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Holy Apostle Jude, the Brother of the Lord

The holy Apostle Jude, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, descended from the stock of David and Solomon and was the son of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife. The holy Apostle John the Theologian writes in his Gospel: For neither did his brethren believe in him (John 7:5). Hierarch Theophilact, the Archbishop of Bulgaria, explains these words thus: at the beginning of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ,

The Sacrament of Humility – Part One

~By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 21, 2024 Some things are so obvious that you cannot see them. Their powers of invisibility do not lie so much within themselves as within those who cannot see them. We are hard-wired for danger, our eyes attuned to threats. We overlook the power of weakness and the vulnerability of humility – the queen and fount of all the virtues. And yet, we are surrounded by humility – it is

The Third Wednesday of Pascha. The Icon of the Resurrection

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Father Stavros N. Akrotirianakis Peter said, “Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was

The Thirty-Fifth Day of Christmas Advent. The Genealogy of Jesus

By Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 21, 2014 We read …the genealogy of Jesus from St. Matthew’s Gospel. It is different from St. Luke’s genealogy and there are reasons for this which we do not time to talk about this morning. I would rather spend time on the point of this Gospel and that is, God became man to save everyone and everything. It is as Thomas Merton speaks of this using the metaphor

Apostle Jude the Brother of the Lord

The Holy Apostle Jude, one of the twelve apostles of Christ, is descended from King David and Solomon, and was the son of Righteous Joseph the Betrothed (Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord) by his first wife. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian writes in his Gospel, “… neither did his brethren believe in Him” (John. 7:5). Saint Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria, explains this passage. He says that at the beginning of the Lord

The Fourth Thursday of Great Lent: God Tells Us a Story

Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 3, 2016 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. (8:34-9:1) Human beings love stories. We need them. Our lives are populated with them.  Christianity is built on them. If they are in the New Testament we call them parables. Raised as a Southern Baptist child in the hills of Eastern Tennessee, we learned and memorized the stories of Adam and Eve, Moses and

The Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: The Presentation of the Mother of God

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, November 21, 2016 Vladimir Lossky The Presentation or Entry (είσοδος) of the Mother of God in the Temple (November 21st) does not belong to the most ancient festivals of the Church. None the less, it must be earlier than the end of the VIIth century, since St. Andrew of Crete had known it at Jerusalem at this epoch. It seems that it was introduced at Constantinople a century later, under the

Ex nihilo (2)

By Fr John Breck, March 1, 2008 In the prologue to his Gospel, the evangelist John takes up the account of creation given in the first chapter of Genesis, in order to illustrate the story of redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, the eternal Son and Word of God. “In the beginning,” out of His infinite otherness, with God and as God, the Word comes forth, to create the world and to save it from death

Elder Porphyrios: Peace of Heart is Established Little by Little

Your constant care should be not to let your heart become agitated or troubled, but to use every effort to keep it peaceful and calm. Seeing your efforts and endeavours, God will send you His grace and will make your soul a city of peace. Then your heart will become the house of comfort as is allegorically expressed in the following Psalm: ‘Jerusalem is builded as a city’ (Ps. cxxii. 3). God has required only

Apostle Jude the Brother of the Lord

The Holy Apostle Jude, one of the twelve apostles of Christ, is descended from King David and Solomon, and was the son of Righteous Joseph the Betrothed (Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord) by his first wife. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian writes in his Gospel, “… neither did his brethren believe in Him” (John. 7:5). Saint Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria, explains this passage. He says that at the beginning of the Lord