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The implications of music in the liturgical life of the Church

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:13:37 +0000

I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.(Ps 146:2)

Like with any of the other arts employed by the Orthodox Church in its worship, the music does not serve a purpose in itself. Once used in Church the music drops its role as simply embellishing the services and it is elevated to convey, on a deeper level, the meaning of the prayer contained in the hymns of the church and make them resonate with our souls through its melodies. Great saints of the Church, like John Damascene, Ephraim the Syrian, Roman the Melodios, Andrew of Crete, Joseph the Hymnographer, Kosmas the Poet, John Koukouzelis and many others, have carefully matched the meter of

The Freedom of Morality and the Imorality of Freedom

Fr. Vasile — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:26:35 +0000

The recent overthrowing of the authoritarian governments from the Middle East countries has brought up again the importance of freedom as an essential human value. The notion of freedom however is not as easy to define as one would think. In general we understand that freedom means the capacity to act without any outside restraint. As J. Rufus Fears, professor of Classics and chair in History of Liberty at the University of Oklahoma, asserts, this concept can be applied to a nation for example that is free from any outside domination, can be applied to a political system, meaning that one can elect its own choice of government, but most importantly can be applied to the individual that is Continue reading

Who’s afraid of the Most Holy Virgin Mary?

Fr. Vasile — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:09:44 +0000

The veneration of the Virgin Mary has long been point of contention among Christians. Although it may be difficult to delineate a uniform position among the plethora of Protestant denominations, it is generally recognized that most of the Reformed Churches have no particular place of honor for the Virgin Mary in their theology or worship. Most believe that her role was fulfilled at giving physical birth to the human Jesus Christ and from there on she is nothing but a regular woman that went on with her life, having other children and never to be heard of again. On the other hand the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox, although may differ in some theological aspects, hold the Virgin Mary Continue reading

Pearls to the pigs and communion to dogs

Fr. Vasile — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:29:05 +0000

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine” (Mat 7:6) When I was a kid I had a pet, a cat, and loved it dearly. It slept with me every night and in my teenage years felt at times as my only true friend. But there was no moment during the time we had together, that I confused my pet pal with a true human friend; it remained a cat the entire time. There seems to be however a lot of confusion nowadays about animals and their role in our lives. People treat their animals as family, take them to beauty salons and spas, leave them fortunes in their wills and expect to be joined by them in heaven Continue reading

How can God be inside man? – St. Nikolai (Velimirovic)

Fr. Vasile — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:26:35 +0000

To a soldier of a student's brigade who asks how God can be inside man

You asked somebody, "where is God?" And you got an answer that God is inside you. And you marvel at this answer. How can that be?

Kind of like light in a room, or like fire in a; stove. When you are able to feel God within you, you will feel and know that He is inside you, but you will not be able to explain it to someone else. But you will look for images in nature and then you will speak to the other person as I speak to you: God is within me like light in a room, or

Questions and Answers about the Divine Liturgy #4 – Liturgy of the Faithful

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:56:27 +0000

1. Who are the faithful? The faithful are all that have received the Baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity in the Orthodox Church and are found in good ecclesiastical order. As we saw previously the catechumens and the people that were not in good order were leaving the Nave after the Litany of the catechumens and staying in the Narthex Continue reading

Questions and Answers about the Divine Liturgy #3 – Liturgy of the Catechumens

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:46:57 +0000

1. What are the catechumens? The catechumens are those that are preparing to become Christians. 2. Why during the first centuries the catechumens could not participate in the whole liturgy? St. Cyril of Jerusalem explains the situations of the catechumens: „the divine words echoed outside of him; [...] he was a listener of the Christian teachings but they were not penetrating Continue reading

Questions and answers about the Divine Liturgy #2 – About the Proskomidi

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:31:32 +0000

1. What is the Proskomidi? The Proskomidi is the first part of the Divine Liturgy during which the Priest prepares mystically the gifts necessary for the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Liturgy. It is performed in a special place in the Holy Altar called the Oblation table, Proskomidi or Prothesis. Continue reading

Questions and answers about the Divine Liturgy #1- About the Divine Liturgy in general

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:22:21 +0000

1. What is the meaning of the word Liturgy? The word Liturgy comes from the Greek word leitourgia meaning service or public office. In the primary Church the word liturgy was referring not only to the Church services but to any services rendered to the Christian community Continue reading