(Feast Day ~ April 17)   Fiery threats from Iran’s ruler, volatile relationships between Iran and other countries, and unrest among its citizens are not new in this century and the last. 700 years ago, when there was a Persian Empire, King Sapor II made life difficult for many and was especially cruel to Persians […]

(Feast day ~ April 14) Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks so longeth my soul after thee, O God. My soul is athirst for God, yea even for the living God. [Psalm 42:1, 2a] St. Justin began life as a typical citizen of the Roman Empire. Born in Nablus, Palestine (Shechem in ancient Samaria) around […]

(Feast Day ~ April 11) The year 451 was a crucial one for the Church and for one of her saints, Leo, Patriarch (pope) of Rome. In that year, the fourth Ecumenical Council was convened in Chalcedon to continue wrestling with questions regarding the person of Christ, specifically the relationship of his humanity and his […]

Feast Day ~ April 8 At many points in the history of the Church, Christians have been accused of being merely against things. “Thou shalt nots” appear to take precedence over “Thou shalts”. What we believe is wrong seems to be emphasized over what we believe is right. This accusation could certainly be made against […]

(Feast Day ~ April 7) St. Tikhon Belavin, who was a Russian bishop in America during the early part of this century (with responsibility for all the Orthodox faithful in this country) , and who later became Patriarch of Moscow, was instrumental in the restoration of a Western Rite for Orthodoxy. He was responsible for […]

(Feast Day ~ April 6) Life was dangerous for Christians living in parts of Asia Minor in the 13th century. St. Gregory of Sinai and his family found out just how dangerous when they were suddenly dragged from their home near the city of Smyrna by a gang of Arab Muslims (called “Hagarenes” in that […]

(Feast day ~ April 6) In our celebration of Pascha, we rejoice in the restoration of the Alleluia after its Lenten “burial”. With special exuberance, we sing the long, florid Alleluia before the Gospel at the Vigil Mass and the Alleluias at the dismissal, as have Christians from the earliest days of our liturgical celebrations. […]

(Feast Day ~ April 4)   The faith of Christians is tested every day by the inner temptations and sins which constantly confront us. But faith can also be tested by events and circumstances from the outside, from wars to changing economic conditions, and even to shifting cultural and social conditions. These and many other […]

(February 4) Our Western Rite calendar sets aside February 4 as a day to honor the memory of those numerous souls who perished in the persecutions of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, including the recently canonized last royal family of Russia. In the book An Englishman in the Court of the Tsar by Christine […]