Ξένες γλώσσες

The Church boasts of the Precious Cross and experiences its message at every point of its worship. At every service, throughout the whole of the Church’s life, the presence of the Tree of Life is palpable. The Precious Cross is highlighted as a source of power and life at the mid-point of Great Lent, reminding us that the path leading to our resurrection with the Risen Christ involves being crucified, according to Saint Justin Popović. If we don’t endure the Cross, we won’t reach the Resurrection. Source: agkyriaki.gr The Precious Cross is a weapon against the devil: ‘Lord, you have given us a weapon against the devil’, says the hymnographer . It’s the sign of the grace of God. From being a ...

People want to be cured, which is why they cry: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me’.

          Our entire life is preoccupied with the spiritual law. This is the reason why we have withdrawn from the world and have forsaken family life, which itself is not something sinful. We have abandoned these in order to express our love towards the Lord in a unique way, obeying the first commandment precisely. Having been called by the Lord, we have followed Him in order to obey this commandment. We withdrew from society and denied our family to follow the proper, or rather the undisturbed way, preoccupying ourselves with inwardness and paying attention to the meanings of things. In this way, we hope to be able not only to win over practical sin but also to eliminate it as ...

As a living continuum of tradition, Byzantine music occupies an important position in the musical past of Veria. Today, gifted singers continue this musical tradition, which is perfectly attuned to the architectural and iconographic decoration of the Byzantine churches of the town. Iordanis Koutsimanis, the Protopsaltis of the church of Saint Anthony in Veria, follows in the footsteps of older chanters in the town, much to the delight of the faithful there. We hear the melodic intonation** of the Kontakion by Vasilis Mavranangkos and thereafter the katavasies ‘I shall open my mouth’ by the Protopsaltis Iordanis Koutsimanis. %audio% * ‘Katavasies’ are hymns sung at Matins. They’re called ‘katavasies’ (hymns of descent) because, in former times, the chanters would ‘descend’ from their choir stalls and ...

Ingredients: 5 cups of strong (bread) flour 3 cups (roughly) of warm water 1 teaspoon of salt Fresh brewer’s yeast, about the size of an almond (or a packet of quick yeast) A little sugar to get the yeast started. Method Dissolve the yeast in a half a cup of warm water. In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and sugar. Make a well in the flour and add the water and yeast. Mix and gradually and add the rest of the flour until you have a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead well. If you require more water, simply moisten your fists and continue to knead until the extra moisture has been absorbed and the dough is the right texture. Shape the dough into ...

Truth is the characteristic of the virtuous life. Telling the truth is everyone’s duty and we owe it to ourselves and to those around us. People who tell the truth respect themselves first and then those who are listening to them. The truth is a double adornment for those who confess it and it makes them perfect in virtue.

The word “helper” itself presupposes an action for which Adam needs help. The only work that the text refers to is to protect and cultivate Paradise. The first interpreters of the sacred text understood that labor in Paradise was not handy work, but spiritual effort, meaning a labor toward perfection. According to several Christian writers, the human person was created physically perfect, but spiritually imperfect. St. Irenaeus of Lyons believed that the first man and woman were not made morally perfect from the beginning because in that case all their actions would have no moral significance. “Though they were made having the image and likeness as their potentiality, they were required to become the image and likeness through spiritual labor ...

In my 24 years as an Orthodox Christian, I’ve heard countless homilies about the evils of the culture in which we live. Most of those homilies have gone on to exhort the hearers to live sanctified lives in the midst of the culture, but very few have found anything to say about how we might go about redeeming the culture itself. By this point, I’m ready to paraphrase Mark Twain’s famous comment about the weather: “Everybody complains about the culture, but nobody does anything about it!” A recent book examines this phenomenon from a general Christian perspective. The book is called The Culturally Savvy Christian, by Dick Staub, and it’s one of the most refreshing books I’ve read in a long time. Staub’s ...

So long as we work for our bread, it doesn’t matter what our job is. Of Adam’s sons, one was a farmer the other a herdsman. All occupations are good, so long as we remain close to God. Saint Paul, in order not to eat bread without having earned it, worked with his hands. He made tents. And the great saints of our Church also worked. Christ Himself also worked in a carpenter’s shop. He was God and Human, but He still worked. Work is always a virtue for people.

GAMBLING DEMONSTRATES THE INSUFFICIENCY OF USING SCRIPTURE ALONE The stand of many twenty-first-century Protestants against gambling demonstrates that the Bible is not a sufficient authority for Christian ethics and practice, or at least must be supplemented by the tradition of the church.  Christians cannot oppose games of chance for money or other valuables unless they accept at least the earliest part of Christian tradition in addition to Scripture, as a guide or supplement to it or as a means of interpreting the holy text. Scripture itself does not plainly speak against gambling, even though many Christians strenuously discountenance this activity on moral grounds.  On the other hand, many non-biblical bearers of the apostolic tradition of the church did oppose gambling, which may ...

If children are brought to hospitals and old people’s homes under circumstances in which they’re comfortable, this allows them to become acquainted with sickness and bodily decline as a natural part of life, which makes it easier to link death to biological causes. Moreover, if children go to a cemetery with a relative whose intention is to look after a family grave, this is an opportunity to explain things to the children. Placing flowers, lighting an oil-lamp or candle for praying, or communicating with the person departed are experiences which teach children directly and allow questions to surface regarding, for example, the manner of burial, life after death, and communication with the departed. In general visits to cemeteries provide children ...

Every member of the Church isn’t just a guest, but is also an apostle of the Gospel of Christ.

The spiritual unity and communion in Christ between the Holy Mountain and Russia is not something recent. It goes back to the last one thousand years. Those who contributed to this unity were mostly Russian Hayiorite monks, from the times of St Antony from Esfigmenou, the founder of the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra (beginning of the 11th century) to St Silouan the Athonite and his disciple, blessed Elder Sofroni (20th century). In the lives of those Saints one may recognize the mutual benefit derived both by Russia and the Holy Mountain. The saints’ country is Russia. This country initially offered them Christ and His Most Holy Mother but they were destined to mature spiritually and accomplish their deification in the Garden of the ...

7. It is in this charismatic intermingling of divine fatherhood and sonship that our true knowledge of God has its roots. Our information and our life in God were given by the Father to His eternal Son, Who passed them on to His friends, the apostles and saints and, through these, to our fathers, as well. This mystery is revealed by the Son Himself, when He says: ‘All things have been handed down to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him’ (Luke 10, 22). To whom will the Son reveal His mystery and that ...

The children comprehended the concept of celebration, as well as the concept of sanctity. More specifically, when I asked “Do you know what does ‘Saint’ mean?” a child replied “Yes, the Saints are dead and they have become spirits”. In addition the lesson was more sedentary that active. So, I noticed that almost half of the pupils got bored during the second teaching period and they stopped participating actively. Nonetheless it is a noticeable fact that one boy, who rarely sits down quietly watching the lesson, was unusually quiet and never caused any problem, without watching or actively participating in the lesson of course. He did listen to the story, however he didn’t answer any of the comprehension question that ...

Sin clipped the wings of Adam and his descendants and so all of us were separated from God. The very clay from which we were made blinded us. Christ was the first Adam and the first Human, the first-born of the whole of creation and He was also the first Who ascended into heaven on spiritual wings, to the throne of eternal glory and power. He walked the path towards heaven and opened every gate to all of the faithful who have spread their spiritual wings, just as the eagle shows eaglets how to fly, or the first swallow flies in front of the flock, both to show them the way and to reduce the wind resistance.