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The First Thursday of Great Lent. Charity and Lent

Protopresbyter Antonios Christou Dear readers, Great Lent is a time of strenuous, spiritual struggle with ourselves (less sleep, less nutrition, less ease and preoccupation with things we like doing, greater participation in the services and prayers, and so on). I don’t know, however, whether we truly realize the extent to which another fundamental aim is charity towards others. Apart from the general principle expressed in the Sermon on the Mount (‘Blessed are the merciful* for

The First Day of Christmas Advent: The Christmas Fast

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 16, 2021 Georgios Arabatzoglou Another blessed period of fasting begins, a time of spiritual struggle and an effort to turn our mind to God, each of us with the strength and spiritual ‘nobility’ at our disposal, and, as always, in conjunction with the advice of our spiritual guide. This fast begins on 15 November and lasts until 24 December, while on 25 December, when we celebrate the Nativity of Christ, we have

Be True to Yourself

By Stephen Freeman, October 11, 2017  I recall the excitement that I felt every year as a child and as a teenager as the signs of summer’s end came. Looming ahead was the beginning of a new school year. It never felt like a return to what I had known the year before, but as an opportunity for something new. In my teen years, the secret something new that felt exciting was a “new” me.

The Third Wednesday of Great Lent. The Spiritual Fruits of Lent.

+ DEMETRIOS Archbishop of America This month…we entered the sacred period of Holy and Great Lent, a season of the Church that accords us with splendid opportunities to prepare ourselves for the glorious feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we celebrate this year in April. Our journey throughout these next few weeks is, thus, of extraordinary significance for our spiritual lives. During this time, our occasions for prayer and worship are greatly increased,

On Spiritual Struggle by Elder Porphyrios

What makes a person holy is love, the adoration of Christ When Christ enters our soul, everything within us will be altered Man is a mystery. We carry within us an age-old inheritance – all the good and precious experience of the prophets, the saints, the martyrs, the apostles and above all of our Lord Jesus Christ; but we also carry within us the inheritance of the evil that exists in the world from Adam

Father Maximos on Spiritual Struggle

People ask me how to begin their spiritual struggle. And they will tell me, ‘Look, Father, I have never had any relationship with the Ecclesia.’” Fr. Maximos leaned back in his chair. “So what am I to advise them? Such people may not be ready to engage in a more subtle struggle with their lower passions. I suggest that they start to do simple things: Go to church regularly, and during the morning and before