By Karl Vaters During this challenging season of pandemic and lockdowns I’ve had conversations with hundreds of pastors. Some of them are trying to keep churches afloat that were already in trouble before the pandemic hit. Others are seeing their congregation respond well during this … [Read more...]
To the Deniers of the Clergy
by Priest George Maksimov People have been asking me how I would respond to someone who claims that that the clergy is not necessary and that they do not want anyone to stand between them and God when they pray to Him. The first thing I would say would be this: your willingness to pray and to … [Read more...]
Building Community in the Early Church
by Fr. Lawrence Farley When was the last time you heard a sermon or read an article or blog post on Romans chapter 16? Apart from Rom. 16:1, which describes Phoebe as “a diakonos of the church which is at Cenchrea” (the darling verse of those advocating the restoration of an order of … [Read more...]
Why Is It That Two or Even Three Passages from the Holy Scripture Is Read at the Divine Services?
by Priest Andrei Chizhenko This is due to the fact that the worship services in the Orthodox Church are harmoniously integrated into a single whole, consisting of several parts. Generally speaking, they can be called divine service cycles: a daily divine service cycle, a weekly one, and an annual … [Read more...]
The Holy Oblation
The place where heaven and earth are united by Abbot Tryphon As a priest, I bear the awesome burden of offering the Holy Oblation before the Throne of God, on behalf of all the people whose names are submitted to the monastery, and who are Orthodox. I offer for my spiritual children, and even … [Read more...]
The Rank of Reader: History and More!
by John Nichiporuk The Orthodox divine service is performed by the priest and deacon in the altar, as well as singers and readers in the choir. Arguably we hear the voices of the readers most frequently in the church. They are assigned the important role of reading aloud the Paremias and the … [Read more...]
Make Men Masculine Again
In an Oprah-fied society, men are the villains, and manhood is the enemy. On the contrary, the Church needs men - not confused boys, pajama boys or 'beta males', for the leadership of Christ's Church. Passive men don't do the things that the Church, or society, needs men to do. Masculine men do. … [Read more...]
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