Pemptousia Archives - Page 2 of 25

The Fifth Tuesday of Pascha. The First-Born of the Dead and the Land of the Living (II)

05/12/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The resurrection of Christ is the quintessence of God’s revelation to us. It’s the foundation of the recreation of the world, the basis of the Church and its message: ‘And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is hollow and so is your faith’ (1 Cor. 15, 14). With his great love, God, who is rich in

The Fifth Monday of Pascha: The First-Born of the Dead and the Land of the Living (I)

05/11/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~George Mantzarides, Professor Emeritus of the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ‘The greatest sin these days lies in the fact that people are plunged into despair and no longer believe in the resurrection’ (Saint Sophrony in Essex). In the pre-Christian and also, later, in the world outside Christianity, belief in the immortality of the soul was widespread. But even this belief is largely disregarded in our own

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman (John 4:5-42)

05/10/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou This Gospel reading is exceptional, loaded with great and sublime truths which the Lord condescended to impart to a dissolute woman, a heretic who had led a reckless life and hailed from Samaria, an abomination for the Jews. The reconciliatory way that Christ relates with this woman gives an example for converse with our fellow men. In this passage, on the one hand, we behold the majesty

The Fourth Wednesday of Pascha. Mid-Pentecost

05/06/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou ‘I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely’ [1]. During Great Lent, to a certain degree, we taste of Christ’s death. In the middle of this period, the Church institutes the Veneration of the Precious Cross, to quicken inspiration and strengthen us in our struggle to be vouchsafed to enter into the life-giving presence of the Risen Lord.

The Fourth Tuesday of Pascha. The Holy Great Martyr Irene

05/05/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The holy Great Martyr Irene was born in the city of Magedon in Persia during the fourth century. She was the daughter of the pagan king Licinius, and her parents named her Penelope. Penelope was very beautiful, and her father kept her isolated in a high tower from the time she was six so that she would not be exposed to Christianity. He also placed thirteen young maidens in the

The Fourth Monday of Pascha. The Life-Giving Word

05/04/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Ioannis Karavidopoulos, Professor Emeritus of New Testament Hermeneutics, A. U. Th. The subject of the narrative in the Gospel of Saint John (5, 1) concerning the complaint of the man who’d been paralyzed for 38 years, is genuinely moving: ‘I have no-one to put me into the pool when the water’s disturbed’. He was alone and helpless. However, the help which he was unable to find from other people, was

Sunday of the Paralytic

05/03/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Metropolitan Anthony Bloom † In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We have heard today in the Gospel of a man who for thirty-eight years had laid paralysed. The only thing that separated him from healing was the possibility to reach the waters, which the angel brought into motion once a year. Thirty-eight years had he attempted to move towards healing but someone else has

The Third Friday of Pascha. A Multitude of Invalids

05/01/2026

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

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers

04/26/2026

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou ‘And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb.’[1] Just before His Passion, the Lord promised the inalienable joy of the Resurrection to His disciples and all those who loved Him, ‘I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.’ [2] As He went forth to His incomprehensible Passion, setting His face to derision and

The Second Monday of Pascha. Disbelief and Divine Compassion

04/20/2026

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Protopresbyter Vasileios Kalliakmanis, Professor of the Theological School, A.U.Th. Divine compassion, as a consequence of the mystery of divine self-emptying, isn’t restricted to the Cross and burial. It continues after the Resurrection as well. The risen Lord had no wish to impose the glad tidings on people by force. Nor did he require them to embrace the news unconditionally. As the glorified Lord, he agreed to be the object of

Archive

The Fifth Tuesday of Pascha. The First-Born of the Dead and the Land of the Living (II)

The Fifth Monday of Pascha: The First-Born of the Dead and the Land of the Living (I)

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman (John 4:5-42)

The Fourth Wednesday of Pascha. Mid-Pentecost

The Fourth Tuesday of Pascha. The Holy Great Martyr Irene

The Fourth Monday of Pascha. The Life-Giving Word

Sunday of the Paralytic

The Third Friday of Pascha. A Multitude of Invalids

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers

The Second Monday of Pascha. Disbelief and Divine Compassion

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