Sermons from St. Herman's

On the First Saturday of Lent , Fr. Matthew Howell reads from the Synaxarion about the current feast and how St. Theodore saved the faithful Christians in Constantinople from eating food that was defiled by pagan sacrifices in the first week of Lent in the mid-fourth century.    Epistle: 2 Timothy 2:1-10 Timothy, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from...

On the Sunday before Lent begins , known as Forgiveness Sunday, Fr. Matthew Howell walks through three different elements of our Lenten season. He begins by discussing Paradise, Adam's expulsion from it, and our return to it in Lent and at Pascha. He then discusses forgiveness and how it makes us human again by teaching us to act in a divine way by turning from hatred and sin through prayers o...

On the Sunday of the Last Judgment , Fr. Matthew Howell appeases the people by making fun of his wife's goats. He reassures everyone that he doesn't like goats, and doesn't even particularly like sheep. He even brings a couple of goat props that he has been given. He then talks about the wisdom from Bishop Anthony that he picked up at the previous week's clergy seminar. Bishop Anth...

On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son , Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the importance of humility when we return to God, our loving Father. And he expounds on how the Father brings the younger son  back   into the house , that is, back into communion with Father due to tremendous love for the son. But he warns about how the older son separates himself from communion with the Father by staying  outs...

On February 7, 2026, Fr. Matthew Howell speaks at the Brotherhood of St. Stephen men's fellowship gathering at Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Anchorage, Alaska. He frames the discussion in terms of the purpose of life, to draw near to God and dwell in union with Him. He then discusses five different necessary qualities of manhood: virtuous, humble, respectful, disciplined, and v...

While celebrating the feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple at All Saints of America Orthodox Church in Homer, Alaska, Fr. Matthew Howell uses the examples of Simeon the Righteous and the Prophetess Anna to talk about the importance of living a life attuned to the Holy Spirit so that we can capitalize live our lives trusting that each and every encounter is Providential and sent by God. ...

On the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee , Fr. Matthew Howell preaches at All Saints of America Church in Homer, Alaska. He tells the people that we all need to ask God for mercy, we all need to be humble, and we all need to be kind because everyone is sinful and broken as was the Publican. But he warns against the condescending judgmental attitude of the Pharisee, reminding everyone that "...

On Zacchaeus Sunday , Fr. Timothy Kolb talks about the importance of "getting out of the tree" and actually following Christ.  Previous Homilies for Zacchaeus Sunday: January 26, 2025 - “Everything you want is on the other side of hard” January 28, 2024 - Zacchaeus Sunday in Tonga February 4, 2024 - Zacchaeus Sunday in Wasilla January 29, 2023 - Zacchaeus Personifies Great Lent January 3...

On the day when the Church celebrates the memories of both Saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about their impact on our lives. He posits that they did not defend merely mental ideals or abstract ideologies, but actually were defending the truth of their own dogmatic and hesychastic experiences of God in Jesus Christ. Fr. Matthew adds that this same experience is...

On the Sunday after Christmas , Fr. Matthew Howell pulls from the  Prologue of Ohrid to read two short stories and a brief homily from St. Nikolai Velimirovic. He starts with a story about the 20,000 martyrs of Nicomedia because the relics in the antimins of St. Herman Church are from those martyrs. Then he reads a story about the Christ-child being kind to a robber while traveling to Egypt (see t...

At the Christmas Liturgy, Fr. Matthew Howell reads the famous homily by St. John Chrysostom for the ⁠ Feast of the Nativity of Christ⁠. Previous versions of the Nativity Homily of St. John Chrysostom:  2024 - The Nativity Sermon of St. John Chrysostom 2022 – Nativity Sermon of St. John Chrysostom 2021 – Nativity Sermon of St. John Chrysostom ⁠Epistle: Galatians 4:4-7⁠ ⁠Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12⁠ The...

During the Vesperal Liturgy for the ⁠Paramon of the Nativity of Christ⁠ on December 24, Fr. Matthew Howell reads excerpts from the Nativity Sermon of St. Gregory the Theologian, #38 in his collection called The Orations (paragraphs 1-4, and 17-18). The full Oration by St. Gregory can be found ⁠ here⁠ . The excerpts read by Fr. Matthew can be found ⁠here⁠ . Previous Homilies for the Christmas Eve L...

On the Sunday before Christmas , Fr. Matthew Howell explains why St. Matthew the Evangelist spent so much time writing out boring names of a family tree to begin his gospel. Fr. Matthew spends time sharing some of the horror stories from Jesus' ancestors, and then discusses why it matters: Christ became a full human, and did not avoid the pain of an ugly family history, but endured it and rede...

At the end of the baptism of Mikah Harmon, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about how Mikah has been commissioned in the Lord's Army and is now called to live a Christian life for the glory of God. He also talks about how the baptism opens the Doors of Paradise to Mikah so that he can engage with God on a deeper level and receive God's grace internally through the sacramental life of the Church. ...

At the end of the baptism of 1-year-old Miles Schauble at All Saints of Alaska Church in Homer, Alaska, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the salvific work of Christ, why we baptize people and what it accomplishes. Epistle: Romans 6:3-11 Brethren, Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism int...

During the divine liturgy for St. Ignatius of Antioch at All Saints of North America Church in Homer, Alaska, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the virtue of endurance in the Christian life and how we need to keep our confidence in Christ when things get tough. He uses St. Ignatius as an example and leans heavily on the tenth chapter of Hebrews. Epistle: Hebrews 10:32-38 Brethren, recall the forme...

On the 11th Sunday of Luke, Fr. Matthew preaches about the parable of the heavenly banquet, connecting it to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19). He poses the question: What event or invitation would cause you to rearrange your life? He shares answers from his family and himself, which include weekends with Taylor Swift and the first liturgy on the moon. He talks about the specialness of inv...

On the parish's patronal feast of St. Herman of Alaska, Fr. Timothy Kolb preaches about how St. Herman is like a mustard seed that was planted in Alaska and all of America that brought forth tremendous fruit long after his death. He says that St. Herman living within the severe weather and terrain of Alaska reminds him of Noah who was alone as a righteous man in the world and then endured seve...

Following Great Vespers for the parish's patronal feast of St. Herman of Alaska, Fr. Matthew Howell discusses how St. Herman was an off-grid tough man who lived in such a way that fostered prayer and dialogue with God. He points out that St. Herman was the last man standing from the first missionary group to touch our shores and that St. Herman wanted to evangelize America. Fr. Matthew claims...

On the 10th Sunday of Luke, the church presents the gospel passage of Jesus healing the woman who had been bent over for 18 years. Fr. Timothy Kolb, preaching in the church while the surrounding area encountered a tremendous wind storm, contrasts the attitude of Jesus with that of the ruler of the synagogue. He reminds us that we need to approach the house of God with the right attitude of love, e...

On the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Fr. Matthew Howell opens with a reference to the fruit of the Spirit being love, joy, and peace (Gal. 5:22), and how love and joy are closely linked. He then uses a quote from Mother Theresa to explain how we can tap into the joy that comes from serving others as St. Nicholas did: "You can do small things with great love." He integrates thes...

On the feast day of both St. Andrew the Apostle, the First-Called, and St. Sebastian of Jackson, Fr. Matthew Howell compares both of these saints and shows how they similarly brought people to Christ as Pastors, Teachers, and Missionaries. He then calls everyone to act on their calling as these two saints did without hesitation, to proclaim the Lord day after day, and to encourage people to "...

On the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos in the Temple , Fr. Matthew Howell discusses how the Virgin Mary shows us once again the path to salvation and deification. He explains how Mary is the living temple of God and how we are called to be His temple as well. Mary is also called the Living Ark, and Fr. Matthew explains how the ark held the manna, the tablets of the law, and Aaron's rod...

On the feast of his patron saint, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about how St. Matthew the Evangelist embodies the classic redemption story found throughout the Scriptures and the Tradition of the Orthodox Church. He gives context to the life of a tax collector and tells the story of St. Matthew's conversion of Ethiopian royalty. He reminds listeners that St. Matthew not only wrote a gospel, but...

On the feast of St. Nektarios of Aegina, Metropolitan of Pentapolis the Wonderworker , Fr. Matthew Howell pulls a quote from the biographical movie about him called  Man of God . He reminds everyone that ecclesiastical office is not required to be a Christian, to love God and to love one's neighbor. "You don't have to be a patriarch to do great things." Along the way, Fr. Matthew...