We must never converse with demons In 1986 I spent fourteen days in retreat at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. Staying in the monastic quarters, I had two weeks of wonderful fellowship with fellow monastics, worshiping in their temple, eating with them in trapeza, walking the trails through
Becoming righteous is a full time job Teachers and parents routinely remind children of the importance of refraining from giving in to peer pressure, knowing that good behavior can often be undermined by the desire to fit in with their friends and school mates. We adults need to remember is
Our enemy is not of flesh and blood The Church Militant, which is the Church of Christ here on this earth, is in the midst of a battle. Our enemy is not one of flesh and blood, but one of darkness and evil. The survival of humankind is not dependent
The place where heaven and earth are united As a priest, I bear the awesome burden of offering the Holy Oblation before the Throne of God, on behalf of all the people whose names are submitted to the monastery, and who are Orthodox. I offer for my monks, and my
The holiness of the Church During each and every celebration of the Divine Liturgy, we, as the people of God, recite the Nicene Creed. This ancient declaration is the very core of our common faith, and connects us to the teachings of the Ancient Church. In this creed we declare
Darkness does not exist in its own right Our Orthodox Christian theology views evil not as a primeval essence that is co-eternal and equal to God, but rather a falling away from good. Evil does not exist in and of itself, and was not created by God. Our Orthodox Church
Priests must serve with simplicity and love Orthodoxy has traditionally avoided clericalism, yet in more recent times this very corruption of priestly service has enter the doors of the Orthodox Church. The quest for honor has led many clergy to participate in a culture of abuse, where they even turn on
Our capacity to forgive is directly related to our capacity to love The ability to forgive others requires work on our part, for we must cooperate with the grace that comes as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Since we have been forgiven much, we, in turn, must forgive much.
Passing the crucible is not an option Our monastery has been inundated with visitors for the past number of years, and there seems to be no letup in the number of pilgrims wanted to spend time at the monastery. Additionally, numerous men are requested a chance to stay for a
Given the polarization of the nation that has taken place since the results of the presidential election have been made known, I was asked to repost the following essay previously posted on October 29th. Be Not Afraid God is still in charge As Orthodox priests our true nation is the Church,