Give Me A Word

During the Nativity Fast, the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield points out, four recurring themes stand out in the hymnography: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. We must be especially watchful during the fast, striving to pay special attention to our relationship with the Living God, lest we move away from Him, which is self-destruction. Referring to the baptism of a seminary baby earlier in the service...

On the feast of St Nicholas of Myra, the Rev. Dn Dr Vitaly Permiakov describes the venerable hierarch as a “living image of that one and only High Priest, according to the order of Melchizedek...our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave his life on the tree of the Cross.” For St Nicholas, the life of a bishop was not one of high position or honor, but that of service in unceasing intercession. St Nicholas i...

The story of the young rich ruler who could not distribute his wealth and follow Christ reminds us that we are all guilty of a similar failure to recognize that all things ultimately belong to God, says the Very Rev. Vincent Temirov. The lesson in this gospel account is not that the wealthy are inherently unable to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, but that anyone who clings to treasure on earth rather...

In examining the healing of the woman who had been bent over for 18 years, the Very Rev. Dr Bogdan Bucur asks us to consider the symbolism behind her unique ailment. For almost two decades, she was only able to see the ground beneath her; she was unable to lift her gaze and look toward heaven, suggesting that she was also spiritually unable to look toward God and offer praise. The first thing she...

Upon hearing the parable of the rich man who only thought of building himself bigger barns for his crops, Fr Vincent Temirov asks us to consider the ways in which we also worry about gaining wealth and security in this life, rather than striving to build up treasure in heaven. We all have responsibilities in this life, says Fr Vincent, but it is imperative that we “always trust our Father who prov...

On the last Sunday before the start of the Nativity Fast, Fr Vincent Temirov preaches on the parable of the Good Samaritan, read during the Divine Liturgy. The lawyer who asks the Lord Jesus Christ, “Who is my neighbor?” certainly didn’t expect to be told that a Samaritan would also be considered his neighbor. And yet, our Lord challenges him, and us, to share the love of God with any and all who...

On the local feast of St Vladimir, established at the seminary in 2014 in commemoration of the reception of a portion of our patron saint’s relics, the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield reviews the legacy of St Vladimir as a missionary saint. Over the course of his life, St Vladimir went from a bloodthirsty pagan king to a deeply committed Christian ruler, determined to spread the True Faith to those in...

The Gospel account of the man possessed by a host of demons in the country of the Gadarenes gives us great hope and assurance in the unsurpassed healing power of our Savior, preaches Fr Bogdan Bucur. However, there is another, more hidden message for us to glean from this reading: the so-called “normal” people living in the community near the demoniac were also afflicted by the evil spirits, just...

On the feast of the Great Martyr Demetrios, the Rev. Demetrios Harper makes a clear distinction between love as it is understood in the worldly sense and love from the Christian point of view. To truly understand what real love is, we must look to Christ and His saints. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not seek the affirmation and worship that is His due–He concealed His divinity, denied himself, and too...

The gospel parable about Lazarus and the rich man, preaches Fr Vincent Temirov, reveals several key points: first of all, earthly success and wealth in no way equate to holiness or a special relationship with God. Fr Vincent reminds us that the rich man’s sufferings after death were a direct resulty of his own lifelong refusal to receive God’s love and follow His commandment to love your neighbor....

In this homily, the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield relates the baptism of a seminary newborn to the parable of the Sower read during the Liturgy. We as Christians are all reborn in Baptism; said another way, we are planted as seeds, and nurtured by the love, truth, and community in the Church. We must all also be willing to accept the pruning as well as the nurturing that we experience in the spiritua...

The Feast of the Holy Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God on Oct. 1 coincides with the Church’s commemoration of St Romanos the Melodist, which is why, the Rev. Dn Dr Harrison Russin points out, the OCA has recently designated the Sunday closest to Oct. 1 as Church Musician Sunday. Dn Harrison gives three examples in the Scriptures where women with the name of Miriam (Mary in modern English)...

His Eminence, Metropolitan Saba (AOCANA) spoke from the ambo of Three Hierarchs Chapel about the lessons from the life of St Isaac the Syrian, whose memory was commemorated on the day of his archpastoral visit. St Isaac the Syrian’s writings cover a range of topics in the spiritual life, but above all, he exhorted Christians to pursue the virtue of humility, without which none of the other virtues...

In considering the Gospel reading about Our Lord Jesus Christ calling Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be His disciples, Fr Vincent Temirov asks us to ponder the great obedience and humility they showed in this encounter. In our lives, we must always turn to God and learn to trust Him unconditionally.

On the Feast of the Conception of the Honorable Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield points out the singular importance the Church places on celebrating the moment of conception–marking feastdays to celebrate this event in the lives of John the Baptist, the Mother of God, and of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the Feast of Annunciation. The Church instr...

On the Sunday after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, Fr Vincent Temirov calls our attention to the paradox of the Christian Gospel: that the very instrument of Christ’s death becomes the means of His victory over sin and death. In this way, Christ can transform any of us, no matter how sinful or weak, if we take up our own crosses and follow Him.

The very first thing that the priest does when bringing a new believer into the Holy Church through Baptism is to make the sign of the cross on their head. In this way, says His Eminence Archbishop Daniel (OCA), the Church is claiming that individual for Christ, the Crucified Savior. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is a great reminder for us that all of Christian life embraces the Cross,...

In this homily from the Rev. Dn Dr Vitaly Permiakov, we are called to remember and be mindful of our need for salvation. It is sometimes easy to lose sight of this fact, especially if we are closely involved in service to the Church. Dn Vitaly encourages us to continually call on God and to take up our crosses in humility as we journey towards His Kingdom.

Following the Divine Liturgy, for the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, Primate of the OCA, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon addressed the student body for the opening of the academic year. In his address, His Beatitude called on students to follow the example of Christ’s Most Pure Mother, filling themselves “with the sacrifice of prayer, songs, and praise offered unto the God of...

On the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, Primate of the OCA, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon calls us to look to the example of all the righteous forebears in the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, culminating in the person of His Mother, the ever Virgin Mary. His Beatitude encourages the faithful to act as gardeners and “contribute to the upkeep of paradise… by making ourselves rec...

The story of the rich young man who approached Jesus is told several different ways in the Gospels. The Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield identifies the main theme which unifies the various versions: although the rich young man thought he had done everything he needed to do to please the Lord, he was actually missing the most important thing–total dedication of himself and his life to God.

On the patronal feast of St Vladimir’s Seminary, the Very Rev. Dr Chad Hatfield hearkens back to the original reason why St Vladimir was chosen as the namesake for our school–his missionary legacy, and more than that–his great journey of conversion. In his lifetime, St Vladimir went from committing human sacrifices to becoming the means by which an entire nation and their descendants would have th...

On the feast of Sts Peter and Paul, the Very Rev. Dr Alexander Rentel calls us to give thanks for the great work of these two apostles, who taught the Faith so loudly and persistently that we still receive it today, 2000 years later. Fr Alexander also reminds us that Sts Peter and Paul never stopped struggling with their own temptations and failings, but they were made perfect by Christ in their w...

On the third Sunday after Pentecost, Dn Mark Therrien (Th. M. ‘24) focuses on two key words in the Epistle reading:”justified” and “stand”. As we now settle into a more “normal”, post-Paschal and post-Pentecost season of the year, the temptation is to relax into complacency or lukewarmness towards our faith. Dn Mark shows how the Epistle reading holds a pointed instruction to the faithful to conti...

At the end of the week-long Diaconal Liturgical Program and the 2023 Summer Music Institute on June 23, 2023, His Grace, Bishop Gerasim of Fort Worth (OCA) encouraged all participants to heed Christ’s call to live a life of service to others. By turning away from self-centeredness to God-centeredness, we can follow Christ’s example and become transformed by the relationships we build based on serv...