Bishop Irinej of Yekaterinburg and Orbits There’s a wind called the libecchio which is unbearably hot and destructive. Wherever it blows, all the plants in the fields and gardens dry up. But the thick, hard thorns aren’t affected. The libeccio destroys only useful plants whose fruits are used as Read more…
Sotirios Theologou Today Christ gives all of us an invitation which concerns our life and the course we wish to pursue. In the Gospel reading, we hear about the call of Christ’s first apostles and their acceptance of his invitation. Andrew and Peter and the sons of Zebedee, became Read more…
Saint Luke the Physician, Archbishop of the Crimea ‘When we examine modern science, as this has been created by scientists such as Lamarque and Darwin, we see the contrast and, I would say, the absolute dissonance which exists between science and religion in matters pertaining to the most basic Read more…
Archimandrite Varnavas Lambropoulos When the pagan Avtolykos once asked Saint Theofilos of Antioch to show him the god he believed in, the latter replied: ‘Show me a person and I’ll show you my God’. The saint’s answer reminds us that in the history of human civilization, theology and anthropology Read more…
Saint John Chrysostom We should leave church as if we’re coming from the holiest inner sanctum, as if we’re descending from the very heavens. Teach those who don’t go to church that you sang with the seraphim, that you belong to the heavenly estate, that you encountered Christ and Read more…
Elder Moisis the Athonite † Sanctity isn’t isolation and it isn’t loneliness. Sanctity’s a beautiful and sacred relationship. A relationship with God, the source of sanctity, who sanctifies people and makes them images of meekness, divine persons. There’s no sanctity other than that bestowed by God himself on his Read more…
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis ‘When, by your suffering and resurrection, you had renewed the world aged by many sins, you ascended into heaven, riding on clouds. Glory to your glory’ (Ode 1, Ascension). Saint Iosif of Thessaloniki, who wrote the second canon of the great feast of the Ascension of Read more…
Fr. Andreas Agathokleous The notion that the Church has laws for all people and all circumstances appears not to be the case in practice. Moreover, such an idea would negate the uniqueness of the person and would amalgamate all people together, which would contravene God’s plan. When John the Read more…
(edited by Stelios Koukos) Noetic prayer is also called prayer of the heart. You ask if oral prayer can also be called prayer of the heart. Unless it’s pure, neither noetic or oral prayer can be called ‘of the heart’. It’s prayer of the heart when the heart literally swallows Read more…
Elder Moisis the Athonite † We’ve said before that God isn’t impassioned, punitive or vindictive. If he were so, he’d have to be evil. But there’s not a trace of wickedness in the divinity. Every trial’s a divine lesson and a form of asceticism, which we’ve otherwise voluntarily removed Read more…