The greatest gift God has made to people is the possibility of union with Him. This gift has become concrete through the incarnation of God, through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Byzantine Chant is not just another form of music. It is a tool on which we can pray better. It is, in fact, a form of melodic prayer. If the music in general is composed to be listened to, the psaltic music is made to pray to the fullest and therefore it sounds best in the Church and not so much in the concerts.
My child, always be careful, both when you are happy and when you are sad. When you are happy you should not lose control through vivacity and laughter, nor when you are sad should you be so gloomy that it shows.
Do you fast? Then feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not forget the imprisoned, have pity on the tortured, comfort those who grieve and who weep, be merciful, humble, kind, calm, patient, sympathetic, forgiving, reverent, truthful and pious, so that God might accept your fasting and might plentifully grant you the fruits of repentance.
Someone asked me if he could use a gun to protect his house. Well… I don’t know about guns. But I know about locks to protect the houses: A very old hermit monk here had a kelli dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Even though he was alone in the wilderness, he not only didn’t have a lock at his cell, but he left the door largely open even if he went some distance away (Karyes, a monastery etc.). In the many years he behaved like this, no unfortunate accident occurred. This went on for years till once a group of pilgrims […]
Struggle with all your power to gain Paradise. And do not listen to those who say that everyone will be saved. This is trap of Satan so that we would not struggle.
A few years ago, at an hour of maximum audience on the Greek national television station (ERT), a debate was held, at the highest level, on the topic of abortions.
The more you love Christ, the more it seems to you that you do not love Him and yearn more and more, to love Him.
We shouldn’t think, judge, and act, having faith in our way of seeing things—but on God.
Forgetfulness in and of itself has no power, but acquires embodiment in proportion to our negligence.
If God sees that the intellect has entirely submitted to Him and puts its hope in Him alone, He strengthens it, saying: ‘Have no fear Jacob my son, my little Israel’ (Isa. 41:14), and: ‘Have no fear: for I have delivered you, I have called you by My name; you are Mine. If you pass through water, I shall be with you, and the rivers will not drown you. If you go through fire, you will not be burnt, and the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who saves […]
The whole planet wants the freedom of eternal happiness, but most people seek it where it is not and seek it in an inappropriate way.
We who are given the fullness of true Christianity are obliged to be working on ourselves, to be watching the signs of the times, and to be extremely joyful, as St. Paul is constantly saying: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say: Rejoice!’ (Phil. 4:4). We rejoice because we have something which all the death and corruption of this world cannot take away, that is, the eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
But someone might say, “Then, if heaven is so great, why don’t you all just go and kill yourselves, and pass over to your God right away, and not bother us anymore?”
In the Christian context: by “mystery,” we do not mean merely that which is baffling and mysterious, an enigma or insoluble problem.
The almighty Christ was the only one which had the right, the power and the capacity to be a tyrant.
You have a spiritual nature. The soul is the image of the Creator. Honor the image of God by being in agreement with all humanity.
I also maintain that those who are punished in Gehenna are scourged by the scourge of love.
Blessed is the man who knows his own weakness, because this knowledge becomes to him the foundation, root and beginning of all goodness.
Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi (+2009) was a very pious monk and we honor his memory each year with much devotion and dedication. His holiness was acquired through his great ascetical feats along with good deeds which he performed throughout his entire life, and in most cases in discretion, just like any other spiritual person.
According to the blameless Christian faith, of the One, Holy Apostolic and Catholic Church, which comes to us as a revelation from God, I confess and hold that I believe in one God, the Father Almighty: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. I adore and worship one God, the Holy Trinity.
He showed me many trees that had no leaves; they were withered, and they all looked alike to me. And he said to me, “Do you see these trees?” “I see, sir, that they are all alike, and all withered,” I replied. “These trees that you see,” he answered, “are those who dwell in this world.”
The main difference between heaven and hell isn’t the difference of place. There is also a place difference but the main difference is the difference in the existential response of an intelligent being – human or angel – to the same uncreated divine energy which is much more intense than here on earth, both in heaven and in hell.
We know when we will die. Unfortunately this knowledge is lost in the labyrinth of our mind, due to our darkness generated by our sinful life. An enlightened mind will tell us three things:
First we must know that we should be just one man united with the one God but, because of Adam’s fall, we are many separated between us and separated from the Holy Trinity. This generated a chaotic behavior inside and outside of us –
Mourning, according to God, is sadness of soul, and the disposition of a sorrowing heart, which ever madly seeks that for which it thirsts; and when it
Be like a king in your heart, seated high in humility, and commanding laughter: Go, and it goes; and sweet weeping: Come, and it comes; and our tyrant and slave
I saw that there was no tragedy in God. Tragedy is to be found solely in
Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward and learning to enjoy whatever life has, and this requires
There are many miracles which the Holy Belt has performed throughout history. For us, however, the most precious miracle which happens each year is that we are, after 15 (fifteen) hours of
