How to Be an Orthodox Christian

With much fear and trembling, Dcn. Seraphim begins our mini-series on the Divine Liturgy itself, the great "public work" of Christ on behalf of the Church, and the whole world. Many people may not be aware that everything actually begins with a small, quiet, mysterious service, one in which the priest and deacon prepare the gifts, the bread and wine which will become the body and blood of God Himself. In this service, we see all of creation revealed as existing for the purpose of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, as both time and space are revealed as iconic realities, and Dcn. Seraphim gives some practical advice for how we should think about this revelation as we prepare our hearts to participate in the Divine Liturgy.

Music Used:
Cherubic Hymn, Romanian Chant, Tone 8
Choir of St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral, Santa Rosa, CA

The ancient Hours turn the passing of the workday into a remembrance of salvation. Dcn Seraphim traces the biblical practice of prayer at fixed times and walks through the First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours: sunrise offered with the work of our hands, Pentecost at midmorning, the darkness of the Cross at noon, and Christ's death and the promise to the penitent thief in the afternoon. The Hours free us from the tyranny of the clock and fill the day with the presence of Christ. Dcn Seraphim closes with practical ways for laypeople to recover small moments of fixed prayer without attempting to imitate a monastic schedule.

Handouts and resources: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rG775rFoxjmoBNht9d9yHijpw6Nnw6e8?usp=sharing

Music Used:
Cherubic Hymn, Romanian Chant, Tone 8
Choir of St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral, Santa Rosa, CA

Matins begins in darkness with six psalms read in profound stillness and ends with the Church singing, “Glory to Thee who hast shown us the light.” Dcn Seraphim follows this morning watch from the Hexapsalmos — with its voices of waking, suffering, thirst, abandonment, mercy, and hope — through the proclamation “God is the Lord,” the appointed psalms and hymns, and the Sunday Gospel carried into the midst of the people. He explains how the eleven Resurrection Gospels gather frightened, doubting, grieving, and guilty disciples around the risen Christ, and how the canon teaches the Church to read the songs and images of the Old Testament as fulfilled in Him. The Magnificat, the Praises, and the Great Doxology finally summon the whole creation into the light.

Handouts and resources: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yqEFAz7rAhqN4aFRoIt07lFBN7V2cOQM?usp=sharing

Music Used:
Cherubic Hymn, Romanian Chant, Tone 8
Choir of St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral, Santa Rosa, CA

Episode 23 of How to be an Orthodox Christian, with Deacon Seraphim Richard Rohlin.

Music Used:
Cherubic Hymn, Romanian Chant, Tone 8
Choir of St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral, Santa Rosa, CA

Episode 22 of How to be an Orthodox Christian, with Deacon Seraphim Richard Rohlin.

Music Used:
Cherubic Hymn, Romanian Chant, Tone 8
Choir of St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral, Santa Rosa, CA