Moses Archives - Saint Sophia

The Feast of Christ’s Reception as Fulfillment of the Ritual of Mosaic Law

02/03/2026

~Theodore Rokas The recent feast, the Reception of the Lord, is the feast which is celebrated exactly forty days after that of His Nativity. The name of the feast in Greek comes from a verb meaning ‘to go out and meet or welcome someone’ [Hence the depiction of Symeon in icons as being at or outside a door. WJL]. As regards the determination of the celebration of the feast on 2 February, this was decided

The Third Day of Christmas. The Life of Saint Stephen the Deacon and First Martyr

12/27/2025

(Commemorated on December 27) St. Stephen was a relative of St. Paul. He was the first of seven deacons whom the holy apostles ordained for the service of the poor in Jerusalem. This is why he is called the Archdeacon – the first, or chief, of them. St. Stephen did many things for the poor and widows in Jerusalem and by the power of his faith, he worked many miracles. He lived his life to

Frodo’s Last Lesson

10/27/2025

~By Father Stephen Freeman, August 1, 2023 Frodo failed. If you’re a reader of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (or just a movie-goer), then you know that the central, heroic character, the young Mr. Frodo, ring-bearer, fails to throw the Ring into the fires of Mt. Doom at the end of his arduous journey. Everything he loved, his home, his friends, every scrap of goodness, depended on the Ring being tossed into those fires, and,

Our Means of Salvation

09/10/2025

Metropolitan Ieronymos of Larisa and Tyrnavos As we prepare to celebrate the great feast of the Universal Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, which, according to the liturgical tradition of the Church is comparable to Holy and Great Friday- hence its status as a strict fast- the Gospel reading of the day reminds us of another strange elevation which happened centuries before, in the wilderness, during the exodus of the Israelite people from their

The Dormition

08/12/2025

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 15, 2021 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ. The scripture readings today are extremely significant and apropos to the day. Saint Paul’s talking about self-emptying: The Kenosis of Jesus Christ, who came to the world, giving up all His divine prerogative to become one of us and save us in

The Dormition Fast: The Most Holy Mother of God

08/04/2025

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 13, 2008 On August 15, the Orthodox Church (new calendar) commemorates the Dormition (falling asleep) of the Most Holy Mother of God. The feast is considered to be one of the 12 Great Feasts of the year and thus an integral part of the proclamation of gospel of Jesus Christ. Many who are not familiar with Orthodoxy, or its manner of understanding saints, easily see feast days and the veneration

Priesthood in the Old and New Testaments

07/29/2025

Grigoris Sahinoglou The concept of priesthood exists in the Old Testament, though it has a significance and character that is different from that which it assumes in the New. In the Old Testament, before the time of Moses, every head of a family could offer sacrifices to God and there is no lack of instances where this happened, such as when Noah performed a sacrifice after the flood in gratitude to God for his survival

Beneath the Letter of the World

06/02/2025

~By Father Stephen Freeman, May 22, 2023 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Cor. 9:9-10) In this odd little passage in

Monday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. God Likes to Play

05/12/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 12, 2014 There are things that children understand instinctively. And the things that children know and understand are worth consideration. They have much to teach us. Among the most natural things children do is play. Depending on how you define play, it is among the first activities in which we engage. It comes to dominate the lives of children and is the hallmark of their existence. Play

The Fifth Monday of Great Lent. By the Rivers of Babylon: Inconsolable Home-Sickness

03/31/2025

Mihaïl Koutsos Psalm 136. By Jeremiah to David, on captivity 1 By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 We hung our instruments on the willows, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, and our abductors asked for mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion’. 4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you,

Archive

The Feast of Christ’s Reception as Fulfillment of the Ritual of Mosaic Law

The Third Day of Christmas. The Life of Saint Stephen the Deacon and First Martyr

Frodo’s Last Lesson

Our Means of Salvation

The Dormition

The Dormition Fast: The Most Holy Mother of God

Priesthood in the Old and New Testaments

Beneath the Letter of the World

Monday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. God Likes to Play

The Fifth Monday of Great Lent. By the Rivers of Babylon: Inconsolable Home-Sickness

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