Isolation and the Christian Life In an age when families no longer eat dinner together, children watch TV, play computer games, and text message their friends from their bedrooms. When adults can be seen walking in our cities talking on cell phones. At a time in our history when people
Category: The Morning Offering
The Tradition of the Paschal Egg There is a beautiful tradition within the life of the Church for believers to have as their last meal before beginning the Great Lenten Fast, to eat a hard boiled egg, white in color. This egg represents our sinful nature, and we eat this
Two Orthodox bishops kidnapped by Muslim Extremists Ibrahim. (Image frm) Two Syrian Orthodox bishops have been kidnapped on the outskirts of Aleppo. While both clergymen are believed to be alive, their driver was killed during the attack. Syriac Orthodox bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo Paul, who
Youth from St. D’s in Seattle Christ’s Resurrection Paves the Way 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
How to be a pious Orthodox Christian without stoking the flames of pride Many years ago I remember attending a Liturgy at a parish church and noticing a young man standing in the front of the temple, making profound bows, together with frequent, almost exaggerated signs of the cross. My
PLU Students visit Monastery 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
Within the Fold but Without Love That our Orthodox Church possesses the Truth is a given, yet in our weakness as believers, the obviousness of that Truth is often invisible to others. In our weakness as a people, clergy as well as laity, we fail to demonstrate a love and
Spring is in the Air I’ll do it Tomorrow We all have times when we procrastinate. There is a story of a young monk who confessed to his elder that he was always struggling with procrastination. His elder told him it was his lack of faith which made it impossible
A Priest Must Become Like a Funnel If a priest is truly to be an agent for grace, he must become like a funnel through which the Lord’s mercy can flow. That a priest has received the grace of ordination, if he does not attempt to live a life of
Suffer Criticism as Profitable for Your Salvation If we stop rejecting the criticism of others, be it justified or unjustified criticism, and see such criticism as profitable for our salvation, we will have gained a great spiritual treasure. When we gain the ability to see our own sinfulness, we see