SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week: Sent By God: the Life of Geronda Ephraim Saint Anthony’s Monastery is releasing a 5 volume set of books about the life of Geronda Ephraim: “In every generation God sends His chosen servants to help those who are searching for eternal life.In the last half century, there was a man who transformed more people’s lives than anyone else in the history of

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – An Incident from the Life of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg   “What do we know of the life and struggles of Blessed Xenia? Xenia Grigorievna was married to a court singer, Andrew Feodorovich Petrov who died quite unexpectedly and suddenly and, evidently, without the rites of the Church. His death changed, as quickly as lightning, the whole outlook and way

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – The Spirit of God and the Spirit of the World   “The Church is suffering today because divine illumination is missing and people understand things as it suits them. The human element gets involved; passions are aroused, and then, the devil comes and thrashes about. That is why people who are governed by their passions should not seek to govern others… [people

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Are You in Pain?   Let Us Manifest This Faith “…The more silent God remains, the more present He is. The more it seems as if all is lost and as if there is no hope anywhere, the more present God is; the more He intervenes invisibly and mystically. He doesn’t reveal His help, He doesn’t let us see it,

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – We Christians Have Christ   “My child, we Christians do not have money, nor power. Today, this world is governed by the mighty. Mighty powers, banks with a lot of money, other forces, very great…We are unable to cope with these forces and it is natural that these forces, many times, are antithetical to the Christian spirit, with the result being danger to Christians and those who desire to

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Timeless Truths “…Fr. Symeon continues to live, of course, and is now present among us. The Elder is present in the vivid words that he left us and with which he will continue to feed us, to support us, to preach to us and teach us, as he always did: with authority, unerringly, and in truth.” From Abbess Filothei’s obituary

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week: Orthodoxy is the True Faith: New Truths Do Not Exist Saint Porphyrios did not accept the New Age position that all religions simply represent “different paths” which leads to the same God. “We Greeks, here,” he said, “possess one religion: we are Christians… However… Even from us Greek Orthodox Christians, many have become atheists… Only Christ’s religion unites and we all ought

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – The End of Comfortable Christianity   When we remember the holy martyrs, ancient or modern, we see one and the same thing: “I have no other God than the Lord Jesus Christ with His Father and the Holy Spirit. I honor the authorities, but I don’t deify them; I obey the law, but I don’t grovel; I respect everyone, but

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Reversing Judgmental Thoughts  Since the enemy watches you constantly, waiting for an opportunity to sow evil in you, be doubly watchful over yourself, lest you fall in the nets spread for you. As soon as he shows you some fault in your neighbor, hasten to repel this thought, lest it take root in you and grow. Cast it out, so

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – We Christians are Not of This World and Should Not Adapt To It “We have one duty, to be Orthodox Christians, every day, not only on Saturday and Sunday. Every single hour. We must confess our faith everywhere throughout the length of our lives….” Excerpted from We Christians Are Not of This World and Should Not Adapt to It Adult/Family: “Q:—Different periods