Personal Effort and God’s Grace Without our personal effort, God’s grace can not be activated in our lives, for we have been created with free will, and God never forces a relationship upon us. Without God’s grace, we can have no salvation, for we can not active salvation of our
A Lovely, Giving, Generous Woman I was privileged to be among eight Orthodox clergy who chanted the funeral service for Gloria Leonidas, a lovely woman, the mother of two daughters, a wife who was about to celebrate the twentieth wedding anniversary with her beloved husband, and an active volunteer leader
The Gospel of Christ vs. the Message of Hate Today I will be joining other Orthodox clergy of the Puget Sound region, serving the funeral of Gloria Leonidas. Gloria was murdered in cold blood, shot in the head by a deranged man in downtown Seattle. He was the same man
Satellites Egoism of Worldly Educated PeopleOne of the great saints of our age, Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos, said people who are filled with egoism and pride because of their education, “resemble satellites that orbit in the sky, giving one the impression that they are stars. If, however, you observe
Religious Liberty: The Litmus Test for all Human RightsFreedom of religion has has always been the hallmark of our American way of life. Our Founding Fathers migrated to the shores of the New World primarily to seek religious freedom, fleeing as they where the religious persecution they suffered in England.
Young people from Japan visited the Monastery. The Acquisition of Virtue The struggle for the acquisition of virtue must be continuous, otherwise we are in danger of losing ground. To become virtuous, we must struggle every hour, and every day. Love in Christ, Abbot Tryphon Monday June 4, 2012 Day
The Monastery’s new Holy Gate Correcting Others is like Hitting ThemWhen focusing on the sins of others, we set for ourselves the mission of correcting them. We see ourselves as just the right person to help this poor, unfortunate person by pointing out their sins, and telling them how they
All-Merciful Saviour Monastery, the Heart of the Forest Taking Stock of YourselfIt is much more personally comfortable to notice the failings and the sins of others, but if we do not take stock of ourselves, we will do great harm to our soul. Judging others opens wide the gates for
Syria, the Arab Spring, and RussiaA year ago, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia joined his Syrian counterpart, Patriarch Ignatius of Antioch, whom His Holiness has known for forty years, in a street procession that took place in Damascus. During this same visit, Patriarch Kirill made an appearance with
Dockton Village, just north of the monastery True and Lasting Freedom True and lasting freedom is the internal freedom that comes in having a relationship with Christ. It has nothing to do with external or physical freedom. Many who suffered imprisonment in the gulags of the Soviet Union were freer