Saint Anthony Church Reno NV

If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Matthew 5:14)
Love your enemies. (Luke 6:31-36).

The acid test of love is not whether we love our friends, but whether we love our enemies. A question was put to a great Russian Saint, “How do we know whether a person abides in God and is sincere in his Christian faith?” The Saint answered, “There is no other way of discovering this than by examining the person’s life to see if he loves his enemies. Where there is love for one’s enemy, there also is God.”

That is the great test of whether we are in tune with God; for that is what God Himself does. He sends His rain on the just and the unjust. Chesterton said once, “Love means to love that which is unlovable, or it is no virtue at all.”

Impractical? Find out here

 

A new online discussion group series for high school students is being launched by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco. Called “OrthoTalks”, the first series will focus on Lent. This six-part series will help teens in “Cultivating a Purposeful Life” and will address questions like, “Why am I here? What is the purpose of life?”

Rev. Father Gary Kyriacou, Pastor of the Metropolis of San Francisco Youth and Young Adult Ministries created this program to provide high school students an opportunity to engage in dialogue with their peers and have meaningful discussions on issues relevant to them, while empowering them on their lifelong journey as Orthodox Christians.

“This is an excellent program, and I am eager to see the fruit that it bears. Our teenagers are a special age group, faced with many challenges and navigating through many vulnerabilities,” stated His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos. “We need to listen, love, guide and educate them so they can discern the path ahead for their lives, while retaining their connection to the Church.”

OrthoTalks for Lent begins on Thursday, March 18 and is offered weekly on Zoom through Thursday, April 22, with all sessions beginning at 6:30 p.m. PST.

Rev. Father Gary Kyriacou shared, “This is an opportunity for our youth to come together from all over our Metropolis and share, learn and grow in a very unique way.  The clergy in our Metropolis have a deep love and genuine concern to help our kids navigate the challenges they face and will encounter.  I encourage every High School student to set aside Thursday nights in Lent to come and ask the questions they want answers to.”

Schedule of Topics and Presenters:

Thursday, March 18, 2021: Cultivating an Enquiring Life, Rev. Father Peter Dogias – Assistant Priest, Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, Redondo Beach, CA

Thursday, March 25, 2021: Cultivating a Determined Life, Rev. Father Christopher Retelas – Proistamenos, Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church,

Thursday, April 1, 2021: Cultivating a Committed Life, Rev. Father Nicholas Mueller – Assistant Priest,  Ascension Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Oakland, CA

Thursday, April 8, 2021: Cultivating a Confident Life, Rev. Father Panagiotis Sotiras – Proistamenos, Saint Basil Greek Orthodox Church, Stockton, CA

Thursday, April 15, 2021: Cultivating a Servant Life, Rev. Father Christos Kanakis – Proistamenos, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, Long Beach, CA

Thursday, April 22, 2021: Cultivating an Authentic Life, Rev. Father Jacob Saylor – Assistant Priest,  Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, Scottsdale, AZ

REGISTER HERE: https://gosfyouth.org/goya#/orthotalks to receive the Zoom link for OrthoTalks for Lent.

Steven Christoforou

“O God, when You come upon the earth in glory, the whole world will tremble. A river of fire will bring all before Your Judgment Seat and the books will be opened, and everything in secret will become public.” (Kontakion of Judgment Sunday)

“Judgment” is a scary word. In fact, the concept of a Final Judgment has scared many people away from Christianity altogether. After all, why would a loving God condemn people to eternal torment?

But what if that’s not the right question? What if we’re the ones who judge ourselves?

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus explains what will happen at the Final Judgment. It’s not a parable: it’s a prophetic vision of what’s to come. The sheep will inherit the Kingdom prepared for them, while the goats will be cast into the fire prepared for the demons. Yes, this sounds terrifying…

But what’s even scarier is that God isn’t simply punishing the goats. Rather, the goats are punishing themselves. The goats are the people who refused to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. They are like the Pharisee, who condemned the Publican. They are like the Older Brother, who refused to enter the feast when the Prodigal Son returned home. The goats have separated themselves from God by separating themselves from their neighbors. They have chosen the path of selfishness and cruelty. To them, the Kingdom of God is a place of torment and fire.

Because God’s Kingdom is one of love.

As Saint Paul explains in this Sunday’s Epistle reading, salvation isn’t a private matter. Our goal isn’t to do what’s right for ourselves, but rather to love our neighbor. If we find ourselves locked out of the Kingdom it will be because we chose the path of the Older Brother. Because we locked ourselves out.

So how will you be judged?

Sin is the path of selfishness and isolation. As Children of God, we are called to choose love and communion. So watch this episode of and open your heart to God’s Kingdom. Don’t lock yourself out.

Christ “came not to heal the healthy, but the sick; not to save the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17)

As the world continues to battle COVID-19, we are ever grateful to the frontline workers – including medical professionals, emergency responders, and scientists – for their unwavering dedication to making the world a better place.

In light of the same, given our clergy and lay faithful are seeking archpastoral guidance regarding developments in medicine, such as COVID-19 vaccines and immunizations, we offer the following guidance:

Scripture encourages us to respect and protect the body as the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19). At the same time, it discourages us from either tempting or testing the Lord (Matt. 4:7). And as your spiritual shepherds, we affirm and assure you that it is neither wrong nor sinful to seek medical attention and advice. In fact, we welcome interventions that provide us more time for spiritual renewal and repentance.

We therefore encourage all of you – the clergy and lay faithful of our Church – to consult your physicians in order to determine the appropriate course of action for you, just as you do for surgeries, medications, and vaccinations, in cancer treatments and other ailments. Indeed, while your own bishop, priest, or spiritual father remains prepared to assist you with spiritual matters, your personal doctor will guide your individual medical decisions.

We trust that whatever course of action you and your doctor decide upon will also benefit the rest of the community. If we work together – in a spirit of sincere compassion and care for one another – we will soon be able to gather together as a full community in our churches once again.

We miss you very much and eagerly await the day when we can all exchange the kiss of peace in the Divine Liturgy!

Conveying our paternal blessings with love in the Lord,

Archbishop Elpidophoros, Chairman, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Metropolitan Joseph, Vice-Chairman, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

Archbishop Michael, Treasurer, Orthodox Church in America

Metropolitan Gregory, Secretary, American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA

Bishop Irinej, Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central and South America

Metropolitan Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas

Metropolitan Joseph, Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada, and Australia

Bishop Saba, Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church in North America

Metropolitan Tikhon, Orthodox Church in America

The Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee is the first Sunday of a three-week period prior to the commencement of Great Lent. It marks the beginning of a time of preparation for the spiritual journey of Lent, a time for Orthodox Christians to draw closer to God through worship, prayer, fasting, and acts of charity. It is also on this day that the Triodion is introduced, a liturgical book that contains the services from this Sunday, the tenth before Pascha (Easter), to Great and Holy Saturday.

“To be resurrected into a new life in Christ requires one also to suffer with Christ through crucifixion. This is precisely what the entire season of the Triodion, Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha mean to Orthodox Christians. The Triodion prepares us to undergo this annual renewal process of our life in Christ. It is four Sundays of spiritual preparation to undergo a more intense level of fasting and prayer during Great Lent which will serve as a means towards an end that will bear spiritual fruit.”  Read More