Articles Section
This section of our website has articles about Orthodoxy and our church. These articles are also currently subdivided into three categories:
- Orthodox Church, a collection of articles about the Orthodox Church. We hope the articles in this section will be helpful to both inquires of Orthodoxy, and to those who are members of the Church.
- Worship, a collection of articles about services, prayers, and worship of the Orthodox Church.
- Saints and Icons, a collection of articles about saints, their relics, or their icons. We hope to include articles, of special interest to our parish, on the saints who are depicted on our icons, or whose holy relics rest here. Articles on our feast day icons will be included here also.
Also see our Salvation History Section and our list of Videos.
The Nativity of Christ: 7 Questions and 7 Answers
- Details
- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Videos
- Written by Bishop Michael
- Hits: 1877
The Nativity of Christ: 7 Questions and 7 Answers
“Lessons in Our Faith” is a series of instructional videos produced by the Diocese of New York and New Jersey (Orthodox Church in America) featuring His Grace, Bishop Michael. In this installment, the topic is The Nativity of Christ. Using his popular “7 Questions and 7 Answers” format, Bishop Michael offers fundamental teaching about this feast-day in the life of the Church, and in our lives as we celebrate the joy of the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem .(See all the Lessons in Our Faith talks posted on our diocesan website.)
The Great Canon
- Details
- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Worship
- Written by Fr. Alexander Schmemann
- Hits: 1883
The Great Canon
by Alexander Schmemann
The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete can best be described as a penitential lamentation conveying to us the scope and depth of sin, shaking the soul with despair, repentance, and hope. With a unique art, St. Andrew interwove the great biblical themes-- Adam and Eve, Paradise and Fall, the Patriarchs Noah and the Flood, David, the Promised Land, and ultimately Christ and the Church-- with confession of sin and repentance. The events of sacred history are revealed as events of my life, God's acts in the past as acts aimed at me and my salvation, the tragedy of sin and betrayal as my personal tragedy. My life is shown to me as part of the great and all-embracinf fight between God and the powers of darkness which rebel against Him.
Interview with Bp. Michael about Episcopal Assembly
- Details
- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Orthodox Church
- Written by Diocese of NY and NJ
- Hits: 1896
Interview with Bp. Michael about Episcopal Assembly
Office of Communications
Orthodox Church in America
Diocese of New York and New Jersey
RELEASE NUMBER 2010.4.2
The following interview regarding the recent Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of North and Central America, which convened in New York City on 25-28 May, was conducted with His Grace, +Michael (Bishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New Jersey) on Wednesday, 2 June 2010. A news release about the Assembly is now available on the OCA webpage: http://www.oca.org/news/2168
Question: Your Grace, we appreciate you taking time out of your extremely full schedule to share some of your observations, thoughts and reflections following the historic Assembly of Hierarchs that concluded just last week in New York City.
Bishop Michael: To begin with, I have to say what an incredible experience it was for me, just newly consecrated, to be privileged to be a part of this first Episcopal Assembly. To be there ... to walk among giants ... the great leaders of the Orthodox Churches in this country and in Canada and in Mexico. To see fifty-six bishops gathered together in the same room for the same purpose, was just awesome. As I said, I was privileged to be there. I had been at Ligonier [Pennsylvania, November 1994] as a priest when SCOBA [the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas] hosted such a gathering, and there were half as many bishops. This was an incredible event to be a part of.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one
- Details
- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Worship
- Written by Fr. Alexander Schmemann
- Hits: 1887
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one
Fr. Alexander Schmemann
Number 7 of 8 commentaries on The Lord's Prayer broadcast on Raido Liberty by Fr. Alexander Schmemann to listeners in the former Soviet Union. (Translated by Alexis Vinogradov)
The last petition of the Lord's Prayer reads: "And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one" (Mt 6:13).
Quite early on this petition led to misunderstanding and was subjected to all sorts of interpretations. First of all, what is the possible meaning of "lead us not"? Is it possible that God himself is responsible for tempting us, for sending us the sufferings, trials, temptations, and doubts which fill our life and so often make it unbearable? Or perhaps, does God torture us at least for the sake of our eventual illumination and salvation?
Furthermore, who is this "evil one" from whom we seek deliverance? This expression was and is often translated as simply "evil:' while the Greek original, apo tau ponirou, can be translated as either "from the evil one" or "from evil."
What is Holy Chrismation?
- Details
- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Orthodox Church
- Written by Fr. Michael J. Buben
- Hits: 1916
What is Holy Chrismation?
by Fr. Michael J. Buben
"Holy Chrismation is a Sacrament in which the baptized believer, being anointed with Holy Chrism on certain parts of the body, in the name of the Holy Spirit, receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit for growth and strength in spiritual life." (Catechism)
This sacrament is administered immediately after baptism and like baptism cannot be administered twice to the same soul. Baptism cleans us from the pollution of original sin and makes us a member of the grace-giving living Orthodox Church of Christ. Chrismation nourishes and strengthens the baptised in the spiritual life. Just as a child needs the guidance of its parents, so a newly baptised soul receives the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the reasons why Chrismation has never been performed separately in the Orthodox Church.
More Articles...
Subcategories
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Orthodox Church
Articles about the Orthodox Church
This section of our website, is a collection of articles about the Orthodox Church. We hope the articles in this section will be helpful to inquires of Orthodoxy, Catechumens, and to those who are members of the Church.
Good starting points would be:
- The Orthodox Church: An Introduction
- Meeting The Orthodox
- What is the Orthodox Church?
- Sources of Christian Doctrine
- A Pastoral Letter on the Occasion of the Third Christian Millennium (a re-telling of the Good News of God's love for us)
- Article Count:
- 93
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Worship
Articles on services and prayers.
This section of our website has a collection a collection of articles about services, prayers, and worship of the Orthodox Church.
Good starting points would be:
- Article Count:
- 82
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Saints and Icons
Articles on Saints and Icons
This section of our website, is a collection of articles about saints, their relics, or their icons. We hope to include articles, of special interest to our parish, on the saints who are depicted on our icons, or whose holy relics rest here. Articles on our feast day icons will be included here also.
Besides enhancing the beauty of our church, icons remind and instruct us in matters pertaining to the Christian faith. They can lift us up to the prototypes which they symbolize, to a higher level of thought and feeling, to help transform us and sanctify us. Icons can stimulate us to imitate the virtues of the holy personages depicted on them. They serve as a means of worship and veneration.Good starting points would be:
- Article Count:
- 59
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Videos
Articles by Video
This part of our website is where we post videos for now. They may be moved into other categories on the website, whatever seems best.
(All the 7 questions 7 answers vedios are noiw in this category.)
- Article Count:
- 34
Articles