In English

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8) Patmos - Cave of St. John An amazing transformation happens in the minds and hearts of those who journey to Mount Athos in pilgrimage. Peace and freedom of cares quiet the soul making it possible to pray. As I walked passed the massive steel gate of the monastery of Philotheou and into the inner courtyard, it was as if I had never left.  I could hear my friends, monks S. and D. calling me, but even as I greeted them, my inner being was still. “Lord ...

‘The term “Mother of God” in the Fathers of the Church and its use as a criterion of Orthodoxy’ The term ‘Mother of God’ is nowhere to be found in Scripture, as can easily be seen by a consultation of the concordances of the Old and New Testaments. In Scripture, the Mother of God is called Mary (Matth. 1, 16), Virgin (Matth. 1, 23), mother of Jesus (Matth.1, 18), but not Mother of God or All-Holy Lady, terms which are familiar to and popular with the Orthodox. Without doubt, Orthodoxy both depends upon and arises from Scripture and the Tradition of the Church, so we should look for the use of the term in the Tradition of the Fathers of the ...

Wickedness is passed on as easily as an infectious disease.

Every priest is asked questions about behavior during worship, both what should be done to show proper respect in the Lord's temple and what can be done to achieve more meaningful participation in the services. This article will attempt to address some of the more common questions and concerns; it draws on a variety of sources. These should not be taken as laws to be obeyed, but as aids to an attitude or frame of mind which will make our parish's worship more meaningful to each of us. Whenever we enter or leave the temple we should do so as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb the prayers of our brothers and sisters. As we enter or leave the temple, ...

Elder Sophrony (Sacharov) has been called ‘a leading Church personality who lived and presented the Christian life in practice, in its theological entirety’. As regards content and the depth of experiences they describe, his works have been likened to the spirit to be found in texts by Symeon the New Theologian and Gregory Palamas. His basic contribution to Orthodox theology in modern times is considered to be the way in which he highlights the Hypostatic Principle in God and humankind. The person, or hypostasis has always been of prime importance in Orthodox Patristic theology, from the very beginning. The importance of the person has once again been highlighted in the circles of Orthodox academic theology, generating concerns which in some instances ...

We have the pleasure today to re-publish an exclusive interview with Mrs. Cornelia Delkeskamp-Hayes, a famous modern Orthodox bioethicist, one of the editors of "Christian bioethics", and on the Editorial Advisory Board of the "Journal οf Christian Bioethics".  "Pemptousia": You are an editor of the Oxford journal Christian Bioethics,  a journal which is perhaps unique in its field. Tell us a little about it. When was it started? "Cornelia Delkeskamp-Hayes": It was Herman Engelhardt’s idea. He realized that Orthodoxy needed a greater international presence in the academia. And he was willing to invest his own world-wide reputation for the purpose. The Orthodox voice was finally to make itself heard in the public forum of Christian reflection on the moral issues raised by biomedicine. When Herman ...

Maybe you don't understand when you're saying the Jesus prayer, but the devil does and he burns.

Father Kosmas Aitolos was born in 1714 in the Greek village Megalo Dendro (Big Tree) in the region of Aitolia. He studied in Mount Athos, in “Athonias School”, and later he became a monk in Philotheou Monastery.  Because of the lack of education in most of the population, especially in the remote areas of Greece, Father Kosmas was "forced" to live Athos and begin missionary tours in the villages with the aim of educating the poor people. This way he would also be able to help people understand the Scriptures better. In a period of six years he managed to establish 250 schools as well as charities and rural churches. On August 24, 1779 he was executed at Kolkondas, Fier District, ...

Perspicacity is the healthy and unerring assessment of concepts and things so that they can be judged properly in terms of time, manner, place and occasion, and always in terms of edification. Perspicacity is the ability to identify imminent developments before they occur and thus to avoid the harm they might cause. Perspicacity is a kind of foresight through which a healthy intellect forestalls what is about to happen. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which is granted as a prize to those who observe the dictates of their conscience scrupulously and who carefully keep the divine commandments. Perspicacity, in the sense of discrimination, is also the instrument which the Church uses to guide its children in the turmoil ...

‘He has put down the mighty from their thrones and elevated the humble’ (Luke 1, 52). This hymn to the Mother of God is reflected fully in the spiritual personality of Fr. Alexei Medvedkof’. With these words, Fr, Pavel Poukhalsjj began the funeral oration for Fr. Alexei, standing beside his coffin on 4 October, 1957. The deceased had been born in 1867, in a village in the province of Viazma, a member of the family of a young priest who died after the child was born. A life of poverty and deprivation began for little Alexei. Nevertheless, as a child of a clergyman, he attended a Church school and went on to study at a Seminary, where he decided to follow his father’s ...

He was born at Vourla of Smyrna in Asia Minor. First he lived as a monk at the Cell dedicated to Christ’s Birth at the Skete of St Anne. Then he stayed at the Cell of the Archangels, where he looked after Elder Antony and his fellow brother Chrysanthos until the end of their days. He was standing up so much that his feet became rotten. Then he was invited to live with Elder Azaria (+1947) at St John’s the Forerunner Cell. He was also a very good hagiographer. He painted the miraculous icon of St Erine Chrysovalantou at Lykobrysi in Attiki. Fr Chrysanthos (+ 1981) wrote: ‘Nektarios was so compassionate that he would have given the walls of his cell ...

The foundation of the virtues is humility. If we don’t place that at the base, we fall more easily when the evil spirit attacks.

Ascetic literature is a form of Patristic theology which appeared and was cultivated within the context of monastic communities. Every work, or even maxim of ascetic literature was aimed at the spiritual edification of the particular community to which it was addressed. However, all the references in ascetic works are aimed at the restoration and promotion of people’s relations with God and their fellow human beings, as well as the whole of creation, which is the central purpose of the Christian life. This aim is comprehensive and timeless, addressed to all Christians, in all epochs, without exception. This is what justifies the interest of Christians from all eras in ascetic texts. This interest increases when we are concerned with texts from ...

We look to hear the voice of God in some out of the ordinary event, or through some important personage. But perhaps this is just what suits us. It allows us to retreat into the vagueness of our personal interpretation. In short, it’s what we want and what’s in our own interest. But the Living God isn’t content with abstract ruminations and interpretations and so He makes sure to speak to us through our daily routine. And this routine actually tells us more about the needs of our brothers and sisters than anything else. Any needs at all. Spiritual or material. I believe that God speaks to us mainly through other people. And we hear Him when we put aside our ...

31 August 2016 On 31 August, the Church celebrates the Deposition of the Precious Belt· of Our Most Holy Lady in the church of the Mother of God of the Khalkoprateia (copper shops) in Constantinople. This church was in a neighbourhood close to a place called Milion, and it was here that the workshops were which belonged to the craftsmen who made and sold copperware, hence the name of the area. There’s no clear evidence concerning this feast of the Mother of God before the 7th century. In the 6th and 7th centuries, six new feasts were added to the liturgical life of the Church, all of them related to Our Lady: her Conception by Saint Ann, her Nativity, her Entry into ...

On September 1st, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Beginning of the Indiction, that is, the Ecclesiastical New Year. Before the Greek (or Constantinopolitan) Indiction was introduced by St. Constantine the Great in 312 and decreed by the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325 A.D.), the day of Indiction varied based on local tradition. The word Indiction is birthed from the Latin word meaning to proclaim. It established the annual land tax to support the needs of the empire and its armed forces and was issued for 15-year cycles. It was the month of September when the harvest was gathered and thanksgiving offered to God (see Exodus 23:16), a festival connected to the Saviour’s entry into the synagogue in Nazareth whose passage from the ...

A soul that’s been wounded by divine love is always glad, it rejoices, it leaps and dances, because it’s as buoyant in the love of the Lord as if it were riding on calm waters. No distressing event in the world can disturb its serenity and peace, nor deprive it of its joy and delight. 

When divine Grace comes, let’s stand with concentration, self-control and prayer

Magician, witch or priest of the religion of Zoroastrianism for the people of Media: in classical antiquity this role referred to the priestly art of divination of Mazdaism (Zoroastrianism), who's practitioners were also known as magicians or “magi.” During the Hellenistic period the magicians of Persia travelled throughout the world offering their services to Roman Society at large. These services which they provided were enthusiastically accepted by those lacking formal education, who were then able even to penetrate into the Imperial Court of the Roman Emperors. However, this does not mean that these practices were accepted by those more culturally developed who manifestly disdained the magicians. For exactly this reason men of high culture began to use the term “magic” ...