June 15, 2018 St. John the Wonderworker on Wearing Lipstick to Church It is the responsibility of the clergy and, in particular, of the parish rectors to insure that those who wear lipstick do not venerate…
June 14, 2018 Baptizing Infants as a Part of the New Covenant with God St. Augustine made the observation that in the Scriptures, circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and His people. The community did…
June 12, 2018 The Divine Liturgy as a Gift of the Holy Spirit to Humanity The Divine Liturgy is truly a gift of the Holy Spirit to humanity. It is an initiation into the mysteries of the Spirit, a…
June 12, 2018 Can a Laymen Give a Blessing? Question: Can a laymen give a blessing? Answer: In the absence of a priest or bishop, a layman can give blessings. You can…
June 11, 2018 7 Facts About the Blessing of Home 1. Houses are traditionally blessed with “Theophany water” each year. A house can be blessed at any time, but the usual season for…
June 8, 2018 The Number of African American Orthodox Christians Appears to Be Growing In 2016, I began a series of interviews with African American Orthodox Christians in four regions of the United States. An integral component of…
June 8, 2018 The Perfect Priest & the Perfect Presbytera I found this in an old e-mail. I know the ‘perfect priest’ is an adaptation of ‘perfect pastor’ lists that have been around for…
June 6, 2018 The Phenomenon of Orthodox Christian Sacred Music Thy Resurrection, O Christ our Savior, the angels in heaven hymn. Enable us also on earth to glorify Thee in purity of heart. …
June 1, 2018 The Discovery of the Oldest Piece of Gospel of Mark A new scholarly publication makes the argument that an ancient and much discussed fragment of the Gospel of Mark has now been dated as…
June 1, 2018 Why a New Name at Tonsure? Question: In connection with what, at a tonsure to monasticism, is the one receiving the schema given a new name? Answer: Monasticism is…
May 28, 2018 Historical Meaning of Antiphons Sung during Liturgy In the Divine Liturgy, after the Great Litany, come the three antiphons and their litanies/ prayers. These antiphons exist in several forms. The original…
May 21, 2018 “It is Time for the Lord to Act”: the Significance of Assembling According to the official OCA service book, the Divine Liturgy begins when the deacon “bows his head to the priest and says, ‘It is…
