The whole world is a sacrament if only we have the eyes of faith to see it By Abbot Tryphon, December 21, 2019 Some of my earliest memories are of the camping trips we would take, as a family, and pitching our tent by the idyllic lakes in Northern Idaho. We would cook over a fire, catch rainbow trout for breakfast (nothing like a freshly grilled trout). When in high school I’d join friends for
Saint Thomas the Apostle is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. He came from a family of fishermen. He is especially honored by the Church on Sunday of St. Thomas, also known as Second Sunday or Antipascha. Thomas refused to believe that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles because of his absence from the first appearance of the Risen Christ. Eight days later, in the presence of Jesus Christ
The Church’s purpose is to unite all men as one nation in Christ By Abbot Tryphon, January 16, 2020 When the Bolsheviks defeated Imperial Russia, the former government’s close ties with the Church led to the wholesale murder of countless bishops, priests, monastics, and faithful, all seen as an inseparable part of the government. The institution of the Church was seen as so closely tied to the former government, the new government sought to completely
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 14, 2016 There are many ways to think about forgiveness, not all of them true or helpful. It is easily the most emotionally and psychologically difficult aspect of the Christian life revealing both the power of trauma as well as the tenacity of lingering memories. The directness of Christ’s commandments (“forgive your enemies”) and the consequences of ignoring them (“if you do not forgive others neither will your heavenly Father
SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – The Spiritual Testament of Saint Seraphim of Vyritsa, Russia (+1949) This is a letter which the Saint sent to his spiritual child, a bishop who was in a Soviet prison at the time, as a consolation and counsel that God the Creator addresses to man’s soul. “…Keep these words. Know and remember – always, wherever you may be – that every
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 10, 2016 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (John17:20-21) The Elder Sophrony, together with St. Silouan, wrote about the “whole Adam.” By this, they meant all the human beings who have ever existed and those yet to come. They were, for them, something known in the present tense, a “hypostatic” (the term Sophrony preferred) knowledge of the fundamental
Finding God in an unbelieving world By Abbot Tryphon, August 21, 2020 God is quick to forgive, quick to show mercy, and quick to embrace us when we turn to Him. In all of eternity our God chose to create humankind in His image and likeness, offering His creatures the opportunity to commune with Him in the endlessness that is time. He’s given us free will, allowing us to choose, or not to choose, a
Thoughts on Praying for Others By Michael Haldas, July 15, 2016 “An interesting thing I’ve learned about praying for others and the world in general is that while I’m praying for others, God is also working in me, changing my heart for the better.” (David L. Fontes, PsyD) “Prayer is a weapon that all believers should use in interceding for others.” (Life Application Study Bible, Romans 15:30) “Over the past twenty years, there has been
Taking on the Image of Christ To be a Christian is not about conformity to the image of other people, but to the image of Christ By Abbot Tryphon, January 9, 2020 When we enter into communion with one another in the life of the Church, we come broken, and far from the image and likeness that God intended when He created us. We, to a one, are in need of the healing that comes
By Stephen Freeman, March 9, 2016 I cannot think that any of my readers is a stranger to forgiveness, either the need to be forgiven or the need to forgive. The need to forgive, according to the commandment of Christ, extends well beyond those who ask for our forgiveness: we are commanded to forgive our enemies – whom I presume would rarely want to ask for our forgiveness. Of course, our experience of those who
© 2020 Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral
