In English

Address delivered at the Opening Convocation of Cummins Theological Seminary, Summerville, South Carolina on September 10, 2016. The students entering seminary to begin their studies might ask “Why such a lofty topic?” “We came to seminary to become pastors and ministers, not scholars or academics.” And to them I respond, “You’re right.” Cummins has trained students for Christian ministry for over a century. Our goal is not to train scholars and theologians but to equip shepherds of the flock and servants of Christ in the vineyard of the Lord. But is only the academic or scholar a theologian? Can the term apply to the non-specialist too? I think it can and does. According to the Greek definition of the word “theologian,” Theos ...

The military and diplomatic, political and economic, as well as cultural and ideological transformations occurring across the Middle East offer fertile ground for increased cooperation between Turkey and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. For the Turkish government, there is little if any downside to improved relations yet significant upside potential. For the Patriarchate (and for His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew who is first among equals in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church) additional freedom to exercise its spiritual authority would allow it to make even more use of its unique history, international reputation and high moral standing to advocate for peace, justice, and nonviolent religious coexistence. There is precedent for such a partnership. For many years following ...

With continuous effort, with good will and by the Grace of God, every soul progresses and prospers in virtue and sanctity.

Rev. Patrick H. Reardon Few themes, I suppose, are more pronounced in the teaching of Jesus than that of God's invitation. Whether to a banquet or a wedding, Jesus sees man as invited by God. I believe this divine invitation implies many considerations of anthropology, but I limit myself here to one: human dignity. God invites man for pretty much the same reason we send invitations to one another—friendship. Orthodox Christian theology has always insisted that his motive is friendship. It is difficult, it is bewildering, and it is more than slightly frightening to assimilate the notion that God finds us lovable. It is among the most astounding truths in Holy Scripture. What could God possibly find lovable in us? Indeed, even ...

In the life of man, there are two periods which are of the greatest significance. The first is youth, during which he will lay solid foundations for all his life and redeem his time with the wealth of eternity. The second is old age, when his just and praiseworthy life will be sealed with the same crown of righteousness that the Lord, the eternal and righteous Judge, will give to all those who loved His coming to the earth and honoured His Gospel. Youth is distinguished by enthusiasm for the light of knowledge, zeal for good desires, the search for perfection and above all the creation of personal relationships which bring out our natural gifts. Old age, when preceded by the steady ...

There are neighborhoods in Constantinople (now, Istanbul, Turkey) which, although oversighted, are full of particularities, of hidden beauties and of glorious history. Vlaga (or Laleli) is one of those neighborhoods, and every time I pass over there I find novelties and my heart fills with strong feelings. This time I had the joy to visit the Byzantine Monastery of Myrelaion and a part of the nearby palace, built by Emperor Romanos Lekapenos in the 10th century. Main church of Myrelaion Monastery, today Bodrum Camii Mosque Myrelaion Monastery is one of those Christian churches converted into mosques. Every time I visit such places I feel my heart in anguish, but I also sense some uncertainty, because you never know in what degree ...

If we know human wickedness, that is the evil people do, great or small, it alters our reason, it weakens our powers, because it doesn’t bear witness with God.

The greatest plague of the 21st century is not AIDS, nor cancer, nor the H1N1 flu, but something that affects much more people in ways we can barely start to understand: depression. Reportedly one in ten Americans suffers from one or the other forms of this malady. The rates of anti-depressant usage in the United States are just as worrisome. A recent poll unveils that one in eight Americans is using them. Prozac, Zyprexa, Cymbalta are not strange alien names anymore, but familiar encounters in almost every American household. Even children approach the usage rates of adults. These are very high and paradoxical numbers in a country where all are free to enjoy “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Even ...

An assignment by Christina Tsaka, a student of the Pedagogical Department of Pre-School Education, Rethymnos. Published in installments. INTRODUCTION As educators we generally have to set as a goal the conveying of knowledge and values to the children. Under this angle, it is necessary that we transmit religious values to them. In this particular work we will speak about the Saints and especially Saint Nikolaos, and their connection with pre- school age. Our main focus is the way they appear to the children’s eyes. At first, a reference will be made on the study of Saints in church’s history. In the next chapters we will focus on St Nicola’s life and the way that it is depicted in church, as well as in ...

There are lots of people who are happy to find bad things in the Church. They're like the soldiers who pierced the crucified Lord's side or the Jews who nailed Him to the Cross.

Rev. Patrick H. Reardon Long accustomed to the thesis that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, it is not easy for Americans to think that governments may also speak with a higher authority. Indeed, the “consent of the governed” is so commonly withheld these days that it may pass as part of our birthright. For the same reason, it is difficult for Americans to believe that the art of government has any necessary relationship to a higher order at all, such as the order of the moral law. So clearly have we come to distinguish legal concerns from moral concerns that a real separation of the two is pretty much taken for granted. Anyone today who ...

Like most of Abba Dorotheos’ work, this text is addressed to monks. Fundamentally, however, monastics of both sexes are simply people who have been called to live a particular way of life within the Church. So where Dorotheos says ‘monk’, it is appropriate to read ‘Orthodox Christian’. On a personal note, it’s always a pleasure to translate Abba Dorotheos. It’s notoriously difficult to transmit an experience from one medium to another, to describe the essence of a painting or a piece of music, for example, in words. One of the best examples of this is Saint Paul. There are passages in his epistles where he really struggles to convey an experience verbally. By and large, Abba Dorotheos deals with more ...

This virtue is related to the opening up of our heart, to an increase in its capacity. Other people’s faults have to find room, there has to be space for whatever they’ve done to our detriment, even their excuses, never mind whether we find these sufficient or true. All their weaknesses have to fit in. It’s often such a struggle to accept others as they are. Because we demand that they be as we want them to be. But it’s not like that. They’ve done us some harm, wittingly or unwittingly, They’ve got some strange habit or other. They may have been brought up differently from us, they may have certain external habits which jar, certain weaknesses, certain expressions of fallen, sinful ...

As the taste distinguishes sweet from bitter, so your heart, instructed by its feelings, will tell you what's good and what's bad.

According to the Scriptures, the most significant trait of the human soul is its likeness to the divine Being. This concept that human nature was built “in the image and likeness” of God indicates the highest value given to any being He has created. At no stage of the creation did God the Creator, express His satisfaction, except during the creation of man, which strangely enough did not happen by command like the other beings for which “he spoke, and they came to be” (Psalm.33, 9). Neither man’s abode came to be by command since “the LORd God planted a garden in Eden, in the east” (Genesis 2, 8) Therefore, the most crucial trait of the human soul is God’s breath; ...

Vengeance is the recollection of harm done to us and a desire for revenge. It's a wicked and tormenting passion, because it rots the soul, as well as clouding and troubling the mind and the heart. It doesn't understand forgiveness or sympathy. Being ruthless and merciless, it demands payback for the harm done. It's a disgusting evil, gestating in a malevolent soul.