In English

The Road to Happiness Nothing is greater than a clean heart, because such a heart becomes the throne of God. And what’s more glorious than the throne of God? Nothing, of course. Regarding those who have a clean heart, God says: ‘I will live with them and walk among them; and I will be God to them and they will be a people to me’ (2 Cor. 6, 16). So who can be happier than these people? What good thing can they possibly lack? Don’t they find all the good things and gifts of the Holy Spirit within their blessed souls. What more do they need? Nothing. In truth, nothing. Because they have the greatest good in their heart: God himself. How deceived those ...

The angels have a special position in the Orthodox Church and particular honor is accorded to them. Holy Scripture (Old and New Testaments) is full of references to angels, who are presented as playing an important role in the implementation of the plan of divine providence. Patristic literature also mentions the angelic powers and provides us with valuable information concerning them. From these sources we can draw important conclusions regarding the creation, nature, knowledge, tasks and number of these immaterial beings. This information doesn’t give us complete knowledge about them, but God allows us to learn as much about them as is necessary for our salvation. Angels were created by God from nothing and are the product of the free divine ...

What a blessing, what bliss it is when there’s ice and snow outside and we quickly get back to a home that’s cozy, either because it has a stove, central heating or a fireplace. We’re blanketed by the pleasantness of the temperature and overcome with joy. And isn’t the same thing even more true from the point of view of spirituality? Our surroundings and the world in general ‘lie in evil’ and the devil is their overlord because of his dominion in people’s hearts. But what does this mean? That in all places and at all times, to a horrific degree, the frost of evil is dominant, because, alas, sin has the first word. What’s the priority for most people? How ...

In today’s Gospel reading, Saint Luke the Evangelist mentions two miracles performed by our Lord Jesus Christ: one is the cure of the woman with the issue of blood; and the other is the even more astonishing resurrection from the dead of Jairus’ daughter. Two separate instances, two different miracles. In the one, a prominent citizen had no qualms about setting aside his official capacity, of abandoning his position and humbling himself before Christ- and other people- falling to his knees and seeking a miracle. In the other, a woman of the people, who hesitated to approach Christ, had the deep conviction that if she were merely to touch him, she would experience a miracle. The head of the synagogue, Jairus, ...

If, when you’re trying to carrying our some task for God, you’re subjected to a wicked and manic attack of the passions and the aggravation of the devil, accept these trials as temptations for the sake of Christ. Without knowing it, the enemy’s preparing the brightest crowns of victory for you. This is why we must firmly resist the devil. Saint John Kronstadtskij

Those who are last go forward and those who go to the back God moves forward. Abbess Makrina, Holy Monastery of the Guide, Portaria

When the powers of the soul, that is the appetitive, the spirited and the rational don’t work naturally, but in an unnatural manner, that’s when the corresponding passions grow. Purification from the passions is achieved through the corresponding exercise of the virtues. As regards the appetitive, we place self-restraint against love of pleasure and greed; for the spirited, love in place of malevolence and anger; and for the rational, sobriety and prayer against obliviousness and ignorance. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos

As long as you’re alive don’t let your heart go free. Just as the farmer can’t be sure about the harvest because he doesn’t know what’ll happen before harvest-time, so we shouldn’t leave our heart unguarded as long as we have breath in our body. Saint Isaiah the Hermit

‘We please God either because of our fear of hell, because of the hope of the reward we’ll be given or because it’s good to do so’ (Abba Dorotheos). If we examine our actions, our thoughts and the reasons why we make decisions, we’ll see that, in the main, there are three things that motivate us in our choices: fear, reward and love. We fear punishment, which may be the loss of our place in another’s person’s heart, or a punishment which deprives us of pleasure or that certain rights and privileges will be withheld from us. Or we hope to have something that we’re afraid of losing and ask others to give it to us, aiming at a reciprocal arrangement, ...

In many of his homilies, Saint John Chrysostom emphasized the great importance of attending church on Sundays, and what a great sin it is to avoid doing so. He said that the Jews had to give a tithe of their income as an offering to the Temple (i.e. to God) (Mal. 3, 8). ‘I give a tithe of all I possess’, said the Pharisee (Luke, 18, 22). In order to get them to pay their ‘tenth’, the Lord ordered them to pay much more than they actually gave: ‘I will throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will ...

You’re still worried. Tell me, why is that so? ‘Everything’s going well externally’; you’ve re-examined and sorted everything internal; you’ve taken your decision. So where are these worries coming from? They’re all from the enemy. All of them. From nowhere else. How else could it be? What else could happen? Are you expecting to run your life all by yourself, through your own abilities and efforts? If that’s the case, I advise you to change your mind straight away, otherwise you’ll never be free of confusion and turmoil. Take another look at yourself or remember what I’ve pointed out to you or what’s happened throughout the whole time of our correspondence.  Remember, as well, the outcome of your reflections on life. ...

We glorify God in body and soul first when we remember that we’ve been sanctified by him and united to him. And again when we unite our will with that of God, so that we always execute his good, pleasing and perfect will. Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis

The establishment of the Great Mystery of the Divine Eucharist is the fruit of the complete and perfect love of our Lord Jesus Christ towards His Apostles (who would continue His work), and all those throughout the ages who would believe in the Gospel and be baptized. On many occasions, the Lord expressed His sacrificial love towards His Disciples, both in word and deed.   Let us recall some of these words of our Lord, which were said with great tenderness to his Disciples on Holy Thursday:  “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you…Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends“ (John 15:9,13).  It is here that the Lord expressed what ...

In the previous sermon, we established that the believer is united with the resurrected Body of Christ by partaking of the Holy Body and Blood of the Lord in the Divine Eucharist. By this the words of the Lord are fulfilled: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56).  In order to fully understand the broader dimensions of the Great Mystery of the Eucharist, it is necessary to answer the following question: Why is it called the Mystery of Holy Eucharist? According to the Holy Evangelists,  it was during the Last Supper that Jesus took the bread, offered a prayer of thanksgiving, divided it and then gave it to His Disciples, saying, “Take ...

It’s not unknown for young people not to have anything to do with Church activities (services, fasts and sacraments), yet they continue to be curious, to wonder, to enjoy talking about God and what emanates from him as a way of life. Anyone would think that these people were unversed in the spiritual life, without experience of the grace of the Holy Spirit and that they were merely chatting about ways of improving their life, of finding the calm and peace which they were lacking. Yet, beyond the outward appearances, there’s a search for something they once had and have now lost. In his book about his Elder, Saint Silouan, Saint Sophrony notes that the Elder had this idea that God could ...

Within the Church we become one with every unhappy, suffering and sinful person. Nobody should want to be saved alone, without the others also being saved. It’s wrong to pray for yourself, for your own personal salvation. We have to love others and pray that nobody will be lost. That they’ll all come into the Church. That’s the important thing. Saint Porfyrios Kavsokalyvitis

Don’t trust your negativity in judging other people, because this negativity is piled high with   wickedness and so produces wicked thoughts. Keep a watch on your negativity and stay away from wickedness, lest your mind be darkened and it see everything as a muddle. Saint Thalassios the Libyan

We should pay great attention to the prayers before Holy Communion. And when we’re going up to receive the sacrament, we should pray and say: ‘God forgive me and have mercy upon me’. We should approach with great care. And when we return, we should have words of praise on our lips; we should glorify God for receiving us. Theosemni. Abbess of the Holy Monastery of Chrysopiyi, Crete.

The Lord is known through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit fills our whole being: soul, mind and body. This is how God is known, in heaven and on earth. Saint Silouan the Athonite

We should do what we think is right and what our conscience dictates, being careful not to scandalize anyone. But if anyone is scandalized by this, that’s not our responsibility. We can’t please everyone. Hieromonk Chrysostomos Stavronikitianos