9th Sunday of Luke: ‘A Fierce Condemnation of Greed’
Protopresbyter Nikolaos Patsalos The ninth Sunday of Saint Luke and the Gospel reading again revolves around the great temptation of the misuse of wealth. The parable of the foolish rich man is well-known and, at the same time, of enduring interest to everyone, not only to those who have...
This is the measuring-stick
Saint Nicholas Velimirovich Christian love moves in a circle. First comes love for yourself, then love for your friends and, finally, love for God. Christ took our love for our self as the standard for measuring our love for our enemies and our love for God. He said: ‘Love...
Saint Matthew: Tax-Collector, Apostle and Evangelist
Alexandros Christodoulou In the lists of the Twelve disciples who are recorded in the New Testament, the name Matthew is mentioned. He calls himself this in the list of disciples he quotes in his Gospel (Matth. 10, 3), and also in the narrative of his call to the role...
He weighs up our impulses
Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi The devil doesn’t have foresight, nor does he know what people are thinking. He draws conclusions from the impulses of our emotions and then stimulates our members and senses with corresponding, impassioned thoughts. When he sees that our intentions are inclining towards an image conjured...
On Spiritual Knowledge
Saint Symeon the New Theologian We recently posted an article on the importance of spiritual reading here http://bit.ly/2F4xYBq. The position of the Church has always been, however, that we need help and guidance if we’re to understand Scripture in depth. Thus, as early as the Apostolic age (Acts 8,...
We need to decide
Elder Amvrosios Lazaris We can’t be with Christ and with the evil one. We have to decide. What does the Lord want? Truth, justice and faith. And what’s in our heart to be on our lips. Not the heart to say one thing and the lips another. Source: pemptousia.com...
The Self-Sacrifice of Love for our Neighbour
Rafael Ch. Misiaoulis, Theologian Today’s Gospel reading is the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. The immediate message of the reading is obvious- that we should aid those in distress- but the following commentary puts this teaching into context. Christ is approached by a lawyer, asked a question meant...
Sermon on the Apostolic reading – 8th Sunday of Luke (2 Corinthians 4: 6-15)
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios The Apostle Paul, in today’s passage from the 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians, illustrates for us the great help that the worker of the Gospel receives from God. Our faith that God has given us is a treasure, and strengthens us in our human weakness....
Saint Iakovos (Tsalikis): A Miracle to Help a Physicist Unbeliever
(As told by His Eminence Athanasios, Metropolitan of Limassol) A few days before we went there, some people came from a village and asked him to take some relics of Saint David and to perform a paracletic canon for them. As he was leaving there was a woman from Canada....
Saint Nektarios, unappreciated by people, blessed by God
Alexandros Christodoulou, Theologian Saint Nektarios (9 November) Saint Nektarios was born on 1 October 1846, in Silyvria, Thrace, to poor and devout parents. At his baptism he was given the name Anastasios. He learned his first letters, as well as the Christian teachings, from his mother. In Silyvria he...
‘Where the Shade of your Grace Falls, Archangel’ (choir of fathers from Vatopaidi)
The monastic life has been called the angelic state, as being the pre-eminent way of imitating and following the life of the angels. Monastics are always striving to live as citizens of heaven. They consider themselves no more than temporary visitors on earth and their constant desire is to be...
The Need for Spiritual Study in the Age of the Internet and Information
Archimandrite Theofilos Lemontzis, D. Th. Our era has one particular feature where it differs from previous ages: people are more interested in information than in knowledge. The growth of the Internet has meant that we’re bombarded on a daily basis with information and news and aren’t interested to the...
