What Prayer Book to Buy

For something the Orthodox Christian uses every day, the choice of prayer book can make a big difference. I have been using the St. Tikhon Monastery Press Orthodox Christian Prayers prayer book for quite a while now, and will share some thoughts on it, so you can make a more educated decision when trying to choose a prayer book for yourself.

Initially, I would like to share some of the features of this prayer book for those who wonder if they should order one and do not have a chance to pick one up and thumb through it, but then eventually, I would also like to share some of my little “hacks” for the book: things like marking tones to aid in singing and how I use some of the information included here that most prayer books do not have.

Continue reading “What Prayer Book to Buy”

Orthodox Catechism Videos

 

Subscribe Here to our YouTube Channel for Classes and Live Stream of weekly services

Part 1: Intro: Entering the ChurchClick Here for video
                                              Audio-Entering the Church

Part 2: On True God Click Here for video
                                               Audio-True God

Part 3: On the Human Being –Click Here for video
                                                    Audio-Human Being

Part 4: On Sin Click Here for video
                                        Audio-On Sin

Part 5: Jesus Christ: The Son of GodClick Here for video  
                                            Audio-Jesus Christ The Son of God

Part 6: Jesus Christ: The Savior –Click Here for video
                                              Audio-Jesus Christ the Savior

Part 7: On Repentance and Faith – Click Here for video
                                                 Audio-Repentance and Faith

Part 8: The Holy Spirit- Click Here for video
                                           Audio-The Holy Spirit

Part 9: The Church – Click Here for Video
                                          Audio-The Church

Part 10: The Virgin Mary – Click Here for Video 
                                              Audio-The Virgin Mary

Part 11: The Spiritual Life & Spiritual Warfare – Click Here for Video

On Stewardship – Click Here for Video

Part 12: The Mystery of Holy Baptism – Click Here for Video

An Understanding of Great LentClick Here for Video

Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving – Click Here for Video 

Sources of Divine Authority – Click Here for Video 

 

 

2020-2021 Adult Education & Catechesis

All are welcome to participate in our Adult Education, whether current member, new visitor, ongoing inquirer, or a catechumen seeking to become Orthodox.   I have attached a PDF of the course schedule that covers two sets of curricula in parallel

  • Thursday Evenings – the 1-hour Catechumen Classes
  • Sundays after Divine Liturgy – short, 30 minute talks on Orthodox Praxis

Coming soon will be a Bible Study / Book Study, as well as ‘Coffee Talk’ on the spiritual life.

Please review the attached and plan on being there Thursdays for this ongoing series.  Contact me if you wish to attend via ZOOM, or miss a class and want access to the recorded class.

Fr Damian Kuolt – 602-418-2982 – frdamian@outlook.com

 SUBSCRIBE HERE to our Youtube channel for class videos and live streamed services

Download PDF – Course-Outline-2021-2022

What is Orthodox Christianity?

A good place to start is to understand ‘what Orthodox Christians do and believe’.

  • Worship God, the Holy Trinity, every Sunday and throughout our daily lives? 
    Of course, . . . the world got its concept of ‘Sunday Services’ from us. 
  • Bible-based? 
    Absolutely,  . . . we gave the world the Bible it uses, and it is the backbone of our 2000 year history.
  • Preach Jesus Christ? 
    Like no one else, we know the Lord, God who became man, that all men may be saved. 
  • Saved from what?
    Death.  We, who were created in His Image, should not know death.  He did not come to make bad men good, He came to make dead men live; to be restored to the fullness of His Glory.

Look at the following quotations of Sacred Scripture:

  • In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us ….” (John 1:1&14)
  • “But as many as received him, to them He gave power to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name” (John 1:12); 
  • ” . . . in order that all may be one; even as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us . . . the glory that You have given Me, I have given them, so that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one. . . .”  (John 17:21-22)
  • “. . . you may become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). 
  • Christ willtransform the body of our humiliation [i.e., our fallen, animal-like body]  that it may be conformed to the body of His Glory . . . ” (Philippians 3:21)
  • “We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)
  • And, in John 10:34, Jesus defends himself against a charge of blasphemy by stating: “Is it not written in your  law, ‘I said, You are gods.’ ?” It is widely believed that Jesus is referring to Psalms 82:6 in saying “Ye are gods and children of the most high.”

Saint Athanasius summed them up thus: “The Son of God became man so that we might become God” 

How then was it given to His disciples, and to us now, to live in the fulfillment of this Gospel? And what does this mean in light of St. Paul’s admonition to “continue to work out your salvation “, as well as the commission that Jesus’ teaching and Sonship be preached “even unto the ends of the earth”?

Continue reading “What is Orthodox Christianity?”