Archimandrite Ephraim, Abbot of the Vatopaidi Monastery In Cyprus the aethereal land, does the pure soul live? This was a poetic flight on the part of our national poet, Kostis Palamas. A question which then, of course, would have received a positive response, as being yet another confirmation of Read more…
Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi Any serious observer of the creation of the world, no matter from which side they approach it, the material or the spiritual, will feel the presence of an inexpressible mystery in all phenomena. But only a healthy spirit will be able to orientate itself properly Read more…
Fr. Andreas Agathokleous If we consider sin as transgression against the ‘law of God’ rather than an ailment we inherited as children of the first Adam, it’s natural that this will create feelings of guilt. Because, if sin becomes second nature over time, it acquires authority over our soul Read more…
Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos Our secularized age aims at involving us in the pleasures of consumerism. It has even turned religion into a consumer item. This is why the latter has been restricted in its functions to customs, symbols and metaphysics. Society doesn’t understand, and doesn’t want to understand, that Read more…
Archimandrite Ephraim, Abbot of the Vatopaidi Monastery The theology of the person, as this is revealed in the hesychast ascetic tradition, is the most significant counter-argument to post-modern individualism and relativism. The ascetics of introversion and of conscious tranquillity (hesychia) is not a psychological proposition but the authentic and Read more…
Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou All the inspiration to attain the Kingdom of Heaven comes from the awareness of our spiritual poverty, which helps us humble our spirit and depend our life on Him Who is able to save us. In the crisis we are now going through, we perceive the Read more…
Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou The period we are now going through is characterised by the silent expectation of the greatest event under the sun, the coming in the Flesh of the Saviour God on earth. All the great events of God’s dealings with man, which are recorded in sacred history, Read more…
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis ‘We don’t shoot the darkness; we just turn the light on’ (Saint Porfyrios Kavsokalyvitis) The great contemporary saint and much-loved Elder Porfyrios is talking about an ordinary experience: if we want to get out of the dark, we don’t take violent action, such as taking potshots at Read more…
Archimandrite Peter, Abbot of Monastery of St John the Baptist, Essex UK Saint Symeon the New Theologian says that we do not benefit from the ‘glamorous’ way in which we celebrate a feast in the Church. Even if we bring down all the stars from heaven to adorn the Read more…
Vasileios Tatakis Gregory of Nyssa has this to say about human nature: ‘But because we are poor in the good, our nature always impels us towards the deficiency, and the appetitive disposition of our nature [i. e. ‘what we desire’] is to seek what is lacking’ (PG, On the Read more…