Homily - Through the Cross to Pascha
OrthoAnalytika
Great Lent 2026; Sunday of the Cross “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) Christ is talking as if “coming after” or “following” Him is something good. What is that all about? Where is He going? Where is He leading us? Christ talks about “denying” ourselves. In the next verse He ties that to being willing to die. This sounds important. We need to get it right. There is a great lie in our world: that all religions are basically the same. But Scripture warns us that the devil himself can appear as an angel...
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Homily: Not Pundits or Prosecutors, but Pastors and Priests (On Silence)
OrthoAnalytika
In a world shaped by outrage and constant commentary, the Christian calling is different. Drawing on Scripture, the Desert Fathers, and the theology of St. Gregory Palamas, this homily explores why Christians must learn to speak in ways that build up rather than tear down. Sometimes the most faithful response is simply silence. --- Homily Notes: St. Gregory Palamas “Let Us Be Quiet” There are moments when the most truthful response a human being can give … is silence. What do you meet in silence? On Holy Saturday, during the First Resurrection service, we sing these words: “Let all...
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Homily: Matter, Incarnation, and the Art of Communion
OrthoAnalytika
Homily for the Sunday of Orthodoxy On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Church celebrates more than the restoration of icons in 843; she proclaims the full implications of the Incarnation. Drawing from St. John of Damascus, St. Theodore the Studite, Genesis, and the theology of beauty, this homily explores how Christ restores not only matter, but humanity’s creative vocation. In Him, we are not merely icons — we are iconographers, shaping our marriages, friendships, and parishes into visible proclamations of the Gospel. --- The Restoration of the Image — and the Hands That Shape It ...
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Homily - The Throne Room Now: Judgment, Mercy, and the Work of the Liturgy
OrthoAnalytika
On the Sunday of the Last Judgment, the Gospel reveals that judgment takes place not in a courtroom, but in the throne room of God—a reality the Church enters every Sunday in the Divine Liturgy. This homily explores how worship forms repentance, trains us in mercy, and sends us into the world with lives shaped by the pattern of Christ’s self-giving love. --- The Throne Room Now: Judgment, Mercy, and the Work of the Liturgy A Homily on the Sunday of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25:31–46) When we hear the Gospel of the Last Judgment, our attention is usually drawn—rightly—to the...
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Homily - Judgment, Worship, and the Throne of Glory
OrthoAnalytika
Meatfare/The Last Judgment Matthew 25:31-46 On the Sunday of the Last Judgment, the Gospel reveals that judgment takes place not in a courtroom, but in the throne room of God—a reality the Church enters every Sunday in the Divine Liturgy. This homily explores how worship forms repentance, trains us in mercy, and sends us into the world with lives shaped by the pattern of Christ’s self-giving love. --- The Throne Room Now: Judgment, Mercy, and the Work of the Liturgy A Homily on the Sunday of the Last Judgment Matthew 25:31–46 When we hear the Gospel of the Last Judgment, our...
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Homily - Love That Refuses to Dominate
OrthoAnalytika
The Father Who Does Not ControlA Homily on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son St. Luke 15:11-31 In the parable of the Prodigal Son, our attention is often drawn to the repentance of the younger son or to the resentment of the elder. But before we look at either son, we must first look carefully at the father. What stands out immediately is not simply the father’s mercy at the end, but the way he loves throughout the story. The father gives an astonishing amount of freedom to his sons—but his love is not passive, negligent, or withdrawn. It is neither controlling nor indifferent. It is...
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Homily - The Publican, the Pharisee, and the Seeds of the Kingdom
OrthoAnalytika
Sanctifying the Moment: The Publican, the Pharisee, and the Seeds of the Kingdom Fr. Anthony Perkins; Luke 18:9-14 All of creation is good—and yet it was never meant to remain merely good. From the beginning, God made the world not as a finished product, but as something alive, dynamic, and capable of growth. Creation was designed to become better, to move toward beauty and perfection. Humanity was placed within it not as passive observers, but as gardeners, stewards, and priests—called to tend what God has made and lead it toward and into His glory. This brings us to the heart of...
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Retreat - Justifiable but Not Helpful: Discernment in an Age of Manipulation
OrthoAnalytika
In this pair of talks, Fr. Anthony examines why discernment so often fails in the Church—not because of bad faith or lack of intelligence, but because discernment is a matter of formation before it is a matter of decision. Drawing on insights from intelligence analysis, psychology, and Orthodox anthropology, he shows how authority, moral seriousness, and modern systems of manipulation quietly exploit predictable habits of perception, producing confidence without clarity. True discernment, he argues, is neither technical nor private, but ecclesial: formed through humility, ascetic practice,...
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Class - The Architectural Beauty of Eden
OrthoAnalytika
From Eden to the ChurchBeauty, Architecture, and the Space Where God Dwells Christian architecture is not primarily about style or preference. It is about ordering space so that human beings learn how to dwell with God. The Church building is Eden remembered and anticipated—a place where heaven and earth meet, so that God’s people can be formed and then sent back into the world. Key Biblical Insights 1. Eden Was God’s Dwelling Place Eden is first described not as humanity’s home, but as God’s planted garden—a place of divine presence, beauty, and order. Genesis...
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Homily - The Green Hand of Hell
OrthoAnalytika
Luke 17:12-19; The Grateful Leper I've included my notes, but I didn't follow them, choosing instead to offer a meditation on the "go show yourself to the priest" part of the Levitical command and noting how we do the same - and will all do the same one day at the Great Judgment. Homily: Healing, Vision, and the Mercy of God Onee of the things that sometimes gives people pause—especially when they encounter it for the first time—comes from the Book of Needs, in the prayers the priest offers for those who are sick. If you have ever been present for these prayers, you may have...
info_outline From Eden to the Church
Beauty, Architecture, and the Space Where God Dwells
Christian architecture is not primarily about style or preference.
It is about ordering space so that human beings learn how to dwell with God.
The Church building is Eden remembered and anticipated—a place where heaven and earth meet, so that God’s people can be formed and then sent back into the world.
Key Biblical Insights
1. Eden Was God’s Dwelling Place
Eden is first described not as humanity’s home, but as God’s planted garden—a place of divine presence, beauty, and order.
- Genesis 2:8–9 — God plants the garden; trees are “pleasant to the sight.”
2. Eden Is a Garden and a Mountain
Scripture explicitly identifies Eden as elevated sacred space.
- Ezekiel 28:13–14 — “Eden, the garden of God… the holy mountain of God.”
3. Eden Is a Source of Life
Life flows outward from God’s dwelling.
- Genesis 2:10–14 — A river flows out of Eden and becomes four rivers.
4. Eden Is Not the Whole World
Eden is placed within creation, not identical with it.
- Genesis 2:8 — Eden is “in the east.”
- Genesis 1:28 — Humanity is commanded to “fill the earth.”
5. Humanity’s Original Vocation
Human beings are called to guard sacred space and extend its order outward.
- Genesis 2:15 — Adam is placed in the garden “to till and keep it.”
6. Gardens and Groves as Sacred Space
After the fall, God’s presence continues to be associated with cultivated places.
- Genesis 12:6–7; 13:18; 18:1 — God appears to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre.
- 1 Kings 6:29–32 — The Temple is carved with palm trees, flowers, and cherubim.
- Psalm 92:12–14 — The righteous are “planted in the house of the LORD.”
- Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 36:35 — Restoration is described as becoming “like the garden of Eden.”
7. Sacred Space After the Fall
God re-establishes Eden’s pattern through mountains and temples.
- Exodus 24:9–10 — God enthroned on Sinai.
- Psalm 48:1–2 — Zion as the mountain of the Great King.
8. The Church as Eden Continued
The Church gathers the patterns of Eden—mountain, garden, throne, and life-giving water—into one place so that God may dwell with His people.
9. Eden Fulfilled, Not Abandoned
Scripture ends with Eden expanded to fill the world.
- Revelation 21:3 — “The dwelling of God is with men.”
- Revelation 22:1–2 — River of Life and Tree of Life healing the nations.
Why Architecture Matters
- Architecture forms us slowly and quietly through repeated dwelling.
- Ordered, beautiful space trains us for patience, reverence, and stability.
- The Church is not an escape from the world, but a seed of the world’s renewal.
Takeaway
Architecture is theology you inhabit.
Eden is still the pattern—and the Church is where we learn to carry that pattern into the world.