Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid

09/01/2026

A Pastoral Statement from the Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid

The Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid is saddened and heartbroken by the violence in Tucson directed toward members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Our prayers are especially with Saints Boris and Gleb Orthodox Chapel in Tucson, Arizona, a dependency of the Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid, under the pastoral care and ecclesiastical oversight of the Monastery within the United Orthodox-Catholic Church.

As a dispersed monastery serving communities throughout Arizona and the United States, we stand especially close to our brothers, sisters, and siblings in Tucson who are grieving, frightened, or struggling to process this violence.

We pray for those who have died, for their families and loved ones, for those who were injured, and for everyone who witnessed or has been traumatized by this senseless act of violence.

Our Christian faith teaches us that every human person bears the image and likeness of God. LGBTQ+ people are not strangers to the Church. We are neighbors, friends, family, and we are beloved children of God.

In this moment, we reject hatred, fear, and violence. We choose to stand together to protect one another, and to be a Church that offers refuge, compassion, and the presence of Christ to those who are hurting.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ our God, receive them into Your Kingdom.
Grant peace to Your people and keep us from all violence and hatred.

— Abbot Matthew Christopher, OCR

08/29/2026

Happy Birthday, Mother Hermione!

Today, the Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid gives thanks to God for the gift of Mother Hermione and for the love, compassion, and joy she brings to our community and to all whose lives she touches.

May the Lord bless you abundantly in the year ahead, strengthen you in your vocation, surround you with love, and grant you many more years of health, peace, and holy joy.

Many Blessed Years, beloved!

With love and prayers,
Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid

08/15/2026

Blessed Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God!

Today, the United Orthodox-Catholic Church joyfully celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, also known in the Eastern tradition as the Dormition of the Mother of God. In both East and West, the Church honors the Mother of God and proclaims the mystery of her being received into the fullness of life with her Son, Jesus Christ.

We remember the Mother of God who, having faithfully received Christ into her womb and offered her whole life to God, was received by her Son into the fullness of life. Her Dormition is not a celebration of death, but a proclamation of the hope of resurrection: that in Christ, death does not have the final word.

Mary stands as an icon of faithful discipleship. In her, we see the human person saying yes to God, trusting His promise, carrying Christ into the world, and remaining steadfast at the foot of the Cross.

On this holy feast, may we ask the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, that we may likewise receive Christ into our lives, remain faithful through suffering, and look with hope toward the resurrection and the life of the world to come.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

08/14/2026

📚 RELEASE DAY! 📚

Today, Little Red Toolbox: A Q***r Priest’s Journey Through Faith, Addiction, and Recovery by Fr. Matthew Christopher Kennedy is officially released!

This deeply personal memoir tells a story of faith tested, brokenness confronted, recovery embraced, and a journey toward discovering that God’s love can meet us even in the darkest places.

The Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid is proud to celebrate this important milestone and to support Fr. Matthew’s witness of faith, honesty, healing, and hope.

❤️ Little Red Toolbox is available today!

Order your copy from us directly:
🌐 JustBrothersPress.com

Now available Amazon:
https://a.co/d/05P2mzLu

“For where there is brokenness, there can also be redemption.”

***rChristian

08/09/2026

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

In today’s Gospel, a father comes to Christ carrying the suffering of his child. He has brought him to the disciples, but they were unable to help. After Christ heals the child, the disciples ask, “Why could we not cast it out?”

Christ answers: “Because of your little faith.”

And then He gives us that beautiful image: “If you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.”

The mustard seed is tiny. It doesn’t look impressive. Yet within that tiny seed is the possibility of something much greater.

And perhaps that is the lesson Christ gives us today, God does not ask us to begin with something enormous. He asks us to begin with faithfulness.

The Church itself began with something very small, a handful of disciples gathered around Christ. They were different people, with different gifts and weaknesses, yet together they became the beginning of the Body of Christ in the world.

This is still how the Church grows.

A local faith community is not simply created by an institution at a distance. It grows through the people who actually gather in a particular place—praying, worshiping, serving, and becoming a living Eucharistic community.

And that brings us back to the mustard seed.

A monastery is not built by one person alone. It is built by a community.

Someone prays. Someone serves. Someone gives. Someone cleans. Someone welcomes. Someone brings a gift that nobody else possesses.

None of these things may seem extraordinary by themselves. But together, God can make them into something far greater than any one person could build alone.

That is the mystery of the Church: Christ is the builder, but He builds through His people.

And the Church does not exist merely for those who are already inside its walls.

The Church exists for the world.

Faith communities should be a place where the searching person can come; where the lonely can find companionship; where the wounded can find healing; where the person with questions can ask them without fear; and where the person whose faith is barely a mustard seed can simply come and begin again.

That is why every person’s contribution matters.

We sometimes think what we have to offer is too small.

“I don’t have enough time.”
“I don’t have enough money.”
“I can’t do very much.”

But Christ does not ask us for a mountain.

He asks us for a mustard seed.

A prayer can be a mustard seed.

An hour of service can be a mustard seed.

A meal shared can be a mustard seed.

A word of encouragement can be a mustard seed.

And when those small offerings are placed together in God’s hands, they can grow.

The disciples learned that they could not do everything themselves. Neither can we.

The Church is not the work of one person. It is the work of the people.

Each of us brings something different. And when those gifts are offered in love, God can build a community that becomes a spiritual shelter for others.

The mustard seed does not grow for itself. It grows so that others may find refuge beneath its branches.

May our churches and monasteries become just such places, not monuments to ourselves, but living communities of Christ, rooted in the Eucharist and open to all people.

And may we never despise the small things we are able to offer.

Because the Kingdom of God often begins with a few people, a little faith, and a willingness to serve.

And in the hands of God, a mustard seed is enough to move mountains.

In Christ’s commandment to love your neighbor, Amen.

08/02/2026

A Prayer for Spokane and All Communities Affected by Wildfires

The Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid joins our siblings throughout Spokane and the surrounding communities in prayer as wildfires continue to threaten homes, families, animals, and the beauty of God’s creation.

In times of fire and uncertainty, we are reminded of our shared responsibility to one another. We pray for the protection of those who have been evacuated, the safety of firefighters and first responders, the comfort of those who have lost homes or livelihoods, and the strength of all who are working to bring relief and restoration.

May Christ, the Light who shines in the darkness, surround every person affected by these fires. May the Holy Spirit bring peace to anxious hearts, wisdom to those making difficult decisions, and compassion to communities coming together in care.

We especially remember the words of our Lord: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

Let us be people of prayer, generosity, and action—offering support where we can and standing together as one human family.

Lord, have mercy upon Spokane, upon all who suffer, and upon all creation entrusted to our care.

08/02/2026

In today’s Gospel, we encounter one of the most beloved images of the Christian journey—Christ walking upon the waters and calling Peter beyond the safety of the boat.

The disciples are caught in the midst of a storm. The winds are strong, the waves are overwhelming, and fear begins to take hold. Yet it is precisely there—in the chaos, in the uncertainty, in the place where human strength fails—that Christ comes to them.

“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)

Peter’s response is both courageous and deeply human. He steps out of the boat because he trusts the voice of Christ. But when he begins to focus more on the storm than on the One who called him, he begins to sink. His faith wavers, but Christ’s love does not.

This is the heart of the Gospel, God does not wait for us to become perfect before reaching out to us. Christ meets us in our doubt, our fear, our questions, and our struggles. The hand that reaches toward Peter is the same hand extended to all of humanity—a reminder that every person is created in the image and likeness of God and is worthy of divine love, dignity, and belonging.

Through the lens of Traditionally Inclusive Orthodoxy, this passage reminds us that the Church is not meant to be a place where people are turned away from Christ because they are different, wounded, searching, or standing on the margins. The boat is not a place of exclusion; it is the gathering of those who are learning to trust the One who calls them forward.

Peter did not walk on water because he was without fear. He walked because Christ called him.

Likewise, the saints, disciples, and faithful throughout history have responded to Christ’s call from every circumstance and every corner of human experience. God’s grace has always moved beyond human boundaries, calling fishermen and scholars, women and men, saints and sinners, the confident and the uncertain, to participate in the life of the Kingdom.

And when Peter falls, Christ does not abandon him. He reaches out. This is the nature of our God: a God who restores, gathers, and makes whole.

May we have the courage to step beyond our own boats—the places of comfort, certainty, and fear—and follow Christ into deeper waters. May we recognize Christ’s presence in unexpected places and among unexpected people. And may we become a Church whose hands are extended in the same love that Christ extends to us.

“Lord, save me!” is not a cry answered with rejection, but with compassion.

For Christ is always reaching out, always calling, and always saying:

“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Have a blessed first Sunday of the Dormiton Fast,

Fr. Matthew Christopher

07/31/2026

As dangerous heat continues across the Desert Southwest, we ask everyone to take extra care over the coming days.

Our monastery and hermitages serve communities in Phoenix, Tucson, and Palm Springs—areas where extreme temperatures can quickly become life-threatening. Current forecasts indicate prolonged triple-digit temperatures, with some desert communities expected to exceed 110°F. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Please remember:
💧 Drink water frequently, even if you don’t feel thirsty.

🏠 Stay indoors during the hottest part of the day whenever possible.

👵 Check on elderly neighbors, those living alone, and anyone without reliable air conditioning.

🐕 Bring pets inside and ensure they have plenty of cool, fresh water.

🚗 Never leave children, older adults, or animals in a parked vehicle—not even for a moment.

In the Orthodox tradition, caring for one another is an act of love for Christ Himself. A simple phone call, a cold bottle of water, or an offer of a cool place to rest may become an answer to someone’s prayer.

The monks and nuns of the Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid are praying for all those affected by this extreme heat, especially first responders, utility workers, people experiencing homelessness, outdoor laborers, and everyone whose health may be at risk.

Lord Jesus Christ, You are our refuge and our strength. Protect all who endure this oppressive heat, grant relief to the weary, safety to those who labor outdoors, and move our hearts to care for one another with compassion. Through the prayers of Saint Brigid, keep Your people in peace. Amen.

07/31/2026

As we enter the Dormition Fast, the Holy Church calls us into a sacred season of prayer, fasting, repentance, and renewed devotion to Christ through the example and intercessions of His Most Holy Mother.

May these days be more than a change in what we eat. May they become a true fast of the heart, turning away from anger, judgment, pride, and distraction, while growing in mercy, humility, forgiveness, and love.

May the Most Holy Theotokos guide us toward her Son and teach us again to say with faith and obedience: “Let it be to me according to your word.”

Wishing all who begin the Fast a blessed and spiritually fruitful journey toward the glorious Feast of the Dormition. ☦️

Most Holy Theotokos, save us!

Source: St. Basil of the Desert Orthodox Hermitage

07/30/2026

📚 A New Book from Our Abbot and Archimandrite

The Orthodox Monastery of Saint Brigid joyfully announces the upcoming release of The Little Red Toolbox: A Q***r Priest’s Journey Through Faith, Addiction, and Recovery, written by our Abbot and Archimandrite, Fr. Matthew Christopher.

In this deeply personal memoir, Archimandrite Matthew reflects on his journey through addiction, recovery, faith, and ministry. With honesty and hope, he shares how God’s grace can transform even life’s most difficult seasons, offering encouragement to anyone searching for healing, belonging, and renewed purpose.

Available August 14, 2026

The book will be available through:
📖 JustBrotherPress.com
📖 Amazon
📖 Barnes & Noble

We invite you to support this ministry by sharing this announcement, praying for all who will read this book, and helping spread its message of hope and healing.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2