By Father Lawrence Farley The Jordan River does not just flow through the length of Palestine. It also flows through the length of the Christian Church. The Orthodox especially love the Jordan, since all our baptisms take place in it: when the priest prays for the water in which the candidate is to be baptized, he prays that God may “grant unto it the grace of redemption, the blessing of Jordan”. Thus wherever the church
By Father Stephen Freeman, August 1, 2016 This is information that points to the unique place of Mary in the first century Christian community. How can the Church not venerate one whom John the Baptist greeted with a leap of joy when he was in the womb? How can the Christian community be rightly centered on the Crucified Christ and ignore the soul-pierced Mother? The material in Luke is prima facie evidence of the primitive veneration of the
Sermon Preached by Father Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 23, 2004 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! It is easy to get distracted these days. The world is changing before our eyes. Sometimes it is difficult to find solid ground, to find something firm to hold on to, something sure, something unchangeable, and something solid, something safe. Society is
Introduction On Great and Holy Friday, the Orthodox Church commemorates the death of Christ on the Cross. This is the culmination of the observance of His Passion by which our Lord suffered and died for our sins. This commemoration begins on Thursday evening with the Matins of Holy Friday and concludes with a Vespers on Friday afternoon that observes the unnailing of Christ from the Cross and the placement of His body in the tomb.
He stood transfixed at the foot of the Cross, watching and wondering, full of awe and amazement. And then all at once, something was born in him – a spark of faith, a brand-new beginning. And his life was changed forever. The divine Matthew the Evangelist describes the moment of his conversion to Christianity with enormous power: So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 27, 2017 The so-called “problem of evil” garners enduring attention in our culture. I recall in my freshman philosophy class the conundrum was used as the “coup de grace” in the logical assault on God’s existence. “Not only does God not exist, He’s not even good.” Poor God. All of this is made even more poignant in our comfortable world of modern prosperity where minor setbacks are seen to unravel
Published by Pemptousia, December 6, 2014 By Metropolitan Athanasios of Lemessos Every time we stand before the Lord either in prayer or in celebration in Church of an event from the life of Christ, or we are in any other way experiencing the presence of the Lord, two basic things happen, which are attested by the Church and the experience of the Saints: Firstly, we are feeling joy because we are experiencing the Lord’s abundant
By Georgios N. Manolis, Theologian, September 27, 2019 The Lord’s Precious Cross is the supreme symbol of sacrifice and sanctification for the Church of Christ, Who was crucified and then rose, because the Cross, together with the Resurrection, are the two pillars which support the life for the Church and its members. The honour paid by the Orthodox Church to the Precious Cross on September 14 (though not only on that day) began in the
Published by Pemptousia Partnership, December 11, 2016 Pantelis Paschos, Professor of Theology A saintly hermit told the brothers the following story: One day, as I was sitting in the desert, I began to feel worried and sad. A thought came to me: “Get up and go for a walk in the desert”. So I walked and came to a water-course and gazing into the distance in the moonlight- night had fallen already- I saw something
The Holy Myrrh-Bearer Equal of the Apostles Mary Magdalene, Commemorated on July 22 A woman whose name has entered forever into the Gospel account was born and grew up in Magdala. The Gospel tells us nothing of Mary’s younger years, but Tradition informs us that Mary of Magdala was young and pretty…. It says in the Gospels that the Lord expelled seven devils from Mary (Luke. 8:2). From the moment of her healing Mary led
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