Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, January 29, 2017 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (15:21-28) Brothers and Sisters, The Lord did not come to show us how to get to heaven. He revealed that heaven is within us. It always has been. There is no place to “get to.” Why then did he come? For a variety of reasons. He came to die for us. Yes, of course,
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 12, 2017 He who has pity on the poor makes a debtor of God. (Prov. 19:17) Jesus told a story about a man with a huge debt. He owed it to his master and was unable to pay. When he was dragged before his master, he begged for mercy. Strangely, the master was so moved by the man’s begging that he forgave him the entire debt. This same man, Jesus
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, October 24, 2017 The greatest trial surrounding the One Ring of Power in Tolkien’s novels, was the temptation to use it. No one (except for Sauron himself) seemed to think that they would do anything but good with the Ring. The Ring would protect Gondor; the Ring would bring order to the world (Saruman). And though it was indeed occasionally used to escape Trolls or to get friends out of Elfin prisons, every
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 14, 2016 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (10:38-42; 11:27-28) “Be still and know that I am God.” Martha is not still and so she misses the obvious presence of God right there in her own living room. She is so concerned about herself, so full of herself and her serving, that she cannot think of anything else. Sometimes it’s just better
On Sunday, March 10, 2024, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America celebrated Meat-Fare Sunday presiding over the Divine Liturgy at Saint Sophia “The Holy Wisdom of God” Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, D.C. “On this Sunday, when we bid farewell to some of life’s pleasures, the Lord points us to the way of true and lasting happiness. Our eternal happiness is to be found in our loving and compassionate service to others. Because it shows us how
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on September 25, 2021 Alexandros Christodoulou Saint Silouan the Athonite Saint Siouan- Symeon Ivanovich Antonov, before his tonsure- was born in 1866 into a peasant family in the Tambov region of Russia. From the age of four he began wondering: ‘Where is this God? When I grow up, I’ll travel the whole world looking for Him’. When he was a little bit older he heard about the life of a holy
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 3, 2017 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (21:33-42) The Lord spoke this parable: “There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 9, 2022 This article comes to mind as we celebrate the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts on these Lenten Wednesdays and Fridays. There is nothing to compare to them in the Christian liturgical world. It’s hard to think of fasting in the midst of such a feast. Orthodoxy has a number of “favorite” words – all of which fall outside the bounds of normal speech. Though we commonly use the
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 30, 2013 This Sunday the Orthodox Calendar commemorates St. Gregory Palamas – perhaps the most significant theologian and teacher of the late Byzantine period. He particularly is important when considering the nature of the Christian experience of God. Orthodoxy believes that it is truly possible to know God though He remains unknowable. The mystery of this true knowledge constitutes the heart of St. Gregory’s work. I first encountered St. Gregory’s
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 27, 2017 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (19:16-26) There are a few themes that run throughout the Gospels. Today we have one that shapes the faith. Without it Christianity becomes something else entirely. The Church sang it in a liturgical hymn very early in her history. St. Paul quotes it in his Letter
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