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A week before the feast day of the Universal Elevation of the Holy Cross, the Orthodox Church prepares the faithful through Scriptural readings, prayer and acts of good deeds to celebrate the event of the finding of the precious and life-giving Cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Among the many symbols of the Christian Faith the Holy Cross is considered the most important. It is the symbol of Christianity. It is the symbol of Christ's victory over death. It is the weapon against all evil forces. It is the power of the Saints. It is the flag under which the righteous fought against Satan. Holy Cross, Monastery of Sinai, 12th Century In the Old Testament we have prefigurations of ...

It’s not so much a blessing to know something about God, but to have Him in your heart.

In chapter 45 of the wonderful book, Spiritual Meadow, Ioannis Moskhos writes: ‘One of the elders told us the following: Abba Theodoros Iliotis used to talk about a great ascetic who lived as a recluse on the Mount of Olives and was constantly being attacked by the demon of lust. One day, after a particularly severe attack, the ascetic began to lose heart and he said to the demon: “How long are you going to continue with this? Just go away. We’ve grown old together”. Then the devil appeared to the monk, in full view, and said: “Swear that you’ll not tell anybody else what I’m about to say to you and I won’t fight you again”. The elder swore: “By Him Who resides ...

Leave this problem that you have to me, son. I’ll deal with it. You pray, stay calm, have peace within you and be careful how you live. Everything will turn out in accordance with Christ’s will.

Pride is horrible darkness. It’s the opposite of divine goodness, the beginning of every evil, the root of every tragedy, the sower of hatred, the body of evil, from which springs destructive egotism. Christ is ‘light, truth and life’. When this true light enfolds us, then we sense His love, His wisdom, His very Self as self-evident truth.

Today’s Gospel reading tells us, in parable form, about a vineyard planted by a householder, which he entrusted to tenants who were supposed to give him the fruits from it. When harvest time came, the owner sent servants to the tenants in order to take the produce from the vineyard. But the bad tenants had no fruit to give, because they were idle, and they abused the servants of their master. When the owner sent other servants to the tenants, they suffered the same fate. Finally, the good and patient owner sent his own son to the tenants in the vineyard, as his direct representative, to take the produce. And this is where the wickedness of the tenants found its ...

My heart has only entrances, no exit. If people get in, they won’t get out, no matter what problems they cause me. My love won’t cool, no matter how those people behave.

Don’t hesitate to call on Our Lady for help when you need it. And not only then.

You’ll obtain Grace through pain and tears. And then, with tears of joy and gratitude, with the fear of God, you’ll retain it. It’s attracted by warmth and zeal; with coldness and inattention it’s lost.

Alberta is a four hour flight from Toronto and in terms of size, it is five times larger than Greece; Canada is 75 times larger than Greece. On Sunday, August 27, 2017, in Edmonton, Alberta, His Eminence presided over the Divine Liturgy at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, assisted by Rev. Frs. H Tzintis, T. Gove, P. Rougas and R. Poworoznik. The Divine Liturgy was conducted in the third tone, with Byzantine grandeur. Dr. George Georgiou, who is a professor at the University of Alberta, led the choir. The church was full of pious faithful who participated in Holy Communion. Ten altar boys served. His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios spoke on the day’s Gospel; "Is God against the Rich?" At the conclusion of the Divine ...

“My thoughts ar scattered…” It’s an observation I make frequently to myself, and one that I hear constantly from others. It is not that we think about many things (though we do), but we think many things about everything often with contradictions, questions, competing allegiances and inner struggles. The inner world of modern man is a noisy place. This makes it very hard for us to hear the theme of the One in Scripture: “I and the Father are One.” “That they all may be one, even as I and the Father are one.” “There is One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of all…” The theme carries forward into the Church: “I believe in One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church…” Such words have a meaning for us, but that meaning ...

Joseph Monk D. Elder Arsenios Spileotis (1886-1983), fellow struggler for more than 40 years with Saint Elder Joseph the Hesychast ( 1897-1959) It is not easy to describe in a few pages the life and works of a great ascetic of the might of blessed Elder Arsenios. He was born in Pontos. While still young he was burning with Holy zeal. He decided to leave his country and walk from Russia to Constantinople and from there to the Holy Land, where he served at the Holy Sepulchre and at other Holy places for almost ten years. The Church of the Holy Resurrection in Jerusalem, where blessed Elder Arsenios served for more than ten years (among other Holy places) There, it was God’s will to ...

Why do we have all sorts of suicides and murders? Because acting in the heart of the suicide or murderer is the devil, who was the first to commit both deeds. This is why Christ urges us to have meekness and humility. Then there’s no room for the spirits of evil and pride, who desire the death of all people.

  A few months ago, public debate was dominated by the issue of the relations between the two sexes and sexuality. This was sparked by a week of discussions on gender identities, organized by the Ministry of Education. A variety of views were expressed, positive and negative, regarding both the content of the initiative and the way in which it was constituted. The position of the Church and theology was repeatedly under discussion. And, on this level, opinions were expressed which illumined various facets of this question, which is so important for human nature, human morals and human societies. In Australia, which is a long way from Greece, yet is also quite close because of its flourishing Greek and Orthodox community, ...

Today is New Year's Day for the Church (1st day of Indictos), so we publish an article of Emeritus Prof. G. Mantzarides on the role of time on christian spirituality. CHURCH AND TIME The coming of Christ brought the kingdom of God into the world, and the place where the kingdom of God is made mani­fest is the Church. It is the Church that introduces eternity into history and offers history the perspective of eternity. The Church is the Body of Christ, which transcends place and time and joins mankind to a communion that is beyond time, a transcendent communion where all things are present in the Holy Spirit. In the Church, time and the whole cosmos are redeemed. Whatever God has offered to the world is to be found ...

We should lead the spiritual life, be obedient to our spiritual guide, confess, take communion regularly, and, most important of all, avoid criticizing other people. We should read spiritual books and Scripture, the Psalter, and take part in beneficial, spiritual discussions. It needs a lot of caution, because the times we live in are difficult. We need to persist in prayer and obedience. We have to struggle.

They are blooming: in total there are 40 sisters. Thousands of faithful pilgrims were at our Monasteries of Patrokosmas and Parigoritissa who celebrated their feast days between August 22-24. Metropolitan Sotirios presided over Great Vespers, Matins, and the Divine Liturgies. In his homilies, the Metropolitan spoke about how sorrowful our Panagia is with what is happening in today’s society, and what is waiting for us; at Patrokosmas, he emphasized the important work done by St. Kosmas under difficult circumstances. Together with Metropolitan Sotirios during the holy services and the Divine Liturgies were dozens of clergymen from our Holy Metropolis, but also from other Orthodox jurisdictions. During the Divine Liturgy at Parigoritissa, His Grace Bishop Irénée (OCA) concelebrated; during Great Vespers at Patrokosmas, ...