

The limits of human reason, and the knowledge of God There is the seen, and there is the unseen, the material and the immaterial. That which is material can be scientifically examined and experienced, the immaterial can only be seen and experienced spiritually. These are two worlds that are only

The true self versus the false self Reformed theology focuses on forensic justification, whereas the mystical theology of the Orthodox Church focuses on restoration to God through healing of the darkened soul alienated from Him. These are two very different models, but not really equal, because one can have faith

And the corporate nature of salvation There is a certain emptiness in trying to live the Christian life outside the life of the Church. This is because it is impossible to truly live as a Christian without the Church. The reading of the scriptures, and our commitment to prayer, are