I recently stumbled upon an older interview with Bishop Kalistos Ware, one of the most known Orthodox converts, and, with great pleasure I’ve rediscovered a passage that always struck a delicate chord in my heart. Here it is.:
“I first came to know the Orthodox Church when I was seventeen years old, just before I was due to go to university. My first contact with Orthodoxy was, in fact, not through reading books and not through meeting, face to face, living Orthodox Christians; my first contact came through attending a church service. That, I think, is the best way to be introduced to the Orthodox Church. We shouldn’t see Orthodoxy just as a set of ideas or teachings. We need to see Orthodoxy as a worshiping community—a community of prayer… Continue reading
Two stories of violence
In the last month two stories of violence against Orthodox priests caught the Orthodox news channels attention. One happened in Russia and one here, on American soil.
The first one you can read it here:
This is a most tragic event. A Russian Orthodox Priest who was outspoken against the Islamic religion was gunned down in his own Church in Moscow. May he rest in peace.
The second one available here:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1050707.ece
is a story of confusion, of mistaken (?) identity that ended up with a severe beating of an Orthodox Seminarian by an US soldier.
Both this stories are disturbing because they show how misdirected religious convictions and misinformation can lead to violent… Continue reading
On the spiritual Struggle – by Archbishop Averky (Taushev)
On the first Sunday of the Great Fast our Church celebrates the triumph of Orthodoxy, the victory of true Christian teachings over all perversions and distortions thereof- heresies and false teachings. On the second Sunday of the Great Fast it is as though this triumph of Orthodoxy is repeated and deepened in connection with the celebration of the memory of one of the greatest pillars of Orthodoxy, the hierarch Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, who by his grace-bearing eloquence and the example of his highly ascetic private life put to shame the teachers of falsehood who dared reject the every essence of Orthodoxy, the podvig (in an approximate translation the word podvig means… Continue reading
The Orthodox Nativity Fast Can Help Prevent Holiday Blues and Christmas Depression – Lisa C. DeLuca
Much of the post-holiday blues and Christmas depression that occur in the United States may have something to do with the way Americans celebrate Christmas. The Orthodox Nativity fast may be the remedy many people need.
When people are suffering in their lives with things like divorce or other losses, financial stress, aging or illness; the sudden onset of pre-Christmas cheeriness may leave them feeling even more isolated and deprived, because the rest of world is portrayed as happy and fulfilled in stark contrast to how they feel.
Others who do embrace pre-holiday celebrations often feel let down and weighed down by food and debt shortly after Christmas day. The novelty of the new material things wears off quickly, friends and family go home, and people may be left feeling blue. This is the feeling known as post-Christmas let-down.
The Orthodox way of celebrating Christmas can yield completely different results. Continue reading