In English

‘Do not become accustomed to being defeated in the spiritual war, because habit becomes second nature’ (Saint Efraim the Syrian). The great Saint Efraim the Syrian makes a profound psychological and also spiritual observation, the truth of which we can all confirm from our daily experience. Who doubts the power of habit? If we do something once and then repeat it, it becomes difficult to stop. So much so, that repetition of what we’ve become used to ends up as second nature. Any effort to stop a habit is often experienced as tearing up roots. This is where the importance of habit in spiritual warfare becomes clear, in the struggle waged by the faithful in their efforts to follow the path of ...

On 26 January, the Church celebrates and honors the sacred memory of the Blessed Xenofon and his family. Saint Xenofon, his wife Mary and their two sons, Arkadios and Ioannis, are a model of a holy family, very instructive, particularly in our own day and age. There is a general concern and anxiety that the institution of marriage and of the family is undergoing a serious crisis and all right thinking people are seeking ways to support this fundamental constituent of the body politic, the family. Examples such as the saints we celebrate today are particularly edifying for us Christians. In any case, this is precisely why we’re encouraged by the Church to read the Lives and Works of the ...

Among the multitude of the saints, that is the people who loved Christ ‘with all their heart’ and who expressed this love through denial of the self and acceptance of their cross, there are the so-called ‘fools for Christ’. Usually monastics, they presented themselves to the world as lunatics, acting contrary to common sense, saying and doing things which made them look insane and immoral. Their behavior, however, concealed their conquest of the passions, their faith, their gifts and their sanctity. This kind of spiritual struggle was a gift from God, not a personal choice. It was a particular gift granted to certain people in specific circumstances, in a specific society. Most often the society was one of secularized Christianity which ...

For a good number of years now there’s been a virus going round infecting societies. It’s the illusion that ignorance is as compelling as knowledge. This means that, in order for people take a stand in the public arena, they choose to be disgustingly rude and to exercise violence in order to get their point across. The strange thing is that this behavior gains viewers and admirers. This is particularly true in politics, though it has spread from there into society at large, through the mass media. The desire to be right, not because you have anything of value to say but by any means possible, inevitably leads to incivility and boorishness. This is the competition of personal survival, the ...

We shouldn’t see the sorrows of life here through the prism of evanescent reason, but through the prism of eternity. Then our life acquires meaning and the significance of sorrows in our life is revealed to us. In the end, these trials are the way of the cross which we have to tread if we’re to attain salvation and sanctification. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos

Study of the Old Testament requires discernment and a firm grounding in the knowledge of the holy books. You might, for example, be surprised by many of the expressions you read in Leviticus, precisely because it requires genuine learning, an evidence-based and subtle approach to interpretation. So why are expressions used which present God as being vengeful? Or why are phrases employed which imply violence? The discipline of history teaches us that, if we’re to understand an event in the past, we have to transport ourselves back to the time when it occurred or was recorded so that we can examine the situation and circumstances, as well as the religious and cultural features of the region. Theology is another important discipline, ...

Through constant repentance and asceticism, Christians seek to overcome the sin and egotism which riddle society. The more we’re cleansed of our passions, the more we acquire the possibility of real communion with God and with other human persons. Elder Georgios Kapsanis

No one has gone through life without ever being worried, hurt, or driven to tears. As children of Adam, all of us, young and old, have to live with the consequences of the fall of our forefather, precisely because that forefather is each one of us. There’s no need to find support for this view of the human condition, since life itself is evidence of the difficulty, the trials and the cross which accompany all of us on our path through it. This is why all of us need support, a shoulder to lean on, a kind word to sustain us at a time when it seems impossible for us to bear our cross. Christ himself needed a Cyrenian , even ...

We call the Lord ‘God’, but in reality we have our own gods. This is why we don’t do the will of God, but submit to the will and desires of our flesh, our heart and our passions. Our gods are our flesh, entertainments, money and vanities. Saint John Kronstadtskij

‘The devil hates any message or attitude that keep us safe from evil’ (Abba Dorotheos) One of the main requirements we have as people is the need to feel safe and secure, not only in our relationships but in every circumstance of our life which we consider important, such as, for example, the workplace or the path our society is going down. We’ve heard about financial insecurity which affects the stability and development of whole countries. We see young people not wanting to have children because they feel insecure, either economically or due to the prospects for whatever relationship they’re in, since they’re not sure that they’ll be able to live with another person for ever. In this time of the ...

If a misunderstanding occurs among us, each nun involved should say to herself: ‘Hold on, are you so imperturbable, so without passions, so without faults, that it’s right for you to judge others? Why not forgive the other person, why not be kind to them?’. The misunderstanding’s resolved straight away. This is why it needs compassion, it requires pain. Abbess Makrina, Holy Monastery of the Guide, Portaria

Translated by: Georgios Velentzas, Theologian Listen up, you, kings and rulers of the nations who love war, and be wise! Almighty God and Creator of all things has made you kings, lords and rulers of nations and peoples and your people have trusted you to govern them, to rule your subjects with justice and truth and, as affectionate fathers and excellent rulers, to provide and ensure the prosperity, happiness and salvation of your peoples. Why do you forget your purpose? Listen up and be wise! You have killed hundreds of thousands of blameless and innocent people by handing them over to slaughter, fire and the seabed. Hundreds of thousands have you made miserable, hideous, seedy, hungry, naked and homeless! Billions of billions are wasted ...

There are those who view people romantically and at face value. They transfer wickedness from individual people to society, which is why they also proclaim that an improvement in society will also bring about an improvement in people. While not denying the importance of social influences on people, we Orthodox prioritize the transfiguration of the person through repentance and divine grace. It’s a great delusion to want to change society without striving to change ourselves. Elder Georgios Kapsanis

Whenever you have a bad thought you don’t want, say ‘Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ’ three times and it’ll all disappear. Abbess Theosemni, Holy Monastery of Chrysopiyi, Hania, Crete.

Christians should glorify God in body and spirit. Both belong to God, so you have no authority to dishonor or debase them. You must treat them as holy and sacred vessels, with all gratitude. Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis

Today’s Gospel tells us of the miracle of the cure of the blind man in Jericho. This man was not only blind, he was also poor. This is why he begged. ‘He sat at the side of the road, begging’, as the text says.  Where he was sitting, he could hear the noise of the people passing by and wondered what was going on. He was told that it was Jesus from Nazareth. But why were there so many people with Christ? The feast of the Passover was approaching  and Christ was on his way to Jerusalem, after leaving Bethany where he had raised Lazarus. But lots of other people were also going to Jerusalem, as large groups of pilgrims, ...

Let us investigate how it is that sometimes, if a person hears something unkind, they’re able to let it go without becoming upset, whereas at other times, they hear something and are immediately offended. What’s the reason behind this difference? Is there only one cause or many? The way I see it is that there are many, but there’s one which engenders all the rest, so to say. Let me say how. In the first place, someone’s just finished praying or thinking good thoughts and, as you might say, is in a good state. Then they’re able to bear with the other person and let it go without becoming upset. Or it may be that the person has an affection ...

‘Because the Lord has prepared it to be his throne and dwelling-place, the soul which has been granted spiritual union with the light of Christ and has been illumined by the moral beauty of his inexpressible glory completely becomes light, completely becomes a persona*, completely becomes an eye. There is no part of such a soul that is not filled with the spiritual eyes of the light; there is, that is to say, no part of the soul that is dark. Because it has completely become light and spirit and because it is filled with eyes, there is no part of the soul that can be characterized as below or behind, but rather it is a persona from all sides, ...