Fasting Suggestions For Great Lent
A very nice selection of choices for all Orthodox Christians during Great Lent this year. Received from Rozanne Spires, an Orthodox Christian in Odessa, TX. Thank you, Rozanne! FAST from self-concern and FEAST on compassion for others. FAST from discouragement and FEAST on hope. FAST from lethargy and FEAST on enthusiasm. FAST from suspicion and FEAST on truth. FAST from thoughts that weaken and FEAST on promises that inspire. FAST from shadows of sorrow and [Read more...]
About the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete
During the first four days of Lent (Feb. 27, 28, 29 & March 1) the penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete will be celebrated at St. George Church (as in most Orthodox churches around the world). There is no other sacred hymn which compares with this monumental work, which St Andrew wrote for his personal meditations. Nothing else has its extensive typology and mystical explanations of the scripture, from both the Old and New Testaments. One can almost consider this hymn to [Read more...]
The Power Of Forgiveness
By Fr. George Morelli This is an exceptionally good and thoughtful article by one of the best therapeutic minds in the Orthodox Tradition today. It is a comprehensive look from many Biblical, Patristic and spiritual sources at the true power of Christ’s teachings on forgiveness. I thought it most appropriate as we approach the Sunday of Forgiveness. In almost every spiritual text anger is listed as one of several deadly sins. In his classic work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, St. John of [Read more...]
C.S. Lewis on Forgiveness
We say a great many things in church (and out of church too) without thinking of what we are saying. For instance, we say in the Creed ” I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” I had been saying it for several years before I asked myself why it was in the Creed. At first sight it seems hardly worth putting in. “If one is a Christian,” I thought ” of course one believes in the forgiveness of sins. It goes without saying.” [Read more...]
Bearing Fruit: Interior Life Class – Part 2
Another of our LIVING FAITH Classes, on Sat. March 17th, we will hold this follow up to our Intro to the Interior Life Class, this session will be more of a sharing experiences in the techniques of Watchfulness (nepsis) and Stillness (hesychia), with special attention to the relationship between interior life and Lenten services. Please RSVP if attending. We will be going over, Discerning thoughts and scrutinizing them, Reviewing Christian anthropology of the mind and the soul, Reviewing the Techniques of Watchfulness, Using [Read more...]
65 Orthodox Bishops Call On Obama To ‘Recind’ The ‘Unjust’ Contraception Mandate
by Ben Johnson The 65 canonical bishops of the Orthodox Church have asked President Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to repeal the mandate that religious institutions provide birth control, sterilization, and Plan B abortion drugs in their health care coverage. The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America – which represents 12 Orthodox jurisdictions and three million Orthodox Christians in the United States – issued a press release last Thursday calling the HHS ruling a [Read more...]
The First Week Of Lent: Method & Meaning
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Each first week of Lent, when Orthodox Christians chant the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, they encounter a traditional allegory of (mostly monastic) piety: the active and contemplative lives symbolized in Leah and Rachel, the two wives of Jacob. The modern Orthodox newcomer, unless his education included exposure to Dante, may find this reference both bewildering and arbitrary. The underlying premise of the Leah/Rachel imagery is Jacob’s stature as a biblical visionary. It was Jacob, we [Read more...]
Pysanky Making Class is Back!
Pysanky are intricately decorated Easter Eggs, traditionally made in Ukraine. We have the great opportunity to offer a class in Traditional Ukrainian Easter Egg making. This Class is Open to the Public! Bob Thommen will be here offering a hand-on, how to class for making Pysanky (highly decorated Easter Eggs) using the traditional wax resist (batik) method. This requires registration and a $15 fee. (The Pysanky kit is included. If you have a kit, you must still pay the fee.) The class will [Read more...]
Repentance, Confession & Examination of Conscience
What does it mean to repent? When our Lord Jesus Christ began His public preaching,he began with the word ‘repent.’ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) If we are to repent, then we need to know our sinfulness. That’s a tall order, frankly. As St. John put it, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) This is [Read more...]
Strong Orthodox Christian Presence at Annual DC March for Life
Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with Their Graces, Bishops Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, Melchisedek of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, Michael of New York and New Jersey, and Matthias of Chicago and the Midwest led hundreds of Orthodox Christian clergy, faithful, and seminarians at the 39th annual March for Life here Monday, January 23, 2012. According to Archpriest John Kowalczyk, a pro-life activist and co-founder of the Orthodox presence at the annual gathering, “this was the biggest [Read more...]
