Monthly Archives: June 2014

Why do we attend the Orthodox Divine Liturgy? Each week, we members of St. Joseph of Optina Russian Orthodox Church meet on Saturday evening for the All-Night Vigil and then again on Sunday morning to celebrate the Divine Liturgy as … Continue reading →

I read this article from a Protestant website, and thought it was relevant to our matushkas, so thought I would share: Pastor’s Wives! She’s always there. Sometimes in the background, sometimes with a welcoming smile up front, sometimes noticed and … Continue reading →

If you were to ask many people why they do not go to Church to pray, they will generally answer you: I have no time, I have to work! Just look at those people who only work and do not … Continue reading →

The struggle to live an Orthodox life of the Kingdom of God, in the midst of this broken world and my as yet still very passionate inner life is excruciatingly gradual. Lord continue to have mercy on me as I … Continue reading →

Originally posted on Eclectic Orthodoxy:
As I look back on and assess my 30 years of active ministry, I have to admit that it feels like one great failure. I know, objectively speaking, it was a mix of “success” and…

Originally posted on A Wider Sunrise:
When I was little, I mistakenly thought that a picture of a smoker’s lungs from my first grade textbook was showing a picture of the soul. To this day, when I hear the word…

The Day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit Metropolitan Philaret of Eastern American and New York (+1985) | 24 June 2013 “All Our Function Depends Only on the Holy Spirit” Yesterday the Orthodox Church celebrated the triumphant feast of … Continue reading →

  On Pentecost – St. Gregory Palamas HOMILY TWENTY-FOUR ON HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS MANIFESTED AND SHARED OUT AT PENTECOST ALSO ABOUT REPENTANCE A SHORT WHILE AGO, with the strong eyes of faith, we beheld Christ ascending, no less clearly than those accounted worthy to be eye-witnesses. … Continue reading →

  Orthodox worship is characterized by a complete utilization of the senses sight, smell, hearing, speech and touch. We see the candles, Icons, frescoes, etc., we hear the sounds of singing and reading, at times lifting up our own voices, … Continue reading →

The Orthodox Christian Church has since the time of Christ nurtured and raised up a way of understanding the world, of understanding ourselves, and understanding our walk with God that is a unique treasure often unheard, unheralded and unshared. Our’s … Continue reading →