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Curiosity and Confusion

09/06/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 5, 2021 Fr. Andreas Agathokleous It’s not unknown for young people not to have anything to do with Church activities (services, fasts and sacraments), yet they continue to be curious, to wonder, to enjoy talking about God and what emanates from him as a way of life. Anyone would think that these people were unversed in the spiritual life, without experience of the grace of the Holy Spirit and that they were

Zacharias the Prophet

09/05/2023

The prophet Zacharias was the son of Barachias, a priest of the Old Testament. He performed the priest’s office in Jerusalem during the reign of Herod, and was of the daily course of Aiba. His duty was to burn incense in the Temple, while performing the priest’s office before God. On one occasion, a large crowd of people was gathered to pray when an angel of the Lord appeared before him, standing on the right

The Sacrifice of Worship

09/04/2023

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 30, 2017 When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22), there was no questioning on Abraham’s part about what was intended. He understood precisely what was involved in such a thing. There was wood to be gathered, an altar of stones to be constructed, the victim to be bound, and then the slitting of its throat with the gushing forth of blood, all consummated in the burning

The Kontakion of the Indiction

09/01/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on September 3, 2021 Theodore Rokas Apart from the saints who are remembered on the day, on September 1 our Holy Church also celebrates the beginning of the Indiction, that is the start of the new ecclesiastical year. Among the hymns for the feast is the following, the kontakio for the Indiction, which reads as follows: ‘Maker and Master of the ages, God of all, who are indeed transcendent, bless the course of this

A Master of Oneself

08/31/2023

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, October 20, 2019 When it comes to the subject of demons, I see a bit of confusion in the dialogue that usually arises. Some, of course, are literalists and often are quite fearful of these invisible creatures. Some prefer to disavow their existence as part of the Christian mythology that arose from Zoroastrian myths that also gave rise to the theology of angels. I don’t want to

An Approach to Orthodox Teaching on Angels

08/30/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 10, 2021 Fr. Christos Klavas The angels have a special position in the Orthodox Church and particular honor is accorded to them. Holy Scripture (Old and New Testaments) is full of references to angels, who are presented as playing an important role in the implementation of the plan of divine providence. Patristic literature also mentions the angelic powers and provides us with valuable information concerning them. From these sources we can draw

The Beheading of Saint John, the Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord

08/29/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on August 29, 2021 Saint Justin Popovich Today is a little Great Friday, a second Great Friday. Today the greatest man of those born of women, John, the Holy Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, is slain. On Great Friday, God, was murdered, God was crucified. At today’s holy and great feast, the greatest of all men was put to death. The choice of the expression ‘the greatest’ is not mine. What are my

Old Friends

08/28/2023

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 19, 2017 A young man imagines that the mistakes he is making are, with more effort, things that he will correct. An older man knows better. It can be a source of humility, or a source of painful regret. Humility is to be preferred. I wonder if this by itself is the reason why the spiritual life is not populated with wise young people. If you are young and holy,

The Loneliness of Shame

08/25/2023

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 13, 2017 …shame thoughts are quintessentially alone thoughts. They are produced by the felt impossibility of communion, and they produce realities that have no primary communion in them. Patricia DeYoung, Understanding and Treating Chronic Shame +++ What does it mean to be lonely? We could pool our collective experience and quickly generate our own Wikipedia entry on the topic. There is probably no one who is a complete stranger to loneliness.

What Matters is a New Creation

08/24/2023

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, November 17, 2019 The Gospel is According to Luke 12:16-21 The Lord said this parable: “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and

Blog

Curiosity and Confusion

Zacharias the Prophet

The Sacrifice of Worship

The Kontakion of the Indiction

A Master of Oneself

An Approach to Orthodox Teaching on Angels

The Beheading of Saint John, the Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord

Old Friends

The Loneliness of Shame

What Matters is a New Creation

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