Archive for October 2021

I’m one of those types that likes to watch the news. I was in college during the first Gulf War, and learned quickly that the only way to know what is actually going on in the world is to watch as much “raw coverage” as I can. I learned young not to wait for the…

Yesterday the Greek World celebrated OXI Day, the day which commemorates the courage of the Greek people against tyranny during World War II. It is a day which does not honor ‘greekness’ per se, but the willingness to stand up against those who would oppress others to make the world look like they desire, rather…

The other day, I wrote about the tradition of the spiritual father in the Orthodox Church. I realize that it is one thing to speak about having a spiritual father, and it is quite another thing to choose a spiritual father. If we are going to be obedient to him, then we should know, as much as…

In our attempts to convert the world, we forget sometimes that WE don’t convert anybody. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes any conversion of the heart to Christ. We forget sometimes that our interactions with nonbelievers, or believers who doubt, are not about proving that God is real. He can prove…

Many times I am approached by parishioners and even visitors with questions about faith and the Orthodox Christian way of life. Questions range from how and when to fast, how often to receive Holy Communion, and a large variety of questions about life choices. While I am always ready to have such conversations, I also…

If you consider the first believers of Christ, they were not strangers, but members of His family. John the Baptist was His cousin, James (also called Iakovos whose Feast is today) was Joseph’s son, and many other relatives surrounded Him in the early days. As the Church developed throughout the centuries, a similar trend continued.…

Sit for a moment and remember a time when you were sitting quietly by yourself. Maybe you were on the back porch. Maybe you were listening to the birds chirping. Maybe you were watching the waves crash against the shore. You can still hear the birds, feel the breeze, and smell the air, can’t you?…

One of the benefits of ‘growing up’ is that we acquire some level of wisdom. Not to be confused with intelligence, wisdom is based on experience. Wisdom teaches us to recognize all sorts of danger. Wisdom is why we don’t ‘go running into unknown places’ unless we are being chased. Even then, wisdom has shown…

Good teachers take the time to know their students. They watch. They listen. They learn. They do this, because they know if they can understand their students on a personal level, they can better teach them. It was true when I was young with my chemistry teacher in high school. After a few weeks of…

As you can imagine, as an Orthodox Christian priest, I have regular interactions with people outside the Church. Sometimes they are Christians of other denominations, and other times they are not believers. I have noticed a trend that is concerning when it comes to discussions about God and faith. It seems too often we get…