Ξένες γλώσσες

Since the Reformation, the polemics between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism have centered on the role of the Bible as the only rule of faith for the Church over and against any notion of Bible and Tradition as being the normative rule of faith. In recent years, the debate has taken the same popular note that it once had during the Reformation. Roman Catholic apologists such as Karl Keating (director of Catholic Answers) and Patrick Madrid frequently square off against Reformed Protestant apologist James White (director of Alpha & Omega Ministries) in a battle for the mind, the heart, and, ultimately, the soul of their listeners and readers. Orthodox Christians may assume that Roman Catholic apologists represent the Orthodox position in Western ...

If we hear something bad, let’s get rid of it immediately. Bad things should go in one ear and out the other.

We hear in today’s Gospel narrative that Christ was in an out-of-the-way place where thousands of people had been listening to His words all day, ignoring their needs and the work in their homes. In the end the holy apostles intervened and  told Him: ‘Let them go. They can go into the nearby villages and get something to eat. They’ve had nothing all day’. Christ replied: ‘You give them something’. ‘We haven’t got enough. Only five loaves and two fish. That’s never going to be enough for five thousand mean and goodness knows how many women’. Certainly, by human standards it wasn’t enough. But in God’s terms everything’s possible, so there was more than enough in the end. It’s important to note, ...

There’s nothing more humbling than being a parent, because what makes for good children is the life you’re living. And it’s a parent’s love of God, the faith of a father and a mother, that sparks flame and ignites the heart of a child. It’s when a parent sees the face of a child and beholds the face of God, that’s when divine love spreads warmth and hearts speak words unspoken. The radiance of a life lived in Christ, it’s the beacon that guides a child aright. Providing for the body matters little when the soul’s left bare. And there’s no greater way to embrace the entire child, body and soul, than through the gentle caress of prayer. The prayer of a ...

The occasion for the composition of this text was the anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople. On days of historic anniversaries, we generally turn to the ideals which formed the motivating force behind the important events. As ideological imperatives, ideals are transformed when societies themselves change. This transformation has considerable repercussions on the lives of individuals and on society itself. The dialectic produced from a clash of ideals is one of the factors which have caused the greatest friction in the history of humankind and of civilization, from ancient times until today. The interactions between the old and the new, the changes in priorities, the projection of ideologies as superior to others, the invocation of historical memory, with all the tragedy which ...

Guile is the mother of all evil. It distances us from God and delivers us to the cunning demon making us his companion and ally. Those who are full of guile are lost. They do evil and fight good. They want what isn’t pleasing to God.

His great love of prayer He would dedicate a lot of time to prayer. In any case, prayer is a virtue, and the mother of virtues and, as a mother, introduces us into the secrets of communion with God, according to Mark the Hermit. The Elder was himself unceasing prayer, with the unification he offered people within themselves and with God. He performed all the services on a daily basis- the midnight office and matins- he read paraclitic canons and commemorated a multitude of names- and in the evenings read vespers and Compline, kept vigil and made his prayer to the Lord, the Mother of God and various saints of the Church. He would often pray for hours and, if he ...

One of the brethren asked Abba Pimen: ‘If I see some error on the part of my brother, should I cover it up?’ The Elder replied: ‘Whenever we cover up an error of our brother’s, God also covers up ours. And if we reveal an error of our brother’s, God will reveal ours’.

Buddhist Mysticism Since mysticism is the immediate, intuitive relationship with the Absolute, it would be possible to claim, insisting on this strict definition, that there is no such thing as Buddhist mysticism., because, in the classic forms of this religion, there is no acceptance of the existence of the Absolute. Unlike the prophetic religions, whose message is defined by the word, Buddhism, as a religion of silence, rejects all ways of naming the Absolute, while, in depth, it allows it to seem that it accepts an ineffable Absolute, which it indentifies with emptiness. Promoting the idea of “anatman”-“anatta” (not-self), sets as an ideal the achievement of “nirvana”. But even if it denies a real, positive Absolute, it accepts an absolute goal. Buddhist ...

A) The Main Features of his Sermon He preached 4-5 times a week at Wittenberg and it wasn’t unusual for him to give 4 sermons in one day, following in the steps of Augustine and Ambrose of Milan. He followed the lectio continua (continuous reading of Scripture) and it’s estimated that he preached about 4,000 sermons, of which some 2,300 have survived . In the pulpit, he had with him a brief outline (known as the Konzepten ), which he followed in his oral sermon. These notes haven’t been preserved. All we have are the sermons which were taken down in shorthand by his friends, although often enough they didn’t agree among themselves, even though they’d attended the same sermon. He ...

Moving on now to more theological issues, one day I asked the Elder whether God Himself really had to be crucified in order for us to be saved. Wasn’t there another way? ‘Of course’, he said, ‘only the Lord knows these things. However it seems as if there was no other way’. So not only is God truly related to the world (because some people ask ‘is God going to do anything for us?’), but He also abandoned His heavenly glory and came to Earth to endure blows at our hands and to be crucified. And the Elder in fact clarified that we shouldn’t just say that ‘Christ died on the cross for us’, which is perfectly true, of course, ...

Try to overcome your irascible nature. This passion acts against your real will, desire or command. But as long as pride resides within you, you won’t achieve anything. That’s what governs everything. If you can, kick it out your front door and tell it not to come back.

Josiah and Julia love to go to church. They love to venerate the icons, light candles, and eat the blessed bread. Sometimes they behave very well—but sometimes they make mistakes. Little ones can follow Josiah and Julia through the Liturgy and learn how even the youngest child can honor God by behaving properly in church.  Product description A new illustrated book entitled “Josiah and Julia Go to Church", written by Kelly Ramke Lardin and illustrated by Sheena Hisiro, has been released in 2011. The illustrator Sheena Hisiro exlains that «the book is a playful story for children, teaching them what they should (and shouldn’t) do in church». Beyond any doubt, many parents are discouraged and disappointed when their child diplays disruptive behavior in ...

Become humble in spirit, so that you don’t lose any of the good that you’ve done. But if you cast off humility, you’ll be numbered among those who’ve laboured in vain.

St. Panteleimon, the Great Doctor and Martyr, was born at the end of the 3rd century AD. His father, Eustrogios, was not only very rich but was well known for his zeal in idol worship; whereas his mother St. Euboule was a faithful Orthodox Christian full of Holy Spirit, love and kindness. Her only interest was to guide her only begotten son in the true faith and virtuous life. St. Panteleimon's first name was Pantoleon. When he was very young, his mother, St. Euboule, passed away and his father taught him to worship the false gods of their ancestors. Pantoleon studied medicine under the guidance of the wise doctor Euphrosynos, and shortly differentiated from all his other classmates in wisdom and ...

And when the woman of Samaria would again and again change the subject, he would again and again bring her back to it, until he finally told her bluntly that it was he speaking unto her who was the Christ who should come into the world. And when Martha would change the subject by wandering off into some general cosmological expectation of the resurrection, he would bring her back to it by telling her, "I am the resurrection and the life." And when Thomas would change the subject by asking him to show them the Father, he would bring him back to it by telling him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." And when Philip would change the subject by ...