Petros Panayiotopoulos, Assistant Professor,Faculty of Theology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki As we progress towards the Passion, events unfurl with dramatic speed, rich in significance and with a breathtaking plot as they proceed towards their culmination. We’ve already seen two actions which are related to the person of Christ and Read more
Athanasios Moustakis On the evening of Great Tuesday, the tropario of Kassiani is sung in Orthodox churches. This is a poetic rendition of an event described in the Gospels and has to do with a sinful woman who showed her repentance by washing the feet of Jesus with expensive Read more
Saint John Chrysostom ‘Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they made a meal for him’. Martha was serving and Lazarus ate. This was a sign of Lazarus’ real resurrection: that many days later, he Read more
Anastasios Aslanidis In their works, the hymnographers of the Orthodox Church express their approach and perception of events, as presented by Orthodox tradition, in a particular way. With the Gospel and hymnographical texts as our guide, we shall approach the role of the disciples in the preparation of the Read more
Protopresbyter Vasileios Kalliakmanis a) Joseph the Fair leads the chorus of those celebrating God’s condescension in going to His voluntary passion, an event of universal significance. In his person, the Gospel messages of reconciliation, forgiveness, restraint and purity of heart find their application. He may not have heard the Read more
Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou The service of Great Saturday is effectively a funeral service for Christ, and yet it is the most colourful service of Holy Week, because we have already begun to celebrate the Resurrection. The Epitaphios which represents the tomb of Christ, is adorned with an array of Read more
Have you ever tried to find something in the dark? Have you walked around in pitch black? Maybe you stumbled into things. Maybe you tripped and fell. Maybe you tried to hold onto something that would help you find your way. It’s hard to find our way when we don’t Read more
Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou If we have missed the opportunity to live Great Lent in an acceptable manner and there is only one week left, how can we enter into the joy of the Resurrection? The Lord says to the holy Apostles, ‘Ye are they which have continued patiently with Read more
‘Lord, the woman who had fallen into many sins…fulfilled the task of a myrrh-bearer and, lamenting, brought you sweet-smelling oil before your burial’. The Tropario (Hymn) of Kassiani dominates the service of matins for Great Wednesday. A sinful woman, a harlot in her body, realizes the state she’s in, undertakes Read more
Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou Holy Week is the heart of the Christian Orthodox Faith and the centre of the yearly cycle of Christian Feasts. Every year our churches are packed at Holy Week and, come the last three days, they are bursting at the seams with both people who attend Read more