From The Ladder of Divine Ascent, St. John of the Ladder. Step 28: On holy and blessed prayer, mother of virtues, and on the attitude of mind and body in prayer. What is Prayer? The Union of Man with God 1. Prayer by reason of its nature is the converse and union of man with […]
A Homily for the Sunday of Orthodoxy
March 20, 2016 By
[Delivered at the Lehigh Valley Pan-Orthodox celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy] Since 843 the dominant theme of the first Sunday of Great Lent has been that of the victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy was finally laid to rest. The most notable thing that we do this victory is the […]
On Starting at a New Parish (AFR Podcast and Notes)
March 18, 2016 By
The Podcast is here. Review: Ten (Eleven!) Commandments for Pastors New to a Congregation In a previous post and podcast, I reviewed Rev. Lawrence W. Farris’ book Ten Commandments for Pastors Leaving a Congregation. It was full of good advice to help set your successor and the parish you are leaving up for success and ensure […]
A Homily on the Last Judgment
March 6, 2016 By
Homily on the Last Judgment Matthew 6:14-21 Our actions have consequences. Everything we do affects both ourselves and our environment, to include the people around us. This is a simple fact of nature: our lives are intertwined with those of our families, our friends, our enemies… indeed with all of creation. There is no buffer […]
Homily of the Prodigal Son – The Metaphor of Food
February 28, 2016 By
Homily on the Prodigal Son: A Metaphor on FoodSt. Luke 15:11-321 Corinthians 6:12-20 Introduction Some people think of sin, judgment, and salvation as a courthouse: God gave us rules we have to follow. Because we fail to follow the rules, God must condemn us at the Great Judgment. The only thing that keeps this from […]
Homily: How to Live the Good Life (forever!)
January 31, 2016 By
Homily – The Requirements of Eternal Life 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (Epistle) St. Matthew 19:16-26 “How must I live to enjoy eternal life?” Let’s be honest, this is not the kind of question people ask Christ or His Church much anymore. And it’s not because people don’t care about life after death. Based on the […]
20160126 Orthodoxy and Humanitarianism
January 26, 2016 By
In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks about the Orthodox Christian theology of “humanitarianism” using examples from the life the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. Check out this episode!
A Meditation on MLK Jr and Our Own Cowardice
January 17, 2016 By
The Lord God stands in the midst of the Divine Council and judges among the gods.”How long will you rule unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?Defend the poor and fatherless, maintain the rights of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 81/82:1-4) One […]
J.R.R. Tolkein on Mythopoeia
December 28, 2015 By
From http://home.ccil.org/~cowan/mythopoeia.html To one [C.S. Lewis] who said that myths were lies and therefore worthless, even though ‘breathed through silver’. Philomythus to Misomythus You look at trees and label them just so,(for trees are ‘trees’, and growing is ‘to grow’);you walk the earth and tread with solemn paceone of the many minor globes of Space:a star’s […]
