Author: Abbot Tryphon

When we are unfairly treated If we are always complaining about how unfairly we are treated, we will have failed in our imitation of Christ, Who was abused by His enemies unto death. We should strive to reign with Our Lord by loving our enemies and never complain. Christ looked towards His Heavenly Father and when we are tempted to…

We need to pay attention to what we allow to be placed into our vessel There was once a wealthy, but miserly man, who was gifted a very expensive bottle of fine French wine. The next evening he was invited to a dinner party in the home of a duchess. He decided that since he needed to take something to…

We must let the Divine Flame consume us At the very first moment we decide to turn to God, our heart begins to be warmed by the action of the Holy Spirit. Our heart is kindled with the divine flame that will transform us. This flame will consume us completely, and will melt everything of a fallen nature within us.…

We must nurture relationships with our family members It is always sad to lose a family member in death, but it is also sad that it often takes a funeral to bring together relatives who’ve not seen each other in years. It is from this perspective that I realize I, as the oldest of the cousins, am the one family…

Holy Tradition emanates from Christ Himself The Church’s Holy Tradition is based on the traditions and teachings of the Early Church, not the small “t” traditions followed by today’s protestants. As a former Evangelical myself, I ultimately joined the Orthodox Church because I started noticing the “traditions” that were separating Evangelicals from one another, both doctrinally and in the numerous…

The unity and continuity of the Church is to be found in Her bishops Gathering together for the celebration of the Church’s Divine Services is that great moment in the life of the People of God that brings together both heaven and earth. In these services we are mystically transported to a place where time and space cease to exist…

We are all very specific human beings with a past, a future, and a calling God often talks to us through others, through music, through art, or through the action of a big ocean wave. Sometimes He even speaks to us in the quiet of an early morning, when we’re viewing a sunrise. God is, indeed, closer to us than…

The Church is the hospital for the cure of the illness of the soul Our Orthodox Faith defines sin as an illness that is in need of healing, not as a crime that requires punishment. The Church is a hospital for the soul whose therapists (priests) first sought therapy and then became the therapists. As a healing institution the Church…

When the cares of my heart are many, Thy consolations cheer my heart (Psalm 94:19) True repentance and Christian living proceeds God’s consolation. We reach out to God in every act we do, and in every activity we perform, all the while seeking to acquire a sense of contrition. We strive to love God with our whole being, and in…

Orthodoxy is about Christ, not religion Orthodoxy is not a religion, but a way of life that is centered in Jesus Christ. Orthodoxy, as a way of life, has the cure to what ails us and can return us to that state of wholeness that was God’s original intent for human kind. Because Orthodoxy is not about religion, it can…

Facing our own mortality prepares us for when we will be standing before the Judgement Throne of God My heart condition has forced my own mortality to the forefront for perhaps the first time in my life. At seventy-five I am no spring chicken, as the saying goes, but facing heart problems has made me realize I needed to be…