What we call ‘kalanda’ (carols) are the songs of praise and goodwill which are sung on the eve of the great Christian feasts and which belong, in anthropological terms, to what we call good luck rituals. The carols for the Twelve Days of Christmas are still remembered, though those for Read more
Athanasios Moustakis ‘When Abraham was called, by faith…’ As is the case every year, the Epistle reading for the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ focuses on faith. It consists of two excerpts from chapter 11 of Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews (verses 9-10 and 32-40) in which Read more
Fr. Sotirios Athanasoulias The Person of Christ at the center of detractions For Christians, the historicity of Christ is self-evident, as, indeed, it is for all people of good will. According to the very clear testimony of Holy Scripture, Jesus was a historical personage who was born in Bethlehem Read more
Saint Ephraim the Syrian While we’re in this life, we have the power and authority from God to break by ourselves the chains of the desires of the enemy, to cast off the burden of our sins through repentance and to be saved, thereby gaining the kingdom of heaven. Read more
Archimandrite Varnavas Lambropoulos When people aren’t feeling at their best, what they least want to hear is bad news. On the other hand, what they’re always wanting to hear is a good bit of news that’ll give them a boost and the courage to get on with life. Incontrovertible Read more
Metropolitan Ieronymos of Larisa and Tyrnavos The Sunday before Christmas is full of names. Both in the Epistle, but particularly in the Gospel reading, there are long lists presented of people who preceded the Lord Jesus, and who, despite the variety in their ways of life, are all characterized Read more
Listen now The Doxastiko at Lauds on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ in plagal tone four (Των νομικών διδαγμάτων [The Accumulated Teachings of the Law]) by the late Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas, Archon Protopsaltis of the Great Church of Christ, performed by himself and his choir at the lectern. Recorded Read more
Evagoras Mahaira Aglaïa was a prosperous woman who lived in the region around Rome in the time of Diocletian and had Boniface as a slave. Bonifatius was her steward, very good-looking in appearance, generous to the poor and kind-hearted, but with a liking for drink and debauchery. They soon Read more
Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘Don’t, out of vanity or sycophancy, insist on having your own way, quarrelling with and tormenting yourselves and your neighbor, just so that, afterwards, you can hear people saying that nobody can beat you’ (Abba Dorotheos) There are two ways of carrying out a task: with Read more
The holiest shrine on the island of Kerkyra (Corfu) just off the western coast of Greece is the tomb of a fourth-century saint whose body after sixteen centuries is in such a remarkable state of preservation that every year he is carried in solemn triumph through the streets on the Read more
Elder Aimilianos Simonopetritis † God knows when there’s room in your heart. If you haven’t received something yet, it means that your heart’s not big enough for it. Your heart’s packed tightly, as when you force lots of things into a container and press them down so that there’s Read more
Dr. Haralambis Bousias There was a young boy in Thessaloniki who was ill with kidney failure. He had to have hemodialysis all the time and led a life of pain and misery. His parents were devout people who were heart-broken at this. They couldn’t bear to watch their child Read more