The video for Press Briefing for Holy and Great Council, on June 21, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd1-4V8rg0Q
Read the text of Press Briefing for the Holy and Great Synod, given at June 21, 2016. Text is available here.
People who are stubborn, quarrelsome and cantankerous are vain and empty. They strive against other people until they’re exhausted, but, no matter how tired they are, they won’t give in. They take no thought for themselves and behave as if they’re possessed by insanity. What’s important to them isn’t truth, but the imposition of their will on others. This blocks out their reason and they try to win by shouting. “Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis” Read more “Words of Life” at www.pemptousia.com
What is paradise? ‘Christ’, said the Elder. ‘When you love Christ, despite the sense of sinfulness and of your weaknesses, you feel certain that you’ve overcome death, because you’re in the communion of Christ’s love. May God make us worthy to see the face of Christ, both here on earth and there where we’re going’.
Let us consider those sins that some people call ‘lesser’ and which are not, of course, mortal, but still bear a certain weight of guilt. We sometimes fall into these through inattention or ignorance, sometimes through languor and weakness of will, and, on other occasions deliberately, with our full knowledge and will. The greater weight of guilt belongs to the last category. A sin can be considered lesser when we compare it to a mortal one. But it’s not to be taken lightly when we see it in isolation and for itself. For example, a lake may be called small in comparison to a vast expanse of sea. But it’s not small in itself, since it contains a great deal of ...
The Holy and Great Council commences. The Holy and Great Council commenced its work at the first day at the Orthodox Academy of Crete. In his Introductory Address, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made reference to the history of the attempts over many years for the Council to be assembled, emphasizing that there was no possibility for postponement. His All-Holiness expressed his disappointment at the decision of certain Local Autocephalous Orthodox Churches, which after decades of preparation, failed at the last moment to honor their written agreement, and are not participating in the Holy and Great Council, underlying at the same time the need to preserve unity since the Orthodox Church is one and does not constitute a confederation of Churches. The Primates of ...
Not knowledge you learn, but knowledge you suffer. That’s Orthodox spirituality. “Abbess Gavriïlia” Read more “Words of Life” at www.pemptousia.com
Malicious envy is unjust hatred towards a person who enjoys some good thing, hatred that’s relentless and unyielding. It’s a difficult passion which can inveigle people into ignoring even their own salvation. It tarnishes anything good.
For the sake of clarity, as the Church’s stand on abortion was previously defined, it now becomes necessary to give a short definition of the concept of oikonomia (economy) which application in possible response to abortion is being considered. Oikonomia is succinctly defined by Greek Orthodox moral theologian, Rev. Stanley Harakas, as:30 ...the carrying out of the spirit rather than the exact and rigid letter of a law without a contravention of any prescription, canonical or legal. It addresses the issues of human and spiritual well-being as they relate to the application of church rules. In his book, A Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy, Rev. Nicon D. Patrinacos gives a more in-depth definition:31 According to Orthodox Canon Law, the term economia (oikonomia) ...
The enemy often wounds our soul and scorches us with his wickedness. Unless we heal that wound straight away with fervent prayer and faith, it’ll turn to gangrene in our hearts. God also wounds our heart, though with His love, but this is a sweet wound and welcome. It doesn’t burn, but warms and enlivens.
HOMILY BY HIS ALL-HOLINESS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW CHAIRMAN OF THE HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH AT THE CONCELEBRATION OF THE DIVINE LITURGY IN THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF ST. MINAS IN HERAKLION, CRETE WITH THEIR BEATITUDES THE PRIMATES OF THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCHES (Sunday of Pentecost, June 19, 2016) Your Beatitudes, Holy Brother Primates of the local Orthodox Churches, Theodoros of Alexandria, John of Antioch, Theophilos of Jerusalem, Kirill of Moscow, Irinej of Belgrade, Daniel of Bucharest, Neophyte of Bulgaria, Ilia of Georgia, Chrysostomos of Cyprus, Ieronymos of Athens, Sawa of Warsaw, Anastasios of Tirana, and Rastislav of Prešov, together with Your honorable delegations, Your Excellency Mr. President of the Hellenic Republic, Your Eminence Archbishop Irenaios of Crete, together with the Most Reverend and beloved brothers who, together with you, comprise the ...
The greatest power on this globe is the Grace of God.
In the end, these ‘whys’ aren’t answered in the way that our poverty and weakness would expect. According to this logic, in fact, they usually go unanswered. This is why Christ said very little about death. He Himself simply chose it and suffered more than anyone else has ever done. And once He’d risen, His mouth released more breath than words. He said nothing about life and death, restricting Himself to the prophecy of Peter’s martyrdom. Pain isn’t answered with arguments. Neither injustice nor death can be dealt with through reason. These problems can be resolved only through the inhalation of the breath that God alone gives, that is the Holy Spirit. They’re overcome through the humble acceptance of the ...
“We celebrate the feast of Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit, the appointed day of the promise, the fulfilment of hope”. With these words, at Vespers on the eve of the feast, the Church invites us to enter the atmosphere of this great feast, which coincides with the seventh Sunday after the Resurrection and which is in no way inferior to it. At Mattins for the feast, we read the ninth Matins Gospel, which describes the appearances of the Risen Lord. In this passage (John 20: 19-31) we see a first descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples: Jesus “breathed on them, and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit...”. This first coming of the Spirit is no ...
Discourse XXXIII. On the Light of the Holy Spirit In the third ode of the canon at Mattins on the Monday of the Holy Spirit, the hymn has Christ saying ‘I shall send you the Spirit of me and of the Father’. We recognize three hypostases of God- Father, Son and Holy Spirit- and know that these are not confused. We do, however, worship One God and this text by Saint Symeon makes this very clear. For the most part, the light he is talking about is the Holy Spirit. But Christ is the light of the world. He is Light from Light. And, quoting Christ’s words, Saint Symeon refers to Him as the ‘God of all’. As Saint John Chrysostom says, ...
