In English

‘The present day shines brightly on the beginning of the Lord’s Passion. Come then, lovers of feasts, and let us welcome it with songs…’ (sessional hymn, Mattins, Great Monday). We have arrived, my beloved friends, at the saving Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ. This week is called ‘Great’, because in 168 hours, from today until the night of the Resurrection, we honor great events, of unique importance for the history of the world. They shook the heavens, the earth and the underworld. This is why this week is called ‘Great’ and why it shouldn’t be allowed to pass like any other. I ask the question: what are the responsibilities of a Christian during Great Week? I’m not addressing unbelievers, atheists or ...

Today’s Gospel reading describes what is known as Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. From the whole of the narrative it’s clear that the entry into the holy city by Jesus is a triumph for the Church. It’s only through the faith and guidance of the Holy Spirit that this entry of a prophet persecuted by the leaders of Israel became a triumphant transition of the Messiah into his glory. The excerpt gives the impression of a diary of the movements of Jesus and those around him. The ‘next day’ is 10 Nisan, i.e. a Monday. The news of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem aroused the spirits of the provincial, – particularly Galilean- visitors who retained a more fervent hope in the Messiah, ...

Trust God, who is good, powerful, living and he will bring you to rest. After trials there follows spiritual joy. The Lord watches over all those who for his love endure trials and sorrows. So don’t cower and don’t be fainthearted. Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis

Acquire Christ’s humility in your soul. Without it we’re poor, we can never be at peace in the spirit. Without it, all the fine talents of any of us are a pile of droppings. Saint Serafim Romantsiov, the Monastery of Glinsk

The representation takes us outside the city to a place with rocks. In one of these, as was the custom of the Jews, the tomb of Lazarus had been hewn. The figure of Christ dominates the scene. We see his sorrow, but also sense his divinity. This is revealed, in the first place by his majestic attitude and, secondly, by the fact that the Jews, who can be seen on the right hand of the group of people, are looking at Christ, not at Lazarus. At Christ’s command, Lazarus is raised. A young man removes the cloths, while another lifts the tombstone. Lazarus’ sisters also make an impression. They bow down before the Lord, their inexpressible sorrow etched on their ...

Great Lent has been completed and ends with two splendid festal days. These are Lazarus Saturday, on which we commemorate the raising of Christ’s bosom friend, Lazarus; the other is Palm Sunday, when we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem six days before he was betrayed and suffered death on the Cross. Today we see the raising of Lazarus, a miracle performed by the Lord before he entered the city of Jerusalem. Lazarus lived in Bethany with his sisters, Martha and Mary. He was a friend of the Lord’s. At some point he fell very ill. His sisters sent a message to the Lord, telling him his beloved friend was sick. When Jesus learned of this, he said: ‘This illness hasn’t ...

What shall we say about those who have had in their heart a sense of the grace of the Holy Spirit? And who, though even if they haven’t achieved perfect grace here, should, because they encountered it, be considered to be saved. Saint Isaac the Syrian

‘Having completed the forty days that bring profit to our soul, we beseech you in your love for humankind: grant us also to behold the Holy Week of your Passion, so that in it we may glorify your mighty works and your ineffable providence for us, singing with one mind: Lord, glory to you’ (Doxastiko, Mattins). As we all know, Lazarus Saturday marks the end of Great Lent. The blessed period which began with Clean Monday has now come to an end- the above hymn is also sung at Vespers on the feast of Lazarus. What does the holy hymnographer tell us? First that this season of Lent ‘brings profit to our soul’. Secondly that, although it’s the ‘end’ as regards ...

So, all those who wish to cleanse themselves of the sins of the whole year should first guard against treating food lightly. Because the fathers say that inattention to food begets all kinds of evil for us. Equally, we must guard against breaking the fast without due cause, against seeking out particularly tasty food and against eating and drinking to satiety. There are two kinds of gluttony. One is not about eating too much, but being very particular about the food being tasty. People like this eat what pleases them and are defeated by the pleasure involved in doing so. They keep the food in their mouth and savor it for pleasure, rather than swallow it. This is called being a connoisseur. Others ...

People today typically wear hateful masks. It takes an enormous amount of effort get rid of this mask, to move on from the persona to the person. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos

The distillation of the Christian life is love. This is why, in discussions being held during the coronavirus outbreak, particularly by people who don’t take part in the life of the Church, they urge us to demonstrate our love and to stay at home, not go to church, not take Communion, so that we don’t unwittingly spread the disease to other people. Indeed, if they see believers going to church or asking to take Communion, they lose no time in informing the police, so that these ‘dangerous people’ can be cleared from the streets. ‘If you’re a Christian, show your love in this way’, they exhort us. They make us feel guilty. They point out that it’s selfish behavior to want ...

Having strengthened by the power of the cross my mind weakened by wicked attacks, direct me to your will, Lord. Raise me, Christ, who am sleeping on the bed of pleasures, slumbering in sloth, and show me to be a venerator of your Passion. Having burnished our souls with fasting, let us, now cleansed, hasten to Jerusalem to meet Christ, who is coming in the flesh. (Matins, ode 1 ). This first ode of the canon for the day (again written by Saint Iosif the Hymnographer) continues the contrast which is almost always present in the hymns of our Church: on the one hand, awareness of human weakness, which is due both to the evil one, who never ceases to wage war against ...

During this period of Holy and Great Lent, the struggle (prayer and fasting) against evil for Orthodox Christians is particularly intense. At Great Compline we pray: “Lord … redeem us from all turmoil and cowardice of the one who is approached by the devil” (Prayer of St. Basil the Great). Or we can look at the conclusion of the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy: “provide and bless the good, crush the heads of the invisible dragons” (The last Prayer in front of the Icon of Christ). From these prayers alone it is obvious that Satan, the oldest enemy of mankind, is quite real. He is not only powerful, but also very devious. He uses every possible tactic to try and deceive or manipulate ...

Temptations exist and will always be there in our lives. We have to protect ourselves from the innumerable traps the wily devil sets for us. It’s only with humility and prayer that we can avoid them and guard ourselves. People who are careful and judicious benefit greatly from temptations. Saint Iakovos Tsalikis

In our struggle, we have to be bold. The Lord loves a bold and circumspect soul. If we don’t have boldness and circumspection, we have to ask God that we may submit to our spiritual guides, because the grace of the Holy Spirit dwells in them. Saint Silouan the Athonite

(Homily on the 5th Sunday in Great Lent) Prayer! What is prayer? It’s the great virtue that raises you and raises me. Have you perhaps got up to pray, have you cried aloud to the Lord to save your soul from sins, from every evil, every passion?  Then your tombs and my tombs open and the dead arise. Whatever’s sinful flees, whatever drags us into wickedness disappears. Holy prayer raises each of us when it’s sincere, when it takes the whole of the soul up into heaven, when, with fear and trembling you say to the Lord: ‘Look, see my tombs, they’re innumerable. This is my soul, dead, far from you, Lord. Say the word and raise all my dead’. Because you, ...

It’s such a common question, so powerful in its expression, so difficult to answer.  It’s such a true question, so human, so demanding but one which, by its very nature, can’t endure utterance, isn’t expressed by the mouth, can’t be contained in words, can’t be made public to an audience and, even more, isn’t open to easy answers, from those who are supposedly knowledgeable to others who are certainly in pain. It may well be the one subject on which no speeches can or should be made. It’s too profound to rise to the surface of consciousness. It’s too painful to fit into the limits of our endurance. It’s too personal to be found in the arena of public discourse. ...

(Homily on the 5th Sunday in Great Lent)  The fifth Sunday in Lent, the Sunday of long vigils and great ascetic efforts, the week of profound lamentation and sighing, the Sunday of the greatest of all the women saints, our blessed mother, Saint Mary the Egyptian. She spent forty-seven years in the wilderness and the Lord gave her something he rarely grants to any of the saints: for years on end she tasted neither bread nor water. When questioned by Abbas Zosimas, she replied: ‘People shall not live by bread alone’ (Matth. 4, 4). The Lord nourished her in a special way and guided her in the hermitic life, in her ascetic struggles. And what was the result? The saint turned ...

5th e-Synaxis from Holy Mount Athos with Elder Ephraim and the faithful of Saint Nicholas and Saint John the Apostle Students Church in Cluj-Napoca, Romania Thursday, April 22, 2020, 07:30-09:30 PM Athens Time Dear brothers and sisters, You are invited to participate in the “5th e-Synaxis from Holy Mount Athos with Elder Ephraim and the faithful of Saint Nicholas and Saint John the Apostle Students Church in Cluj-Napoca, Romania“, which will take place Thursday April 22, 2020, 07:30-09:30 PM Athens Time.  In this particular e-Meeting, Elder Ephraim will be more than happy to have a dialogue with younger people and children as well (as requested by the organisers). Elder Ephraim will talk in Greek and we will offer real-time Romanian interpretation for the entire session including the homily ...

Those who love a little, give a little. Those who love more, give more. And those who love greatly, what can they give that’s worthy of their love? They give themselves. Saint Porfyrios Kavsokalyvitis