Category Archives: Blog

One of the signs of a healthy parish is a confidence in the gifts God has given its members, and a desire to share these gifts with the wider world.  Another sign is a desire to improve the human lives of those who live within a parish’s circle of influence.  A third sign is an understanding of […]

The Proskomedia takes place before the public Divine Liturgy begins. The practical purpose of the Proskomedia is to prepare the bread and wine to be offered and sanctified at the Anaphora of the Liturgy. But there are other wonderful layers of meaning that are expressed in the Proskomedia. One major theme is the unity of […]

Christ is Baptized!   In the Jordan! In the early church, many of the feast days that we now celebrate in December and January were all celebrated together on January 6th.  That’s why this feast day is called “Theophany” or “the revelation of God” in Greek.  (“Epiphany,” the name used by our Roman Catholic brothers and […]

On the eighth day after His Nativity, our Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised in accordance with the Old Testament Law. All male infants underwent circumcision as a sign of God’s Covenant with the holy Forefather Abraham and his descendants [Genesis 17:10-14, Leviticus 12:3]. After this ritual, the Divine Infant was given the name Jesus, as […]

St. Herman of Alaska (1756-1836), missionary to the Alaskan peoples, founded Orthodoxy among the Natives of Alaska. His celebration takes place on Dec. 13th. His celebration has become central to Orthodox Christians throughout North America during the Winter Paschal Season, perhaps because he so fully offers an image of the incarnation unto the Natives who […]

Two priests on Sundays In Father Nathan, Our Lord has gifted us with a greatly increased opportunity to receive the graces He pours out through the life and ministry of the ministerial priesthood.  Father Nathan and I  began praying about and discussing Our Lord’s Will for this double portion last week when we took a three day […]

By Fr. Vasyl Chepelskyy. Provided by the Metropolitan Office of Religious Education Christ nourishes us with His Body and Blood in the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist, helping us to mature in His image and grow in His likeness (cf. John, 6:51-58, Luke, 22:19-20, Mark, 14:22-25, Matthew, 26:26-29).  The Greek word eucharistia means “thanksgiving.”  There […]

Philip’s Fast A 40 day fast in preparation for the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord begins, the day after the feast of the Apostle Philip, November 15th. These 40 days are a season of penance, meaning that we intensify our prayer, fasting and almsgiving to better celebrate the feast of Christmas. If we spend these […]

Oldest Liturgical Prayer The “O Joyful Light” is the oldest non-scriptural liturgical prayer still prayed today.  It was composed in the 3rd Century.  It is prayed at Vespers just before the sun goes down, and at the conclusion of the lighting of the candles in the church.     -“O Joyful Light of the holy […]

Father Nathan was born in Simi Valley, California, July 15, 1982. Convinced of his call to ministry, he pursued graduate studies in theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and The Master Seminary. He eventually moved his family to the Midwest to enroll at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin, to train for the priesthood in […]