Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025 Jesus had done many miracles before raising Lazarus from the dead, but that last one made him a rock star in Jerusalem. The crowds gathered for many other reasons, but the raising of Lazarus excited the crowds to a fever pitch. The prophecies about the coming Messiah in the prophets added fuel to the fire. Still Jesus was not looking for adulation. He
Sermon preached by Dn. James Wilcox on Sunday, January 28, 2024 Luke 18:35-42; 1 Tim. 1:15-17 Alan Watts in his illuminating book, “Behold the Spirit,” writes the following: In this very moment we are looking straight at God, and he is so clear that for us complex human beings he is peculiarly hard to see. To know him we have to simplify ourselves, and the mind is so dominated by the complexity of pride that
The Archangel Gabriel was chosen by the Lord to announce to the Virgin Mary about the Incarnation of the Son of God from Her, to the great rejoicing of all mankind. Therefore, on the day after the Feast of the Annunciation, the day on which the All-Pure Virgin is glorified, we give thanks to the Lord and we venerate His messenger Gabriel, who contributed to the mystery of our salvation. Gabriel, the holy Archistrategos (Leader
On July 8, the Greek Orthodox Church commemorates the Feast Day of Agios Procopius. Procopius was born in Jerusalem of a Christian father and a pagan mother. At first, his name was Neanias. Following the death of his father, his mother raised her son completely in the spirit of Roman idolatry. When Neanias had grown up, Emperor Diocletian saw him, took a liking to him, and brought him to his palace for military service. When
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
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the waters to be moved’. One of the factors of human existence, which often constitutes a trap for us, is the need to overcome loneliness. We want self-affirmation and this is expressed by the number of people who
~ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Commemorated on April 30 The Holy Apostle James, the son of Zebedee, was the brother of Saint John the Theologian, and one of the Twelve Apostles. He and his brother, Saint John, were called to be Apostles by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who called them the “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). It was this James, with John and Peter, who witnessed the Raising of the Daughter of Jairus, the Lord’s
Introduction Beginning on the evening of Palm Sunday and continuing through the evening of Holy Tuesday, the Orthodox Church observes a special service known as the Service of the Bridegroom. Each evening service is the Matins or Orthros service of the following day (e.g. the service held on Sunday evening is the Orthros service for Holy Monday). The name of the service is from the figure of the Bridegroom in the parable of the Ten
Hierodeacon Rafael Misiaoulis, Theologian Great Lent has been completed and ends with two splendid festal days. These are Lazarus Saturday, on which we commemorate the raising of Christ’s bosom friend, Lazarus; the other is Palm Sunday, when we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem six days before he was betrayed and suffered death on the Cross. Today we see the raising of Lazarus, a miracle performed by the Lord before he entered the city of
Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘We are going up to Jerusalem’, he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles’ (Mark 10, 33). Among all the religions, only in the Christian faith does the founder not promise long life, prosperity, pleasure and comfortable circumstances for those who follow his words and example. It’s the only
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