In English

This text is an abridgment of a sermon preached in 1626 by John Donne, Dean of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London. Although it was actually delivered on Christmas Day, it seems equally appropriate to the Presentation*, or indeed any manifestation (epiphany) of Christ’s presence. John Donne was a leading figure among the Metaphysical Poets (17th century), and the influence of their “conceits” of comparison is evident here. Thus he compares Symeon, the priest, with members of the Church as a “royal priesthood”; the qualities which Symeon brought to his calling with those we ought to take with us to our invitation to Holy Communion; and the reception of Christ by Symeon in the temple with our reception in church by Christ (“At ...

It’s worth noting that some people who are choleric, after a violent and extended fit of temper, become like velvet, meek and peaceable. Every passion, by itself, becomes both a torment and tormenter for the person who has it.

Religious fanaticism is defined as the absolute rule of the holy over the secular, even through violence. Nowadays the term ‘religious fundamentalism’ prevails over the Greek equivalent: ‘religious fanaticism’. Even though religious fanaticism was present from the birth of ancient religions, ‘fundamentalism’ as a term has been established in the beginning of the 20th Century and referred to the reaction against the secularization of religion. Particularly in the middle of the 1860’s two basic principles of fundamentalism are articulated: the expectations of the Adventists and the belief to the god-inspired bible to the letter. The Adventists, mainly English Protestants, advocated that Christ will come again in person to establish His thousand- year rule on earth for the chosen ones. At the ...

In the Orthodox Church today, we can distinguish two basic institutional units which manage financial matters: monasteries and parishes. We’ve chosen to examine the case of monasteries, not for any qualitative preference- that’s not an issue in Orthodox Christian life- but because it’s the oldest form of social organization within the Church and it bears all the marks of the history and development of the relationship between Church and finances. When we talk about monasteries, we always mean the coenobia, that is those which retain the spirit of a common life in worship, basically, but also the refectory, tasks and assignments, spiritual orientation and, finally, which is what interests us, in financial management. The Orthodox countries, from Russia to the Balkans, ...

There’s a charge made by atheists that Byzantium was weakened because of the large number of monasteries. That is too ridiculous for words. The enormous Byzantine empire had a large army to deploy and no matter how many people went into the monastic life it wouldn’t have weakened the army. This is said by the enemies of Christianity who are trying to make a mountain out of mole-hill, as we say.

STATEMENT BY THE CANADIAN CONFERENCE OF ORTHODOX BISHOPS The Canadian Conference of Orthodox Bishops prays for the repose of the innocent loss of life following the shocking shooting that took place at a mosque in Quebec City on Sunday. We join with Canadians – and indeed all people of goodwill around the world – to pray and provide comfort to everyone affected by this violence. Canada’s strength derives from its people; a people who always come together to support one another in times of sorrow and rejoice in times of triumph. Our country’s differences do not lead to division because we share the same values, fundamental freedoms and democratic rights. In this tragedy, let us once again come together and proclaim ...

The greatest benefit which God has granted our fallen nature is none other than repentance. Without it no man would ever secure his salvation no matter how perfect God’s plan to save the world is. Because man’s “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood”( Genesis 9:21). Given that our inclination towards sin is therefore natural, no one is able to remain without sin, “even if his life is only one day”. Repentance is dual in essence and both of its forms are beneficial to our lives. Its initial stage takes the form of regret for our past sins, followed by the rectification of the wrong deed which brought about the sin.             According to the spiritual judgement of our ...

Today, 30 January, we celebrate the three hierarchs. There are lots of hierarch saints whom we honour throughout the year in the Church, but this is a feast of three together, although they also each have their own day on which we commemorate them. They’re Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. All three were important Fathers of the Church who strove to clarify and crystallize Dogma, for the unity of the faith and the needs of philosophy and letters. From about 1100, it’s been the custom to hold a common feast for them. This came about because of friction between Christians regarding the importance of each of them separately. The common service was written by Ioannis Mavropous, ...

Don’t sit during the Divine Liturgy. Don’t let your mind wander. While you’re in church take the decision to devote all your time to prayer.

Today’s Gospel is about a Canaanite woman. You heard how she called out to the Lord, followed Him, and was ignored by Him. His disciples were at a loss to understand why He didn’t either help her or tell her to go away, instead of leaving her to plead. He explained His silence: ‘I came only for Israel, not for foreigners, for the Gentiles, such as this Canaanite’. But the woman persisted, approached Him and asked for His assistance. The Lord’s answer was a lesson to her, to His disciples and to all of us ever since then. He said harshly: ‘It’s not right to take the food out of the mouth of your children and to give it to ...

In the 11th Century, at the time of Emperor Alexios Komninos, the common feast of the three great Fathers of the Church, Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople and Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia was established to honour their supreme contribution to education, their unshakeable and zealous faith in God and their incomparable pastoral and  charitable activities. The Holy Three Hierarchs, athonite manuscript, 12th Century Since then, it has been customary for the feast of the Three Hierarchs to be associated with education and Greek letters, even through the time of the Turkish occupation, when it assumed a national character. It appeared to the Turks to be a religious feast and a ...

An Elder who enjoys spiritual riches, gives them to his disciple and the disciple receives this divine legacy with the fear of God, in order to preserve it and pass it on in turn to those who are following.

When the semester begins, I can tell that my students have trouble going for a few hours without checking their phones to see who’s texted them or posted on their Facebook status.  In fact, I now put on my syllabus that they cannot text while class is in session. One would think this to be common sense, but in fact, if I don’t state this up front, they will try to text. Some of them have become so skilled, they can text from the inside depths of their pockets. Their desperate attempt at feeding their addictions of texting and checking Facebook status is a symptom of a much larger problem in our society. Never before in the history of civilization, have ...

It would be a mistake to believe that such a wide-ranging subject could be exhausted in an address of only a few lines. It’s a theme on which many of the sources of our Holy Tradition have taken a position, which, indeed, often illumine it from a variety of angles. It’s an issue which, historically, has occupied a prominent position in the dialogue between religion and politics. In various European societies and for different reasons, the question has often been posed in the 20th and 21st ¬centuries: why should the Church have property? The next question which readily springs to mind might be formulated as: does the Church have the right, morally and theologically, to own and manage financial wealth ...

If a humanist claims to be doing good works, independently of Christ, we can be sure that the works are rotten to the core, either from vainglory or concealed egotism.

For thousands of years we have known that exercise is a key to a healthy body, but only recently, and until now anecdotally, have scientists considered that exercise enhances existing mental acuity.  This question spawned a new study at the University of South Carolina during which scientists compared mice who ran for an hour each day with mice who remained sedentary.  The results have important implications for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. While earlier studies demonstrate that exercise prompts neurogenesis, creation of new brain cells, nothing to date has considered the effect of exercise on existing neural networks.  The scientists at South Carolina wanted to see if exercise will actually make an existing brain better and more healthy. Exercise’s ability ...

Bishop Ignatius was a prominent Orthodox spiritual writer of nineteenth century Russia. Born of a noble family, he completed an education in engineering in St. Petersburg under the patronage of Emperor Nicholas I and was destined for a brilliant worldly career. Later, as an officer, he chose instead to follow the spiritual yearning of his soul and receive the monastic tonsure, as a disciple of the famous Elder Lev of Optina Hermitage. Well grounded in the ascetic writings of the Holy Fathers, Bishop Ignatius captured the spirit of the ancient patristic and monastic traditions of the Orthodox Church in his own works, written in the most eloquent language of the time. His best known work, The Arena (An Offering to ...

A friend of mine met Helen La Kelly Hunt at a conference and was impressed with some of her ideas. He asked me to read and comment on her book, Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance, Five Spirited and Spiritual Women Throughout History. For what it is worth, here are my thoughts… As much as I appreciate what Helen is trying to do in Faith and Feminism, the book presents some serious problems for me.  On the one hand, in a secular context, any acknowledgement of faith, no matter how vaguely presented, is a good thing.  And I particularly found her examples of St. Teresa of Avila, Sojourner Truth and Dorothy Day inspiring.  What Helen seems to miss, however, is that these ...

Why is it that when it comes to drinking nectar, bees make it sweeter than butterflies or hummingbirds?  It has to do with whether the insect dips a tongue into the nector or sucks the liquid up. Sweet nectar is naturally thicker and apparently the bees’ dainty approach is the best for harvesting the most viscous of nectars, is also the most efficient according to American mathematicians who published their results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. It’s a speed thing that bees have developed over the 150 million years that they have been harvesting nectar and making honey. According to Dr. Wonjung Kim, the lead author of the report, “Nectar feeders, such as ...