In my sermon at St Nicholas Cathedral in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Sunday, September 24, 2023, we looked at how the Orthodox Church understands Romans 8:29 – “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”
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“Someone asked Abba Anthony, ‘What must one do in order to please God?’ The old man replied, ‘Pay attention to what I tell you: whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes; whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the holy Scriptures; in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it. Keep these three precepts and you will be saved.’” (Sayings of the Desert Fathers)
An important (but lesser-known) quality necessary for spiritual healing and growth is geographic stability. God calls un to be his disciples in specific places.
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→ https:// http://www.buymeacoffee.com/frajarmus ☕️
Many thanks for your support! Prayers and blessings 🙏 ☦️
The Fellowship of St Theophan the Recluse is a ministry of the Orthodox Church in America’s Bulgarian Diocese. We currently have over 100 members. Most members are from North America but we also have people from the British Isles, Latin America, Africa, and Australia.
It’s a mixed bag of interest levels. Some are very intentional about becoming Orthodox, but aren’t anywhere near an Orthodox church. Some would like to become more involved in the Orthodox Church, but cannot for a variety of reasons. Others are just checking Eastern Orthodoxy out.
We also have Orthodox Christians who can’t get to church regularly, or the church they attend has services and programs in a language they don’t understand.
All are welcome.
I send out an email every weekday to stay in touch and once a month we have a live meeting on Zoom.
If this sounds like something you might find helpful, send me an email for more info.
A question that I hear quite frequently concerns the intercession of the saints. Why do the Orthodox believe in this? Can you find references to it in the scriptures? I want to keep these posts short, so let me share with you a link to an episode of my podcast where I talk about this in a bit more detail.
First let me say this. The popular understanding of heaven and earth is that the dead are “up there” while we are “down here” and that there is largely no practical connection between the “up there” and the “down here.” Classical Christianity (ie, Eastern Orthodoxy), does not see the world in this way. The spiritual realm is a lot closer to us than we think, but our ability to perceive it is impaired.
So with that said, here’s the link.
https://anchor.fm/frajarmus/episodes/The-intercession-of-the-saints-e204h4m
The Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness to fast for 40 days. Isolation is a unique spiritual challenge. When alone, be on guard.
The Prodigal Son lost a great deal more than his material wealth.
After Christ’s death the Myrrh-bearing Women, Jospeh of Arimathea, and Nicodemus press on to serve their Lord, no mater what. My sermon on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, April 30, 2023.
Simple question (and one that I get fairly often): Why is liturgical worship so important for the Orthodox Church?
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Here’s my sermon at St Nicholas Cathedral in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Palm Sunday, April 9, 2023. If we’re looking for some thing to give our ives meaning, we’re looking in the wrong place.
Eastern Orthodoxy 