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By Father James Bernstein. Sometimes it is easy to overlook the obvious. Take, for instance, the New Testament. Even though every Christian really knows better, it is easy to forget that the New Testament was not written as one continuous book. Rather, it is a collection of twenty seven shorter writings which were penned by a variety of authors at differing times and geographical locations and compiled much later. Nowhere in the New Testament do we find a list of what books belong in the New Testament. The “canon” (a list) of Scripture is, of course, not “scriptural.” 
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Growing up a Southern Baptist in eastern Tennessee, Brent Gilbert says, he never realized there were other ways to worship. He figured everyone knew the best church music was contemporary. He was sure there was a 45-minute pastor's sermon at the heart of every Sunday service. And didn't all Christians agree that religious art, symbols and rituals were relics of a less desirable past? Then he encountered the ancient faith that would change his life. In the formal liturgy, rituals and language of the Greek Orthodox Church, he found a worship tradition so enriched by its direct link to lives of Christ's original followers that it turns faith into an "all-encompassing phenomenon."  Source: Fight the New Drug  Studies are showing that almost half of kids between ages 10-17 are watching porn online, and nearly 1/3 of teens are sending their own nude photos to each other. These stats only show a glimpse of the fact that our generation is experiencing the total dehumanization of sex, where connection and emotions are being completely separated from physicality, with no thought to what sex actually means.
Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
The New Martyr of Russia Alexander Hotovitzky was born on February 11, 1872 in the city of Kremenetz, Ukraine, into the pious family of Archpriest Alexander, who was Rector of the Volhynia Theological Seminary and would later be long remembered in the hearts of the Orthodox inhabitants of Volhynia as a good shepherd. Young Alexander received a good Christian upbringing from his parents, who instilled in him love for the Orthodox Church and for the people of God. We celebrate his memory on December 4. Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints. St Raphael was born in Syria in 1860 to pious Orthodox parents, Michael Hawaweeny and his second wife Mariam, the daughter of a priest of Damascus. The exact date of Raphael’s birth is not known, but he estimated it to be on or near his Name Day, the Synaxis of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven (November 21). We celebrate his memory of February 27.
Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Apostle to America was born as Vasily Ivanovich Belavin on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese. His childhood and adolescence were spent in the village in direct contact with peasants and their labor. From his early years he displayed a particular religious disposition, love for the Church as well as rare meekness and humility. We celebrate his memory on April 7 and October 9.  Orthodox Christians around the world observe four fasting seasons during the year. Two of these - the Great Fast for the forty days of Lent, and the Dormition Fast in August are considered “strict” fasts. The other two are generally observed as “lesser” fasts: the so-called “Christmas Lent” or fast during the forty days before the Feast of the Nativity, and the Fast of the Apostles which occurs in July.
Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
St Alexis Toth was a Catholic, who converted to Orthodoxy. His zeal for the Faith, and the respect he had among the people helped to bring thousands back to the True Faith. We celebrate his memory on May 7. Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints. St Innocent followed in the footsteps of St Herman by selflessly serving the Aleuts, building churches, educating them and translating the Bible and other books into their native language. We celebrate his memory twice - on April 13, which is the day of his repose, and on October 6, when he was canonized.
 Saint Juvenaly Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
Today we will look at two men who suffered for Christ and were killed for their faith. In the Orthodox tradition we call them "martyrs," which from Greek means "witness." Sts Juvenaly and Peter witnessed their faith to the end and now they rejoice with the Lord in His Kingdom. We celebrate their memory on September 24. |
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