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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. 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 first saint in our series is St Herman of Alaska. We celebrate his memory on December 25, when he died; and August 6, when he glorified.   On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates all the saints, known and unknown, who have lived and labored in its territory. Accordingly, in America we remember the saints of North America on this day. Leading up to this feast day, we will post, each day of the week, the lives eight of these saints.
Saints of all times, and in every country are seen as the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem fallen humanity. Their example encourages us to “lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,” and to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The saints of North America also teach us how we should live, and what we must expect to endure as Christians. Source: pravoslavie.ru  On June 7, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Third Finding of the Head of St John the Baptist. What does it mean? At the very least it means that we lost it three times. Below is the article that explores more deeply the events surrounding the head of the one greater than anyone born of a woman (Matthew 11:11, Luke 7:28).
Source: Fight the New Drug  Pornography.
It’s been directly linked to physical problems like early erectile dysfunction, depression, irreversible relationship issues, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation. There’s a huge amount of information detailing the problems associated with porn, all of which are worth our attention. These are all issues that have arisen alongside the internet, which has made porn both more available and affordable than ever, and opened the physical and mental pathways to ever more degrading, extreme content. Understanding the real-world negative effects of the global porn industry on individuals and society is important, but it requires some expertise and detailed explanation of some pretty complicated issues. That’s not too hard for most of us, but if understanding the problems with porn requires a mostly-developed brain, how can we teach kids that porn has unavoidable downsides before they’ve already been exposed to some of the worst of what the internet has to offer? (After all, the average age of first exposure is 9-12 years old, and getting younger all the time.)  Fr Peter Gillquist (July 13, 1938 - July 1, 2012), who was a Chairman of the Antiochian Archdiocese Department of Missions and Evangelism and the publisher of AGAIN, was interviewed by the magazine for their thirtieth anniversary issue.
Fr Peter was one of the leaders of a Protestant community under the name of Evangelical Orthodox Church (EOC), which, along with its 2,000 members, joined the true Orthodox Christian Church in 1987. You can read one of his books from our parish library: "Coming Home, Why Protestant Clergy are Becoming Orthodox." Or check out his other books here. Below is an interview with Fr Peter's recollection on the hard journey his community underwent, before joining the Church of Christ. |
John (the Baptist) declared, "Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!"
(John 1:29)
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