Pemptousia is published by the ‘SAINT MAXIM THE GREEK’ Institute for the Research, Preservation, and Promotion of Spiritual and Cultural Traditions. It appears online, in several languages. Pemptousia (www.pemptousia.com) and OCN have formed a strategic partnership, whereby content from each organization is shared online by both. We are delighted to bring you articles, videos, and other offerings from the Holy Mountain here at MyOCN.net.
Archimandrite Epiphanios Ekonomou It’s hardly surprising that the message of the Resurrection of Christ has raised a whole host of doubts and questions. Objections were registered immediately after the occurrence of the supernatural event on which the whole structure of the Christian Church is founded. For the Jews of Read more
George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Creation suffers the Passion of its Creator. The sun hides its rays. The earth quakes and the veil of the temple is rent in two ‘from top to bottom’ (Matth.. 27, 51). The Savior is Read more
Fr. Lev Gillet On Holy Saturday the Church directs and concentrates our attention on our Lord’s tomb. In the whole liturgical year, there is no day with a more complex character than Holy Saturday, for this day shares both in the sorrow of the Passion and in the joy Read more
Vasilios Grillas, Theologian When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ‘I have sinned’, he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood’. ‘What is that to us?’ Read more
Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae Through the Cross, Christ sanctified His body- the link with the world. He rejected the temptations sent to Him by the world, that is to taste the pleasures, to satisfy His needs unrestrained or to avoid pain and death. If we, in the same way, ward Read more
Petros Panayiotopoulos, Assistant Professor,Faculty of Theology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki As we progress towards the Passion, events unfurl with dramatic speed, rich in significance and with a breathtaking plot as they proceed towards their culmination. We’ve already seen two actions which are related to the person of Christ and Read more
Athanasios Moustakis On the evening of Great Tuesday, the tropario of Kassiani is sung in Orthodox churches. This is a poetic rendition of an event described in the Gospels and has to do with a sinful woman who showed her repentance by washing the feet of Jesus with expensive Read more
Archimandrite Ephraim, Abbot of the Vatopaidi Monastery When Christians talk about death, they don’t do so with pessimism, they aren’t resigned to it, they don’t think it natural. They see it principally as an enemy which must be defeated through Christ. ‘The last enemy to be destroyed is death, Read more
Saint John Chrysostom ‘Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they made a meal for him’. Martha was serving and Lazarus ate. This was a sign of Lazarus’ real resurrection: that many days later, he Read more
Abba Dorotheos So, all those who wish to cleanse themselves of the sins of the whole year should first guard against treating food lightly. Because the fathers say that inattention to food begets all kinds of evil for us. Equally, we must guard against breaking the fast without due Read more
Lambros Skontzos, Theologian Thessaloniki has been the cradle of many saints. There are hundreds of Thessalonian saints who adorn the holy synaxaria. One such saint is Theonas, archbishop of the city, a truly significant personality who made his mark in the Thessaloniki of the 16th century. We don’t have much Read more
Saint Justin Popovich The 5th Sunday in Great Lent, the Sunday which is the week of great vigils, and ascetic struggles, the week of lamentations and sighs, is also the Sunday of the greatest among the women saints, our holy mother Mary the Egyptian. She spent forty-seven years in Read more