Adorn thy chamber, O Zion, and receive Christ the King. Welcome Mary the heavenly gate; for she hath appeared as a cherubic throne; she carrieth the King of glory. Verily, the Virgin is a cloud of light carrying in her body the Son Who is before the morning star, Whom Simeon carrying in his […]

by Fr. John Matusiak Orthodox Christians observe the beginning of the pre-lenten season of the Church year through use of a liturgical book known as the Triodion. The Pre-Lenten Sundays: Preparing for Our Lenten JourneyUse of the Triodion begins with the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, the 10th Sunday before Holy Pascha and the […]

By Judy Alsop I don’t remember just when Our Lady won my heart. She did it over time. When my husband and I first began exploring Orthodoxy, I was very offended by the honor and reverence given to her.   But little by little my attitude changed and my spiritual eyes began to open. Gradually, as […]

By Father Stephen Freeman Belief is a strange thing. It rests like an idea in our mind. We can examine it, walk around it, argue it, and change it or reject it. But as an idea, belief really isn’t such a big thing. It is probably quite correct to say that most of the things […]

Transfigurating Practices Aristotle Papanikolaou, PhD What happened on the day of our Lord’s Transfiguration? On this day, Jesus took with him three disciples, Peter, John and James, three of the better-known disciples. He took them to a ‘high’ mountain, the Bible tells us (Mt 17:1-9; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36). They are at the ‘high’ mountain, […]

Father Stephen Freeman For many, the idea that we are somehow responsible for the sins of others, or can repent on their behalf is counter-intuitive and deeply troubling. It is distinctly non individualistic. However, it is a cornerstone of Orthodox devotion. Dostoevsky presented a very popular version of this teaching in the words of the […]

by Father Thomas Hopko (1939-2015) There are certain characteristics which belong to all of the saints, whoever they were and whenever they lived. Among these characteristics are the following: Every saint is God-centered and seeks in his or her life the “one thing necessary”—to glorify God by doing His will. Every saint is Christ-centered and […]

By Judy Alsop For me, coming into the Orthodox faith was like entering an enormous, ancient and majestic cathedral full of unimaginable treasures.  Even the treasure-filled cave of Tolkien’s dragon Smaug could not compare to these riches of the soul, both small and great.  And, I still feel very small as I stand in worship […]

By Fr. Jon E. Braun Coming off a couple of decades of heightened awareness of our need for a personal knowledge of Christ–notably evidenced through such phenomena as the Jesus Movement and the charismatic renewal–most thinking Christians are realizing something else is needed: the rediscovery of the historic Church. Often, in heated reaction to dated […]

On August 22, 2015, Schema-Archimandrite Sergius, abbot of St. Tikhon’s Monastery delivered an address to the annual Women’s Retreat sponsored by the Department of Curriculum and Education of the Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern PA, held at St. Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary in Waymart, PA, on the topic of “Orthodox Living in the Modern World: […]