Feast Day ~ September 1 There are several attributes which are common to many of the saints of the Church, among them a desire for solitude in order to meditate and pray away from the distractions of the world; a gentle nature which is recognized by animals who are tame in the presence of the […]

Feast Day ~ August 31 Christians are to strive for holiness of living, and there are many biblical admonitions about what does – and does not – constitute a holy life. As St. Peter wrote in his letter to the Christian converts under persecution in Asia Minor, “…gird up the loins of your mind, be […]

(Feast Day ~ August 30) And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. [Gen. 2:8] Holy Scripture abounds in references to gardens, beginning with that most perfect garden, Eden, where men still “walked with God.” Our Savior spent the last night […]

(Feast day ~ August 28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [Galatians 3:28] In the beautiful unfolding story of man’s salvation, God has raised to holiness people in many different times and places and in […]

(Feast Day ~ August 28) Of all those holy men and women who have been declared saints by the Church, there is perhaps no other who has left as voluminous a written testimony as St. Augustine. His sermons, treatises on Scripture, refutations of heresies, and personal reflections provide an entire library of material for anyone […]

(Feast Day ~ August 27) Anyone who tries to lead the Christian life will, of necessity, be concerned with discipline. In order to strive for perfection, we must learn to reign in selfish passions, to curb the appetites, and to set our minds on heavenly things. In the saints, the Church has given us models […]

(Feast Day – August 25) We have heard much lately about synod meetings and councils of the Church – those of the Holy Synod of Antioch meeting in Damascus, meetings of our local synod of North American bishops, meetings of SCOBA (the Synod of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America), and the bishops of the “mother” […]

(Feast Day ~ August 18) Helena came on a pilgrimage to the holy places. For the Holy Ghost had inspired her to seek the wood of the Cross. Wherefore she came to Golgotha; and there she spake within herself on this wise: ‘Behold the battlefield! Where is the sign of victory? I seek the Standard […]

Feast Day ~ August 13 Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan in 313 made it possible for Christianity to exist as a legal religion in the Roman Empire and, although there continued to be sporadic outbursts of persecution in some places, the age of martyrdom was essentially ended. Thereafter, if martyrdom occurred, it was usually that […]

(Feast Day ~ August 10) It is in times of persecution and hardship that the godliness of the saints is most clearly revealed. St. Laurence, 3rd century deacon of Rome, is an example from the early years of the Church of those qualities which make one a saint. Although history does not record details of […]