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The Sixth Monday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part II, Russian village

By Harry Boosalis The Saints challenge us to reach beyond the common conception of salvation that predominates in the West. For the Orthodox Church, salvation is more than the pardon of sins and transgressions. Salvation is more than being justified or acquitted for offenses committed against God. According to Orthodox teaching, salvation certainly includes forgiveness and reconciliation, but by no means is it limited to them. For the Saints of the Church, salvation is the

Seeing with Saint Seraphim’s Eyes

By Nicholas Papas “My friend, both of us at this moment are in the Spirit, you and I.” These pinnacle words from the historic conversation between Nikolay Motovilov and Saint Seraphim of Sarov express a concept awash in my mind as I tend to the care of my granddaughter. Reactions are numerous, animated, heartfelt and frequent when people see my granddaughter. If I am alone, the reaction is not the same. I am, largely, the

What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?

By Keith Massey Upon whom–and why–would we, as Orthodox believers, bestow the title “Christian”? It’s a matter that the Church has wrestled with from her very earliest history. You can almost hear the sadness in the voice of St. John the Evangelist as he tells his flock that some former members of his community are not now–and apparently never were–”Christians.” Instead, he declares that they are antichrists. “They went out from us, but they were

Sixth Wednesday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

Ascension: The Event between Events By the Very Reverend Vladimir Berzonsky “Thou hast ascended in glory bringing joy to Thy disciples with the promise of the HolySpirit. O Lord, glory to Thee!” (Exclamation of Holy Ascension Feast) I find it odd that the great and joyful feast of Ascension is often not well attended by our faithful. Understandably they are yet not over the euphoria of Pascha. Even forty days is not ample time to

Renewal Tuesday, Christ is Risen!

In the center of our liturgical life, in the very center of that time which we measure as year, we find the feast of Christ’s Resurrection. What is Resurrection? Resurrection is the appearance in this world, completely dominated by time and therefore by death, of a life that will have no end. The one who rose again from the dead does not die anymore. In this world of ours, not somewhere else, not in a

The Lord’s Prayer (Part II)

So the first situation with which Exodus begins, and we begin, is the discovery of slavery and that it cannot be resolved by an act of rebellion or flight, because whether we flee or whether we rebel we remain slaves, unless we re-establish ourselves, with regard to God and to all the situations of life, in the way taught by the first beatitude: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

Saint Ephraim the Syrian, a teacher of repentance, was born at the beginning of the fourth century in the city of Nisibis (Mesopotamia) into the family of impoverished toilers of the soil. His parents raised their son in piety, but from his childhood he was known for his quick temper and impetuous character. He often had fights, acted thoughtlessly, and even doubted God’s Providence. He finally recovered his senses by the grace of God, and

Saint Gregory Palamas’ Sermon on the Transfiguration (Part II)

“What does it mean to say: He was transfigured?” asks the Golden-Mouthed Theologian (Chrysostomos). He answers this by saying: “It revealed something of His Divinity to them, as much and insofar as they were able to apprehend it, and it showed the indwelling of God within Him.” The Evangelist Luke says: “And as He prayed, His countenance was altered” (Lk 9:29); and from the Evangelist Matthew we read: “And His face shone as the sun”

Jesus is in the World, Not of It

Jesus Is in the World, Not of It The Beatitudes offer us a self-portrait of Jesus. At first it might seem to be a most unappealing portrait—who wants to be poor, mourning, and persecuted? Who can be truly gentle, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, and always concerned about justice? Where is the realism here? Don’t we have to survive in this world and use the ways of the world to do so? Jesus shows

Third Wednesday after Pascha: ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN!

In Adam our nature was split or dissected into two through sin. Yet in Christ this split is healed completely. This then is the abolition of death, or rather of mortality. In other words, it is the potential and dynamic restoration of the fullness and wholeness of human existence. It is a recreation of the whole human race, a “new creation” (ή καινή κτίσις),a new revelation of Divine love and Divine power, the consummation of