Sophia Bekri, Theologian Among the many wonderful salutations addressed by the hymnographer to our Lady, one stands out particularly for its symbolism and importance: ‘Hail, city of the king of all’. This characterization of our Lady as ‘the city of God (the king)’ comes from the Prophet David: ‘the Read more…
Saint Gregory the Wonder-Worker, Bishop of New Caesarea (ca. 213-270) Today Gabriel, who stands before God, came to the pure virgin, announcing the glad tidings: ‘Hail, you who are full of grace’. She tried to think what kind of salutation this might be. But the angel went straight on Read more…
Fr. Andreas Agathokleous The Feast of the Annunciation lends a pre-Paschal feeling to Great Lent, during which it always falls. The atmosphere of compunction recedes and gives way to the joy of the great feast. This is why we have a dispensation to eat fish. The hymns, the celebrations Read more…
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis ‘I shall open my mouth and it will be filled with praise and I shall pour out words to the Queen and Mother; I shall be seen radiantly keeping the festival and shall joyfully sing her wonders’ (irmos, ode 1, Akathistos Hymn). As the voice of Read more…
Alexandros Christodoulou With His incarnation, His humanization, God entered the innermost core of our lives in the most obvious way. He entered our circulatory system, our heart, the centre of everything, the centre of the universe. After He’d been expelled from our world, our body and our soul through Read more…
Metropolitan Serafeim of Zimbabwe The feast of the Entry of our Lady connects us to God’s providence and Christ’s salvation of humanity and of the whole of God’s creation. The plan of divine dispensation for our salvation, however, also included the participation of holy people who, with their devotion Read more…
Fr. Alexander Schmemann It seems thousands of years removed from us, but it was not so very long ago that life was marked out by religious feasts. Although everyone went to church, not everyone, of course, knew the exact contents of each celebration. For many, perhaps even the majority, Read more…
Archimandrite Daniel G. Aerakis The most fortunate parents in the history of the world are those of the Mother of God, Joachim and Ann. The Church hymns them as the happiest of all progenitors. “Fortunate couple! you have surpassed all other parents in that you begot her who was Read more…
A homily of the abbot of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, Archimandrite Ephraim, in the refectory of the monastery at the Feast of the Mother of God on September 8th. *** The Panagia has a central place in divine worship. Feasts of the Mother of God frame the Read more…
Monk Arsenios of the Skete of Koutloumousiou, the Holy Mountain If we see that some saints enjoy greater glory than others, this is due to the fact they have even a little bit more of Christ’s humility within them, nothing else. There are saints who have astonishing ascetic achievements Read more…