Orthodox Reunion:

Overcoming the Curse of Jurisdictionalism in America

By Very Reverend Father Josiah Trenham, Ph.D.

(The following is an excerpt of the Keynote Address given by Father Josiah given at the Diocesan Parish Life Conference in El Paso, TX on June 15th, 2006.)

I greet you with sincere affection in our common Savior, and bring the greetings of His Grace, Joseph, Bishop of Los Angeles and the West to all of you. I am greatly honored to be here in El Paso at the 2nd Parish Life Conference of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America. I have the opportunity to speak to you on a subject most dear to my heart, and I believe to yours also: the unity of the Orthodox Church in America. I have entitled my presentation, "Orthodox Reunion: Overcoming the Curse of Jurisdictionalism in America", but before I begin please allow me to ask your forgiveness ahead of time for my mistakes and inadequacies, and to beg your indulgence. I do not speak from any position of expertise or authority on this subject, but as a concerned priest of the Church grasping for a way forward.

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Examining the Divine Liturgy

By Rev. Father Simon Thomas

(This is a continuing series of articles published in our monthly bulletin, The Epistle, explaining the Divine Liturgy – the preeminent worship service of the Orthodox Christian Church.)

(Part 1 – September ’08)

The Great Doxology

The Choir sings - “Glory to You who has shown us the light! Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace, goodwill to all people! …”

Thus begins the Divine Liturgy every Sunday morning – at least in the minds of most Orthodox Christians. In reality, the Great Doxology is the end of the previous service, the Orthros (or Matins) Service. This service, unfortunately rarely attended by most Orthodox, is a beautiful service that emphasizes the importance of the Resurrection in the Sunday morning services.

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The Relentless Pursuit of Humanity

By Rev. Father Simon Thomas

(Written in May of 2007, in response to the Virginia Tech shooting.)

The entire country was shocked and saddened by the horrific events that took place in Blacksburg, Virginia just last week. All of America spent the past week trying to find the answer to the question, “Why did this happen?” The blame has been spread around to the usual suspects – gun control, the university, the killer’s parents and family – anything to explain what ultimately cannot be answered from the grave. Of course, these answers also fail to prevent such an atrocity from happening again.

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A Life of Repentance

The Story of St. Mary of Egypt

By Rev. Father Simon Thomas

The story of Saint Mary of Egypt, as handed down to us by Saint Sophronios, is an incredible story of endurance, survival and dedication. The remarkable account of how she lived after her repentance only indicates the level of the extreme sinfulness of her previous way of life. Yet, her immoral lifestyle pales in comparison to the modern day celebrities we read about in the supermarket tabloids – the same celebrities many of our children aspire to be (and in fact, as studies show, it is not just our children, but many adults as well!). Yet, how many stories of repentance, on the level of St. Mary’s repentance, do we hear about today? Let us ponder the repentance of St. Mary, reflecting upon our own lives, and contemplating the things we need to bring before God in repentance.

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