The Poustinia

In today’s gospel reading, we hear the account of a healing of two possessed men. The scriptures record that Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes. Jesus was met by two men that were possessed by demons. Both cried out when they saw Jesus, acknowledging Him as the Son of God. The possessing spirits begged Jesus that if He cast them out they could enter…

Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

In today’s gospel we heard about how a centurion, a Roman officer, came to the Lord to beseech healing of his beloved servant, who was seriously ill. The Lord replied, “I will come to you and heal your servant,” and the officer said to Him: “My lord, I give orders to my soldiers, and they carry out. You just order and the illness will leave him. ” Such was his belief in the healing power of the…

Sermon on the Mount

The gospel appointed for this Sunday in the Byzantine Rite is an excerpt from what is commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount. The reason for this designation is that Jesus “went up on a mountain” to deliver this message. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest continuous section of Jesus speaking found in the New Testament. Tradition identifies the location of this sermon to be a large hill…

Candles In Worship – Part III

Since ancient times at hierarchical (bishop) services, special candle-holders have been used. The faithful reverently bow their heads when blessed by the Bishop with the dikeri (representing the two natures of Christ) and the trikeri (representing the Holy Trinity). Candles are also lit during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (Liturgy/Mass).

Holy Baptism is celebrated with the priest fully…

Candles In Worship – Part II

The early teachers of the Church also witnessed to the spiritual significance of candles. In the 2nd Century, Tertullian wrote:

“We never hold a service without candles, yet we use them not just to dispel night’s gloom; we also hold our services in daylight but in order to represent by this Christ, the Uncreated Light, without Whom we would in broad daylight wander as if lost in darkness” […

Candles in Worship- Part I

Candles and icon lamps (lampadas) have a special symbolic meaning in the Christian Church, and candles play a significant role in Orthodox-Catholic Christian liturgical services. In the Old Testament, when the first temple of God was built on earth, the tabernacle services were held in it with lamps as the Lord Himself ordained (Exodus 40:5, 25). Following the example of the Old Testament…

Feast of All Saints of North America

“What does the daily invocation of the saints signify — of different ones each day, during the whole year, and during our whole life? It signifies that God’s saints live and are near us, ever ready to help us, by the grace of God. We live together with them in the house of our Heavenly Father, only in different parts of it. We live in the earthly, they in the heavenly half; but we can converse…

Saint John of Kronstadt

Saint John of Kronstadt is one of the saints commemorated today on the Byzantine liturgical calendar.

Born Ivan Ilyich Sergiev (1829-1908), he was known to his contemporaries as Fr John of Kronstadt and was the most revered figure of the Orthodox Church of Russia in the half-century leading up to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.

Saint John of Kronstadt is best known through his spiritual journal…

Sunday of All Saints

On this first Sunday after Pentecost, we commemorate all those who have lived holy lives in obedience to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christians have been honoring saints and martyrs since at least the second century AD. Initially this day was solely a commemoration of the holy martyrs. It was only later in Church history that this day became a commemoration of all the…

The Aim of the Christian Life

Greetings on the Day of the Holy Spirit! God sent the Holy Spirit into the world on Pentecost; and, thereafter, it became possible for people to become participants in the fullness of divine grace. An example of the grace of the Holy Spirit at work within the life and words of Saint Seraphim has been preserved for us.

In November of 1831, a pious Orthodox Christian named Nicholas Motovilov met…

Pentecost: Birthday of the Church

Fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and ten days after His Ascension to Heaven, the disciples, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and other believers, gathered in Jerusalem, awaiting the fulfillment of the Savior’s promise of the Holy Spirit.

As they were gathered in prayer and expectation, a noise came from heaven like a strong gust of wind. Tongues of flame appeared above the…

The Jewish Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot)

The Old Testament Feast of Pentecost or Shavuot has many names in the Bible: the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Harvest, and the Latter Firstfruits. Celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover, Shavuot is traditionally a joyous time of giving thanks and presenting offerings for the new grain of the summer wheat harvest in Israel.

Traditional Jews light candles, recite blessings, adorn their homes…

“Helping a person in need is good in itself. But the degree of goodness is hugely affected by the attitude with which it is done. If you show resentment because you are helping the person out of a reluctant sense of duty, then the person may receive your help but may feel awkward and embarrassed. This is because the person will feel beholden to you. If, on the other hand, you help the person in a…

The Sunday After Ascension

The Feast of the Ascension ends the liturgical singing of “Christ is Risen,” transitioning us from the joys and symbols of Pascha to the anticipation of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. As with the disciples, this transition can be disorienting and distressing for the faithful.

The appointed gospel reading for the Divine Liturgy on this day (John 17:1-13) is Jesus’ priestly prayer…

The Ascension of Our Lord

After His Resurrection, Jesus remained on earth to manifest that He had truly risen from the dead and to complete His final instructions to the apostles. Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus and His disciples went to the Mount of Olives. Before taking leave, Jesus promised the disciples that He would not abandon them, but that He would send the Holy Spirit, the breath of God’s own Spirit, to…