69. All Saints of North America

Little did the apostles imagine that 2000 years later, 8000 miles from Jerusalem, in a land they had never even heard of, the Church would still be carrying out their apostolic work. On the Second Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday after All Saints, many Orthodox jurisdictions commemorate their national and regional saints. I wish we all did, […]

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67. The 4th of 6 Thoughts about Pentecost

Whoops! Pentecost caught up with me, and it’s time to talk about… 4. The Most Dangerous Time of All People often tell me how beautiful the Lenten and Pascha services are. I’ve never once heard anybody say, “O Father, I so much enjoyed those interminable Kneeling Prayers” – at “Kneeling Vespers” which immediately follows Pentecost […]

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66. The First 3 of 6 Thoughts about Pentecost

 1. The “Spirit of Disorganization” Years ago the cowboy humorist Will Rogers said, “I don’t belong to any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.” I sometimes want to say, “I don’t belong to any organized Church. I’m Orthodox.”  On the whole, the Orthodox Church is the most disorganized organization I have ever heard of – […]

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65. The Wonderful Works of Saint Nicholas, Part Three – Two more Stories from Midwest America

1 Michigan City, Indiana Early on Saint Nicholas Day 1996, Father Elias Warnke and Reader Timothy Tadros entered Saint George Church, Michigan City, to be greeted by a sweet fragrance like roses which got stronger as they went into the church. As they checked to see where it was coming from, they looked at the […]

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