In English

For the sake of clarity, as the Church’s stand on abortion was previously defined, it now becomes necessary to give a short definition of the concept of oikonomia (economy) which application in possible response to abortion is being considered. Oikonomia is succinctly defined by Greek Orthodox moral theologian, Rev. Stanley Harakas, as:30 ...the carrying out of the spirit rather than the exact and rigid letter of a law without a contravention of any prescription, canonical or legal. It addresses the issues of human and spiritual well-being as they relate to the application of church rules. In his book, A Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy, Rev. Nicon D. Patrinacos gives a more in-depth definition:31 According to Orthodox Canon Law, the term economia (oikonomia) ...

The enemy often wounds our soul and scorches us with his wickedness. Unless we heal that wound straight away with fervent prayer and faith, it’ll turn to gangrene in our hearts. God also wounds our heart, though with His love, but this is a sweet wound and welcome. It doesn’t burn, but warms and enlivens.

HOMILY BY HIS ALL-HOLINESS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW CHAIRMAN OF THE HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH AT THE CONCELEBRATION OF THE DIVINE LITURGY IN THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF ST. MINAS IN HERAKLION, CRETE WITH THEIR BEATITUDES THE PRIMATES OF THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCHES (Sunday of Pentecost, June 19, 2016) Your Beatitudes, Holy Brother Primates of the local Orthodox Churches, Theodoros of Alexandria, John of Antioch, Theophilos of Jerusalem, Kirill of Moscow, Irinej of Belgrade, Daniel of Bucharest, Neophyte of Bulgaria, Ilia of Georgia, Chrysostomos of Cyprus, Ieronymos of Athens, Sawa of Warsaw, Anastasios of Tirana, and Rastislav of Prešov, together with Your honorable delegations, Your Excellency Mr. President of the Hellenic Republic, Your Eminence Archbishop Irenaios of Crete, together with the Most Reverend and beloved brothers who, together with you, comprise the ...

The greatest power on this globe is the Grace of God.

In the end, these ‘whys’ aren’t answered in the way that our poverty and weakness would expect. According to this logic, in fact, they usually go unanswered. This is why Christ said very little about death. He Himself simply chose it and suffered more than anyone else has ever done. And once He’d risen, His mouth released more breath than words. He said nothing about life and death, restricting Himself to the prophecy of Peter’s martyrdom. Pain isn’t answered with arguments. Neither injustice nor death can be dealt with through reason. These problems can be resolved only through the inhalation of the breath that God alone gives, that is the Holy Spirit. They’re overcome through the humble acceptance of the ...

“We celebrate the feast of Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit, the appointed day of the promise, the fulfilment of hope”. With these words, at Vespers on the eve of the feast, the Church invites us to enter the atmosphere of this great feast, which coincides with the seventh Sunday after the Resurrection and which is in no way inferior to it.           At Mattins for the feast, we read the ninth Matins Gospel, which describes the appearances of the Risen Lord. In this passage (John 20: 19-31) we see a first descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples: Jesus “breathed on them, and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit...”. This first coming of the Spirit is no ...

Discourse XXXIII. On the Light of the Holy Spirit In the third ode of the canon at Mattins on the Monday of the Holy Spirit, the hymn has Christ saying ‘I shall send you the Spirit of me and of the Father’. We recognize three hypostases of God- Father, Son and Holy Spirit- and know that these are not confused. We do, however, worship One God and this text by Saint Symeon makes this very clear. For the most part, the light he is talking about is the Holy Spirit. But Christ is the light of the world. He is Light from Light. And, quoting Christ’s words, Saint Symeon refers to Him as the ‘God of all’. As Saint John Chrysostom says, ...

We live only once in this pseudo-life. There aren’t any return tickets. We should make sure that we use the time of our life well, so that it’s a time of repentance, whether we’re rich or poor.

“I shall be with you till the end of the world” (Matth. 28, 20). With these words, Christ bids farewell to His disciples at the Ascension, on the Mount of Olives. His last act is a departure and, at the same time, a pledge. This seems to be something of a contradiction, but is not, in fact, so. Christ was no longer present in the manner that the Apostles had known until then, but He promised that He would not leave them orphaned and abandoned.   “And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with the power from on high” (Lk. 24, 49). The promise was fulfilled. On the fiftieth day after the Resurrection ...

Saint Luke associated sorrows with the personal Cross which we have to shoulder in our life and which distinguishes the way of Christ from other ways of living. He says, typically, in one of his sermons: ‘Our life, the life of each person, is sorrow and pain. All these sorrows in our social and family life are our Cross. A failed marriage, an unfortunate choice of profession, don’t they bring us pain and sorrow? Shouldn’t people who’ve suffered these calamities have to bear them bravely? Serious illnesses, contempt, dishonour, loss of personal wealth, jealousy between spouses, slander and, in general, all the wickedness that people do to us, aren’t they all our Cross? That’s exactly what our Cross is, the ...

Take the trouble to live even a single day of your life in accordance with God’s commandments. You’ll see for yourself, you’ll feel in your heart, how wonderful it is to carry out His will. God’s will is our life.