Elder Moses the Athonite † In one of its hymns, our Church calls the unbelief of Thomas “good”. Understandably one would wonder – is there good and bad unbelief? There seems to be, because humans are not purely good or evil. In one who has a clean conscience, good Read more…
Saint Nicholas Velimirovich The fourth evil-doer was Pilate, Caesar’s representative in Jerusalem, who in a sense stood for the whole of the pagan world at the trial of Christ. Pilate looked down on the Jews, and the Jews returned the favour. At first he wasn’t of a mind to Read more…
Dr. Haralambis Bousias Christ, our Redeemer, eternal love, is our merciful God, but also a tenacious beggar. He knocks at the door of our heart and entreats us to give him something. What does he ask for? He beseeches us: ‘Son, give me your heart’ (Wis. 18, 26). Alas, we Read more…
Lambros Skontzos, Theologian The coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ into the world is one of the few interludes of joy which tormented humanity has enjoyed over the course of its history. This is illustrated in the angelic tidings of the Nativity to the simple shepherds in Bethlehem: ‘Behold, 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…
Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi Now we proceed with the same faith, which is no longer abstract, however, because the promises have come, the fullness of time has arrived, the incarnation of the Word of God has occurred and the ‘angel of great counsel’ has appeared (Is. 9, 6). Our Read more…
Saint Amfilokhios Makris You should always call Christ to mind, with love. We might be holding a photograph of someone but, because we don’t know them well, we don’t love them, it doesn’t move us. When you hold a photograph of your mother, though, your soul immediately leaps and Read more…
Fr. Dimitrios Bokos The Elevation of the Precious Cross belongs to the feasts of the Lord. It centers on the person of Christ, because the Cross became ‘the sign of the Son of Man’. Once Christ had determined that the means of his voluntary Passion would be death on Read more…
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios The most frequently heard exhortation of the Church which the faithful who attend daily Services hear is, “Let us commend ourselves and one another, and our whole life to Christ our God.” The Celebrant says this multiple times (as many as ten during Matins and Read more…
Listen Now as noted Orthodox scholar Fr. John McGuckin offers a fresh perspective on the chronic problem of celebrating an Orthodox feast amidst powerful secular influences. What is Christmas without Christ? Hear his surprising interpretation of “Happy Holidays,” a phrase which is often criticized in Christian circles. Fr. John confronts Read more…