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