Sermons from St. Herman's

On the third Sunday after Pentecost (third Sunday of readings from Matthew) Fr. Matthew Howell threads together the epistle, the gospel, the one year anniversary of St. Olga's glorification , the summer solstice, Father's Day, and his mother-in-law's birthday. He draws from Revelation 21 and 22 lay out that the Heavenly Jerusalem is the place where the day does not end because "th...

On the second Sunday after Pentecost (2nd Sunday from the readings of Matthew), on which the Orthodox Church celebrates the local saints (i.e. All Saints of North America ), Fr. Matthew Howell preaches in Homer, Alaska at All Saints of America Orthodox Mission. He highlights how the icon of the North American saints still has room for all of us. He points out that the icon of the saints of Russia...

On the first Sunday after Pentecost known as the Sunday of All Saints , Fr. Matthew Howell spends some time explaining the different elements of the festal icon for the day. He then posits that there is room in the icon for each and everyone of us because we are all called to become saints. He compares the spiritual life and the process of sanctification (becoming holy) to a crockpot rather than a...

On the day of Pentecost , Fr. Timothy Kolb preaches about the life of the Christian imbued with the Holy Spirit. To do so, he compares the third Old Testament reading from Vespers on the eve of Pentecost to St. Paul's epistle to the Ephesians (5:11-20).    Previous homilies for the feast of Pentecost:  June 8, 2025 - Every Liturgy is Pentecost June 23, 2024 – Hospitality for the Holy Spirit —...

On the day before Pentecost following a baptism of an adult and an infant, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the beginning of the new Christian life for the newly illumined and how they are called to put off the stench of sin while becoming fragrant vessels of grace through virtue and selflessness. He starts with stories about St. Paisios of Mt. Athos and includes a quote from St. Herman of Alaska...

On the 7th Sunday of Pascha on which the Orthodox Church commemorates the holy fathers of the first ecumenical council , Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the difference between knowing  about God versus knowing God through experience of relationship, using the Prophet Moses in the cloud as an example. He gives a brief context and history of the first council, and illustrates the council's the...

On the feast of the Ascension of Christ , Fr. Matthew Howell relies heavily on passages from  The Feasts of the Lord by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos (chapter 11) to highlight some themes of the feast. He starts by describing the three births of Christ (in the flesh, baptism, and resurrection) and how a major event in His life occurred 40 days after each of those "births." He then talk...

On the Leavetaking of Pascha , Fr. Matthew Howell encourages listeners to begin working now for next year's paschal joy, and reminding everyone that we do not need to wait for Lent to begin our repentance. Previous homilies for the Leavetaking of Pascha: May 28, 2025 The Joy of Pascha Through the Year Epistle: Acts of the Apostles 18:22-28 IN THOSE DAYS, when Paul had landed at Caesarea, he we...

On the sixth Sunday of Pascha , Fr. Timothy Kolb talks about opening our spiritual eyes to remove our blindness that we may see Christ, God's creation, our neighbors, and His commandments more clearly, and ultimately then worship God truly.   Previous homilies for the Sunday of the Blind Man: Authentic Followers of Christ - May 25, 2025 To See the Truth  – May 21, 2023 The Blind Side  – May 29...

On the fifth Sunday of Pascha , Fr. Matthew Howell lays out several biblical verses connecting the "living water" that Christ mentions to the Samaritan Woman to the grace of the Holy Spirit. He describes the restlessness of vain pursuits of worldly items. He also mentions the "bread" of following God's will mentioned by the Bread of Life Himself (John 4:34). Finally, Fr. Ma...

On the feast of St. Alexis of Wilkes-Barre, Fr. Timothy Kolb preaches about the conversion of St. Alexis Toth from the Roman Catholic Uniat sect to the Russian Orthodox Church. Epistle: Galatians 1:11-19 11  For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not man’s[ a ] gospel.  12  For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revel...

On the 3rd Sunday of Pascha , Fr. Matthew Howell gives some background on Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the Myrrh-bearing women. He points out that, though Joseph of Arimathea was "waiting for the kingdom of God," he was not waiting passively, nor were the Myrrh-bearing women passive in their desire to care for the things of the Lord. He claims that we should be  actively pursuing...

On the second Sunday of Pascha known as Thomas Sunday (the first Sunday after Pascha), Fr. Matthew Howell talks about how Americans love bargains and how we love "bargaining" (negotiating). He points out that St. Thomas "bargains" for evidence of the resurrection ("unless I see...and feel...") but when he receives it he makes a full-hearted confession, "My Lord a...

This homily was originally given by St. John Chrysostom (+407 AD). In the Orthodox Church, this homily is read during the Pascha Vigil in every parish throughout the world. This reading of the homily was read in English by Fr. Matthew Howell on April 12, 2026 during the Pascha service at St. Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church. Previous Readings of the Homily of St. John Chrysostom: April 20, 2025 M...

This homily was originally given by ⁠⁠St. John Chrysostom⁠⁠ (+407 AD). In the Orthodox Church, this homily is read during the Pascha Vigil in every parish throughout the world. This reading of the homily in Slavonic was read by Yaroslav Dopirchuk during the ⁠⁠Pascha service at Saint Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church in Wasilla, Alaska.  Previous Homilies of St. John Chrysostom in Slavonic: April 2...

On Holy Saturday, Fr. Timothy Kolb recaps the journey of Holy Week, talking about how we were with Christ in Bethany at the raising of Lazarus, with him entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and with him at every event of Holy Week. Fr. Timothy points us to the promise that Christ gave to His disciples that Christ will be with us in death, in the tomb, in the darkest moments of our lives, and even to...

On Holy Thursday morning , during the Vesperal Liturgy for the Mystical Supper , Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the Orthros Gospel, pointing out that Christ tries to warn His disciples about how He will be betrayed, but the disciples already betray Christ's spirit of humility by clamoring to know which of them will be the greatest. Likewise, we also betray Christ in our pride by not followi...

On Palm Sunday , Fr. Timothy Kolb preaches about the God of the universe humbly riding a donkey comes to those who are donkey-like to redeem them and bring them into the holy city. Along the way, Fr. Timothy explains many different symbols and elements of the feast. Previous homilies from Palm Sunday: The Cross, Palms, and Christ’s Victory - April 13, 2025 The Significance of Palms – April 9, 2023...

On Lazarus Saturday , during the liturgy which followed 8 baptisms and 6 more chrismations, Fr. Matthew Howell starts with a miraculous story of St. Olga healing and visiting a newborn baby in Goldendale, Washington. He then connects it to the baptisms and chrismations performed that morning in the parish, stating that while St. Olga--by the power of God--resuscitated the baby's body, God has...

On the fifth Sunday of Great Lent, Fr. Timothy Kolb preaches through the Gospel reading and focuses on the importance of a life of service to others as we imitate Christ, who "came not to be served but to serve." Along the way, he mentions St. Mary of Egypt and also compares the clergy and altar servers to kitchen staff in a restaurant.    Previous homilies for the 5th Sunday of Lent: Ap...

On the  ⁠feast of the Annunciation⁠ , Fr. Matthew Howell curates passages from The Feasts of the Lord by Met. Hierotheos Vlachos to discuss several aspects of the feast. He starts with the meaning of the term "good news" (gospel) saying that the this feast is  THE Good News , not just some good news. He then talks about how Mary's "Yes" to the Archangel Gabriel undoes the a...

On the  fourth Sunday of Lent  on which the Orthodox Church commemorates  St. John Climacus , author of  The Ladder of Divine Ascent  (full text can be found  here ), Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about Steps 9 and 10 of The Ladder:  “On Malice” and "On Slander." Fr. Matthew gives a brief overview of St. John’s life and seminal text which is read almost universally in Orthodox monasteries...

On the third Sunday of Lent , Fr. Timothy Kolb preaches about how, just as waking is connected to sleeping, so too is Christ's resurrection connected to His cross. Fr. Timothy encourages us to take up our crosses in our daily lives, including but not limited to doing homework or math fact sheets, or going to work with a happy disposition. He pushes listeners to embrace their cross so that they...

On the second Sunday of Lent while visiting All Saints of America Church in Homer, Alaska, Fr. Matthew Howell offers an overview of the toolkit for spiritual battle that the Orthodox Church gives to its faithful during Lent. The first Sunday of Lent equips us with icons; the second Sunday teaches prayer; the third Sunday gives us the Cross; the fourth Sunday encourages asceticism; and the fifth Su...

On the first Sunday of Lent , Fr. Timothy Kolb talks about how great it is to be an Orthodox Christian and how wonderful it is to have icons to use for prayer. He then goes on to discuss how icons are an affirmation of the incarnation of Christ, how they are actually about God becoming human so that humans can become like God.    Previous Sermons from the First Sunday of Lent: March 9, 2025 - Prop...