Reflection on the Ecclesiastical New Year
Happy New Year to all! September 1 marks the beginning of the ecclesiastical new year, which has always been reckoned according to the creation of the world. This is not a matter of mere pious tradition…
Reflections in Christ
Reflection on the Placing of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos
On July 2, we celebrated the robe of the Theotokos; today we celebrate the placing of her belt. These feasts are not merely connected with ancient relics as a source of pious…
Reflection on the Beheading of Saint John the Forerunner
Today we fast, honoring the greatest born of women, the crown of the prophets, the one who must decrease, the friend of the Bridegroom, the holy Prophet and Forerunner and Baptist John. John’s death…
Exhortation to the Newly-Ordained Bishop Vasily
Our Lord Jesus Christ, whose image we honor today, has gathered us together to participate in this glorious liturgy and in the sacred office for the ordination to the holy episcopacy of His Grace…
Sermon at the Divine Liturgy of the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Vasily
Today, we continue to celebrate the great feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. As Christians, we understand that death, the last enemy, has already…
Reflection on the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
Today, we celebrate the death of the Mother of God, not because death is worth celebrating in and of itself, but because her Son has made death a passage-way to everlasting life. In particular…
Reflection on the Transfiguration of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ
In the Russian tradition, the Transfiguration is regarded as the second of three major feasts of the Savior during the month of August. Each of these feasts is associated with the blessing of a late-summer agricultural…
Reflection on the Procession of the Life-Giving Wood of the Cross
According to tradition, this feast was established in Constantinople in the Middle Ages. Late summer was a time of sickness, and the Cross was carried through the city, accompanied by prayers for health and deliverance from…
Reflection on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
Today, as we celebrate the feast of the holy chief apostles Peter and Paul, we recall the many ways in which their respective ministries, and their holy writings, have laid the foundation…
Reflection on the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
In the iconographic type known as the deësis (supplication), Christ sits enthroned in the center, flanked by saints who approach him in prayer on behalf of the world. Chief among these saints…