Time and the Church – 2
George Mantzaridis, Professor Emeritus, Theological School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The eschatological nature of the Church is revealed especially in the sacrament of the Divine Liturgy. The celebration of this sacrament is the central and pre-eminently eschatological action of the Church. It is its Liturgy (= function). It constitutes...
Time and the Church – 1
George Mantzaridis, Professor Emeritus, Theological School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Christ’s advent brought the kingdom of God into the world. And the realm where the kingdom of God is made manifest is the Church. This retains eternity within history and provides history with the perspective of eternity. The Church...
The Church Celebrates, the Holy Mountain Rejoices and the Orthodox Commonwealth Glorifies
Stelios Koukos Four Athonite Elders are inscribed in the rolls of the saints. The Church celebrates, the Holy Mountain rejoices and the Orthodox commonwealth glorifies. Today hesychasts, cave-dwellers, those living in kellia and sketes are permeated with the brightness of sanctity. The coenobitic monasteries on Athos now have their...
Saint Romanos the Melodious – The Nightingale of the Church
Back in the old days, he was a child raised in the Church, the right hand of the priests. He attended to all the jobs that were to be done and was always the first to get to the services. He knew the psalms and prayers by heart, and served...
What Do You Do on the Sabbath?
How many times have you asked your parents, “What day is it?” or “What are we doing tomorrow?” When we go to church every single Sunday, sometimes it makes it easier to keep our days straight! In today’s Gospel reading, we hear how our Lord went into the synagogue (like...
Equality between women and men in the Church
Protopresbyter Vasileios Kalliakmanis Let’s examine how women have been treated in Orthodox theology. It’s well known that Saint Paul proclaimed: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ . In saying...
How the Orthodox Church Approaches Transplants
George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The Orthodox Approach It is natural that the theological approach to contemporary problems should be measured against perfection, which is the measure of Christ. But this measure, which Christians should always have before them, should...
How are we to be understood and recognized as the ‘Image of God’?
George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Any donation of body tissue or an organ is a kind of self-sacrifice. Despite this, it would be untheological to consider such an action to be in imitation of the sacrifice of Christ. Christ offers...
The Concept of Death for the Church and for Science
George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The definition of death in the Church and in science The definition of death is at its most crucial in heart transplants. The Church sees our death as a mystery of separation, or of the...
Reservations regarding Transplants
George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The negative arguments against transplants The negative arguments against transplants mainly invoke the sanctity of the human body and the spiritual dimension that these basic organs have in Old Testament anthropology, which is retained in...
