by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher [This article is the second of four explaining the Orthodox Christian meaning of important topics and practices commonly misunderstood by the non-Orthodox.  The four topics are: 1. Praying to Saints, 2. Prayers for the Departed, 3. The Veneration of Icons, and 4. The Sinlessness of the Virgin Mary.] Prayers for the Departed are prayers offered to God on behalf of persons departed this life, that is, they have died a bodily death.  Bodily death occurs when the soul, or spirit, of a person departs their body and … [Read more...]

by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher [This article is the first of four explaining the Orthodox Christian meaning of important topics and practices commonly misunderstood by the non-Orthodox.  The four topics are: 1. Praying to Saints, 2. Prayers for the Departed, 3. The Veneration of Icons, and 4. The Sinlessness of the Virgin Mary.] Much of the misunderstanding of the practice of Praying to Saints comes from a restriction of the definition of the English word “pray.”  For instance, in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary the verb “pray” means the … [Read more...]

by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher Fasting heals gluttony.  This is a spiritual law.  Because gluttony is an ever-present temptation and common malady among us sinners, fasting must be an ever-present practice in the war against sin.  Make no mistake about it, as Christians we are engaged in a war against sin, and this is a struggle to the death, either the death of sin or our spiritual death and separation from the eternal life given by God in Jesus Christ. “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war … [Read more...]