In English

I once met a “born again Christian” on a plane. He had never heard of the Orthodox Church and was curious. “What is an Orthodox Christian? Are you born again?” he asked. While many Christians inAmericahave never heard of Orthodox Christians, we hear a lot about “born again Christians.” If you, my fellow Orthodox Christians, were asked these questions, how would you answer? My reply to his inquiry was, “Yes, we Orthodox are born again Christians. But in the “true believing way!” Was my answer presumptuous? What is the “true believing way?” To find the answer, we need only to turn to the Gospel according toSt. John(Chap. 3) and look at the conversation between our Lord and Nicodimus. Nicodimus was “a Pharisee ...

We shall now say something about the present feast. Many people celebrate feast days and know what they’re called, but don’t know why they were established. So everyone knows that the feast today is called Theophany, but don’t know what Theophany is, and whether it is one thing or another. And this is shameful- celebrating an annual feast day and not knowing the reason for its existence. First of all, therefore, it’s necessary to say that there’s not one Theophany, but two: the actual one, which has already occurred; and the second, in the future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. You’ll hear about both today from Paul, who, in his letter to Titus, speaks thus ...

 PROLOGUE Silence for the monks is a rule of life. It protects them from uncontrollable and unrestrained talk as well as from impugnation and slander, which result in the death of the soul. It delivers them from wrangle and strife and preserves in them internal peace which is necessary for inwardness. Silence is the fruit of quietude, an internal state which gives birth to spiritual discourse. -When does the monk ought to keep quiet and when does he ought to talk? Abbot Pimen offers a solution to the issue with great discernment: “A brother asked Abbot Pimen saying: ‘which is best: to talk or to keep quiet?’And the Elder tells him: ‘Whoever talks for the sake of God, does well. Whoever keeps quiet ...

Crisis! Crisis of many natures—political, social, family, youth, environmental, economic! Crisis of institutions and values. Wars, refugees, famine, poverty, unemployment, terrorism, and the ongoing ecological destruction of our planet: This is the image of humanity in a global scale. How will we exit this deep crisis that torments our era? In Chinese, the word “crisis” is written with the same ideogram that is used for the word “opportunity.” And in the Greek, the word “crisis” also includes in its meaning, “energy,” which derives from the verb “to judge” and refers to the noetic energy that decides or chooses. Therefore the crisis that we endure could carry a positive effect if we use it as an opportunity for repentance, an opportunity for ...

It’s tremendously important that somebody in the family should pray properly. Prayer attracts God’s Grace, and all the members of the family feel it, even those with hearts of ice. Always pray.

All seven of the Church’s Ecumenical Councils have been concerned with a single question: “Who is Jesus?” Indeed, according to the Gospels, Jesus Himself posed this question several times in various forms: "But who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:29). "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" (Matthew 22:42). The reason this question is important has to do with certain claims of Jesus, which indicate that the answer touches on the nature of God. When Jesus declares, for instance, that He and the Father are one (John 10:30), when He affirms that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (14:6), when He ...

This is the main prayer of the Divine Liturgy, at which the blessing of the Precious Gifts and their sacramental transformation into the Body and Blood of Christ takes place. In other words, it’s the most sacred point of the service of the Divine Liturgy. It begins with the words ‘It is meet and right to hymn you, to bless you, to give thanks to you, to worship you in every place of your dominion’, which are said by the priest before the altar, in a low or normal voice . After the priest has thanked God for all His blessings towards us (for creating us out of nothing, for raising us up when we fell, for bringing us up ...

People who live in the past might as well be dead. Those who live in the future, through their imagination, are puerile because only God knows the future. The joy of Christ is to be found only in the present. In the eternal present of God.

The eschatological nature of the Church is revealed especially in the sacrament of the Divine Liturgy. The celebration of this sacrament is the central and pre-eminently eschatological action of the Church. It is its Liturgy (= function). It constitutes the perfect community which overcomes the divisions of space and time and manifests the kingdom of God to the world. Participation in the Divine Eucharist is communion with Christ. It is participation in His eternal life (See, Jn. 6, 33-7). It is entry into His kingdom. These things are not presented metaphorically, but are real features which are presented as experiences to the members of the Church. The Christian life is of an empirical nature. And the content of this experience ...

‘Thou hast brought us into being out of nothing’ (The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom). How are we to understand God’s relation to the world he has created? What is meant by this phrase ‘out of nothing’, ex nihilo? Why, indeed did God create at all? The words ‘out of nothing’ signify, first and foremost, that God created the universe by an act of his free will. Nothing compelled him to create; he chose to do so. The world was not created unintentionally or out of necessity; it is not an automatic emanation or overflowing from God, but the consequence of divine choice. If nothing compelled God to create, why then did he choose to do so? In so far as such ...

The fact that the Gospels are written in Greek presents us with heightened responsibilities. Any outstanding scholar abroad who wishes to deal with the New Testament has to learn Greek. All of them, be they German, French, English or American know Greek well. If other people respect the language of the Gospels, how much more should we preserve the Greek language?

“One day a tiny tear appeared on a cocoon. One man was watching the butterfly trying to push her body through the opening. The struggle lasted for hours. Then it looked as though every activity had ceased. It looked as though the butterfly had done all it could and could not move any further. The man took a pair of scissors and opened up the cocoon. The butterfly moved out easily yet her body and her wings looked withered. The man continued watching. He was waiting for her to flap her wings, hoping they would slowly grow, strengthen and become able to lift the butterfly to the air. Yet, the butterfly went through her entire life moving painfully and slowly, harboring a ...

This article is among the first written for the blog. There is something to be said for the blog itself  having "stayed put." The internet is an ephemeral creation. I hope to be providing a stable platform for learning, for questioning, for conversation. With a few emendations, I offer this reprint. That the article is still useful after an entire 6 years is astonishing! In monastic tradition, a monk makes four vows: poverty, chastity, obedience and stability. Most people are familiar with the first three but not with the fourth. In classical monastic practice it meant that a monk stayed put: he did not move from monastery to monastery. It was not a new idea. Before this vow was formalized in ...

(Written exclusively for Pemptousia.com) Whether watching television, reading a newspaper, walking around town, driving on the interstate, surfing the net, or visiting stores, we are constantly inundated by mass advertising. All day long, our minds are bombarded with images that tell us what to buy, how to look, even how to think. Not only do these images tell us what we should buy, they also fill us with feelings of insecurity, inadequacy and yearning, subliminally suggesting that if we don't own a certain item, look a certain way, even shop or eat at a certain place, we are unsuccessful and unimportant. Let's multiply that by a thousand during the Advent and Christmas season. These advertisements are carefully designed to not only manipulate, ...

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me. Be the light for my darkened soul.

Until then, Orthodoxy in Cappadocia seemed very much like an islet in the East.  Valens let loose the evils of heresy everywhere. The combination of his brutality and cunning brought shocking results. He swept through Orthodoxy and then dug his claws into Caesarea. It’s true to say that the Cappadocians hadn’t really experienced Valens’ savage cruelty yet. When they heard what had happened elsewhere their blood curdled.   The various centres of the empire were subject in reality to the policy of the Arian emperor.  This came about because the Orthodox were persecuted; their assets were confiscated; they were harassed and violently constrained. Anyone resisting was removed. The hate and ferocity knew no bounds. It reached the point where, in Nikomedia, they burnt ...

­­­­­­­ The festal nature of this time of year makes it difficult for us to recollect an impressive act which is an integral part of the history of the Church. This act was one that brought to an end a cruel custom, which, in the Roman world, had for centuries been regarded as an entertaining diversion. This was none other than the tradition of the gladiators, in accordance with which some men (usually slaves) fought each other – to the death, in most instances – accompanied by the yelling of those thrilled and ecstatic at the sight of so much blood. Thanks to one particular man, all this was about to stop. The monk, Telemakhos, who hailed from Asia, could no longer ...

NEW YEAR’S ENCYCLICAL Certain followers of another religion — that is very much in the news today — are fond of ridiculing Christianity and Christians. They say such things as: “Are you dumb? Are you a masochist? Don’t you know any better?” They go so far as to ridicule the teachings and sayings of Christ Himself, when they say: “Christians are stupid. You can slap them on the cheek, and they will tell you to keep on hitting them.” Of course, you know better. They misinterpret what Jesus said. “If someone strikes you on the one cheek, then turn to them the other.” With this teaching, Christ preached tolerance; love; cooperation; and humility, while other religions preach supremacy; hate; revenge; and oppression. Listen to me. ...

Christ’s advent brought the kingdom of God into the world. And the realm where the kingdom of God is made manifest is the Church. This retains eternity within history and provides history with the perspective of eternity. The Church is the body of Christ, which transcends time and space, joining people together in a transcendent community outside time, where everything is present in the Holy Spirit. In the Church, time and the whole world are saved. Whatever God provides for the world is in the Church and is then given to people for their salvation and renewal. The kingdom is God is not merely awaited in the future, but is perceptible also in the present. And Christ’s resurrection and people’s renewal ...