Dear Friends in Christ, Four years ago this month, Bishop Christodoulos came to Raleigh and served the first liturgy at the Chapel of St. Mark the Evangelist. A half a year later, I was ordained a priest, and our parish here in Greenville was also established. At the liturgy, the bishop gave a sermon which […]

Dear Friends in Christ, October is upon us already! The Fall season has begun, and the temperature is finally starting to drop here in North Carolina. September was a busy month, with the feast days of the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos (our parish feast) and the Holy Cross, along with the secular holiday of […]

Dear Friends in Christ, Hurricane Irene came through the area of Eastern NC with a vengeance. Ironically, Irene means peace in Greek! I am grateful to God that none of our parishioners lost their lives—downed trees and flooding are truly dangerous. Property damage did affect our community, however. One family lost their home, having to […]

Dear Friends in Christ, The word “confess” comes up often in Orthodox prayers, writings, and sermons. There are two main ways that the term is used in the Church: to confess one’s faith, and to confess one’s sins. The former evokes images of the early Christians standing up for Christ in the arena, refusing to […]

Dear Friends in Christ, Summer is here again, but was there really a Spring this year in North Carolina?! We’ve all been trying to cope with the heat in various ways. I’m certainly thankful that our Church building has great air conditioning, especially when I serve the liturgy wearing several layers of vestments! With summer […]

Dear Friends in Christ, Have you ever noticed that it is easier to organize someone else’s space than your own? I remember when I was in college, I needed a part-time job. I had formerly worked in a customer-service role, and was eager to find something that didn’t require being in front of dozens of […]

Dear Friends in Christ, I’m writing this message the week before the Third Sunday of Lent, when we commemorate the Holy Cross. The Holy Cross has such an important meaning to us, that we celebrate it twice a year. Back in September’s bulletin, I wrote about the appearances of the Cross in history. Appearances of […]

Dear Friends in Christ, Oftentimes, one of the first things that our Non-Orthodox friends notice when they enter an Orthodox Church are the icons. Icons are pictures of Christ, His Mother, and the saints, which are hung or painted directly onto the walls of our churches and monasteries. They are often called “windows into Heaven.” […]