Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Inter-dependency Since the foundation of this monastic community some twenty-seven years ago, our holy brotherhood has been working towards becoming as self-reliant as is possible, given the age we live in. Recognizing that most of human kind, since the beginning, had no choice but to depend on
Category: The Morning Offering
Ferry to Vashon Island The Idolatry of Self-esteem Among the contributors to self-worship, is the possibility of falling into a form of idolatry associated with self-esteem. It is easy to fall into this form of idolatry, since our society has placed a great deal of emphasis on the need for
Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon How to create harmony out of chaosThe briefness of life has become ever more evident as we’ve been forced to witness the senseless killings of innocent people in schools and theaters across this nation. Death comes to all of us, but when it comes in
First Responders to First Responders Chaplains are called to be for officers what the officers cannot be for themselves. Chaplains must be advocates for their police officers, before their chiefs, and with the community. Police, by their vary nature, have to be tough, often forced to swallow the pain and
Our Toxic Environment The main speaker for our International Conference of Police Chaplains, was Samuel L. Feemster, a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent who was assigned to the FBI Academy. According to Mr. Feemster, our police officers are serving in a society that is filled with a toxicity that necessitates
A City without Police Would be a Hell of a Place The first time I ever visited the City of San Francisco, a friend took a photo of me on a city bus, with an ad showing just above me that read, “San Francisco Would be a Hell of a
Christos razhdayetsya! Slavite yoho! Kristos rozhdaetsya! Slav’te ego! Hristos se Rodi! Voistinu se Rodi! Almasihu Wulidah! Famajjiduhu! Today we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, He Who came to the world to restore peace and love. May we war against evil and the self, fighting with the
The Saints are Alive in Christ JesusVigil lights are placed before the icons of the saints, according to Saint Symeon the New Theologian, as a way of showing that without the Light, Who is Christ, the saints are nothing. It is only as the light of Christ shines on them
Nativity: December 25th or January 7th? Regarding the Church Calendar (also known as the Old Calendar, and the Julian Calendar), I am grateful that our monastery is part of a jurisdiction that has remained true to the Traditional Calendar. The move to the Papal Calendar was, to my mind, divisive,
The Royal Hours at Christmas All Divine Liturgies in the Orthodox Church are preceded by the chanting of the Hours services, consisting of psalms, hymns and prayers. But in the great cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor was present each year at the service beginning the