Holy Mountain: a universal presence and a heavenward orientation
By Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaias and Lavreotikis The spiritual influence of Mount Athos is indisputable and certainly stems from the fact that many men have attained holiness through their secret ascetic struggles there. In recent years many pilgrims have found peace of mind and repose on the Mountain, together with spiritual...
VIDEO: Archimandrite Zacharias on ‘The spiritual heart’
The heart’s the inner person, it’s the centre of our personality. Where we can encounter God, where we can make our free choice concerning Him, that’s the centre of our personality. And we can’t find our heart by our own efforts. We find our heart, because we have to say...
People as Liturgical Beings, Part 2
Read Part 1 here. By Abbot George Kapsanis of Gregoriou People who offer ‘your own from your own, in all things and for all things’ serve God truly and pleasingly. That is, people who recognize that whatever they have is a gift from God. They believe that they’ve got nothing...
People as Liturgical Beings, Part 1
By Abbot George Kapsanis of Gregoriou We usually characterize people as rational and independent beings. These attributes are correct enough, but don’t convey human nature in its completeness. Through the liturgical experience, we feel that, more than anything, people are liturgical beings. They were made to serve, to offer themselves...
The Meaning of Pain in Our Lives
By Abbot George Kapsanis of Gregoriou Apart from the suffering that it causes, physical, mental or spiritual pain– which entered man’s life by divine sufferance – also has positive effects for man’s earthly life and development. It is easy to philosophise or theologise about pain but it is difficult to have...
On Humility and the Humble Outlook – 1
By Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi (+2009) The title of this speech in Greek is ‘Περί ταπεινώσεως και ταπεινοφροσύνης’. An Elder has explained the difference as being that ‘ταπεινοφροσύνη’ is an attitude of mind (hence ‘humble outlook’), while ‘ταπείνωσις’ (‘humility’) is from the heart. In practice, however, the terms are often...
Elder Paisios: The Children, Their Joys and Their Difficulties
Q.: I’ve noticed, Elder, that sometimes babies smile at the time of Divine Liturgy. A.: They don’t do that only at the Divine Liturgy. Babies are in constant contact with God, because they’ve got nothing to worry about. What did Christ say about little children? ‘Their angels in heaven continually...
How the Monks Make Kollyva on The Holy Mountain
This article originally appeared here and is republished as part of OCN’s strategic partnership with Pemptousia. On the Holy Mountain, the abbots of the last hundred years are commemorated, as well as the priests and monks of the last thirty. Kollyvo is made every time an icon is placed in...
