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Saint Gregory Palamas’ Sermon on the Transfiguration (Part II)

08/06/2013

“What does it mean to say: He was transfigured?” asks the Golden-Mouthed Theologian (Chrysostomos). He answers this by saying: “It revealed something of His Divinity to them, as much and insofar as they were able to apprehend it, and it showed the indwelling of God within Him.” The Evangelist Luke says: “And as He prayed, His countenance was altered” (Lk 9:29); and from the Evangelist Matthew we read: “And His face shone as the sun”

Saint Gregory Palamas’ Sermon on the Transfiguration (Part I)

08/05/2013

For an explanation of the present Feast and understanding of its truth, it is necessary for us to turn to the very start of today’s reading from the Gospel: “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother, and led them up onto a high mountain by themselves” (Mt 17:1). First of all we must ask, from whence does the Evangelist Matthew begin to reckon with six days? From what sort of

The Nature of Christ

08/02/2013

The name Theotokos stresses the fact that the Child whom Mary bore was not a “simple man,” not a human person, but the only-begotten Son of God, “One of the Holy Trinity,” yet Incarnate. This is obviously the corner-stone of the Orthodox faith. Let us recall the formula of Chalcedon: “Following, then, the holy Fathers, we confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ… before the ages begotten of the Father as to

The Teaching about the Virgin Mary

08/01/2013

The whole dogmatic teaching about our Lady can be condensed into these two names of hers: the Mother of God (Theotokos) and the Ever-Virgin (aiparthenos). Both names have the formal authority of the Church Universal, an ecumenical authority indeed. The Virgin Birth is plainly attested in the New Testament and has been an integral part of the Catholic tradition ever since. “Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary” (or “Born of the Virgin

Mary, the Icon of how the Gift is Received (In Anticipation of the Dormition Fast)

07/31/2013

Jesus is the Icon of the Gift itself and how the Gift is given. Mary is the Icon of how the Gift is received. In her great “Magnificat” (Luke 1:46-55), Mary is not afraid to first of all boast openly of her own beauty and greatness, because she knows it is all a gift. It is not a statement about her; it is a statement about God! She is the perfect yes to God, precisely

Father Maximos on Enslavement to Things, Ideas and Ideologies

07/30/2013

“So,” Fr. Maximos continued, “we must first struggle to attain our liberation from being slaves to material things, including ideas and ideologies. And I must say that enslavement to ideas and ideologies is much more serious than enslavement to things.” “In what way?” Teresa asked. “As I said, you can easily find people who are temperate over external things. They are modest in dress, eat little, and have mastery over physical pleasures in general. They

Athletic Asceticism

07/29/2013

The monks developed methods for practicing the attitude of love, inner clarity and purity, and openness to God. In the monastic writings we find two recurrent images for our struggle to reach a life that we live ourselves, a life that corresponds to God’s image of us: we are the athletes of Christ and the soldiers of Christ the King. The monks are athletes of Christ. Their struggle is fought above all against the passions.

Saint Paraskevi the Virgin Martyr, by Saint Kosmas Aitolos

07/26/2013

Let us say something about the good earth. St. Paraskevi was a twelve year old maiden from a noble house. Left an orphan, she divided up all her possessions among the poor, and with these she purchased Paradise. In place of cosmetics, she wore tears, remembering her sins. In place of earings, she kept her ears open to hear the Sacred Scriptures. In place of a necklace, she fasted often, which made her neck shine

The Source of All Love

07/25/2013

The Source of All Love Without the love of our parents, sisters, brothers, spouses, lovers, and friends, we cannot live. Without love we die. Still, for many people this love comes in a very broken and limited way It can be tainted by power plays, jealousy, resentment, vindictiveness, and even abuse. No human love is the perfect love our hearts desire, and sometimes human love is so imperfect that we can hardly recognize it as

Christians Bring the Church to Birth

07/24/2013

Each of us ought to realize this fact: each one of us is also the Church. The Church belongs to the second Adam, the Christ. From his side dripping blood and water on the hill of the skull, God took the Church, while the eyes of the Crucified were closing for their three days’ sleep. When on the third day the New Adam awoke, he embraced the Church and made her fruitful with his Spirit.

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Saint Gregory Palamas’ Sermon on the Transfiguration (Part II)

Saint Gregory Palamas’ Sermon on the Transfiguration (Part I)

The Nature of Christ

The Teaching about the Virgin Mary

Mary, the Icon of how the Gift is Received (In Anticipation of the Dormition Fast)

Father Maximos on Enslavement to Things, Ideas and Ideologies

Athletic Asceticism

Saint Paraskevi the Virgin Martyr, by Saint Kosmas Aitolos

The Source of All Love

Christians Bring the Church to Birth

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