Oprah, "The Last Temptation of Christ", and Fr. Pavlos

In August of 1988, Fr. Pavlos Stratigeas appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show as a member of the studio audience. He had been requested to be on the panel of clergy sitting on the riser, but his flight to Chicago was delayed. He barely made it in time for the program's taping. He was too late for the panel, but he was given a seat in the audience. When he finally spoke (at 25:50) he powerfully, and succinctly articulated the Orthodox position regarding that most unfortunate film. The Latin and Lutheran clergymen on the panel were made to look foolish when faced with the Orthodox theology of Fr. Pavlos.

Orthodox Awareness

The Message of Patriarch Theodore of Alexandra Upon the Feast of Ramadan

The “Father of Fathers, the Thirteenth Apostle and the Judge of the World (as his pheme states), Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, Theodore sent a message to the Muslims of Egypt upon the feast of Ramadan. It is as follows:

“The most sacred month of the Islamic calendar, the chief month of personal worship and great awareness of the Divine for every faithful Muslim ends today with the festive, joyous season of Eid al-Fitr. Read more...

Missions

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Mission, Tucson, Arizona

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church is a beautiful mission parish near downtown Tucson, a city in southern Arizona. It was started in 1997 by Father John Bockman, who was a missionary Priest formerly serving missions in Tennessee and Massachusetts since 1990. Father John served the faithful in Tucson and the surrounding area in his home Chapel until his repose in November of 2000. His wife, Presbytera Valerie, continued to make her home Chapel available for the mission, with clergy from Saint Nectarios Orthodox Church in Seattle and His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto (then of Portland), visiting to provide the Divine Services.

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Youth

2021 St. Xenia Camp

Greetings St. Xenia Camp family,

As previously announced, through the intercessions of St. Xenia, the prayers of so many of you, and with the blessing of Metropolitan Demetrius, St. Xenia Camp 2021 will return to Forest Acres in Fryeburg, Maine August 15-21! Given the continued impact of COVID-19, camp this year may yet be somewhat different from the past Forest Acres experiences. We are sharing this information ahead of registration so that all families can make an informed decision on whether they feel comfortable sending their camper(s) this year. [Read more...]

 

Ask A Priest

Morning and Evening Prayers

Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...