St. Mary Orthodox Church

The Church lives at once in the past, present and the future because She lives in God, who stands outside, over, and above time. The visit of our Father in Christ, Metropolitan PHILIP, demonstrated that the grace which moved the Apostles and their successors is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Read more »

 

Orthodox Christianity is all about living in God. It is about knowing Him and loving Him not because we have to, but because He is Love itself. Therefore, Orthodoxy is not about rules and rituals and obligations. The Orthodox Faith is about life. If we believe the Faith is irrelevant to our daily lives, then I suggest it is because our perceptions are wrong. Read more »

 

I was recently asked what a particular doctrine of the Orthodox Church attracted me most. That was an easy question to answer. There are two dogmas of supreme importance in Orthodox Christianity: the Trinity and the Incarnation. Two things that are absolutely unchanging because they deal with the one thing that does not change. These two dogmas and the Orthodox knowledge of them are what attracted me most to our Church. Read more »

 

We are seeing so many familiar faces in the Gospels these days: Zaccheus the tax-collector, the Syro-Phoenician woman with her possessed child, and soon we will see again the famous Pharisee and Publican and the Prodigal Son. Therefore, all indications are that we are now headed into the period of Great Lent. Read more »

 

We are issued an invitation to enter into the gracious life of God by the One who has the power to share it. God does not so much issue commands as He invites. The Incarnation, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ show us concretely who God is and what He desires for us. Read more »

 

It remains for us to communicate this Good News (Gospel) to the world through our words, yes, but even more through our deeds. St. Paul speaks of the world which groans in travail longing for the redemption of which we speak to be revealed. And so it shall be in that day that has no end. But the greatness and glory of God is also revealed even now through us when we rise up to do good, to fight injustice, to give comfort to the oppressed and charity to all those in need. Read more »

 

We may think our Lenten effort is all about making God happy. Or that it constitutes our dutiful sacrifice in order to turn away God's just wrath. Have you ever asked or heard anyone ask of you, What are you giving up for Lent? Nothing could be further from the meaning of this Season of Preparation. Read more »

 

All our hopes rest on this proclamation. The Resurrection represents the death of Death, the end of the tyranny of sin, and the reopening of the gates of Eden for all mankind. The eye-witness of this event, the apostles and disciples of the Lord, galvanized by their experience and filled with the Holy Spirit, spread the new Faith throughout the known world without swords, without violence changing forever the course of human history. Read more »

 

Rightly we celebrate Holy Pascha with great joy! This is the festival of festivals, the feast of feasts and the night that is brighter than day. How easily we get caught up in the panoply of light, song, pageantry and excitement. Read more »

 

By the time you receive this Cornerstone, the Paschal Season will be over; but the light of the Resurrection is always shining. This is the light that illumines the path of Orthodox believers every day of their lives. Every Divine Liturgy on normal Sundays is a celebration of Christ's rising from the dead. St. Seraphim of Sarov welcomed people to his hermitage with the Paschal greeting all year round. Read more »

 

I am so grateful to all of you for the work you are doing in our beloved parish. A few months ago two small groups were formed to encourage spiritual growth and help in the further development of the parish as a primary community. Read more »

 

To those of you who helped make Metropolitan PHILIP’s pastoral visit such a wonderful affair, I offer my heartfelt thanks. By the grace of God every event went smoothly and was well-attended. The highlight, of course, was the Sunday Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, the ordination to the Holy Diaconate of our own Peter Defonce, the beautiful chanting and singing of the service, the sermon of our Chief Shepherd who exhorted us to take up the Cross, the reverent reception of the Holy Eucharist and finally the induction of fourteen of our parishioners into the Order of St. Ignatius. Read more »

 

God has given to the earth the breath which feeds it. it is His breath that gives life to all things. And if He were to hold His breath, everything would be annihilated. His breath vibrates in yours, in your voice. It is the breath of God that you breathe - and you are unaware of it. Read more »

 

The Orthodox services and hymns for the Nativity of our Lord are incomparable, deeply mystical, gems of liturgical worship and theological reflection. It is only right that we commemorate the birth of the Son of God with special reverence and solemnity. What kind of parish would we be if we ignored the majesty of Christmas? Read more »

 

There is no more wondrous message in all the world's religions than that which comes at Christmas. The love of God could no bind itself merely to expression through nature or through laws and holy books. His love took the final step of touching humanity in Person. All other revelations are inadequate. Only the Incarnation of God could fulfill the deepest needs and longings of creation and express the unfathomable depths of the love of God. Read more »

 

There are few things more beautiful than entering the church when the weather is cold and the winter darkness is falling. The vigil lamps make a valiant stab against the gloom. The church is warm and inviting, safe, alive, welcoming. The atmosphere makes it easier to leave behind earthly cares and to immerse oneself in the life of God if only for an hour or two. I live for these moments. Read more »

 

Fr Robert is a Roman Catholic priest who has dedicated his life to working with gang members in New York City. He has been very successful in helping kids get off the streets, find jobs, go to school and clean up their lives so that they can live productively in society. A year or so ago he was diagnosed with leukemia and given only a short time to live. During that time ex-gang members began to repay him for all he had done for them. Read more »

 

It is with great joy that I greet you in this Bright Paschal Season. The beauty of Holy Week at St. Mary's is an incomparable reminder of the life, death, and resurrection of the Savior of all. But we do not remember only; we are granted the grace to enter into the mystery of the Faith existentially. Read more »

 

I learned during Holy Week of a wonderful event: the glorification of new saints by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Not only does the fact that these new saints lived in Europe among the population of Russian emigrants surprise and delight us, but the identities of these holy ones does as well. The glorification will take place at St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris the first week of May 2004. Read more »

 

Our parishioners have been working hard to make the coming Parish Life Conference a success. The rooms are nearly all booked. Attendance will be high. The worship services, festivals, meetings and workshops planned should provide everyone with something worthwhile to do. The social events have been well-planned and should be fun for all members of the family. Read more »