A Priest friend says the first question that need be asked when an icon is found to weeping is: “Okay, what did you do to make her cry?” I’ll have to ask him how to word it when the subject is a tree … RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas – An acacia tree that started sprouting a foamlike substance on its branches after its owner died is drawing hundreds of people a day to see what some believe is supernatural ice.... Read more

The travesty and tragedy that was Christ of the Hills Monastery is, for some, an enigma; for the families of the victims: an open wound. Lord have mercy. For those (and I’ve met a few) who had prayers answered, even miraculous cures, through their relationship with that monastery … well, adding confusion to mystery rarely results in rational answers. Rod Dreher, editorial writer and columnist for The Dallas Morning News, has his own story to tell. It’s a worthy read... Read more

This week’s Orthodixie Podcast is totally unscripted — which means there’s no script teaser here. John Maddex of Ancient Faith Radio sat down with me on Friday to chat about DEFEATING SIN – Overcoming Our Passions and Changing Forever. Click H E R E to listen to the “Defeating Sin” Interview. Click H E R E to order the book. Or, for signed copies – and to help feed a growing family of five – click the appropriate button in... Read more

This book is like a treasure chest filled with gems of wisdom from the Fathers and Theologians of the Church. Each of these jewels help give insight to the common reader on the Fall of man, the Passions, the Virtues, Spiritual Warfare and the way toward Repentance. Fr. Joseph, in his warm personal style, not only attempts to give us a theological understanding of the themes but provides practical helps in the form of definitions, prayers, and inspirational meditations. These... Read more

The publisher hopes to have my new book in stock by next week, the second week of October. Order your copy from Regina Orthodox Press or through this blog (PayPal – see options in the left side margin). Thank you! DEFEATING SIN will help readers to better understand the disease that troubles the human soul. DEFEATING SIN will prove an invaluable aid for those engaged in spiritual warfare, helping them make that U-turn from the passions toward the virtues. Christians... Read more

Prayer. It’s one of the three pillars of our struggle as Orthodox Christians … Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. It’s how we work out our salvation. And yet, for many, Prayer presents the greatest challenge of the three. In fact, if I may be so bold to say: Without Prayer the other two, Fasting and Almsgiving, are nothing more than Dieting and Philanthropy. First of all, what do we mean by Prayer? I’m always amused when others say of Orthodox: “Oh!... Read more

Polamalu: . . . Tuesday is also our only opportunity to go to church together, so we do that. Cole: When and where do you go? Polamalu: It starts at 8:30 (a.m.). . . . It’s the Nativity of the Theotokos monastery (in Saxonburg, Pa.). Cole: I know you’re devoutly Christian . . . but exactly which denomination? Polamalu: Greek Orthodox. Theotokos literally means the Mother of God. Cole: How long are you in services? Polamalu: They usually go to... Read more

“I felt immediately that I should turn to Orthodoxy because I didn’t want to abandon my relationship with Jesus – who didn’t feature in Hinduism. In Orthodoxy I found both Jesus and the closeness with God that is a major part of Hinduism,” Mother Thaiss said. The monks and nuns pray twice a day. The services are unique. In the Russian Orthodox Church they are conducted in old-fashioned Russian, and the congregation always stands. Here the services are in French... Read more

First, Rome really didn’t fall, as such; or at least not the way generally thought, or when generally thought. Certainly there were times when the barbarians were literally at the gates, so to speak. But there was never a time when a Roman citizen of southern Gaul, for example, would stop and say, “My, haven’t things been crappy since Rome fell.” But by the time Rome “fell,” it had already been superseded (and eclipsed) by the New Rome (Constantinople). These... Read more

“The font will not suffice to save us unless after coming from it, we display a life worthy of the Gift.” — St John Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Romans “For he who feels the tooth of slander, gives by his vexation a proof that he is conscious of the truth of what is said. But he who smiles at it, by this very thing acquits himself of all suspicion with those who are present…flee from the abyss of a little... Read more