Fr. Steve Zorzos, Author at Saint Sophia

Saint Nikitas the Great Martyr (15 September)

09/15/2025

The Holy Great Martyr Niketas (Nikḗtas) was a Goth (a Germanic tribe). He was born and lived on the banks of the Danube River, suffering for Christ in the year 372. The Christian Faith was already spreading throughout the territory of the Goths at that time. Saint Niketas believed in Christ and was baptized by the Gothic bishop Theophilos, who participated in the First Ecumenical Council. Pagan Goths started to oppose the spread of Christianity,

The Elevation of the Precious Cross

09/14/2025

Fr. Gennadios Manolis, Theologian The Lord’s Precious Cross is the supreme symbol of sacrifice and sanctification for the Church of Christ, Who was crucified and then rose, because the Cross, together with the Resurrection, are the two pillars which support the life for the Church and its members. The honour paid by the Orthodox Church to the Precious Cross on 14 September (though not only on that day) began in the very first, Apostolic years,

Orthodoxy Represents Our Original Incompetency

09/12/2025

~By Father Stephen Freeman, September 11, 1018 There is one thing to be said about Church-shopping: you can always find a better one… I often see examples of what I would describe as “comparative denominationalism.” It is the comparison of one Church to another (yes, I know that Orthodoxy is not a denomination). Indeed, the drive for a “better Church,” a “more authentic Church,” the “true Church,” the “New Testament Church,” is little more than

The 9-11 Cross at Ground Zero

09/11/2025

When someone says 9-11 almost everyone in America will know that it refers to September 11, 2001, the day of the infamous attacks on the United States by 19 hijackers who flew two airline passenger jets into the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon near Washington DC, and one that crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, while it was undoubtedly bound for the Capitol or White House. 9-11 became a

Our Means of Salvation

09/10/2025

Metropolitan Ieronymos of Larisa and Tyrnavos As we prepare to celebrate the great feast of the Universal Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, which, according to the liturgical tradition of the Church is comparable to Holy and Great Friday- hence its status as a strict fast- the Gospel reading of the day reminds us of another strange elevation which happened centuries before, in the wilderness, during the exodus of the Israelite people from their

The Stewardship of Saints Joachim and Anna

09/09/2025

Published 3/17/94 Much of the life of the Virgin Mary has been revealed to us from a book known as the “Protoevangelion of James.” Although not considered a canonical book of Holy Scripture, it contains vital information pertaining to the life of the Virgin Mary. From this book we also learn about the parents of the Virgin Mary, Ss. Joachim and Anna. It is important to study this saintly couple for we gain a good

On the Icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos

09/08/2025

Sermon preached by Melissa Nassiff on Sunday, March 4, 2018 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Good morning! Once again March is Antiochian Women’s month, and throughout the Archdiocese, women are serving their parishes in some of the more visible ways: taking the collection, taking part in the Great Procession, ushering, assisting with communion, and giving a homily. Last year,

Prophet Zacharias and Righteous Elizabeth

09/05/2025

On September 5th, the Orthodox Church celebrates the parents of John the Baptist: Prophet Zacharias and Righteous Elizabeth. They are also commemorated on the Nativity of the Baptist on June 24th. Both Elizabeth and Zacharias were of the lineage of Aaron and Elizabeth was the sister of St Anna, mother of the Theotokos. So, Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins. Zacharias served as a priest in the Temple. Both were righteous before God, walking in

Faith in Christ is a Matter of the Heart

09/04/2025

Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis Faith in Christ is principally a matter of the heart, and then of reason. The Lord didn’t say, ‘If you understand me’, but ‘If you love me, keep my commandments’. This means that we can understand him to the degree that we try to love him. Our love for him, expressed as observance of his commandments, opens the door for him to come and dwell in our soul and body, so that

Peter, Self-Denial, and Change

09/03/2025

~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 24, 2006 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! Metropolitan Anthony Bloom once advised inquirers to Orthodoxy to put down their books and attend a Divine Liturgy. “The service is long, but even Orthodox services eventually come to an end. And if you simply stand there and are open to whatever

Archive

Saint Nikitas the Great Martyr (15 September)

The Elevation of the Precious Cross

Orthodoxy Represents Our Original Incompetency

The 9-11 Cross at Ground Zero

Our Means of Salvation

The Stewardship of Saints Joachim and Anna

On the Icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos

Prophet Zacharias and Righteous Elizabeth

Faith in Christ is a Matter of the Heart

Peter, Self-Denial, and Change

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