The Most Holy Spirit
Metropolitan Ioïl (Frangkakos) of Edessa, Pella, and Almopia ‘And He said this about the Spirit’ On the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles, Christ revealed that He Himself is the source of life. Because people were about to leave to go back home, Christ’s words were ‘provisions’...
Encomium on All Saints – Part II
Saint John Chrysostom But let’s not merely listen to what’s been said, that is that there were hot coals below the wounded bodies, but let’s think how we feel when we suddenly come down with a fever. We think that life’s unbearable, we’re upset, we fret, we gripe like...
Encomium on All Saints – Part I
Saint John Chrysostom Not seven days have passed since we celebrated the holy feast of Pentecost and again we’re overtaken by a chorus of martyrs, or better, serried ranks of martyrs, which are in no way lesser than the ranks of the angels seen by the Patriarch Jacob but...
God is Accessible Via our Neighbour
Dimitris Ioannou The whole of the thought of the Athonite Elder (Aimilianos Simonopetritis) can be summed up in the teaching that ‘we reach God via our neighbour’. This is the central theme of his work. But what is it that gives our communication with other people authenticity and validity?...
Woe Betide the World if the Mob Rules
† Dionysios, Metropolitan of Servia and Kozani Today the Church honours the memory of those people who took charge of the burial of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and those others who set out to pay Him the final burial honours in accordance with the Jewish customs of the time....
We don’t reach Infinity by Adding Numbers
Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae In Saint John Chrysostom’s homily which we read on the night of the Resurrection, we hear: ‘Let no one grieve at their poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one bewail their trespasses, for forgiveness has risen from the grave. Let no one...
The Power of Prayer
Archimandrite Nikanor Karayannis ‘This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting’ . This phrase in the Gospel reading concerning the miraculous cure of the possessed young man suggests the power and value of prayer. Saint John of the Ladder, whom we celebrate today...
The Message of the Cross
Archimandrite Nikanor Karayannis In every age, the message of the Cross has sounded strange. In our own era, however, when comfort and prosperity have been raised to god-like status, the message of the Cross isn’t merely absurd but is also irreconcilable with secular reasoning. It’s terrifying for the rules...
Dealing with Sickness
Saint Neofytos Recluse So you should reflect on your sins and say ‘Glory to You, Lord, for You’re punishing me justly’. Recollect that, before, you’d forgotten God and say: ‘Glory to You, Lord, that you’ve given me cause and reason to remember You frequently’. Think about the fact that,...
Thoughts on the Triodio
Serafeim Manolis We’re entering the Triodio, the period of contrition in the liturgical year during which hymns are sung which are very deep and powerful. The hymns of the Triodio reveal the dread mysteries and the conditions for eternal life. It’s a genuine and true study of death which...
