In English

As we prepare to celebrate the great feast of the Universal Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, which, according to the liturgical tradition of the Church is comparable to Holy and Great Friday- hence its status as a strict fast- the Gospel reading of the day reminds us of another strange elevation which happened centuries before, in the wilderness, during the exodus of the Israelite people from their enslavement in Egypt. What happened then? Since the Jews were unable to pass through the kingdom of Edom, they were forced to make a detour through a region which was arid and inhospitable. In their usual way, they once again began to complain and moan about Moses and, indirectly, about God. They ...

Those who are striving fight against the passions, the demons and negative thoughts. Naturally, it’s not permissible to oppose their neighbor or other people; they war only against wickedness. In this way, the bravery of the faithful is made manifest- when they ‘give blood and receive the Spirit’- but it also leaves them exhausted. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos

Christ is the savior of our soul and body. Those who follow in his footsteps (1 Peter, 2, 21) are liberated from evil. Those who love Jesus are set free from wickedness. And those who follow him will see true knowledge. Saint Thalassios the Libyan

When people are humbled, even if against their wishes, then God’s grace necessarily comes upon them. Elder Gavriil Tsafos

Having faith in God doesn’t mean only that we believe in him as our Creator. It also means that we recognize his unfailing providence and concern for our good, even in the most insignificant facets of our life. Of course, this is virtually impossible for our mind to grasp, because it’s engulfed by the darkness of the passions. Saint Makarij, Optina

The most fortunate parents in the history of the world are those of the Mother of God, Joachim and Ann. The Church hymns them as the happiest of all progenitors. “Fortunate couple! you have surpassed all other parents in that you begot her who was superior to all creation” (Doxastikon, Vespers, 9 September). Joachim and Ann are the most fortunate of parents because they begot the most beautiful and holy child in the world. They begot her, the Mother of God, who is superior to all creation. Let’s put the whole of creation, all the stars, all the people, all the saints onto one side of a pair of scales and the Mother of God on the other, and she’ll outweigh ...

Joachim and Anna, the forefather and foremother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, occupy an important place of honor in the hagiology of the Church. At almost every service, there’s a separate reference to these venerable persons, with the celebrating clergy invoking their prayers to God. They’re the parents of the Mother of God, who were deemed worthy to give birth to her, in order to implement the plan for the salvation of the human race. Information concerning them comes exclusively from holy Tradition, since nothing is mentioned in the New Testament. But for us Orthodox, Tradition is just as valid and trustworthy as Holy Scripture, because the mind of the Church respectfully preserved things which were not recorded by the authors ...

Our Church is celebrating the feast of the Birth of the Mother of God, who bore the Son and Word of God, who is the beginning of the salvation of the human race: ‘rejoice, Virgin all-holy, the beginning of the human race’. Today’s feast of the Mother of God is a cause of universal rejoicing, thanks to the all-pure and blessed person of Our Lady. The feast is a harbinger of joy, because from the Virgin rose the Sun of Righteousness, Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the World. The parents of the Mother of God were Joachim and Ann. Both of them belonged to the root and lineage of David and were devout and righteous people. They’d grown old, however, ...

The paradise of the kingdom of heaven is the culmination of the perfection of freedom. In this life, the faithful have a foretaste of the grace of this peace-bearing freedom and ease, which has been the earthly experience of all the saints. Elder Moïsis the Athonite

The Birth of the Mother of God, Russian Icon, 17th Century But once He had granted the usufruct and overlordship of all things in Paradise, He had to train the people he had entrusted with such great authority. He gave them a law, which was neither difficult to observe, nor extremely easy to keep in its totality. Through this they would gain either their reward or their condemnation. So He set aside one plant among all those which were flourishing there and issued the commandment that it was forbidden to eat of this one alone. But an evil beast and the principal of wickedness, using as his tool a serpent and directing towards the woman seductive and attractive words and casting ...

Through fasting, we overcome and bind one of the giants of perversion- gluttony- a staunch ally of nature and the devil. The latter takes most of his victims prisoner through it. Our Lord demonstrated just how necessary the practice is when he undertook to remake us through his presence, after his divine baptism in the River Jordan. Who now can doubt that this is the foundation of repentance, of refashioning, of resurrection and of salvation? If the Lord, who was without sin or the passions, fasted- and, indeed, extensively- who can feign incapacity or denial? Not to mention the practice of withstanding thirst, which those who are experienced in self-restraint promote as being the greatest feat in the struggle against ...

If there were no pain, if there were no manifestation of sickness, every ailment would result in death, and we would be blissfully ignorant, in the world of our imagined healthy state. This is why every crisis in the social realm makes known to us a sickness which is already eating away at us. And this motivates us to find ways of treating it. Elder Christodoulos, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Koutloumousi

Those who are overcome by desires and pleasures will quickly fall into the snares of sin. And once sin has happened, it’s a fire in dry grass, a stone rolling downhill, a canyon formed by widened gullies. And it prepares perdition for sinners in any way it can. Saint Theodoros of Edessa

The Birth of the Mother of God, Russian Icon, 17th Century Today, the Virgin Mother is born from a barren mother and the palace is bedecked for the coming of the Lord Christ. Today, the bonds of sterility are broken and the gates of the Virgin are barred. Because, as the barren womb was dead for the purposes of child-bearing and yet, against all hope, brought forth a wonderful fruit, so, by the same token, incorruptible virginity is pledged and the miracle of birth-giving is heralded with works obvious to all. Because child-bearing without the intervention of a man is a supernatural miracle, as is the preservation of virginity after birth. Another person who overcomes the laws of nature is the ...

February 1988. In Karyes it was quite cold. It’s quite a long way above sea-level and it has high humidity, which makes things worse. That day, though, the weather was dry. There was even a light breeze to enjoy, provided you were well wrapped up. It was early evening. The sun had just gone down behind the mountain. Fr. Païsios and I were walking along the path. On the way we bumped into Fr. Kallinikos, from the Skete of Koutloumousi. We got to his little wooden bridge. All around there were hazelnut trees without leaves. Just bare branches. ‘Well, who’s brought mandarins?’, Fr. Païsios asked with some surprise. Further on, about sixty meters away, there was the gate to his yard and ...

‘I forgave you all the debt, because you pleaded with me’. Today’s Gospel reading is known as the parable of the 10,000 talents and in it we see both the kindness and mercy of God and also the harshness of people. The occasion for this parable was Saint Peter’s question to Jesus concerning the number of times we should forgive those who have wronged us. Should it be up to seven times? The parable presents a servant up to his neck in debt to a local ruler. The latter forgives him his debt. Absolutely overjoyed, the servant makes his way home. There he meets a fellow-servant, who owes him a hundred dinars, a small sum compared to that which the king had ...

Death is the bridge that will lead us to Christ. As soon as we close our eyes, we’ll open them in eternity. We’ll present ourselves before Christ. In the next life we’ll experience the grace of God more intensely. Saint Theodoros of Edessa

Real love is shot through with the spirit of humility, sacrifice and giving. Those who love in accordance with God’s will sacrifice their desires and their leisure for the sake of those they love. Love which isn’t consistent with the will of God is linked to the spirit of egotism. Instead of sacrificing themselves for others, those who have such ‘love’ just demand that others sacrifice  themselves for them. Elder Germanos Stavrovouniotis

Dear readers, once more, in one more article, I’d like to share with you a real-life incident which happened in the parish where I serve and which has to do with something that’s troubling us in general. Naturally, this particular case isn’t unique but is one of many in which, on the pretence of protecting their health, people are staying away from the Chalice of Life, the Divine Eucharist, the ‘remedy against death’. Of course, this has incalculable spiritual consequences for those who err in this manner and also, more generally, for all those who are adding their penny’s worth to the prevalent apostasy and lack of faith of our days. The strange thing is that people then ask where ...

Today’s spiritual crisis is manifested in the way that we’ve really become indifferent, inhospitable, impatient and materialistic. We’re accompanied by deep turmoil and the loss of identity; the lack of an internal sense of who we really are; and, of course, the absence of the inner sense that God’s somewhere in our lives. Elder Christodoulos, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Koutloumousi