Pastoral Messages

Recently, a concern was voiced by some parents of young children regarding the difficulty of having their youngsters sit through our “long worship services.” Having been a parent of young children for many years with a wife who basically functioned as a single parent every Sunday and feast day, I am aware of how difficult it is to a young Orthodox Christian family. I realize that each Divine Liturgy is a struggle, trying to keep our children attentive and involved, wondering whether they and we ... [Read more]

The following article was posted on a site called Pemptousia.com. It was a letter written by Elder Ephraim of Arizona (St. Anthony’s Monastery) to his monastic community (synodia). I took the liberty to replace the word synodia with parish or church community, and the word brethren with parishioner to make this letter “fit” better, as being addressed to a church community. I also added some content toward the end of the letter, once again, for the purposes of making it fit the church community. ... [Read more]

Living in the glorious Northwest, we all know how beautiful are the summers. The days are long, and the sunny sky is a most pure shade of blue. With all the moisture we get during the fall, winter and spring, the humidity goes away and all things green and flowery grow with gusto. Portland and the whole Willamette Valley become one large garden. I would like to dedicate this Newsletter to talking about our relationship with God’s creation. Since summertime is a time for gardening and outdoor ... [Read more]

The feast of Pentecost marks the beginning of the New Testament Church, when the Apostles and disciples of Christ received the Holy Spirit. From that time on, every believer who had been baptized and chrismated by the Apostles or their successors, the bishops and priests, received the Holy Spirit, making them members of the Body of Christ and temples of the living God. We know that no one can say Jesus is Lord and mean it with understanding without the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, we know that ... [Read more]

The Sunday on which we read the story of the healing of the Blind Man, I offered a reflection on Divine Providence, Divine Intervention and Divine Revelation. During Theology 101 that day, we discussed the content of the sermon a little further drawing on some of your own life experiences. There were a few people who asked for a copy of the sermon, but instead of making photocopies, I decided to print the sermon in this newsletter, expanding a little on the original message. The story of the ... [Read more]

The Orthodox Christian Faith is rich in Holy Tradition. We have many centuries of history, countless Saints, a vast and varied liturgical tradition, and many other treasures. Both from the inside and the outside, the Orthodox Church can seem overwhelming. While this can seemingly be true, the ultimate reality is that the essence of the Orthodox Christian Faith is very simple and boils down to just one vital question: did, in fact, Jesus rise from the dead? We know that Jesus was an historical ... [Read more]

Not too long ago I heard a song that contained the phrase; “we are all only one phone call away from our knees.” When I heard these words I thought “how true.” I reflected on how fragile our lives are. I also realized that for the most part, we go through life day after day not giving much thought that at any given moment things could change. As a priest and a therapist, I am all too aware of the struggles and tragedies of life. I see them first hand, hear about them on nearly a daily basis, ... [Read more]

A few days ago, I returned from a one-week trip to the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England. This monastery was founded by Archimandrite Sophrony, a disciple of St. Silouan the Athonite, in 1959. This was my second trip in the last five years, and it was very memorable. One of the highlights of this pilgrimage was the opportunity I had to sit down with one elder, Fr. Zacharias, who spoke on a variety of topics concerning the spiritual life. In this article, I want to share with ... [Read more]