emo Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-07-06T21:18:38+00:00 Full Article
emo Commemoration of the Miracle of Great-martyr Euphemia the All-praised of Chalcedon By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-08-04T04:31:20+00:00 Full Article
emo Holy Apostle Philemon and Sts. Apphia, Archippus, and Onesimus By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-12-20T04:32:21+00:00 Full Article
emo Apostles Archippus and Philemon of the Seventy, and Martyr Apphia By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-20T01:29:04+00:00 Full Article
emo Hieromartyr Artemon, Presbyter of Laodicea in Syria By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-20T01:45:08+00:00 Full Article
emo Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council (325) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-20T03:52:41+00:00 Full Article
emo Commemoration of the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to a monk on Mt Athos By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-20T20:06:36+00:00 Full Article
emo Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-20T20:38:04+00:00 Full Article
emo St Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain, spiritual writer (1809) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-20T20:49:56+00:00 Full Article
emo Holy Apostle Philemon and Sts Apphia, Archippus, and Onesimus By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-20T23:53:32+00:00 Full Article
emo Holy Martyrs Philemon, Apollonius, Arian, and Those with Them By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-20T23:59:28+00:00 Full Article
emo Apostles Archippus and Philemon of the Seventy, and Martyr Apphia By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-21T21:26:27+00:00 Archippus was the son of Saints Philemon (Nov. 22) and Apphia (Feb. 15), and, like them, was a disciple of the Apostle Paul, who calls him "our fellow soldier" (Philm. 2). He and his father preached the Gospel at Colossae, and Archippus probably served as a priest for the church that gathered there at his family's house (Col. 4:17). Archippus' fervor in preaching the Gospel of Christ so angered the pagans that they seized him and brought him before the governor Androcles. When the Saint refused to sacrifice to Artemis, he was stripped, beaten, tormented in various ways, and finally stoned to death. Full Article
emo Commemoration of the Miracle at the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev (?) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-21T21:39:08+00:00 "Two friends, John and Sergius, swore brotherhood before the icon of the holy Mother of God in this monastery. John was a rich man, with a five-year-old son, Zachariah. John fell ill, and at his death commended his son to the care of Sergius, and left in Sergius' keeping a large sum of silver and gold for him to hand over to Zachariah when he had grown up. When Zachariah came of age, however, Sergius denied receiving anything from the deceased John. Then Zachariah said: 'Let him swear before the same icon of the most holy Mother of God, in front of which he accepted brotherhood with my late father, that he received nothing from John, and then I will seek nothing more from him.' Sergius agreed, but when he had sworn this and went up to kiss the icon, some force held him back and would not allow him to come near. Then, tormented all at once by a demon, he began to cry out: 'Holy fathers Antony and Theodosius, do not let this merciless angel destroy me!' The demon had attacked him by God's permission. He then told them of all the money which John had left. But when they opened the box, they found double the amount. Taking it, Zachariah gave it to the monastery and was himself tonsured as a monk. He lived a long time and was worthy of God's great gifts, entering peacefully into eternity." Full Article
emo Hieromartyr Artemon, presbyter of Laodicea in Syria (303) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-21T22:05:24+00:00 At the time of Diocletian's persecutions, he was a very old man, having served as a reader for sixteen years, then a deacon for twenty-eight years, and finally as a priest for thirty years, for a total of seventy-four years. The pagan judge put him in the Temple of Aesculapius, where large snakes were kept and worshiped as gods. Though the judge meant for Artemon to be attacked by the snakes, the holy priest immobilized them with the sign of the Cross, brought them out of the temple and, in front of the pagan priests, breathed on the snakes, which died instantly. The chief priest, Vitalis, fell to his knees and cried 'Great is the Christian God!' Artemon baptised him along with several of his friends. The unrepentant judge then condemned Artemon to be thrown into burning pitch, but the judge himself was thrown off his horse into the pitch and died. After this, Artemon went free for a time and spent his time teaching the Faith to his people ("accompanied always by two tame deer," says St Nikolia Velimirovic!). But he was arrested again and beheaded in the year 303. Full Article
emo Commemoration of the Apparition of the Sign of the Precious Cross over Jerusalem in 351 AD By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-22T01:12:28+00:00 On this day in 351, during the reign of Constantius, son of Constantine the Great, the sign of the Cross appeared over Jerusalem. Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote "At about the third hour of the day [mid-morning] an enormous cross, formed of light, appeared in the heaven above holy Golgotha and reaching to the holy Mount of Olives, being seen not by one or two only, but manifest with perfect clarity to the whole multitude of the city; not, as one might suppose, rushing swiftly past in fancy, but seen openly above the earth many hours in plain sight, and overcoming the beams of the sun with its dazzling rays." Full Article
emo Commemoration of the Miracle (451) of Great-martyr Euphemia the All-praised, of Chalcedon (304) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-22T01:39:04+00:00 St Euphemia is commemorated on September 16; today we commemorate the miracle wrought by her relics during the Fourth Ecumenical Council. After much debate and no progress among the defenders of Orthodoxy and the proponents of the Monophysite heresy, the two parties agreed each to write their different definitions of the Faith in two separate books, and to ask God to show them the truth. They placed the two books in the case containing St Euphemia's relics, sealed the case, and departed. After three days of constant vigil and supplication, they opened the reliquary in the presence of the Emperor, and found the Monophysite book under the feet of the Saint, and the Orthodox book in her right hand. Full Article
emo Holy Apostle Philemon and Sts Apphia, Archippus and Onesimus By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-22T04:32:22+00:00 Philemon is addressed in the Epistle of the holy Apostle Paul that bears his name. He was a nobleman from Colossae; Apphia was his wife. Archippus was Bishop of Colossae. All three were disciples of the Apostle Paul. Onesimus was a pagan slave of Philemon, who stole from his master and fled to Rome. There St Paul led him to faith in Christ, and wrote the Epistle to Philemon, urging Onesimus' master to forgive him and take him back as a brother in Christ. This Philemon did, and Onesimus later became a bishop. In Greece he is venerated as the patron Saint of the imprisoned. All of these holy followers of Christ died as martyrs, stoned to death by pagans. Full Article
emo Hieromartyr Artemon, presbyter of Laodicea in Syria (303) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-22T20:17:59+00:00 At the time of Diocletian's persecutions, he was a very old man, having served as a reader for sixteen years, then a deacon for twenty-eight years, and finally as a priest for thirty years, for a total of seventy-four years. The pagan judge put him in the Temple of Aesculapius, where large snakes were kept and worshiped as gods. Though the judge meant for Artemon to be attacked by the snakes, the holy priest immobilized them with the sign of the Cross, brought them out of the temple and, in front of the pagan priests, breathed on the snakes, which died instantly. The chief priest, Vitalis, fell to his knees and cried 'Great is the Christian God!' Artemon baptised him along with several of his friends. The unrepentant judge then condemned Artemon to be thrown into burning pitch, but the judge himself was thrown off his horse into the pitch and died. After this, Artemon went free for a time and spent his time teaching the Faith to his people ("accompanied always by two tame deer," says St Nikolia Velimirovic!). But he was arrested again and beheaded in the year 303. Full Article
emo Hieromartyr Artemon, presbyter of Laodicea in Syria (303) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-09-29T15:46:20+00:00 At the time of Diocletian's persecutions, he was a very old man, having served as a reader for sixteen years, then a deacon for twenty-eight years, and finally as a priest for thirty years, for a total of seventy-four years. The pagan judge put him in the Temple of Aesculapius, where large snakes were kept and worshiped as gods. Though the judge meant for Artemon to be attacked by the snakes, the holy priest immobilized them with the sign of the Cross, brought them out of the temple and, in front of the pagan priests, breathed on the snakes, which died instantly. The chief priest, Vitalis, fell to his knees and cried 'Great is the Christian God!' Artemon baptised him along with several of his friends. The unrepentant judge then condemned Artemon to be thrown into burning pitch, but the judge himself was thrown off his horse into the pitch and died. After this, Artemon went free for a time and spent his time teaching the Faith to his people ("accompanied always by two tame deer," says St Nikolia Velimirovic!). But he was arrested again and beheaded in the year 303. Full Article
emo Commemoration of the Miracle (451) of Great-martyr Euphemia the All-praised, of Chalcedon (304) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2021-07-07T22:37:02+00:00 St Euphemia is commemorated on September 16; today we commemorate the miracle wrought by her relics during the Fourth Ecumenical Council. After much debate and no progress among the defenders of Orthodoxy and the proponents of the Monophysite heresy, the two parties agreed each to write their different definitions of the Faith in two separate books, and to ask God to show them the truth. They placed the two books in the case containing St Euphemia's relics, sealed the case, and departed. After three days of constant vigil and supplication, they opened the reliquary in the presence of the Emperor, and found the Monophysite book under the feet of the Saint, and the Orthodox book in her right hand. Full Article
emo Apostles Archippus and Philemon of the Seventy, and Martyr Apphia - February 19th By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2023-02-21T23:05:39+00:00 Archippus was the son of Saints Philemon (Nov. 22) and Apphia (Feb. 15), and, like them, was a disciple of the Apostle Paul, who calls him "our fellow soldier" (Philm. 2). He and his father preached the Gospel at Colossae, and Archippus probably served as a priest for the church that gathered there at his family's house (Col. 4:17). Archippus' fervor in preaching the Gospel of Christ so angered the pagans that they seized him and brought him before the governor Androcles. When the Saint refused to sacrifice to Artemis, he was stripped, beaten, tormented in various ways, and finally stoned to death. Full Article
emo Commemoration of an Uncondemning Monk By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2023-03-30T11:00:00+00:00 "This monk died joyfully because he had never in his life condemned anyone. He was lazy, careless, disinclined to prayer, but throughout his entire life he had never judged anyone. And when he lay dying, he was full of joy. The brethren asked him how he could die so joyfully with all his sins, and he replied: 'I have just seen the angels, and they showed me a page with all my many sins. I said to them: "The Lord said: 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.' I have never judged anyone and I hope in the mercy of God, that He will not judge me." And the angels tore up the sheet of paper.' Hearing this, the monks wondered at it and learned from it." (From the Prologue) Full Article
emo Hieromartyr Artemon, presbyter of Laodicea in Syria (303) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2023-04-13T08:09:37+00:00 At the time of Diocletian's persecutions, he was a very old man, having served as a reader for sixteen years, then a deacon for twenty-eight years, and finally as a priest for thirty years, for a total of seventy-four years. The pagan judge put him in the Temple of Aesculapius, where large snakes were kept and worshiped as gods. Though the judge meant for Artemon to be attacked by the snakes, the holy priest immobilized them with the sign of the Cross, brought them out of the temple and, in front of the pagan priests, breathed on the snakes, which died instantly. The chief priest, Vitalis, fell to his knees and cried 'Great is the Christian God!' Artemon baptised him along with several of his friends. The unrepentant judge then condemned Artemon to be thrown into burning pitch, but the judge himself was thrown off his horse into the pitch and died. After this, Artemon went free for a time and spent his time teaching the Faith to his people ("accompanied always by two tame deer," says St Nikolia Velimirovic!). But he was arrested again and beheaded in the year 303. Full Article
emo Apostles Archippus and Philemon of the Seventy, and Martyr Apphia - February 19th By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2024-02-19T06:01:00+00:00 Archippus was the son of Saints Philemon (Nov. 22) and Apphia (Feb. 15), and, like them, was a disciple of the Apostle Paul, who calls him "our fellow soldier" (Philm. 2). He and his father preached the Gospel at Colossae, and Archippus probably served as a priest for the church that gathered there at his family's house (Col. 4:17). Archippus' fervor in preaching the Gospel of Christ so angered the pagans that they seized him and brought him before the governor Androcles. When the Saint refused to sacrifice to Artemis, he was stripped, beaten, tormented in various ways, and finally stoned to death. Full Article
emo Commemoration of an Uncondemning Monk By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2024-03-30T05:01:00+00:00 "This monk died joyfully because he had never in his life condemned anyone. He was lazy, careless, disinclined to prayer, but throughout his entire life he had never judged anyone. And when he lay dying, he was full of joy. The brethren asked him how he could die so joyfully with all his sins, and he replied: 'I have just seen the angels, and they showed me a page with all my many sins. I said to them: "The Lord said: 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.' I have never judged anyone and I hope in the mercy of God, that He will not judge me." And the angels tore up the sheet of paper.' Hearing this, the monks wondered at it and learned from it." (From the Prologue) Full Article
emo Hieromartyr Artemon, presbyter of Laodicea in Syria (303) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2024-04-13T05:01:00+00:00 At the time of Diocletian's persecutions, he was a very old man, having served as a reader for sixteen years, then a deacon for twenty-eight years, and finally as a priest for thirty years, for a total of seventy-four years. The pagan judge put him in the Temple of Aesculapius, where large snakes were kept and worshiped as gods. Though the judge meant for Artemon to be attacked by the snakes, the holy priest immobilized them with the sign of the Cross, brought them out of the temple and, in front of the pagan priests, breathed on the snakes, which died instantly. The chief priest, Vitalis, fell to his knees and cried 'Great is the Christian God!' Artemon baptised him along with several of his friends. The unrepentant judge then condemned Artemon to be thrown into burning pitch, but the judge himself was thrown off his horse into the pitch and died. After this, Artemon went free for a time and spent his time teaching the Faith to his people ("accompanied always by two tame deer," says St Nikolia Velimirovic!). But he was arrested again and beheaded in the year 303. Full Article
emo St. Nicholas, Enemy of Demons (Sermon Dec. 6, 2015) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2016-01-31T01:41:39+00:00 On the feast of St. Nicholas of Myra, Fr. Andrew describes one of the lesser-known activities of this famous saint—destroying pagan temples. Full Article
emo Does God Love the Devil and the Demons Like He Loves Us? By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-12-20T01:12:36+00:00 Fr. John answers a question at once innocent and terrifying. Full Article
emo Demons By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2021-11-16T23:01:37+00:00 Fr. John Oliver shares a story about a group of demons discussing how best to lead humans astray, the opportunity for repentance through the mercy of God. Full Article
emo Emotion As Energy By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2022-02-14T13:48:03+00:00 Fr. John Oliver helps us see ourselves through the eyes of the Myrrh-bearing Women. Full Article
emo Dancing With The Demon What Brung Ya? By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-11-25T04:37:52+00:00 Fr Joseph is lost. Perhaps you are, too? Great. Salvation loves company! A 2008 rerun about recalculating. Keep coming back! Full Article
emo Kids, Pigs, a Side of Hopko, and Demonic Christians By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T21:30:53+00:00 Jesus cast the demons into the swine. What did that sound like? Fr Joseph, with help from the children of St Joseph Church, and a potent dish of Hopko, explains. Full Article
emo Music (and Memories) with Dn. Michael Abrahamson By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2019-03-16T18:40:36+00:00 In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks with his long-time friend and evangelical co-conspirator about strolling across the Holy Island of Iona, memories and/of music, and the joy of being in Christ. Enjoy the show! Full Article
emo Philemon By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2022-01-17T12:27:00+00:00 Fr. Stephen De Young discusses St. Paul's Epistle to Philemon. Full Article
emo Episode 13: Noonday Demons in Space! By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2016-09-07T13:44:33+00:00 The guys watched Star Trek Beyond, and they agreed that while the movie was fun, it wasn’t the best thing either of them had ever seen. Join Steve and Christian as they discuss what makes STB’s villain so interesting, how Kirk struggles with despondency, and whether or not Simon Pegg’s take on humor really helped the film all that much. As always, the guys end with their Top 5 List. This week: Top 5 Villains. Full Article
emo Episode 23: When Lemonade is Lenten Aid By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-03-17T16:03:55+00:00 This week, the guys watched Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade. They discuss what it’s like to not be the intended audience for a work of art, listening to experiences we don’t share, the human need to make sense of tragic events, and the album's struggle through infidelity and pain. They end with their Top 5 Music Videos. Full Article
emo Healing of the Demon Possessed Men from Gergesene By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-07-11T23:29:34+00:00 Being set free from those things which possess us is just the beginning of the process of salvation. Full Article
emo The Healing of the Demon Possessed Man of Gadarene By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-10-24T15:06:54+00:00 Our favorite sins drive us into the isolation of the wilderness, away from the healing power of Jesus. Once healed, the best witness to the transforming power of Christ is the personal story of those set free. Full Article
emo Homily for the Sunday of the After-feast of the Ascension and Commemoration of the Holy Fathers By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2024-06-24T17:30:00+00:00 Forty days after His resurrection, our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ ascended in glory into heaven and sat at the right hand of God the Father. He did so as One Who is fully divine and fully human, One Person with two natures. He ascended with His glorified, resurrected body, which still bore the wounds of His crucifixion. Our Lord’s Ascension reveals that we may participate by grace in the eternal life of the Holy Trinity and share in His fulfillment of the human person in God’s image and likeness. We may experience such blessedness even now by uniting ourselves to Christ even as we live and breathe in this world with our feet on the ground. Full Article
emo One-Year Memorial - Archbishop Dmitri By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-11-05T17:46:05+00:00 Fr. John Parker today reflects on what the ever-memorable Archbishop Dmitri taught him in the nine years during which Fr. John served His Eminence—lessons about love, economia, stewardship, and above all, Christ crucified and raised from the dead. His Eminence fell asleep in the Lord one year ago. Full Article
emo Gadarene Demoniac By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-11-06T04:20:10+00:00 Fr. John reflects on the apostle/missionary—the Gaderene demoniac—as an image of the Resurrection. Full Article
emo The Sunday of All Saints: Memory Eternal By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-06-05T15:58:37+00:00 Dr. Humphrey explores the meaning of “Memory eternal”, beginning with the idea of God remembering, and then going on to discuss what it means to remember “the least” who will be first—those whose names we may not know, but who have turned in costly faith towards the Lord. Full Article
emo Light in our Darkness: Fourteenth Sunday of Luke, Commemoration of the Prophet Zephaniah By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-11-30T23:31:22+00:00 This Sunday, the fourteenth of Luke, we also commemorate the prophet Zephaniah, whose tiny book in the OT speaks eloquently both of the dark state of God’s people, and his aim to bring them into the light (Zephaniah 1:14-17; 3:9-20). Those themes help us to think more concretely, and as a community, concerning the gospel and epistle for today (Ephesians 5:8-19; Luke 18:35-43), where spiritual blindness and sight is also addressed. Full Article
emo Fourth Sunday of Lent and St. John Climacus: Following the Foremost Forerunner By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2018-03-18T03:43:07+00:00 This week we read the epistle through the lenses of St. John Chrysostom, St. John Climacus, the book of Genesis and Isaiah’s portrait of the Suffering Servant. Here we are given the hope to continue following our great forerunner Jesus. The gospel reading adds to this the importance of faith, prayer and fasting, as we set our faces towards the cross. Full Article
emo The Great Demolition: Resurrectional Hymns in the Seventh Tone By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2019-08-09T22:19:26+00:00 This week we understand the depths of Christ’s demolition of death, and the great reversal, in the light of Ezekiel 7, Jeremiah 7, and Psalm 125 (MT 126). Full Article
emo The Gergesene Demoniac By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-07-02T06:13:26+00:00 "The Gergesene Demoniac," from Feasts of Christ and the Theotokos and Miracles of the Lord by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012) Full Article
emo Our Demons By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-09-30T16:41:46+00:00 Fr. Ted encourages us to change ourselves before trying to change the world. Full Article
emo Don't Go Blaming Demons By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-10-01T02:41:04+00:00 Fr. Ted cautions us against letting evil take hold in our hearts. Full Article
emo Faith of the Demons By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-08-08T02:29:07+00:00 Fr. Ted shares his thoughts on the importance of summer camp for children and young adults, as well as his reflections on the Gospel reading about the healing of the demon-possessed men from the land of the Gergesenes. Full Article
emo Third Annual Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-09-30T02:44:52+00:00 Dr. Predrag Matejić, the curator of the Hilandar Collection at Ohio State University, delivers the third annual Fr. John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture. Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA and Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese were also given honorary doctor of divinity degrees at the convocation. Full Article