Daily Meditations Archives - Page 7 of 376

The Unmercenary Physicians of Asia Minor

11/01/2025

~ By John Athanasatos There are three sets of Saints named Cosmas and Damian. One pair is from Rome (celebrated July 1st), another Arabia (October 17th) and the one celebrated on November 1st is from Asia Minor. All three pairs are brothers and unmercenary physicians. They each lived at different periods as well. The pair from Rome and Arabia were martyrs. Many Orthodox Churches throughout the world are named after the Holy Unmercenaries (Οί Άγιοι

The Christianization of a Pagan Holiday Myth

10/31/2025

There is also the myth that Christians condemned the pagan festivities of October 31 by replacing it with All Hallows Eve, the day before the Feast of All Saints in the West. It is often recorded that in 601 AD Pope Gregory I issued a now famous edict to his missionaries concerning the native beliefs and customs of the peoples he hoped to convert. Rather than try to obliterate native peoples’ customs and beliefs, the

The Inconstancy of Our Inner State

10/30/2025

~Saint Theophan the Recluse You complain about the volatility of your inner state- sometimes it’s good, at others it’s bad. It can’t be otherwise. ‘I’ve undergone unpleasant spiritual states in a variety of forms and continue to do so’. All we can do is bear them with patience and fortitude, without relaxing our spiritual struggle and without neglecting our observance of God’s commandments, which is exactly what you’re doing. A good spiritual state arrives. It

The Light Shines in the Darkness

10/29/2025

~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, January 14, 2007 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! Galilee has an interesting history. The name comes from the Aramaic word “gal” which means “to take captive.” In the year 721 BC the Assyrians took over the Northern kingdom of Israel comprised of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. The

The Feast of the Holy Protection “Agia Skepi.” OHI Day and the People of Greece

10/28/2025

While Most of the Orthodox Christian world celebrates the Holy Protection, or Agia Skepi, of the Theotokos on October 1st according to ancient custom, Greeks celebrate the Holy Protection on October 28th as a special holiday in order to invite the secular government of Greece to honor the Theotokos for her special protection over the Greek people during World War 2. The celebration of Holy Protection dates back to 626 A.D., when the miraculous intervention

Frodo’s Last Lesson

10/27/2025

~By Father Stephen Freeman, August 1, 2023 Frodo failed. If you’re a reader of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (or just a movie-goer), then you know that the central, heroic character, the young Mr. Frodo, ring-bearer, fails to throw the Ring into the fires of Mt. Doom at the end of his arduous journey. Everything he loved, his home, his friends, every scrap of goodness, depended on the Ring being tossed into those fires, and,

Only Love Knows Anything

10/24/2025

~Father Stephen Freeman, August 15, 2023 There’s a part of us that is wired to be careful. It senses danger and hunkers down. It looks for danger. It can easily become the dominant mode of our life. Anxiety and depression, are among the most common noises of this internal warning system. When it comes to dominate, we see the world through fear-colored glasses. In the classical language of the Church, we describe such an experience by the voices

Holy Apostle James the Brother of the Lord

10/23/2025

In the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul writes that together with the Apostle Peter, the Apostles James and John were also considered to be pillars of the Church. Saint James was the son of Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife and therefore is called the brother of the Lord in the Gospel. According to tradition, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him after His Resurrection and set him as bishop of the

Lay Up for Yourselves Treasures in Heaven

10/22/2025

~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 18, 2007 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! There is only one way to know forgiveness and that is by forgiving. We may have an idea of what forgiveness is, but an idea is only an idea. We may have an idea of who God is, but an idea is

Do You Really Want to See the World?

10/21/2025

Fr. Andreas Agathokleous It’s not easy to look at the world. You have to step back a bit, as you would with a painting. Not too far, though, because then you lose the relationship, you don’t hear the messages, the words of its silence. The world’s characterized by noise, bustle, cares and not insignificant problems. You can’t see everything. It’s impossible to know everything. You can just guess at it, looking through your own microscope.