Ξένες γλώσσες

A unique masterpiece, an icon of the Ascension of Christ by the great Russian iconographer Andrey Rublyov has arrived in Athens from the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and will be displayed in the Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens from June to September, 2016. The Ascension of Christ by Andrey Rublyov The icon of the Ascension of Christ is one of the five works by Rublyov which have survived. It was sent to Athens as a foretaste of the exhibitions which will be staged at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in collaboration with the Tretyakov Gallery and the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg, within the context of ‘2016, Year of Russia and Greece’. It’s worth noting that only a few days ago, ...

The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, is a joyful festal stage in the truly jubilant Resurrection time of our Church. With feelings of rejoicing, we Orthodox faithful pack the churches on this holy day, to send hymns of thanksgiving to  our Saviour and Redeemer Lord and to praise His holy ascent to the heavens, after He had consented to descend in order to perform his redemptive work for the human race. (Jn. 3, 13; Phil. 2, 6-11). We hymn His return to the divine throne of His ineffable majesty, at the right hand of God the Father, to Whom He is forever our great and eternal Intercessor (I Tim. 2, 5). After His effulgent resurrection ...

When your mind isn’t distracted by worldly things and is united to God, then the ‘Good morning’ you say will be like giving a blessing.

The Russian hieromonk Dorotheus, a great instructor in spiritual asceticism, who was in this respect very much like St. Isaac the Syrian, counsels those who are learning the Jesus Prayer to recite it aloud at first. The vocal prayer, he says, will of itself turn into the mental. "Mental prayer," he continues, "is the result of much vocal prayer, and mental prayer leads to the prayer of the heart. The Jesus Prayer should not be said in a loud voice but quietly, just audibly enough that you can hear yourself.,' It is particularly beneficial to practice the Jesus Prayer aloud when assailed by distraction, grief, spiritual despondency and laziness. The vocal Jesus Prayer gradually awakens the soul from the deep moral ...

In the face of  moralism and psychological outbreaks of purity among the monophysites and duophysites of every age, who want to make every post-lapsarian event into a sin, therefore impure, therefore to be rejected, the awareness of the Church, as this has been expressed by the friends of God, its saints, reveals that God affirmation to us is total and, for this reason is also true. I would say, therefore that the incarnation, as it has come down to us from the whole of our Church tradition but particularly from the Fourth Ecumenical Synod in Chalcedon, is manifested as the great mystery of the Church, from which all the other mysteries derive their existence. God is no longer content to ...

Get rid of two things about yourself: don’t think you’re somebody important and worthy; and don’t think that anybody else is of greater value than you.

As is obvious in just this quick study of abortion within our nation’s culture today, compared to the pure, clear and undiluted moral certainty of the Church, secular society in the Twentieth Century is a sink hole of ethical depravity that has lost all concept of moral absolutes — unless it be to embrace absolute evil. Utilitarianism, the philosophy of Atheistic Secular Humanism, preaches moral relativism and situational ethics saying in effect that there is nothing which is intrinsically good or evil, but rather that all things are dependent upon situation and circumstance. This errant nonsense has become the guiding light of all cultural reasoning and has caused the moral and ethical chaos rampant in Western society. The Ten Commandments have ...

Some people take the Body of the Lord without the fear of God. And they eat it. But they aren’t filled. Because as long as they take the sacrament only through the mouth, they’ll never be filled with its grace. From that point of view, they’ll still be hungry. Since, even before they come they felt full. *** If they take Holy Communion while they’re still in love with their sins, it doesn’t bring them the fruit of salvation. People aren’t satisfied with Holy Communion unless they really hunger for it. Unless they’re hungry. Those who’ve realized through their bad habits, that sin is poverty and hunger. These are the people who take the full energy and grace and efficacy. Not even the so-called ...

I’m the LIGHT and you don’t see me. I’m the WAY and you don’t follow me. I am the TRUTH and you don’t believe me. I’m LIFE and you don’t seek me. I’m the TEACHER and you don’t listen to me. I’m the LORD and you don’t obey me. I’m your GOD and you don’t pray to me. I’m your best FRIEND and you don’t love me. If you’re unhappy, don’t blame me.

This is how Dionysius describes the divine names, in the fifth chapter of his treatise:  ‘The divine name “Good” tells of all the processions of the universal Cause; it extends to beings and nonbeings and that Cause is superior to being and nonbeings. The name “Being” extends to all beings which are, and it is beyond them. The name of “Life” extends to all living things, and yet is beyond them. The name “Wisdom” reaches out to everything which has to do with understanding, reason, and sense perception, and surpasses them all.’  As we can see, Dionysius places hierarchically the above names with the following order: Good, Being, Life and finally Wisdom. This order is of high importance, since the name Good ...

Novices need more time in order to train themselves in prayer. It is impossible to reach this supreme virtue shortly after entering the monastery or following the first few steps in asceticism. Asceticism needs both time and gradual progress, so that the ascetic can mature for prayer in every respect. In order that a flower might bloom or the fruit grow on a tree, the tree must first be planted and left to develop; thus also does prayer grow out of the soil of other virtues and nowhere else. The monk will not quickly gain mastery of his mind, nor will he in a short time accustom it to abide in the words of the prayer as if enclosed in ...

If you call God your Father then you’ll trust Him as your only real Father, Who is merciful and all-wise, unalterable in His love and perfection