Sometimes when I sit down to write an article I can’t help but connect it to my life. When I was a child I was fortunate to have all of my grandparents. My Dad’s Dad, my Papou Sam was still alive. He was an interesting man, self-made by American standards, and an illegal alien who lived in the U.S. under a false name. He married, opened a business, and had kids all without a formal education. He loved his adopted country, America, and when Christmas came around he liked to remind each of us, that in America it was Christmas everyday.   more...

Recently, one of the largest Baptist churches in Oklahoma has put the issue of baptism to a vote. This 7,000 member mega church under the guidance of its pastors is in the process of deciding whether or not baptism should be required for people who desire to become members of the Henderson Hills Baptist Church. In support of their position to do away with baptism as a requirement for membership the church issued the following statement: “First, we do not find clear biblical evidence for using baptism as a prerequisite. We have read and reread the New Testament searching for one. ... Secondly, if there is no clear biblical command requiring baptism as a prerequisite for membership, then each local church has the right to decide whether or not baptism should be used as a prerequisite.”   more...

The other day, as I was preparing for our Wednesday evening prayer service, I came across a name that made me stop and think. Every day the church has set aside specific names that are to be commemorated or brought to mind. Many times the names are unusual or obscure but sometimes they are obvious and well-known, like Moses or St. Luke the Evangelist. That day, the name was Cleopas, and that name reminded me of my days in Seminary.   more...

(Parts I-III) For a while now I have considered writing a series of articles about the issues and questions that are raised in the best selling book The Da Vinci Code. The book presents a difficult problem in that so many of the issues and questions that arise in this book are historically and theologically complicated. It would take a book of several hundred perhaps even thousand of pages to correctly discuss the number of problems contained in this work. In addition, the author has presented the material in a compelling format that is rather convincing. Many therefore have incorrectly been swayed simply by the author’s presentation. However, let me begin by saying that the book is by admission of its author fiction.   more...

Once in a letter to the Church in Thessalonica St. Paul the Apostle encouraged the faithful to pray constantly without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5.17). Today, and most likely even then, such a task seems impossible. How can anyone truly expect to pray constantly?   more...

I will sing and make music to the Lord, Psalm 27.6 Did you know that over forty psalms contain the word, sing in them? That means that singing is one of the themes in almost thirty percent of the psalms. When you stop to consider that the psalms were ancient Israel’s book of prayer you begin to realize that making music was central to Israel’s worship. In fact, singing is probably the most ancient form of prayer. Compare the worship of ancient Israel with that of our church today, and you will find the same emphasis on song. The Divine Liturgy is almost entirely sung and singing is still the main form of communal prayer.   more...

Last month’s feature article in “National Geographic” was, “The Heavy Cost of Fat.” In this short but interesting article, the eating patterns of Americans were placed under the microscope. The bottom line is that we are eating more of everything: vegetables, sugars, grains, fruits, fats and oils, and protein. In fact, Americans eat on average 1,775 pounds of food each year, up from 1,497 pounds in 1970, an 18.5% increase. The end result is that one out of three Americans is obese, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have classified obesity as an epidemic. Current estimates say that 400,000 Americans die each year from being overweight. Similarly, consumer spending and consumer debt are at all-time highs. Even the very space in which we live has grown. In 1950, the average size of an American home was around 900 square feet, which is comparable to today’s average sized, 800-square-foot garage.   more...

You know, wearing a collar can get you into some pretty interesting conversations. In fact, it is not out of the ordinary to get stopped by just about anyone in the most unusual of places, such as the grocery check-out line, a gas station, and even once in a restroom.   more...

Not too long ago, a friend of mine who is not Orthodox challenged me with the following question: he wondered why Orthodox Christians couldn’t just get back to the Bible and use it as a means, like other Christian denominations had, for agreeing over what Christianity truly is. This same friend was concerned that many of the teachings and traditions that we, as Orthodox Christians, profess were not found in Holy Scripture. In the end, his feeling was that the true Christian faith had been corrupted and lost by the Orthodox Church and that a return to the Bible and its teachings would help us Orthodox separate those incorrect teachings and traditions we hold from what he deemed as “true, Bible-based Christianity.”   more...

In case you haven’t heard, the rapture has quickly become a popular belief of Christians from nearly every denomination. This phenomenon has been assisted by the incredibly popular Left Behind series, which many bookstores have had difficulty keeping in stock. In fact, it is not uncommon to see the following bumper sticker from time to time around town, “In case of rapture, this vehicle will be unmanned.”   more...

On Easter Sunday, the first one that I served as a clergyman, I visited my aunt’s house, as has been my families’ custom on Easter day, for our Paschal dinner. My Uncle George had a beautiful lamb on the spit, roasting over the coals, and a crowd of people spilled out of my aunt’s house into the back yard. After eating our fill, the family settled into its wonderful and familiar patterns of small group conversations. People settled onto couches, stood in circles, or paired up to visit about things important and trivial. I happened to be situated in the living room with my aunts, my mother, and my grandmother. This is one of my favorite things to do, listen to, and sometimes, join in with their lively conversation, otherwise known in Greek as “kouvenda.”   more...

A couple of weeks ago, a new family attended a worship service here at St. Catherine for the first time. Over the past few months, I had gotten to know them fairly well through the Introduction to Christianity class that I teach on Wednesday evenings. In that time, I had come to appreciate their opinion on matters of the faith. The service they attended was one of the Pre-Sanctified Liturgies we hold during Lent.   more...

In the first article in this series I examined the ultimate challenge each community faces, that of becoming a community of love. The second article in this series, looked at what it means to love, and the preconditions needed for love to exist. In this last article, we will examine the Ultimate model of love, the Trinity, and how learning to live like the Trinity saves us.   more...

In this article, which is party of a series dedicated to the Mystery of the Eucharist, I will discuss how the bread and wine (the gifts) become the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   more...

In a previous article, I wrote about a friend of mine who questioned why Orthodox Christians couldn’t just get back to the Bible and use it as a means for agreeing over what Christianity truly is. During that conversation, my friend asked another question that is intimately related to the first: he wanted to know why we Orthodox Christians teach that Communion is the actual body and blood of Christ.   more...

“This food we call Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives according to the way Christ handed down to us (Justin Martyr, First Apology).” These powerful words were written over 1500 years ago. Today our Church makes the same statement; Holy Communion is reserved only for those who are baptized and confirmed Orthodox Christians. They must be in good standing and hold to the teachings and traditions of the Orthodox Church.   more...

A friend recently explained to me that he did not find the worship of the Orthodox Church relevant. For him, it was boring, out of touch with twenty-first century life, and simply one “branch” of Christianity’s “take” on how we should worship. In response, I explained that true worship comes from God and is ordained by Him. The Church, therefore, cannot seek or invent new ways of worshiping Him, ways that might appear to be relevant. Rather, she must be faithful to the commands and directions of the Lord, in all things, even worship.   more...