Eucharist Archives - Saint Sophia

From the Cross – To the Cross – By the Cross (Elevation of the Holy Cross)

09/14/2026

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, September 13, 2025 The mystery of the Cross begins in eternity, “in the sanctuary of the Holy Trinity, unapproachable for creatures.” And the transcendent mystery of God’s wisdom and love is revealed and fulfilled in history. Hence Christ is spoken of as the Lamb, “who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world” (Peter 1:19), and even “that hath been slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). “The Cross of Jesus,

The Participation of Nature in Worship: The Blessing of the Fruits of the Vine

08/20/2026

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on August 6, 2019 Georgios N. Manolis, Theologian According to Saint Basil the Great, nothing exists without due cause, nothing’s fortuitous, everything has some secret and unexpressed wisdom. Thus, regarding plants and their fruits, apart from their ecological importance as producers of eco-systems they’re also schools for rational souls and colleges of the knowledge of God, which train the intellect and lead it from the visible and tangible to the contemplation of things invisible. Plants

Christ’s Compassion

07/28/2026

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on October 6, 2019 ‘And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her’ Teachers of little children train them in accordance with a system, whereby they attempt to teach them the subject of the lesson by beginning with the easiest aspect and then proceeding to the more difficult ones. This is also what the Lord did with His disciples: first He cured ordinary ailments, then He expelled demons from people’s souls, then

The Sacrament of Humility – Part Two

06/16/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 26, 2024 In my earlier article, I described humility as “our willingness to receive with thanksgiving those things (of whatever size) that come our way.” This describes humility as a virtue, but the article’s title described it as a “sacrament.” Oddly, I seemed not to have unpacked what that means. There are several ways to think about sacraments. There are those actions within the life of the Church with which

An Avalanche of Kindness

06/12/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 28, 2024 A chance conversation with my wife opened a world of wonder for me recently. I mentioned to her that, as I reaching for a scarf before my walk on a chilly morning, my thoughts drifted to a woman (a parishioner, now deceased) who had knitted several items for me. As I remembered her, I prayed and gave thanks for the kindnesses she had shown me. My wife’s response

The Third Tuesday of Great Lent. Lent: The Other Dimension of Life

03/10/2026

Fr. Andreas Agathokleous Amid the turbulence of our life, the deafening noise surrounding us, the long and pointless conversations on the telephone or in person, the stress and uncertainty regarding the state of the world today and tomorrow, the Church offers us the period of time of Great Lent. What meaning can this period, beginning with Monday in the first week and lasting until Great Saturday, have for all of us who live the modern

The Second Wednesday of Great Lent. Loving God and Our Neighbor

03/04/2026

~By Shannon Sakellariou, March 22, 2021 Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit—one God. Amen. First, I need to make a disclaimer: I am definitely not further along on the journey to understanding love or learning how to love than others. But this reflection has been a good spiritual exercise for myself as I’ve prepared for Great Lent. As I thought about and read about God’s love for us,

The Royal Priesthood in a Secular World

02/16/2026

~By Stephen Freeman, June 22, 2023 St. Peter describes us as a “royal priesthood.” “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” (1 Peter 2:9) We live in a world metaphor and simile. That is to say, we might call someone a “king” or “priest,” but really only mean that

The Thirteenth Day of Christmas Advent. All About Thanksgiving

11/27/2025

~By Father Lawrence Farley The Christian Faith is all about thanksgiving. Our secular North American society thinks that thanksgiving is moderately important, and so it has a wonderful Thanksgiving Day feast once a year. I love this feast. Every October…when the leaves start to turn colour and the days become a little cooler, we gather if possible with our extended families and sit down to a turkey dinner. There are no pilgrims and no Plymouth

The Third Day of Christmas Advent. Broken Communion

11/17/2025

~Father Stephen Freeman, November 25, 2022 The holidays can make it all too poignant: the terrible fact of broken communion. Often, our festivities bring us into close contact with some (few or many) whom we most commonly avoid. An uncle, an aunt, a brother, a parent whose relationship is marked with pain, misunderstanding, shame, and various other torments. Statistics say that these times (particularly Thanksgiving to Christmas) are frequently marred by things we would otherwise

Archive

From the Cross – To the Cross – By the Cross (Elevation of the Holy Cross)

The Participation of Nature in Worship: The Blessing of the Fruits of the Vine

Christ’s Compassion

The Sacrament of Humility – Part Two

An Avalanche of Kindness

The Third Tuesday of Great Lent. Lent: The Other Dimension of Life

The Second Wednesday of Great Lent. Loving God and Our Neighbor

The Royal Priesthood in a Secular World

The Thirteenth Day of Christmas Advent. All About Thanksgiving

The Third Day of Christmas Advent. Broken Communion

Categories

Archives

View Our Live Stream Services

Keep In Touch

Stewardship Application

Daily Meditations

Worship Schedule

Light a Virtual Candle

Text-to-Give in 2 easy steps!

1) Text 202-899-7801 to include your donation amount

2) Follow the link to complete the one-time registration