In English

a) During the period of the Triodio, the Church gradually helps Christians to ascend the spiritual ladder of Great Lent and to prepare for the Easter of the Cross and Resurrection. At this time, there is greater emphasis on Christian asceticism, prayer, uplifting humility, repentance, sobriety and Godly mourning. On the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Church shows us the manner of true prayer, as well as the danger of Pharisaism, social hubris and hypocrisy. On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, it reveals to us the true path of repentance and shows the depth and breadth of divine love. b) In his interpretation of this most instructive parable, Saint Gregory Palamas emphasizes the goodness of God the Father ...

We don’t know why it is that, in order to attract grace, we have to desire it with all our soul. But how can we desire something we know absolutely nothing about? And yet we do know grace, even just a little, because the Holy Spirit moves each soul in its quest for God. Saint Silouan the Athonite

So come to your senses in this way, because there’s no other way to do so. Get up and take this bold decision, saying to yourself: ‘I’ll arise and go to my father’ (Luke 15, 18). Get up out of this mud you’re wallowing in and go running to find your father, our sweet Jesus, in whose hands the whole of your salvation lies, the whole of your peace, the whole of your eternity. ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4, 12). What are your afraid of ? Even if, through your own fault, you’ve lost what it means to be ...

Think about the return of the prodigal son to his father’s house and the reasons behind it, which were three in number. The first was that he reflected sincerely on the wretchedness of his situation; the second was that he compared his misery with the happiness of those who were living in his father’s house; and the third was that he cherished the hope that his father would forgive him, as he had done so many times before. And so, on his return, he was granted the forgiveness he desired. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, embraced him and showered him ...

3. The Tragic Experience of Life “in a far Country”. In spite and independently of the reasons for departure, life in a country far from one’s home has its tragic aspect, too. It’s a bitter experience, often with dreadful consequences. It’s not so much the utter waste of the parental “substance” but the experience of youthful prodigality that can ruin someone’s life. Wrong choices, personal mistakes, all these are experience, which deepens our lives and makes us wiser, provided that it leads to repentance and return. But if we insist on living “in a far country”, then the negative consequences can be swift and catastrophic. The depiction of the younger son in the land of prodigality is terrible. “He wasted his substance ...

Introduction The parable of the Prodigal Son, which is the Gospel reading for today, is, as is well-known, one of the most beautiful texts of world literature. It also recalls for us the Classical narrative, from Greek mythology, of the adventure of Odysseus who left Ithaca in order to become a man and wiser than before. This is to do with the eternal quest which people undertake, within time and history, leaving everything- certainty and security- to seek the unobtainable, the dream, and, in the end, made wiser by this experience of life, to return to their home and roots, where they eventually find rest. This eternal myth was expressed so clearly and realistically by the two great traditions of the Mediterranean; by ...

The greatest effect of the Enlightenment on the modern world was on its social, political and economic life. To take social life first. Here we should note some very significant features of our culture. a. In the sphere of education the concept arose that everyone was capable of receiving knowledge and everyone should be educated. At the head of this was Voltaire (1694-1778), the intellectual leader of Europe, and under his influence a tremendous effort was made to publish and preserve the Encyclopedia, a literary form unknown before that time. It was accomplished by Voltaire’s contemporary, Diderot (1713-1784) as a means of popularizing knowledge, so that everyone could learn about goals and the truth. This would put an end to various prejudices, ...

Dear friends You are invited to participate in the “2nd Digital Fellowship with Elder Ephraim, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi Mount Athos and the Orthodox Christian Network OCN“, which will take place Thursday, March 4th, 2021 at 07:30 PM Athens time (12:30 PM EST). Elder Ephraim will talk in Greek and we will offer simultaneous English Interpretation for the entire session, including the homily as well as the questions & answers. The e-Meeting is organized by the web magazine PEMPTOUSIA and the OCN. Please register in advance for this meeting by clicking on the following link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsfuquqzsrH9VpPNRwArV2dnF96RzSm6wx After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Please install the ZOOM “Desktop or mobile” app in order to be able to listen to ...

On 2 September, 1953, the relics of Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis were disentombed in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity which he had founded and built on the island of Aegina. The next day a festal liturgy was celebrated, at the end of which the relics were carried in procession. While this was happening, the relics exuded a most powerful fragrance which affected everyone in the monastery, as well as the residents of the surrounding area. At that time, the local bus was making its way up and when it reached the Holy Apostles bridge, one of the passengers, a woman of loose morals, became aware of the strong fragrance of the relics, as she herself told us later. The other passengers ...

Don’t judge and condemn anyone, or you’ll be condemned yourself. Don’t investigate extraneous thoughts and issues, scandals and gossip. Just let them go. The devil, our enemy, tries to sow them within you in order to distract you. (Saint Seraphim Romantsov of the Monastery of Glinsk)

Coercion isn’t conducive to stability, as can easily be seen if you try to hold back streams of water or restrict plants by force. But what we accept of our own free will is more stable and sure. The former belongs to the violator, whereas the second belongs to us. One is a characteristic of God’s goodness, the other is a sign of tyrranical power. (Saint Gregory the Theologian)

The documentary «St. Joseph the Hesychast» focuses on the life of one of Mount Athos’ most influential contemporary ascetics. Joseph...

On the occasion of another great success of tennis player Novak Djokovic, His Holiness Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch sent a greeting...

In anticipation of the feast of the Meeting of the Lord our monastery in Escondido, just north of San Diego,...

  “I pondered for a long time whether or not I should talk about Veronica. Why? Because it’s by far...

The generation of Romanians who emigrated overseas after 1990 “is the generation of Romanians who want to keep their Romanian...

II THE CHARACTERISTICS AND PREDICAMENTS OF THE MODERN WORLD 1. The basic principles of the Enlightenment in various spheres of culture. True to its historical beginnings, which we have already mentioned, the Enlightenment was motivated along the following lines: a) The absolute supremacy of human reason. Anything that did not conform to human logic was suspected of being prejudice and superstition. Miracles, belief in the supernatural, the supramundane, were all subject to questioning. Those who wished to believe in some religion, such as Christians for example, had to find a way of reconciling their faith with human reason, to find logical explanations regarding the existence of God, the soul and so on. So Christian theology embarked on an enormous effort to convince people ...

Watch our news bulletin in English with Charilaos Tzannis:  Πηγή: www.orthodoxianewsagency.gr

  The 10th edition of the book “Charismatic Subordinate”, published by the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi, is now available....

The Archdiocese of Australia’s Bishop Kyaneon, His Grace Elpidios, conducted the blessing on Monday at the University of New South...