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The Twenty-Second Day of Christmas Advent. The Life of St. Nicholas

More than 1,600 years ago, in the year 270 AD, St. Nicholas was born not far from Myra, in what is now modern day Turkey. At that time, Orthodox Christians were persecuted for their faith. Many of them were tortured and executed because of their belief in Jesus Christ. Nicholas was taught by his parents to love the Lord with his whole mind, heart, soul, and with all his strength. When they died he inherited

A Holy Nation (Part I)

By Father Brendan Pelphrey “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 Every year on July 4, our nation celebrates its independence from

A Veterans Day Sermon

When Dwight D. Eisenhower was President from 1953 to 1961, he received a letter from eight-year-old Keith Aiken of Trumbull, CT. Kevin wrote, “After listening to the news about the cold war, I am worried about the people in the world. In thinking it over, I have a plan. Get all the leaders together who want war, put them in a ring and let them fight it out.” I’m sure that many veterans of foreign

The First Thanksgiving Proclamation

The first Thanksgiving Proclamation was issued by the revolutionary Continental Congress on November 1, 1777. Authored by Samuel Adams, it was one sentence of 360 words, which read in part: “Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received… together with penitent confession of their sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor; and their humble

Father Maximos on the Role of an Elder

After a few seconds, a young seminarian took the microphone and spoke in accented Greek. He was clearly born and raised in America. “Last year we had a debate at the seminary in regard to the role of an elder. We wondered whether each one of us must have a spiritual guide and whether we should obey unconditionally the instructions of such an elder. This is a real problem for us when friends pose such