Κατηγορία

In English

The Mystery of Time (Mark 1, 1-8) (Archimandrite Nikanor Karayannis)

Κατηγορίες: In English

‘The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ…’. Just the use of the word ‘beginning’ in today’s Gospel reading takes us, by association, to the start of a new year, the festal resonance of which we’re still experiencing, since we crossed the threshold a mere few days ago. The Christian concept of time In olden days, people were at a loss in the face of the dark enigma which is time. They tried to explain it with philosophy and science. As life passes and time rolls on, we’re horrified when we realize the vanity of yesterday, the transitory nature of today and the uncertainty of tomorrow. This is because the past is lost, the present fades, because every one of its moments ...

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Saint Iosif: I saw them from afar as if I were present in the Body

Κατηγορίες: In English

(As told by Saint Iosif the Hesychast): Once I was kneeling at the window, as I usually did, saying the Jesus Prayer. It was late at night in the summer and I had the window open. Once I’d collected my thoughts, and was saying the prayer with great serenity, my mind opened and I was able to see wherever I wanted, without hindrance. I saw our own Father Athanasios on the road from Saint Ann’s Skete, coming towards the house with a cloth bag. I accompanied him all the while and was with him all the way. The brotherhood of Saint Iosif the Hesychast (seated centre with a walking-stick). From the left: Fr. Athanasios, Hieromonk Efraim (Filotheou and Arizona), Elder Arsenios, Elder Iosif ...

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Translation of the Relics of Saint Efraim the New

Κατηγορίες: In English

Saint Efraim, whose secular name was Konstantinos Morfis, was born in Trikala, on 14 September 1384 in an idyllic place near the River Lithaios. He lost his father at a young age and he and his seven siblings were brought up, with God’s help, by his mother. At the age of 14, in order to escape enforced conversion to Islam and enlistment in the corps of Janissaries, he entered the then flourishing Holy Monastery of the Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God on the Mountain of the Spotless in Attica. Saint Efraim followed Christ with fervent zeal and stood out for the luminosity of his life and his ascetic efforts in the monastery, in the neighborhood of ...

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