Contemporary Issues
When We are no Longer Ethnic
What will happen to our churches when a majority of the membership does not have an ethnic lineage similar to the ethnic jurisdiction to which the church belongs?
This phenomenon in the Orthodox Church in the USA and other non-traditionally Orthodox countries, may not be new, but it is certainly a issue that will become far more wide spread.
Feb 11, 2010, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
New Year Resolutions: Bah Humbug!
Probably one of the most useless wastes of mental and spiritual energy engaged in by some individuals is the making of New Year Resolutions. One reason for the futility of New Year Resolutions is that they are usually couched in such general terms that they invite procrastination, hesitation, ensuing failure and either anxiety or depression.
Jan 1, 2010, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
On the Murder of Father Daniil Sysoev
And if we are to learn a lesson from Father Daniil’s death, it must be that not all religions are created equal. Enough self-deception and false tolerance! May those who continue to repeat that all faiths believe in the same God be ashamed and may their mouths be silenced before the casket of a 35-year-old priest who was killed by someone who believed in a very different god from that preached by Father Daniil.

Nov 24, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Question on Problems Which New People Face (Part II)
Things just take time. That’s perhaps something that people don’t always understand. It takes a long time even to begin to become Orthodox, especially if you’re coming from a spiritual and cultural background which is not traditionally Orthodox. This is because there are things that are passed down organically from generation to generation. But of course that’s not the case when people come from a Western background, or for that matter from the countries of the former Soviet bloc, where the transmission of Orthodox culture was seriously impaired by decades of persecution.

Nov 18, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Question on Problems Which New People Face (Part I)
At first, Orthodox liturgy appears to western senses to be very oriental, something quite foreign - that is part of its attraction for some. But many forget that Christianity is an oriental religion. The Bible is profoundly Middle-Eastern book. In time, though, one feels very at home in Orthodox Christianity. The point that needs to be grasped, especially by those who think they have rejected Christianity, that is, those who have only come across its western forms, is that Orthodoxy is very different.
Nov 17, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Stolen Souls
I remember as a kid often saying to my parents, "Hey! I didn’t choose to be here, you know." It was my cute teenage way of putting the blame for my questionable behavior on the ones who did make that choice: my long-suffering mom and dad. Gee, if I could make them see that this was all their doing, maybe I could circumvent whatever restriction was about to befall me. After all, I had a righteous argument: they chose to bring me into this world; I was just an innocent victim.


Nov 7, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
It is Vital for the Orthodox Church to Preach in Social Networks
I find it difficult to imagine an Orthodox believer who writes directly to a mufti, disputes with him, and criticizes Islam the way Muslims are writing me to say that Orthodoxy is "a false religion." They cite Koran as saying that all unfaithful should be killed. I find it interesting because it is live contact. Such polemics can help us give a fresh critical look at some questions of Christian-Islamic dialogue in order to form more reasoned and clear position in the future.

Nov 6, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Halloween: A Solemn Farewell
Let's set aside murky questions about where Halloween comes from. There is the question of what Halloween is now, which is far less murky on several counts. Whatever the good, bad, known, or unknown roots of Halloween may be, in its present form it is associated with magic or ghoulishness you're not barred from dressing up as something that is neither associated with the occult or ghoulishness, but you're stretching things a little.
Oct 31, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
The Loneliness of Modern Man
The internet has probably made us more connected, in a virtual sense, than we have been in a generation. But, of course, their is an extreme level of volunteerism in this virtual community. If I don’t want to post today there is nothing you can do about it. We are not a natural community. I cannot touch you or hear you laugh. I share a photo so you know something of what I look like. But how do I sound? How much of my native Appalachian dialect still clings to my tongue (not much, but some).


Oct 26, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Loving the Storm-Drenched
More serious, however, is a tone of voice we adopt from the culture: sarcastic, smart-alecky, jabbing, and self-righteous. We feel the sting of such treatment, and give it right back; we feel anger or even wounded hatred toward those on the “other side.” But God does not hate them; he loves them so much he sent his Son to die for them. We are told to pray for those who persecute us, and to love our enemies. The weight of antagonistic and mocking big-media machinery is the closest thing we’ve got for practicing that difficult spiritual discipline. If we really love these enemies, we will want the best for them, the very best thing we have, which is the knowledge and love of God.


Oct 6, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Our "Rule Of Faith"
One of the more persistent questions posed to the Orthodox these days concerns our practice of what has become commonly referred to as "closed communion." Generally, these questions take one of the following forms; "Why can't my non-Orthodox friends or relatives receive holy communion when they visit my parish church?" (or) ”Why can't I receive holy communion when I visit my non-Orthodox friends or relatives at their church?" and sometimes even "What gives you the right to judge anyone's fitness to receive holy communion?"
Oct 1, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Orthodoxy and Same Sex Attraction
These are a few stories from homosexuals I have counseled over the past 35 years, first as a Protestant Christian and now as an Orthodox Christian. The Orthodox Church’s spirituality both affirmed and challenged my thinking about homosexuality over the years. This article is based on these experiences. As part of my exploration of how Orthodoxy has actually affected the lives of people living with same-sex attraction issues, several converts to Orthodoxy agreed to participate anonymously in interviews about their struggles with same-sex attraction (SSA) for this article.


Sep 17, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Setting the Prisoners Free:
The Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry
After having a wonderful and very spiritual, filled visit with my wife, she was in a tragic auto accident and was killed. I was called to the chapel and was told of my beloved wife’s death. I hit the floor with despair. My wife and I were one. She was in this life "perfect." But even though my physical man grieves, my spiritual side rejoices. For the Lord gave me His little lamb, then He took her. I trust His judgment. He is and always will be my Lord no matter what! Thank you for praying for me your son . . . your letters mean so much. May God Bless You!
Aug 31, 2009, 10:59

Contemporary Issues
A Theological Crisis
Secularism, therefore, is not so much the absence of religion as it is the transformation of religion into something un-theological; it is the stripping of religions of their theology and thus of their identity. And this is because, despite popular opinion, secular society wants religion and needs religion. But it wants religion on its own terms. Many secularists are happy to entertain a belief in a ‘higher power’, and they may be impressed and even moved by religious rites and rituals, but only for as long as this ‘higher power’, these rites and rituals, do not challenge their secular sensibilities, their own internet-assembled philosophy.
Aug 24, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
On the Need for the Church in the Lives of Our Young People
The majority has departed from the Orthodox Christian gospel, world view and approach to life to such a degree that our children have no more purpose, direction and protection in life than do children of completely unbelieving or indifferent families. We have come to despise the very things God has given us which give purpose and eternal hope to life, which instil self control, self understanding and positive, compassionate ideals in our youth. We have robbed our own youth of the weapons and tools which the Holy Spirit gave them to defend themselves from the corruption and decay of the world around them and work out their salvation.

Aug 4, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Modest ≠ frumpy!
Attractive Clothing for Christians on the Make
The question of how to dress is an important one for Christian singles because we're called to be humble people, both in our behavior and our appearance. But, we are not required to put up a wall of total exclusion with our clothes. Humility doesn't mean that we have to dress like frumps or nerds. I don't know a whole lot about fashionable clothing, but with this chapter, I'd like to offer some suggestions for things that we can wear to be inviting and engaging in our appearance, which we need to be when we're looking for someone special.
Jul 29, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
The phoenix is reborn. It's time to fly
Growing up in 1970s Moscow, I had a nanny who had lived in our family for 45 years. She died in 1981, when she was 93 and I was 13. Like most Soviet people, my family was not religious. My grandfather prided himself in becoming an atheist in prerevolutionary Russia and refusing to attend the Orthodox doctrine class at school. It scandalised his father, a priest's son turned high-ranking civil engineer. In Soviet Russia, it was a norm enforced by persecution, education and all-encopassing atheistic propaganda.
Jun 30, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Literature, Culture and the Western Soul
Instead of running away from our culture, or trying to deny its power in us, we must face it squarely and understand its essence and origin. This is the first step in forming an Orthodox world view, and this is the first task facing us today. If we are able to do this, we will be able to discern what in our culture is worth utilizing, and what is harmful. Perhaps more importantly, we will gain a knowledge of ourselves, an increased depth of soul, that will permit us to understand how we may become fruitful Christians.


Jun 4, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Secular Religion
For many people, perhaps for the majority, religion is seen as beneficial; that it ‘does you good’. From within the small confines of subjective experience, religion makes you a better person, brings people together, has social and health benefits and gives meaning to our existence. True enough and none of these things can be anything but blessings – but is that all?
May 26, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Memorial Day Reflection
Specifically with respect to Memorial Day, as an Orthodox Christian, we naturally raise the question: “Why would Americans set aside only one day a year to celebrate our departed loved ones?” Now, this question compels us to understand the history of memorial Day, which was originally set aside to remember the sacrifices of those who died in the armed conflict in the service of our country.
May 25, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
On Priestly Formation:
Small is Beautiful
The seeds planted through an Orthodox seminary must be the seeds which will blossom into the fruit of holiness. Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos speaks to this when he reminds us that the goal of the Christian life is to produce saints. How much more the formation of the priests of the Church must be founded upon listening to, learning, and emulating the lives of the saints. Orthodoxy does not have celebrities, only saints.
May 16, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Catechesis and Evangelism are not Enough
The survey data gives us an overview of religious life in American and the place of the Orthodox Church in this broader context. Filled with charts, graphs, and statistics the report is not something that most of us are likely just to pick and read. In what follows, rather than a rigorous statistical analysis of the Church's life, I offer some points for reflection based on the survey. My goal is to help laity and clergy understand that catechesis and evangelism must be combined with a pastoral commitment to the personal discipleship of all members of the Church.


Apr 30, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Why the Cults?
The Waco horrors [a fatal assault by U. S. Agents on the Branch Davidians, a heavily-armed apocalyptic cult, in February, 1993] remind us that millions of Americans of Christian background have left mainstream Christian Churches for non-Christian or pseudo-Christian religious movements. Some have gone to other world religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism, or American imitations of these. Others have embraced one of several large religious movements founded here in America, such as the Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists or Jehovah's Witnesses.
Mar 25, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
What Do the Converts Want?
If they stopped and thought about it, most Orthodox converts would call themselves premodern, since the modern world has not served up a wide array of dependable answers. They are looking for beauty. They are looking for a life that can give them some degree of stability and peace, while helping them face the realities of the world around them. They want Orthodoxy. And it is crucial to know that the converts want more Orthodoxy, not less.
Mar 12, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Do Unborn Humans Have Human Rights?
I have been interested in the issue of whether unborn children should have human rights for quite some time. For me personally, this issue was settled before it ever arose: the position of the Russian Orthodox Church on abortion, which is fundamentally similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church, is based on the premise that human life is inherently valuable, and that unborn human children are no different in their possession of human life than their born counterparts.
Feb 24, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Religious Life and Economic Crisis
It is a basic spiritual law that if you have one can of beans and you want some more, then give it that one can of beans away. This the Gospel message for 2009 in the midst of layoffs and financial crises. I can say from personal experience that “I never saw the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging their bread.” (Ps 36: 25).
Feb 20, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Canon 28 of the 4th Ecumenical Council – Relevant or Irrelevant Today?
We learn from the Apostles and the Fathers that the church is one church, one and the same church, the body of Christ, found in Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople, Greece, Rome, Russia, and so forth. Based on all of this, it is simply wrong to call the church Russian or Greek or American, because the church, in essence, transcends nationalism, race and culture. Here in North America we distort Orthodox ecclesiology by our ethnic jurisdictions.

Jan 24, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Embraced by Lucifer
It is disturbing to realize how many Christians -- even Orthodox Christians -- are reading the stacks of books about prayer, angels, miracles, and such being sold today which have nothing whatever to do with Christianity. Instead these books are filled with pagan, gnostic, and demonic teaching which could lead a person away from Christ and towards the powers of darkness.
Jan 22, 2009, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
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

Contemporary Issues
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

Contemporary Issues
Orphans
The Angel of our Church has departed to pray for us before the Lord in Heavenly monasteries. Words are powerless to express our grief. These 18 years of the Church life will remain with me forever. I see his inquisitive look, his slightly ironic smile, “Well, how is it going?” “So, have you already felt yourself a priest?”
Dec 9, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
The Most Sensible of Mavericks
For the Russian Orthodox belivers, it has been difficult to come to terms with the death of Patriarch Alexy II, who presided over the re-establishment of the Church for almost two decades following Soviet repression. The indefatigable head of the Russian Church sought reconciliation and a bond with society through faith in Christ, against the forces of history and inevitability. However, beyond his death, the memory of Alexy as Patriarch, championing belief, love and forgiveness through God in Russian society, will remain vibrant, meaningful and spiritually strengthening.

Dec 7, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
The tragedy of Man
The tragedy of our times lies in our almost complete unawareness, or unmindfulness, that there are two kingdoms, the temporal and the eternal. We would build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, rejecting all idea of resurrection or eternity. Resurrection is a myth.

Nov 17, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Combating Secularism's Most Serious Sin: Indifference
This metanoia, or change of "the mind in the heart," cannot be accomplished if obstructed. God cannot be seen when He is blocked by the vision of jeans, jewelry or gadgets. God cannot be heard when He is drowned out by the cacophonous sounds of the modern world. Jesus told us: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24) It is now our choice: secularism or God?
Oct 27, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Orthodoxy and its Future
Most Orthodox, converts included, tend to think of the Faith as something very eastern, very Russian or perhaps Greek, or Byzantine. Actually, this is correct only as far as it goes. But if asked, it’s unfortunately unlikely that most of us would say that Orthodoxy has to do with holiness, with sanctity, or with a peculiar concept called “other-worldliness.”


Oct 25, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Opinion on Same-sex Marriage
But while keeping this in mind, it should be noted that it is hard to remain indifferent to living in Sodom or Gomorrah. Every normal Christian cannot but have a negative reaction when all that is holy is trampled and mocked, when the very bases of Christian life, built by Christians for centuries, traveling along the path of the cross to our day, are razed. For to destroy—not to build—does not take centuries.
Oct 17, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Patriots, Politics & the Passions
Our political system has been reduced to the repetitious choosing of the lesser of evils: yes, I believe that is true and it needs to change. In addition, our society in many ways has basically forgotten what it means to be human persons, families, parents, children and friends. That needs to change as well. But to the Orthodox Christian, these are actually exciting opportunities to have a positive influence and promote spiritual (therefore social) health!
Oct 11, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Orthodox Leadership in a Brave New World
Almost thirty years ago Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn delivered an address at Harvard University that still ranks as one of the most trenchant and inspired critiques of Western culture ever given. Although some of the political references are dated, two observations remain as true today as when they were first spoken. The first is that the philosophical materialism that shaped communism and led to the Gulags now operates in the Western world. The second is that mankind stands at an anthropological threshold.


Oct 10, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
False Black: Gothic & Orthodox?
Comparatively few Canadian youth have known real hunger and want, and have enjoyed arguably the best state-run social services and healthcare (not to mention generously endowed public education) for most of their lives. Ironically, it is this very lack of suffering, this lack of struggle, which has made North America perhaps the most difficult Orthodox mission field, apart from Western Europe.
Oct 7, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Why So Few?
So few what? People, I mean; so few people actually becoming Orthodox from a completely unchurched background? Let's be honest here. The growth of Orthodox Christianity in the last 30 years in the west has come about largely through the movement of those who already consider themselves Christians, committed members of other churches in fact, who have discovered Orthodoxy to be the truth about Christ and His Church.
Sep 30, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Orthodox Controversies?
The following fifteen years have been devastating to the peace of most American churches. People who have lived through these battles are battered and worn. And yet - unbelievably enough — Orthodoxy has remained untouched. It’s as if the contemporary American furor is just a tiny blip in history, and not our concern. We still don’t have demands for gay marriage, or nuns agitating for women in the priesthood. We don’t see theological revision or liturgical innovation.
Aug 30, 2008, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
The Date of Pascha
I’ve heard that the reason the Orthodox usually celebrate the Resurrection later than Protestants and Roman Catholics is because we wait until after the Jewish Passover. This year the Jews observed Passover on March 27. Western Christians celebrated Pascha† after that, on April 3, so why did we wait until May 1?
Apr 27, 2008, 10:51

Contemporary Issues
No Life in Second Life. Orthodoxy's Problem with Virtual Reality
Today, you can visit your second life without going through the difficulties of death. You can escape the difficulties of this reality by advancing to another “virtual” and (if the advertisements are to be believed) better one. You can do this by visiting a website called, not surprisingly, Second Life, or one of a host of other cyber-places.
Feb 26, 2008, 21:46

Contemporary Issues
Communiqué of the Holy Hierarchical Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church Regarding the recent events in Kosovo and Metohija
The Holy Hierarchical Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, at their special meeting held at the Patriarchate on February 17, 2008 brings the following public address for the local and international media regarding the latest events in Kosovo and Metohija
Feb 21, 2008, 10:02

Contemporary Issues
Rehabilitating the Memory of Saint Valentine, the Teacher
Today the weather is warmer, automobiles abound, and the holiday has grown into an exaggerated commercial frenzy, overcapitalizing on romantic love and on boy-girl relationships at an ever earlier age. It feeds the sentimentalism and excessive sexual awareness, even perhaps the promiscuity, that categorize modern American society. This direction of things has pretty much eliminated the "Saint" in "Saint Valentine's Day," and it is usually identified as simple "Valentines Day."
Feb 14, 2008, 10:04

Contemporary Issues
The feast of Halloween and Orthodoxy
Most of our schools, local community organizations, and entertainments in television, radio and the press will share in and capitalize upon the festival of Halloween. But Orthodox Christians cannot participate in this event at any level.
Today we witness a revival of satanist cults and special satanic ceremonies on Halloween night. Everywhere Satan reaches out to ensnare more innocent people with spiritualism, supernatural phenomena, seances, prophesies and all sorts of demonically inspired works.
Nov 1, 2007, 08:51

Contemporary Issues
An Orthodox balm for Europe. Orthodox Christians can help rebuild East-West ties.
For decades, many social scientists had pretty much two things to say about Eastern Orthodox Christianity: 1) that like all religions, it was disappearing with the advance of modern civilization; 2) that it derived most of its support from the reactionary tides of authoritarianism and nationalism.
Oct 12, 2007, 19:22

Contemporary Issues
Alexy II presents his vision of the "past, present and future" of the European Continent
Patriarch Aleksy II of Moscow and All Russia, who is on his first official visit to France since becoming the Head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He put a special emphasis on moral standards as the main instrument for maintaining peace and assuring future development.
Oct 3, 2007, 02:40

Contemporary Issues
The Whole Russian Orthodox Church Officially Honours the Saints of the Isle
Tuesday 21 August 2007, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has officially recognized the Feast of the Saints of the Isles. (See our Service to these Saints on this website under ‘Hisperica Liturgica’ – Western Liturgica).
Sep 5, 2007, 08:23