SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Special Feast Day Edition We celebrate the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple on November 21st. In addition to attending Liturgy (in-person or virtually this year!) what else can we do to honor the Theotokos and celebrate this feast day? Below are some ideas: Read about the feast and learn about its icon here. Find ways to celebrate the feast with your family here at Orthodox Motherhood and

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week: More important than worrying about current politics and global events is … “the beautiful miracle that took place Tuesday [November 3rd] by our holy Geronda Ephraim of blessed memory. One of his photographs began to weep and he appeared to one of his spiritual children.” “…Tuesday, November 3, the icon of Saint Elder Ephraim Arizona-Philotheitis was crying.  The icon of Saint Elder Ephraim of Arizona-Philotheitis is in tears. The elder

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week:  A Primer of Spiritual Life “Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, most of us are far from even beginning to fulfill these precepts… nevertheless accept from me, sinful Aleksander,  this Primer of Spiritual Life.” What follows are some excerpts from the Primer of Spiritual Life, by Father Aleksander Orlov of Omsk. The entire Primer was recently published here Sept 22-Oct 19, 2020 Daily Meditations by Papa

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week: Is God Really Indifferent to Our Suffering? “Since my teens I had been familiar with the common atheist argument that God either does not exist or He must be utterly indifferent to our suffering and therefore not good…” “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.“ (Romans 8:18).

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification TOPIC OF THE WEEK: An Impression of God “If a person wants to get an idea about the pyramids of Egypt, he must either trust those who have been in immediate proximity to the pyramids, or he must get next to them himself. There is no third option. In the same way a person can get an impression of God: He must either trust those who

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – The Present Time “Let us take care because the devil tries to steal from us one of the biggest gifts which we have from God: our present. He pushes us into the future with worries, plans and prophecies or throws us back into the past with memories, sentimentalism, sorrows and over-analysis. We must pray and have the necessary stillness and awareness in order to not lose the present

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Perfecting Our Lives “….this being the liturgical new year, the month that we reset our goals, spiritually, for ourselves, for our family, and it’s very important that this concept of this being the new time, be a real part of our lives…. Now is the time to set our hearts and our minds towards new goals, regaining whatever we have to regain in order to reset our

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – What Christians Are in This World “True Christians live in this world as travelers, pilgrims, and sojourners, and they look ever toward their heavenly homeland with faith and with the eyes of the soul, and they strive to reach it….” (From Journey to Heaven: Counsels of the Particular Duties of Every Christian, Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk)    Adult/Family:  “… We were created for the eternal by our Creator,

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Arrow prayers: “Many Church Fathers taught the use of the “arrow prayer”, deliberately short prayers for personal devotion that were easily remembered, and could communicate one’s love for God, while seeking His help. They were like arrows being shot into the air, wholeheartedly demonstrating our sincerity in asking God’s help. One of my personal favorites is an arrow prayer attributed to Saint

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week: Beginning of the Church Year (Commemorated September 1st) How can we begin the new year with a focus on Christ? “Do you know why the first day of September marks the beginning of the Church year? We are accustomed to think of January 1st as the beginning of the year. But the tradition of computing the start of a new year with autumn was