Joy of All Who Sorrow

Orthodox Christianity in Indianapolis

Saint Nicholas

By

In his most famous exploit, Nicholas aided a poor man who had three daughters, but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment, would have to become prostitutes. Even if they did not, unmarried maidens in those days would […]

Holy Great Martyr Barbara

By

The Holy Great Martyr Barbara lived and suffered during the reign of the emperor Maximian (305-311). Her father, the pagan Dioscorus, was a rich and illustrious man in the Syrian city of Heliopolis. After the death of his wife, he devoted himself to his only daughter. Overcome by the desire to know the true God […]

Be a Healer!

By

The Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Christian Church in Indianapolis recently celebrated its Feast Day. We appreciated very much the following encouraging letter from Metropolitan Joseph, otherwise known as our Bishop: Beloved Fr. John, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, I greet you for your decision to celebrate our Church Name Day Joy […]

The Holy Elders Of Optina

By

The Holy Elders Of Optina – Commemoration October 11/24 Prayer of the Optina Elders – suitable for all “O Lord, give me strength to face with serenity everything that this day will bring. Grant me to entrust myself fully to Your holy will. Every hour of this day teach me and support me. Whatever news […]

Saint Xenia of St. Petersburg, Fool for Christ

By

Saint Xenia was a woman who gave away everything – her house, her money, her possessions, and even her name – who wandered homeless, and who has helped people resolve desperate situations ever since. She lived during the eighteenth century. The wife of Colonel Andrei Feodorovich Petrov, who served as a court chorister, Xenia fell […]

Exaltation of the Cross

By

The Exaltation  of the Holy Cross is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on September 27 (old calendar). This feast is also referred to as the Elevation of the Cross. This feast commemorates two events: First, the finding of the Cross by the Empress Helen (the mother of St. Constantine the Great) on Golgotha in 326 AD, the […]

Overcoming Bitterness

By

Overcoming Bitterness by Father George Morelli Ph.D. As we go on in life unfortunate things happen to us. Psychologist Albert Ellis (1962) described our reaction to such events this way: “we think. . . it is awful and catastrophic when things are not the way one would very much like them to be.” Frequently individuals […]

How an Attitude of Entitlement Undermines Marriage

By

In response to our survey earlier this year, someone wrote that we should address “marriage faith afflictions.” We’re not sure what this means and therefore we didn’t know how to address it. Recently though, we found a series of articles on marriage written by Fr. George Morelli, a seasoned professional in the areas of Clinical […]

The Feast of the Dormition

By

The Feast of the Dormition of the All-Holy and Blessed Virgin Mary, the Theotokos by Fr. George Dion Dragas The Place of the Theotokos in the Church: The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Theotokos (Mother of God) occupies next to Christ the most important place in Orthodox Christianity. This is most obvious in the Orthodox liturgical […]

Jesus: true God? true man?

By

The Transfiguration by St. Ephraim the Syrian The facts themselves bear witness and his divine acts of power teach those who doubt that he is true God, and his sufferings show that he is true man. And if those who are feeble in understanding are not fully assured, they will pay the penalty on his […]