Tonight we’ll continue our series by looking at the arrangement of our churches through the lens of the theology of beauty. Our Faith: Church Architecture and the Movement of the Faithful Opening Scripture: Psalm 29:1-2; Exodus 24:9-18; John 12: 3-8 Psalm 28:1-2. Bring to the Lord, O you sons of God, Bring to the Lord the […]
Homily – Judgment without Love (and Humility) is Demonolatry
Meditation on St. Paul (2 Corinthians 9:8) “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” Somewhere in the midst of all those words (30 minutes!!!), Fr. Anthony is making an important point: our judgments are […]
Teaching the Sunday Resurrection Matins
Notes for Teaching through the Resurrection Matins serviceFr. Anthony Perkins Matins is a category of service known as an “Office.” Offices are common prayers that can be prayed without a priest, if one is not available or one wants to serve at home. Other Offices include: Vespers, Compline, Akathists, Supplicatory Canons, and the Hours. Just […]
Inquiry Class 001: Mysteries/Sacraments (a first take)
Questions for consideration: does God just work through ideas and the heart, or does He work in the physical world, too? How about mankind? Is there such a thing as a blessing? A curse? How do they work? Background. God is un-created. He made this world as an expression of His Love. He made man […]
Inquiry Class 000 – Introduction
YouTube Inquirers Class 12 October 2021 In the name … Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever! Introduce self. Married for thirty- one years. Orthodox twenty-one years. Priest for fourteen. Taught at seminary for thirteen. I’m on my third parish assignment. Role of Orthodoxy. Purpose of these classes. Inquirers at Holy Resurrection and Christ the Savior. […]
Homily – Building a Good Marriage – and Parish!
Homily on Luke 5:1-11. Introduction: How Christ Builds the Church This is a beautiful story from the ministry of Jesus Christ. It comes on the heels of his Baptism, his temptation by the devil in the wilderness, and the beginning of his preaching ministry in the synagogues of Galilee. In this Gospel, Christ has started […]
Homily – It’s All Good (a St. Dionysian meditation)
2 Corinthians 4: 6-15; St. Matthew 22: 35-46. We have power, but lack discernment. Seeing things clearly cannot be achieved through even the most objective scientific analysis. The problem is found in the etymology of the very word “objective”. When we objectify things, we remove them from their context and connections. While this allows us […]
Sex Talk II – Marital Intimacy and the Priesthood
Fr. Gregory Jensen PhD and Fr. Anthony begin by talking about three (no four!) indicators of whether a man is a suitable candidate for seminary, then segue into the importance of a healthy marriage and family life (e.g. 1 Timothy 3). They use the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s “For the Life of the World; Toward a Social […]
Homily – Don’t Ignore the Owner!
1 Corinthians 16: 13-24; St. Matthew 21: 33-42. In today’s Gospel, Christ is trying to help His listeners understand who He was, who sent Him, and why it was that the religious leaders rejected Him. As Christians, we grow up understanding that Christ is “God the Son”, the second person of the Holy Trinity; that […]
Orthodoxy and Sex I
Fr. Gregory Jensen, PhD and Fr. Anthony Perkins talk about Orthodox sexuality, chastity, celibacy, and abstinence. Along the way they also discuss the negative effects the culture wars have had on Orthodoxy and pastoral care. They hope to make this part of a series. Warning: it’s hard to talk about this euphemistically. Some graphic terms […]