Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, June 18, 2017 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (4:18-23) Ken Wilbur in THE RELIGION OF TOMORROW points out two interesting facts. One, that 75% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 belong to the growing segment of society that calls itself “spiritual and not religious” along with 20% of adult Americans. I also read that the largest religious group
By Fr. Luke A. Veronis, December 19, 2021 Sinter Klaas, the Dutch name that we Americans transliterated into Santa Claus, obviously refers to Saint Nicholas, one of the most beloved of all saints throughout the world, and whose memory is actually celebrated today on December 6th/19th. Travel across Europe and you can literally find thousands of churches named in honor of St. Nicholas. Greece and Russia look upon St. Nicholas as the patron of their
By Stephen Freeman, April 5, 2016 Belief is a strange thing. It rests like an idea in our mind. We can examine it, walk around it, argue it, and change it or reject it. But as an idea, belief really isn’t such a big thing. It is probably quite correct to say that most of the things we “believe” make no difference whatsoever. This is especially true of what most people mean when they say,
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, December 8, 2015 A bad man cannot make a good world. “Something must be done!” If there were a possible slogan for the modern world, this would be it. Its power lies in its truth. Some things are tragic and unjust, broken and dysfunctional. Any analysis that suggested that nothing should be done will fall on deaf ears – and should. However, this is where the great temptation of modernity begins. Something must
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 29, 2008 Part of the spiritual landscape of American religion is the sizable role played by choice in a culture shaped in the free market – with freedom as a mythic symbol. It is not unusual to hear American politicians describing solutions to social problems as a matter of “trusting Americans as consumers.” It is as though we could “shop” our way out of life’s difficulties. And thus it is that Calvinism,
By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis I give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. Psalm 9:1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:1-3 I wonder how many of us are going to read an account of
Meditation: The Danger of Busyness When God came into the world at Christmas, people didn’t have time. They were too busy. There was no room for Him in the inn. “He came unto his own, and they that were his own people received him not.” And it seems that still today we have no room. We crowd Him out with so many things, especially with our busyness. In Luke 14:16-24, the Lord Jesus tells a
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