Just whose recipe is it anyway? One of the most powerful reasons for embracing Orthodoxy is to be found in the Church’s insistence that she holds to the evangelical and apostolic doctrine of the Ancient Church. In an age when everything is up for change, there is a certain security
Let us empower the generations that will follow us The Church is the Body of Christ, and by Her very nature is anything but an institution where one can be separated from others. We only let it separate us if we fail to involve ourselves as the people of God, with one
Why is God allowing this pandemic? Saint Paisios of the Mount Athos said, “So in every test, let us say, ‘Thank you, my God, because this was needed for my salvation.’” This is because a person has salvation not only by his good deeds, but also by his patient suffering
Our soldiers need the support of chaplains A number of years ago our monastic community welcomed seven military chaplains from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. These fine young men who answered the call to serve the nation as military chaplains, inspired me with their commitment to Christ, and their willingness to enter
The Veneration of the Holy Virgin in the Ancient Church All the early reformers, including Luther and Calvin, believed Mary to be Ever Virgin. The practice at the time was to refer to all cousins as siblings, and none of the early Christians believed Mary had born any children other
The decline of Christianity in America Some thirty-two years ago our monastic brotherhood arrived on Vashon Island, establishing ourselves in a rental house near the Village of Dockton. This little village had two churches, built by the original founders of the community. Dockton, in the 1880’s, had the largest dry
How we can acquire true humility We have a fairly clear idea of what humility is, for we’ve all met people who are truly humble. Metropolitan Laurus of blessed memory, the saintly man who’d led the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia as her Chief Hierarch, was such a man.
Lengthy debates and fruitless discussions do nothing for truth “For it is the will of God, that with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men (1 Peter 2:15). Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic tells us in The Prologue from Ochrid that we are better off if we do
Bishops serve as Christ among us, and priests as the presence of the bishop among his people The bishop is to be both a servant to his people and father to his flock. He represents Christ in the midst of his diocese, and must be compassionate, sweet, longsuffering, humble, and
Let us allow this pandemic to be the force that transforms the world Entertainment has come to take on a central role in many people’s lives, becoming so important as to have replaced personal interaction with neighbors and friends. I’m old enough to remember the day when neighborhoods were filled