Friends, as we begin the Dormition Fast this Monday we also prepare for the feast of the Transfiguration on Saturday, August 6. Below is an excerpt from a homily of St Gregory Palamas for this feast. ~Fr John [T]he Light of the Transfiguration of the Lord is not something that comes to be and then vanishes, nor is it subject to the sensory faculties, although it was contemplated by corporeal eyes for a short while upon an inconsequential mountaintop. But the initiates of the

There is a line of singularity, or oneness, that runs through the entire length of the Creed. It begins with the confession of belief in “One God, the Father Almighty.” In keeping with God’s revelation given to Israel in the Old Testament, Orthodox Christians continue to confess not only the oneness of God but also that that there is, in fact, only really one God at all. Then we quickly come to the confession of belief in “One Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of the God.” Already

“Something that stands for something else.” That’s usually what we mean when we think of the word Symbol. In our world flags stand for countries, red octagonal signs stand for stopping, and wedding rings stand for love and commitment. Computers and advertising have accelerated this to the point that we are able to identify a vast number of products and applications by their icons and symbols. These are all things or images that stand for something else, but ultimately are not

As the Priest (and Deacon, if there is one) and servers come out of the Holy Altar with the Gospel Book during the Divine Liturgy (called the Little Entrance) the Priest quietly prays this prayer. It is a prayer asking that as the clergy and servers enter the Altar they would not do so alone. As a prayer, it is a request. But it is also a recognition of something that is fundamental to all of Orthodox prayer and worship generally, and to the Divine Liturgy especially. This is