Spirituality
Sermons and teaching, the lives of the saints, answers to questions of faith, and the structure and calendar of the Church.
On Almsgiving and a Merciful Heart
Almsgiving is not only giving money, but an attentive and humble heart that recognizes Christ in the person standing before us.
Read more →Holy Confession: Returning to God
Confession is not a human court, but a return home — the moment we stop hiding and let Christ's mercy into the places we've kept closed.
Read more →The Spiritual Father: Guidance on the Path to Christ
A spiritual father does not draw the spiritual child toward himself — he points toward Christ, and his true joy is to see Christ formed in another's heart.
Read more →Spiritual Growth and the Role of a Spiritual Father
The three stages of spiritual growth and the changing relationship between the spiritual father and the spiritual child on the path from purification to illumination and deification.
Read more →On the Regular Reception of the Holy Mysteries
Not "how often," but with what heart — St. John Chrysostom's answer to a question the Church has wrestled with since the Fathers.
Read more →Fasting and Prayer
Fasting without prayer is only a diet. Together, they form the two wings by which the soul is lifted toward God — each according to their own strength.
Read more →Why Do Orthodox Christians Fast?
Orthodox fasting begins with obedience in Paradise and leads us toward freedom from the passions through Christ, the New Adam.
Read more →Orthodox Fasting Days and Seasons
A concise guide to the weekly fasts, the four fasting seasons, special one-day fasts, feast-day relaxations, and fast-free periods.
Read more →Keeping the Faith Alive at Home
A home does not need to look like a chapel to carry the faith inside it — a few honest, repeated habits are enough to carry it from Sunday into the week.
Read more →A Fuller Prayer Life: Beyond Sunday
The Divine Liturgy was never meant to be the whole of a Christian's prayer life — what fills the days between Sundays is where the seed it plants takes root.
Read more →Saint John Chrysostom: The Golden-Mouthed Shepherd
A fearless preacher, compassionate pastor, and defender of the poor whose words still call the Church to faithful Christian living.
Read more →The Samurai Who Came to Kill Him — St. Nicholas of Japan and Paul Takuma Sawabe
A samurai swordsman set out to kill the missionary monk who brought Orthodoxy to Japan — and instead became the first Japanese Orthodox priest.
Read more →“It Was Fr. Seraphim Rose”: Fr. Thomas Hopko’s Homily at the Grave of a Beloved Elder
A sermon delivered over the grave of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose on the twentieth anniversary of his repose, on seeking God with one's whole heart.
Read more →Godparents in the Orthodox Church
To become a godparent is to accept a spiritual responsibility before God and His Church — not simply an honored place at the font.
Read more →The Small Sin That Opened the Way to the Great Ones
A hermit agreed to commit what he thought was the smallest of three sins — and fell into all three. A warning about how every great fall begins with “just once.”
Read more →"Why do we fast before feasts?"
A pastoral answer to a commonly asked question, in the plain style of parish Q&A columns.
Read more →Understanding Parish, Diocese, and Synod
A simple explainer of how the Church is organized, for newcomers and those preparing for baptism or chrismation.
Read more →2026 Fasting Calendar
Fixed and movable fasting periods for the year, with the difference between the two clearly marked.
Read more →Terms of the Faith, A to Z
Short, accessible definitions of theological and liturgical terms for readers new to the Church.
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