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The Feast of the Transfiguration

The Transfiguration of Christ is one of the central events recorded in the gospels. Immediately after the Lord was recognized by his apostles as “the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the Living God,” he told them that “he must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things … and be killed and on the third day be raised” (Mt 16). The announcement of Christ’s approaching passion and death was met with indignation by the disciples. And then,

Sunday of Pentecost

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on June 7, 2009 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! St. Gregory the Great writes this on the Great Feast of Pentecost: “My friends consider the greatness of this solemn feast that commemorates God’s coming as a guest into our hearts!”  He comes to us to transform us from within in a movement

The Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

Reading The incomprehensible and inexplicable Nativity of Christ came to pass when Herod the Great was reigning in Judea; the latter was an Ascalonite on his fathers’s side and an Idumean on his mother’s. He was in every way foreign to the royal line of David; rather, he had received his authority from the Roman emperors, and had ruled tyrannically over the Jewish people for some thirty-three years. The tribe of Judah, which had reigned

The Beheading of Saint John, the Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on August 29, 2021 Saint Justin Popovich Today is a little Great Friday, a second Great Friday. Today the greatest man of those born of women, John, the Holy Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, is slain. On Great Friday, God, was murdered, God was crucified. At today’s holy and great feast, the greatest of all men was put to death. The choice of the expression ‘the greatest’ is not mine. What are my

The Fourth Wednesday of Great Lent: The Prayer of Righteous Symeon

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on February 3, 2022 Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios At every Vespers, we hear the prayer: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen your salvation …” (Luke 2: 29-31). As St. Luke the Evangelist writes, it is with these words that the Righteous Symeon praised and thanked God, when he took the 40-day old baby Jesus in his arms, while in the Temple of

Feast of the Three Holy Fathers, Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom

January 30 Introduction During the reign of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1081-1118), a controversy arose in Constantinople among men learned in Faith and zealous for virtue about the three holy Hierarchs and Fathers of the Church, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. Some argued for Saint Basil above the other two because he was able, as none other, to explain the mysteries of the Faith, and rose to angelic rank by his

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! The First Day of Christmas!

By His Grace Bishop John Abdalah As Orthodox Christians, we greet one another with this confident exclamation during the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord. With this seasonal greeting we affirm that Jesus, who took on flesh and was born into our world, is indeed the Christ, and worthy of glorification. This greeting is unlike other seasonal greetings about being merry (Christmas), glad (tidings), or happy (holidays). Not that I have any trouble with

The Thirty-Second Day of Christmas Advent: And Honesty for All

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, December 23, 2021  There are “bogus” Scriptures out there – special “revelations” to various characters (generally self-described as “prophets” and such). They have as a hallmark, a kind of self-promotion and a carefully crafted message to “solve” various religious problems. I’ll not name names lest I wind up on someone’s hit list. I’ll let the reader fill-in the blanks. However, there is something quite striking about the writings of the Bible,

Falling Asleep of St. John the Theologian

By Fr. Nicholas Belcher Today, the Holy Orthodox Church commemorates the repose of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist, St. John the Theologian. As we learn from the Holy Gospels, St. John, one of the sons of Zebedee, was called by Christ to abandon his fishing nets to become a fisher of men and a son of thunder. Saint John became one of the twelve apostles, and despite his being – according to tradition – the youngest,

Prophet Elijah, the Gift of God

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, November 5, 2014 By Savva Alexandrou Saint Gregory Palamas, speaking in general about the prophets, as also the Fathers of the Church, notes: “God raised up the Prophets and the Fathers unto our guidance and He showed signs and wonders to us through them, so that He could correctly lead us up to faith.” The Prophets, as also the Fathers of the church, are essentially God’s gift to men, because they