~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, January 14, 2007 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! Galilee has an interesting history. The name comes from the Aramaic word “gal” which means “to take captive.” In the year 721 BC the Assyrians took over the Northern kingdom of Israel comprised of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. The
~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 18, 2007 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! There is only one way to know forgiveness and that is by forgiving. We may have an idea of what forgiveness is, but an idea is only an idea. We may have an idea of who God is, but an idea is
~By Father Stephen Freeman, August 30, 2023 How connected are we? Do your actions, thoughts, feelings, have an effect on me even if I am unaware (or on the other side of the world)? Is my existence bound within the existence of other human beings, or are we simply sharing the same planet for a period of time? Connections between people, particularly of a spiritual nature, were declared to be mere superstitions in the march
On October 18, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Evangelist Luke. He was one of the Seventy who were early emissaries of Christ sent out to do missionary work. After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray the
~Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios In our reading from the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul lays before us two basic truths, which are of particular interest for us today. The first, is that we should desire and seek the salvation of our people with all of our hearts. Not only those close to us, but all people. Second, the Holy Apostle tells us that the salvation offered by Christ is open to all, and is
~By Father Stephen Freeman, September 12, 2023 Fr. Alexander Schmemann wrote: …When investigating the history of Mariological piety, one discovers that it is rooted not in any special revelation but, primarily, in the experience of liturgical worship. In other terms, it is not a theological reflection on Mary that gave birth to her veneration: it is the liturgy as the experience of “heaven on earth,” as communion with and the knowledge of heavenly realities, as
~Georgios D. Papadimitrakopoulos The holy hieromartyr Dionysios was a member of the Court of Areios Pagos, and was more prominent than anyone else because of his wealth, fame, prudence and wisdom. He embraced faith in Christ when he heard Saint Paul preach on the rock of the Areios Pagos and received holy baptism. He was consecrated bishop of Athens, succeeding the holy and wise Ierotheos on the Episcopal throne. From his predecessor, Dionysios learned divine
~Sermon Preached by Father Antony Hughes on Sunday, October 17, 2004 We must consider what it means to be the light of the world. The importance of this is self-evident. We are the hands of God in this world. What we do is supposed to reflect Him. We are mirrors, no, even more! We are bearers of mercy and grace. Jesus said of Himself that He is the Light of the world and He has
~By Stephen Freeman, August 24, 2018 Irony is probably too much to ask of youth. If I can remember myself in my college years, the most I could muster was sarcasm. Irony required more insight. There is a deep need for the appreciation of irony to sustain a Christian life. Our world is filled with contradiction. Hypocrisy is ever present even within our own heart. The failures of Church and those who are most closely
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 3, 2010 The 15th of August is the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God (her death). Orthodox Christians fast for two weeks prior to this great feast and celebrate it with great solemnity. A question was recently placed by a reader about the “perpetual virginity” of Mary. I am offering this small post to address that question and to look at the place of the Most Holy
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