Orthodoxy in the World
Christians and the Egyptian Revolution: a positive contribution and future inquiries
In a fabulous scene not often witnessed in Egypt, Muslims formed a barrier around them to protect Christians as they prayed. This mirrored the gesture of Christians protecting Muslims at prayer in the same square during the 18 days of demonstrations.
Feb 17, 2011, 12:03

Orthodoxy in the World
Canada Just Right For Western Rite Monks: an Interview with Hieromonk James Deschene
But I had still no experience of eastern liturgy - Orthodoxy came to me through books. Nor did what little I had seen of Orthodoxy liturgy attract me. It was certainly splendid and beautiful, especially in its Russian forms. But I had been deeply rooted and grounded in the solid and traditional liturgy of the Roman church from my earliest years. As a Roman Catholic seminarian in the years before Vatican II, I had discovered and fell in love with the services of the liturgical year and its cycles.


Feb 8, 2011, 10:00

Sermons, Lectures
St. Gregory the Theologian
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Gregory of Nazianzus – Gregory the Theologian. I’d like us to hear something of the life of this saint this morning. I certainly don’t think we can always preach about the saints, but the legacy of the lives of the holy men and women of our Faith are very important. They show us that the way Christ has called us to live is something do-able.
Feb 7, 2011, 10:00

Sermons, Lectures
Coming Up Short
Yet when he hears that Christ is about to pass his way, “he wanted to see who Jesus was.” This is the initial act of faith that we must never abandon.Who is Jesus? If He is the Son of God, our lives are about to be transformed forever. Does each of us believe He is the Son of God? The real answer to this question is manifested in our thoughts, words, and deeds.
Feb 5, 2011, 10:00

Parish
What’s Worse Than a Church Without a Web Site?
If a congregation wants to attract visitors through its web presence, that site must be as well planned and carefully done as any other public presentation of the congregation. In fact, given the sophistication of the medium and the caliber of those who surf the web to find a new church home, a poorly done congregational web site may be more of a detriment for a church than no web site at all.

Feb 4, 2011, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
The Macho Approach to Christ
The article by Cathy Lynn Grossman stated that churches nationwide are worried about attracting men to their services on Sundays. It seems that women outnumber men in attendance in every major Christian denomination and that they are 20 to 25 percent more likely to attend worship at least weekly.


Feb 3, 2011, 10:00

Sermons, Lectures
To Be Loved
Can one sermon change your life? I did not think so, but then it happened to me. The day I heard that sermon was the day I saw everything differently. The difference between what I knew before and what I came to know was huge. At the same time, the difference was also very subtle and seemingly small.

Feb 2, 2011, 10:00

Our Faith
The Liturgy after the Liturgy
The Liturgy after the Liturgy means that we bring our faith and the joy of our faith to every action of our lives. It is a great effort, much greater than engaging in long, formal prayers, but only repeated effort makes one stronger and healthier.


Feb 1, 2011, 10:00

Discussions and Opinions
Waiting for God?
Are "providential" and "just in time" synonymous, or not? It all depends upon your point of view. When God's schedule fits with mine, he's "right on time." When God's schedule is at odds with mine, he's late, though he must still be provident.


Jan 31, 2011, 10:00

Theology
Christ in the Old Testament
Yet while many Christians are happy to proclaim this doctrine in Sunday worship or in their daily prayers without any serious consideration for its implications, just as many are surprised by the suggestion that the Word (the Pre-incarnate Christ) was not only there (somewhere in the background) from the beginning, but that He actually appeared and spoke to the prophets – that He in fact was from the beginning the one Who reveals and declares the Father.
Jan 29, 2011, 10:00

Our Faith
Spiritual Growth: Is it My Job or God's?
Many times we hope to be growing and progressing in our spiritual relationship with God. But then suddenly, this hope is demolished and we end up disappointed and discouraged.


Jan 28, 2011, 10:00

Our Faith
Hidden Pilgrim
There are many problems for me with organised pilgrimage. I do not take to holy jollies such as we see in the Canterbury Tales or their modern versions of comfortable coach parties of pilgrims with thermos, food, pleasant talk and laughter, all heading off for holy destinations.
Jan 27, 2011, 10:00

Orthodoxy in the World
One Can't Learn to Pray Sitting in a Warm Armchair
When I was in Greece and started turning towards Eastern Christianity, I began to perceive the schism between the East and the West very painfully. It stopped being an abstract theory or a plot in a Church history book, but rather something that was directly affecting my spiritual life. This is why the conversion to Orthodoxy started looking like a very logical step.
Jan 26, 2011, 10:00

Orthodoxy in the World
Father Gabriel (Bunge) “Orthodoxy is the Fruit of My Whole Life as a Christian and a Monk”
St. Theophan the Recluse, who is very popular in the West, by the way, understood the matter of western mystics very subtly. Once he exclaimed: “Oh, these Western people, they cannot distinguish between psychic and spiritual!” And really, when I talk to people who come for confession, I see how often they mix these things.
Jan 25, 2011, 10:00

Contemporary Issues
Be not Anxious (Matthew 6.22-33)
Coming into the Orthodox Church is like dying. You die to a whole host of practices that you once identified with being Christian and English: hymnals and organs, old churches dotting the English countryside. You die to old fears of ‘Popery’, incense and ‘Byzantine’ vestments and kissing holy icons with staring eyes. You die to fears of dark ‘foreigners’, with strange accents and fierce, flamboyant ways.
Jan 24, 2011, 10:00

Sermons, Lectures
Homily for the Sunday after Theophany
Does this mean, then, that those of us who are not monastics should leave behind all that we are and become monks? No. To do so would demonstrate that we were still in darkness, that we do not understand the meaning of repentance, to confuse the means with eh end. Historically, monasticism is the fruit of repentance, repentance is not necessarily the fruit of monasticism.
Jan 22, 2011, 10:00

History of Christianity
Four Women on the Threshold of the Gospel
It was a must in ancient Israel, as in other nationalities, to keep genealogical records by the male line. The women, strictly speaking, didn’t need to be recorded at all. But in our case, among the host of male names we find four females: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba). Why are they referred to at all while the most powerful queens or the renowned belles are not mentioned? Definitely, there is something important in their lives that brings us to the very core of the Gospel.


Jan 21, 2011, 10:00

Orthodoxy in the World
The Monks of the Arizona Desert
As our two small buses rolled through the arid desert, my mind wondered “where on earth have they come to live?” Then, the oasis appeared suddenly ahead of us transforming the “coldness” of the land to a warm and welcoming embrace; I felt the heartbeat of the monastic prayer rising around me “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner,” and my heart was filled with joy of anticipation.
Jan 20, 2011, 10:00

Photoalbum
The Great Blessing of Water at the Jordan River

Jan 20, 2011, 09:59

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
On the Blessing of Homes On Theophany
The Orthodox Church teaches that we do not have two separate lives–a secular one and a spiritual one–but one human life, and that all of it must be holy. We must not be Christians for just a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, spending the rest of our life godlessly, that is to say, without God.
Jan 19, 2011, 02:22

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
Baptism in Christ
Baptism, however, can only be realized in the life of a person insofar as he or she accepts to make that pilgrimage with a certain ascetic discipline that focuses on repentance. St Peter of Damascus (11th-12th c. ?), St Symeon the New Theologian and many others, make the point repeatedly that baptismal renewal demands asceticism, a gradual dying with Christ.
Jan 18, 2011, 07:11

Our Faith : Icons
We Must Steel Ourselves
When later we were talking about Church he made a strange observation. Though he admired the icons of the Eastern Church, he noted that he could not understand why Jesus, even as an infant, looks so decidedly mannish. It was a thought that had never occurred to me, and he was right. Most of our depictions of the child Jesus show him as a little adult.
Jan 17, 2011, 10:00

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
Metropolitan Hilarion: ‘We hold dear St. Seraphim of Sarov’s spirit of joy which the modern man is lacking so much’
Many of you go by metro. Look at people’s faces in a metro car and you will see no joy in them. Your will see all kinds of expression – concern, restlessness, irritation but you will see no joy. Some would say: And what is there to be delighted with in subway? But go to a restaurant and look at the faces of those who sit there. Will you see many joyful and enlightened faces? No.
Jan 15, 2011, 06:20

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
Circumcision of Jesus Christ
Memory of St Basil the Great
Today we are celebrating a number of things, among them the Circumcision of Christ, which happened about eight days after His Birth. This feast-day was not celebrated in the early time of the Church, but came later. Today is also the feast of the departure to heaven of St Basil the Great, which was established before the feast of the Circumcision came into being.
Jan 14, 2011, 10:02

Our Faith : Feasts. Calendar
The Circumcision of The Lord
But there is some danger in all this: in the consciousness of some people, especially those who got insufficient spiritual enlightenment, those who seldom read the World of God, patristic writings, those who don’t think over their faith, but simply got used to go to church, dangerous and incorrect attitude to the rites is being formed. They think that exact fulfilment of the rite saves a man and you needn’t do anything more.
Jan 14, 2011, 10:01