Archive

Holy Wonderworkers and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Mesopotamia

The Holy Wonderworkers and Unmercenary Physicians Cosmas and Damian and their mother Saint Theodota were natives of Asia Minor (some sources say Mesopotamia). Their pagan father died while they were still quite small children. Their mother raised them in Christian piety. Through her own example, and by reading holy books to them, Saint Theodota preserved her children in purity of life according to the command of the Lord, and Cosmas and Damian grew up into

The Search for the ‘Place of the Heart’ [I]: The Heart-Spirit

So there has grown within the rich Christian tradition the idea of integrated knowledge, which assumes the necessity of reason, but in conjunction with the other faculties and senses, such as willpower, love, and the awareness of beauty. Integrated knowledge is knowledge in faith; it combines human nature in a personal movement of encounter and communion. By this communion the fullness of the godhead is communicated to human nature, reaching the very ground of the

The Great and Holy Thursday

Introduction On Thursday of Holy Week four events are commemorated: the washing of the disciples’ feet, the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas. Commemorations of Holy Thursday The Institution of the Eucharist At the Mystical Supper in the Upper Room Jesus gave a radically new meaning to the food and drink of the sacred meal.

The Twenty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent. What a Caveman Said: To Perceive That Which Is Eternal

Fr. Stephen Freeman, October 27, 2020 Fr. Alexander Schmemann described “secularism” as the greatest heresy of our time. He didn’t describe it as a political movement, nor a threat from the world outside Christianity. Rather, he described it as a “heresy,” that is, a false teaching from within the Christian faith. What is secularism? Secularism is the belief that the world exists independent of God, that its meaning and use are defined by human beings.

The Seventeenth Day of Christmas Advent: You Are Not Alone – And Neither Is God

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 16, 2021 I consider it both a strange mystery and a settled matter of the faith that God prefers not to do things alone. Repeatedly, He acts in a manner that involves the actions of others when it would seem, He could have acted alone. Why would God reveal His Word to the world through the agency of men? Why would He bother to use writing? Why not simply communicate

The Authenticity of the Vision of Christ in the Life of Saint Silouan

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on September 24, 2021 Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou Christ is the miracle that astounds us. He is the sign that God gave to all generations of all times. In His Person, every problem, every impasse, every tragedy received its solution. Being imitations of Christ and bearing Him in their heart, the saints are also the sign of God for their generation. They become tangible examples of the love of God in a world plunged into

An Approach to Orthodox Teaching on Angels

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 10, 2021 Fr. Christos Klavas The angels have a special position in the Orthodox Church and particular honor is accorded to them. Holy Scripture (Old and New Testaments) is full of references to angels, who are presented as playing an important role in the implementation of the plan of divine providence. Patristic literature also mentions the angelic powers and provides us with valuable information concerning them. From these sources we can draw

Within You and Without You

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, June 28, 2020 “The eye is the lamp of the body” is a very interesting turn of phrase. Lamps emit light if they are in good working order. So, the question is, are our lamps, our organs of perception, in good working order? And what does it mean when the Lord speaks about the light in us being dark? It must mean, at least consistent with the

A Priest’s Thoughts on Depression, Anxiety, the Soul, Your Body and Your Brain

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, June 26, 2017  I was 19 years old the first time I had a panic attack. I was trying to go to sleep in my dorm room, when suddenly my heart began racing, my mind speeding forward, with what seemed like crazy, desperate thoughts. That was in the early 70’s and the phrase “panic attack” had not been invented. What I did not know was that this was the beginning of

SYNAXIS OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES – Hearing and Responding to “Follow Me”

By Fr. Philip LeMasters Weeks ago we celebrated the great feast of Pentecost at which the Holy Spirit descended upon our Lord’s followers, making them members of His Body, the Church. A week ago we celebrated the Sunday of All Saints, remembering all those who have become living icons of our Lord’s salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit. Since then, we have begun the Apostles Fast, a period in which we embrace a