What's New Archives

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July 27/August 9, Holy Great-martyr and Healer Panteleimon.

Buddhism and Eastern Asceticism Compared to Orthodox Christian Asceticism. An excerpt from The Hidden Man of the Heart: The Cultivation of the Heart in Orthodox Christian Anthropology, by Archimandrite Zacharias.

The Origins of Christianity, by Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna.

From the Little Mountain: Reflections on Orthodox Christian Monasticism (DVD). This is a superb 32-minute movie that all Orthodox Christians should watch. I was very impressed with the content and production quality. Help support Hermitage of the Holy Cross and buy this DVD!

A Second Debate with a Reformed Protestant. Although this debate is entitled "Is Protestantism Heretical?", it quickly turned into a debate on epistemology before reaching an impasse. Perry Robinson also commented on the debate.

June 20/July 3, Hieromartyr Methodius, Bishop of Patara.

My Debate with a Reformed Protestant. On July 2, 2008 I was invited to participate in a three-way discussion with two brothers, Robin (Protestant) and Patrick Phillips (a convert to Orthodox from Protestantism). We had a friendly exchange that, I hope, clarified Robin's understanding of the Orthodox Church and Her claims. Thank you, Robin and Patrick, for this opportunity.

May 24/June 6, Afterfeast of the Ascension. St. Symeon Stylites (the Younger) of Wonderful Mountain.

“Beloved brother, after the recently celebrated Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, after the joy of Christ’s Resurrection, now that the path of asceticism has opened up also for you, you should likewise continue in prayer in anticipation of that great and crowning feast of Holy Pentecost. Of course, ever since that first Pentecost in the time of the holy Apostles, the Holy Spirit has continuously and consistently been and ever will be in the Church, and His grace, without ever diminishing, performs all the Mysteries through the course of the year. But know that on the Feast of Holy Pentecost, when the Holy Church triumphantly celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, this is not only a remembrance of a past event—even though this particular event in time was of great significance both for the past and for the present and for the future (all feasts and mysteries celebrated by the Church possess significance for the future)—but this is also a special and most abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Church, when His grace is signed most powerfully upon all those who on that day come to church with prayer, and, bending their hearts and knees, pray to receive the Holy Spirit into their souls and a blessing upon their lives.

“The holy Apostles, as we said, continued in prayer and supplication, awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit. So likewise do you, following their example, pray in advance and with fervent prayer prepare yourself in such a way that the grace of the Holy Spirit not only touch you but that it come to abide constantly in your heart. Do not think that the time between Ascension and Pentecost is some kind of empty space. No, this time is given to us with a purpose, that we might prepare ourselves to receive a great gift and mystery. Further, it does not say in Scripture that, awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles continued in prayer and fasting, as they did on other occasions (Acts 13:3; 14:23; I Cor. 7:5; II Cor. 6:5, 11:27). It says simply that they continued in prayer and supplication, and that their waiting for this great gift (Acts 11:20) was not joined with any labors or difficulties; their ascesis in this case was only spiritual. The descent of the Holy Spirit was the beginning of a New age, the foretaste of a blessed life in heaven, where there will be rewards for ascetic labors but not the labors themselves; it will be a time of rest and tranquility, not labors and battles... And of you is required, now, no fasting or prostrations, but only the joyous anticipation of grace and an abiding in prayer. Take care that you are not negligent in this regard. Like Christ’s holy disciples in ancient times, so too, you, who are also Christ’s disciple, remain in church, praising and blessing God (Luke 24:53).

“And so, after the Lord’s Ascension in the flesh and until Pentecost, the holy Apostles awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit had not yet descended, the Church had not yet received that invaluable, precious gift. The Body of the Church was still soulless, inanimated, as it were. The Holy Spirit had not yet come to give life to and to animate the Church of Christ; the heart of the Church had not yet begun to beat.

“O Holy Spirit, come and enter into the heart of the Church of the Son of God! O Holy Spirit, come also into our earthly temples and into our hearts! Yes, brother, the Holy Spirit will come into God’s temples. Take care that He likewise come into your soul and body. You know that the Church is there where the Holy Spirit dwells; without the Holy Spirit there is no Church. For this reason heretical assemblies cannot be called the Church, even though their external form might resemble the Church. Know that this is merely a corpse without life. The Holy Spirit is there where there is correct faith and unyielding confirmation in virtue and truth. It is about such a Church that the Lord testifies as of His Bride, addressing her prophetically: Thou art all fair, My companion, and there is no spot in thee (Song of Solomon 4:7).” (From Reflections of a Humble Heart, pp. 33-35)

May 22/June 4, Apodosis of Pascha. Martyr Basiliscus, Bishop of Comana.

Memorandum on the Participation of the Orthodox Church in the World Council of Churches (18 February, 2007), by The Theological Committee of the Sacred Community of Mount Athos. These are the newly translated conclusions of this committee from an approximate sixty-page report sent secretly to the Oecumenical Patriarch last year.

Saint Anthony the Great and Ecumenism, by Protopresbyter Theodore Zissis.

A Homily on Abortion, by Bishop Basil of Wichita.

An Interesting Interview with the new First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion.

Photos of Recent Pilgrimages to Holy Archangels Monastery (near San Antonio, TX) and the Convent of Saint Paraskevi (near Houston, TX).

May 2/15, St. Athanasius the Great, Patriarch of Alexandria.

Consider attending one or more of these summer conferences:

April 16/29, BRIGHT TUESDAY. Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene of Lesvos.

Announcing another important new book: Patristic Theology - The University Lectures of Father John Romanides. Read the following excerpts:

On "Scientific" Theologians, by Photios Kontoglou. An excerpt from Meetings with Kontoglou, by Constantine Cavarnos.

Against Materialism. An Excerpt from Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene, by Constantine Cavarnos.

April 9/22, GREAT AND HOLY TUESDAY. Martyr Eupsychius of Caesarea in Cappadocia.

The Paschal Canon, by St John of Damascus. Translated, with extensive notes, by Archimandrite Ephrem.

March 10/23, Second Sunday of Great Lent (St. Gregory Palamas). Martyrs Codratus (Quadratus) and with those with him.

Announcing an important new book: The Boundless Garden: Selected Short Stories, Volume I, by Alexandros Papadiamandis. Read the Introduction and one of the stories entitled "A Village Easter: Memories of Childhood".

Another noteworthy new book is The Life and Teachings of Saint Seraphim of Sarov. With thirty-one short chapters on a variety of topics, such as peace of soul, the light of Christ, tears, repentance, fasting, guarding the mind, etc., this book is sure to have a little something for everyone. Here is an excerpt:

13. On feats.

It is not advisable to undertake excessive feats but to do one's best to make our friend – our flesh – loyal and capable of performing virtues.

It is necessary to follow the middle path, 'turn not to the right hand, nor to the left.' (Prv., 4, 27): to give the spirit the spiritual nourishment, and the body – the bodily nourishment, which is needed for the maintenance of this temporary life. One should not reject the lawful demands of the public life, following the words of the Scripture: 'Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.' (Math. 22, 21)

One should be lenient towards the weaknesses and imperfections of one's own soul and endure one's own shortcomings as we tolerate the shortcomings of our neighbours, and at the same time not become lazy but impel oneself to work on one's improvement incessantly.

Whether you have eaten too much or you have done something else of this kind, because of the weakness of human nature, do not become indignant, do not add another harm to the harm which has already happened, but impel yourself manly to correct it and at the same time to preserve peace of soul, following the words of the Apostle: 'blessed is he that condemneth not himself ….' (Rom. 14, 22). These words of the Saviour have the same meaning: 'Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' (Math. 18, 3)

A body which is exhausted by labour or illness should be fortified by moderate sleep, food and drink, without even taking into account what time of the day it is. Jesus Christ, immediately after He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead, ' he commanded to give her to eat.' (Lk., 8, 55)

We should refer any success in anything to God and say with the Prophet: 'Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory' (Ps. 115, 1).

Before the age of 35, that is, the middle of his life, man needs to undertake heroic efforts in order to preserve himself, but many at this age stray off the path of virtues, and become corrupted and follow their own wishes. Saint Basil the Great attests this (Homilies): many have collected a lot in their youth, but when they reached the middle of their life and the cunning spirits attacked them, they could not stand the tumult and lost everything they had collected.

In order not to experience such a transformation, one should examine oneself as one measured by ordeals and pay heed to oneself during one's entire life, following the words of Saint Isaac the Syrian: 'Everyone should weigh his life as if on the scale.' (Homily 40)

A Guide to Confession. A set of questions to help one prepare for the Mystery of Confession.

The Lord's Prayer: A Homily by Archimandrite George, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of St. Gregoriou, Mount Athos. Available in four Languages!

Thoughts on Fasting and Temperance, by Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich.

The Condition of Society, by Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich.

Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich: Honoring an American Apostle, by Hieromonk Damascene.

Metropolitan Laurus, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia: May his memory be eternal! Extensive coverage of his repose and life can be found on the Ora Et Labora blog.

The Monk's Mission, by Elder Paisios the Athonite.

A grassroots movement to establish a unified and autocephalous Orthodox Church in North America seems to be gaining momentum. I was awakened to this by the outstanding series of interviews that Kevin Allen conducted on his engaging and informative "Illumined Heart" podcast on Ancient Faith Radio. I have gathered the key resources I could find in order to learn more about this challenging problem. Find them in the new section on the "Orthodoxy in America" page.

In the last update I neglected to add a link to this article by Fr. Theodore Zissis, which he wrote after the Letter from Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus (Church of Greece) was published.

February 22/March 6, Opening of the Relics of Holy Martyrs at the gate of Eugenius at Constantinople.

Feasts and Holidays. An Excerpt from With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man, by Blessed Elder Paisios the Athonite (+1994).

Liturgy and Spirituality, by Hieromonk [now Bishop] Athanasije JEVTIĆ. Chapter 8 from Christ: The Alpha and Omega.

Theosis: The True Purpose of Human Life, by Archimandrite George, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of St. Gregorios of Mount Athos. Available in nine Languages!

The Rule of Fasting in the Orthodox Church, by Father Seraphim (Rose) of Platina.

A Study of English Orthodox Theological Terms Compared to the Original Greek, by the Holy Monastery of St. Gregoriou, Mount Athos.

Saint Seraphim of Viritsa's Spiritual Testament: "This Was From Me", by Metropolitan Manuel Lemeshevsky. An edifying message for handling trials and temptations.

Photos from My Recent Pilgrimage to Greece and Romania, by Patrick Barnes. Enjoy hundreds of new photos from Greece and Romania in the newly overhauled OrthodoxInfo Photo Albums on Picasa. Prints of select photos are available for sale. Please inquire if interested.

Lenten Resources, a superb collection from Monachos.net.

Letter from Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus (Church of Greece) to the Papist Bishop of Syros Island. Translated from the Greek newspaper Orthodox Press, November, 2007. In these confusing times of "ecumenical dialog," thank God for Orthodox Hierarchs who clearly state the Church's position viz-a-viz Roman Catholicism. This Bishop knows and acts upon what another Bishop recently and so eloquently stated: "True love for a Christian is to secure eternal life for one's neighbor, which means you straightforwardly say he is in error, and try to return him to the truth, directing him onto the path of salvation."

Postcards from Greece, a podcast by Fr. Peter Heers. I highly recommend this superb new podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

Ora et Labora. This is the best blog I've seen on Orthodox Christianity. The blogger, a Russian Orthodox clergyman who wishes to remain anonymous, posts frequently and with considerable insight and erudition.

October 31/November 13, Apostles Stachys, Amplias, Urban, Narcissus, Apelles and Aristobulus of the Seventy.

On Miracles and Signs. From the Essays of Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov).

Visions Outside the Church, by Monk Gorazd.

A Private Letter Concerning Ecumenism, by Blessed Elder Paisios the Athonite.

Introduction to The Oecumenical Synods of the Orthodox Church, by Fr. James Thornton.

Is There Spiritual Life and Sanctity Today? A talk given by the Very Reverend Archimandrite Kyrillos, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Essex.

On Television: Comments by Various Saints and Holy Elders.

September 28/October 11, St. Chariton the Confessor, Abbot of Palestine.

Marriage: The Great Sacrament, by Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra, Mount Athos. This is an excerpt from The Church at Prayer: The Mystical Liturgy of the Heart. Many consider this to be the best statement on Orthodox marriage they've ever read.

Excerpts from Family Life, by Elder Paisios the Athonite. This is a selection of passages translated by Fr. Luke Hartung, never before seen in English. It is a work-in-progress.

Confession and Repentance: A Talk Given by Fr. Josiah Trenham at the 2006 Antiochian Clergy Conference (Diocese of the West).

Interpretation of the Prayer - Lord, have Mercy!. An excerpt from the fifth volume of the Philokalia (not yet published).

Homily for the Sunday of Orthodoxy, Given in the Cathedral of Trebinje, 2007, by the Most Reverend Atanasije, Retired Bishop of Zahumlje and Herzegovina.

Deaconnesses. From The Veil, Pascha 1998.

Holy Monastery of the Pantokrator, Thessaloniki, Greece. A wealth of traditional articles and books!

The Papacy and Its Unholy State: A Worldwide Wake-up Call to Orthodox Leaders, By Raphael Masterjohn, from "The Light of Orthodoxy," Vol. 1, No. 1 (07/15/2007).

Ecumenism and the Orthodox Church, by Protopresbyter Theodore Zissis. This article by one of the foremost theologians and professors in Greece rightly criticizes the 2006 meeting in Constantinople of Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Benedict XVI.

Ostrov (The Island), (DVD) NTSC version with English subtitles (2006). I keep running into people that have never heard of this movie, let alone seen it. This is a must-see Orthodox movie! Ecumenical News International wrote: "Patriarch Alexei II, and other senior clerics, praised Ostrov for its profound depiction of faith and monastic life. Addressing a church conference on 29 January, the Patriarch called Ostrov a 'vivid example of an effort to take a Christian approach to culture'." Here's a good review of the movie by Fr. Stephen Freeman.

Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West (DVD). This movie was released September 11, 2007. Buy a copy or two and share with friends. Help the West wake up to the reality of Islam. Yes, there are moderate Muslims; but there is no moderate Islam! Learn more about why we are not at "war with (nebulous) terror," but rather at war with an imperialist political ideology that is Islam.

Days Made of Fear (DVD), Ninoslav Randjelovic. This is an important collection

August 28/September 10, St. Moses the Black of Scete.

Obscuring the Issue: Chapter 1 from Religion of Peace?: Islam's War Against the World, by Gregory Davis. I recently met Dr. Davis at the pilgrimage for the 25th anniversary of the repose of Blessed Fr. Seraphim of Platina. It was very encouraging to meet yet another Orthodox Christian involved with raising awareness in the West about Islam. His book is well worth reading, and his superb documentary, Islam: What the West Needs to Know, is a "must see". Learn more about his book and video at WhatTheWestNeedsToKnow.com.

August 25/September 7, Return of the relics of Apostle Bartholomew from Anastasiopolis to Lipari.

Photos from the 25th Anniversary of the Repose of Blessed Fr. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina. These photos were taken from September 1-3, 2007 at St Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, CA. Approximately 200 clergy and pilgrims, including three Bishops (Metropolitan Joseph of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and Bishops Porfirije and Maxim of the Serbian Orthodox Church) and over a dozen Priests, attended this historic event. Although not yet officially glorified as a Saint, Fr. Seraphim is widely venerated as such in many countries. Clergy spoke openly of him as a Saint. It seems likely that his glorification will occur in the next decade. You may read more about this American-born Saint in Hieromonk Damascene's superb book, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works. There are several excerpts from this book on my site. Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!

June 5/18, Hieromartyr Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre.

Anti-Patristic: The Stance of the Zealot Old Calendarists, by Monk Basil of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gregory (Grigoriou), Mount Athos.

March 20/April 2, Holy and Great Monday.

As Holy Week Approaches, by Father Rodney Torbic.

A Liturgical Explanation for the Days of Holy Week, by Father Alexander Schmemann.

Father Paisios the Athonite: Guidance about the Jesus Prayer. An excerpt from With Elder Porphyrios: A Spiritual Child Remembers, by Constantine Yiannitsiotis.

February 7/20, Clean Tuesday, St. Parthenius, Bishop of Lampasacus on the Hellespont.

"A life of fasting, properly understood as general self-limitation and abstinence, to the annual practice of which the Church always calls us with the Great Lent, is really that bearing of the cross and self-crucifixion which is required of us by our calling as Christians. And anyone who stubbornly resists this, wanting to live a carefree, happy, and free life, is concerned for sensual pleasures and avoids sorrow and suffering that person is not a Christian. Bearing one's cross is the natural way of every true Christian, without which there is no Christianity." —Archbishop Averky of Syracuse.

A Homily on Fasting and Dispassion, given by St. Theodore the Studite at the beginning of the Great Fast.

January 25/February 7, St. Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople.

An Open Letter to the Holy Abbots and the Holy Representatives of the Sacred Twenty Monasteries in the Holy Community of the Holy Mount Athos. The So-Called "Kelliotes Letter" (December, 2006). The momentum for strong resistance builds...

The Missionary Origins of Modern Ecumenism: Milestones Leading up to 1920, by Fr. Peter Heers. A talk delivered at the Academic Conference "The Mission of the Orthodox Church and The World Council of Churches", Athens, May 15, 2005.

Concerning the Intercommunion that Took Place in Ravenna, 2002: An Article and Exchange of Letters. This is a bit dated, but most of this has not been posted in English, and thus will be new to many people. It is definitely relevant to 2007, especially in light of the Pope's visit to the Phanar last year.

December 21/January 3, Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ. Virgin Martyr Juliana of Nicomedia, and with her 500 men and 130 women.

Frequent Reception of the Holy Mysteries is Beneficial and Salvific: An Excerpt from Concerning Frequent Communion, by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite.

Explanation of the Lord's Prayer: An Excerpt from Concerning Frequent Communion, by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite.

Concerning Mortal Sins, Pardonable Sins, and Sins of Omission. Part I, Chapter 3 from the Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession.

The Da Vinci Code: Religious Relativism as Pulp Fiction, by Rassaphore-monk Serge (Nedelsky). From Orthodox Life.

Podvig. From The Veil, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Summer, 2005).

"All I Can Do Is Pray". From The Veil, Vol. 13, No. 1.

I Never Learned that in Catechism! From The Veil (Dormition Fast, 2006).

Establishing Good Habits. From an anonymous source.

If you would like to help but do not have the HTM Menaion, arrangements can be made for loaning a copy of the volume you will use.

Scanning would involve using an optical character recognition (OCR) program to convert the image resulting from the scan into text*. If you are interested in helping out with this project, please contact Alexandros Andreou: aalexandros [at] fastmail [dot] fm.

(*Excellent free scanning software is included with later versions of Microsoft Office (it's called Microsoft Office Document Scanning, located in the Microsoft Office >> Microsoft Tools group in your PC's start menu), but you can use any OCR software.)

Suggested Reading for Those Confused by the Pope's Visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate: The "False Union with Rome" page has been updated after the Pope's recent visit with the Ecumenical Patriarch, who, in his homily during the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of St. Andrew, called the Pope "His Holiness our brother and bishop of the elder Rome." Many other egregious and un-Orthodox statements were made during this infamous visit. Judge for yourself by comparing Orthodox writings on Roman Catholicism with the documents from that visit, which are available on the official Web site of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. If you think their meeting was one that follows in the steps of the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, please, before deciding conclusively, read traditional Orthodox writings concerning Rome. Decide with intellectual and spiritual integrity. These are momentous times...

Britainís Oldest Christian Bookshops Remove Koran from Shelves. From Christian Today. Mark Brewer, the Texan lawyer and courageous Orthodox Christian mentioned in this news article, has asked for support in his stance viz-a-viz the Koran and the SPCK bookstores. Please pray for him: blogs have mentioned fatwahs being called for on him and SPCK shop managers; but in general he just needs prayers for guidance and strength in the work he has been undertaking. Also, please send him words of encouragement and, if possible, donations to the Orthodox Church Mission Fund of Houston. His email address is: Brewer [at] bplaw [dot] com.

[UPDATE 1/25/07: Link no longer available.] Islamic Settlement Next to an Orthodox Convent Seeks Expansion. Please pray for Abbess Markella and the nuns at the Holy Monastery of the Theotokos, the Live-Giving Spring, in Dunlap, CA, which is one of Elder Ephraim's convents in North America. An Islamic group is seeking to expand their facilities. Their closest neighbor is the Convent.

November 27/December 10, Great-Martyr James the Persian.

The Christian Marriage and Family: Four Audio Lectures by Fr. Josiah Trenham.

Dealing with a Secularized Christmas. From The Veil (Nativity Fast, 2005).

Prayer: Our Nativity Centerpiece.

Living the Monastic Life in the World, from The Veil (Summer, 2005).

The Holy Art of Prosphora Baking, a tutorial by Peter Serko.

September 16/29, Afterfeast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Great-Martyr Euphemia.

St Vincent of LÈrins: Homily 24 from Made Perfect in Faith, by Fr. James Thornton.

Saint Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome: Homily 27 from Made Perfect in Faith, by Fr. James Thornton.

Saint Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Nineveh: Homily 30 from Made Perfect in Faith, by Fr. James Thornton.

July 15/28, St. Vladimir of Russia, Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Jihad: Chapter 3 from Defeating Jihad, by Serge Trifkovic. Read this book and spread the word!

London's Bombs and Sleepwalkers: Chapter 8 from Defeating Jihad, by Serge Trifkovic.

Islam and Women: The Christian Science Monitor's Distortion and the Reality, by Srdja (Serge) Trifkovic. This article mentions an important Islamic practice called taqiyya. As Dr. Trifkovic notes on p. 288 in Defeating Jihad, "Islam not only allows, but mandates lying to 'infidels' in order to gain political or any other advantage (i.e. Taqiyya, the concealment of one's Islamic beliefs to non-Muslims)." In other words, you should seriously doubt anything a Muslim says about his beliefs if they run contrary to what you know is clearly taught in the Koran. This is something that the pro-Islam elites of our day do not understand or are not willing to admit. They swallow the "Islam is a peaceful religion" rhetoric, and have the resources and clout to foist this view on the masses who are still largely ignorant of the Islamic threat.

Jihad's Fellow Travelers, by Serge Trifkovic.

Can a Pious Muslim Become a Loyal American?, by Serge Trifkovic.

June 21/July 4, Martyr Julian of Tarsus in Cilicia.

On the Deadening of the Human Spirit: A Sermon on the Sunday of the Myrhh-Bearing Women, by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov.

Excerpts from Elder Gervasios (Paraskevopoulos) of Patras, by Hierodeacon Cyril (Kostopoulos). The exemplary life and pastoral work of a parish Priest of our times.

A Brief History of the Irish Orthodox Church, from the 2003 St. Herman Calendar.

O Lord, I Have Loved The Beauty of Thy House: How We Should Conduct Ourselves in Church.

Chapter One from A Tiny Step Away from Deepest Faith, by Marjorie Corbman. The author, a teenager, is a very thoughtful writer with a capability beyond her years. This profound little book describes her search for meaning, which ended with her reception into the Orthodox Church.

Godparenting 101, from the parish newsletter of St. George Orthodox Church in Eugene, OR.

Behind the Sourozh Phenomenon: Spiritual Freedom or Cultural Captivity?: Meletios Metaksakis, Metropolitan, Archbishop, Pope and Patriarch. By Fr. Srboliub Miletich. Translated by Fr Andrew Phillips.

We Were Guests at St. Seraphim's. An account of a pilgrimage to Sarov and Diveyevo, by Dr. A. P. Timofievich.

The Da Vinci Code: Resources for a Proper Understanding.

You may have noticed the improved "Related Articles" panel when viewing articles. To improve site performance I now pull in the top five Google search results after the page loads. For my fellow geeks out there, this is my attempt to use some of that nifty AJAX technology that is sweeping the Web (though I didn't use the ASP.NET 2.0 "Atlas Framework"—I wanted to roll my own).

March 13/26, Third Sunday of Great Lent (Adoration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross).

St. John of Damascusís Critique of Islam, from his monumental book Fount of Knowledge (early 8th century).

How Should We Conduct Ourselves in the Morning?: Chapter 1 from How to Live a Holy Life, by Metropolitan Gregory of St. Petersburg (1784-1860).

How Should We Conduct Ourselves During Meals?: Chapter 6 from How to Live a Holy Life, by Metropolitan Gregory of St. Petersburg (1784-1860).

Quit You Like Men: A homily on St. Paul's admonitions "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong", by Fr. James Thornton.

And Believers Were the More Added: A homily on Christ's call to invite others to experience Holy Orthodoxy, by Fr. James Thornton.

Reply to a Critic: Fr. Seraphim Bell replies to a reader's criticism of the homily he translated by Elder Ephraim.

The Sign of the Cross and Orthodox Prayer are Capable of Killing Microbes and Change [sic] the Optical Properties of Water: A fascinating Interfax story of a study's recent conclusions.

I have decided to drop the RSS feed for new postings. It requires too much work to update each time. I also decided no longer to use a database to store email addresses for site update notifications. From now on I will use a Yahoo! Group. Those of you who are currently on the OCIC e-mailing list should soon receive an invitation to join this group.

February 25/March 10, St. Tarasios, Archbishop of Constantinople (806).

How Everyone Should Prepare Before Confession, by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite. An excerpt from the Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession.

Concerning Fasting on Wednesday and Friday, by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite. An excerpt from the Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession.

Concerning Thoughts, by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite. An excerpt from the Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession.

Preface to the Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession, by His Grace, BASIL, Bishop of Wichita.

The Way of Spiritual Transformation, by Hieromonk Damascene. From The Orthodox Word (May-Aug 2005)

On Watchfulness, Prayer and Confession: A Homily by Elder Ephraim of Philotheou. Translated from the Greek by Fr. Seraphim Bell.

Introduction to the Philokalic Writings of St. Gregory of Sinai. Covers a range of topics including prayer and fasting. From Elder Basil of Poiana Marului: Spiritual Father of St. Paisy Velichkovsky.

Who Art Thou That Judgest?: A homily by Fr. James Thornton.

Anchor of the Soul: A homily on hope in God's promises, by Fr. James Thornton.

Wes Callihan Apologizes for Writing "Presumptuous Propositions". Author of Credenda/Agenda article on the Orthodox view of Icons apologizes years later.

New Resources for Lutheran Inquirers: Reader Christopher Orr has gathered some helpful resources on his blog, which I have listed on the "Especially for Reformed Protestants" page. If any Lutheran converts or inquirers have materials that they think I should add to this page, please contact me.

A 21st-Century Confessor: His Eminence Jovan, Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje: A Prisoner for the Faith. From The Orthodox Word (May-Aug 2005).

Orthodox Houston: This is an excellent example of a pan-Orthodox, regional Web site. May many more such sites be created!

November 23/December 6, Afterfeast of the Entry into the Temple. St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.

Counsels from Contemporary Romanian Elders: To Laypeople, Monastics, and Clergy. From The Orthodox Word (Jan-Feb, 1992).

Humble-Mindedness: The Doorway to Pure Prayer: An interview with Elder Dionysius (Ignat) of the St. George Kellion, Kolitsou Skete, Mount Athos, Greece. From The Orthodox Word (Jan-Feb, 2005).

On Dispositions of the Heart. An excerpt from Wounded By Love: The Life and Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios.

On Illness. An excerpt from Wounded By Love: The Life and Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios.

On the Intercession and Invocation of the Saints. A compilation for Protestants by Reader Christopher Orr.

On faith; and to those who say that those in the world cannot attain perfection virtues. To start with, a most profitable tale. By St. Simeon the New Theologian. From Writings from the Philokalia: on Prayer of the Heart.

Orthodox Patristic Wisdom, a blog by Michele Sparrow. This is an excellent response to comments publicly posted over the past few months that criticize and even slander Elder Ephraim of St. Anthony's Monastery in Florence, AZ, as well as the Abbot, Elder Paisios. It is a sad sign of our times that such a site is needed. [Posted on 12/11: Seraphim Larsen has also weighed in with a thoughtful blog defending Elder Ephraim and his monasteries.]

Arxodariki: Orthodox Spiritual Lectures. This site from Greece contains many edifying services, homilies and lectures in English.

New site features: The search engine and "Related Articles" panel now use Google behind the scenes instead of Microsoft SQL Server Full Text Search. You may experience slightly longer page load times, but the results are better and allow you to use your "Google expertise" in combination with Google's many search parameters. The site also now exposes an RSS Feed for the "Recent Additions" section of the home page. You could even use the new Google Reader to keep track of updates : ).

September 10/23, Afterfeast of the Nativity of the Theotokos. Martyrs Menodora, Metrodora, and Nymphodora at Nicomedia.

Photos from my Pilgrimage to Spruce Island, where Saint Herman of Alaska lived and died.

August 19/September 1, Afterfeast of the Dormition. Martyr Andrew Stratelates and 2,593 soldiers with him in Cilicia (3rd c.).

International Orthodox Christian Charities, Inc. Please make a donation to help alleviate suffering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

August 8/21, Afterfeast of the Transfiguration. St. Emilian the Confessor.

While There Is Time, by Metropolitan Augoustinos of Florina.

Negligence, the Unsleeping Danger for the Orthodox Christian: from "The Plow", July 2003.

Comboschini (The Prayer Rope): Meditations of a Monk of the Holy Mountain Athos. This is an excellent introduction to the practice of the Jesus Prayer.

Elder Joseph the Hesychast and the Teaching of Mental Prayer Which Flowed from His Letters. A homily by Abbot Ephraim of Vatopaidi Monastery.

Prayer of the Heart for the Faithful Living in the World, by Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi (Spiritual Child of Elder Joseph the Hesychast).

Elder Joseph the Hesychast on Patience and Endurance, excerpts from Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.

Modesty and Will, by Metropolitan Philaret Voznesensky (+ 1985).

On Account of the Angels: Why I Cover My Head. By Elisabet. From the Spring 1997 issue of Conciliar Press.

The Divine Liturgies Music Project, by St. Anthony's Monastery in Florence, AZ.

Reconsidering the Meaning of Conversion: Fr. John Whiteford responds to a recent Christianity Today essay by Sam Torode.

Orthodoxy In America: An online directory of the Orthodox Church in North America. This is the best parish and monastery directory I've seen. Please help them keep the database up-to-date by submitting/verifying your listing.

The Antiochian Archdiocese leaves the National Council of Churches. This recent decision is a small but excellent step in the right direction. May God grant that one day they will take a firm, official stance against ecumenism and cease all involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Read Terry Mattingly's comments about this decision.

April 11/24, Palm Sunday. Hieromartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamus, disciple of St. John the Theologian.

Orthodoxy of the Heart: Chapter 86 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, by Hieromonk Damascene.

The Official Conclusions of the September, 2004 conference "Ecumenism: Origins, Expectations, Disenchantment", sponsored by the School of Pastoral Theology, The Aristotelian University, Thessaloniki, Greece. Among the concluding proposals of the conference participants we read:

"That it be made manifest to church leaders everywhere that, in the event that they continue to participate in, and lend support to, the pan-heresy of Ecumenism - both inter-christian and inter-religious - the obligatory salvific, canonical and patristic course for the faithful, clergy and laity, is excommunication: in other words, ceasing to commemorate bishops, who are co-responsible for, and co-communicants with, heresy and delusion. This is not a recourse to schism but rather to a God-pleasing confession, just as the ancient Fathers, and bishop-confessors in our own day have done, such as the esteemed and respected former Metropolitan of Florina, Augustinos, and the Fathers of the Holy Mountain (Athos)."

Excerpts from The New Saint of the Russian Church, Seraphim of Viritsa (+1949). Translated by Fr. Nicholas Palis.

Pascha Polyglotta: a wonderful Web site for finding "Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!" in approximately 250 languages.

American Salvation: The Place of Christianity in Public Life, by Albert J. Raboteau. From Boston Review (April/May 2005). "I was drawn in part by a sense of profound similarity between Orthodoxy and the ethos of African-American Christianity. In both there is a quality of sad joyfulness, a sense that life in a minor key is life as it is; an emphasis on the importance of suffering as a mark of the authenticity of faith." See also Professor Raboteau's book A Sorrowful Joy.

March 14/27, Second Sunday of Great Lent (St. Gregory Palamas). St. Benedict of Nursia, Abbot.

Simplicity: Chapter 87 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, by Hieromonk Damascene.

Photos from My Pilgrimage to the Holy Monastery of St. Herman of Alaska, Platina, CA, with a short trip to St. Xenia Skete in Wildwood (July, 2004).

Introduction to Apostle to Zaire: The Life and Legacy of Blessed Father Cosmas of Grigoriou.

February 20/March 5, St. Leo, Bishop of Catania in Sicily. St. Agatho, Pope of Rome.

Two Letters from Elder Moses of Optina, to His Brother Living in the World.

On the World and Family, by Elder Ephraim.

Introduction to Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives & Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece.

Introduction to The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church, by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra, Mount Athos. This is an outstanding teaching on the importance of the Lives of Saints and how to honor and be inspired by them in our daily lives. From the article: "If we live with all the saints (Eph. 3:18) by attentively reading their lives each day as we walk in the spiritual garden of the Synaxarion, we shall discover little by little those whom our heart especially goes out to. They will become our close friends in whom we love to confide our joys and sorrows; whose lives we love to read time and again, as well as to chant their troparia and to venerate their icons. These close friends will be the guides of our choice and a great comfort to us along the strait and narrow way that leads to Christ (Matt. 7:14)."

The Serbian Orthodox Church Vis-·-Vis Ecumenism, by Bishop Artemije. A talk delivered at the September, 2004 conference "Ecumenism: Origins, Expectations, Disenchantment", sponsored by the School of Pastoral Theology, The Aristotelian University, Thessaloniki, Greece.

February 17/March 2, Great-Martyr Theodore the Tyro.

Photos from My Pilgrimage to the Holy Monastery of St. Anthony the Great, Florence, AZ (February 22-28, 2005).

February 5/18, Martyr Agatha of Palermo in Sicily. Martyr Theodula of Anazarbus in Cilicia, and with her Martyrs Helladius, Macarius, and Evagrius.

Resentment and Forgiveness, by Hieromonk Damascene. A talk delivered at the Annual Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America, St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, San Diego, California, February 28, 2003.

Contours of Conversion and the Ecumenical Movement: Some Personal Reflections, by Hieromonk Alexios Karakallinos. A talk delivered at the September, 2004 conference "Ecumenism: Origins, Expectations, Disenchantment", sponsored by the School of Pastoral Theology, The Aristotelian University, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Pastoral Guidance - Chapter 84 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, by Hieromonk Damascene.

Elder Barsanuphius of Optina: Part II of excerpts from the section "Talks with Spiritual Children", by Fr. Victor Afanasiev.

On Compromise in the Hierarchy During the Communist Yoke: Excerpts from two books by Fr. Roman Braga.

On Prayer of the Heart: Excerpts from Exploring the Inner Universe, by Fr. Roman Braga.

The Explanation of the Four Gospels, by Archbishop Averky (Tauchev). Translated by Seraphim Larin.

January 31/February 13, Holy Wonderworkers and Unmercenaries Cyrus and John.

Photos from My Pilgrimage to Greece and Mount Athos, January 2005.

December 15/28, Hieromartyr Eleutherius, Bishop of Illyria, and his mother Martyr Anthia.

The Non-Orthodox: The Orthodox Teaching on Christians Outside of the Church. The complete text of this book, originally published in 1999 by Regina Orthodox Press, is now available.

October 25/November 7, Martyrs Marcian and Martyrius the Notaries of Constantinople.

Concerning the Jesus Prayer. From the Jordanville Prayer Book (1996 ed).

Towards a Fruitful Spiritual Life: Reasons Why Our Intentions to Lead a Better and Holy Life Do Not Produce Results. From the Conversations of Metropolitan Gregory of Novgorod.

Elder Barsanuphius of Optina: Talks with Spiritual Children, by Fr. Victor Afanasiev. This is the first installment of various talks from this wonderful book in The Optina Elders Series. The Optina Elders are especially significant for our day as they essentially lived in modern times. They had tremendous impact on Russian society, influencing many people from all walks of lifeóyoung, old, rich, poor, lay, clergy and monastic. These talks were selected for publication on this Web site due to their special appropriateness for lay people struggling to live an Orthodox life in the world.

The Orthodox Church in America and Its Future, by Saint Nikolai Velimirovich.

"Super-Correctness": Chapter 63 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, by Hieromonk Damascene.

In Defense of Fr. Dimitry Dudko, by Blessed Father Seraphim of Platina.

Problems of Bioethics, i.e., Abortion, Contraceptives, Cloning, Homosexuality, Etc. An official statement of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Press Release following the conclusion of the Inter-Orthodox Theological Conference on Ecumenism announced on this site on September 1/14.

Out Now: Why the Orthodox Churches Should Quit the NCC, by John Couretas.

Ecumenical Impact on Orthodox Witness and Mission: A Convert's Reflections, by Fr. John Reeves.

September 9/22, Afterfeast of the Nativity of the Theotokos. Holy and Righteous Ancestors of God Joachim and Anna.

What Christ Accomplished on the Cross, by Hieromonk Damascene.

The Inward Mission of Our Church: Bringing About Orthodoxy, by the Blessed Father Justin Popovich.

Discerning and Doing God's Will by Remembering Him in a World of Distraction, by Mother Dorothea.

Proper Confession and Communion: a pamphlet prepared by the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Washington, DC.

Hope - Chapter 99 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, by Hieromonk Damascene.

Converts - Chapter 88 from Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works, by Hieromonk Damascene.

The Islamic States of America?, by Daniel Pipes.

September 1/14, Church New Year. St. Symeon Stylites (the Elder; 459) and his mother St. Martha (428).

Announcing an Inter-Orthodox Theological Conference on Ecumenism, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, September 20-24, 2004.

June 14/27, Prophet Elisha (10th c. B.C.).

The Place of Lives of Saints in the Spiritual Life, by Hieromonk Damascene. One of the most important articles I've ever read!

The Life of Our Holy Father Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch. From Orthodox Life (1981). The way St. Meletius handled the difficult situation in Antioch during the Arian controversy is highly instructive for our own troubled times.

The Simple ShepherdóPapa Nicholas Planas, by Fr. Alexey Young [now Hieromonk Ambrose].

Excerpts from Paternal Counsels, Vol. I and II, by St. Philotheos Zervakos.

Excerpts from Follow Me, by Metropolitan Augustinos of Florina (State Church of Greece).

The Search for Orthodoxy, by Hieromonk Seraphim Rose.

Personal Reminiscences of Father Seraphim Rose, by Hieromonk Ambrose (formerly Father Alexey Young).

A Sermon on Reading Spiritual Works, by Archbishop Platon of Kostroma.

Metropolitan Anthony as a Teacher of Pastorship, by Protopresbyter G. Grabbe.

Living the Traditional Orthodox Life. A talk presented at the Southern Missions Conference of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (2003).

Living in the Liturgical Cycles of the Church, by Reader Daniel Olsen. A talk presented at the Southern Missions Conference of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (2003).

On Becoming and Remaining an Orthodox Christian by Fr. Andrew Phillips. A Talk given at the Orthodox Pilgrimage to Felixstowe in August 2001.

The Shepherd, an outstanding Orthodox publication from England is now online.

April 14 / 27, St. Martin the Confessor, Pope of Rome.

Introducing the next-generation version of the Orthodox Christian Information Center! The entire Web site has been completely overhauled. Take note of the following main new features:

  • Integrated content with the new "Related Articles" panel on every article page. Keywords on the page dynamically pull in related articles.
  • Robust search engine with a search box on every page. No more will the search engine "sometimes work" or force you to rely on Google.com.
  • Email an article to a friend by clicking the envelope in the upper right of any page.
  • Reorganized site sections so that you can more easily find relevant content by topics.
  • Several new sections of content.
  • Saints of the Day automatically display on the home page.
  • And there's more to come in the months ahead!

For you geeks out there: the site was converted to ASP. NET 1.1 with a SQL Server backend. (Full Text Search used for search engine and "Related Articles" panel.) Also, all HTML was cleaned up, deprecated tags removed, and Cascading Styles Sheets (CSS) implemented.

Note that you must resubmit your email address to be notified of any additions to the site.

And for Webmasters: 99% of the URLs should still work, even if you don't change ".htm" to ".aspx". (I handle this programmatically, but you should still update the URLs on your site.) Only a small % of the pages on the old site were eliminated or were changed (e.g., ASP.NET does not allow a "&" in the filename).

March 6/19, The Forty-Two Martyrs of Ammoria in Phrygia.

Regarding Same-Gender Unions, Epistle of the Pastoral Conference of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

February 28/March 12, St. Basil the Confessor, companion of St. Procopius at Decapolis.

Life of St. Nikolai Velimirovich (+1956), by Father Daniel Rogich. Commemorated March 5/18.

January 14/27, The Holy Fathers Slain at Sinai and RaÔthÛ; Saint Sava of Serbia; Saint Nina, Enlightener of Georgia.

Introductory Speech at the Round Table on Ecumenism, by Deacon Nikolai Savchenko. This is an excellent summary of some key reasons whyódespite some positive changes over the past few yearsóthe Moscow Patriarchate should still be considered ecumenist. From the article: "With whom do they stand? With us, Orthodox, or with the ecumenical movement? With the overwhelming majority of people and clergymen in Russia and abroad or with Protestants who are alien to us? Can there be true peace in the Russian Church if [the choice to withdraw from the WCC] is not made? Can there be true unity in the Truth without this choice?"

January 11/24, Saint TheodÛsios the Cúnobiarch.

A Good Word: Its Healing Power. An insightful address on the spiritually restorative nature of Godly speech.

March 6/19, The Forty-Two Martyrs of Ammoria in Phrygia.

Regarding Same-Gender Unions, Epistle of the Pastoral Conference of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

February 28/March 12, St. Basil the Confessor, companion of St. Procopius at Decapolis.

Life of St. Nikolai Velimirovich (+1956), by Father Daniel Rogich. Commemorated March 5/18.

January 14/27, The Holy Fathers Slain at Sinai and RaÔthÛ; Saint Sava of Serbia; Saint Nina, Enlightener of Georgia.

Introductory Speech at the Round Table on Ecumenism, by Deacon Nikolai Savchenko. This is an excellent summary of some key reasons why—despite some positive changes over the past few years—the Moscow Patriarchate should still be considered ecumenist. From the article: "With whom do they stand? With us, Orthodox, or with the ecumenical movement? With the overwhelming majority of people and clergymen in Russia and abroad or with Protestants who are alien to us? Can there be true peace in the Russian Church if [the choice to withdraw from the WCC] is not made? Can there be true unity in the Truth without this choice?"

January 11/24, Saint TheodÛsios the Cúnobiarch.

A Good Word: Its Healing Power. An insightful address on the spiritually restorative nature of Godly speech.

January 1/14, Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord. St. Basil the Great.

Official Web Site of the Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance). English version now online!

January 11/29, Saint David, Joseph and James; 14,000 Infants Slain by Herod, Saint M·rkellos.

New book from the IBMGS: Sacred Catechism of the Orthodox Church.

The Sacred Catechism of Vernardakis (1833-1907), a distinguished Professor of the University of Athens, was selected in 1872 by the Oecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as the best of all catechisms in existence. And it was highly recommended by the Patriarchate for use in the schools.

A British scholar, Claude Delaval Cobham, who resided in Cyprus as Commissioner of Larnaca, prepared an abridged English-language version of the Sacred Catechism, and had it published in Nicosia, Cyprus. Professor Constantine Cavamos studied it painstakingly and found it very concise, precise, clear, analytical, extremely edifying, truly Orthodox Christian in substance and in manner of exposition. Seeing the great need for such a book, he decided to have it published. Accordingly he made various improvments in Cobham's translation and presentation of the text.

For those who desire to learn something more of substance about the Orthodox Church, Cavarnos has added a Supplement that consists of three illuminating chapters on Orthodox Architecture, Iconography, and Hymnody. (from the backmatter)

December 9/22, Conception of the Theotokos by Saint Anna.

Letters of Elder Macarius of Optina. This appears to be the full text of Russian Letters of Spiritual Direction: 1834-1860. This is one of the most edifying books for laypeople I have ever read. It's full of Patristic gems that are highly relevant to living in the world as an Orthodox Christian.

A Discourse for Those Living in the World, by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos.

Obedience and the Layman, by Fr. Alexey Young (now Hieromonk Ambrose).

My Work With English-Speaking Converts: An Interview with Fr. Artemy Vladimirov. This is Part I of a superb three-part interview of this wise and  experienced Priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was originally published in the Orthodox journal, Road to Emmaus (view other articles in past issues). The issues containing Parts II and III of this edifying and informative interview can be ordered from Road to Emmaus.

We all probably watch too much TV. Have you ever reflected on how bad TV is for you and your children? If not, consider this article by the former Archbishop Vitaly, this article on children and television, or the many television articles on the Orthodox America site. So, how about a New Year's resolution to watch less TV and read more great books? One idea is to read to your children a good Charles Dickens novel, such as Pickwick Papers. To that end, I highly recommend another Road to Emmaus article entitled "Russian Pickwickians: Dickens from an Orthodox Vantage" .

October 20/November 2, Holy Great Martyr Artémios, Saint Matróna of Chios, Translation of the Relics of Saint Gerásimos.

A Homily on the Holy Eucharist and on Not Judging Others or Remembering Wrongs by the Holy Hieromartyr, Patriarch Anastasios II of Antioch.

September 8/21, Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.

New book by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos: Orthodoxy and Philosophy.

This book is comprised of two lectures, divided into seventeen chapters, that were delivered by Professor Cavarnos in 1998 at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. The discussion begins with the New Testament and proceeds in chronological sequence to the recent past. It is addressed particularly to persons who are deeply interested in comprehending Orthodox Christianity in its significant relations both to ancient Greek philosophy and to Modern West ern European philosophy. The lectures dwell on the subjects "Ancient Greek Philosophy in the Under standing of the Eastern Orthodox Church Fathers," and "Modern Schools of Philosophy in the Light of Orthodox Theology."

Dr. Cavarnos treats these subjects in illuminating manner that is both analytical and synthetic, based throughout on primary sources which are always carefully cited.