Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
Meditations on the Nativity of Christ
Our faith is not ‘neat’. It does not accommodate itself to human categories of thought. It cannot be explained or contained by philosophical arguments. But neither can love. Love cannot be explained or contained in mathematical equations. It must be experienced. It must be given and received.
Jan 6, 2009, 10:00

Analytical articles
Me, You and the Other Guy
America has the strange phenomenon of increased Church attendance usually accompanying times of prosperity. Many other nations, particularly several I can think of in Europe (modern Ireland stands out) have seen Church attendance plummet when prosperity comes.
I suspect that this all has something to do with America’s strange marriage of prosperity and piety.

Jan 5, 2009, 10:00

Social life. Contemporary issues.
If you are hit on the right cheek…
I want to be a real man, I want to be able to stand up for myself. Father, please, bless me to start doing martial arts. Is it a sin? – This is a common question usually asked by young people. But in fact the problem is much deeper and much more serious. The question is the following: are martial arts and Russian Orthodoxy compatible, can they go hand in had? And how shall we treat evil and outer aggression in today’s conditions? We will dare to propose our own solution to these live issues.


Jan 3, 2009, 10:00

Discussions and Polemics
The Great Idea of God
Now in this extraordinary discussion over twenty-five centuries there are four main questions that have been raised and debated. The first is, does God exist? The second is, what is God's nature? What is God like? The third is, can we know God's existence and nature? Can we know God's existence and nature independent of revelation and religious faith by the operation of reason, by the natural processes of knowing? And finally, the fourth question is, what is God's relation to the world and to man?


Jan 2, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : Prayers
Ten Steps To A Better Prayer Life
Build On What You Already Have: If you already have a routine, build on it. If, for example, you pray before you go to sleep, it will be easier to read a chapter from the Bible before your bedtime prayers, than to set up some time during the day to read.
Jan 1, 2009, 10:00

Analytical articles
How We Worship: the Struggle of the American Experience
We live in the United States of America at the beginning of the 21st century. We are a product of a modern secularized society that prides itself on individual rights. There are many wonderful things about being raised in America, but also many problems. As Orthodox Christians living in the West, we are faced with many complex ethical and moral dilemmas.
Dec 31, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
A New Year
Standing at the opening gates of a new year is an awesome thing. No one can really see what will be. As Solomon said, "Every matter has its time and way….who can tell him how it will be?" Even at the best, our acquaintance with the future amounts only to a "perhaps."

Dec 30, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith
I’m Building a Heavenly House for My Love...
She was leaving quietly, in the late evening. At first, for a short time, she started breathing loudly, with a sort of wheezing sound. And then her breaths got shorter, shorter and shorter... I was quietly holding her hand. Then the breaths got really rare, she exhaled but didn’t get a chance to breathe in. Everything in her face stopped, her mouth got slightly open and I realized that her soul had left her body.
Dec 29, 2008, 10:00

My Way to Orthodoxy
My Orthodox Beginnings
I was in church one day and had a spiritual experience. I was standing in the back of the church and suddenly I felt that God was definitely here in church, almost tangibly, and it was like He was telling me that He is here. It is hard to explain exactly how this happened. I was surprised and immediately burst into tears, I sat down and cried uncontrollably.


Dec 27, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
The True Orthodox Calendar
Over the last few decades a minority of Orthodox (about 25% of the total) have moved on to the Roman Catholic ('new') calendar for the fixed feasts like Christmas. They have done this mainly because they find it convenient. Indeed, for some Anglicans and others converted to Orthodox Christianity, this use of the Roman Catholic calendar might be a useful and convenient bridge for them as they approach Orthodoxy.


Dec 26, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
Christmas Traditions
Christmas being one of the most important family feast days in the Christian world, through ages has many traditions in different parts of the world. I am going to touch upon some of these traditions and bring it to you.
Dec 25, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
The Services of Christmas in the Orthodox Church
Coming at the end of the Forefeast, and indeed of the entire Advent, the Hours summarize all the themes of the feast and make them into a last and solemn announcement. In the special psalms, hymns and biblical readings prescribed for each hour, the joy and power of Christ’s Coming are proclaimed. It is one last meditation on the cosmical meaning of the Nativity, on the decisive and radical change it performed in the entire creation.


Dec 24, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
Two Christmas Days
Why are there two days for celebrating Christmas? Christmas is always celebrated on December 25! But which day is December 25? Some Orthodox celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older calendar ("Julian Calendar"), some celebrate on December 25 of the revised calendar (secular or "Gregorian Calendar"). December 25 in the Julian Calendar is January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar.

Dec 23, 2008, 10:00

Theology
Freedom of Thought in the Orthodox Church
I do not wish to consider the actual question of my own particular case. I will only try to explain to you the general principles of freedom in the Orthodox Church. Can freedom of thought exist in a Church which has obligatory formulae? Is there not a contradiction between free seeking for truth and the revealed dogma dispensed by the Church? I am convinced that no such contradiction exists.
Dec 22, 2008, 10:00

Holy Fathers
"Prayer without Ceasing" is necessary for all Christians
At first it may appear very difficult to you, but be assured, as it were from Almighty God, that this very name of our Lord Jesus Christ, constantly invoked by you, will help you to overcome all difficulties, and in the course of time you will become used to this practice and will taste how sweet is the name of the Lord. Then you will learn by experience that this practice is not impossible and not difficult, but both possible and easy.
Dec 20, 2008, 10:00

Lifes of Saints
St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas followed the words of our Lord, Lay up treasure for yourself in Heaven, by saying his prayers every day, by fasting, and by performing many good deeds. God was so pleased that He worked many miracles through him. Because he was able to calm storms on the sea he became known as the patron saint of sailors. Because he protected children (he even raised 3 children from the dead!), he is also a patron of young people.
Dec 19, 2008, 10:00

Lifes of Saints
The Saint Who Was Santa Claus
Dominating our Christmas, rather “holiday” season, (we do not want to be offensive to our non-Christian and non-believing friends) , is the Santa Claus legend. The Santa figure and the gift giving displays find their source not in Jesus Christ as much as in the story by Clement Moore, “The Night Before Christmas.” which is itself a distorted derivative of the actual life of the great Orthodox bishop Nicholas who lived in the small coastal town of Myra in what is today Turkey.


Dec 19, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith
The Rescue of a Wayward Daughter through the prayers of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
Then, one night, the mother fell to her knees and began to pray fervently to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, begging him to take the place of her daughter's father and to save her from an evil destiny.The old woman said that never in her life had she prayed so fervently. She felt the presence of the Saint next to her, and she spoke to him, pouring out all the pain in her heart that she had been suffering for the sake of her daughter. And Saint Nicholas heard her.


Dec 19, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith
Communion & Hospitality
Permission to receive the sacraments in the Orthodox Church has nothing to do with hospitality, although some may see it that way. The root of the question centers on the importance of doctrine. The Orthodox Church is a doctrinaire church. To say you are Orthodox means you are committed to certain specific doctrines. The most troublesome doctrine is that the Orthodox Church is the Church of Christ and it only has remained faithful to His teachings.
Dec 18, 2008, 10:00

Family life : In the Family
The Advent Period in Home Life
What is the meaning of the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord in our family life? How can we live through the preparatory period of Advent as a Christian family? Can this meaning be truly and naturally, unpretentiously, embodied in the experience of a family, a home with children, teenagers, adults and old people?


Dec 17, 2008, 10:00

Sermons, Lectures
What If All Is In Vain?
“Is your name Zoya?” asked Natalya. “Yes.” “They are looking for you, you need to go, somebody has betrayed you…” Zoya looked at Natalya (they were of the same age) and said, “Where am I to go? The small ones can’t walk a long distance, and we’ll be recognized.” And then from being just a neighbor Natalya became what the Gospel calls one’s ‘neighbor’. She said, “Zoya, nobody will be after you, as I’ll stay here instead.” “But you’ll be executed!” said Zoya. “This doesn’t matter, I don’t have kids like you…” So Zoya left, and Natalya stayed.

Dec 16, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : Icons
An Icon As an Image. Direct and Reverse Perspective
As has already been mentioned, an icon is a window facing the holy, sacred world which opens to a person looking at the icon. Space in that world has properties different from those of the space on Earth; properties unseen by physical eyes and inexplicable through the logic of this world.


Dec 15, 2008, 10:00

Family life : In the Family
Expecting?
Today’s American families usually prepare for the birth of a child financially and physically: We put aside money for room additions and begin education accounts. We take out insurance policies. Dad wallpapers the nursery and sets up a crib, while Mom buys Huggies by the case. But what do we do spiritually to prepare to welcome God’s gift?


Dec 13, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : Fasting
Selected Sayings of the Desert Fathers On Fasting
Abba Poemen teaches us that we should be careful not to undertake efforts too great for us. This gives the proper perspective in relation to the efforts praised in selections 3 and 4 above. It is better to make slow and steady progress with moderate efforts than to become discouraged or to miss the goal altogether with efforts too great for us.
Dec 12, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith
On God’s Will
Sorrow and suffering cleanse a person. By sorrow one becomes stronger; one starts seeing the world and oneself in another light. This is also a manifestation of God’s will when God grants the person something. The person might misunderstand it at first but after such an ordeal, such a cleansing, he or she will see other people differently. He or she will become a different person.


Dec 11, 2008, 10:00