In English

The children comprehended the concept of celebration, as well as the concept of sanctity. More specifically, when I asked “Do you know what does ‘Saint’ mean?” a child replied “Yes, the Saints are dead and they have become spirits”. In addition the lesson was more sedentary that active. So, I noticed that almost half of the pupils got bored during the second teaching period and they stopped participating actively. Nonetheless it is a noticeable fact that one boy, who rarely sits down quietly watching the lesson, was unusually quiet and never caused any problem, without watching or actively participating in the lesson of course. He did listen to the story, however he didn’t answer any of the comprehension question that ...

Sin clipped the wings of Adam and his descendants and so all of us were separated from God. The very clay from which we were made blinded us. Christ was the first Adam and the first Human, the first-born of the whole of creation and He was also the first Who ascended into heaven on spiritual wings, to the throne of eternal glory and power. He walked the path towards heaven and opened every gate to all of the faithful who have spread their spiritual wings, just as the eagle shows eaglets how to fly, or the first swallow flies in front of the flock, both to show them the way and to reduce the wind resistance.

The more you try to hide a sin behind another sin, the more you broadcast it. You can’t hide a sin behind another one. You get rid of it only through repentance and confession. When we want to hide a sin behind another sin, we’re like little children playing hide and seek.

The story of creation presents the basic principles of human life and behavior. It is the main reference for the Christian understanding of humankind’s existential questions. In the book of Genesis, the unique relationship between humans and their Creator unfolds. Inside it, the mystery of the purpose of this world is hidden, as is the destiny of our existence. According to Genesis, God created everything in this world to be in the service of His beloved creature, the human person. Humans are the purpose of the whole of creation. God created the perfect environment for His most precious creature and wanted to share with it His Divine life. Creation of humanity is a special creative act of God that was made ...

The Problem According to its advocates, euthanasia is morally neutral or even a positive good within the framework of ethics, including Christian ethics.  But is euthanasia really moral?  It certainly is not when inflicted by Christians. Euthanasia Described Euthanasia is the deliberate hastening of death to spare the patient a period of suffering or incapacity.  The usual cases for which euthanasia is advocated are persons with an incurable disease or permanent coma, but secondary uses include sparing the deformed, the mentally-impaired, or the handicapped—usually newborns—from languishing the rest of their lives under irreversible barriers that prevent them from living a self-sufficient or “full” life.  Far from ill-will, the motives of the killers are thus at least understandable or apparently well-intentioned, for they are ...

If somebody curses you or saddens you, pray very hard for them, as the Fathers say, as if they were a great benefactor, and a doctor treating your love of pleasure. If you do this, your anger will be reduced, because, of course, according to the holy Fathers, ‘love is the bridle on anger’. But above all else, entreat God to grant you spiritual vigilance and prudence, so that you know what His will is, which is good, pleasing and perfect. Also ask Him for the strength to be ready to perform good works.

          The sheer enormity of holiness which the commemorated Saint has acquired throughout his righteous life has fascinated the whole world. His name offers a lot of consolation to the devout. This degree of holiness is not something strange in our Church, since it is indeed capable of guiding its children to such heightened dimensions. We, who are truly smothered by our numerous weaknesses, are also genuinely encouraged by his example. Even during these difficult times one finds similarly afflicted people, who have not only won over their passions and transcended the unnatural life to life beyond nature, but through their sanctification have also reached the end of the most perfect promise, namely adoption. We are commemorating today the Saint ...

It’s all very well for people to communicate over the Internet now, to send e-mails, to write messages to other people in mere seconds. But sometimes they’re unable to communicate with their spouse or their children. We’ve wrecked our homes. When we find it difficult to communicate with others, we have to realize that the cause of the problem doesn’t lie with other people, but with us. It’s our fault, because we can’t find the point where we can meet and speak with other people.

FROM MY ACQUAINTANCESHIP WITH THE BLESSED ELDER PAÏSSIOS ‘Only saints can talk about the saints as they share common spiritual experiences and understand each other’, the blessed Elder Païssios once said to me. And as I fail to fulfil this essential condition, which would have enabled me to fathom the depths of his great spirituality, all I can do is dwell on certain external events in his life which he had the infinite goodness and grace to tell me about so that I might perhaps mend my ways. Even so, these events clearly illustrate the man’s great saintliness.    A few days before he departed this life, while still on his sickbed suffering from a painful illness, he had said: ‘These last ...

The soul that has firmly attached itself to the desire of the heavenly things and of its Maker, which is content to be adorned with celestial beauty, will never be altered, nor will it lose its good cheer or its joy over any passing misfortunes. On the contrary, it will take them as a cause of even greater contentment and joy.

Saint Gregory Palamas occupies a very prominent position in the Church, which is why he’s honoured on the Second Sunday in Lent, immediately after the Sunday of Orthodoxy. In his person we recognize the outstanding teacher of the hesychast life in Christ, a man who continued the Orthodox faith and added to its lustre. Saint Gregory was born in 1296 in Constantinople to aristocratic parents, Konstantinos and Kalloni, devout people who brought up their children in the ‘discipline and instruction of the Lord’ (Eph. 6, 4). They taught their children to live in accordance with the will of Christ, Who was the centre of their life. It is noteworthy that, shortly before his father departed this life, he commended his children ...

We must invite our friends and neighbors to "taste and see" the great treasure that is Orthodoxy, for it is our responsibility, as Christians, to reach out in kindness, and with a welcoming smile, when we see strangers enter our temples. Sts Cyril and Methodius Two Byzantine brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius, brought Orthodox Christianity to the Slavs in the ninth century. The brilliance of Eastern Orthodox missionary outreach, as opposed to that of the Latin Church, was in the very use of the vernacular. These great saints who became known as the Apostles to the Slavs, left the Slavs with a liturgical language that was understandable to them. The services were not imparted in the Greek language, as though it ...

Pain is sent from heaven for our salvation, to test us, for the forgiveness of our sins and for our spiritual progress, so long as we accept it gladly, as coming from the hand of God, as the Prophet David says: ‘Your rod and your staff have comforted me’ (Ps. 22, 5). So the rod and staff of pain bring comfort to good and faithful Christians and bring them progress in their good actions. They cleanse them from their sins and make them worthy of a greater crown and reward in heaven. For the wicked, the rod of pain is an invitation to repent, it’s a punishment in place of other punishment and a rein on them, because they don’t ...

In its opposition to Barlaamite nominalism, Palamite thought is a solemn affirmation of divine immanence in history and in man. God does not reveal Himself to the world only “through creatures” but directly, in Jesus Christ. We have all, all of us, known the Son by the Father’s voice speaking to us from on high (Matt. 3: 16-17) and the Holy Spirit himself, who is unutterable light, has shown us that this is indeed the well-beloved of the Father; the Son himself has manifested to us the name of his Father and as he ascended again into heaven promised to send us the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever (John 14:16); the Holy Spirit himself has come down to us ...

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.” Icon of Crucifixion (God's Love) Passing through the country of Gadarenes, our Lord came across a young man who had been taken over by a “legion” of devils for a long time. The Gospel says that the evil “often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; but he broke the bonds and was driven in the wilderness” (Luke 8: 29). He was a danger to the people in the town and also to himself, for “he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house ...

Today they present love as a social relationship, as a social virtue. This is a mistake. Love isn’t a social virtue. Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and is achievable only insofar as we love God. And we communicate properly and truly with other people only when we first communicate properly with God.