“…lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20)
Metropolitan Tikhon returned late Wednesday afternoon from his annual visit to the family’s ancestral home in the village of Les Contamines-Montjoie in south-eastern France, an hour from…
When Aquila and Priscilla heard [Apollos], they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. (Acts 18:26)
Christ is risen!
It must have been tough for Apollos to accept the mentoring of Aquila and Priscilla. After all, he was apparently already…
…in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ (Acts 17:28)
In considering how we as Orthodox should reach out to the increasing numbers of people who classify themselves as…
As I’ve said before, the biggest question that faced the early church and threatened to tear it apart was what to do with Gentile converts. The Jewish elements within the Church insisted that Gentile followers keep the full Jewish Law, just as Jesus had and just as they did. Kosher laws,…
It’s a beautiful morning at the Chancery and I took the opportunity, before anyone arrived, to prepare this diary entry while sitting in the garden by the bell tower, surrounded by towering pines and cedars and the singing of at least a half-dozen kinds of birds.
My friend Father John…
“…[A]ccording to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior – Jesus…” (Acts 13:23)
“Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” (John 6:14)
One of the facts of early Christian history is that…
Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. (Acts 13:8)
Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! (John 8:52)
The readings from Acts and John today both give me agita. I, and probably most of…
The Apostle Hermas is traditionally considered the author of The Shepherd, a work that had wide influence in the early church and was in some places bound with the books of the New Testament. It is a long series of visions and teachings centered on the…
Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. (Acts 10:34-35)
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of…
Christ is risen! I’ve been at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary since last Friday for the board meeting, commencement and pilgrimage (the 109th). The weekend started off wet and cold but became progressively warmer and brighter. Aside from the very…
It has been a busy few days since returning from Kodiak late on Tuesday morning. I got off the plane after the red-eye from Alaska and went straight into the meeting of the Lesser Synod of Bishops (officers normally participate in most of the sessions, although there are a number of…
Christ is risen! Hristusaq unguixtuq!
I’m still in Alaska and return to New York tomorrow afternoon as the meeting of the Lesser Synod is underway. But it was a full weekend in Kodiak and I wanted to share a few photos.
The Saint Herman’s Seminary Board met on Saturday, with special guest…
Archimandrite Juvenaly (Repass) met me at the Kodiak airport last night and brought me to Saint Herman’s Seminary (it was a long trip from NYC, about 19 hours in all, via Dallas and Anchorage.)
After an early-morning walk around the waterfront I…
And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)
One of the striking features of the post-resurrection disciples is their boldness. Before, as Jesus was arrested and…
Metropolitan Tikhon was the guest of His Eminence, Metropolitan Philip at the offices of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America yesterday in Englewood, NJ. Father Leonid Kishkovsky and I accompanied him and joined in the conversations with His…
… they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. (Acts 4:2)
Cemeteries in many parts of the Orthodox world will be filled today with priests and people visiting graves, singing “Christ is Risen” and eating festal meals among the tombstones.
Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6)
Every day we are faced with practical problems and people in need, calling for attention, help and solutions. Mother Teresa was once asked…
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
Another early morning, but now at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, CA where Archbishop…
This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. (Acts 2:32)
It’s 6:00 a.m. and I’m sitting in New York’s JFK airport waiting to board a plane for Los Angeles. The Pastoral Practice Committee of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of…
“We waited, and at last our expectations were fulfilled,” writes the Serbian Bishop Nikolai of Ochrid, describing the Easter service at Jerusalem. “When the Patriarch sang, “Christ is risen,” a heavy burden fell from our souls. We felt as if we also had been…