Archive

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Monday of the Third Week of Pascha. Saint George and the Dragon in Iconography.

The wealth of images depicted in holy icons is overwhelming, yet one thing appears to unite them all. Despite not usually being painted in a naturalistic way, they are always concerned in depicting reality. In icons of the life of Christ, His Saints, or other historic events we are always presented with what happened, and the meaning behind what happened. The image of St George killing the dragon, on the other hand, appears more like

The Sixteenth Day of Christmas Advent. Saint Andrew the First-Called Apostle

By Fr. Andrew Kishler Few saints are as prominent in our Eastern Orthodox tradition as St. Andrew the Apostle. Various early traditions recount his missionary travels throughout Eastern Europe: what is now Greece, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia. Our “first among equals,” the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, is known as the successor of St. Andrew. Indeed, St. Andrew is dear to the hearts and minds of many Orthodox Christians worldwide. But before he became the patron

The Sixteenth Day of Christmas Advent. St. Andrew the First-called Apostle

Saint Andrew the Apostle (Greek: ‘Ανδρέας, Andreas; early first century—mid to late first century AD), called in the Orthodox tradition Protokletos, or the First-called, is the brother of Peter the Apostle. The name “Andrew” (from Greek: “ανδρεία”, Andreia, manhood, or valour), like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the second or third century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him. The New Testament records that Andrew

Meditation and Worship (Part XI)

The icons seen on church walls are not merely images or paintings: an icon is a focus of real presence. St John Chrysostom advises us, before we start praying, to take our stand in front of an icon and to shut our eyes. He says ‘shut your eyes’, because it is not by examining the icon, by using it as a visual aid, that we are helped by it to pray. It is not a

The Impossible Synthesis

Alongside this ‘critical’ process, and in reaction to it, for more than a century there have been attempts to make a synthesis of beauty. For the 19th century we need only recall the operas of Wagner. As this century opened, symbolism was codified according to philosophical systems. In every country of Europe, but especially in Germany and Russia, many of the intelligentsia felt regret for an organic age, when the highest values were mediated to

The Fifth Monday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part I

By Harry Boosalis It is interesting to observe the increasing interest in spiritual life among many people around the world. Many people are seeking a personal experience of God. They desire a tangible and dynamic experience of His presence within their daily lives. Furthermore, many today are trying to satisfy this inner need through a variety of methods and means. The recent growth of the various pseudo-Christian cults and other such religious groups bears witness

Of Angels and Demons

By Father Lawrence Farley We Orthodox confess that we are amphibians—that is, that we are part animal, part angelic, that we simultaneously inhabit both the visible and the invisible world, the realms of both men and spirits. We have prayers in our daily prayer rule to our guardian angel, and we ask for help against the attacks of demonic spirits. For most of us, this bi-partite existence remains mostly theoretical, in that while we acknowledge

The Destiny of Eros: Monks and Martyrs

When the emperor was converted, and the ever-present danger of martyrdom disappeared, monasticism arose to take its place. There was a fear that Christianity would be secularized, that, as it stood, it would become the cement of an earthly city. Monasticism was the revolt against all compromise. Monasticism, in its early form, was a steep path, that of ‘the violent, who take the kingdom of heaven by force’. Utter obedience to the Gospel demands the

Equal of the Apostles Great Prince Vladimir, in Holy Baptism Basil, the Enlightener of the Russian Land

The Holy Great Prince Vladimir, Equal of the Apostles. Few names in the annals of history can compare in significance with the name of St Vladimir, the Baptizer of Rus, who stands at the beginning of the spiritual destiny of the Russian Church and the Russian Orthodox people. Vladimir was the grandson of St Olga. Though Vladimir indulged himself in a wild, sensuous life, he was far from the libertine that they sometimes portray him

“. . . BUT BY PRAYER AND FASTING” (Part IV)

Attending liturgical services, fasting, and even praying at regular intervals do not exhaust the lenten effort. Or rather, in order to be effective and meaningful, they need the support of our whole life. They need, in other terms, a “style of life” which would not be in contradiction with them, would not lead to a “split” existence. In the past, in Orthodox countries, such support was given by society itself: it was that complex of