Fr. Abraam Sleman's Blog

Beloved in Christ, Today, I would like to present to you a message of encouragement and self-examination—one that I pray the Holy Spirit will use to confirm and awaken hearts to the beauty of the Christian life. Our Lord Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” This verse reminds us that the Christian life is not merely about external appearances, but about inward transformation—a life shaped by the presence of God and the work of His Spirit. The signs we are about to reflect on are not in place of the holy sacraments, but rather the fruit that should flow from them. Through baptism, we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection; through the anointing with the holy oil (chrismation), we receive the seal of the Holy Spirit; and through the Holy Eucharist, we partake continually of the life of Christ, abiding in Him and being nourished by ...

Dear beloved in Christ, If you are reading this with a heavy heart—perhaps burdened by pain, distance, or silence in your marriage—please know that you are not alone, and you are not without hope. St. Paul writes: “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their transgressions against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” — 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 (LSB) God’s heart is reconciliation. He sent His Son to restore us to Himself, and through that same grace, He calls you to walk together toward healing and renewal in your marriage. Your Marriage Is a Holy Sacrament In the Orthodox Church, marriage is not merely a personal agreement or a legal contract. It is a holy sacrament—a sacrament through which a man and a woman are united by God and crowned in Christ. Unlike some traditions where the couple exchang...

In recent weeks, as tensions flared between Israel and Iran, a wave of speculation swept through some corners of the Christian world. A number of Bible commentators rushed to interpret the conflict as a definitive sign of the end times. With headlines ablaze and fear stirred, voices proclaimed that the Second Coming of Christ and the rapture were imminent, based on a historical-literal application of biblical prophecy—particularly the book of Revelation. But now, as a ceasefire has taken hold, those sweeping proclamations once again fall silent. This pattern of interpreting current events as a direct fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy is not new. History has seen many such interpretations come and go—wars, earthquakes, political shifts—all used to support elaborate end-times timelines that ultimately fail the test of time. Such approaches, while often sincere, miss the deeper message of the book of Revelation. The last book of the Bible was not given to us to fuel sensational predic...

In recent years—and as recently as just days ago in Syria—we have witnessed devastating attacks on churches during sacred moments of worship. From Saint Elias Church in Damascus to the sanctuaries of Nigeria, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines , the blood of the faithful has mingled with the altar of sacrifice. They died as they came to meet Christ in the Eucharist. They died not as Protestants, Catholics, or Orthodox—but as Christians, as Christ’s beloved. And I wonder: Why does God allow such horrific things to happen in His house, during His liturgy, at the hour of offering? Is it possible that God weeps not only for the lives lost but also for the disunity of His Church ? Have we, the Body of Christ, grown accustomed to division, to the excommunications and estrangements we justify in His name? The Lord Jesus did not offer up His prayer in John 17 for institutional pride or theological rivalry, but for oneness : “That they may all be one; even ...

With deep joy and reverence, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his election as the 267th Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Catholic Church. May the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd and Eternal High Priest, fill Your Holiness with divine wisdom, strength, and peace as you begin your sacred ministry of shepherding the Church in this pivotal time of history. At this moment of grace and renewal, I raise a humble and heartfelt appeal — that Your Holiness may stand united with all the Churches that confess the real presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist — His true Body and His true Blood — to work together toward the restoration of Eucharistic unity. This unity is not a mere symbol of agreement, but a faithful response to the prayer of Christ Himself: “That they may all be one, even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). The Euchari...

The prayer of the Lord Jesus in John 17:21 remains an urgent call to the Church today: “That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” The division among Christians stands in stark contrast to Christ’s desire for unity, and nowhere is this division more visible than at the Eucharistic table, where the Body and Blood of Christ should bring believers together as one.  The Eucharist: The Heart of the Christian Unity  The Eucharist has always been at the heart of Christian life and unity, serving as both a sign and source of communion with Christ and with one another. The earliest Christians gathered around the Eucharist, recognizing it as the fulfillment of God’s covenant and as a means of participating in the very life of Christ. The Church Fathers spoke of the Eucharist as the binding force of Christian unity, teaching that those who share in the one Bread and one Cup becom...