What Does Success in Bodily Warfare Look Like?
Some of the most accessible and practical wisdom from the ancient Christian desert tradition can be found in the letters of Sts. Barsanuphius and John. They lived in Gaza (Palestine) in the early...
View ArticleRemembering and Sharing Our Baptism
Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Ever since Great and Holy Pascha, we have been reading in the services from two books of the Holy Scripture: The Gospel of John and the Acts of the Holy Apostles....
View ArticleWhat’s the Point of Baptism?
The Lord Jesus Christ has His longest, most serious, and most revealing conversation with the very last person one would think. It is not with His friends. It is not with His enemies. It is not even...
View ArticleWhy Are We Agitated?
‘The beginning of quietude is to repel the blows of the demons, because they trouble you to the depths of your heart. The end of quietude is not to fear turmoil, but to be indifferent to it’ (Saint...
View ArticlePaying Attention Is The First Step
In eighth-grade science you took apart a flower and then labeled the parts: pistil, stamen, petal. But did the flower remain? You can stretch definitions and say, yes, the sum of these parts is the...
View ArticleWhat Happens When We Sing to God?
“God inhabits the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3) The true nature of existence is best expressed as communion. Though we experience much of our life as unique individuals, the experience of all that...
View ArticleIs It Possible to Live a Holy Life in the World?
In my last post, I spoke of two options for Christian living. These options, marriage or monasticism, are the dominant options throughout most of Christian history—but not the only options. In the...
View ArticleReturning to “Normal” Is Not an Option
When we examine our lives, where does our true focus lie? Do we see things through the lens of our spiritual lives, asking ourselves how our day to day decisions can lead us closer to Christ? The...
View ArticleSpiritual Truth or Worldly Thinking?
The Orthodox Church sets aside one Sunday each year – today – dedicated to a man who was born blind. The date is named after him: it’s called the Sunday of the Blind Man. If our modern, atheist society...
View ArticleThe Law Came Through Moses
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John. (9:1-38) In today’s gospel reading from St. John we have a truly miraculous story about a man born completely blind who gains his sight because...
View ArticleWhen America Got Sick
What response should Christians make? How do we respond to modernity? The post When America Got Sick appeared first on A Russian Orthodox Church Website.
View ArticleRejection of Despair
We shouldn’t despair when we’re not as we should be. Of course it’s bad to sin. But why do you disrespect God and, in your ignorance, think him weak? Is he who made this great world for you unable to...
View ArticleWolves Will Always Attack the Church – That’s Why Christ Prayed
The Church sets aside this Sunday to remember the First Council of the Church – the Council of Nicea. This day marks that great event when the whole Church came together to condemn the false teachings...
View ArticleBe Thou My Battle Shield
The combat and warfare of which St. Paul speaks is a spiritual combat, and our enemies are not flesh and blood people, but the spiritual armies of darkness in the heavenlies, those that inspire...
View ArticleIt’s All About the Resurrection – Reflecting on the Season
We Orthodox Christians tend to hold onto certain rites and practices for a long time. I don’t mean for centuries, although that is also true. Our chief services of worship date back to the fourth and...
View ArticleGrowing Cold in Faith after a Few Years in Church: Is This Normal?
“I used to enjoy prayers, fasts, lengthy services and pilgrimage trips, but suddenly everything changed. Why?” Reason One. Doubts I believe that growing cold in faith is a completely normal process....
View ArticleWhat a Caveman Said: To Perceive That Which Is Eternal
We are captivated by the “surface” of things, failing to see what lies beneath. It causes us to be anxious and driven by things of insignificance. The post What a Caveman Said: To Perceive That Which...
View ArticleThe Reason Christ Revealed Himself
Saint Athanasius says, if Christ revealed Himself to the world only to amaze people, it would mean He had come just to put on a show – and that is not the reason Christ came to us. Brothers and...
View ArticleFlying By The Instruments
I was told once that it is possible when flying an airplane to lose track of whether you are flying rightside-up or upside-down—presumably because when you can’t see the ground or are flying through...
View ArticleThe False Gospel of Victimhood
Christ warns us: take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor for your body, what ye shall put on – these are the anxieties of mankind in every age. The devil, on the...
View Article
