Heavenly Worship must Enter into the Heart The beauty of Orthodox worship is meant to lift us up, and connect us to the Heavenly Worship that is eternally taking place before the Throne of God. The very description of Heavenly Worship as found in the Book of Revelation is clearly
The remains of Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church The Decline of Christianity in America Some twenty five 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.
Photos of the Monastery’s library and community room. Christianity Under Attack The cover of the February 13th addition of Newsweek magazine displayed a photo of a blood stained Coptic Orthodox icon of Christ, with the headline, “The War on Christians”. This article is the first of note that has appeared
In Surrendering we have Victory All that we have comes down from the Father of Lights. We should not become impatient, wanting more than we are ready to receive, for the Lord knows what is best for us. He measures His giving, according to our need, sometimes delaying the things
The Three Disciplines: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving Jesus Christ called for a thorough conversion of our heart and mind, and a complete turning away from the old man (our fallen nature). The main act that begins this conversion is metanoia, which means thorough change of mind. This happens when we
The Abbot’s Cell Submitting to the Will of God Pride keeps us from living according to the will of God, and pride causes us to focus only on self. Without submission to God, we wallow in the dankness of our fallen world, and our true self remains dormant. One cannot
Put Aside Resentment The decision to forgive another person a wrong done to us begins when we decide to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. To forgive someone does not mean that we forget what they did to us, for this may be impossible. The memory of the
Forgiveness is the Cure for Judgment, Anger, and Resentment. Our Lord Jesus Christ told us: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven (Luke 6:37).” In the Our Father, the very prayer given to His disciples
We are Liberated by Solitude If we are honest with ourselves, we are all solitaries, for it is inevitable as humans. As individuals we meet God alone, and we die alone. Spiritual maturity requires inner solitude. To be alone in solitude is to be emptied of all that is important
Multnomah Falls Be still, and know that I am God Great and Holy Lent is seen by most as the forty days before Pascha when we give up certain foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish), and give more attention to alms giving. The season of the Great Fast is also a