The Journey to God begins with the First Step The spiritual struggle that is required of us can not depend on having a spiritual father. Most Orthodox Christians do not have one, and the average parish priest is not equipped, either with the time, nor the inclination, to take on
The Role of Godparent is an Awesome ResponsibilityThe institution of godparents (sponsors) is one that dates back to the first century of the Christian Church. Anyone approaching baptism, be they infant or adult, was required to have a godparent. In the case of an infant, it is the godparent that
Holiness comes only to those who struggle. Not an hour should pass without taking time to examine our heart, for the hour of judgement can come at any time, and we must be ready to give account to God for our life. There is no spiritual improvement if we do
Iraqi church under British guard by Srdja Trifkovic The Daily Mail Dec. 25, 2011 This Christmas let us spare a thought and say a prayer for countless Christian victims of Muslim brutality, over the centuries and in our own time. An explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near
Here is the text in full of the Queen’s 2011 Christmas message, which was recorded on 9 December – before her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was hospitalized for treatment of a blocked coronary artery. I am posting this for my readers because I am deeply moved by the willingness
of Alaska The Miraculous Intercession of Saint Herman of Alaska The following post was sent to me by His Grace, Bishop George, the Spiritual Father of our brother monastery in West Virginia. I wish to share it with all of you on this, the Feast of Saint Herman of Alaska.
The Eucharist . Of all the miracles of Christ, the greatest is the Eucharist. The Gospels are filled with accounts of miracles performed by Christ, but the greatest of them all was when He offered the simple elements of bread and wine, made by man, and transformed them into His very
CREMATION The first time I ever attended a funeral service where cremation of the body of the deceased had taken place was in Portland, Oregon, many years ago. An Episcopal priest friend had died and had requested his body be cremated. Walking into the church and seeing a small
How Should we Pray?Over the years, as strange as it may seem, we’ve had a number of people ask us if we’d pray they win the lottery, promising that if they did they’d donate a large portion to the brotherhood. The logic seemed to suggest that if the monks were
The Orthodox Practice of Standing for Worship Standing before God has been the only acceptable posture for Orthodox Christians from the earliest of times. We recognize that a faithful servant would never sit before his master, for the faithful are all servants of the Lord, whom we worship as we