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The Sixth Wednesday of Great Lent. With Us or Without Us

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 3, 2022 The Church is a hospital for the sick and a place of refuge for the lonely and dispossessed. In the Church we should find the same love and compassion that Jesus shared when he walked this earth. If we do not, be sure that there are egos blocking the flow of compassionate energy. Richard Rohr notes that, “The ego moves forward by contraction, self-protection,

Conversations with Abba Isaac: Kung Fu and the Way of the Ant

By Father Micah Hirschy As was the case with many young men who grew up during the 80’s and 90’s, I went through a period of deep fascination with Kung-Fu movies.  There was something intrinsically appealing about a story where a young man could spend a few days with a Kung-Fu master or read an ancient scroll and henceforth become invincible and able to battle evil!  I also loved that the Kung-Fu Masters gave their Art really

The Fourth Friday of Great Lent: The Ladder of Your Daily Life

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 14, 2021 Perhaps the most prominent ladder in our culture is the one associated with careers. It is an image of the American road to success. We begin at or near the bottom and, step by step, make our way towards the top. It is a metaphor that works well with our modern notions of hard work, persistence and reward. It also serves as a justification for many of the

The True Christian

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on July 18, 2021 Metropolitan Nikolaos (Hatzinikolaou) of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki In the Gospel readings, we often come across the Apostles invoking the authenticity of their personal witness in order to be convincing: ‘which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have touched’ (1 Jn. 1, 1). ‘We know that his witness is true’ (Jn. 21, 24). The Samaritans [1] and the Honorable Forerunner also

The Ladder of Your Daily Life

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 19, 2018  Perhaps the most prominent ladder in our culture is the one associated with careers. It is an image of the American road to success. We begin at or near the bottom and, step by step, make our way towards the top. It is a metaphor that works well with our modern notions of hard work, persistence and reward. It also serves as a justification for many of the

The Fifth Thursday of Great Lent. The Monastic Life: The Way of Perfection, Part III

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, June 16, 2015 By Prof. Georgios Mantzaridis The monastic profession rite, with its shearing of hair, is called a second baptism”19. Baptism, however, is one and the same for all members of the Church. It is participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. The rite of profession does not repeat, but renews and activates the one baptism. The vows taken during the rite are in essence no different from those taken

Conversations with Abba Isaac: Kung Fu and the Way of the Ant

By Father Micah Hirschy As was the case with many young men who grew up during the 80’s and 90’s, I went through a period of deep fascination with Kung-Fu movies.  There was something intrinsically appealing about a story where a young man could spend a few days with a Kung-Fu master or read an ancient scroll and henceforth become invincible and able to battle evil!  I also loved that the Kung-Fu Masters gave their Art really

The Divine Ladder of Ascent

Saint John Climacus the Righteous, Author of the Divine Ladder of Ascent He was surnamed “of the Ladder” (Climacus) because he wrote an immortal work, the “Ladder of Divine Ascent.” In this work, we see how, by means of thirty steps, the Christian gradually ascends from below to the heights of supreme spiritual perfection. We see how one virtue leads to another, as a man rises higher and higher and finally attains to that height