A New Beginning

Abbot Tryphon | 14 September 2016

Today we celebrate the Church New Year and with it a chance to recommit ourselves to working harder at making changes in our lives that will lead to spiritual growth. The Lord’s patience never runs out, so we always have the invitation to renew our commitment to Him.

The New Year, celebrated on the 1st of September (Old Style), is that moment in time when we should take a closer look at how we are using this life God has given us. Are we focused on things spiritual or are we strolling through life as though there were no tomorrow?

If the truth be known, many of you give all kinds of justifications as to why you don’t attend services on a regular basis. If it were work related you’d be there, but Church is seen as something that is at the bottom of the to do list. You wouldn’t consider going to work only when you felt like it. Nor would you miss family celebrations or social functions with your friends, knowing your loved ones would question your commitment to them.

Relationships are what you put into them. If you don’t feed a relationship it dies, just like a vine that is not watered. If you don’t place God in the heart of your week and the services in the temple as the central act of that week, how can you expect to be spiritually healthy?

Are you lazy about your spiritual life? Does a Sunday morning pass by without an effort on your part to get yourself to church? Are social engagements more important than the worship of God? If any of this is true for you, the Church’s New Year is a good time to turn things around and get yourself back on track. Make this new year one that has as it’s focus, personal renewal. Don’t sit back waiting for God to do it all, for He’s already done it. Do your part! Take that important step and make this the best New Year you’ve ever had!

Since you are here…

…we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong.

Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable.

For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir.

If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life's purpose, family and society.