In English

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.

Confession The spiritual struggle that is required of us can not depend on having a spiritual father. Most Orthodox Christians do not have one, and the average parish priest is not equipped, either with the time, nor the inclination, to take on the role of spiritual father to members of his flock. Just carrying the load as rector, preacher, councilor, confessor, teacher, CEO, and priest, can be an overwhelming burden to the average cleric. Add to the above duties, the obligation a priest has to his wife and family, and you have the potential for burnout. Is it any wonder so many priests get that glazed look on their faces when someone approaches with spiritual questions that would require more ...

According to Fr. Symeon Venetsanos ‘the spiritual or moral awakening of a child occurs gradually, depending on the degree of maturity, readiness ad receptiveness of the child concerned’. Some children will become aware early, others normally and others again rather later, even if they’re subject to precisely the same stimuli. In each case, the people in the children’s environment should respect each child separately, not exert pressure and, in the case of premature questions, should not assume that the child is ready to accept more mature answers. It should be remembered that they’re still children. So teaching about death should begin with children’s first questions about it, which will be prompted by the stimuli and experiences which they’ve encountered in their ...

Trust your courage to God and don’t start any good work in two minds, because this leads to enfeeblement. Your efforts are no use and the task of your spiritual improvement is burdensome. Begin the good fight with boldness and unwavering faith in God.

Assessment It is useful that the children learn the value of the Saints and the things they offered to society and to the people through their miracles. This is the reason why this subject was chosen to be taught to pre- schoolers. In the end, the teaching results were both positive and negative. First of all, the cognitive level of the particular school class was good enough for the teaching to “flow smoothly”. The subject chosen began being taught and was completed with consistency, and the curriculum designed to be taught was well adapted to the children’s level. I personally believe that the terms used were fairly incomprehensible for pre- schoolers, however they surprised me by thinking about them and finally managing ...

We, today’s Christians, should realize that we’re living in an idolatrous, atheist world and should be grateful that they haven’t started stoning us yet. Or crucifying us. That’s the bitter truth.