Over the last 30 years, remarriage has become a far more common experience in American family life. A man and a woman remarry, each bringing children with them from a previous marriage. They all begin to live a new life together under one roof. I have no statistics to offer on how many Orthodox Christians face this reality. How does … Read More
Divorced Single Parent Families — What about the Children?
When a divorce takes place in a family, children find themselves in an especially difficult situation. They must cope with their parents’ broken relationship. Custody issues may arise with regard to which parent the children wish to live with and whether they love one parent more than the other. And many times, children question whether they were the cause of … Read More
Single Parent Families: The Need For Communion
One of the difficult things to cope with once a marriage breaks up is the new reality that is presented to children, their parents, their relatives, and in their Church family. How does the family function without mom and dad being together? We all know life goes on and we all find ways to cope. There are tons of books … Read More
Parents who end up going at it alone
Anyone who joins the Church does so as a broken person. We come to the Church as if it were a hospital. We seek healing and rest for our souls and bodies. One of the major changes we have seen in the Church over the last 35 years deals with the question, “What is a family?” The idea of an … Read More
Marriage: The Backbone of the Family
“For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church; however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her … Read More
Children and the Divine Liturgy
NOTE: This is a shortened version of a piece I wrote when I was a parish priest in Toledo, OH. There are different practices and viewpoints regarding the attendance of children at the Divine Liturgy. The trend has been moving more towards children being in church for all or most of the liturgy rather than half of it, as some … Read More
What does it mean to believe in the Sanctity of Life?
Last Sunday — January 13, 2019 — I, together with other local Orthodox clergy and lay people, participated in the annual March for Life in Chicago, at which I offered the opening prayer. On January 18, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, and other members of the Holy Synod led Orthodox Christian marchers in the National March for Life in Washington DC, … Read More
Using Technology to do God’s Work
“Old geysers” like me are just not “up” on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and today’s other popular social apps. We complain about how such things are bad for children, teens and adults. While some of this is true, we need to consider how such things can be used for good. In and of themselves, social apps are actually neither good … Read More
Home Blessings at Theophany, a great family event
“The Church teaches us to sanctify everything: dwellings, places of work, all our pursuits, and the fruits of our labor. The home blessing at Theophany represents a renewal of our lives in Christ. Washed in the baptismal waters, our homes become temples of the Holy Spirit for the fulfillment of the will of our Heavenly Father. This is why the … Read More
Emotions and the Litany of “Fervent” Supplication
During Vespers, Matins, and the Divine Liturgy, we pray the Litany of Fervent Supplication, also called the Augmented Litany. The main feature of this Litany calls upon us to pray for the particular needs of the local church community. We respond to these petitions by singing “Lord have mercy” three times. This Litany is done usually after the Gospel Reading … Read More