The Gospel for All the World

Posted on Friday, March 28, 2025 by Mendicant Monk

Go therefore into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Matthew 28:16-20

Many people find out that our family is Orthodox Christian. A question that often follows is, “What kind of Orthodox? Are you Greek, Russian?” When we respond that our parish is Bulgarian, meaning we are under the authority of a Bulgarian Bishop, but that most of our people are a mixture of nationalities including Russian, Romanian, Greek and just downright American, the response is usually bewilderment. They are used to Orthodoxy being contained in some kind of ethnic box. “Oh so you are in the Greek Church or the Bulgarian Church.” But the great commission of Our Lord to make disciples of ALL nations disputes this misunderstanding.

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Building Institutions of Love

Posted on Saturday, April 20, 2024 by Mendicant Monk

“Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity.”
Psalm 133

There is nothing quite like hearing a group of brothers sing a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to their common mother. Our weekend Lenten Clergy Govenie (retreat) at St. George Orthodox Church in Orlando, Florida concludes today with a bang: a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with our Diocesan Metropolitan Dedo Vladika Joseph. But before the bang comes this solemn moment on Friday, the climax of our quiet contemplation, our heart-felt prayer, and our ascetic labor: the Akathist prayer service to the Most Holy, Ever Virgin and Birthgiver of God, the Virgin Mary. It is a moment in our retreat when all the counsel and reflection of the previous two days is applied to each one of us personally. The fathers from the Govenie all confess their sins to one another and travel back to the hotel to sleep peacefully in anticipation of the morning.

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In the Land of My Fathers…

Posted on Thursday, March 30, 2023 by Mendicant Monk

When I first moved to Boston from the Midwest in the mid 90’s, I used to long after the land of my fathers. It has been a long time since I last visited. But now I get the chance to return to my home state of Ohio this weekend for a clergy retreat.

Fr. Basil Rusen, our host, tells the story of how St. Herman of Alaska Eastern Orthodox Church in Hudson, Ohio began in 2003. First, the faithful met in a small cemetary chapel, then a store front, and by God’s grace, eventually bought an old grange hall that they turned into an honest to goodness temple. Fr. Basil’s care for his flock and the people’s love for their parish is palpable in every nook and cranny. Besides the roof and windows, EVERY OTHER improvement and renovation was performed by the rational flock!

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Shepherds Tending Other Shepherds

Posted on Saturday, April 6, 2019 by Mendicant Monk

32597329347_8f227c14d2_k Clergy Govenie, April 4-6, 2019
St. Sophia’s Cathedral, Chicago, IL

On the 4th week of Great Lent leading up to the Sunday of Saint John of the Ladder, over 20 priests and 2 deacons from across the diocese gathered in Des Plaines, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, for the annual Lenten Govenie with our father and chief Shepherd, Metropolitan Joseph. A govenie is a special kind of retreat that includes divine services, spiritual talks, and leads up to confession with a celebration the Holy Eucharist. At the conclusion of this year’s govenie, His Eminence pronounced, “This is so far my favorite govenie.” Continue reading →

Brothers in Unity

Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2015 by Mendicant Monk

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore. (Psalm 133)

I have always felt honored to be named personally in this quintessential passage about Christian unity, or at least my beard is named. It has also made me feel like I belong in our parish’s annual Lenten Men’s Retreat whose theme this year is brotherly unity. I am proud to say that I have made it to every single retreat minus one since their inception over a decade ago.

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