Next Orthodox Women's Retreat to Be Held in September 2025

The next Calgary Orthodox Women’s Retreat is scheduled for September 19-21, 2025.

Here is a report on the 2024 retreat from Esther Juce.

This was my first time attending to Calgary’s Orthodox Women’s Retreat.  I had heard about it only in 2020, when I was able to take in some sessions virtually.  But the Good Lord said, “Come and see”, and He is right - there is no comparison to being there in the flesh.

Some forty women gathered at a charming retreat centre called Entheos, tucked away in an enchanted- forest setting 15 minutes west of Calgary, enjoying good fellowship, good food, and a wonderful selection of books and icons for purchase.  Participants hailed from the four western provinces, including several women who were born in Romania, Syria, and Ukraine.  We had a liturgically-rich schedule, and were served by priests from almost every Orthodox jurisdiction in Calgary.

Fr. Phillip Eriksson, rector at St. Peter the Aleut parish in Calgary, gave the main presentation on one of the pillars of Great Lent, The Prayer of St. Ephraim: “O Lord, Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.  But grant rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to your servant.  Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my sister or brother, for you are holy, now and ever and unto ages of ages.  Amen.”

While this Prayer is well-known to the average Orthodox Christian, many have not been exposed to its deeper meaning.  Using the wisdom of such authorities as Alexander Schmemann, Vassilios Papavassiliou, and Thomas Hopko, Fr. Phillip parsed St. Ephraim’s Prayer into its constituent parts.  He then demonstrated that each quality is a step on one of two ladders, one of ascent and one of descent. 

The first rung of decline is “sloth”, popularly understood as laziness, but more profoundly meaning lack of discernment.  Ironically, a slothful person may be extremely busy, because they lack the critical thinking to say, “No”.  The positive counterpart of sloth is “chastity”.  Most people stereotype this quality as being sexually continent.  However, the pristine meaning is whole-mindedness, which makes discernment possible.

Sloth impairs vision and spirals down to “despair”, or pervasive negativity.  Its opposite is “humility”, which is the ability to see things as they truly are, and thus paves the way up to true self-knowledge.

The natural successor to the negativity of despair is “lust of power”, the desperate desire to control ourselves and others.  This ends in self-centeredness and exploitation.  In the opposite direction, true self-knowledge is an affirmation of one’s personhood, enabling one to cultivate “patience”, also understood as endurance.

The final level in the descent of the soul is “idle talk” or gossip.  This is spiritual murder, for if one can’t control others, one can always slander them.  Diametrically opposed to idle talk is “love”, which is the height of all virtues.

Fr. Phillip ended his engaging presentation with these words: “The spiritual struggle of Lent and of the Christian life as a whole is not a matter of avoiding the passions, but of mastering them.”

We also were able to enjoy a presentation about the life and glorification of St. Olga of Alaska, truly an example of love and dedication.  It has been decided that Matushka Olga will be the Patron Saint of the Women’s Retreat.

 All who were present at the Retreat were touched by the good will of the organizers, the clergy, and the participants.  Personally, it was a joy to be in the presence of like-minded women who are also striving to follow Christ, having understood each other both by what we said and what we didn’t say; we spoke the same language of Christ’s love.  The gathering was beyond simply listening to an inspired presentation.  It culminated in the fellowship as members of Christ’s Body, making and strengthening friendships that last a lifetime.

The next opportunity for such fulfilling fellowship and learning will be offered at the Orthodox Women’s Retreat from September 19-21, 2025.  May God bless it!