Sermons & Homilies

Sermon for the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter & Paul (2018)

The Apostle Paul, who is unsurpassed in his reasons for pride, now admits, “in me, no good doth lie.”

The Apostle Peter, faithful in his family’s trade and employment, abandoned all to receive a hundredfold and heaven’s enjoyment.

Born a Jew and then set apart, is circumcised in flesh, and now also in heart.

Toiling all night, Peter’s nets are all bare, ‘til he obeys Christ’s bidding; now, no room to spare.

A Hebrew of Hebrews with a pedigree to boast, now born from above to labor the most.

A man of the earth with his hands in the waters, now netting for Heaven new sons and daughters.

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Sermon for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost (2018)
The Lord Jesus Christ came swiftly from heaven, unable to contain His ardent love which desires to pour forth all of His goodness upon us. The activity and violence of the demons is strong; but the activity of the very Self-Existing Wisdom, Word and Power of God, leaves no room for the restless vanity of the devil.
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Sermon for the 4th Sunday After Pentecost (2018)

Death and the decomposition that comes with it because of the loss of life is the byproduct of sin for all of us who are of the seed of Adam. And because of death, sin is not eternal but has an end. Consequently, the sufferings we undergo for living in this fallen world, also come to an end in death. This is especially true for those who are reborn in this present life through the gift of God’s grace, for whom death is transformed into an open door leading to eternal life with God.

In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, a portion of which we have just heard, he exhorts his readers to flee from sin and to desire that which brings eternal life.

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The Faith of Our Fathers: A Sermon for the Sunday of All Saints of Russia
One week ago we commemorated the Sunday of All Saints, which is always the first Sunday after Pentecost. On the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven in the form of tongues of fire in order to unite Himself with the holy disciples and apostles of Christ. When the Holy Spirit descends unites Himself with man, man is utterly transfigured and becomes godlike. And last Sunday we saw the results of this descent and transfiguration: we saw the entire host of heaven gathered together, the assembly of All Saints. And likewise today, on the second Sunday after Pentecost, it is the custom of the Holy Orthodox Church to commemorate all the local saints of the particular nation in which the feast is being celebrated. But today, we celebrate the memory of All Saints of Russia.
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Sermon for the Feast of the Port Arthur Icon (2018)
In December 1903 an aged sailor who had fought to defend Sevastopol during the Crimean War traveled to the Kiev Caves Lavra to pray before the holy relics. One night, he awoke and saw the image of the Mother of God that we see before us; standing upon two discarded and broken swords on the shore of a bay, with her back turned to the water. She was holding a white cloth upon which was an Image of the Savior, “Not-Made-By-Hands.” Angels in the clouds of blinding light were holding a crown above her head and the Lord of Sabaoth was sitting still higher on the throne of glory, encircled with the blinding radiance.
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