Orthodox Christianity

Cultivate the Spiritual Discipline of Gratitude

Cultivate the Spiritual Discipline of Gratitudeby Fr. Luke A. Veronis –
The spiritual discipline of gratitude helps us to discover life from the perspective of God.

Gratitude as a spiritual discipline. Gratitude as a choice. Let’s think about this. Sometimes, we look at gratitude as a spontaneous response to something someone has done for us. That’s nice. Yet, gratitude as a spiritual discipline means consciously cultivating a spirit of gratitude in all circumstances – for whatever we perceive as good as well as for the blessings we receive even in the midst of difficult, unfortunate or challenging experiences.

Cultivating a spirit of gratitude means opening our hearts to see God’s Presence everywhere in all things and at all times. That’s surely hard to do at times and it may take serious discernment. Yet it is possible. [Read more…]

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Don’t Lose Heart in the Troubling Times We Live In

Dont Lose Heart in the Troubling Times We Live Inby Fr. Dimitry Shishkin –
Whatever may happen, we must not succumb to melancholy, but on the contrary, we must resist it with faith, courage and patience

According to statistics, about seventy-five percent of our compatriots [in Russia] were baptized in the Orthodox Church. But the spirit that many of us possess, alas, is far from Christian. This is the spirit of this world with its lack of faith, relaxation and pride.

Now, succumbing to the influence of this spirit, Christians are gradually losing courage, the sense of belonging to the spirit of Christ; and when faced with inevitable problems of life, they begin to grumble, complain and plunge headlong into the abyss of their sufferings. This is also facilitated by the ideology of extreme individualism (which has spread recently), when a person considers himself, his moods and feelings to be the most important thing in life. [Read more…]

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St. Paisios Brotherhood: Orthodox Men’s Group Challenges Men to Recover Authentic Manhood

St. Paisios Brotherhood: Orthodox Men Group Challenges Men to Recover Authentic ManhoodThe Brotherhood of St. Paisios –
The first goal is purity of heart, growth into real manhood, the acquisition of virtue, the strengthening of manly character.

The Brotherhood exists so that we can learn how to become men. Our Lord needs men to be men. Real men will be able to withstand the assaults of the enemy and reveal Truth to the world.

Focus on this men. Don’t be drawn into the illusion that the battle is about polemics. Polemics has a place, sometimes an important place, but the first goal is purity of heart, growth into real manhood, the acquisition of virtue, the strengthening of manly character. [Read more…]

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Faithfully Connecting with God Leads to a Grace-Filled Christian Life

Faithfully Connecting with God Leads to a Grace-Filled Christian Lifeby Fr. Theodore Stylianopoulos –
Genuine faith is not a theoretical affirmation of the idea of the existence of God but a personal search for God as our loving Father and unfailing hope.

Much of everyday life in our divisive and confused times, which people call modern and post-modern, is marked by disconnectedness. Because of busy schedules and innumerable distractions, not to mention our own evil passions and the social and political problems all around us, a spouse is often disconnected from spouse, a parent from child, a friend from friend, a neighbor from neighbor. Disconnectedness harms families, schools, places of work, communities, nations, and even churches. The worst kind of disconnectedness, and the root cause of all others, is disconnectedness with God.

Christians know God primarily as revealed in the person and the life of Jesus of Nazareth. According to the Orthodox faith, everything in the Church begins and ends with Jesus the Lord. [Read more…]

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“When It’s Safe” in Church Means Never

When It's Safe in Church Means Neverby Fr. Geoffrey Korz –
Kindly set aside the idea that you will return to the holy services “when it’s safe”. That day will never come.

At every liturgy in the Orthodox Church, just before the singing of the Nicene Creed, the priest or the deacon intones the words, “The doors! The doors!” This call dates back to the earliest times, when the doors of the church had to be barred shut, to prevent outsiders (in those days, Roman soldiers) from entering the church, witnessing those who confessed the faith, seizing them, and killing them.

Being a Christian was not safe. [Read more…]

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Ten Things to Say When Children Say They Don’t Believe in God Anymore

Things to Say When Children Say They Dont Believe in God Anymoreby Natasha Crain –
I always enjoy talking to parents after speaking and this weekend was no exception. One thing I realized this time was that at every event where I’ve spoken in the last couple of years, there have been parents who share with me afterward that their child has recently said they no longer believe in God. Sometimes the kids are very young, other times they’re well into their adult years. But the question parents bring to me is always the same: “What should I say to them?”

After having a couple of long conversations with parents about this over the weekend, I wanted to write this post for others who may be struggling with the same thing. While this is, of course, a complex topic, these are ten of the most important things I think you can say to a child of any age when they say they don’t believe in God anymore. [Read more…]

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How Do We Keep Our Youth in the Church?

How Do We Keep Our Youth in the Churchby Abbot Tryphon –
We are living in an age that has witnessed changes on a massive scale as never before. The way we communicate has changed with the coming of the internet, with information available that would have required a library and advanced degrees to access in the past. Ideas and information are available that leave our youth with choices that were never available a generation ago.

Moral norms have changed, with values and lifestyles that would have never been seen as acceptable in the past becoming part of mainstream. Gay marriage, the high divorce rate, children being raised by unwed parents, and profane music that sounds like it came from the underworld (which inspired it, I’m sure). Child sexual abuse is reaching shocking numbers, with clergy, boy scout leaders, coaches and police officers under arrest. [Read more…]

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Christians, It’s Later Than You Think, Pray Without Ceasing

Hard Times Create Strong Men by James George Jatras –
Simply being what used to be considered normal and leading a productive life is becoming the most revolutionary act one can perform. With that in mind, find the strength to be revolutionaries indeed!

I accepted the invitation to speak with you today only with great trepidation. This was for at least three reasons.

The first is that, both for self-protection in an increasingly unfree country and my growing sense that nothing I or anyone else can say will make much difference in averting the horrors I believe are coming our way, I had ceased my public writing and speaking life, such as it was. I reluctantly have made an exception to that less than momentous recusal but plan to resume it at the end of today.

Secondly, I was loath to contaminate the naturally ebullient optimism of youth with my crotchety Boomer pessimism. At your age you should feel that the world is, if not quite your oyster, at least pregnant with possibilities. How do I tell you that, in the layman’s terms, your lives will probably suck? At least in the near future. But there is hope. I will return to that.

Thirdly, I thought it would be derelict of me not to provide you with some sage, old graybeard advice of a practical nature. If I were in your shoes today, what would I do, specifically, to try to make a positive contribution to the world around me? [Read more…]

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Covid Hysteria: Man Has Become a Virus to His Fellow Man

Covid Hysteria - A Man is a Wolf to Another Man - Bishop Siluan Mrakic by Bishop Siluan (Mrakić) –
Man has become a virus to his fellow man in this ever-changing world and dystopian looking society.

I am compelled by my conscience as Bishop of the faithful entrusted to me, to address by way of this open letter my deep concerns regarding the situation our nation has spiraled into during this current health crisis, which we fear is becoming more of a crisis of humanity than that of health itself.

The Latin proverb Homo homini lupus est, “A man is a wolf to another man,” has tragically found its new form and expression in today’s crisis as: Homo homini virus est!

Man has become a virus to his fellow man in this ever-changing world and dystopian looking society. This is not hyperbole; it is happening right now around us. Just look at our workplaces, formerly places of collegiality and friendship, now rapidly digressing into segregation, suspicion, bullying and ridicule of those who have not yet received the green tick! [Read more…]

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How to Survive the End of Comfortable Christianity

How to Survive the End of Comfortable Christianityby Fr. John Moses –
This time persecution will come under the banner of equality, uniqueness, and freedom.

If you were born in America, or if you have been here for a while, you will eventually hear about what is called “the American idea.” I recently heard Bono, the lead singer of the group U2, speak about this. The American idea holds that we are all equal, and each person is unique. Each person has the freedom to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. Bono said that it is a gift not just for Americans, but for the world.

Well, the times they are a changin’. This American idea has evolved into the idea that the right of self-expression is now the highest American virtue, and it trumps all other rights. The right to assembly no longer means that I can meet with people who share a common interest. [Read more…]

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Orthodox Christianity: Fighting Off the Heretics Since 33 A.D.

Rebuke and Publicly Denounce Blasphemers - St Nicholas Slaps Arius Iconby Fr. Gabriel Bilas –
For the early Church Fathers and Mothers, false teachings in the Church were taken very seriously. The Saints would say that heresy was even a greater sin than murder!

After an incredible week of services during the first week of Great Lent, we find ourselves temporarily taken away from the solemnity of Lent, and into the celebration of Orthodoxy Sunday! We remember all of the countless men and women who have kept the Truth and Life of Orthodox Christianity alive throughout the centuries, against all of the enemies of the Church; all of the heretics that have sought to water down, confuse, and divide Christ’s flock.

This week, while we remember and praise the heroes of our faith, we are reminded of our own tremendous calling that is given to all Orthodox Christians. From the very first day we are brought into the Church, whether it is as an infant or an adult, we are all made a part of a living link, a living tradition, and unbroken chain that can be traced back to Christ and His Apostles. Being a part of this Divine Connection, we are each charged with making sure that we take this gift that has been given to us, and pass it down intact and unchanged, to those who are coming after us. [Read more…]

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Homosexual Unions or Intercourse Can Never Be Redeemed or Blessed by God

Fr. Thomas Hopko: Homosexual Advocates Should be Denied Communion in the Orthodox Churchby Fr. Thomas Hopko –
While sexual intercourse between a man and a woman has the possibility of being a pure and proper actualization of divine love when enacted in a godly manner, homosexual intercourse does not.

From Chapter Six: Same-Sex Attraction and Passion in
Christian Faith and Same Sex Attraction: Eastern Orthodox Reflections book by Fr. Thomas Hopko

  • Orthodox Christian Scriptures and saints universally testify that when the attraction between persons of the same sex is godly, genital activity is precluded, because divine love cannot be expressed in sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex.
  • This is so because same-sex intercourse—however it is enacted, and however committed the persons are to each other, and however “monogamous” their relationship is, and however much they believe that they love each other with godly love—can never be complementary, unifying, life-creating and life-enhancing in the ways that God intended human sexual intercourse to be between a man and a woman. [Read more…]
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Sin Cannot Be Blessed by the Church

Fr Photious Avant Sin Cannot Be Blessed by the Churchby Fr. Photius Avant –
Sin itself, of any variety, cannot be blessed by the Church. It can’t be. Sin is destructive. It is corrosive. It has within it the principle of death, of dissolution.

“Thine they were. Thou gavest them Me and they have kept Thy Word” says the Lord Jesus Christ in His high priestly prayer to the Father (John 17:6). And it is the Word, Jesus Christ Himself, which the Father gave to the apostles, Whom the apostles have kept.

And, it is the Word Jesus Christ Who is defended at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325 which we commemorated yesterday. A terrible heresy had disrupted the peace of the Church: the heresy of Arius. Now, he was not the first heretic and certainly not the last. But, heresy, all heresy, is destructive because in changing what we understand about Christ, in changing about what we understand about the Holy Trinity, the end goal gets changed. The goalposts have been moved. [Read more…]

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Living in an Age of Many False Teachers

Fr. Seraphim Rose - Living in an Age of Many False Teachersby Fr. Seraphim Rose –

Never has there been such an age of false teachers as this pitiful twentieth century, so rich in material gadgets and so poor in mind and soul.

Every conceivable opinion, even the most absurd, even those hitherto rejected by the universal consent of all civilized peoples — now has its platform and its own ‘teacher.’

A few of these teachers come with demonstration or promise of ‘spiritual power’ and false miracles, as do some occultists and ‘charismatics’; but most of the contemporary teachers offer no more than a weak concoction of undigested ideas [Read more…]

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The Meaning of Life: Follow Christ, Seek the Holy Spirit, Desire Salvation

The Meaning of Life: Follow Christ, Seek the Holy Spirit, Desire Salvationby Fr. Gabriel (Hieromonk) –
The answer to the question, the meaning of our life, is the Holy Spirit of God being poured out upon us. It is our calling on the name of the Lord and being saved.

Throughout all the ages of human history, mankind has been ceaselessly occupied with a single question: why? What is the meaning of life, what is the purpose of birth and death, of love and of suffering? Why have we appeared in this world which is so full of both beauty and misery? Men and women of every culture and nation, of every philosophy and religion, have sought for countless centuries to find the answer to this question, and still there are those who seek to find it today despite the modern cacophony of triviality which has all but overwhelmed us. [Read more…]

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