Our Faith : In the Church
Little Things Mean a Lot
With a large number of people entering Orthodoxy from other Christian traditions or from none, attitudes and behaviors taken for granted in traditional Orthodox countries tend often, and quite naturally, to change under the influence of American popular culture. We are perhaps the most casual people on earth, addressing strangers over the phone by their first name, slouching comfortably when we stand or sit, talking loudly and profusely when we want to make a point, and so on.
Jan 10, 2011, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
What is Ministry in the Church?
Fr. Schmemann used the word "consumer" as the best expression of NOT realizing one's priesthood in Christ. Adam was the first consumer by taking that which was not offered. In the same way, adults and children are led by marketing companies to become the "best" consumers possible. The lie being told by marketers is that possessing things leads to happiness.
Dec 27, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
The Church is our Mother
The priest who gave the homily at my grandfather’s funeral was a man who pulled no punches. I had once, several years before, heard him speak at the funeral of a more distant relative; his opening words were, “Those who knew her in life knew that she was a difficult person to get along with…” And, maybe not so surprisingly, nobody got mad.
Dec 14, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
What Does the Church Expect of You?
We should not think of our creation as the winding of a time clock which thereafter runs independently from its winder. The creation of man is rather like the plugging in of a light bulb which gives light only when in full contact with the source of its power. When man, through erroneous, independent use of his life, cuts himself away from his Creator, he no longer reflects the image and likeness of God.


Dec 8, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Stewardship: No Magic Pills
Here’s the bottom line: good stewardship is hard. We fool ourselves when we fail to say that out loud. It’s really a burden to keep a church going, a burden on the families that hope to find salvation through the church. A lot of churches advertise stewardship like something fun and easy. It isn’t. It won’t be. And if it is, then whatever you’re doing isn’t really stewardship.


Nov 17, 2010, 04:47

Our Faith : In the Church
Orthodox Worship Means Physical Participation, Eastward Orientation
When I began attending an Orthodox church, one of the first things to catch my attention was the lack of pews. The facilities were still under construction, so I thought they simply hadn't been purchased yet. After a few weeks, I asked the priest when our seats would arrive.


Oct 19, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
To Serve Each Other
A temptation which is always there, which lurks in our hearts and in our midst always, when we think of the Church to which we belong, is to remember that the people of God are God's own elects and to draw from this a conclusion which may destroy both our own souls and the very meaning of our existence. Yet we are the elect of God, but what is it God calls us to, what is this election about?


Aug 24, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Where Can One Go in an Orthodox Church
A Brief Discussion of Holy Space
In our modern society, we tend always to see things subjectively and self-centerdly; we are trained from childhood to do this. We therefore think of our rights, and when we meet something like the Orthodox practice in this instance, we find the matter odd, because our first thought is that our rights have been eroded. This is why I suggested that we look at the thing from the other end.
Aug 12, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Christ’s Ministry, Our Ministry
Any Christian work, in order to be truly in the service of Christ, is grounded in faith, prayer, and love. In fact, prayer itself is an active ministry. This is what distinguishes Christian service and ministry from secular social work. When we advocate lay ministry, we are not advocating the frenetic, often self-serving activity of do-gooders who feel justified by their sacrifice of time as the pharisee felt justified by his adherence to the law.

Jul 14, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Stewardship
A Future Vision
"Thank you, Father, for the beautiful sermon you delivered in church today." This common compliment is often received with a certain amount of skepticism by priests. They appreciate the kind words from their parishioners, but they wonder what lasting impact their message will have on those who heard it during Divine Liturgy.

Jul 9, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Theological Education
St. Innocent Veniaminov, first ruling bishop in North America and later Metropolitan of Moscow emphasized that “it is the binding duty of every Christian, when he reaches maturity, to know his faith thoroughly, because anyone who does not have a solid knowledge of his faith is cold and indifferent to it and frequently falls either into superstition or unbelief”.
Jul 6, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
On Tithing
Sadly, nowadays not very many Orthodox Christian communities can care for the poor, send missionaries, or even hold daily services to the One Who continually cares for us. The priests and deacons who serve in the Holy Altar are forced to leave God’s services and, in violation of canon law, obtain secular employment in order to feed themselves and their families.
Jul 5, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Sanctity Today
To be a member of the Church is in fact a higher calling than we might often think. When we pray, “Let us commend ourselves and each other, and our whole life unto Christ our God,” we mean it. We are praying that individually (“ourselves”) and corporately (“and each other”) we have the intention to be saints, commending our life unto God. That is what it means truly to be in the Church.
Jun 30, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Authority in the Church
Now we find many of those in authority insisting that our duty as laymen is to do whatever we are told and never to rock the boat. I can’t be specific, but I want you to discuss the principals of Orthodox Catholicity or sobornost in which the whole Church is supposed to act in harmony, in unity, and love. The present authorities seem to call for obedience and compliance to whatever they propose. Don’t we have a say, can’t we object and question our leadership?
May 3, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
The Diaconate in the Orthodox Church
Today, in many Orthodox lands the diaconate has been decimated by the atheist governments which enslaved those lands while elsewhere most deacons are quickly ordained to the priesthood because of the shortage of priests. Nonetheless, the diaconate is still a vibrant, highly-visible ministry in the Church, with deacons leading the faithful as the master of ceremonies and serving the celebrant at every stage of the Eucharist.
Apr 27, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Who are you?
My problem is that if you consciously chose not to have anything to do with the Church during your lifetime then burying you from the Church makes you into a hypocrite, which I don’t want to do. If I decide to bury you for a stipend, or just in order not to “make waves” in the community, I’m then a hypocrite. And if hypocritical priests bury hypocritical laymen it certainly makes the Church appear hypocritical, doesn’t it?

Apr 21, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Ian and the Family of Believers
“What do you mean, Ian goes to church?” other parents and teachers would ask me about my son, who has autism spectrum disorder. “How can he stay still for that long?” Ian would leap out of his chair in class and sway back and forth. At home, nothing could keep his attention – not movies, TV, or even baking his favorite cookies. In his day program, he needed constant one-to-one supervision in order to do his work. So what is it about the Orthodox Church that allows Ian to follow the deacon’s frequent reminders in the Liturgy “to attend”?


Mar 22, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
The Healing Power of "Offering"
That purpose, in the simplest and most basic terms, is to make an offering of everyone who seeks and longs for eternal communion with the Holy Trinity. As ordained clergy or as laypeople, each of us is called to offer up the world and one another "to Christ our God." Thereby every moment, every event, together with every life and experience, can participate in the eucharistic elevation: "Thine own of Thine own we offer unto Thee, on behalf of all and for all."

Mar 2, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Prayer and the Departed Saints
What happens when a believer dies? Does his or her spirit go immediately to heaven? Are the souls of the dead conscious? Are they actively involved in what is going on around them, or do they remain asleep until the day of resurrection? Do our departed friends and loved ones in Christ remember us? Are they aware of what is taking place here on earth? Is it possible to ask them to pray for us and to intercede on our behalf? For the Orthodox Church, such questions as those above are not peripheral aspects of the Faith.
Feb 6, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Ministry of the Laity
Life in the Church, to which every Christian is called, is a permanent ministry, in which the Christian serves God through the Church, and serves the Church itself. "For the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many," (Mark 10:45; cf. Matt. 20:28.) This was the new principle, hitherto unknown to human society, which was the basis of the Church's life.
Jan 18, 2010, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
It Can Happen Here. It Did Happen Here.
On August 29, 2009, a girl named Stephanie took her own life at the young age of 17. Stephanie was a typical teenager and a life-long member of the Greek Orthodox Church, where she was active at her church and regularly participated in their summer camp. The following article is an excerpt from the eulogy given at Stephanie’s funeral by her parish priest, who also happens to be the co-director of the camp she attended. Fr. Stavros and those who knew and worked with Stephanie have posted these words across the internet in hopes that other people, especially young Orthodox Christians, will learn from this tragedy and seek help if necessary in their own lives.
Dec 14, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
The Experience of a Young Choir Conductor
At every service, the smallest choir is augmented by the angelic choir. Saints and angels surround us, joining their voices to ours in a common goal - the worship of God. With these as companions and fellow laborers, how can we fail? All this is hard to remember, though, when week after week the choir seems to make no progress, when we have the same problems again and again.

Sep 23, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Principles of Christian Giving
I am moved to write this after some time observing how we handle money in the Orthodox Church. Those who might think this an unworthy topic for Christian consideration perhaps should consider how often in the New Testament money forms an important part of our Lord’s teaching. As examples we have the rich young ruler attached to his wealth who couldn’t follow Christ (Luke 18:18-23) and the poor widow who could indeed follow Him by giving all that she had (Mark 12:41-44).
Sep 15, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
On Standing in Church
Did you know that all Orthodox Christians, east and west, always stood until the 16th century Protestant Reformation? Protestantism replaced the altar as the focus of sacramental life, with the pulpit as a focus of intellectual life. The Church was transformed into a classroom, a lecture hall, with benches and lecterns. This radical change in architecture manifested a deeper shift in Western Christianity's idea of God and how we worship Him.

Sep 5, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Children with Special Needs and the Orthodox Christian Family
The initial response of parents and the broader community to a child with birth defects is guilt and embarrassment. Unthinkingly, we ask the question which the disciples asked of Jesus: who sinned – this man or his parents? We immediately seek to place the blame somewhere. We feel that this is too terrible a tragedy for someone not to be responsible. But to this question and to all questions like it, must be given Jesus’ answer – no one sinned, neither the child nor its parents. No one is “responsible.”
Aug 25, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
More Than Words: On the Language of Heaven
Years ago, an aging priest from overseas was explaining that only three languages were suitable for Church services: Greek, Latin and Hebrew/Aramaic, since they were the languages written on the sign above the Lord on the Cross. Slavic languages were included by extension, he said, since they used a Greek-inspired alphabet. "But what about Saint John Maximovitch?", he was asked. Saint John served the Liturgy in Mandarin Chinese. Concealing his obvious amusement with a crust scowl, the priest replied, "So - what am I supposed to say?!"

Aug 3, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Freedom and Discipline in Orthodox Worship
Freedom? - Yes, but what kind of freedom? One is bound to discover that the freedom of behaviour at Orthodox services is not a freedom of personal improvisation or conjecture, but stems from an appreciation of tradition with its wisdom, its emphasis on sobriety, its warnings against psychological exaltation or imagination. A comparison with iconography will perhaps make this clearer: the icon painter must die as an artist and obey the canon of iconographic rules, yet through this very obedience comes, paradoxically, the gift of creative freedom.



Jul 18, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
The Garments of Salvation
All too often the liturgical garments of the Orthodox Church are simply taken for granted. They are a portion of our ecclesiastical tradition little understood and seldom considered by the laity. We all know what a halo on an icon is and what it represents. Likewise, most of us are at least aware of the complexities and some of the details of our various musical traditions. But I suspect most Orthodox Christians would be hard-pressed to name the diamond-shaped vestment piece that hangs at the priest´s knee (it´s called an "epigonation") or explain the significance.
Jul 3, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Clergy and Laity in the Orthodox Church
Our people in their criticism of the clergy fear the excessive "power" of clergy, yet too often they do not realize that the priest represents nothing else than the "Power" of the Church, of which they are members and not any specific "clerical" power. For it is clear to everybody that the Church existed before we were born and has always existed as a body of doctrine, order, liturgy, etc. It does not belong to anyone of us to change the Church or to make it follow our own taste, for the simple reason that we belong to the Church, but the Church does not belong to us.
Jun 5, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Liturgy and Space
When one enters a great church, one’s experience of the space is inevitably a transcendent one, humbling even the faithless people. One stands in awe of God’s glory ever-present among men, and worshipped in His house. The Russian emissaries to Constantinople who had stood in the nave of Hagia Sophia reported to Prince Vladimir upon their return: “we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We only know that God dwells there among men.”
Jun 1, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Stewardship and the Gospel
Giving is a spiritual discipline and we should give out of a need to grow spiritually. We rob ourselves of the benefit of spiritual growth by not giving. Thus, we see that giving is intimately connected to how we actualize the Gospel in our lives. It is part of our answer to the question, "Who do you say that I am?" that Christ asked His disciples.
May 29, 2009, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
On Consumerism in Church
In this age of individualized consumerism, we often treat our Church as a spiritual “supermarket.” We properly recognize that the Church offers us treasures, but instead of communing we consume. If our soul is alive and hungers for God, we come to Church more frequently; if it is on its way to atrophy, we do not feel much of a need and seldom come to Church; and if our soul does not require food any longer because it neither lives nor grows, we may find our way to Church once every few years, if ever. But when we do come, we act like shoppers, rather than children of the kingdom.
Jan 26, 2009, 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 : In the Church
HEART PROBLEMS?
When our hearts are full of light and the life of God, it is very easy to give to Him and the Church. When our hearts are empty and devoid of His presence, even the meager dues that many parishes still require become a source of irritation and resentment for us. The life of God and the life of the Church can't be equated to a "price."
Nov 4, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
Church Etiquette
The traditional posture for prayer and worship in the Orthodox Church has been to stand. In the Orthodox "old countries" there usually are no pews in the churches. Chairs or benches on the side walls are usually reserved for the elderly and the infirm. In North America, we have tended to build our churches with pews.

Sep 5, 2008, 10:00

Our Faith : In the Church
12 Things I Wish I’d Known…
Orthodox worship is different! Some of these differences are apparent, if perplexing, from the first moment you walk in a church. Others become noticeable only over time. Here is some information that may help you feel more at home in Orthodox worship—twelve things I wish I’d known before my first visit to an Orthodox church.

Jul 23, 2008, 10:02

Our Faith : In the Church
The Church Building and its Servers
Orthodox churches generally take one of several shapes that have a particular mystical significance. The most common shape is an oblong or rectangular shape, imitating the form of a ship. As a ship, under the guidance of a master helmsman conveys men through the stormy seas to a calm harbor, so the Church, guided by Christ, carries men unharmed across the stormy seas of sin and strife to the peaceful haven of the Kingdom of Heaven.
May 10, 2005, 01:03