humility Archives - Saint Sophia

The First Tuesday of Great Lent. The Struggle of Great Lent

02/24/2026

~Elder Ephraim in Arizona † At this time, we’re entering the great spiritual arena of the blessed Great Lent. Holy and Great Lent is a time of compunction, for repentance, for tears, for a change in ourselves, for a new stage in the spiritual life. Like an affectionate mother caring for her children, us Christians, the Church has designated this time of Lent as dedicated to the struggle, in order to help its children, fight

Barns Filled with Nothing

02/11/2026

~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, November 18, 2007 Luke 12:16-21 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! There is a misconception that the Christian life is supposed to be miserable. Why, if that is not true, would the Church ask us to fast, to sacrifice and to deny ourselves the pleasures and goods of this life? But

St. Macarius the Great of Egypt

01/19/2026

When, by decree of Emperor Constantine in 325, the persecution of Christians largely ceased, there was cause for rejoicing. Official sanction, however, brought its own temptations-laxity and worldliness-inspiring a great exodus into the desert which provided fertile soil for the ascetic exploits of those who thirsted, like the martyrs, to lose their life for Christ. Among the most renowned of these early desert-dwellers was St. Macarius the Great. So lofty was his spiritual attainment that in recording

The Inconstancy of Our Inner State

10/30/2025

~Saint Theophan the Recluse You complain about the volatility of your inner state- sometimes it’s good, at others it’s bad. It can’t be otherwise. ‘I’ve undergone unpleasant spiritual states in a variety of forms and continue to do so’. All we can do is bear them with patience and fortitude, without relaxing our spiritual struggle and without neglecting our observance of God’s commandments, which is exactly what you’re doing. A good spiritual state arrives. It

The Elevation of the Precious Cross

09/14/2025

Fr. Gennadios Manolis, Theologian The Lord’s Precious Cross is the supreme symbol of sacrifice and sanctification for the Church of Christ, Who was crucified and then rose, because the Cross, together with the Resurrection, are the two pillars which support the life for the Church and its members. The honour paid by the Orthodox Church to the Precious Cross on 14 September (though not only on that day) began in the very first, Apostolic years,

Simply Not Conventional

08/20/2025

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, November 22, 2020 Jesus brought to us a unique Gospel. A new way of seeing. A new way of living. It is not the way we are used to. Not the way we are taught to think, see and live in our culture. It is a mistake to believe that Christ confirms the way we live as his own. When we do find ourselves in a dead-end.

The Fourth Tuesday of Pascha. Power to Do What?

05/13/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 26, 2020 …. Christ enters the Upper Room even though the doors were shut. He does not break down the door or the walls. He goes in as if there weren’t any. To God, of course, there aren’t. Our problem is that we don’t see as God sees. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. While

The Second Tuesday of Great Lent. And Not to Judge my Brother

03/11/2025

~By Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis It’s a constant exhortation on the part of the Church, all the year round, but particularly during Lent. Indeed, the prayer of Saint Efraim the Syrian is a powerful reminder which we repeat on a daily basis: ‘And not to judge my brother’. And how could it be otherwise, when Jesus Christ himself, the head of the faith, gave us the commandment which expresses the existence or absence of love towards

The Opposite of Faith

02/05/2025

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 25, 2024 In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. One God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever! I haven’t really preached since this past Christmas because of my illness so I’m going to give it a go today. We’ll see what happens! It’s interesting Metropolitan Saba is endearing himself to me quite a bit. He wrote a wonderful piece

Saved in Weakness

08/23/2024

By Father Stephen Freeman, January 21, 2015 We are not saved by our talents and gifts nor by our excellence – we are saved by our weakness and our failure. I have made this point in several ways in several articles over the recent past – and the question comes up – but what does that look like? How do I live like that? The question can be somewhat urgent for some because the message

Archive

The First Tuesday of Great Lent. The Struggle of Great Lent

Barns Filled with Nothing

St. Macarius the Great of Egypt

The Inconstancy of Our Inner State

The Elevation of the Precious Cross

Simply Not Conventional

The Fourth Tuesday of Pascha. Power to Do What?

The Second Tuesday of Great Lent. And Not to Judge my Brother

The Opposite of Faith

Saved in Weakness

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