By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on January 19, 2020 Metropolitan Anthony Bloom † 17 December 1989 In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Ten lepers came to the Lord; ten men who were ritually unclean and therefore, ritually rejected by their community, unable to attend the common worship of the Temple, unable to come near the habitations of men; and unclean also in the eyes of men because their sickness could be transmitted to
The Holy and Glorious Apostle Thomas was born in the Galilean city of Pansada and was a fisherman. Hearing the good tidings of Jesus Christ, he left all and followed after Him. The Apostle Thomas is included in the number of the holy Twelve Apostles of the Savior. According to Holy Scripture, the holy Apostle Thomas did not believe the reports of the other disciples about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ: “Unless I see in
By V. Rev. Antony Hughes, M.Div., St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts It is important to note that salvation as deification is not pantheism because the Orthodox Fathers insist on the doctrine of creation ex nihilo (Athanasius, 1981). Human beings, along with all created things, have come into being from nothing. Created beings will always remain created and God will always remain Uncreated. The Son of God in the Incarnation crossed the unbridgeable chasm between them. Orthodox
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on August 21, 2019 Protopresbyter Vasileios Kalliakmanis Let’s examine how women have been treated in Orthodox theology. It’s well known that Saint Paul proclaimed: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’. In saying this, we don’t want to demolish the differences which exist between men and women, as has happened in recent years, but rather
The Holy Myrrh-Bearer Equal of the Apostles Mary Magdalene, Commemorated on July 22 A woman whose name has entered forever into the Gospel account was born and grew up in Magdala. The Gospel tells us nothing of Mary’s younger years, but Tradition informs us that Mary of Magdala was young and pretty…. It says in the Gospels that the Lord expelled seven devils from Mary (Luke. 8:2). From the moment of her healing Mary led
~By Father Stephen Freeman Pascha (Easter) comes with a great note of joy in the Christian world. Christ is risen from the dead and our hearts rejoice. That joy begins to wane as the days pass. Our lives settle back down to the mundane tasks at hand. After 40 days, the Church marks the Feast of the Ascension, often attended by only a handful of the faithful (Rome has more-or-less moved the Ascension to a
~Konstantinos Holevas, Political Scientist Five hundred and [seventy-three] years have gone by since that accursed day, 29 May 1453. When the cry “The City has fallen” rang out and the Reigning City, the City of Saints, Emperors and legends passed into the occupation of the Ottoman dynasty. Thus began the years of Turkish rule. The Greek nation survived, but Constantinople and Ayia Sofia (The Church of Holy Wisdom) remain in foreign hands. Today we honour
~By Father Stephen Freeman Orthodox Christianity often seems inherently conservative. The unyielding place that tradition holds within its life seems ready-made for a conservative bulwark against a world all-too-ready to forget everything that is good or beautiful. There are subtle but important distinctions that make this treatment of Orthodoxy misleading and can lead to the distortion of the faith and an almost reverse image of our true salvation. Orthodox Christianity does not seek to preserve
– 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
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