~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
~By Father Stephen Freeman, August 11, 2025 Christ’s words from the Cross to St. John, “Behold your mother,” are both an intimate whisper of a son’s care for his most beloved as well as a cosmic directive to the whole of humanity and creation. This woman is Woman – and her significance abides and will not fade. She points us towards the deepest realities of what it means to be human and, in doing so,
Sermon preached by Subdeacon JD Swartz on Sunday, August 4, 2024 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA “And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” “And when Jesus saw their faith..,” not the faith of the one brought for healing, or at least not his faith alone, but their faith. Our interdependency is
Sermon preached by Subdeacon JD Swartz on Sunday, July 20, 2025 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Liturgically the Church is in a time between fulfillment and the promise of fulfillment, between the feast of Pentecost which we celebrated last month, and the feast of the Transfiguration which approaches next month. We move from the reception of the Comforter toward the vision of the Uncreated
Sermon preached by Dn. James Wilcox on Sunday, August 18, 2024 1 Cor 1:10-7; Matt. 14:14-22 The reading we just heard should be familiar to most of us, as it recounts one of the “feeding of the five thousand” stories found in our Gospel texts. And I’m guessing that these “feeding” accounts, as I’m calling them here, are somewhat familiar to most of us. And in the event that they are, here are a few
~Sermon preached by Claire Koen, PhD Candidate, Fordham University, on Sunday, March 31, 2024 Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Over the last few weeks of Antiochian Women’s month we have heard about forgiveness and healing, mercy and judgment, and the sacraments that the church offers us to aid us in our paths towards theosis. Today, on the Sunday of Gregory Palamas, we remember this great saint and his
Saint Maximus the Confessor was born in Constantinople around 580 and raised in a pious Christian family. He received an excellent education, studying philosophy, grammar, and rhetoric. He was well-read in the authors of antiquity and he also mastered philosophy and theology. When Saint Maximus entered into government service, he became first secretary and chief counselor to the emperor Heraclius (611-641), who was impressed by his knowledge and virtuous life. Saint Maximus soon realized that
By Father Stephen Freeman, September 17, 2019 Fr. Alexander Schmemann famously said that sacraments do not make things into something else so much as they reveal things to be what they are. We hear this in St. Basil’s Liturgy when we ask God to “show” the bread and wine to be the Body and Blood of Christ. The Baptismal liturgy does the same, asking God to “show this water…to be the water of redemption, the
Noetic Science and Natural Science: The theological vision of God and natural science By Abbot Tryphon, December 1, 2019 Orthodoxy does not exclude from the theological vision of God the findings of natural science. Science and faith can be in concert with one another and our desire to reinstate our communion with God can involve both natural science, and the science of the soul. An Orthodox Christian does not have to suspend scientific knowledge in
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 19, 2017 A young man imagines that the mistakes he is making are, with more effort, things that he will correct. An older man knows better. It can be a source of humility, or a source of painful regret. Humility is to be preferred. I wonder if this by itself is the reason why the spiritual life is not populated with wise young people. If you are young and holy,
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