In this episode of The Black American Orthodox Experience, Fr. Chrysostom Onyekakeyah speaks with Abbess Katherine Weston (Mother Katherine) about her experience as the only Black Abbess in the Eastern Orthodox Church in America, her musical compositions which blend musical traditions from the Black American Church with the Orthodox Liturgy, […]
Archimandrite Georgios Kapsanis, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Gregoriou † The immediate fruit of God’s love is the love of the image of God, that of people and all God’s creatures. Through years of ascetic effort, monastics acquire a ‘merciful heart’, which loves as God does. According to […]
Archimandrite Georgios Kapsanis, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Gregoriou † Only the heart of a person who is continuously being cleansed by repentance from egotism, selfishness and the passions can really love God and other people. Egotism and love are irreconcilable. It’s often the case that egotism believes […]
Archimandrite Georgios Kapsanis, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Gregoriou † The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is glad tidings [Gospel= gōd ‘good’ + spel news], because it brings into the world not only a new teaching, but a new life to replace the old one. The old […]
The following in an excerpt from “Eros of Orthodoxy,” translated by Fr. Nicholas Palis and written by Mr. Pantelis Paschou. No one ever dared name any thing of the material or spiritual world, God. Ancient attempts ended in idolatry. How holy, how sacred and lofty must the essence and meaning […]
Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have […]
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. And […]
Listening for guidance from the Lord is a profound spiritual practice. It requires a mindful openness to God’s voice and an earnest willingness to discern His will in our lives. This journey can be explored through Scriptures, teachings of the Church Fathers, and the lives of the Saints. Just how […]
Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have […]
Archimandrite Ephraim, Abbot of the Vatopaidi Monastery Nowadays when science and technology are flying, when cultures converge and there is a crisis in values, even the word ‘death’ is avoided and anything reminiscent of it is ignored and discarded. Modern man views death as something negative and as a […]
Remember, Lord, those who are in the deserts, on mountains, in caverns, and in the chambers of the earth. Remember, Lord, those living in chastity and godliness, in asceticism and holiness of life. (Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, p. 32-33) — He who loves purity of heart, and […]
Elder Ephraim of Arizona † We’re Orthodox, yet essentially we don’t know the height, depth and breadth of Orthodoxy. We must see it in all its holiness. What is Orthodoxy? Orthodoxy is the truth, the correct dogma concerning God, human beings and the world, as this was given to […]