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People exist, then, only to die. Despite this, the soul leaves the human body after death and is reincarnated in order to be punished for its sins. Only purified souls manage to escape to boundless and eternal bliss. The beliefs of other peoples in antiquity, such as the Babylonians and Egyptians were closer to the Homeric ideas. Babylonian civilization in particular believed that the dead remained completely motionless in the deep darkness of Hades, the only exceptions being the heroes who were in the ‘land of the blessed’. Similarly, the Egyptians believed that, after death, the soul didn’t return to the world but followed the body. This is why they built enormous tombs, the pyramids, and why they embalmed dead bodies: ...

Blessed are they who have the axle of Christ in their hearts and joyfully revolve around His holy name, praying continually, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me’.

Saint Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople towards the middle of the ninth century, wrote a life of Saint Nicholas in which he declares that "up to the present the life of the distinguished shepherd has been unknown to the majority of the faithful." Nearly five hundred years had passed since the death of the good St. Nicholas, and Methodius' account, therefore, had to be based more on legend than actual fact. He is one of the greatest Church Fathers, a saint honored by both the Greeks and the Latins on the 6th of December. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor Asia near the city of Myra. The date of his birth is not known. Pious and inclined to silence, he was educated in ...

He had been extremely wealthy, but something went terribly wrong. After the collapse of his business, there remained not even enough to feed his family of three daughters. In his desperation—who can imagine such desperation?—he figured that his only recourse for grocery money was to sell the girls into prostitution. No where to turn. Nothing to eat. No option. Most of us could hardly imagine such desperation. Most reading this article have never involuntarily gone without a meal, much less a week’s worth. Many of us have never ‘needed’ anything. It is equally true that most of us have never met someone in these circumstances, or even know someone who knows someone who was. Indeed, most of us have never helped someone ...

When we have a good thought, it means that, within us there’s a good and supreme initial cause which is bringing our soul to sanctification. It’s clear from this that every good thing is, in a sense, hidden within us and that it’s a waste of time to try and put it into our hearts, since it’s already there.

Members of the OCN Board of Directors came together in the Fall of 2016 to tour the construction site of St. Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 destroyed St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, and affected the entire world. The St. Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center welcomes everyone, and will be a House of Prayer for all people. Filmmaker Mark Brodie, of MIB Mediaworks, an Emmy-winning news and documentary filmmaker who filmed Pistevo – I Believe , created this brief video of the tour for OCN to capture the moment. The OCN Board and staff would like to thank the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for providing us this tour and ...

The truth of the Church regarding the equivalent position of women and men has been maintained even in times which were difficult for women in society, such as when the Turks occupied Greece. Indicative of this are the words of the great teacher of the Greeks, Kosmas Aitolos, who placed the issue within the context of the Church and the perspective of salvation. ‘You, as a husband, my brother, shouldn’t treat your wife as a slave, because she’s as much a creation of God as you are. God was crucified for her, just as He was for you. You call God ‘Father’ and so does she. You both have one baptism, one faith. You and she both partake of the same ...

It’s a great thing for people to stop being self-serving, to escape from self-love, from their own self-interest, because then their sacrifice will be genuine and their presence will be a testimony to Christ.

People have their being and are regarded always as a whole and as a person. They aren’t a conglomeration of disparate substances and elements (such as soul and body) but each is a unique persona, involving the soul and body. In the human person, the body and soul are not independent entities but are hypostatic realities. In other words, the soul and the body don’t exist and can’t be conceived by themselves, outside or earlier than the persona, because they don’t have their own persona. The soul and the body exist only within the human person, as personal realities and dimensions of the person. On this basis, the prime concern of the Church is respect for and protection of the human person ...

Make sure you don’t criticize, because through that, God permits Grace to leave you and the Lord lets you fall, so that you’re humbled and see your own faults.

October 9, 2015 This week Bishop Eva Brunne of the Lutheran Church of Sweden proposed that the Cross be removed from the Seamen's Church in the Swedish city of Freeport to make it more "inviting" to non-Christian sailors. "Making a room available for people of other faiths does not mean that we are not defenders of our own faith," she said. "Priests are called to proclaim Christ. We do that every day and in every meeting with people, but that does not mean that we are stingy toward people of other faiths." Even more troubling is that Brunne's ecclesiastical superior, Archbishop Antje Jackelen, is mute on the matter. Is silence the only response Jackelen can muster when her subordinate proposes nothing less ...

If we could come out of ourselves, (out of the love of ourselves) we’d emerge from the attraction of the Earth and then we’d see everything as it really is, with the eye of God, purely and profoundly.

1. ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY CONCERNING DEATH Unlike other living creatures, human beings alone are endowed by God with reason and we alone are aware of our mortality and death. Accordingly, we alone have the ability to think deeply about it. If we journey back in time we see that, depending on people’s education, social class and interests, they investigated a variety of problems. Everyone thought about death, though, regardless of education, class or interests. As the outstanding expression of what moves our human nature, art touched on this subject from very early on. Through poetry, music, painting, sculpture and architecture our innate awe of death was expressed, revealing our human nature, which is indissolubly linked to it. Thinkers in every period have attempted ...

Can science tell us how the great Prophet Isaiah foretold the most important events in the life of Christ 700 years before His birth? Can it explain the gift of foresight which the saints have and tell us with what natural methods they acquired this grace? How is it that, on first meeting someone, they can immediately read their heart and thoughts? Without waiting for a question from visitors, they’ve given answers to what was troubling them. Let it tell us in what way the saints foretold great historical events which later came to pass exactly as they’d prophesied.

Our Church, with its rich patristic tradition, is not devoid of examples and stories on spiritual matters in order to coach its people.  Both our Fathers and the martyrs have left abundant material of remarkable splendor which refers to their life stories. Their sweet smelling words and their teachings have drawn the luminous trail for the salvation of those who would like to take the narrow and steep path which leads to the Kingdom of God. However, the enormousness of our Lord Jesus Christ’s godlike might, which is the same “yesterday and today and to all Eternity” continues, not just those days but also today and until the end of times, to promote the spiritual stature of the heroes of our ...

For years now, Pemptousia has operated as an electronic magazine, promoting and providing insight into the dialogue between religion, culture and the sciences. Our starting point, of course, has always been Orthodox Christian Tradition as this has been expressed over the centuries. The most sublime expression of our Tradition is the Theology of the Fathers of the Church. Throughout its years of service, Pemptousia has hosted a large number of theological articles and interviews, though it has not, so far, expressed its theological interests in a clearly academic manner. This long-awaited moment has now arrived and Pemptousia is in a position to present its latest progeny: Analogia. Analogia (www.analogiajournal.com) is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to the scholarly exposition and discussion of ...

The angels in heaven in glory and hymns. People in their pleasures and their palaces. God the Creator in a cave, in the animals’ manger, like the poorest of the poor. What humility on the part of our Jesus! Acquire that humility, my sons. Humility is the most engaging virtue, a garment stitched with gold. Blessed are those who wear it, because they’ll acquire an inexpressible spiritual beauty. As against this, the filthiest passion is pride and egotism.

B. The Liturgy of the Faithful The second part of the Divine Liturgy is the Liturgy of the Faithful, in which only baptized Christians may take part. It consists of: a) The Great Entrance b) The embrace and confession of the faith c) The Holy Offertory d) Preparation for Holy Communion e) Holy Communion f) Thanksgiving and dismissal The Great Entrance is the transfer of the gifts from the Preparation table to the Holy Altar. Before this happens, the priest says two prayers, through which he asks God to cleanse us of all sin, so that we may be counted worthy of participating in the Sacrament of the Divine Eucharist. The people sing the Cherubic Hymn: ‘Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim and who sing the thrice-holy ...