Chancellor’s Diary

• Colossians 1:18-23
• Luke 11:9-13

Children of God

I am perplexed by the amount of sniping, arguing and fighting that goes on in churches. I have been on the giving and receiving end of church strife more than once, and also...

• Colossians 1:1-2, 7-11
• Luke 11:1-10

“Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1)

Each of the evangelists gives us his own underlining of the teaching of Jesus, reflecting how they heard him and received his words. In...

• Prophet Joel
• Philippians 3:8-19
• Luke 10:1-15

Straining Forward

“…Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ...

• Saint Luke, the Evangelist
• Philippians 3:1-8
• Luke 9:49-56

Joy

Today we celebrate the memory of Saint Luke. As Father Alexander Schmemann noted in For the Life of the World, Luke’s gospel begins and ends with joy. At...

• Philippians 2:17-23
• Luke 9:23-27

The Politics of Communion

“They all look to their own interests, not the interests of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 2:21)

Tonight is the second of the presidential debates, being held in...

• Philippians 1:27-2:4
• Luke 9:12-18

Courage

I’ve been listening to Mark Twain’s Puddn’head Wilson on car trips lately. Each chapter heading has a witty Wilson proverb. Some of my favorites are these:

• There is no...

• Philippians 1:20-27
• Luke 9:7-11

Choices

We all have to make choices many times a day. Today’s epistle and gospel let us look in on how Saint Paul and Jesus made a choice in a particular situation.

The disciples of...

• St. Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891)
• Philippians 1:12-20
• Luke 8:22-25

“…and there was calm”

Both the epistle and gospel today highlight the peace of Christ. In prison for his faith, St Paul nevertheless remains...

• Tikhon, Patriarch and Confessor of Moscow,
 Enlightener of North America
• Hebrews 7:26-8:2 (St Tikhon), Philippians 1:8-14
• John 10:9-16 (St Tikkon), Luke 8:1-3

Holy Synod Autumn Meeting Begins

The ancient canons of the...

• Ephesians 6:18-24
• Luke 7:31-35

From Denver to Ottawa

I arrived in Ottawa way too late last night and there are stacks of emails and phone calls this morning, so the Chancellor’s Diary will have to be very short today.

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