Sharing Orthodoxy at the Puget Sound Zen Center The Wellspring of Life It is unfathomable for me to think what my life might have been like had I never become Orthodox, never entered the monastic life. The joy I feel at having tasted from the ocean of grace that is
Creating a Christian Environment in the Home Creating a Christian home begins with the icon corner. The bright corner becomes the center for every domestic church, where the family devotions take place. This is also the family’s way of declaring to visitors that this is a Christian home, where Christ
We’re prepping a new garden. () God is Heard in the Silence of the Heart The very heart of Orthodox monasticism is found in hesychia, that is, keeping stillness.The hesychast denies in order to affirm. Based on Christ’s injunction in the Gospel of Saint Matthew to “go into your closet
Brenda and Tim Ihssen (click photo to enlarge) We are not Compelled to Love God We are not compelled to love God, having been created with free will. God does not, nor can He, compel His creatures to love Him. Mutual love requires, by it’s very nature, freedom to either
Ghetto Christianity Impoverished Institutional Christianity and the Rise of Islam in the West The cure for the societal, political and demographic decline in Nordic and European countries is not to be found in nationalistic racism, nor in war against foreigners. The cure for all that ails the western world is
The Original Men in Black The monastic vocation is a special calling from God that is all about relationships. It is a relationship that involves community (the monastic brotherhood), but primarily revolves around the monk’s relationship with God. Monks are not holy men who are living lives set apart from
The Role of Saints in our Christian Lives Growing up Lutheran I always believe the veneration of saints by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians was a form of idolatry. They were idolaters because they “worshiped saints”. This worship of the saints was a major stumbling block for most protestants, since
Humility Comes from Humus We all struggle with our passions and like Saint Paul we can say we do that which we do not want to do and do not do what we want to do. The passions hold us down close to the ground in our sin and fallen
Love Involves Suffering If we are indeed to love one another we must be willing to suffer with others. The Lord tells us that we must “Bear one another’s burdens, and so be filled with the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). When we learn to love others our compassion is
The Western World is in Need of Christ The western world has entered a period of decadence and decline, departing far from her Christian roots. With the European Union denying the historical and cultural Christian heritage of her member states, a secular based world view reigns dominant. This, together with