Reflections in Christ

The holy apostle Andrew the First-called, according to tradition, founded the Church at Byzantium and planted a cross at the future site of Kyiv. Most likely, all of the bishops of the Orthodox Church trace their apostolic succession back to Saint Andrew, at least in part. Saint Andrew is known as the “the First-called” because he, together with…

Today, the holy Maiden enters into the temple of the Old Law, and all the shadowy symbols of the ancient covenant—the jar, the staff, the golden censer, the ark with the cherubim—are fulfilled. “Today is the prelude of the good will of God, of the preaching of the salvation of mankind. The Virgin appears in the temple of God, in anticipation…

Two days ago, at entrance into the fast, we heard the Lord command St. Philip, “Follow me.” Today, we hear him give that same command to Saint Matthew, and Matthew, like Philip, obeys. He leaves his tax booth and walks in the footsteps of the Lord. We know that tax collectors were notorious, public sinners in those days, but his sins did not…

Today the Nativity Fast begins, a fast barely noted in the divine services. This fast is quiet, in some sense “dark,” reminding us of the darkness in which the world lay before Christ’s birth, and of the dark, still night on which God was born as a man. Entering this season with a humble stillness of spirit, we, too, await the coming of God.

The day before the Nativity Fast begins, we celebrate the feast of St. Philip. In fact, in Russian, the coming fast is commonly called Saint Philip’s Fast. In today’s Gospel reading, we hear that Jesus went forth to find Philip, telling him, “Follow me” (Jn. 1:43). This same Gospel is read on the first Sunday of Lent. In other words,…

It is difficult to overstate the importance of St. John Chrysostom for the holy Tradition of the Church: in many monasteries and cathedrals, his Anaphora is used to offer the holy oblation to the Lord nearly every day, on around 319 mornings out of the year. In our prayer books, his compositions feature prominently at Morning, Evening, and Communion…

Saint Matthew Orthodox Church, Columbia MD
35th Anniversary Celebration
November 12, 2023

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My beloved children in the Lord,

Picture if you will the scene: a man lying by the side of the road, beaten, robbed, stripped, suffering. Passing by on the other side, going out of their…

When he was still a boy, Saint Nectarius of Aegina, born into a poor family, traveled to Constantinople for work. Though he found a job with a tobacco merchant, he still experienced great want. His trust in God, however, never wavered. One day he wrote a letter addressed “To the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven” asking for an apron and shoes. A…

Today we celebrate the angels, “ministering spirits sent forth to serve.” Let us take this as an opportunity to remember our guardian angels, who aid us in the battle against sin and protect us from visible and invisible dangers. We should pray daily for our angel’s help, strengthening our friendship with him for time and eternity.

At this time of year, Western culture gives temporary rein to images of the macabre. For a few rare moments around Halloween, secular people give thought to the existence of death, evil, and the demonic. Of course, the Christian is always aware of these realities: in Christ’s Crucifixion, we see the murder of the surpassingly innocent and holy…

New Haven, Connecticut
October 28, 2023

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Today, as we gather to celebrate the liturgy as an assembled diocese, we celebrate the memory two of the great saints of Russian and Ukrainian Orthodoxy, Job of Pochaev and Demetrius of Rostov. In connection with…

One of the most furious temptations that rages in our age is that of lust and unchastity. Cohabitation, sexual deviance, purely transactional physical relationships, and, most especially, pornography have become normal and acceptable. A great many Orthodox Christians, tempted by the spirit of the age, wrestle with the sins of the zeitgeist, and…

In the holy elders of Optina, God gave the peoples of the Russian Empire a sign of his ongoing care and direction. Even as the society of the empire became increasingly worldly, with many falling away from the Church, the Lord still spoke his word of comfort and guidance to those who had ears to hear, and the Optina elders were messengers of that…

Joyous feast! It is my pleasure to greet all of you on my name day, the feast of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, my heavenly patron and intercessor. Saint Tikhon is my patron, but most Orthodox Christians have their own patron saint, usually a saint whose name we share and who takes on a special role in interceding for our well-being and salvation before…

At the Second Council of Nicaea, the holy fathers not only affirmed the production and veneration of the holy icons, but confirmed their own agreement with all the saving doctrines of the councils that went before them. God is Truth, and if we cling to falsehood, we cannot have a relationship with Truth. Orthodox doctrine is not a subject for…

In general, saints are associated with a single place and belong to a single “rank”: they are either righteous priests, or holy confessors, or venerable monastics, or one of several other types of saints. Though we call him Saint Innocent of Alaska and venerate him as a holy hierarch, Saint Innocent’s long life saw him show forth holiness in…

Today, as we celebrate the protection of the most holy Mother of God, we also celebrate Saint Romanus, who adorned the patrimony of the Church with so many songs in honor of her and her divine Son, Jesus Christ the God-man. But there is no song without singers, and accordingly, in the Orthodox Church in America, the Holy Synod of Bishops and I have…

The so-called Apostle of Love, John the Theologian, is celebrated twice each year: once, in May, in the days and weeks after the Pascha of the Lord, and now in September, shortly after the feast of the Exaltation. This reminds us that true love is crucified: it does not seek its own, but only the truest good of the other. We know God’s love…

For many years, the venerable Sergius has lent his patronage to the chapel of the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America, located in Oyster Bay Cove, New York. Though our Church’s administration has moved to the Archdiocese of Washington, may we never be deprived of the paternal intercessions of Saint Sergius, the glory of the Russian Church…

Just before the end of the liturgical year, we celebrated the Beheading of the Forerunner; now, towards the beginning of the ecclesiastical New Year, we celebrate his conception. The Forerunner goes before in all things, accompanying us with his prayers and feasts, leading us to the Bridegroom and Lamb, the one to whom the Forerunner always points,…