Forefeast of the Annunciation / Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, March 24, 2019 Hebrews 1:10-2:3; Mark 2:1-12 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. For if the word spoken through angels was confirmed, and every transgression and disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation,…
Sunday of All Saints, June 3, 2018 Hebrews 11:33-12:2; Matthew 10:32-33, 37-8; 19:27-30 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. This first Sunday after Pentecost is dedicated to the commemoration of all the saints, and so it is commonly called “All Saints Sunday.” So I thought we could spend a little time today…
Holy Transfiguration of Christ, August 6, 2017 II Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today we see God. Today we see Jesus Christ standing on Mount Tabor before His three inner circle disciples—Peter, James and John—and He is transfigured before them, His…
Sunday of All Saints, June 11, 2017 Hebrews 11:33-12:2; Matthew 10:32-33, 37-8; 19:27-30 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today we hear this from Hebrews chapter 11: All the saints through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power…
Sunday after Ascension, May 28, 2017 Acts 20:16-18, 28-36; John 17:1-13 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. We have now left behind the time of continuous celebration of Christ’s resurrection and are now celebrating His ascension into heaven, a feast that falls on the fortieth day…
Well, Christmas is almost here (on the New Calendar, anyway), so we’re planning out how many days of ham we’re going to be eating, right? Or perhaps it’s several days of turkey leftovers. You’ve got to be able to cover every day of Christmas so that we’re not just singing Christmas but also eating it for the whole festal period. But we have a…
At this time of year, we Christians begin thinking about the shining of the Light in the darkness. The Lord Jesus will soon be born in our festal calendar, and He is lauded in our hymns as the Sun of Righteousness, the Orient from on high Whose coming at this moment begins to enlighten the nations. And this lines up poetically quite beautifully with…
The feast we celebrate today in the Orthodox Church is the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, a feast based on attestation found in the ancient Protoevangelion of James. Many of my sermons on this feast have dwelt on dealing with the historicity of the feast, something I myself have struggled with. It is not difficult to believe that the Virgin Mary entered…