Can we say memorial service prayers for our departed for both Orthodox and non-orthodox, non-christian at home. How do we understand earthly justice compared to heavenly justice. How does the Orthodox Church view exorcisms. Is there a rule for Orthodox Christians to not pray with the Heterodox?

Dn. Pawel, the prefect of the Lived Theology School Program, highlights connections between the stories of St. Mary of Egypt, the Annunciation, and our own.

Stories from St. John the Compassionate Mission written by Brother Luke.

Members of the community reflect on the margins of our existence; where seemingly-forgotten people dwell; and yet, in the margins is where they find their faith strengthening...

North American popular culture, as brought into your home and heart by the North American media, is a very powerful force, and it seems that we too easily underestimate its transforming power.

I know a man in Christ who prays for Marilyn Monroe every day as a part of his prayers for all the departed. He doesn’t pray for her under her stage-name of “Marilyn” though. He prays for her under her real name of “Norma Jeane”, the name given her by her mother and under which she was once baptized by (of all people) the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson while under the foster care of a very fundamentalist family.

Protestant critics of Orthodoxy fault us for many things, but one of the foremost of their objections is our devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Hostility to Roman Catholicism is built into Protestant DNA, so anything in Orthodoxy that resembles something in Roman Catholicism will be subject to criticism, including such more or less innocuous things like clergy wearing cassocks and calling themselves “Father”. Our Orthodox devotion to Mary (whom we call “the Theotokos”) often heads the list of Protestant objections, since it features so prominently in Roman Catholicism.

At the beginning of the Dormition Fast, Fr. Apostolos shares about the role of the Theotokos in our salvation.

Fr. Apostolos Hill unpacks the story of Hosea and Gomer, contrasting the covenant between God and Israel and Gomer's infidelity in her pursuit of an "open marriage." Jesus' words in the Gospel reading today about the exclusive nature of our union with Him in the New Covenant ("whoever loves father, mother, son, daughter more than Me...") indicates that our fidelity to Him cannot be divided.

Fr. Apostolos Hill's homily is centered upon the Gospel reading of the Good Samaritan and the role each of us is called to play in pulling robbed and beaten victims of sin from the ditches of life.

Fr. Apostolos Hill took the opportunity of his and Presvytera Denise's 38th wedding anniversary to offer a homily about marriage in the Orthodox view.

Sermon on the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul (2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9; Matthew 16:13-19)

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Third Sunday of the Great Fast

Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast

Holy Myrrhbearers - Third Sunday of Pascha

The readings presented by the Church on this day remind us of the most fundamental teachings about what we believe and who we are called to be as Christians. As we celebrate the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God, Fr Tom tells us that the Virgin Mary is the one who embodies hearing and keeping those most basic teachings. (Dormition of the Mother of God, Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost)

Membership in the Body of Christ is not like being a member of any human organization. Fr Tom teaches us the words of our Lord which clearly state that begin a joined to Him requires total commitment. (Sunday after the Elevation of the Cross)

While the story of the Good Samaritan can inspire us to do good works, Fr Tom reminds us that ultimately the parable points to something much greater: Our salvation. (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

In the gospel reading for the second Sunday of Great Lent, Christ heals a man of debilitating paralysis. But Fr Tom reminds us that Jesus reveals something even more important, that He forgives sins as the eternal Son of God. (Second Sunday of Great Lent - Healing of the Paralytic)

On the Third Sunday of the Great Fast, the Church places the precious cross of our Lord in the midst of the temple for our veneration and contemplation. Fr Tom reminds us that the scriptures present the cross as a sign both of comfort and of judgment, encouraging us to fulfill the Lenten effort to take up our cross and follow Christ. (Veneration of the Precious Cross)

We can all relate to the father who cries out to Jesus, "help my unbelief!" But Fr Tom teaches us that focusing on the unchanging promises of God will keep us faithful.

On the feast of the Annunciation to the Mother of God, we celebrate the good news that Jesus takes on human flesh from the womb of the Virgin Mary. In Mary's faithfulness, she becomes the icon of all believers who strive to live life in total obedience to God.

The cross of Christ is the ultimate sign of God's love for his creatures. Fr Thomas reminds us that the cross is also a sign of the path that awaits us: our own cross. (Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross)

We can often take membership in the church for granted, wrongfully thinking it's just another organization. Fr Thomas reminds us that our calling is not just to be a member, but a disciple, a follower of Christ. (Second Sunday after Pentecost)

With the words, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem," the Lord Jesus Christ invites all of us to journey with Him to His Passion. Fr Thomas teaches us that the ransom that Christ freely pays on our behalf saves us from sin and death, but also allows us to freely follow Him.

Like the Good Samaritan, the scriptures give us yet another story about an exemplary Samaritan, among other so-called believers who failed to live up to their calling. Jesus heals ten lepers, but only the Samaritan returns to give thanks. Fr Thomas reminds us that we are continually being healed, and when we fail to give glory and thanks to the One who heals us, He says, "Where are you?"

The famous parable of the Good Samaritan is often relayed as a story about doing good to others. However, Fr Thomas teaches us the background of the story and why the Good Samaritan points directly to Christ as the one who heals us in the Church.

We all receive an invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, but how will we respond? Will we be found ready in our wedding garments? Fr. Tom calls us to look to the precious and life-giving cross to prepare ourselves as a bride waiting for the consummation of all things in Christ.

In a powerful message on the value of faith, Fr Thomas reminds us that forgiveness is the most important healing we'll ever receive.

Fr. Tom implores us to understand the parable of the Good Samaritan from a different perspective and ask ourselves, who is the Samaritan? Who is the one left for dead on the road?

Often we're quick to hope that we can identify with the Good Samaritan in the Scriptures; however, Fr. Tom reminds us that Christ is always the Good Samaritan, and we are the ones broken, on the side of the road awaiting His healing.

Listen as Fr. Tom discusses how active participation in the life of the Church now gives us a foretaste of the inheritance that awaits us in eternity.

Fr. Gregory welcomes Fr. Yves Dubois as the guest preacher today.

Fr. Gregory gives a sermon on the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Fr. Christopher speaks about the modern Saint, Mother Maria of Paris.

The glory of Jesus Christ is known in all its fullness in the resurrection of his complete person; body, mind and spirit. The Transfiguration is a disclosure of both a deified humanity and a glorified Cosmos in advance of the resurrection itself.

People who are not Orthodox are surprised when they are told that we only have two doctrines concerning the Blessed Mary in spite of the prominence she is given in our worship.

Every experience of sorrow in our lives could be suffering without meaning but if we have the grace to lay aside self-pity, blame and anger then we shall find in the heart of our suffering God a true hope, and yes even a meaning which in the love of God is the source of a robust wisdom.

Fr. Gregory Hallam shows from antiquity that the early Christians venerated the Holy Virgin.

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn gives the sermon on the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Lesson from the Good Samaritan by Fr. Emmanuel Kahn.

In the Afterfeast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, we reflect as Orthodox Christians on the role of Our Lady in our salvation

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn gives the sermon on the Feast of the Birth of the Theotokos.