Planting the Seeds of Faith in the Land of My People A number of years ago, one of the young monks from our brother monastery, Holy Cross Hermitage in West Virginia, drove me for a day trip to Amish country, in Pennsylvania. While wandering around in a large hardware store
Becoming the Peacemaker,Rather than Saving Face As followers of Christ, we are called to wage peace, not war, for our Saviour has brought us the peace that passes all understanding. As His disciples, we must renounce all violence and tumult. We Christians must become peacemakers in this world, for peace
Feast of the Dormition Liturgy We Must Collaborate with God If we are to be healthy spiritually, we must cooperate with God’s divine grace. The nous, as the center of our being, refers to the noetic energy that functions in the heart of every spiritually healthy person. Only the Holy
Why are we siding with the enemy? Our government seems on the brink of leading us into yet another unwinnable war in the Middle East, repeating the same mistakes made in Lebanon, that ultimately led to the rise of Osama Bin Laden, and the enormous loss of life in Iraq
The Eucharist is the Greatest Miracle 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
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives “Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like. If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we live, we are drawn into a whirlpool
Sharing the Faith of the Apostles with our American Neighbors If there be one major reason for all of us to work towards an administratively united American Orthodox Church, it is that we might fulfill of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19). Each bishop would govern a different city, uniting all parishes
Hurricane Ridge (click on photos to enlarge) Humankind is a Microcosm of the Whole Universe It has been said that humans are a microcosm of the whole universe because we have within ourselves the entire material world and with it all the noetic powers of the cosmos. Created as we
Trapeza (dining hall) Know Who You Really Are We are all surrounded by fictional characters, persons who are the invention of filmmakers, promoters, and even self-inventors. The original meaning of the word “hypocrite” was “actor”, and it is ignorance of our true nature as children of God that keeps us
And Our Capacity to Reject the Will of God According to Saint Gregory Palamas, God has given us lordship over all the earth because of our capacity for sovereignty. With this sovereignty comes the responsibility to be good stewards of that which God has given us. Saint Gregory wrote, “There