“Wondrous is the time of tribulation if your heart is burning for the word of Christ,” Elder Arsenie (Papacioc). Ultimate and essential freedom is not primarily an external reality. True freedom is found within the human person. In its fundamental existence it is not a parcel that is measured out by worldly authorities, for its …
Continue reading The Revolution Begins Within: The Burning Bush of the Heart
Greetings in Christ Jesus! I'm very excited to inform you, my dear readers, that the incredible "Homilies on the Divine Liturgy," By St Seraphim (Zvezdensky) are now available in print! By God's grace, I was able to translate these homilies from Russian into English. They may also be found on my blog but having them …
Prayer to Mary, the Mother of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, is an ancient Christian practice. The earliest written record of a prayer to the Virgin Mary is dated around 250 AD. This prayer, “Beneath thy compassion,” is in use to this day in the Orthodox Church. Prayer to and veneration of the …
Continue reading Christian Prayer to the Virgin Mary and the Theotokos Rule
Tripping, stumbling, wandering, Dusty, gritty, and dirty, Parched mouth, fumbling hands, Eyes darkened, blinded Hustle, bustle, tossed here and there, Stamping crowds, a thousand Murmuring voices of disharmony. Fallen, beggar, wounded, lost, Sinful, sitting by the wayside, Two-fold aspect of being Eternally woven and bound, Earthen body – immaterial spirit Sightless windows, eyes veiled, Trampled …
“The progress of technology had led and is still leading to just such a concentration and centralization of power” Aldous Huxley. “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on …
Continue reading Sinister Psychosis and the Remembrance of God
“One thing I know ... I was blind and now I see” (John 9:25) - O Lord, I am no one. Just a blind beggar in the outer court. I have no eyes to see, I have no wealth by which to live. I am forgotten and despised by men. Have mercy on me. Illumine …
Below is my translation from the Russian of the eighth sermon by New Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinski) on the Divine Liturgy. The preceding sermons may be found here. This is a continuing series. Sermon 8 The Lord says, “I am the bread which came down from heaven” (Jn. 6:41). The bread is His Divine Body and …
Continue reading The Priestly Preparation of the Divine Liturgy
“Prepare yourselves to confess the Faith, prepare yourselves for martyrdom! God's thunder is all around us!” New Hieromartyr Nikon of Vologda.1 Cultivating the heart in Christ Jesus is vital to true Christianity and steadfast confession. Our Lord Himself warns us to guard our hearts so that they do not grow cold with the times (cf. …
My dear readers, below you will find a translation of a sermon by the New Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinski). It is the first of twenty two sermons specifically on the subject of the Divine Liturgy. It is, as far as I know, the first time it appears in English. As with all the holy newmartyrs of …
The reader will find below more of my translation work from Russian of St. Dimitry of Rostov's writings. In this segment we are reminded of our utter need for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. At the end the reader will find a beautiful pray by St. Dimitry to the Holy Spirit. …
The Inkless Pen 