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In Cheesefare Sunday’s Gospel, the Church takes three pieces of gold from the Sermon on the Mount and gives them to us to make keys to open the door of Great Lent. a. Forgiveness of those who have wronged us The first key is our willingness to forgive those who have wronged us in any way. In essence, Christ is repeating here what He said in the Lord’s prayer (Matth. 6, 12): ‘Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors’. As we see, the purpose of the commandment to forgive those who have wronged us is not the improvement of our social profile, nor even peaceful co-existence with other people. Before all else it’s a call to be like Christ. The ...

One of the more curious features of living in Greece is that, if you go to a football match on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, one of the messages relayed to the crowd at half-time is always: “The Triodion is open! Bring your family and friends to Such-and- Such Taverna”. There follows a long (long!) list of all the amazing meat dishes they will prepare for your delectation, mostly over a charcoal grill. I confess that there have been occasions, when, after an insipid first half, I have cut my losses and repaired to the said taverna and supported these stalwart culinarians in their noble efforts.   This is not, of course, what we usually associate the Triodion with, ...

Grace will visit you gradually. You’ll enter into joy. You’ll begin to live in peace and then, by God’s grace, you’ll become stronger. You won’t get angry, you won’t lose your temper, you won’t take things the wrong way, you won’t condemn. You’ll accept everybody in love.

His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco has issued his message regarding Lent 2020. Read the full text below:  ...

A seminar for college students learning foreign languages in Georgia, including Greek, was held in Tbilisi’s theological academy last week....

The courtyard of the historic church of the Holy Trinity in central Athens off Philellinon Ave., known as the «Russian...

The Archdiocese of Australia conveyed its best wishes on Saturday, Feb. 29, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of...

Despite a price tag that might exceed 81 million dollars and a turbulent background that involved accusations of financial mismanagement,...

Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain has issued his Encyclical for the beginning of the Holy & Great Lent...

Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X has released his Lent Pastoral Letter 2020. Read the full text...

Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut and its Suburbs, Elias Audeh, on Thursday met with UAE Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamad Saeed...

2020 is a leap year, meaning that February has 29 instead of 28 days, and millions of people this year...

“On this day, we remember the banishment of Adam from the joys of paradise. O Christ our God, through your...

For the purpose of providing social care to persons in need, Metropolitan Vladimir blessed the inauguration of a social and...

His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, addressed a message of congratulation to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at his...

The Orthodox Metropolis of Korea has issued the following announcement about the spread of the coronavirus:   Due to the...

When people quarrel among themselves they all say they’re right. The only trouble is they take more right than they have a right to, and that’s why they’re always quarrelling.

Many wonder why Great Lent holds forty days. To be very accurate, Great Lent does not last forty days but...

On February 27 2020, at Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary an event, titled “We Are Learning Foreign Languages” was held....

By Fr Stephen Freeman The first service of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church is “Forgiveness Vespers,” served on the eve of Monday of the First Week. There is nothing unusual about the service itself – other than the “rite of forgiveness” appended to it. In this, the priest and the faithful ask forgiveness of one another. Often this is done with mutual prostrations. Each asks the forgiveness of the other. The rite can take time, depending on the number in attendance. When it is complete, the long labors of Lent can begin. Fasting without forgiveness would be a hollow activity. This is a meditation I shared with my parish this week as the Sunday of Forgiveness approaches: Perhaps the most generous ...