by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony Bloom (1914 – August 4, 2003) was bishop of the Diocese of Sourozh, the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland. He wrote masterfully about Christian prayer, and many Orthodox Christians in Great Britain and throughout the world consider him to be a saint.

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

In one of the Psalms we can read the following words: Those who have sown with tears will reap with joy… If in the course of weeks of preparation we have seen all that is ugly and unworthy in us mirrored in the parables, if we have stood before the judgement of our conscience and of our God, then we have truly sown in tears our own salvation. Read more

St. Tikhon, the holy New-Confessor, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America, began his episcopal service as bishop of the Aleutian Islands and North America from 1898-1907. His missionary zeal was nothing short of extraordinary, not only in its obvious presence in his own life and actions, and those of the clergy under his guidance and pastoral care, but also in the important place he desired it to hold in the life of the laity over whom he presided.

This Sunday, Brethren, begins the week of Orthodoxy, or the week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, because it is today that the Holy Orthodox Church solemnly recalls its victory over the Iconoclast heresy and other heresies and gratefully remembers all who fought for the Orthodox faith in word, writing, teaching, suffering, or godly living. Read more

by Archbishop Averky (Taushev)

Our father, Archbishop Averky, was bishop of Syracuse and Abbot of Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Monastery in Jordanville, NY.

“This is the Apostolic faith, this is the faith of the Fathers, this is the Orthodox faith – confirm this universal faith.”

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, you will hear these solemn and significant words in the Rite of Orthodoxy which the Holy Church has established to be served on this day. The first week of Holy and Great Lent has ended a week of intensified prayer and ascetical repentance. Now the Holy Church, desiring to encourage and console us, has established for us in this first week of Great Lent, on its first Sunday, a spiritual celebration,one most dear and close to our hearts – The Triumph of Orthodoxy. Read more

by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony Bloom (1914 – August 4, 2003) was bishop of the Diocese of Sourozh, the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland. He wrote masterfully about Christian prayer, and many Orthodox Christians in Great Britain and throughout the world consider him to be a saint.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

We are keeping today, as every year at the end of the first week of Lent, the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. And every year we must give thought to what is meant, not only as a historical event, but also in our personal lives. Read more

This sermon was delivered by Archbishop Job at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy celebrated during the Liturgical Institute held at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, June 29, 1984. The unity of his thought and thorough understanding of the Orthodox Tradition is plainly evident. He talks about the true renewal of the Church being a renewal of the life of the Spirit in the Church.

The theme of this year’s Institute is one that has needed serious reflection for quite some time. In fact, we must be realistic in confessing that no genuine theological, liturgical and spiritual renewal can take place in our Church sojourning in North America and throughout the world without understanding and practicing repentance.

Over the past thirty-five years our small Church has undergone various positive evolutionary stages. The most obvious and decisive stages have affected our approach to theology and liturgy. We are witnessing to the integration of theology and liturgy which has culminated in what has been called our Church’s eucharistic revival. Consequently, we are a Church which on the one hand is becoming more and more capable of articulating and proclaiming its ethos, while on the other hand it is more actively manifesting itself as the Body of Christ which gathers to give thanks to God the Father in the celebration of the Eucharist. Let no one doubt that this organic evolution has strengthened our links with the Church’s past, while at the same time opening up numerous and exciting vistas for the future. Read more

Archbishop Job was an honest homilist, and this was the source of his preaching power. Like the late Bishop Innocent of Anchorage, Archbishop Job honestly and directly addressed the problems he faced in the Church.He spoke with love and passion for the Gospel of Christ, and with love for his beloved flock. This is one of his most inspiring sermons, given on Holy Monday, April 17, 2006.

His Eminence JOB, Archbishop of Chicago and the Midwest

Delivered at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois

1. The Completion of Great Lent

Great Lent is now over.  The school of repentance is closed but the ‘text book’, the Lenten Triodion, remains open and opportunities for repentance are still available to us – even for “those who have delayed until the eleventh hour’ (St. John Chrysostom). Read more

On the Inevitability of Suffering: A Sermon on the Cross

By New Hieromartyr John, Archbishop of Riga and Latvia, who, for his unyielding witness to the Truth suffered many persecutions and was burned alive by communist assassins in the night of October 12, 1934.

From that time, Jesus began to show to His disciples that it is necessary for Him to go away to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised the third day. And Peter took Him to himself and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘May God be gracious to Thee, Lord; this in no wise shall be to Thee.’ But He turned and said to Peter,

Get thee behind Me, Satan; thou art an offense to Me, for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.

Mt. 16:21-23 Read more

by Fr. Josiah Trenham

In this sermon, Fr. Josiah presents an intriguing idea: What happens if Christians experience Ascension, but do not experience Pentecost.

Introduction: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

The last ten days in the Church have been unusual.  In some sense we have been living between two realities.  On the leave-taking of Pascha we ceased the sustained celebration of the Holy Resurrection of the Lord as well as our saying, “Christ is risen.  Truly He is risen.”  The next day we celebrated the Glorious Ascension of our Savior into the heavens to sit at the right hand of the Father.   For these days between Ascension and Pentecost we have been in a waiting mode.  We, like the Apostles of old, have been heeding our Lord’s ascension instructions to “wait in Jerusalem to be clothed with power from on high” (St. Lk. 24:49).  We have been waiting for the Holy Spirit to come.

Why were the Apostles waiting? Read more

By: Fr. Gleb McFatter

Sermon delivered on the Sunday of Orthodox, Naples, Florida, March, 2009.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This invocation of the Holy Trinity which I have just recited is familiar to us all. It is repeated often in every Orthodox service and it is included in every Orthodox prayer. Yet I wonder how many of us have ever contemplated the concept that underlies this invocation, and how that concept is the very core belief which brings us together this evening for the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

In the divine liturgy, we affirm the Holy Trinity as one in essence and undivided. In fact, the Church goes even further and confirms that the Holy Trinity is not only one in essence and undivided, but that it is also comprised of three different and distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Read more

by St. John Maximovitch

Our father among the saints, John Maximovitch, was a diocesan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) who served widely from China to France to the United States. Countless miracles have been attributed to this holy bishop, both during his lifetime and since his repose. During this year, we will be offering some of his Pre-Lenten and Lenten themed sermons for your reference. Read them reverently.

In the prophet Ezekiel (9:6) it is said that when the Angel of the Lord was sent to punish and destroy the sinning people, it was told him not to strike those on whom the “mark” had been made. In the original text this mark is called “tau,” the Hebrew letter corresponding to the letter “T.”, which is how in ancient times the cross was made, which then was an instrument of punishment. Read more