Temple Archives - Page 5 of 7

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Third Week of Pascha. What Happens when we Play (Pray)

04/27/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 13, 2014 In my previous article I compared children’s use of play to the place of ritual words and actions in the life of the Church. I absolutely did not mean to imply that one thing is like the other. I mean to say clearly that they are very much the same thing. And I say this both to change how we understand play as well as how we understand

A Child Enters the Temple

02/02/2018

By Father Stephen Freeman The story in the gospel of Christ’s visits to the Temple in his childhood – the first at 40 days of age (marked by the Feast of the Presentation and the occasion of prophecy by the Elder Simeon and Hannah the Prophetess) and at age 12 when He is lost and later found giving instruction to the teachers and scribes, is a reminder of the importance of children in the Temple

Doubt and Modern Belief

01/19/2018

By Father Stephen Freeman Why do people in the modern world find belief so difficult? Obviously, many find ways to believe in God and do so with great zeal, but others, even those who describe themselves as believers, admit either to doubts about God or about many traditional teachings of the faith. The more “miraculous” teachings, the Divinity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, Walking on the Water, Rising from the Dead, etc. present difficulties for most

The Third Day of Christmas. Saint Stephen: The Death of a Revolutionary

12/27/2017

By Father Lawrence Farley Saint Stephen is usually hailed as the first Christian martyr, but he is more than that. His death was also a boundary, and the blood which flowed from his body as the stones hit him became a river, one which separated the faith of the Christians from the religion of Judaism. For unlike the martyrs who followed him, Stephen was not killed by the pagan Romans, executed under a law which

The Second Day of Christmas. Mary, Did You Know? The Winter Pascha

12/26/2017

By Presvytera Vassi Haros There are hundreds of Christmas songs and hymns. They come in all different shapes and sizes and they range from fun to reverence. You may have heard of a song titled, “Mary, Did You Know?” It’s about the amazing things Jesus did and questions if Mary knew after giving birth that her son would: walk on water, bring the dead to life, give blind men sight, heal the lame… “Did you know

The Twenty-First Day of Christmas Advent. Ho, Ho, Holiness in the Simplicity and Purity of God (Part I)

12/05/2017

By Fr. Stelyios Muksuris “THINK of shepherds who are made wise, think of priests who teach, of women who are delighted, when Gabriel teaches Mary joy, when Elisabeth has inside her own womb John kicking. Anna spreads the good news, Symeon opens his arms worshiping the great God inside a little infant, without despising what they see, but glorifying the greatness of His deity. His deity is revealed like light through hymens of glass, through

The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos

09/08/2017

By Tenny Thomas The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos is the first major feast of the new Church Year (Eastern Orthodox), which begins on September 1st. Why was this day selected since it is not in the Holy Scripture? History shows that St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, built a Church in Jerusalem, which was dedicated to the Nativity of our Lady. It was said to be consecrated on the date of

Why the Orthodox Honor Mary (Part I)

08/01/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman Today (August 1) marks the beginning of the Fast of the Dormition, the annual preparation for the feast of the Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary. I offer this article as reflection. The most difficult part of my Orthodox experience to discuss with the non-Orthodox is the place and role of the Mother of God in the Church and in my life. It is, on the one hand, deeply theological and

The Cell, Meeting God and Ourselves (Part IX). The Cell and Love of Neighbor

06/28/2017

The Cell and Love of Neighbor The external environment of a society, family or religious community reflects the internal environment of the human beings who form it. Jesus said, “By their fruit you shall know them” (Matt 7:16, NRSV). In the cell the monk’s interior life is formed in such a way that he or she becomes what the cell makes possible. The physical enclosure of the cell houses the activities of God’s transforming Spirit.

Wednesday after the Ascension. I Am with You Always!

05/31/2017

“And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” Matthew 28:20 Before Christ, there was a mistaken notion that God resided in the temple in Jerusalem. People had to go to the temple to pray. When Jerusalem fell and the people of Israel were exiled to Babylon, not only did they mourn the loss of their city, they even mourned the loss of their God. For they thought the destruction of

Archive

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Third Week of Pascha. What Happens when we Play (Pray)

A Child Enters the Temple

Doubt and Modern Belief

The Third Day of Christmas. Saint Stephen: The Death of a Revolutionary

The Second Day of Christmas. Mary, Did You Know? The Winter Pascha

The Twenty-First Day of Christmas Advent. Ho, Ho, Holiness in the Simplicity and Purity of God (Part I)

The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos

Why the Orthodox Honor Mary (Part I)

The Cell, Meeting God and Ourselves (Part IX). The Cell and Love of Neighbor

Wednesday after the Ascension. I Am with You Always!

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