How can one convey the most important thing about family life in a few words? Archpriest Eugene Ambartsumov, a well-known pastor in St. Petersburg, wrote such a letter of advice on the occasion of the wedding of the young Gleb and Lida Kaled. They carried these words with them their entire lives and remembered them when Gleb Kaled became a renowned priest and professor, and Matushka Lida raised five... 

God has a plan for each and everyone one of us and we must have faith in him. That was what I was taught in Sunday School growing up. I knew the lesson, but I never understood it. Not until I experienced some difficult events in my life. I was 28 years old and I had a fulfilling life. I was married, I had a 5 year old daughter, a wonderful job, and we just built a house for our growing family. We knew... 

O Lord our God, Crown them with honor and glory” (Orthodox Wedding Sacrament) I’m ever intrigued by the impressions that our sacred services have upon visitors who attend Orthodox worship for the first time. The most evident feature of our weddings is the use of imperial crowns. Like royalty in general, crowns are a throwback to times past; even the queen of England wears her crown only on rare... 

Since the time of the transgression of our forefather, despite the weakening of our spiritual and moral powers,we are wont to think very highly of ourselvesThe Unseen Warfare In the seventeenth year they stopped having sex and moved to separate bed-rooms. The daily stare-down was withering their marriage. And finally on their twentieth anniversary, after midnight, he went down the hallway where she... 

Source: Saint Aidan Orthodox Church     Years ago, I encountered Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s great novel Love in the Time of Cholera, which (among other things) explores the nature of harmonious relationships. In the story, a couple has been married for almost fifty years. In the routine they have evolved, the wife is responsible of restocking the bathroom with soap. One morning, however,... 

Source: The Orthodox Observer. September • Vol. 75 • No. 1259     Father Charles, I was raised Greek Orthodox, and I married a man who was raised Catholic. After one year of marriage, we have been struggling with the following major question: In which religion will we raise our future children? I know that a successful marriage is built on sacrifice and consideration for your partner,... 

Source: Glory to God for All Things     Fr. Thomas Hopko has observed on occasion that many times saints of the Church are found in “clusters,” particularly in clusters of a single family. Thus it is that within St. Basil the Great’s family, his brothers, Gregory of Nyssa and Simeon, as well as his sister Macrina, and his mother are all saints of the Church (did I leave any out?).... 

Source: Canadian Orthodox Messenger, Autumn 2009     Recently, it was my great joy to attend a kind of celebration so rare in our time that it deserves an entire article devoted to it : the 50th anniversary of the loving marriage between two faithful Christians. Paul and Jeannette Mentenko have a special place in my heart. I regard them as elders on my own spiritual journey. My wife and... 

Source: Orthodox Canada: The Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christian Thought and Theology   From “A series of talks and discussions for young adults”   Love: an Ever Expanding Circle Marriage unites two people in a growing bond of love and makes them “one.” But marriage involves more than the two people being united. The relationship between each individual and... 

Source: The Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church           Foreword   There are many religious treatises to be found on monasticism, but there are too few books dedicated to acquainting the contemporary reader with the Christian concept of matrimony. And yet the majority of Christians choose the path of the wedded state, called by the Holy Fathers...