To the clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, beloved children in the Lord:

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!

First, please be assured of my prayers for you, my flock throughout North America, as we enter into this great and holy season of the Fast. May God grant each of you his aid and support, comfort and blessings, as we all take up our Lenten podvig.

In our present media-mad, ever-online cultural atmosphere, opinion often appears to be our society’s highest value, both morally and economically. To hold and express an opinion on all manner of “issues” is cast as the highest form of self-realization. In the meanwhile, the so-called attention economy coddles our biases in order to peddle us all manner of products. Many of you, beloved in the Lord, will know that I have written of this before, but I do so again because…

The Holy Virgin Martyr Agatha was the fifteen-year-old daughter of wealthy and respected Christian parents from Palermo in Sicily. During the persecution under Emperor Decius (249–251), Quintianus, the prefect of Catania, learned of her beauty, faith, and wealth and had her brought to trial as a Christian. In Catania she was placed in the home of a rich woman and her five daughters, who tried to tempt her with luxury and pleasures and urged her to sacrifice to pagan gods, but Agatha rejected everything and prayed to face martyrdom.

Interrogated by Quintianus, Saint Agatha remained firm despite flattery, threats, and brutal tortures, including the mutilation of her body. The Apostle Peter appeared to her in prison and healed her wounds, astonishing her persecutors when she was brought out whole again. As torture resumed, an earthquake struck the city, killing two of Quintianus’s advisors, and the people demanded an end to…

Saint Peter, King of Bulgaria, was the son of the formidable Bulgarian prince Simeon. He was renowned for his deep Christian piety and frequently sought the prayers, spiritual counsel, and guidance of Saint John of Rila (August 18; October 19).

King Peter concluded a peace treaty with Byzantium on terms favorable to Bulgaria. Under his reign, the Patriarch of Constantinople formally recognized the autonomy of the Bulgarian Church and affirmed the establishment of a Patriarchal throne in Bulgaria, a development of lasting benefit to the Bulgarian Church.

Saint Peter also worked diligently to eradicate the Bogomil heresy within his realm. He reposed in the year 967, at the age of fifty-six.

Saint Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Ninevah, lived in the sixth century and was known for his learning, virtue, and strict ascetic life. Together with his brother, he entered the monastery of Mar Matthew near Ninevah, where he received the monastic tonsure. Although the brethren wished him to become head of the monastery, Saint Isaac preferred silence and solitude and withdrew to the desert. Despite his reluctance, the fame of his holiness eventually led to his appointment as Bishop of Ninevah. Finding the people disobedient and crude in their ways, and longing for a life of contemplation, he soon realized that guiding them was beyond his strength.

A decisive moment came when two Christians asked him to judge a dispute over a debt. When the lender refused to show mercy, dismissing the Gospel’s command, Saint Isaac concluded that his presence as bishop served no purpose. After only five months, he…