Fountain of Immortality – A Spiritual Meditation from the Holy Fathers on the Divine Liturgy

st-tikon-seminary-logoYour’s Truly just returned from a pilgrimage at St Antony’s in the Desert. Very spiritually uplifting as well as some much needed R&R.

Attending liturgy in the wee hours of the morning was a transcendent experience. Simple meals in the Refectory tasted heavenly. Just walking around the verdant grounds and going into each of the other churches was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I think anybody who is serious of their faith (and who needs confession) should go to monastery such as this.

It’s going to take me a bit to get back in the non-monastic swing of things. Already my inbox runneth over with scandals which I suppose I’ll have to get to eventually. In the meantime, please take the time to watch this video about the Divine Liturgy. (Hat-tip: Jim Kollettis)

Produced by the Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese in collaboration with St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary.
Author and Producer: Reader Alexander Koranda
Editor: Reader Peter S. Lukianov
Narrator: John D. Sutko

Comments

  1. Something Nice says

    Thank you for the nice video. Time at a monastery is always wonderful. Sharing good news below of an Orthodox institution.

    A nice anniversary here:
    SAINT BASIL ACADEMY TO CELEBRATE 70TH ANNIVERSARY

    NEW YORK – Saint Basil Academy will celebrate its 70th Anniversary, June 21, 2014, in its magnificent campus by the Hudson River, in Garrison, NY.

    His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America will lead the celebration. Dr. Steven Gounardes is the chairman for this special 70th Celebration and Mike Emanuel, FOX News chief congressional correspondent will be the Master of Ceremonies.

    The children of the Academy along with the Executive Director Rev. Constantine Sitaras and the members of the Board of Trustees led by its president Evellyn Tsiadis are preparing to welcome friends, supporters and visitors.

    Saint Basil Academy is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese home for children in need. It was established in 1944 to house orphaned children and later became a school to educate young Greek women to teach the Greek language in our parish communities. Today it is a safe haven for children within a nurturing and spiritual environment.

    To attend this special Celebration, please make your reservation by June 13, 2014. Contact Saint Basil Academy at 845.424.3500 or stbasil@goarch.org.

  2. Philippa.alan says

    This video is absolutely wonderful and well done. I learned a lot by viewing it and look forward to Sunday to experience Divine Liturgy with the new insights given me.

    Glad you had a good rest George!

  3. Bishop Tikhon Fitzgerald says

    I find George’s insertion of an apostrophe into the word “yours” to be almost sadistic.

    • In addition to everything else, you’re a grammar nazi? I…I quit. This is my last posting on this site…my God…you’re an awful person Tikhon…just awful. This probably won’t make it past George but…awful.

      • Bishop Tikhon Fitzgerald says

        Aw, you sure got that right, “Matthew,” Awful that’s me. Sorry you just found out, but better late than never. I’m sure you’ll be sorely missed but that’s life…We’ll struggle to manage, , to get along somehow….

  4. Tony Haversham says

    A very nice video for giving a “basic” symbolistic approach to the Divine Liturgy. This is going back to what people were exposed to in the 1930’s – 1960’s without REAL understanding of the structure of the Divine Liturgy or how it developed. And although the common layman isn’t exposed to all the how’s, why’s and historical development of the Divine Liturgy, any Orthodox Christian should know the basics of the “Liturgy of the Word” and the “Liturgy of the Faithful.” Exactly what is the procession of the Gospel at the “Little Entrance;” what is the procession of the bread & wine at the “Great Entrance;” etc. The book below should be in every Orthodox Christian’s library.

    http://www.svspress.com/liturgy-and-life/

    • The production of the video is well done, and the content shows exactly what STS turns out. There is no engagement with the liturgical theology, no historical commentary. Are these the kind of priests we need in the OCA?

      My grandson who attends a catholic school learns more about liturgy and its development than this video gives.

      As Tony said, this is a sad step back!

      • Lola J. Lee Beno says

        This video was produced by ROCOR. The Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese in collaboration with St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary, to be precise, if only you had clicked on the “YouTube” icon to go straight to the original page.

  5. Monk James says

    Even the saints and the fathers occasionally drift into reveries of symbolism for the movements of the services, all of which have rather practical and even mundane origins.

    There was a woman in my parish when I was just a 20-something kid. She had been Fr Georges Florovsky’s secretary for years, and was recognized as an arm-chair authority on practically everything churchy. People looked to her example so as to know how they should behave in church.

    Once, during the Presanctified, she made a deep bow at a point when such a reverence was unexpected. Afterwards, when asked why she had done that, she quizzically protested that she had done no such thing. ‘Oh! I know what you mean! I just dropped my handkerchief and bent down to retrieve it.’

    Altogether, though, the video is very nice. Uplifting, really. And I wouldn’t tarnish it with the basic practicalities underlying each liturgical action.

  6. Lola J. Lee Beno says

    Welcome news indeed from Russia. Maybe someday the infighting here in the United States will stop, everyone will be on the same page, and then the hard work can begin to duplicate this.

    http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=11307

    04 June 2014, 17:02
    Moscow Patriarchate to translate services to sign language and set up infrastructure for disabled people in its churches

    Moscow, June 4, Interfax – The Moscow Patriarchate starts realizing a complex program of spiritual care for handicapped people.

    It is supposed to set up an infrastructure for disabled people: to provide comfortable access to those who move in wheelchairs, make shape relief icons, tactile schemes, walks for blind people on the floor, and translation for deaf and blind, press service of the Synodal Department for Church Charities and Social Service reports.

    The Coordination Center for Work with Deaf People and Hearing Impaired will be set up at the Synodal Department.

    It is also planned to call volunteers, who will extend disabled people regular social help in every day life and to organize kindergartens for handicapped children at churches.

    Today, over 300 Orthodox associations, voluntary organizations, charity groups and parishes help disabled people in Russia.

  7. Michael Kinsey says

    Hardball. I kick the dust off against you, as the Christ commanded. Why don’t you do the same to me. Then , on Judgment Day the Christ will sort it out. Care for a little hardball? It’s your soul your playing for. Nobody ever gets away with anything. Your a psudo -Christian warrior culture spiritual cretin