Reflections in Christ

Though the Sunday of Zacchaeus is sometimes understood to be the first pre-Lenten Sunday, it is in fact the final Sunday of the season after Pentecost. Nevertheless, it is certainly…

Christ is born! Glorify him! As we celebrate the midwinter feast of the Lord’s saving Nativity in the flesh, in some parts of North America, snow lies thick across the ground, blanketing the whole landscape in white. Many of…

In this cold and dark season before the Nativity, we celebrate the memory of one of our great northern saints: the monk who went to Valaam seeking the tradition of the holy Fathers, the missionary who went to Alaska…

Joyous feast of St. Spyridon! St. Spyridon is known as one of the “walking saints”: the cloth covering the feet of his relics constantly wears down, such that his foot-coverings must be replaced more…

Speaking of the most holy Theotokos, St. Maximus the Confessor writes that, “She was blessed by all and was full of all grace, and I will say even further that she was supremely worthy…

St. Nicholas, known the world over for his miracles, is also specifically known for his depiction on a number of wonder-working icons. Though these miraculous images of St. Nicholas are not as…

Happy Thanksgiving to my entire flock in the United States of America! Today many of us celebrate with family or friends, giving thanks for the unnumbered blessings that we enjoy. But…

Today we celebrate entrance of the most holy Theotokos into the temple; today the three-year-old most pure Ever-virgin enters into the inner sanctuary, fleeing the company of men…

The Nativity Fast, whose beginning we mark this day, encompasses forty days of preparation for the Nativity of the Savior. This fast is notably less intense than the fasts of…

Today we celebrate the synaxis of the holy archangel Michael and all the bodiless powers of heaven. The tradition of the Orthodox Church speaks of seven or eight archangels…