In English

Sinai became widely known, particularly in Europe, with the spreading of the fame and cult of St. Catherine. Symeon Metaphrastes contributed greatly in making the life of the Saint known to the laity when, in the 10th century, he wrote on “the martyrdom of the great Martyr and in the name of Christ victorious Saint Catherine”. The high-born learned maiden had studied at the ethnic schools of that age philosophy, rhetorics poetry, music, physics, mathematics, astronomy and medicine. He beauty and amazing learning, her aristocratic birth and noble character did not prevent her form accepting Jesus Christ, “the heavenly spouse”, and she was baptized a Christian. When in the beginning of the 4th century the emperor Maximum persecuted the Christians, Catherine publicly ...

The task of prayer for the whole world is the most valuable service and gives a living dimension to the world. Monastics strive for things which have absolute, not fleeting value. The intercession of the righteous is an honour for the world.

It takes a great struggle, because the passions are very powerful. But by God’s grace those who are courageous and fight with all their strength will be victorious. Bodily effort and study of the holy Scriptures preserve the purity of the mind. And then it needs a lot of prayer, so that divine grace will shelter those who are struggling. If we’re to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, it needs a great spiritual struggle, because we’re easily led astray into wickedness, and, in the blink of an eye, lose what we’ve gained through great striving. In our hearts there is good and evil. Which of the two will prevail depends on the effort we ourselves put in. If we give ...

Saint Amfilokhio's feast day is the 23rd November There was another brother who, after sinning, repented and then withdraw into solitude. It happened, though, that he struck his foot on a rock and injured it so badly that blood came pouring out of the wound. He lost so much blood, in fact, that he died. The demons came and wanted to carry him off, but the angels said: ‘Look at the rock and the blood he shed for the Lord’. Because of what the angels said, his soul was set free. Satan appeared to another brother who’d fallen into sin and told him: ‘You’re not a Christian’. The brother replied: ‘Whatever I am, I’m still better than you’. Satan came back: ‘I’m ...

Anything we achieve through God’s grace should be shared with others, to His glorification.

Apart from marriage, which is the natural way of life for us humans, there’s also celibacy as a way of life beyond what’s natural. In the New Testament and the Patristic tradition, celibacy is declared to be superior to marriage. This observation doesn’t refer to virginity or celibacy as such, but rather to the opportunities it provides to the faithful for their spiritual perfection. As Saint John Chrysostom says: ‘Celibacy in itself is neither good nor bad, but becomes so from the disposition of those who practice it’. Through the favoured position of celibacy, people who practice it are placed above any and every social expediency and biological laws and behaviour, the emphasis instead being placed on their freedom and value. ...

The term “Orthodoxy’ comes from two Greek words, one meaning ‘correct’ and the other ‘to think’. The word therefore has the sense of ‘correct thinking’. True faith is not cut off from the ecclesiastical, liturgical and sacramental life as glory and praise of God . The true faith is a product of what is expressed in Holy Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the life of the Church. The content of the dogmas which were formulated at the Ecumenical Synods takes on flesh and bone within the Church. In this way it becomes a doxology to the Holy Trinity, through the ceremonial, liturgical and sacramental life of the Church. Source: http://lance66.deviantart.com With good reason, the Orthodox Church declares that it is the guardian ...

Be very patient and don’t worry, because you’re a sensitive person, which is why you have health problems. Make your heart a rugged rock so that you can endure. God won’t abandon you; He’ll strengthen and bless you. I’m glad you’re thinking about your soul and are concerned about eternal life.

A brief discourse on the child of God Mary, when she was dedicated to God at the age of three years old, in the Holy of Holies, by her parents. When it was time for God’s mystery for our salvation to be accomplished, it was necessary that the workshop where this would happen should be full of holiness so that He Who is all holy and ‘finds rest in the saints’, should reside in this holy place and so fulfill the prophecy: ‘The mercy of God and the precise verification of His promises met and united. His justice and peace performed a mutual embrace. Truth sprang from the earth and justice bent down from heaven and visited the earth’. ‘For the ...

No-one is saved alone. My salvation isn’t my own business, my own tiny, individual affair. It’s an ontological event which involves not only the whole of humankind but also the whole of creation, every single thing that God has created.

It’s not enough for prayer just to proceed from the lips. It’s of great importance that we should love Him Whom we’re addressing. But we can’t feel that love if we repeat prayers mechanically, or even if we concentrate. Unless we struggle with all our powers to observe the Lord’s commandments, then we’re calling upon His name in vain. But God tells us quite clearly (Ex. 20, 7) that we are not to utter His name unless there’s a good reason to. This is why, when we call upon the name of the Lord, we have to be aware not only of the presence of the living God, but also of His true wisdom.

As our Church begins to observe the Nativity Fast, our Holy Metropolis organized the second annual Altar Boy Retreat on Saturday, November 18, 2017, for altar boys from across the Greater Toronto Area. Held this year at the Metropolis headquarters, the day began with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios alone. All of the youth approached for Holy Communion, a truly wonderful display of faith. Following the Liturgy, a Lenten meal was served to all participants, prepared by the Ladies of the Metropolis Philoptochos. This time was also an opportunity for the altar boys to introduce themselves and make new friends. His Eminence spoke to all gathered on this year’s theme of our Metropolis: “Whoever therefore shall confess ...

When people begin to observe the commandments properly, their mind opens and they understand how God has a plan for each person. They feel His special concern in their personal life and that of their family. The holy Fathers say that such people then progress and that the faith in their vision increases. The illumined mind sees that God handles each soul with such fatherly care, with such attention to detail, with such particular interest, that it continues to progress and doesn’t fall back.

The great news which Christianity tells the world every day is that things are judged, as regards their true worth, not by evaluating their external features, but by what they are in essence. We have to judge things not by their colour or shape but by what they mean. And people should be measured not by their status or wealth, that is, by external appearances, but by their heart, which is where the senses, the intellect and the will are united. By this measure (which is an entirely new teaching as far as the world is concerned), people who are enslaved in external terms aren’t really slaves at all and those who have external- bodily- freedom aren’t in fact free. The way ...

The ninth Sunday of Saint Luke and the Gospel reading again revolves around the great temptation of the misuse of wealth. The parable of the foolish rich man is well-known and, at the same time, of enduring interest to everyone, not only to those who have a lot of money. The man mentioned in the Gospel today was so rich that he didn’t have room to store all his wealth and goods. It appears that his sole interest in life was to acquire more and more goods. He was the type of man who, instead of being in love with the beauty of life, was someone with a life-long passion for an abundance of material goods. The poor man was under ...

Many people have tried to deal with temptations through a variety of spiritual means. But without prayer and the practice of repentance no one has ever escaped the hardships of the temptations, which, in accordance with God’s justice, are permitted for our rectification and purification.

Silence is a great fortifier in unseen warfare and a sure hope of victory.

The Church is not opposed to the human body. This is why the Fathers were so careful not to damage their body with their ascetic efforts. They tried to submit it to the Holy Spirit and to God’s commandments, so as not to seek the pleasures and lapses of the flesh, but they never accepted that their bodies should be damaged. In Patristic literature, there’s a saying that ‘we don’t slay the body, but we do slay the passions’. It’s sin and the passions which kill, not the body, which is the temple of God. And if, at times, it appears that the saints seem merciless and harsh in their treatment of the body, it was not to kill it, ...