ORTHODOXY: STANDING IN THE FLAMES OF THE SPIRIT Excerpted from The Way of Christ by Father Ted Stylianopoulos, professor of New Testament at Holy Cross Seminary in MA and a speaker at our 2000 Spiritual Odyssey Festival. Life is a journey with many stages from birth to death. As the journey progresses new challenges arise. [...]
September 19, 2015 Length: 15:27 Why does the Orthodox Church celebrate the Elevation of the Holy Cross? A device meant for torture and a grizzly death is held up, venerated, and even kissed! Why? Well, because what humanity meant for evil, God transformed into Victory and Life!
The Spiritual Father in the Community of St. Pachomios by Fr. Steven Tsichlis The spiritual traditions of the desert are not dead and buried, subjects appropriate only for historians and archaeologists, but rather a living deposit of faith which is not irrelevant to our own age. The recent [...]
August 25, 2015 Length: 12:19 A Servant owes his Master millions and he's forgiven. Then this wicked servant turns on a fellow servant who owes him a few dollars and he throws his co-worker in prison! The Master is not happy and takes His servant he had forgiven such a great debt and throws him [...]
The Nativity of the Theotokos The mother of the Theotokos, St. Anna is being attended by handmaidens. Her father, St. Joachim is attending to the Theotokos at the lower right. Notice that she appears as a small adult, which is typical in iconography. Notice her very interesting crib....it looks like a [...]
August 14, 2015 Length: 15:57 Jesus uses seemingly harsh language when a father brings an epileptic son to the Lord for healing. But it's only because it's only this kind of language that can break past the selfishness of our own hearts to teach us how to have faith the size of a mustard seed!
American Salvation: The Place of Christianity in Public Life by Albert J. RaboteauOriginally published in the April/May 2005 issue of Boston ReviewG.K. Chesterton once called America “a nation with the soul of a church.” He was referring, in part, to the habitual tendency of Americans to cast political and social events as [...]
A World Split Apart by Alexander Solshenitsyn The Commencement Address at Harvard: June 8, 1978 I am sincerely happy to be here with you on the occasion of the 327th commencement of this old and illustrious university. My congratulations and best wishes to all of today's graduates. Harvard's motto is "VERITAS." [...]
by Fr. Thomas Hopko Many gay men and lesbians claim that the Christian faith is the guiding rule of their lives. Some of them hold that their sexual orientation is given by God, that it is good, and that there is nothing wrong or sinful with their homosexual activities. These persons say that the Bible [...]
by Fr. Ted Stylianopoulos Question: I am powerfully drawn to the Orthodox Church, but I'm gay. Can I be chrismated anyway? How will the other members of the church treat me? Answer: The church as a loving community, following the example of Christ, welcomes to its life of faith all sincere seekers with their gifts, [...]
