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What is a Saint?

By Father Stanley Harakas All of us have heard of the saints. The names of nearly all of us are a saint’s name. We know about some popular saints, like St. George or St. Demetrios or especially, the Mother of our Lord, the Virgin Mary. But what is a saint? A common answer is “a holy person.” But what does that mean? In Greek, “holy” is “AH-yee-os.” Its basic meaning is “to be set apart

THE MEANING OF THE GREAT FAST (Part III)

By Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware If it is important not to overlook the physical requirements of fasting, it is even more important not to overlook its inward significance. Fasting is not a mere matter of diet. It is moral as well as physical. True fasting is to be converted in heart and will; it is to return to God, to come home like the Prodigal to our Father’s house. In the words of

The Essence of Prayer (II)

Every time we come near God, it is either life or death we are confronted with. It is life if we come to him in the right spirit, and are renewed by him. It is death if we come to him without the spirit of worship and a contrite heart; it is death if we bring pride or arrogance. Therefore, before we set out on the so-called thrilling adventure of prayer, it cannot be too

Truth and the Times: The Culture Conundrum (Part I)

An Interview with His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh PRAXIS: Your Eminence, you’ve acquired something of a reputation for your openness to popular culture. How do you reconcile your role as a bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, a Church that prides itself on its fidelity to tradition, with your willingness to engage the rapidly changing and generally irreverent world of pop culture? METROPOLITAN SAVAS: You say “change” as if it’s a bad thing! I