Archive

The Interior Focus of Great Lent

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 26, 2017 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (6:14-21) As we prepare to begin the Great Fast, here are a few important points to remember. First, God is love, a kind and compassionate father to us. We must never forget that because love is the reason for all spiritual effort. “God does not love us because we are good, but because he

The Unmoral Christian Revisited

By Father Stephen Freeman, January 31, 2015  My article, The Un-moral Christian, along with You’re Not Getting Better, have continued to generate conversation around the internet, and within parishes. At least that’s the impression I get from numerous conversations, emails, social media, and even phone calls. Most of those conversations seem to be serious and are engaging the question of how Orthodox Christians should think about the moral life. A recent conversation in my parish has yielded

Father Maximos on the Fruit of Faith

“Fr. Maxime, why do you suppose St. Paul placed the fruit of faith at the bottom end of his hierarchy?” Michael asked. “This is an important point. Paul did not place faith at the top part of his hierarchy but in the bottom triad, namely faith, gentleness, and self-control,” Fr. Maximos replied, extending three fingers of his right hand. “Why? Because, the apostle claims that a time will come when faith will be transcended. It

Living a Spiritual Life

We Are the Glory of God Living a spiritual life is living a life in which our spirits and the Spirit of God bear a joint witness that we belong to God as God’s beloved children (see Romans 8:16). This witness involves every aspect of our lives. Paul says, “Whatever you eat, then, or drink, and whatever else you do, do it all for the glory of God” (Romans 10:31). And we are the glory