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…
Monk Arsenios of the Skete of Koutloumousiou, the Holy Mountain So humility which comes as a natural result after we sin, especially when these are mortal sins, is one thing, and the humility of Christ is another. For sinful people, humility’s absolutely necessary for them to stay alive, so Read more…
Monk Arsenios of the Skete of Koutloumousiou, the Holy Mountain When the most glorious and richest kings on earth have in mind to build their throne and their royal palace as a whole, they don’t leave a stone unturned until they find the most precious material that nature is Read more…
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of Diokleia Sharing, Silence, Suffering If the Mother of God at the moment of the Annunciation is a true icon of human freedom, of authentic liberty and liberation, then her actions and reactions in the events that follow shortly afterwards in St. Luke’s Gospel illustrate three basic Read more…
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of Diokleia Am I not free? (1 Corinthians 9:1) God persuades, He does not compel; for violence is foreign to Him. (Epistle to Diognetus VII, 4) What Shall We Offer? In an Orthodox hymn used at Vespers on Christmas Eve, the Virgin Mary is seen as the Read more…
Elder Efraim, Abbot of the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopaidi, the Holy Mountain After the Lord’s Resurrection, it was Our Most Holy Lady who was the support of the Apostles and the newly-founded Church of Christ. It was she who taught the new Christians, guided them and comforted Read more…