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[English Edition / Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Sermon on the Epiphany

Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky)

The time has come when mankind has been consumed with activities which displease God, in which the Enemy of mankind reigns, and, as they said in old days, this Enemy makes everyone dance to his flute. This fuss and bother, which envelops our daily lives, is distasteful to God, and God is absent from it, and the Enemy of God is master and ruler of it. If we gave the promise to renounce Satan and all his works, then we must fulfill it, and try not to crush our souls with daily cares, remembering what the Church teaches: “there is one thing needful,” only one thing necessary—to remember that we must unite ourselves with Christ, that is, not only fulfill His commandments but to try to unite with Him.

[English Edition / Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Discourse On the Day of the Baptism of Christ

St. John Chrysostom

There is not one Theophany, but two: the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second in future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present: "The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety"—and about the future: "awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ"

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Homily on the New Year

St. Barsanuphius of Optina

I greet all of you gathered here with the New Year. I congratulate you with the joys that I hope the Lord might send you in the coming year. I congratulate you also with the sorrows that will inevitably visit you this year: perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, or in the near future. Incidentally, do not be confused by sorrows or fear them.

[English Edition / Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

The Sunday of the Holy Forefathers Parable of the Great Supper

Fr. Seraphim Holland

We cannot but scratch the surface of what this parable means in the Christian life, but it is here primarily because one cannot celebrate a feast without being morally prepared. This parable tells us sins to avoid, attitudes to avoid. It tells us to wake up! It tells us to be ready. We commemorate the Holy Forefathers today, because they indeed were part of the preparation for Christ. Without them, there would have been no God-man, Jesus Christ, because He was born of a woman, who was of their lineage, and, if this is not exactly so in a physical sense[2], their prophesies and piety prepared the way for the coming of Christ. That was part of God’s plan.

[English Edition / Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Sermon on the 28th Sunday after Pentecost, Sunday of the Holy Forefathers. On those who were called to the Wedding Feast

Archimdrite Kirill (Pavlov)

By the good master of the house in this parable is meant God the Heavenly Father, Who continually calls us to His supper—that is, the supper in the Kingdom of Heaven, which was prepared for us from the creation of the world, inherited through the acceptance of faith in our Redeemer, Christ the Savior, and which will be revealed toward the end of this world.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

A Hymn to the Lesser Good

Archbishop John (Shahovskoy)

Many people believe that to live according to the faith and to fulfill the will of God is very difficult. Actually—it's very easy. One needs only attend to details, to trifles, and try to avoid evil in the slightest and most trivial things. This is the simplest and surest way to enter the world of the spirit and draw near to God. A man often thinks that the Creator demands great things of him, that the Gospel insists on complete self-sacrifice, the abolition of one's personhood, etc., as a condition of faith.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Elder Porphyrios: "I Don't Like To Prophesy"

Hieromonk George Kaufsokalyvites

The Apocalypse has as its purpose to alert, and the way to avoid it is to serve the unity which Christ left to us as a legacy. This is the therapeutical treatment to the sick, because if the sickness progresses, the events of the Apocalypse will be the amputation caused by the physician when gangrene sets. The Elder would say: "Our time is like the time of Christ. Then the world had reached a terrible state.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Holy Great Martyr Catherine

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

And to her also occurred what we read today in the Gospel passage appointed for her commemoration day; about what will happen when the end of time approaches: There will be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, people will rise up against people, nations against nations; hatred will possess thousands of people…

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Work and Career From the Legacy of the Optina Elders

Olga Rozhneva

While they were still in the secular world, and before they entered the monastery, those who were to become the Optina Elders had work experience in various areas: one managed an estate, another was a merchant, others were tailors, soldiers, or teachers. Even in our day, lessons can be drawn from the Elders’ work experience.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Power and career. From the legacy of the Optina Elders

Olga Rozhneva

Can and should a church-going Orthodox person be a successful member of society? Can one take the path toward God and at the same time ascend the steps of a career ladder? Should one seek positions of authority or refuse them? St. John Climacus (“of the Ladder”) wrote his famous “Ladder” on the subject of spiritual growth. His book does not contain advice about how to make a career for yourself. It would seem that the Holy Fathers gave little thought to the idea of making a success of yourself in society.

[English Edition / Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Why We Fast Before Nativity (Christmas)

Vincent Martini

The time of preparation before the great feast of the Nativity of Christ (i.e. “Christmas”) is, through the wisdom of our holy fathers, intended to be a time of purposeful asceticism, almsgiving, and learning to say “yes” to God while saying “no” to one’s own desires.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Our Joyous Response to God’s Blessings

Rebekah Moll

When we become truly conscious of the gifts of God, we no longer have the time to ask for anything. We keep going and saying Thank You….Thank You…Thank You…Thank You… We see a person…Thank You…We see a flower…Thank You…We see a glass of milk…Thank You…Thank You….for everything! And such a joy enters into our life that many, even of those that are close to us, cannot understand what’s all this. When I lived in England sometimes people asked: What’s up? Why are you so happy”? “Because I am alive and I see you…Good day to you”!

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Christian Reflections on Thanksgiving Dinner

Fr. Mark Beshara

Families like to meet together for a meal. When the family is large and particularly close to one another, it usually develops this family meal into a kind of ritual. Most Americans find this most clearly expressed in the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner, held every year. The time and place are important for Thanksgiving Dinner, so too is the menu which must be built around certain meats—usually a big turkey—and certain other traditional dishes, such as cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios for Thanksgiving Day 2012

Archbishop Demetrios

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (I Thessalonians 5:18)

[English Edition / Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Rejoice, O Our Joy! Sermon on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God

Archimandrite John (Krestiankin)

But during this present, difficult time, when the earth has grown old, is burdened by faithlessness, lawlessness, and ignorance of the knowledge of God’s commandments, has our Fervent Intercessor turned away from us in her zeal for the glory of her Son and God? No, my dears, this could not be. Needy children are dearer to a mother.

[English Edition / Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

The Spiritual Exaltation of the Cross

St. Theophan the Recluse

The Exaltation of the Lord’s Cross has arrived. Then the Cross was erected on a high place, so that the people could see it and render honor to it. Now, the cross is raised in the churches and monasteries. But this is all external. There is a spiritual exaltation of the cross in the heart.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

On the Island of Lepers

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

Our human condition may be compared to life on an island of lepers, where the inhabitants are in different stages of recovery. The Sacrament of Baptism washes away the leprosy of sin and infuses great spiritual power into a man. The scars of sin, however, do not disappear right away. A certain predisposition to sin remains.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

The Mystery and the Process of Death

Met. Hierotheos Vlachos

So, when I see people holding a lit candle and chanting “Christ is Risen” on the night of the Resurrection of Christ, I understand better that we should regard death as a process of passing from the “land of Egypt” to the “land of Promise”, from death to life, which takes place in Christ, and as a hope for our resurrection which again takes place in Christ. It would be very fortunate if we were to anticipate death in this position, holding the candle of the Resurrection and chanting “Christ is Risen”.

[English Edition / Homilies and Spiritual Instruction]

Why is the Orthodox Church Against Homosexuality?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)

Holy Scripture calls any violation of Divine law a sin (see. 1 Jn. 3:4). The Lord and Creator bestowed particular emotional and physical qualities upon man and woman so that they would complete each other and thus make a unity. The Holy Bible witnesses that marriage, as a constant, lifetime union between a man and a woman, was instituted by God at the very onset of human existence.

[English Edition / Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ]

Homily on the Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul

Holy Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky)

How often and with what indifference do we abandon the word of God, which is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12), and turn to earthly wisdom, the rudiments of the world (Gal. 4:9; Col. 2:8), which does not in the least reveal to us the divine wisdom hidden throughout the world and in the life of mankind!

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