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The Elevation of the Precious Cross

Fr. Gennadios Manolis, Theologian The Lord’s Precious Cross is the supreme symbol of sacrifice and sanctification for the Church of Christ, Who was crucified and then rose, because the Cross, together with the Resurrection, are the two pillars which support the life for the Church and its members. The honour paid by the Orthodox Church to the Precious Cross on 14 September (though not only on that day) began in the very first, Apostolic years,

The Cell, Meeting God and Ourselves (Part IX). The Cell and Love of Neighbor

The Cell and Love of Neighbor The external environment of a society, family or religious community reflects the internal environment of the human beings who form it. Jesus said, “By their fruit you shall know them” (Matt 7:16, NRSV). In the cell the monk’s interior life is formed in such a way that he or she becomes what the cell makes possible. The physical enclosure of the cell houses the activities of God’s transforming Spirit.

The Fifth Thursday of Great Lent: Facing the Bronze Serpent

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 8, 2013 John 3:13-17 (Sunday Before the Cross) The story of the bronze serpent in the wilderness is an interesting one. The Israelites are grumbling about their time in the wilderness and the Lord gets royally annoyed, so he sends poisonous snakes into the encampment to bite them. They cry out to Moses for help.  God has pity on them and instructs Moses to create a

I Love, Therefore I Am

Self-centeredness is in the end coldness, isolation. It is a desert. It’s no coincidence that in the Lord’s Prayer, the model of prayer that God has given us, and which teaches what we are to be, the word “us” comes five times, the word “our” three times, the word “we” once. But nowhere in the Lord’s Prayer do we find the words “me” or “mine” or “I”. In the beginning of the era of modern

The Cell, Meeting God and Ourselves (Part IX). The Cell and Love of Neighbor

The Cell and Love of Neighbor The external environment of a society, family or religious community reflects the internal environment of the human beings who form it. Jesus said, “By their fruit you shall know them” (Matt 7:16, NRSV). In the cell the monk’s interior life is formed in such a way that he or she becomes what the cell makes possible. The physical enclosure of the cell houses the activities of God’s transforming Spirit.

The Fifth Wednesday after Pascha, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! On India and Buddhism—Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Part I)

Conversations with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew by Olivier Clement Behind the “New Age” movement one can also discern a rediscovery of India, and particularly of Buddhism.  Many westerners today report that they find true serenity in Buddhism. They learn that there exists a dharma (to use the Sanskrit word), a path of salvation, a world order; one could even call it Wisdom, almost in the Biblical sense of the word. And this dharma, not unlike the