In English

Theologising in the spirit of the Fathers ‘My theology springs partly from the constant and authentic dialogue I have with the Holy Fathers of the Church and partly from my lively and regular dialogue with the triune God, through prayer and liturgical life in my traditional Church, together with my dear Romanian brothers and my Christian brothers everywhere.’                                                                          Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae    Father Dumitru Stăniloae’s life spanned almost the whole of the twentieth century. He was born on 17 November 1903 in a village near Braşov in the Transylvanian mountains, to peasant parents, simple people who were deeply rooted in the Orthodox Christian tradition. Both had Biblical names: Irimie (Jeremiah) and Rebeca. His mother was a very dynamic and religious woman, and ...

There’s no way we can know everything about created things. But what is there? There’s a feeling of completeness in people’s hearts when the created thing, that is the human person, becomes acquainted with the Creator.

A Book Review by Frederica Mathewes-Green Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer: Experiencing the Presence of God and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of an Ancient Spirituality by Norris J. Chumley, HarperOne, 2011, 224 PP What’s so mysterious about the Jesus Prayer? It’s one of the shortest and simplest prayers you can find: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” It’s one of the most ancient prayers, too; think of how often in the Gospels people ask Jesus for mercy. A prayer for mercy would likely have been one of the variations when the Desert Mothers and Fathers (AD 2nd-5th c), who sought to pray constantly, were trying out different short, repeated verses of Scripture to discipline the wandering mind. (St. ...

Over the years, I have become acquainted with various logical arguments for the existence of God - some I find more convincing than others. Of course, the strongest evidence comes from direct experience, for God is a person to be mystically encountered, not an abstraction to be logically deduced. This should not be taken to imply that logic has no role to play a role in one’s spiritual life. On the contrary, logic can be used to convince someone that such an experience is worth pursuing in the first place. The strongest argument for me – an argument not normally used to evidence God's reality - happens to be a simple one: the existence of monasticism. I begin with a very ...

Priests are often accused of various things. But priests are still people. One person might make a mistake, but that doesn’t mean that everybody else is to blame. So, a priest might err, but that doesn’t mean that all priests are at fault. And Christ says: ‘Don’t judge, or else you’ll be judged.’, because, by the standard by which we judge, we’ll also be judged one day. Who are we to judge? We should pray that God will enlighten each and every one of us. As far as we can, we should forgive.

By: Charles Goodhart and Dimitrios Tsomocos The sovereign debt crisis in Southern Europe is a reminder that increasing indebtedness can become unsustainable, whether that indebtedness accrues to the government or to the private sector. But when this busts, the danger and fragility of the capital flow from the surplus country also becomes exposed. The focus of discussion in the eurozone has been on the need to limit the build-up of indebtedness in the deficit countries. A problem is that the focus just on the indebted countries imparts a deflationary bias for the eurozone as a whole, because the expenditures in the deficit countries then have to be reduced while this is often not matched by any equivalent increase in expenditures in the ...

We don’t take Holy Communion just because we’re in church and something’s moved us to do so, or because others are, or because we’ve become used to doing so. We have to be prepared. First of all, we have to be aware what a special gift Holy Communion is for us. Christ Himself, our God, is being given to us. And, as we’ve seen, He Himself has said that He wants us to receive Him with a pure heart, a heart which loves and has forgiven all other people. So we have to cleanse our heart regularly through confession, and, before Holy Communion, become reconciled with everyone, especially those we’ve wronged or been angry with. We must strive to ensure ...

(A letter written by Elder Païsios to a family of firm believers who were socially and spiritually aware and in despair over the behaviour of their daughter) My dear brother, ‘Rejoice in the Lord’. With regard to the child you wrote to me about, I’m of the opinion that a strict attitude will make things worse for her. Tell her what’s right in a kind manner and then don’t pressurize her, but show that you’re worried about the way she’s going (which will be apparent anyway, because neither joy nor anxiety can be concealed). Do your duty by giving her advice and then trust in God. I think you’ll get better results if you use your pain in prayer, instead of being ...

The Miracle of Truth Saint Photius was the chosen vessel of God in his times. He was, in other words, the outstanding, genuine bearer of Tradition and for that reason was the most famous and therefore the most significant theologian of the period. His outlook and his theology were an expression of the being of the Church and the result of enlightenment by the Holy Spirit. This fact, which is not so common as we would like in the Church, has warmed the hearts of the faithful to Photius over all the centuries since, and has made him a symbol and beacon of the truth. It is proper, therefore that the Church has decided to celebrate his memory (6th February) in ...

What will you give if you haven’t got and how will you have anything unless you ask it of God? Work hard at prayer and study and you’ll be strengthened.

The whole combat and struggle which the recruited members of the Church have to fight against has only one meaning and one purpose: to win over the organised evil, which is none other than the denial of God’s will. All the resisting powers which are provoking and coercing us to become traitors and apostates, are called ‘temptations’ and have many causes. Their name ‘pirasmos’( πειρασμός- temptation) also reveals part of their features, since it is only through combat and struggle that we acquire “pira”,(πείρα- experience) and perceive the mysteries of divine justice, which is the “spiritual law”, through which our Lord governs His creation. The types of temptations are various, but they have only one purpose: To prove that we are ...

Inevitably, human weakness sometimes led to irregularities, such as an accumulation of wealth for personal benefit, client-type relations with those in power at any time, maladministration and much else that was in conflict with the Gospel virtues of poverty, love and charity and a constant awareness of the presence of God. Where such conditions existed, they were criticized and became the objects of withering attacks from monastic circles themselves. And, naturally, it needs to be noted that the Gospel condemnation of wealth had a profound anthropological meaning, rather than a social one. Its prime concern was the liberation of people from the destructive desire for material goods and from the authority of the devil. On a second level, we see ...

If we’re watchful, the Grace of the Holy Spirit will make us temples of the Holy Spirit, the result being that, wherever we are, we have this facility: you always have the sacrificial table with you. Really, you yourself are priest, and altar and the victim of the sacrifices. Because, wherever you are, you can set up the altar and, as long as you show vigilant intent and the location and the timing are no impediment, then never mind if you can’t kneel or raise your hands to the heavens. Provided you show a fervent soul and mind, you’ll have completed your prayer. Women going about their daily tasks can be raised to the heavens in their minds and can ...

The pre-cleansing period of the Triodio will bring us to the gates of Great Lent. It’s a period of intense liturgical activity and spiritual watchfulness, as demonstrated by the poetic discourse of these days. The hymns which follow the reading of Psalm 50 have a special place among those sung at this time: ‘Open to me the gates of repentance’, ‘Make straight for me the paths of salvation’ and ‘The multitude of my past iniquities’. Dimitrios Magouris is outstanding among the great cantors. Coming as he did from Constantinople, he served with some of the stars of the style of singing prevalent there. He was the link between the cantors of Greece and those of the Patriarchal tradition. He arrived in ...

Through their faith and their loving union with God in the person of Christ, Christians become fundamentally spiritually equipped to overcome the fear of death. They’re saved from spiritual death and are no longer afraid of biological demise. It’s precisely their faith in the Resurrection of the Lord which fills their souls with courage, hope, optimism and patience. The whole of the otherwise insurmountable problem of death undergoes a change of content and is transformed into an encounter and direct communion with the person of Christ. By the same token, time, from being a drift towards death, a movement towards meaningless darkness, becomes a movement towards resurrection, towards an effulgent revelation. In short, it’s natural for Christians to mourn and to ...

The earliest church prohibited Christians from participating in capital punishment, as is evident from the following pronouncements by Christian writers before the Decian Persecution of A.D. 249-251. This time period marks the 200th anniversary of the beginning of distinctively Christian literature, and also the first quarter-millennium of our era. Dating from before the division into modern-day denominations, such writings are the common inheritance of all Christians. In addressing a rebellious faction in the church at Corinth, 1 Clement 45 recalled that when in the Old Testament the righteous were persecuted or put to death, it was only by the wicked, the unholy, and the hate-consumed. Variously dated between A.D. 70 and 97, 1 Clement is one of the oldest extant Christian ...

The Miracle of Truth Saint Photius was the chosen vessel of God in his times. He was, in other words, the outstanding, genuine bearer of Tradition and for that reason was the most famous and therefore the most significant theologian of the period. His outlook and his theology were an expression of the being of the Church and the result of enlightenment by the Holy Spirit. This fact, which is not so common as we would like in the Church, has warmed the hearts of the faithful to Photius over all the centuries since, and has made him a symbol and beacon of the truth. It is proper, therefore that the Church has decided to celebrate his memory (6th February) in ...

Life without Christ, death without Christ, truth without Christ, the sun without Christ and the universe without Him- all of that is absolute madness, a terrible martyrdom, a Sisyphian torment, hell! I don’t want either life or death without You, Sweetest Lord. I don’t want truth, justice, paradise or even eternity. No, no! All I want is You. For You to be in all things, in all people and above everything.

The newly-weds are our spiritual children, members of our parishes. It’s the duty of clergy to celebrate the ‘feast’ of the couple in a splendid manner, with formality, seriousness and dignity, while at the same time preserving the corresponding religious and liturgical ethos. It’s a help in this if there’s a choir, so that the ceremony can be performed in a prayerful manner. This is, in itself, an encouragement to those taking part to behave accordingly. Not hurriedly, and worrying over the next wedding. If the sanctity of the service is to be preserved, pastoral effort is required, as is the spiritual cultivation of the couple and, indeed, of the whole parish. At this point, the responsibility of the clergy ...

Let’s struggle with all the strength that God’s given us. Let’s entreat Him to agree to help us, so that we keep His commandments and that His will may be accomplished within us, by the coming of His kingdom, that is His Grace. May the All-Good Spirit visit us and thus restore the tripartite balance of our soul. Then we’ll be counted worthy to obtain not only the image but also the likeness, and to become children of God by grace. Photo by Spyros Drosos How does divine Grace visit us and dwell within us? First of all, God seeks pure and untainted faith. If you’ve got real faith, it’s not possible that you won’t have works, as well. As Saint ...