Reflection on the First Saturday of Great Lent
In his hymns for today’s feast, Saint John of Euchaita refers to this day as “heralding from afar the coming feast of the Resurrection,” stating that “this present time…
Reflections in Christ
“The Cult of Bareness”
I cannot be the only one who has had the experience of visiting a non-Orthodox church service and finding it stunningly empty and plain. After long…
Reflection on Clean Monday
After a month of preparation, we begin the forty days of Great Lent. During these days of ascetic struggle, may we all take refuge in the prayers…
Address to the faithful during Forgiveness Vespers
In the reading from the prophecy of Isaiah on the first day of the fast, we hear a word of caution. Our annual observance of times and seasons, our gatherings to worship…
Reflection on Forgiveness Sunday
Though we commonly call today “Forgiveness Sunday,” liturgically it is known as Cheesefare Sunday, or the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. As…
Reflection on the Sunday of the Last Judgment
A few weeks ago, on Zacchaeus Sunday, we marked the end of the Sundays after Pentecost. Then, with the feast of the Meeting of the Lord, we…
Reflection on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son
Perhaps the most obvious lesson of today’s Gospel is this: no matter how far we have strayed from home, the Father is always ready to run…
Reflection on the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee
Today we read the Gospel of the Publican and the Pharisee, and of course, if we must choose one, we should strive to follow the way…
Reflection on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord into the Temple
The feast of the Meeting of the Lord marks the end of the Nativity season. Forty days ago, we greeted the newborn King with the…
Reflection on the Day after Zacchaeus Sunday
Yesterday was the final Sunday “after Pentecost,” when we read the last of the Sunday lections from Saint Luke’s Gospel. And ...