Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at St. Mary Orthodox Church The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John. (5:1-15) Once upon a time, as all stories of this kind should begin, there were three demons that lived on the top of a fiery and smoky mountain. They got together one day to discuss something very important; how to make a royal mess of things for the human
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on August 2, 2021 Metropolitan Nikolaos (Hatzinikolaou) of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki To our unnatural and ‘illogical’ logic, it appears that each person does not bear full responsibility individually. The main weight lies with the all-powerful nature of the prevailing, impersonal social outlook and the uncontrollably frenzied times in which we live. These times have many characteristics and certainly their achievements are impressive. Our era has, on its own, identified incredible boundaries which it has
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 25, 2016 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (5:1-11) That is what happens in today’s Gospel reading. Peter comes face to face with God in Christ. It happens not all at once. Jesus reveals himself little by little. Peter could not have handled that any more than he could stare at the sun with
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 27, 2020 In my first parish as an Anglican priest, I approached my first Midnight Mass with eager anticipation. I was trained “High Church,” with a very traditional liturgical emphasis – but I was serving in a “Low Church” parish. I was the first priest in their history to wear Eucharistic vestments as a normal practice. But it was common, even in Low Church areas, for the Midnight Mass to
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 14, 2019 The friendship between CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien is well-known, as is Tolkien’s role in bringing Lewis to Christ. Less well-known (unless you dig a bit further) is Tolkien’s role in bringing Lewis out of a rigid and flat understanding of the world and into the rich possibilities afforded by “myth.” Without this conversion, Lewis would likely not have become a Christian, and certainly would not have authored
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, June 11, 2017 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (10:32-33, 37-38; 19:27-30) Today I will focus only on one verse from the Gospel passage we read. “Everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father Who is in heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on July 30, 2021 Metropolitan Nikolaos (Hatzinikolaou) of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki An experience which isn’t genuine produces Christians who, instead of being saved within the Church, feel as though they should save the truth. Instead of discerning the face of Christ in our brother and sister Christians, we see opponents whom we must overcome, or we see ‘our own people’, who have to support our views. Instead of entrusting the state of our soul
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 7, 2016 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (9:27-35) The two blind men said to him, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” Whether from desperation or from the well-spring of faith and deep understanding, they call him “Son of David,” in other words, Messiah. And they pray for mercy for the healing of their eyes. Still, mercy is like a virus.
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 20, 2018 Everybody is familiar with the voice in their head. Sometimes it has the sound of a nagging argument, repeating, rehearsing endlessly to no good end. It can also be the voice of scolding, shaming us for some minor transgression while it consigns us to the lowest of the low. It is rarely a welcome presence in our lives. No one ever says, “You wouldn’t believe how wonderful the
Published by Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis on February 10, 2022 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to satisfy the one who enlisted him. An athlete is
© 2020 Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral
