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by St. Leo the Great Our father among the saints, Leo the Great was the bishop of Rome during difficult times. He was an eminent scholar of Scripture and rhetoric. During an invasion by Attila the Hun, St. Leo met him outside the gates of Rome. After some short words, to everyone’s surprise, Attila turned and left. Three years later, during an invasion by Genseric the Vandal, St. Leo’s intercession again saved … [Read more...]
by St. Leo the Great Our father among the saints, Leo the Great was the bishop of Rome during difficult times. He was an eminent scholar of Scripture and rhetoric. During an invasion by Attila the Hun, St. Leo met him outside the gates of Rome. After some short words, to everyone’s surprise, Attila turned and left. Three years later, during an invasion by Genseric the Vandal, St. Leo’s intercession again saved the … [Read more...]
by St. John of Kronstadt Our righteous father John of Kronstadt was an archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church. Born in 1829, from 1855, he served as a priest in St. Andrew’s cathedral in Kronstadt. Here, he greatly committed himself to charity, especially for those who were remote from the church, and traveled extensively throughout the Russian empire. He was already greatly venerated at the time he died. His feast days are … [Read more...]
by St. John Chrysostom This is perhaps the greatest sermon ever written. It is read in every Orthodox Church in the world, every year at the Paschal Vigil, during the Matins of Pascha. St. John was the Archbishop of Constantinople during the fourth century. He was fearless when denouncing sin in high places, and was a prolific writer, and bold preacher, unafraid to hit the topical issues of the day squarely between the eyes with all … [Read more...]
by Fr. John Bockman Around 1928, when I was in the second grade, a good part of the winter was spent constructing what I recall as a fantastic make-believe classroom post office so that we little ones could draw, write, and mail valentines to one another, have them posted, sorted, and finally delivered by one another to mailboxes just as we learned occurred in the regular postal service. I remember that the protracted activity was huge, … [Read more...]
by St. Augustine of Hippo Of the agreement of the evangelists Matthew and Luke in the generations of the Lord. 1. May He, beloved, fulfill your expectation who has awakened it: for though I feel confident that what I have to say is not my own, but God's, yet with far more reason do I say, what the Apostle in his humility says, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." … [Read more...]
by Rick Warren The original title of this article was "Are You the Right Pastor in the Wrong Place," but since Orthodox pastors are also priests, and with apologies to Rick Warren, I thought I'd tweak it. Truthfully, this is a very important reality in pastoral work and often not appropriately considered by we presbyters. I'm quite sure that bishops give this a great deal of thought when making assignments. Why? Because everything is riding on … [Read more...]
by Bradley Nassif, Ph.D. Originally titled "The Apostolic Mission of Bishops: A Short Reflection, the purpose of this brief, and incomplete, reflection is to focus on the centrality of the gospel in the ministry of a bishop. It is not intended to promote a partisan perspective on any issue facing the contemporary Orthodox Church – Antiochian, Greek or O.C.A. It simply spotlights what the calling of a bishop is to be. This was originally … [Read more...]
by St. John Chrysostom Concerning drunkards and frequenters of taverns, and festal processions in the streets - a teacher ought not to despair of his disciples even 'while they disregard his words - also concerning Lazarus and the Rich Man. 1. Yesterday, on the festival of Satan, ye celebrated a spiritual feast, receiving with all favour the word we addressed to you; spending a great portion of the day in thus drinking in that rapture … [Read more...]
by St. Gregory the Great, The Dialogist Our father among the saints Gregory I, also known as Gregory the Dialogist, was the Pope of Rome until his death in 604 AD. He is certainly one of the most notable figures in Ecclesiastical History. He has exercised in many respects a momentous influence on the doctrine, the organization, and the discipline of the Church. To him we must look for an explanation of the religious situation of the Middle … [Read more...]
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