In English

On another occasion, there was a monk from one of the neighboring ‘Wallachian’ kellia who had taken ill and had found some relief from eating little, slightly bitter cucumbers. Winter came and he began to feel the same pains, from the same illness, so he went down to Saint Paul’s in the hope that he might find even some pickled cucumbers in the monastery to alleviate his pains. Unfortunately, there were none to be had. So, troubled and in pain, he started out on the climb from the skete of Saint Ann to Stavros. Even though it was winter and there weren’t even any pickled cucumbers anywhere, Father Daniil suddenly appeared before him and handed him six or seven fresh little ...

(Sunday of the Blind Man) The sixth Sunday after Easter and in today’s Gospel reading we hear how our Lord, Jesus Christ, cured a man who’d been blind from birth. This healing of the blind man was a severe rebuke to the Pharisees who were most unwilling to accept the words of Christ. The act of healing became the starting-point for his salvation, as this is expressed at the end of the excerpt in his confession of faith. The reading, from the Gospel according to Saint John, tells how, when he was in Jerusalem, Jesus met a man blind from birth. Feeling pity for his creation, he made clay by spitting on the earth. This he rubbed on the man’s eyes and ...

(Epistle for the Sunday of the Blind Man) Acts,  16, 25-40 ‘And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed’. What is the equal of these souls? These men had been scourged; had been badly hurt; had been cursed; were in peril of their lives; were put in the stocks ; and were thrust into the innermost prison. But they were unable to sleep and sang hymns all night long. Do you see what a blessing tribulation is? We, in our soft beds, with no-one to be afraid of, pass the whole night in ...

Is marriage a path to sanctity and holiness? Upon seeing an article with a title containing the word “holiness,” one would think that the article discusses monastery life, or a life devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ and the service of His Church. However, in the Orthodox Church, marital life is also a holy life, as marriage is a sacrament (mysterion); it carries the sanctifying and purifying grace of the Holy Spirit. Marital life is a grace-filled experience of God’s Kingdom, an experience that begins with the priest’s announcement at the Wedding service: “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The late blessed Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra Monastery in Mount Athos vividly summarizes ...

‘Not everyone can attain perfection, either because they lack the zeal or because they do not have the strength’ (Saint John of the Ladder) A common cause of depression and phobias is perfectionism. Perfectionists are never satisfied. They don’t enjoy the good they achieve or encounter in their lives, because they’re thinking about the next step. Or that it’ll be difficult to retain their success. Perfectionists are never satisfied with themselves. They believe they have greater potential than what is apparent. And they aren’t pleased with other people, either. They look at everything from the point of view of criticism and condemnation. Other people don’t pay them what they consider to be their due. Other people don’t meet their expectations. If ...

When you go to the Holy Mountain and see the humble monks, you might think that they live a lazy life, without purpose. It may seem like this if you see things from the outside, because not many people are able to understand the terrible, unceasing warfare that’s conducted in the souls of the monks. This warfare is almost supernatural, invisible and is conducted not only against the demonic powers of the princes of darkness, but, for beginners, also against the flesh, that is against carnal passions and desires. In his writings, Father Silouan describes how this warfare brought him to despair, and almost to suicide. Our Lady the Mother of God appeared to him and encouraged him so that he could ...

We owe greater honour to the other, as Christ rendered to the Church In the middle of Great Lent, the Church instituted the veneration of the Holy Cross, so that it may increase our inspiration and strengthen us in our struggle to prepare our souls to enter in the quickening presence of the Risen Lord. Similarly, in the middle of the period of the Pentecostarion, we celebrate Mid-Pentecost which renews our thirst for the Light of the Comforter, and in this way strengthens us to continue in prayer with ever-increasing desire ‘until we are clothed with power from on high’. For if the Holy Spirit does not come to unite us eternally with Christ, we cannot ‘walk in the newness of ...

The Church isn’t against the human body. This is why the fathers were so careful not to damage their body in the course of their ascetic struggles. They tried to subject it to the Holy Spirit and to God’s commandments, to prevent it engaging in carnal enjoyments and trespasses, but never accepted doing active harm to the body. Patristic literature expressly states that ‘we don’t slay the body; we slay the passions’. They slay sin and the passions, but not the body, which is the temple of God. If the fathers sometimes seem to be merciless and to live in great hardship, again they didn’t do so to slay the body but to slay sin and their passions. And they ...

A human being is a temple of the living God. This is an apostolic teaching of our Church which means that, just as the grace of God, the grace of the Holy Spirit, dwells in a temple, by the same token the grace of God abides in us and we become temples of the living God. God is called living because he isn’t shut away in heaven and we simply believe in him and accept him, but because he lives within us and we are temples of the living God. Of course, Saint Paul didn’t mean that a specific part of our being is a temple of God, but that the whole person is designed to be a temple of ...

A characteristic feature of the excerpts from the Gospel of Saint John which are read in Church during the time between Easter and Pentecost is that they present certain essential characteristics of Jesus. He’s the Lord and God (Thomas Sunday); the Word who gives life to those in pain (Sunday of the Paralytic); the spring from which flows the water of eternal life (Sunday of the Samaritan Woman) and the light of the world (Sunday of the Blind Man). Jesus often addressed his sublime and beautiful teachings to ordinary people who had no external mark of sanctity or high religious standing. Indeed, he didn’t avoid talking to women, as in the case of today’s reading, which made an impression on his ...

Bulletin from the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopaidi Last Friday, 21 May, Elder Efraim tested positive with COVID-19. Thereupon all the fathers of the Monastery underwent medical checks. Having mild symptoms, the Elder immediately went into self-quarantine and was placed under medical supervision. The condition of his health continues to be stable, but as a precaution the doctors in charge recommended his transfer to a hospital for further monitoring. At the beginning of May, the authorities responsible were sent an application by the Monastery for the vaccination of brotherhood. From the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopaidi.

‘The beginning of quietude is to repel the blows of the demons, because they trouble you to the depths of your heart. The end of quietude is not to fear turmoil, but to be indifferent to it’ (Saint John of the Ladder). Turmoil is a common phenomenon in our life. Untroubled people are often thought to be unfeeling, detached and inward-looking. People who become agitated, however, are deemed to have emotions. They’re people who live and strive, even if their agitation brings its own difficulties. But there’s an obvious question: what makes us agitated? In the ascetic tradition of our faith, turmoil is caused by our thoughts. These stem from other people’s attitude towards us, from doubt and worry over the future, ...

For people who have any understanding of God and his kingdom, nothing’s a misfortune. Saint John suffered one of the greatest misfortunes that can befall anyone. He was taken prisoner of war. By the Turks. At the age of twenty. What could have been worse? Yet this misfortune proved to be his greatest good fortune. Not only did he gain the kingdom of God, the only true good fortune, but he succeeded to such an extent that he was able to share the fruits of his achievement with many others, even to this day, 200 years after his demise. In an ever-widening circle. How? Why? He was taken prisoner with a whole group of young Russian soldiers. They were all faced with the ...

Movie Review by John G. Panagiotou of the movie “Man of God” about the life of St. Nektarios of Pentapolis the Wonderworker In these days, very rarely do we find made a film made about a true saint, let alone a film about a true saint that is very well produced. Yelena Popovic has written, directed, and produced in partnership with Mt. Athos’ Vatopaidi Monastery, the St. Maxim the Greek Institute, and Europgroup Ltd. such a film with the St. Nektarios biopic “Man of God.” In this look at the life of the long-suffering saint, Aris Servetalis in the lead role as St. Nektarios Kefalas seemingly channels and incarnates the disposition and energy of the saint who left this life a ...

When we read study Holy Scripture, the lives of saints and Patristic texts, the eyes of our soul are opened.

Not many of the faithful know much about this feast. Apart from the clergy and a few lay people who have close ties to the Church, many don’t even know of its existence. Few attend church on the day and most people have no inkling that, on the Wednesday after the Sunday of the Paralytic, the Church celebrates a great feast of the Lord, that of Mid-Pentecost. And yet, at one time, this feast was celebrated on a grand scale in the Great Church of Constantinople and was attended by large numbers of people. All you need to do is to open the Έκθεσις περί της βασιλείου τάξεως (‘Treatise on the order of ceremonies of the realm’, usually ‘On Ceremonies’) by Emperor ...

There’s clearly confusion among a good few members of the Church as to how to live, how to behave and what constitutes a sin. There’s also a strong attachment to their sinful past and this increases their feelings of guilt. Nobody wants to live without joy, without appreciating life, without a thankful recognition of the many gifts which have been bestowed on us by God’s love. I think that our theological position plays a significant role in how we come to terms with our past and how we view the future. Not necessarily spiritual theology, but rather the manner in which we’re called upon to live. In other words, the theology we receive defines our way of life, and this depends on ...

2nd e-Synaxis with Bishop Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and the faithful of St Nicholas & St John the Apostle Students Church in Cluj-Napoca, Romania The subject of homily and discussion: “The healing of the souls’ diseases” Thursday, May 27, 2021, 07:30 PM Athens time Dear brothers and sisters, You are invited to participate in the ” 2nd e-Synaxis with Bishop Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and the faithful of St Nicholas & St John the Apostle Students Church in Cluj-Napoca, Romania“, which will take place Thursday, May 27, 2021, 07:30 PM Athens time. Bishop Hierotheos will talk in Greek and we will offer real-time Romanian interpretation for the entire session including the homily as well as the questions & answers. The meeting is organized by Pemptousia and St Nicholas ...