Ξένες γλώσσες

(Extract from a sermon preached at the University Church of Great St Mary's, Cambridge, on 19 May 1985) And then, lastly, two events which I would like to bring together. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Crucifixion. Every male child first-born of a woman was to be brought to the Temple as an offering. If we read back into the Old Testament about the institution of the act we discover that God commanded the Hebrews to bring the first-born male children of every family to the temple as a blood offering, as a ransom for the first-born of Egypt, who had to die that the Jews might go free. Every first-born male child was therefore brought and God ...

With great emotion, Symeon the righteous holds the divine infant in his arms. His heart is inundated with joy. His gaze is fixed upon the heavens and his lips move devoutly, in the fervent prayer which has risen to his mouth at that blessed moment: “Lord, now you  are letting your servant depart…”. This thrice-blessed elder then turns to Our Most Holy Lady, to tell her words of great moment. With the air of a prophet illumined by the spirit of God revealing the will of the Most High, he says, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign gainsaid”. Truly prophetic words, which Our Lady hears, not merely with emotion ...

Through sin, we did not only set aside God’s commandment but also engendered within ourselves a false idea and notion about God. In reality, the false idea and notion about God are actually the very essence of satanic deceit. This is why our fall, became His ‘fall’: in the human conscience, God is no longer Who He really is. The human conscience, wallowing in the tyranny of our desires, can think only in a post-fall manner about any form of authority and control regarding everything within it and around it. Just as we tried to become God by violence, so now our centres of power, even religious ones, demand absolute authority and domination, and there’s no way round this. God can ...

At this point, the curtain of the Royal Doors is usually closed, and preparations are made for the Holy Communion of the priests and the faithful. While this is happening, the Communion Hymn is sung, which is often verses from certain psalms, but may also be other hymns or extracts from the prayers of preparation for Holy Communion. First the priest communes from the ΙΣ portion of the Body, and then the Blood, three times. The priest then gives Communion to the deacon and the other priests, if present, make their Communion in the same way, having first put on their stoles. The priest then places the other portions of the Body in the Holy Chalice and carefully gathers the ‘pearls’ (the ...

Good glory is the glory of virtue. It never grows old, it never fears treacherous actions, it remains solid, it isn’t taken away, it doesn’t fear loss. It always remains robust, it isn’t threatened by anyone and brightly accompanies a person right to the tomb, which it makes its immortal monument.

Already we’re in the second month of the New Year. And we begin with the feast of the Reception of Christ, on February 2. It’s a very great feast. Christ is received by a man for whom the expectation of this moment governed his life. He awaited Him and then received Him. Do we await him, though? Is our life an expectation of the coming of Christ? Symeon waited expectantly for Christ Who was the content and beauty of his life. We alas, have shifted the focus of our lives elsewhere. We have different priorities. How does someone ‘receive’ Christ? What are the necessary conditions for a meeting with Him? What do we expect from Him? First of all, our lives ...

This text is an abridgment of a sermon preached in 1626 by John Donne, Dean of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London. Although it was actually delivered on Christmas Day, it seems equally appropriate to the Presentation*, or indeed any manifestation (epiphany) of Christ’s presence. John Donne was a leading figure among the Metaphysical Poets (17th century), and the influence of their “conceits” of comparison is evident here. Thus he compares Symeon, the priest, with members of the Church as a “royal priesthood”; the qualities which Symeon brought to his calling with those we ought to take with us to our invitation to Holy Communion; and the reception of Christ by Symeon in the temple with our reception in church by Christ (“At ...

It’s worth noting that some people who are choleric, after a violent and extended fit of temper, become like velvet, meek and peaceable. Every passion, by itself, becomes both a torment and tormenter for the person who has it.

Religious fanaticism is defined as the absolute rule of the holy over the secular, even through violence. Nowadays the term ‘religious fundamentalism’ prevails over the Greek equivalent: ‘religious fanaticism’. Even though religious fanaticism was present from the birth of ancient religions, ‘fundamentalism’ as a term has been established in the beginning of the 20th Century and referred to the reaction against the secularization of religion. Particularly in the middle of the 1860’s two basic principles of fundamentalism are articulated: the expectations of the Adventists and the belief to the god-inspired bible to the letter. The Adventists, mainly English Protestants, advocated that Christ will come again in person to establish His thousand- year rule on earth for the chosen ones. At the ...

In the Orthodox Church today, we can distinguish two basic institutional units which manage financial matters: monasteries and parishes. We’ve chosen to examine the case of monasteries, not for any qualitative preference- that’s not an issue in Orthodox Christian life- but because it’s the oldest form of social organization within the Church and it bears all the marks of the history and development of the relationship between Church and finances. When we talk about monasteries, we always mean the coenobia, that is those which retain the spirit of a common life in worship, basically, but also the refectory, tasks and assignments, spiritual orientation and, finally, which is what interests us, in financial management. The Orthodox countries, from Russia to the Balkans, ...

There’s a charge made by atheists that Byzantium was weakened because of the large number of monasteries. That is too ridiculous for words. The enormous Byzantine empire had a large army to deploy and no matter how many people went into the monastic life it wouldn’t have weakened the army. This is said by the enemies of Christianity who are trying to make a mountain out of mole-hill, as we say.

STATEMENT BY THE CANADIAN CONFERENCE OF ORTHODOX BISHOPS The Canadian Conference of Orthodox Bishops prays for the repose of the innocent loss of life following the shocking shooting that took place at a mosque in Quebec City on Sunday. We join with Canadians – and indeed all people of goodwill around the world – to pray and provide comfort to everyone affected by this violence. Canada’s strength derives from its people; a people who always come together to support one another in times of sorrow and rejoice in times of triumph. Our country’s differences do not lead to division because we share the same values, fundamental freedoms and democratic rights. In this tragedy, let us once again come together and proclaim ...

The greatest benefit which God has granted our fallen nature is none other than repentance. Without it no man would ever secure his salvation no matter how perfect God’s plan to save the world is. Because man’s “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood”( Genesis 9:21). Given that our inclination towards sin is therefore natural, no one is able to remain without sin, “even if his life is only one day”. Repentance is dual in essence and both of its forms are beneficial to our lives. Its initial stage takes the form of regret for our past sins, followed by the rectification of the wrong deed which brought about the sin.             According to the spiritual judgement of our ...

Today, 30 January, we celebrate the three hierarchs. There are lots of hierarch saints whom we honour throughout the year in the Church, but this is a feast of three together, although they also each have their own day on which we commemorate them. They’re Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. All three were important Fathers of the Church who strove to clarify and crystallize Dogma, for the unity of the faith and the needs of philosophy and letters. From about 1100, it’s been the custom to hold a common feast for them. This came about because of friction between Christians regarding the importance of each of them separately. The common service was written by Ioannis Mavropous, ...

Don’t sit during the Divine Liturgy. Don’t let your mind wander. While you’re in church take the decision to devote all your time to prayer.

Today’s Gospel is about a Canaanite woman. You heard how she called out to the Lord, followed Him, and was ignored by Him. His disciples were at a loss to understand why He didn’t either help her or tell her to go away, instead of leaving her to plead. He explained His silence: ‘I came only for Israel, not for foreigners, for the Gentiles, such as this Canaanite’. But the woman persisted, approached Him and asked for His assistance. The Lord’s answer was a lesson to her, to His disciples and to all of us ever since then. He said harshly: ‘It’s not right to take the food out of the mouth of your children and to give it to ...

In the 11th Century, at the time of Emperor Alexios Komninos, the common feast of the three great Fathers of the Church, Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople and Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia was established to honour their supreme contribution to education, their unshakeable and zealous faith in God and their incomparable pastoral and  charitable activities. The Holy Three Hierarchs, athonite manuscript, 12th Century Since then, it has been customary for the feast of the Three Hierarchs to be associated with education and Greek letters, even through the time of the Turkish occupation, when it assumed a national character. It appeared to the Turks to be a religious feast and a ...

An Elder who enjoys spiritual riches, gives them to his disciple and the disciple receives this divine legacy with the fear of God, in order to preserve it and pass it on in turn to those who are following.

When the semester begins, I can tell that my students have trouble going for a few hours without checking their phones to see who’s texted them or posted on their Facebook status.  In fact, I now put on my syllabus that they cannot text while class is in session. One would think this to be common sense, but in fact, if I don’t state this up front, they will try to text. Some of them have become so skilled, they can text from the inside depths of their pockets. Their desperate attempt at feeding their addictions of texting and checking Facebook status is a symptom of a much larger problem in our society. Never before in the history of civilization, have ...