In English

       One of the great spiritual figures of monasticism, St Sabbas, is honoured today. Yet he is not well known here on the Holy Mountain. This great guiding light is a great consolation to us. In the way he lived we are able to find the most essential elements of our monastic capacity. We will refer to some of these.           He started his life with absolute devotion to the Lord, enforcing the prophetic verse ‘Blessed is he who carries the yoke (of the Lord) from a young age’. Even though his parents were wealthy they placed no obstacles in his path towards monasticism. He arrived in the East to become a monk. He excelled as a novice and ended up ...

In the continuation of this sacred history, we see that the relationships of men become increasingly more tragic. For example, the son of Adam, Cain, offered an abominable sacrifice to God which was rejected. Full of envy and fratricidal hatred, he murdered his brother Abel. Certainly, as all of the generations of men lived under the judgment of the fear of death, they continued to be corrupted by self-love and the struggle to survive, and in this deception they became capable of every crime. In the monotonous course of the ages, only a few righteous men were able to preserve some of the traces of the knowledge of God of the first-created. Having kept in their consciousness a little light of ...

Don’t worry if your mind wonders sometimes during the Jesus prayer. You keep saying it, God will hear it and the demons will flee.

Few teachings of the Christian faith are as easily misunderstood and equally misapplied as the things pertaining to the “End of the World.” Christian history, both East and West, offers numerous examples of popular misunderstandings – some of which led to bloodbaths and the worst moments in Church history. By the same token, apocalypticism, the belief in an end of history, has had a powerful impact on the cultures in which Christianity has dwelt. Various Utopias (Marxism, Nazism, Sectarian Millenarianism, etc.) are all products of a misunderstood Christian idea. They are not the inventions of Christianity – but they could hardly have originated in any other culture. The same can be said for various Dystopias (the belief in very difficult and ...

Adam Parker wrote two articles investigating the history of religious schism and asking the question, “should religion’s goal be a ‘universal church’ or is religious diversity a good thing?” Adam states that in times of trouble and theological debate “some believers…react by reasserting orthodoxy.” I would like to take the liberty to explain why I believe there is no ‘little ‘o’’ orthodoxy and to define and describe “Orthodoxy” as “Christianity from the beginning”. As a result we will see but one Jesus Christ, and the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Little ‘o’ orthodoxy is a concept which inherently has no meaning, precisely because it is an idea used to defend certain Reformation and Post-reformation ideas, not all of which are ...

Let it be said up front that those who would appeal to ancient precedent to justify the ordination of women to the ministry of presbyter in the Church are faced with a fairly daunting task. There is no canonical record of any office of woman presbyters: Indeed there is no literary record of any kind to that effect. Oh, that all proponents of women's ordination were honest about the lack of literary evidence. For example, a 1987 article in the Priscilla Papers (Volume 1, no. 4) claimed that "St. Cyprian writes of a female presbyter in Cappadocia in the mid-23Os." If true, of course, that would seem to be game point and match, for what fool would contest ...

1. Having been baptized into Christ, and put on Christ, you have been given the same form as the Son of God; for God, having foreordained us to adoption as His children, gave us the same features as the body of Christ’s glory. Having therefore become partakers of Christ, you are properly called Christs (anointed ones), and of you God said: “Do not touch my Christs, (or anointed ones)”. Now you have been made Christs, by receiving the stamp of the Holy Spirit ; and everything’s been done to you in imitation, because you’re images of Christ. He washed in the River Jordan, and having imparted the fragrance of His Godhead to the waters, He emerged from them; and the ...

Address delivered at the Opening Convocation of Cummins Theological Seminary, Summerville, South Carolina on September 10, 2016. The students entering seminary to begin their studies might ask “Why such a lofty topic?” “We came to seminary to become pastors and ministers, not scholars or academics.” And to them I respond, “You’re right.” Cummins has trained students for Christian ministry for over a century. Our goal is not to train scholars and theologians but to equip shepherds of the flock and servants of Christ in the vineyard of the Lord. But is only the academic or scholar a theologian? Can the term apply to the non-specialist too? I think it can and does. According to the Greek definition of the word “theologian,” Theos ...

The military and diplomatic, political and economic, as well as cultural and ideological transformations occurring across the Middle East offer fertile ground for increased cooperation between Turkey and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. For the Turkish government, there is little if any downside to improved relations yet significant upside potential. For the Patriarchate (and for His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew who is first among equals in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church) additional freedom to exercise its spiritual authority would allow it to make even more use of its unique history, international reputation and high moral standing to advocate for peace, justice, and nonviolent religious coexistence. There is precedent for such a partnership. For many years following ...

With continuous effort, with good will and by the Grace of God, every soul progresses and prospers in virtue and sanctity.

Rev. Patrick H. Reardon Few themes, I suppose, are more pronounced in the teaching of Jesus than that of God's invitation. Whether to a banquet or a wedding, Jesus sees man as invited by God. I believe this divine invitation implies many considerations of anthropology, but I limit myself here to one: human dignity. God invites man for pretty much the same reason we send invitations to one another—friendship. Orthodox Christian theology has always insisted that his motive is friendship. It is difficult, it is bewildering, and it is more than slightly frightening to assimilate the notion that God finds us lovable. It is among the most astounding truths in Holy Scripture. What could God possibly find lovable in us? Indeed, even ...

In the life of man, there are two periods which are of the greatest significance. The first is youth, during which he will lay solid foundations for all his life and redeem his time with the wealth of eternity. The second is old age, when his just and praiseworthy life will be sealed with the same crown of righteousness that the Lord, the eternal and righteous Judge, will give to all those who loved His coming to the earth and honoured His Gospel. Youth is distinguished by enthusiasm for the light of knowledge, zeal for good desires, the search for perfection and above all the creation of personal relationships which bring out our natural gifts. Old age, when preceded by the steady ...

There are neighborhoods in Constantinople (now, Istanbul, Turkey) which, although oversighted, are full of particularities, of hidden beauties and of glorious history. Vlaga (or Laleli) is one of those neighborhoods, and every time I pass over there I find novelties and my heart fills with strong feelings. This time I had the joy to visit the Byzantine Monastery of Myrelaion and a part of the nearby palace, built by Emperor Romanos Lekapenos in the 10th century. Main church of Myrelaion Monastery, today Bodrum Camii Mosque Myrelaion Monastery is one of those Christian churches converted into mosques. Every time I visit such places I feel my heart in anguish, but I also sense some uncertainty, because you never know in what degree ...

If we know human wickedness, that is the evil people do, great or small, it alters our reason, it weakens our powers, because it doesn’t bear witness with God.

The greatest plague of the 21st century is not AIDS, nor cancer, nor the H1N1 flu, but something that affects much more people in ways we can barely start to understand: depression. Reportedly one in ten Americans suffers from one or the other forms of this malady. The rates of anti-depressant usage in the United States are just as worrisome. A recent poll unveils that one in eight Americans is using them. Prozac, Zyprexa, Cymbalta are not strange alien names anymore, but familiar encounters in almost every American household. Even children approach the usage rates of adults. These are very high and paradoxical numbers in a country where all are free to enjoy “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Even ...

An assignment by Christina Tsaka, a student of the Pedagogical Department of Pre-School Education, Rethymnos. Published in installments. INTRODUCTION As educators we generally have to set as a goal the conveying of knowledge and values to the children. Under this angle, it is necessary that we transmit religious values to them. In this particular work we will speak about the Saints and especially Saint Nikolaos, and their connection with pre- school age. Our main focus is the way they appear to the children’s eyes. At first, a reference will be made on the study of Saints in church’s history. In the next chapters we will focus on St Nicola’s life and the way that it is depicted in church, as well as in ...

There are lots of people who are happy to find bad things in the Church. They're like the soldiers who pierced the crucified Lord's side or the Jews who nailed Him to the Cross.

Rev. Patrick H. Reardon Long accustomed to the thesis that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, it is not easy for Americans to think that governments may also speak with a higher authority. Indeed, the “consent of the governed” is so commonly withheld these days that it may pass as part of our birthright. For the same reason, it is difficult for Americans to believe that the art of government has any necessary relationship to a higher order at all, such as the order of the moral law. So clearly have we come to distinguish legal concerns from moral concerns that a real separation of the two is pretty much taken for granted. Anyone today who ...