Light of the East

Every Eastern Christain church has its own ancient and indigenous chant which is sung by the faithful during liturgical services. This gives cantors a special place in Eastern Christian Liturgy.

We are going to throw our hat in the ring of the Presidential race and on the platform of the Eastern Lung of the Church to provide real solutions for our nation.

The very same churches that had the venerable custom of married priests are the same churches that gave the world celibacy. Marriage and celibacy are not diametrically opposed.

Fasting and penance is the way to prepare for any great feast. This includes confession which is similar yet different to the form practiced in the Latin Rite.

What is the difference between the Roman Catholic Church and an Eastern Catholic Church? This simple question cannot be answered simply. But there are some comparisons that can be helpful.

We go back to basics and answer questions like: What is an Eastern Catholic? Why are there Eastern Catholics, and are the Eastern Catholic services always longer than Latin Rite services?

The Liturgical life of the Church calls us to something that is vital to both the rhythms of our lives and to worship. It is the spirituality of preparation which even has its very own rite.v

Among the many gifts of both lungs of the Church, east and west, we here at Light of the East have our ten favorite gifts that the Eastern Churches offer to the whole Church and the world

Asceticism... a strange sounding word to our modern culture. I will take the desert monks of the Eastern churches to shed some timely light on the meaning and relevancy of asceticism.

The Feast of the Assumption, or as the East calls it, the Dormition is a magnificent event with beautiful liturgical customs. But why really do we have to go to Church on days such as these?

Two major feast days converge this week and they convey for us the true nature of our lives as human beings. An old but young friend will join us and give testimony to the process of divinization.

The question is often asked, "What is the place of Women in the Eastern Churches?" A perspective on this question itself and it's answers lies in the context of the Eastern Liturgy.

Teenagers hold a special place in salvation history and in the Church. In ministering to teens the Eastern Catholic Churches do best through their own liturgical and ascetical traditions.

The Eastern Catholic Churches are relatively small and few in America. There are ways to ensure their growth and vitality and the first place to look is to Liturgy.

As our nation celebrates the gift of its independence and freedom, we here at Light of the East are mindful of those whose story of persecution is not nearly enough.

Pope Francis made a few eye opening statements recently about the validity of many Christian marriages. The marriage ritual of the Eastern Churches can help us understand the Pope's message.

Fasting and Penance is the way to prepare for any great Feast day. This includes Confession which is similiar yet different to the form practice in the Latin Rite.

For the first time in 80 years the prayers of Islam will be permitted to take place in the mother of all Byzantine Christian Churches. This provides opportunity for awareness and enlightenment.

Our efforts extend to non-Christians such as the followers of Islam. Dialogue in thei area could be significantly determined by a single ancient building in the country of Turkey.

While the separation of Church and State has been enshrined in modern western culture there is one particular Eastern Church that can show us that this may not totally be a good thing.

The story of Jonah and the Ninevites like all stories in the Bible are not just history lessons, they are our stories today, our lived experience. This is particularly true today.

There is saint spelled with a small S and saint spelled with a capital S. The life of a baptized Christian is a journey toward turning the small S into a capital S

As we look forward to the Descent of the Holy Spirit, we will see how the Eastern Christian Churches are naturally charismatic.

Holy Days in the Church that occur within the week, it may be inconvienient to our schedules and other interests. But this is precisely why they are relevant to our lives.

The desire of Jesus Christ is that all might be one in Him. Our special guest will tell us of his own extraordinary efforts to bring about unity between the two lungs of the Church, east and west.

Do Eastern Catholics Pray the Rosary? The answer is a qualified "Yes." The Russian Saint Seraphin of Sarov passed down to us an Eastern form of Roseary which was lost and then recovered.

The question of the role and place of women in the Eastern Churches can be found, as always, in the liturgical life of the Church especially today, the Sunday of the ointment bearing women.

The remarkable events that we have witnessed in the life of Christ are not just history lessons. They are events of our own lives as the Church immerses us into the reality of the Scripture.

Before Christ resurrects from the dead, He first descends into Hell to defeat the power of death. Through the Jerusalem Matins service, we descend and ascend with Christ.

The Week of the Bridegroom has arrived and being further enhanced as this year the Feast of the Annunciation falls on the same day as the Death of Christ on the Cross.

The words of a young nun who was recently declared blessed provide insight and consolation for us during the times when we might experience dryness or desolation in our prayer.

The Byzantine Church will give equal time to men and women ascetics. Today we climb the Ladder of Divine Ascent with St. John Climacus and next Sunday we encounter a mysterious woman in the desert named Mary.

There Pope and the Patriarch came together in their historic meeting in Cuba for an entire constellation of reasons. Most importantly they came together out of concern for Christians everywhere.

On what is the second Sunday of Lent in many Eastern Churches, St. Gregory Palamas teaches us about God's utter incomprehensibility and his knowability through his uncreated energies.

The 1st Sunday of Lent in the Byzantine Liturgical Calendar is a day of triumph for sacred art, the true faith itself and for those martyrs and monks who gave it courageous witness.

Many Eastern Catholic Churches will begin Lent this coming Sunday evening. Lent is also known as the bright sadness marked by intense fasting, deep prayer and increased charity.

It is Byzantine Mardi Gras, the Sunday of Meat Faire and we look forward to the feast of the encounter of Our Lord in the temple with Simeon.

With the growing awareness and appreciation of Byzantine iconography has come certain questions tha we will begin to answer such as, "Are icons 'painted' or are they 'written'"? And, can ANYONE paint an icon?

The Eastern Christian Churches, Catholic and Orthodox face similar challenges of both growth and survival. These challenges are best met by taking an honest look at the gifts of these Churches.

A new year in both the civil calendar and the liturgical calendar has us looking back in gratitude yet forward in the spirit of manifestation, illumination and renewal.

With the help of our special guest, we will look back on what has been accomplished in the area of ecumenism between the two lunges of the Church, East and West and where this new year might take us.

God is with us. But what does that mean for us personally? To help us answer that question the Byzantine Church puts three special people before our eyes on the Sunday after the Nativity.

All families have their story, from sinners to saints. So it is with the family of Jesus Christ. But God still works out His divine plan, which is the miracle of this season.

During this season of love and mercy, in this jubilee year of mercy, we will hear the merciful words of a Pope and prisoner and learn how we are indeed performing a corporal act of mercy.

Whether he is Santa Claus or St. Nicholas, the liturgical celebration of the Feast of St. Nicholas is a witness to how Eastern Churches evangelize and live in the both-and.

Mysticism is what keeps men sane. This is something the Eastern Churches have known for many centuries. The sense of the mystical is not the only gift of the Eastern Church.

Periochoresis, Theoria Theologica, Apatheia, Theosis... strange and complex sounding terms that point to a very simple mystery. The spiritual life is about spiritual warfare and our own deification.

We have begun the penitential season in preparation for the Incarnation of Our Lord in the flesh. Known as Advent in the west and the Philip's Fast in the east, this preparatory period helps us become people of gratitude.

The penitential period of preparation for Our Lord's Nativity, known as the Phillip's Fast is coming upon us. To help our spiritual preparation we will turn to one of our best resources.

The health of a Church is measured by monasticism. In the Eparchy of Parma in the Eastern Lung of the Church a particularly healthy sign are the sisters at the Christ the Bridegroom Monastery.