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But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”(Mark 8:33)
I sympathize with Peter. He thought he was just being an exemplary devoted disciple of…
“For the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” (Hebrews 7:19)
I am in Washington DC now with His Beatitude, our bishops and many others for a number of events…
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.(Luke 21:33)
Isn’t it extraordinary that words spoken by Jesus more than 2000 years ago continue to shape the lives of people from almost every culture and walk of life on earth? After all the cataclysms of history,…
Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, “These things which you see – the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.” (Luke 21:5-6)
We Orthodox often emphasize…
“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” (Heb 4:7)
I stayed home yesterday to watch the inauguration of President Obama, hear Archbishop Demetrios give the benediction at the lunch, and thought about Dr Martin Luther King, the civil…
This will be a short entry today. The Board meeting at Saint Vladimir’s ended after 9:30 last night, starts up again at 8:30 this morning and won’t end until after Dr Peter Brown’s Alexander Schmemann lecture tonight. But I do need to take a few minutes to say something about the…
Saint Anthony the Great is considered the founder of monasticism, but truthfully most of his teaching can be applied by anyone who desires to follow the Christian way. His 38 Sayings are a profound guide to Christian living and are widely available on line (his life can be read…
“Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm.” (2 Tim 4:14)
One of features of St Paul that I most appreciate is his realism. Take today’s epistle for example. He doesn’t hesitate to say what is really going on, expresses genuine feeling, has real friends and real enemies and names them. Wow.…
“…that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:17)
Every manager knows that his or her main job is to be sure his employees have the tools and training they need to do their jobs. The manager is there in a supporting role, while the line workers are…
Father John has been out sick with the flu since Wednesday and will return to the “Chancellor’s Diary” when he gets back to work next week, God willing.
In Christ,
Jessica Linke
Web Content Manager
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. (James 3:16-17)
I hope you…
The start of the new year is a natural time to make resolutions—and the fact that so many people do so shows how deeply hope is embedded in the human heart. Whatever specific changes we’d like to make in our life this year, the readings today give us two areas of focus, the…
A priest’s main job is to intercede for his people—with God of course, but with anyone else who might help. Saint John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco, who for years had lived and served as a priest and bishop in China, chained himself to the White House in the 1950’s to intercede…
Tamara Turkevich Skvir came to the Chancery yesterday with her husband Father Daniel to present information and discuss research and translation possibilities concerning the diaries, papers and archives of her grandfather, Metropolitan Leonty (Father Leonid…
The epistle and gospel today each present us with an example of how the Church took a softer pastoral stance than some scriptural texts advocated.
Mark 10:11-12 makes it clear that marriage after divorce is adultery. “He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries…
“Blessed is the way in which you shall walk today, O soul, for a place of rest has been prepared for you.” (Orthodox Funeral)
The epistle for today speaks of the rest God promises to his faithful ones. The gospel speaks of hardened hearts. We may have debates about who will enter that rest and who…
But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. (Mark 9:34)
One of the features I most appreciate about the gospels is their realism. There’s no sugar-coating of reputations. The apostles and disciples themselves, and then the early church, allowed the…
Our society at large is hugely supportive of loving our neighbor, and that’s a good thing. We would do well to have Orthodox Christians nominated as “CNN Heroes.” Selfless service to others may in fact not only be good in itself, but it may be the single…
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me…And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! (2 Tim 4:17, 18)
These words are all the more striking because they come from Saint Paul in prison, feeling lonely…
So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. (Luke 8:23)
This is a curious little detail. Jesus encounters a blind man, but instead of making a big spectacle of the cure in the middle of town, he leads the man away from the crowds. Perhaps this is direct contrast to the…