• Fr. Robert M. Arida

    Fr. Robert M. Arida

    Retired Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Boston (1984-2022)

    Father Robert M. Arida is the retired dean of Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral (OCA) in Boston, Massachusetts. During his almost 40 year tenure as dean, he preached at Harvard’s Memorial Church and from other distinguished pulpits. He has guest lectured on the Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church in America, and on Russian religious thought at academic institutions throughout the Boston area and abroad. Among his recent publications is an introduction to and translation of Father Georges Florovsky’s The Body of the Living Christ: An Orthodox Interpretation of the Church. His articles and essays on biblical studies, church history, and Orthodox theology and life have appeared in various online and print publications and have been translated into Greek, Russian, French, Serbian, Georgian, and Bulgarian. In celebration of Father Robert’s retirement, Holy Trinity Cathedral published a book of his sermons, What Does This Mean For Us?
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Religion and Politics, Theology

Father Sergius Bulgakov: Personhood, Inequality, and Economics

by Fr. Robert M. Arida | български | Ελληνικά | ქართული | Русский | Српски In a recent piece in the New York Times, Jamelle Bouie writes: Our society was built on the racial segmentation of personhood. Some people were full humans, guaranteed non-enslaveme... Read more.
Also available in: Ελληνικά | Русский | ქართული | български | Српски
Church Life and Pastoral Care, Liturgical life, Theology

Faith, Reason, and the Eucharist
A Reflection in Light of the Coronavirus Crisis

Much has been written and posted on line lately about Holy Communion and how it is to be distributed/received vis-à-vis the COVID-19 crisis. In light of this, it is interesting that little attention has been paid to the relationship between faith and reason. The overriding reason for this omission ... Read more.
Also available in: Ελληνικά
Orthodoxy and Modernity, Religion and Politics

A Reflection on the Church in the Political Arena

by Fr. Robert M. Arida Democracy and the separation of church and state are relatively new for the Orthodox Church. From both derive the many challenges the Church in America encounters as it stands unfettered in the political arena. Paraphrasing the British historian and theologian G.L. Prestige, t... Read more.
Holy and Great Council, Orthodoxy and Modernity

Defending Human Dignity

by Fr. Robert M. Arida, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, David Dunn, Maria McDowell, Teva Regule, and Bryce E. Rich The authors of ‘The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World’ are to be commended for framing our shared ecclesial mission as one of making present the eschatologica... Read more.
Holy and Great Council

Marriage, Family, and Scripture

by Bryce E. Rich, Fr. Robert M. Arida, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, David Dunn, Maria McDowell, and Teva Regule  The title of the working document “The Sacrament of Marriage and Its Impediments” appears to promise a meaningful teaching on the spousal relationship. Instead, much of the docu... Read more.
Church Life and Pastoral Care, Holy and Great Council

Response to the Pre-Conciliar Document on Marriage and Its Impediments

by Fr. Robert M. Arida, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, David Dunn, Maria McDowell, Teva Regule, and Bryce E. Rich The document on marriage does not refer to its long and complex history and accompanying theology. What is offered to the faithful and to the world is a statement that bases marriage on a partic... Read more.