Hierodeacon Rafael Misiaoulis, Theologian On the fifth Sunday in Lent, the Church brings to our attention an exceptional female ascetic: Saint Mary the Egyptian. She’s someone for us to imitate and has a great deal to teach us. Her Life was preserved for us by Saint Zosimas and written Read more
Apostolos Nikolaïdis Professor Emeritus, University of Athens, President of the ‘Saint Maxim the Greek’ Institute The best and most beneficial role that the natural world can play is to mediate between God and humankind in order to restore the relationship of communion. The first question that arises is the Read more
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis 5.The Cross of Christ, the outstanding symbol of our faith, doesn’t exist only to distinguish believers from unbelievers. Unbelieving non-Christians are, indeed, as tormented by the Cross as the devil himself is. But it also distinguishes to what extent we supposed Christians are conforming to Christianity Read more
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis 3.Faced with the Cross of Christ, then, we have two entirely different conditions: that of the blasphemous man and that of the theologian who saw God. The crucified Lord acts as scales of justice, as the measure by which people have to reveal their inner state Read more
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis ‘Between two robbers, your Cross was like the scales of justice. One was taken down into Hades because of his blasphemy; the other was relieved of his transgressions and recognized God. Christ our God, glory to you’ (Hymn of the 9th hour during Lent). 1.The image presented Read more
Georgios Zaravelas, Theologian Great Lent is the most holy and the most conservative time in the liturgical year. Among the ancient ritual customs during this period is the particular arrangement of the readings of extracts from books of the Old Testament. In the 7th century, such readings formed the Read more
Bishop Agathangelos of Fanari For the secular people of today, focusing on an ascetic saint represents a problem. How can the ascetic figure of Saint John, the author of the Ladder, speak to us, when he acquired and preserved the Grace of God through tears, prayers, and spiritual asceticism? Read more
Protopresbyter Nikolaos Patsalos After the middle of this period [Lent], then, the Church provides appropriate additional help in our ascetic efforts, which differ in accordance with the capacities of each one of us, by presenting the perfect figure of asceticism, Saint John of the Ladder, that great asceticwho really Read more
The times in which we live aren’t normal. It’s an era of great changes and realignments. We’re living in a world which is in a state of flux. Ideologies and religions are amalgamating and there’s certainly an overall atmosphere of confusion and questioning. So it would not be strange or Read more
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios Our Orthodox faith, my beloved friends, is called ‘symbolic’, because it’s expressed in symbols. In other words, it’s expressed in simple signs, though these actually have profound significance and meaning. One of these signs, the most important and most sacred, is the Cross. We shouldn’t Read more
Saint Theophan the Recluse Coldness May the grace of God be with you. You write: ‘My prayer is somewhat cold and weak’. The coldness and weakness aren’t in the prayer, but in the person praying. Try to pray as you should and your prayer will go better. If a Read more
Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos Freedom’s a gift from God. And since we’re made in God’s image, we can’t be deprived of it. Its use, of course, may follow two main paths. One leads to God and other people, that is, that we become bound together in love and become companions Read more