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.
Saints Peter and Paul
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Saints and Icons
- Written by Saint Augustine
- Hits: 2098
Saints Peter and Paul
[On June 29th, the Holy Church piously remembers the sufferings of the Holy Glorious and All-Praised Apostles Peter and Paul. Preceding this, there is a fasting time starting the Monday after All Saints Sunday.]
Sermon of Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo
St. Peter, the fervent follower of Jesus Christ, for the profound confession of His Divinity: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” was deemed worthy by the Savior to hear in answer, “Blessed art thou, Simon ... I tell thee, that thou art Peter [Petrus], and on this stone [petra] I build My Church” (Mt.16:16-18). On “this stone” [petra], is on that which thou sayest: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” it is on this thy confession I build My Church. Wherefore the “thou art Peter”: it is from the “stone” [petra] that Peter [Petrus] is, and not from Peter [Petrus] that the “stone” [petra] is, just as the Christian is from Christ, and not Christ from the Christian. Do you want to know, from what sort of “rock” [petra] the Apostle Peter [Petrus] was named? Hear the Apostle Paul: “Brethren, I do not want ye to be ignorant,” says the Apostle of Christ, “how all our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor.10: 1-4). Here is the from whence the “Rock” is Peter.
The Nativity of Christ: 7 Questions and 7 Answers
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Videos
- Written by Bishop Michael
- Hits: 2142
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
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Worship
- Written by Fr. Alexander Schmemann
- Hits: 2155
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.
What is Holy Chrismation?
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Orthodox Church
- Written by Fr. Michael J. Buben
- Hits: 2154
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.
ARCHPASTORAL LETTER FORThe Feast of Holy Pentecost 2014
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Orthodox Church
- Written by Biship Michael
- Hits: 2161
ARCHPASTORAL LETTER FOR The Feast of Holy Pentecost Sunday, 8 June 2014
Dearly Beloved in the Lord:
“Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
The Feast of Holy Pentecost marks the day on which the Holy Spirit Whom Christ promised to His disciples (John15:26) came upon them. From that moment, the apostles received “the power from on high,” and they began to preach and bear witness to Jesus as the Risen Christ, the King and the Lord. That day in history has traditionally been known as “the birthday of the Church.”
Saint Luke records this remarkable event for us with these words:
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”(Acts 2:1-4)
This is an incredible account...but it must be noted, that the Feast of Pentecost is not merely the celebration of a happening which took place centuries ago.It is the celebration of what must happen and does happen to us in the Church today. We have all died and risen with Christ in baptism, and we have all received His Most Holy Spirit in Chrismation. We are all indeed “temples of the Holy Spirit” in whom God’s Spirit dwells (Romans 8:1). We have, by our membership in the Church, received “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Pentecost has happened to us ... the fire of the Holy Spirit has been ignited in each of us. But just having that flame burn quietly within us, is not enough.
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:
- 94
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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:
- 32
Articles