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Monday of the Holy Spirit. On the Light of the Holy Spirit

~Saint Symeon the New Theologian Discourse XXXIII. On the Light of the Holy Spirit In the third ode of the canon at Matins on the Monday of the Holy Spirit, the hymn has Christ saying ‘I shall send you the Spirit of me and of the Father’. We recognize three hypostases of God- Father, Son and Holy Spirit- and know that these are not confused. We do, however, worship One God and this text by

The Presentation and the Crucifixion

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

Sin as a Sickness

~Fr. Andreas Agathokleous It’s natural to have feelings of guilt if we look at sin as a transgression against ‘the law of God’ rather than as a sickness we’ve inherited as children of the first Adam. Because if, over time, sin becomes second nature, it exercises authority in our soul making us do what we don’t want to, as Saint Paul says. As we all know, this brings its own pressure, peace is lost and

Ascension Day Sermon

– Archpriest Andrew Phillips In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So we have come to the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. Thus we have come to the last day of Christ’s physical presence on Earth. This marks the fulfilment of all things, since His Conception at the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin, His Birth and all the events of His earthly life, recorded for

The Sixth Wednesday of Pascha. After the Resurrection (3)

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Archimandrite Elisaios, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras ‘When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight’. So we’ve seen how, initially, Christ walked along with the disciples in such a way that they didn’t recognize Him and that then He

The Sixth Tuesday of Pascha. After the Resurrection (2)

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

The Sixth Monday of Pascha. After the Resurrection

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Archimandrite Elisaios, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras In his Easter Homily, Saint John Chrysostom announces that ‘Christ has risen and we can take part in life’*. This means that Christ has risen and we now have true life, or, in other words, Christ has risen and I can live as a free citizen, I’m free from the power of the evil one, I’m free from death, I’m

The Fifth Friday of Pascha. The Resurrection of Christ

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~By Dr. Petros Vassiliadis, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Theology at the University of Thessaloniki What is the reason for defining the event of the Resurrection of Christ as “Radiant”— “Lampri”? And what makes the faithful exclaim in the words of Saint John Damascene: “This is the day of resurrection, let us be radiant O people: Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha. For Christ our God has passed us from death to life, and

The Fifth Thursday of Pascha. The First-Born of the Dead and the Land of the Living (IV)

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki God doesn’t impose himself on people in a high-handed manner. The kingdom of God isn’t a kingdom of imperious authority but of interactive love and freedom. It’s a communion which offers boundless love and freedom. But when people reject God’s offer, they’re short-circuited within their self and make their own punishment. In this way, even from

The Fifth Wednesday of Pascha. The First-Born of the Dead and the Land of the Living (III)

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The resurrection and entry into the eternal life of the Kingdom of the Triune God are not abstract ideological matters. They are truths and circumstances which came into the world with the advent of Christ and can be approached empirically (Cf. 1. Cor. 13, 12). Indeed, this approach is proposed to every person who is of a mind