In English

It is known that there are many and different religions in the world. Inevitably, it is raised the question of what unites and what separates these religions. Some among them are prevailing worldwide, such as Christianity and Buddhism. Our basic concern is the relations among all these religions and the way each one of them encounters the others. Our study concerns Christianity in Asia. Christianity, as the religion with the largest number of followers, has differences and similarities with the other religions. We are going to describe the relation of Christianity with Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Confucianism. We are going to study every religion separately; the god in who it believes, its viewpoints, its traditions and the reasons that make ...

Today’s Gospel reading of the young rich man presents us with a challenge. Christ’s words give us pause for thought: they seem so harsh because He asks him to overcome a powerful worldly addiction. ‘Sell everything you have and give to the poor…and come and follow me’. The quest for riches is a normal goal for many people. They claim it’s the foundation of their well-being. While this is relative, we certainly can’t conceive of life without money, since it’s the means we use to meet our basic human needs. But money, like so many other things and values in our daily lives, is doubled-edged, ambiguous and equivocal. It has a positive and a negative significance, depending on our attitude towards ...

Alas, many people distance themselves from God by using the very freedom which He gave them, as well as the possibility of choosing to become good or bad. And when they sin, they incline more readily to wickedness rather than good.

Saint Stylianos was born in Paphlagonia, Asia Minor, between 400 and 500. He was blessed even from his mother’s womb. As he grew up, by the grace of God he increasingly became a dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. From childhood he displayed the rare qualities of his blessed life. When he was young and still an adolescent, although, of course, he was of the flesh, he never allowed desires to pollute his spirit and soul. He was very pure. Nor did he allow any earthly passion to dominate him. He would not permit riches and the love of wealth to permeate his soul and subject him to corruption and perdition. With the power and grace of God, he fought against all ...

At Matthew 7, 1-3, the Lord warns us about the danger of judging other people. “Do not judge, or you will be judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam that is in your own eye?”. Saint Dorotheos of Gaza has a discourse on Refusal to Judge our Neighbour, in which he deals with this problem, saying that it is perhaps the most difficult sin to deal with. He points out that the Pharisee (at Luke 18, 9-14) was obviously not condemned for giving thanks to God, nor for the ...

The more profoundly we feel our sin as a mortal wound, the closer we fall before God in penitent prayer. This prayer sometimes releases us from the bonds of space and time, so that we feel ourselves to be completely different.

Sinai became widely known, particularly in Europe, with the spreading of the fame and cult of St. Catherine. Symeon Metaphrastes contributed greatly in making the life of the Saint known to the laity when, in the 10th century, he wrote on “the martyrdom of the great Martyr and in the name of Christ victorious Saint Catherine”. The high-born learned maiden had studied at the ethnic schools of that age philosophy, rhetorics poetry, music, physics, mathematics, astronomy and medicine. He beauty and amazing learning, her aristocratic birth and noble character did not prevent her form accepting Jesus Christ, “the heavenly spouse”, and she was baptized a Christian. When in the beginning of the 4th century the emperor Maximum persecuted the Christians, Catherine publicly ...

The task of prayer for the whole world is the most valuable service and gives a living dimension to the world. Monastics strive for things which have absolute, not fleeting value. The intercession of the righteous is an honour for the world.

It takes a great struggle, because the passions are very powerful. But by God’s grace those who are courageous and fight with all their strength will be victorious. Bodily effort and study of the holy Scriptures preserve the purity of the mind. And then it needs a lot of prayer, so that divine grace will shelter those who are struggling. If we’re to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, it needs a great spiritual struggle, because we’re easily led astray into wickedness, and, in the blink of an eye, lose what we’ve gained through great striving. In our hearts there is good and evil. Which of the two will prevail depends on the effort we ourselves put in. If we give ...

Saint Amfilokhio's feast day is the 23rd November There was another brother who, after sinning, repented and then withdraw into solitude. It happened, though, that he struck his foot on a rock and injured it so badly that blood came pouring out of the wound. He lost so much blood, in fact, that he died. The demons came and wanted to carry him off, but the angels said: ‘Look at the rock and the blood he shed for the Lord’. Because of what the angels said, his soul was set free. Satan appeared to another brother who’d fallen into sin and told him: ‘You’re not a Christian’. The brother replied: ‘Whatever I am, I’m still better than you’. Satan came back: ‘I’m ...

Anything we achieve through God’s grace should be shared with others, to His glorification.

Apart from marriage, which is the natural way of life for us humans, there’s also celibacy as a way of life beyond what’s natural. In the New Testament and the Patristic tradition, celibacy is declared to be superior to marriage. This observation doesn’t refer to virginity or celibacy as such, but rather to the opportunities it provides to the faithful for their spiritual perfection. As Saint John Chrysostom says: ‘Celibacy in itself is neither good nor bad, but becomes so from the disposition of those who practice it’. Through the favoured position of celibacy, people who practice it are placed above any and every social expediency and biological laws and behaviour, the emphasis instead being placed on their freedom and value. ...

The term “Orthodoxy’ comes from two Greek words, one meaning ‘correct’ and the other ‘to think’. The word therefore has the sense of ‘correct thinking’. True faith is not cut off from the ecclesiastical, liturgical and sacramental life as glory and praise of God . The true faith is a product of what is expressed in Holy Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the life of the Church. The content of the dogmas which were formulated at the Ecumenical Synods takes on flesh and bone within the Church. In this way it becomes a doxology to the Holy Trinity, through the ceremonial, liturgical and sacramental life of the Church. Source: http://lance66.deviantart.com With good reason, the Orthodox Church declares that it is the guardian ...

Be very patient and don’t worry, because you’re a sensitive person, which is why you have health problems. Make your heart a rugged rock so that you can endure. God won’t abandon you; He’ll strengthen and bless you. I’m glad you’re thinking about your soul and are concerned about eternal life.

A brief discourse on the child of God Mary, when she was dedicated to God at the age of three years old, in the Holy of Holies, by her parents. When it was time for God’s mystery for our salvation to be accomplished, it was necessary that the workshop where this would happen should be full of holiness so that He Who is all holy and ‘finds rest in the saints’, should reside in this holy place and so fulfill the prophecy: ‘The mercy of God and the precise verification of His promises met and united. His justice and peace performed a mutual embrace. Truth sprang from the earth and justice bent down from heaven and visited the earth’. ‘For the ...

No-one is saved alone. My salvation isn’t my own business, my own tiny, individual affair. It’s an ontological event which involves not only the whole of humankind but also the whole of creation, every single thing that God has created.

It’s not enough for prayer just to proceed from the lips. It’s of great importance that we should love Him Whom we’re addressing. But we can’t feel that love if we repeat prayers mechanically, or even if we concentrate. Unless we struggle with all our powers to observe the Lord’s commandments, then we’re calling upon His name in vain. But God tells us quite clearly (Ex. 20, 7) that we are not to utter His name unless there’s a good reason to. This is why, when we call upon the name of the Lord, we have to be aware not only of the presence of the living God, but also of His true wisdom.

As our Church begins to observe the Nativity Fast, our Holy Metropolis organized the second annual Altar Boy Retreat on Saturday, November 18, 2017, for altar boys from across the Greater Toronto Area. Held this year at the Metropolis headquarters, the day began with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios alone. All of the youth approached for Holy Communion, a truly wonderful display of faith. Following the Liturgy, a Lenten meal was served to all participants, prepared by the Ladies of the Metropolis Philoptochos. This time was also an opportunity for the altar boys to introduce themselves and make new friends. His Eminence spoke to all gathered on this year’s theme of our Metropolis: “Whoever therefore shall confess ...

When people begin to observe the commandments properly, their mind opens and they understand how God has a plan for each person. They feel His special concern in their personal life and that of their family. The holy Fathers say that such people then progress and that the faith in their vision increases. The illumined mind sees that God handles each soul with such fatherly care, with such attention to detail, with such particular interest, that it continues to progress and doesn’t fall back.