Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 23, 2025 I intend this to be a short and heartfelt homily. Short because if I start waxing eloquently at length I might get lost in a passion or two. There are times and places for that, but not here and now. At trying times like these it is necessary to commit ourselves more deliberately to the Gospel. I have learned the hard way that the
The holy Apostle Jude, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, descended from the stock of David and Solomon and was the son of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife. The holy Apostle John the Theologian writes in his Gospel: For neither did his brethren believe in him (John 7:5). Hierarch Theophilact, the Archbishop of Bulgaria, explains these words thus: at the beginning of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Metropolitan Anthony Bloom of Sourozh (Extract from a sermon preached at the University Church of Great St Mary’s, Cambridge, on 19 May 1985) And then, lastly, two events which I would like to bring together. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Crucifixion. Every male child first-born of a woman was to be brought to the Temple as an offering. If we read back into the Old Testament about the institution of the
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Archimandrite Elisaios, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras Let us, then, have a look at this mystery and understand it from a single appearance of Christ after His resurrection: to two of His disciples who were on the road to Emmaus, a small town some 10 miles from Jerusalem. This appearance is related only by Luke and is one of the most beautiful and vivid scenes in his
~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 15, 2016 And here, as we approach Christ’s death on the Cross, it is appropriate to ask, “Why death?” There are many meditations on the death of Christ. Meditations that see Him as the Paschal Lamb sacrificed for us, as the “Serpent lifted in the wilderness,” and others. Here, temptation sets in and Christians seek to explain Christ’s death by comparing it to their own faulty understandings of lesser things.
By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 15, 2016 Several years ago, someone wrote and asked, “Why did Christ have to die on the Cross?” It is the question that prompted this article. Recently, we have been having a discussion regarding the atonement within the comments section of the blog. I have pointed out that the notion of Christ being punished by the wrath of God for our sakes is not, in fact, found in the Scriptures. Sin
~By Father Stephen Freeman, June 15, 2023 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life–the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us–that which we have seen and heard we declare to
~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, November 18, 2007 Luke 12:16-21 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! There is a misconception that the Christian life is supposed to be miserable. Why, if that is not true, would the Church ask us to fast, to sacrifice and to deny ourselves the pleasures and goods of this life? But
Saint Theophan the Recluse What can we do when the mind wanders here and there and we can’t gather it in prayer? If we’re alone, at home, we can delay the start of prayers, or, if we’ve already started, take a short break. If, after a little while, the mind doesn’t cooperate with our intention, then we have no choice but to force it to do so, whether it wants to or not, to the
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, was also named Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27); he was one of the Twelve Apostles (Mark 3:18; Luke 6:45; Acts 1:13), and was brother of the Apostle James Alphaeus (Mark 2:14). He was a publican, or tax-collector for Rome, in a time when the Jews were under the rule of the Roman Empire. He lived in the Galilean city of Capernaum. When Matthew heard the voice of Jesus Christ:
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