Dear Friends in Christ, Lent begins this year on Monday, March 7 (n.s.), and Pascha will occur on Sunday, April 24 (n.s.). The Church gives us forty-seven days to reflect and renew our lives and our commitment to Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. The saying, “you get out what you put in to… Continue reading Pre-Lenten Spiritual Sticky Notes
Category: Holy Theotokos Greenville
Posts originally appearing on the website of Nativity of the Holy Theotokos Orthodox Church in Greenville, North Carolina.
Η Εκκλησία του πατέρα μου
Πολλές φορές οι ορθόδοξοι άνθρωποι θέλουν να παραμείνουν με αυτό που έχουν μάθει από τους γονείς τους. Συνήθως αυτό είναι καλό, όπως μαθαίνουμε από πείρα, παρατήρηση, και επανάληψη. Η Ορθοδοξία είναι όχι μόνο ένα σύνολο δογμάτων, αλλά είναι και ένας τρόπος ζωής. Πώς κάνουμε το σταυρό μας, πώς νηστεύουμε, και ποια τραγούδια τραγουδάμε γύρω από… Continue reading Η Εκκλησία του πατέρα μου
My Father’s Church
Orthodox people tend to want to stick to what they’ve learned from their parents. This is usually a good thing, as we learn from experience, observation, and repetition. Orthodoxy is not just a set of theoretical beliefs, but also a way of life. How we make the sign of the Cross, how we keep the… Continue reading My Father’s Church
Shedding Light on Our Fears
Dear Friends in Christ, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year! Given the snow event, we had to cancel liturgy on Sunday, December 26, and so I decided to hold a Vespers service Friday night so we could start off our New Year with prayer and meet together for our customary… Continue reading Shedding Light on Our Fears
What’s the Maximum I Have to Do?
Dear Friends in Christ, Owing to the computer crash last month, the bulletin was not sent out, which also meant I missed being able to send out a reflection. We’ve had a lot happen since then; our regular Divine Liturgies, the celebration of our second anniversary, the Ohi Day Lecture of Dr. Papalas, and of… Continue reading What’s the Maximum I Have to Do?
The Holy Cross
Dear Friends in Christ, During September, we celebrated our parish feast day, and a few days later, we celebrated the Holy Cross. We recalled the birth of the Virgin Mary, a miracle in and of itself, as her parents had been unable to conceive until they besought God powerfully in prayer, and then in a… Continue reading The Holy Cross
Second Anniversary
Dear Friends in Christ, Fellowship After Our First Orthodox Liturgy in Greenville, NC, 2008 September 21 will mark the second year anniversary of the first liturgy at our mission parish, Nativity of the Holy Theotokos in Greenville! Eastern Carolina is a place where Orthodox Christianity is not familiar to most, and as such founding our… Continue reading Second Anniversary
Redefining Church?
When I come to Greenville for liturgy three times a month from Raleigh, I take U.S. Route 264, which brings me right by the town of Wilson, N.C. The few times I’ve stopped there for gas or food, I’ve been impressed by its small-town charm, and have prayed that someday there will be an Orthodox… Continue reading Redefining Church?
The New Testament Church
When you sit down to think about it, there sure are a lot of Christian denominations: Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, and Episcopalians, to name a few. Is this what Jesus wanted? The Bible says that Jesus is the head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23). Can a head be a head to more than one body? Some… Continue reading The New Testament Church
Spiritual, but not Religious
Dear Friends in Christ, We sometimes hear people say that they are “spiritual, but not religious.” In our present age, it is fashionable to champion some type of spiritual relationship with God, while rejecting all the formalities and dogmas of organized religion. Such people view these formalities and dogmas as things that inhibit spirituality, a… Continue reading Spiritual, but not Religious