First of all, we must understand that the idea of patron saints or protectors is not fixed or predetermined. Over time, people have seen that certain saints have helped, either during their life or after death, in a certain area of interest and, therefore, based on this experience, people again seek the help of that saint.
Apart from its usual dedication to the Menaion (the commemoration of the lives of the Saints) and the early custom to celebrate Kontakia (a type of hymn) during the Pannychis (festive night vigil celebrated at the Blachernae chapel), the Akathist had also the function to celebrate military victories or to ask, during wars, for divine protection intermediated by prayers of the Mother of God, the Invincible General.
In times of trial, people draw closer to God, which is why God also has to allow such trials, in times when mankind settles onto the wrong path.
The demon of fear that tempts you, saying „Where can you flee? You have no repentance; you have no escape”, belongs to the enemy who is trying to make you lose self-control, whereas godly sadness does not attack you, but says, „Do not be afraid; try again”, for it knows that humanity is weak, and strengthens us.
“…… I learned from the internet that the journalist Angel Bonchev was preparing a book about the unknown for us Saint Nikephoros the Leper, at a critical moment when the world was covered by the coronavirus pandemic and thousands died, killed by this new plague.
Why do we need to pray? For this, we need to understand that the first thing we need is the healing of the distortion of our will and, connected to this, the healing of our loneliness.
In fact, what is normal in a world in which one flies East, another flies West and another flies over the cuckoo’s nest?
Those of us who wish to start the spiritual life, to go out of the wordly things, to go out of Egypt and to fly from Pharaoh, certainly need some Moses as a mediator with God and from God, who, standing between action and contemplation, will raise hands of prayer for us to God, so that guided by Him we may cross the sea of sin and rout the Amalek of the passions.
In the 3rd Century, a pandemic swept across Italy, Africa, and the Western Roman Empire. In retrospective examination, some scholars believe it was the Ebola virus. At its height, this pandemic killed more than 5,000 people every day in Rome. Some cities had their population wiped out by more than 60 percent.
There was a child who was somewhat illiterate and could not learn his lessons and keep up with his classmates.
When we have a serious illness, it does not mean that this is a revelation from God that we will die. Or, to express it more exactly, we don’t know the outcome. However, such a serious illness can be used as a revelation from God that we must prepare ourselves more intensely for death.
A nation without faith in God does not become free, neither advances further as a civilization. Only in this way we can assure for our children the heavenly inheritance, the only one true inheritance which truly remains even after death.
The disciple’s question Father, I suffer terribly from rheumatism, and I am afraid that it is from demons. Tell me if this is so. What is it, then, that I see in dreams, on the wall, some wild beasts? I am very upset because I cannot fast and I am forced to eat a lot. What should I do? The answer of the Elder
The man who has come to hate the world has escaped sorrow. But he who has an attachment to anything visible is not yet delivered from grief. For how is it possible not to be sad at the loss of something we love?
A complete guide on how to resist the devil, especially if you are under demonic attacks and there is a danger of demonization is outlined below. We must be always aware of this danger and must take the precautionary measures, especially if we have grave sins or we are targets of concentrated demonic attacks because of Spells or curses cast against us.
We must never forget that reality is our game. Do not say: ‘I do not know what is right, therefore I am not to blame when I fail to do it.’ For if you did all the good about which you do know, what you should do next would then become clear to you, as if you were passing through a house from one room to another. It is not helpful to know what comes later before you have done what comes first. For knowledge without action ‘puffs up’, but ‘love edifies’, because it ‘patiently accepts all things’ (1 Cor. […]
Avarice (“the love of money”) is the worship of idols, the daughter of unbelief, a lying excuse for illness, a foreboder of old age, a harbinger of drought, and a herald of hunger. The lover of money sneers at the Gospel and is a willful transgressor. He who has attained love scatters his money. But he who says that he lives for love and for money has deceived himself.
An ordinary Christian who has a morally dignified behavior becomes a symbol of the Truth manifested on earth and is a censor for the consciences of others. Honest souls will seek him to share his wisdom. The dishonest soul will bypass him and mock him or slander him. Through this treatment, he resembles the Crucified One.
As enticing as is the temptation of a sinful life, it ultimately leads to the disgust of sin, and then we seek the true path which we find in faith.
The tradition tells us that on the icon of Paramythia, the original expression on the faces of the figures and the position of the bodies of Christ and the Blessed Virgin changed when the following strange miracle occurred, January 21, 1321 in front of the Abbot – Saint Ghennadios of Vatopedi – which went there to take the keys of the Monastery’s main gate which were at the icon in order to give them to the monk which was responsible in opening the gates:
Grief will succeed joy, and joy, grief, just as night follows day. This is how the Father of lights has established the path of God for those who are being saved. Just have patience and hope: engrave these in the depths of your heart and all adversities will be faced.
Note: „How to find a good spouse?” is a question which is often asked by women. That’s why this text was written for women, but can equally be applied by men. First of all, pray to find a good spouse. Our Lord and His holy Mother are the primary source of aid for such matters. It is best to…
As we have already frequently said, this—we mean despondency—is very often one of the branches of talkativeness, and its first child.
My child, I hope you are well. Just recently, I got somewhat better too. This is how my life has passed, with pain and illnesses. Now I have approached death once again for your sake. I said, “Let me die, only let my spiritual children live.” And I didn’t eat at all.
The Resurrection of Christ is the most significant event to take place in History. It is the event that differentiates Christianity from every other religion. Other religions have mortal leaders, whereas the Head of the Church is the Resurrected Christ. “Resurrection of Christ” implies the deification and the resurrection of human nature, and the hope for deification and resurrection of our own hypostasis. Since the medicine has been discovered, there is hope for life.
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.
And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female, he created them. (Genesis 1: 26-27)
Many today are wondering how to behave in the case of aggressive behavior, starting with those at school or playing between children ending with aggression at national level.
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.
Loneliness – voluntarily or not – is your time for prayer and knowing God better. This knowledge comes mainly via prayer because prayer is the union of the mind with God.