In English

I was once part of a group of pilgrims and we were talking to a great Elder, Saint Sophrony in Essex, who asked us which we thought was the greatest virtue. One said: ‘The virtue of love’. ‘No’, replied the Elder. ‘Although it’s the first and great commandment from God himself to us, it’s not the greatest virtue. Even love itself, which is rightly held to be the  crown, since God is love, is just a caricature of a kind of egotism unless we have what I asked about’. ‘Then perhaps faith’, the same person said. ‘Not that, either’, said the Elder, smiling kindly. ‘Because if you think about it, even faith can be an “attribute” of the devil. Scripture tells us ...

+ B A R T H O L O M E W BY GOD’S MERCY ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE-NEW ROME AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH TO ALL THE PLENITUDE OF THE CHURCH GRACE, MERCY AND PEACE FROM THE SAVIOR CHRIST BORN IN BETHLEHEM * * * Brother concelebrants and blessed children, Having once again arrived at the splendid feast of the Nativity in the flesh of our Savior Christ , who visited us from the heights, we glorify with psalms and hymns His all-heavenly name. The Incarnation of the pre-eternal Word of God is “the crowning of our salvation,” the “eternal mystery” of divine-human communion that transcends all reason. As St. Maximus the Confessor says so eloquently, “as a loving God, He truly became human assuming the essence of humankind, although ...

‘She will bear a son and you will call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins’ (Matth. 1, 21). With these words, the Angel of the Lord revealed to righteous Joseph the purpose of the Nativity in the flesh of the Son and Word of God which we’re preparing to celebrate again this year, within the spiritual climate of our holy Church. Christmas, then, is approaching. First. In his infinite love, God became a human person in order to save us from the destructive mission of the devil and to raise our fallen nature. Therefore, with his incarnate dispensation he makes us his children again by grace, siblings and coheirs in his heavenly kingdom. This is ...

. The Iambic Katavasia is difficult to understand*, because it is written in iambic meter and is a poetic text, with all the difficulties such a text, particularly an ecclesiastical one, presents. The term ‘iambic’ originated in Ancient Greece and reflected the way words were pronounced then. By the time of Byzantium, pronunciation had changed greatly and  had become much more like that of today, and this was reflected in the composition of hymns. In the Byzantine period, we have a line consisting of twelve syllables, which retained the ancient name of iambic trimeter. In general, only the hymns of the Iambic Canons are written as poetry, while the hymns of the Prose Canons are written as prose. Ode 1 Of old the ...

The feast of Christmas, which is approaching, invites us to experience the mystery of God’s coming to earth. This advent is a fundamental starting-point  which deepens the meaning of our life and existence and renews our faith and hope in the living presence of God in and around us. The Church triumphantly proclaims that God has become human so that we can become gods. This truth shines a light on all the dark places in our life. This faith becomes a source of joy that opens the door of our existence to the transcendent world of God. In understated colors, the Gospels describe the strange birth of Christ, the expectation of it and the fulfilment of the prophecies. The Fathers ...

Saint John says: ‘Don’t make such a mistake, my good friend. Because if you do, you’re harming yourself. We know that everyone has the right to make their prayer at home. That’s true. But nobody ever prays at home as they do in church. What is it that makes prayer in church better? In church there are our fathers, the priests. And a crowd of people. And with one heart and voice we talk to our heavenly Father all together. Don’t be taken in by the idea that, if you sit at home and make your prayer there, in your own way, God will hear you better. You’re making a mistake. A grave error. God wants all of us to make ...

You should know that you’ll often feel troubled and won’t experience that holy peace, sweet solitude and beloved freedom within you. And sometimes, the movement of your heart may raise dust that hinders you in the course you’re set on. God grants you this for your greater good. Remember that this is warfare, which brought the saints crowns as their great reward.  Every time something is upsetting you, you should say: ‘Lord, you see here your servant; may your will be done to me and in me. I know and confess  that the truth of your words remains always sound, that your promises are sure and I hope in them. I wait only for you’. Certainly, the soul which offers itself ...

Our religion is love, fervent love, enthusiasm, madness, divine longing. All of that’s within us. The acquisition of this is something demanded by the soul. For many people, though, religion’s a struggle, worry and anxiety. This is why so many ‘pious’ people seem so miserable, because they’re in such a sad state. That’s really how things stand. Because if we don’t realize the depth of religion and don’t experience it, religion degrades into a sickness and a terrible one at that. So bad that people lose control over their actions, become supine and weak, overcome with worry and stress and behave under the influence of the evil spirit. They do prostrations, weep, supposedly humble themselves, but all this humility is a Satanic action. ...

‘We need help, we need people who, after God, will supervise us’ (Abbas Dorotheos) Our culture provides us with those things which create the illusion that we’re self-governing. That we don’t need anyone else and that our own will is sufficient. Apart from anything else, we have unlimited access to so much information that we can form an opinion on anything at all. And there’s no need for any filtering, because we consider ourselves well able to shape our own view. We’re experiencing the debunking of everything. We have no inkling that we’re following an old philosophical principle: generalizing the particular. Philosophy says that such an effort is almost always far from the truth, since nothing can stand alone as a ...

Man has always had the temptation of novelty, for he is by nature a dynamic being. There is an inherent aspiration in the human soul that always seeks for something new. The spirit of man cannot remain static without falling into despondency: without the dynamics of life in God, he becomes bored and is drowned in despondency. Thus, he always needs to grow, to learn something new. Saint Paul says that we are destined for the increase of God (Col 2:19). Man acquires this increase of God when he makes continually a new beginning in his spiritual life. Man has this innate potential of being dynamic, but because he does not have the proper orientation to fulfil it, he suffers ...

When we hear about prayer, our thoughts usually turn to two things: what should I ask for, and what should I request for myself and the people I love. It appears that selfishness touches all aspects of life, defines and tarnishes them. But, according to the Lord’s words, entry into the Kingdom of God is open to anyone who has tried to apply the command: ‘Deny yourself’. That is to say, those whose love has overcome their egocentrism. All of Christ’s friends, aligning themselves with his teaching and his life, abandoned their self and opened up to the boundless extent of his love, which embraces everyone, wherever they may be in the world, and whole-heartedly shares their pains and troubles. This sharing is ...

Nowadays, human rights are safeguarded and protected all over the world. This undoubtedly constitutes progress and is an achievement for our civilization. Christian theology has played an important role in the defence of human rights, declaring that the human person is sacred and is made in the image of God. In this way, the concept of human dignity has entered public discourse and is not in question. On a personal level, however, because of the excessive emphasis on human rights, there is a lurking danger of spiritual disorientation, since individualism becomes highly developed. For the faithful in particular, the trend towards self-justification and the pursuit of one’s interests isn’t of benefit. On the contrary, self-condemnation and deference to one’s neighbor ...

Allow me not to return to the past, but to dwell rather on what may prove useful and beneficial in the future.According to the teachings of the holy Fathers, every impression, every image, every thought that comes into the region of our heart and fills it with great turbulence certainly comes from the realm of the passions. This is why we shouldn’t follow the impulses of our heart immediately, but only after careful self-examination and intense prayer. God preserve us from a blinded heart. Because it’s common knowledge that the passions blind the heart and darken the bright sun of the mind, the sun on which we should all fix our gaze earnestly, at all times. *** Finally, the endless night has ...

If you believe that God is trustworthy and powerful, then hope only on him and you’ll become a sharer in his good things. Saint John Kronstadtskij

Calumny is a great evil. It’s very wicked when other people attack and smear you. It happens. Suddenly. Out of the blue. Sometimes it’s God’s just verdict on us; sometimes it isn’t. In the first instance, when we’ve also been at fault, when we’ve also committed bad acts and actions by attributing to others allegations similar to those they ascribe to us, we really shouldn’t dwell on how much we’re suffering, but we should rather concern ourselves with putting things to rights. That includes ourselves. Then the invective against us will cease. In the case where we’re being slandered harshly, while we don’t remember ever committing such offences against others, it’s natural to feel bad. But even then it perhaps behooves us ...

Since we’re Christians and want to imitate the life of Christ and to be truly united with him, we should look at how he lived, what he was like and how we are. When we see the gap that separates us, then, according to Saint Païsios, ‘sweet pain’ will be engendered in our soul. This is what begets repentance, humility and tears. Unless we’re so arrogant and sick that we say we’re already very close to being like Christ. Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

People are dedicated to what they love. They disregard anything that distracts them from it, so that they won’t be deprived. By the same token, those who love God cultivate pure prayer and get rid of any passion that hinders them in this. Saint Maximos the Confessor

The life of Christians is defined, it has an aim: the glory of God. That’s what we’re here for. The life of secular people, on the other hand, is vague and varied, because it adapts itself to circumstances, depending on the occasion. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos

Some years ago, a lady sent a letter to the late elder Efraim Katounakiotis, in which she told him that she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and a great cross which she was unable to bear. Elder Efraim answered: ‘You write that you have many burdens. I say to you: “All the better for your soul”. God, who gives you these burdens knows that you’re bearing so much; he knows how much your soul can stand; that if he gives you more, you’ll fall; that if he gives you less he’s being unfair to you, reducing your eternal reward and eternal joy’. In one part of Athens, there was a cobbler, a very harsh man, who ...

If a great king magnanimously laid out a banquet and invited everyone under his rule- young and old, rich and poor- to attend; and if he had prepared all kinds of appetizing, rich foods; and if, when the time came to eat, he sent out his only-begotten, precious son to bring in the guests; and if, by their refusal to take part in this rich, royal banquet and by their invention of absurd excuses, they scorned the king and his son who called them; would  they not be deserving of  harsh condemnation? They certainly would. Because they disrespected such a generous and magnanimous king and deprived themselves through their foolishness of this sumptuous banquet. ‘At the time of the banquet, he ...