‘And after beating them harshly, they put them in prison’
Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘And after beating them harshly, they put them in prison and told the jailer to guard them well’. From the outset, Christianity has been associated with mistrust. It’s not just that belief in Christ engenders a way of life which is not pleasing to the world,...
The Unity which Saves (Eph. 4, 1-7)
Archimandrite Varnavas Lambropoulos In his Epistle to the Hebrews, Saint Paul says that the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword (4, 12). Today we don’t use double-edged swords so much. Most often we come across them in museum collections or as ornaments in drawing-rooms. Woe betide...
Homily on the Apostolic reading for the 1st Sunday of Luke (2nd Corinthians 1:21-24 & 2:1-4)
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios To understand what St. Paul is talking about in today’s reading, we have to remember that in his previous Epistle to the Corinthians, the Holy Apostle severely rebuked the Christians of that community for their bad conduct. The result of this was that the Corinthians...
Sermon on the Apostolic Reading for the 7th Sunday of Matthew (Romans 15: 1-7)
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios One of the most serious issues affecting society on all levels is the complete breakdown of relationships between people. This can be seen even within the same family, where spouses are estranged because of disagreements, and there is alienation between children and parents. What is...
Sermon on the Apostolic Reading for the 6th Sunday of Matthew (Romans 12: 6-14)
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios The words that come to us from St. Paul, in today’s reading from the Letter to the Romans, serve as a guide for our daily lives. He encourages us to make good use of the gifts that God has given us, and shows us how...
Sermon on the Apostolic reading for the 5th Sunday of Matthew (Romans 10: 1-10)
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios In our reading from the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul lays before us two basic truths, which are of particular interest for us today. The first, is that we should desire and seek the salvation of our people with all of our hearts. Not...
Sermon on the Apostolic Reading (Tit. 3: 8-15) of the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of Fourth Ecumenical Council
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios Today we celebrate the “Synaxis of All the Saints of Pisidia, Side and Antalya, along with the “Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalkidon. This common celebration was approved by the Holy Synod of our Ecumenical Patriarchate for two reasons: Firstly, because among...
The scene of the Apostles Peter and Paul embracing
Efthymios N. Tsigaridas There are in the Monastery three fragments of wall-paintings, whose origin is unknown. Two of these are from decoration of the Late Comnenan period, while the third belongs to decoration of the Early Palaeologan period. On the two earlier fragments, measuring 50 x 65 and 65...
Sermon on the Apostolic reading for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (Acts 20: 16-18, 28-36)
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios For this particular reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we see the Apostle Paul imparting his spiritual legacy upon the presbyters of Ephesus in an emotional farewell address at the seaside town of Miletus. Our Church, in its wisdom has chosen this passage as...
Sermon on the Apostolic Reading for the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers (Acts 6: 1-7)
Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the philanthropy of the first Church of Jerusalem. With the election of the seven Deacons, the Holy Apostles demonstrated their care for the poor and the sick. Despite the daily persecution, they never lost sight of...
