Temple Archives - Saint Sophia

To Love and the Lord Loves Us

10/29/2026

Sermon preached by Dn. James Wilcox on Sunday, June 2, 2024 Acts 11:19-30; John 4:5-42 Today, on this fifth Sunday of Pascha, we come to a text — as you just heard —which happens to be the longest interaction between Jesus and any other character presented to us in Scripture. And the extended dialogue we just heard between Jesus and the Samaritan woman all takes place in what can be considered sacred territory. Long before this episode,

The Holy Apostle James the Just

10/23/2026

Brother of the Lord, First Bishop of Jerusalem, and Author of the Epistle “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (James 4:8) As one of his last blessings of new church communities, His Eminence Metropolitan Philip of blessed memory graciously granted us a charter and name for our church in honor of St. James the Apostle, First Bishop of Jerusalem and the

Sermon on Gratitude

10/13/2026

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on January 19, 2020 Metropolitan Anthony Bloom † 17 December 1989 In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Ten lepers came to the Lord; ten men who were ritually unclean and therefore, ritually rejected by their community, unable to attend the common worship of the Temple, unable to come near the habitations of men; and unclean also in the eyes of men because their sickness could be transmitted to

The Sword that Pierces the Soul

08/10/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 14, 2024 Mary, the Theotokos, was described by St. Irenaeus in the 2nd century, as the “New Eve.” Like Eve, she is the “mother of us all,” if we have the eyes to see her properly. She is a quiet figure in the New Testament – not a preacher or worker of miracles. We see the story of her humility and openness to God as she embraces His condescension: “Be

Love and Being

07/31/2026

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 21, 2025 Perhaps the most intriguing statement in the New Testament is St. John’s simple, “God is love.” As mysterious and awesome as the revelation of the Divine Name (“I am that I am”) to Moses might be, St. John’s statement gives a content that echoes and enfolds the death and resurrection of Christ itself. Indeed, any other statement about God runs the risk of obscuring this essential revelation. More

Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel

07/13/2026

The Archangel Gabriel was chosen by the Lord to announce to the Virgin Mary about the Incarnation of the Son of God from Her, to the great rejoicing of all mankind. Therefore, on the day after the Feast of the Annunciation, the day on which the All-Pure Virgin is glorified, we give thanks to the Lord and we venerate His messenger Gabriel, who contributed to the mystery of our salvation. Gabriel, the holy Archistrategos (Leader

The Presentation and the Crucifixion

05/28/2026

Metropolitan Anthony Bloom of Sourozh (Extract from a sermon preached at the University Church of Great St Mary’s, Cambridge, on 19 May 1985) And then, lastly, two events which I would like to bring together. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Crucifixion. Every male child first-born of a woman was to be brought to the Temple as an offering. If we read back into the Old Testament about the institution of the

Sunday of the Blind Man

05/17/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! At the end of Chapter 8 in Gospel of Saint John, the Savior was disputing with the Pharisees in the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles. He told them, “Your father Abraham was glad that he should see my day; and he saw it and rejoiced” (John 8:56). The Jews said that Jesus was not even fifty years old, so how could He claim to have seen Abraham? The Lord

ON THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE

02/02/2026

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Today’s Feast has no fewer than four different names. Each name recalls a different aspect of this Feast. What are they? First of all, today’s Feast is called the Presentation of Christ. This is because it commemorates the Presentation of Christ by His Mother in the Temple at Jerusalem exactly forty days after His Birth. As we can see from

The Fifth Day of Christmas. 14,000 Infants (the Holy Innocents) slain by Herod at Bethlehem

12/29/2025

14,000 Holy Infants were killed by King Herod in Bethlehem. When the time came for the Incarnation of the Son of God and His Birth of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Magi in the East beheld a new star in the heavens, foretelling the Nativity of the King of the Jews. They journeyed immediately to Jerusalem to worship the Child, and the star showed them the way. Having worshipped the divine Infant, they did not

Archive

To Love and the Lord Loves Us

The Holy Apostle James the Just

Sermon on Gratitude

The Sword that Pierces the Soul

Love and Being

Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel

The Presentation and the Crucifixion

Sunday of the Blind Man

ON THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE

The Fifth Day of Christmas. 14,000 Infants (the Holy Innocents) slain by Herod at Bethlehem

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