Nothing makes a soul so philosophical, conciliatory and mild as continuous recollection of its sins. Saint John Chrysostom
However difficult a bodily struggle might appear, a spiritual one is far more so. Because, as Saint Paul says, you’re not dealing with ‘flesh and blood’, in other words with something visible, but with the invisible forces of darkness which labor, striving ceaselessly, in order to wound people and make them spiritually moribund. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos
Stand firm: watch yourself, watch your feelings. If you keep the memory of God peacefully in your heart, then you see the robber demons that want to take it from you stealthily, on the sly. Because if you guard your thoughts carefully then you can sense those who want to enter and pollute you. Wicked thoughts bring turmoil to the mind. But those who recognize this wickedness remain calm and pray to the Lord. Saint Isaiah the Anchorite
Living as we do among pressing and sometimes frightening temptations, it’s good to keep the Lord before us at all times and, through his presence, to pray continuously and retain this greatly-desired presence of our sweetest Christ. Saint Seraphim Romanchov of the Monastery of Glinsk
The saints are our friends and the friends of God, the people we always flee to. On the one hand to receive comfort and strength; on the other to have as models tested by God for our everyday life, our everyday tribulations, people who’ve been tried and been found to be ‘like gold in the furnace’. Their lives aren’t merely moving stories, but a guide to our own way of living. Elder Christodoulos, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou
The logicality of the Christian faith is often so paradoxical and strange, especially for Orthodox Christians today, that we need to delve into the texts of the Fathers in order to have a feel for it and attune ourselves to it. Though it must be said, of course, that the acceptance and gradual familiarization with this reasoning leads to the ‘jolt’ of the taste of the other way of life which was brought by Our Lord Jesus Christ- to the opening of the eyes and spiritual senses so that the faithful can see and feel eternal life even in what’s considered this narrow and wretched life. So that they can see the unseen and eternal, as Saint Paul says. To be ...
At its historical core, the narrative has the experience of the danger Jesus’ disciples once felt on a stormy sea and the way in which the presence of their teacher saved them. The event took place immediately after the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, which is the subject of the Gospel reading on the previous Sunday. Apart from the actual experience, which shook the disciples emotionally, the Evangelists preserved the event because they saw in it a more profound meaning for the Church. The crowd which had witnessed the multiplication of the loaves was in a frenzy of messianic enthusiasm, believing that the moment had arrived when their needs would be met. Jesus knew that this fervor could mean the ...
After the multiplication of the five loaves and the two fishes in the desert and the feeding of the multitude, the Gospel states that Jesus ‘constrained’ His disciples to board the ship and go to the other shore of the lake so as to disperse the crowds. The multitude had been following the Lord and were amazed at the signs He was performing. However, they had not been able to enter into the mystery of His word. Having been satisfied by the bread and fish, and, of course, the blessing that went with them, the crowd were ready to declare Christ King, in the worldly sense. Before the Resurrection and, more specifically, before the coming down of the Holy Spirit, the disciples ...
All the sins and passions are ready to invade the soul. Fight against them vigilantly and with courage to your last breath. See your sins and passions as dreams of your fantasy, as illusions from the evil spirits. Saint John Kronstadtskij
We’re engaged in an on-going spiritual struggle, because we’re continuously being attacked by an enemy who ‘prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos
All people have the same nature. It’s so natural for us to love other people, that those who cease to do so cease to be human beings. Elder Efstratios Golovanski
We must absolutely test whether God exists, and there’s a way. Our Fathers, the saints of the Church even showed us the tool to use to discover whether God exists. What is it? The heart. Christ said: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’. The organ of sight, the organ through which we’ll locate and see God is none other than our heart, and the method is cleansing of the heart. Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol
Real love is giving without expecting to get anything. Abbess Gavriilia Papayianni
We can’t stop the passions bothering the soul and attacking us. But stopping wicked thoughts from becoming in-dwelling and activating the passions is something that depends on us. The first is without sin, because it doesn’t depend on us. If, in the second case, we resist boldly and then triumph, that’s a herald of crowns; but if, through laxity and cowardice, we’re defeated, that’s a harbinger of punishments. Saint Porfyrios Kavsokalyvitis
At the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God we kiss the holy icon which depicts her falling-asleep. The whole icon is not only a pictorial representation of what happened at the funeral service of Our Lady, but also shows us what the Church is. It’s an icon which shows in the sharpest relief exactly what the mystery of the Church is. The Church isn’t a human organization, but the theanthropic Body of Christ. It’s the union of God and humankind in the person of Christ. In the holy icon of the Dormition, we see that, at the center, the Church has Christ and his Mother, Our Lady, and the Apostles around them, the Bishops and the Angels. Then it’s ...
The Fathers make quietude the first step towards repentance. It’s living free from concerns. It’s removal from the things which cause us to fall and be defeated, in particular for those of weak character, but also on the part of him who ‘prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (2 Peter 5, 8). Through quietude, those engaged in the struggle are removed from vain and pointless occupations and thus, if they wish, they’re allowed to turn their thoughts and exertions to God. Enlightened by divine grace, they discover their real self, which is a necessary duty. Elder Iosif Vatopaidinos
Pure prayer can’t be acquired unless you exercise great patience, living close to God with a genuine and innocent heart. Because he’s the one who gives prayer to the person praying and teaches us knowledge. Saint Theodore of Edessa
‘Apostles gathered here from the ends of the earth…’ The assembly of the apostles from all parts of the earth, coming together in one place, as well as all the local Gethsemanes, that is wherever paraclitic canons are sung to the Mother of God at this time of year- that is everywhere- makes every country, each city, village, monastery, church, chapel and household into the whole world. With arms open to the world. Here, there and everywhere in this small, wide and infinite apse of the Mother of God Broader than the Heavens, the whole world is to be found. The Dormition of the Mother of God, by the Cretan iconographer priest, Victor. (detail) Benaki Museum (Though it’s never seen by the billionaire tourists/astronauts ...
August is exclusively dedicated to the person of the Mother of God. Our veneration for Our Lady is justified since, as the most beautiful, demure, humble and holy woman in the world, she’s the best humankind has to offer to the deity. During this period, everything’s inundated with the joy of her. The liturgical spirit of the days means that every evening for the first two weeks of the month we perform services of intercession in honor of the Mother of God. Everyone goes to church to set ‘all their hope’ on her. The culmination of this honor to Our Lady is 15 August, when we celebrate her dormition, burial, and, most importantly, her assumption into paradise. The feast of the Dormition ...
Beloved in the Lord, May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you always. I acknowledge the financial hardships that our communities are experiencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the difficulties faced by many Christians. Our Holy Archdiocese is also experiencing financial difficulties resulting from the corona virus. Despite this, we must not remain unmoved by the scope of the unprecedented disaster brought about by the fires in Greece. With this letter, I ask all the Reverend Clergy, the Councils of our Communities, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, as well as all pious Christians to give a helping hand to our fatherland Greece. A Special tray ...
