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St Patrick – Equal to the Apostles

~By Father Jeremy McKemy, March 17, 2014 PATRICK’S EARLY LIFE St. Patrick, one of the few saints I recognized before becoming Orthodox, lived somewhere around the years of 390-460 AD.  People all over the world still celebrate his feast day, though it is usually by consuming alcohol, wearing the color green, and perhaps decorating with four-leaf clovers.  But who was St. Patrick?  What kind of life did he live?  I read his autobiography and put

St. Gregory the Theologian

By Fr. Matthew Jackson, Feb 7, 2011, 10:00 In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Christ is in our midst! He is and shall be! Today we celebrate the feast of St. Gregory of Nazianzus – Gregory the Theologian. I’d like us to hear something of the life of this saint this morning. I certainly don’t think we can always preach about the saints, but the legacy of

Apostle and Evangelist Luke of the Seventy

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, was a native of Syrian Antioch, a companion of the holy Apostle Paul (Phil.1:24, 2 Tim. 4:10-11), and a physician enlightened in the Greek medical arts. Hearing about Christ, Luke arrived in Palestine and fervently accepted the preaching of salvation from the Lord Himself. As one of the Seventy Apostles, Saint Luke was sent by the Lord with the others to preach the Kingdom of Heaven during the Savior’s

The Friday before Pentecost: A Little Pentecost at Every Liturgy

And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, ”Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of

Thursday before the Holy Feast of Pentecost

The Sacrament of Pentecost, by George Florovsky THE CHURCH IS ONE. This does not merely mean that there is only one Church, but that the Church is a unity. In it mankind is translated into a new plane of existence so that it may perfect itself in unity in the image of the life of the Trinity. The Church is one in the Holy Spirit and the Spirit “construes” it into the complete and perfect

“Pros-Efhi” – Towards a Blessing

By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:3 The word for “prayer” in Greek is “Prosefhi,” which literally means “to” or “toward” (pros) a “blessing” (efhi).  So, one way to look at prayer is that it involves receiving the blessing of God over a person, an activity, a day, etc. One way to

The Scandal of the Transfiguration

By Father Stephen Freeman, August 6, 2016  My bishop recently shared the story of a young man whom he taught some years ago. He was Orthodox from Estonia. He grew up in the Soviet era and had come to hate all things Russian, including the Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, he saw an Orthodox procession in the streets of his city one year, a procession that included the Russian bishop (whom he also hated and believed to

Saint Gregory Nazianzus

  Gregory, known as “the Theologian” in Byzantine Christianity, was a very wealthy man, the son of a bishop, and a close associate of the leading theologians of Cappadocia (Turkey) in the fourth century. He was the most educated Christian leader of his generation and wrote extensive treatises, letters, poems, and sermons. He was copied almost as many times after his lifetime as was the Bible, and so became the most influential of all the

The Twenty-Second Day of Christmas Advent. The Feast Day of Saint Nicholas of Myra

The Feast Day of Saint Nicholas of Myra AS WE WAIT FOR GOD TO BECOME INCARNATE, we look to the whole body of Christ, past and present, for models of embodied faith. The commemoration of saints has been a part of Christian worship since the second century. Today we remember Saint Nicholas, who was the Bishop of Myra in the province of Lycia during the fourth century. Very little is known about his life, but

Pentecost. A Little Pentecost at Every Liturgy

And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, ”Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of