Ξένες γλώσσες

A dialogue between a disciple and his elder (Elder Efraim Katounakiotis): ‘Elder, I say the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me”, but I don’t understand anything’. ‘You might not, but the devil does. It burns him and he flees. Ah, well, son, you want to see a miracle through prayer, through the Jesus Prayer?’ ‘Of course I do’. ‘Very well, then, I’ll pray to God to show you a miracle so you can understand the power of the prayer - the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me”, to which all the Patristic books refer, but particularly the Filokalia’. The Elder prayed and kept a three-day fast with only a little water. ‘Come here now, son’, he said to him after the three ...

The theological approaches to the excerpt are very interesting, but what should attract our attention is the link between the reading and the wedding service. On the basis of what has been said so far, can we make the following observations? 1. The presence of Christ at the wedding, renews the past, without extinguishing it: the miracle is performed with pre-existing material, water (an observation from as early as Irinaios). In other words, the old, pre-marriage person is renewed in a fresh relationship with their spouse. The love which already exists for a natural reason between the partners is sanctified by the Church and increased. It prays that ‘perfect love may be sent down upon them’. 2. Marriage is nourished, maintained and ...

Information about the story of Peter after the Resurrection is scant and we have no real sketch of the course of his life and no fixed point to use for satisfactory dates. In the history of the Early Church, Peter again played a leading role in the first action of an administrative nature by the Apostles, when he recommended to a common assembly of the faithful that they should elect a replacement for Judas Iscariot. Apostle Peter. Byzantine icon, 14th Century. Dumbarton Oaks collection On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood with the other disciples and spoke to the assembled crowds with such boldness and eloquence that 3,000 were baptized. Thereafter, when he was in the temple with John, he healed a ...

Orthodox women’s monasticism was founded almost at the same time as that of men. When Pachomios the Great formed the first men’s coenobium in Tabenissi, he was followed a few years later by his sister and then other women who desired the monastic life. Pachomios founded a women’s monastery for them, not far from the men’s. In the end, he became the founder of nine men’s and two women’s monasteries. He appointed his sister, Maria, to direct the women’s monasteries, which functioned on the basis of the rules of his own coenobium. He appointed Elder Petros, a monk of advanced age and great virtue, to the instruction of the nuns and the supervision of the monastery. Something similar happened with Basil ...

‘Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be the servant of all’. The last time Christ went to Jerusalem was dramatic, not only for Him, but also for those who were following Him. ‘They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid’ (Mark 10, 32). The more the crowds flocked to Him, the more Christ spoke to His disciples about this and about His death. He spoke about the cup of death and the baptism of blood. He made it clear to them that their path would in many ways resemble the way His own life would end. The disciples were afraid. Until then, ...

The mind of a person is like the rudder of a ship. Just as a ship without a rudder goes off course, the same is true of our mind. It’s closely connected to the heart and, when it’s disturbed, the whole of the inner and outer person is disturbed and they don’t know what they’re doing.

More than all other people, it’s Paul who shows us what we are, how noble our nature is and what measure of virtue we’re able to achieve. And now he arises from the place he has arrived at and, in a clear voice, to all those who condemn our nature, he defends us on the Lord’s behalf, urging us towards virtue, stopping the shameless mouths of those who blaspheme and proving that there’s very little difference between us and the angels, if we but guard ourselves. Without having a different nature, without receiving a different soul, nor living in another world, but, having been brought up on the same land and place, with the same laws and customs, he surpassed all ...

The door to repentance is open to everybody and we don’t know who’ll go through it first, you who are judging another person, or the person that you’re judging.

Monk Efraim Lavriotis carrying the icon of the Mother of God the Dread Protection (photo. Monk Païsios Karyotis) Emmanouïl Fotios Passalis, this kind, very simple, very humble man of God, was born in the village of Maritsa, Rhodes in 1926. While he was in the world , his spiritual father was the late Amfilohios Makris (†1970). He came to the Holy Mountain and went first to the skete of Kavsokalyvia, to the Elders Mihaïl (†1979) and Ierotheos (†1968). He came to the Monastery of the Great Lavra in 1957 and was tonsured a monk in 1958. He had great reverence for the founder of the Monastery, Saint Athanasios the Athonite. He was a willing and conscientious servant of the monastery ...

Within the Church, oikonomia is supposed to be applied with utmost care and with an eye toward the perfection to which we are called as followers of Christ. It is also (properly) invoked with the intent of making a bad situation better, not worse. However, this practice means that possibly and under certain circumstances there can be a departure from the seemingly unchangeable position of the Church on matters which include morality. And because we no longer live in a Christian culture and many things which in the past would have been considered crimes are now presented as acceptable and even preferable, the practice of oikonomia is fraught with moral and spiritual perils. Any deviation however slight from the moral ...

Peter was born in Bethsaida, close to Lake  Gennesaret, where, along with his brother Andrew, who also became an Apostle, they plied the trade of fisherman, together with two other Apostles, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. In all the Gospel records he is first mentioned as Simon, while in other books of the New Testament he’s called Simeon. He is also mentioned a good number of times as Simon Peter, and also as Cephas. Apostle Peter, byzantine icon, 15th Century It’s not clear in the New Testament exactly when Christ names him Simon Cephas, i.e. rock or stone. According to Matthew (16, 18), this naming occurred at the time of Peter’s confession to Philip in Caeasarea. According to Mark (3, ...

The wedding in Cana brings to mind the well-known image of the prophets in the Old Testament, especially Hosea, regarding the marriage between God and His people. The recognition on the part of Jesus’ that there was no more wine and her indirect appeal to Him echoes, in a sense, the state of the people of Israel. The potential of the old nation had been exhausted and so they turned to the Messiah, obviously seeking His intervention. He does, indeed, intervene and re-creates the people; He doesn’t exterminate the old. The wine doesn’t appear out of nowhere, but from pre-existing matter within the divine creation, from water. But the water is a clear reminder of the old order of things, ...

Confession is one of the seven sacraments of the Church. It’s the application of the Lord’s words to His disciples: ‘Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’. So this is the greatest benefaction of God to people, because it gives us the assurance and certainty that at the day of judgement all our confessed sins won’t exist. Unfortunately, however, lots of the faithful- mostly out of ignorance- undervalue this great sacrament or misinterpret it.  Since we know that when people decide to go to confession they’ll encounter a variety of impediments and temptations, we’d like to offer our meagre advice to help overcome the ...

It is essential for us to realise the link there is between Christ and the apostles. <...> If you read the Gospels you will see that the apostles and the Lord Jesus Christ were born and lived in the same area. Christ came to live in Nazareth as a child; the apostles lived all about the place of His abode. We know nothing about the early years of these men, but if we think that Cana of Galilee was less than 4 miles away from Nazareth, if we think that all the cities and all the villages in which Peter and Andrew, John and James and others lived were around the same place, we can imagine that they had met ...

The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church concerned itself with the matter of the canonical organization of the Orthodox Diaspora. Therefore, the respective documents were discussed concerning the Orthodox Diaspora and the Rules of Operation of Episcopal Assemblies in the Diaspora, which were submitted by the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference (Chambésy, 2009), and by the Synaxis of Primates of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches (January 21-28, 2016), approving them with some minor amendments as follows: It is affirmed that is the common will of all of the most holy Orthodox Churches that the problem of the Orthodox Diaspora be resolved as quickly as possible, and that it be organized in accordance with Orthodox ecclesiology, and the canonical tradition ...

To the Orthodox people and to all people of good will To God, "the Father of mercies and all comfort," we address a hymn of thanksgiving and praise for having enabled us to gather during the week of Pentecost (18-26 June 2016) on Crete, where the Apostle Paul and his disciple Titus preached the Gospel in the early years of the life of the Church. We give thanks to the Triune God who was well pleased that in one accord we should bring to a conclusion the work of the Holy and Great Council that was convoked by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch. Bartholomew by the common will of their Beatitudes the Primates of the local Orthodox Autocephalous Churches. Faithfully following the example ...

Fasting is a divine commandment (Gen 2:16-17). According to Basil the Great, fasting is as old as humanity itself; it was prescribed in paradise (On Fasting, 1, 3. PG 31, 168A). It is a great spiritual endeavor and the foremost expression of the Orthodox ascetic ideal. The Orthodox Church, in strict conformity with the apostolic precepts, the synodal canons, and the patristic tradition as a whole, has always proclaimed the great significance of fasting for our spiritual life and salvation. The annual liturgical cycle reflects the entire patristic teaching on fasting, the teaching on constant and unceasing watchfulness of the human person, and our participation in spiritual struggles. Accordingly, the Triodion praises fasting as grace that is full of light, ...