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ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Monday of Pascha: Freedom from Fear

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on May 22, 2021 Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana ‘Fear not’ (Matth. 28, 10) ‘Do not be afraid’, the angel of the Lord said to the myrrh-bearing women who had been overcome by fear and trembling at the empty tomb, ‘for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, as he said’ (Matth. 28, 5-6). Shortly afterwards, the risen Christ himself said to them ‘Do not be afraid’.  After

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Friday of Pascha: Living the Apocalypse

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 3, 2016  The world ended [the] Sunday before last (Pascha). No. You weren’t “left behind.” But you might not have noticed. And our not noticing is, strangely, at the very heart of our problem. It is also at the heart of the Christian faith. What I am describing is the “apocalyptic” character of Christianity – the fact that it is a revealing of something hidden. And this is not a

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The First-Fruit of the New World

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on May 18, 2021 Ioannis Karavidopoulos, Professor Emeritus of New Testament Hermeneutics, A. U. Th. The Gospel reading for the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women (Mark 15, 43-47; 16, 1-8) relates two important events: the burial of Jesus’ body by Joseph (15, 43-47) and the visit of the myrrh-bearing women to the empty tomb (16, 1-8). The burial is the last act of the drama of the crucifixion, with which the cycle of the

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Wednesday of Pascha: What Does It Mean to Become a Cyrenian?

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on January 20, 2022 Fr. Andreas Agathokleous No one has gone through life without ever being worried, hurt, or driven to tears. As children of Adam, all of us, young and old, have to live with the consequences of the fall of our forefather, precisely because that forefather is each one of us. There’s no need to find support for this view of the human condition, since life itself is evidence of the difficulty,

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Tuesday of Pascha: Apostle and Evangelist Mark

Commemorated on April 25 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, also known as John Mark (Acts 12:12), was one of the Seventy Apostles, and was also a nephew of Saint Barnabas (June 11). He was born at Jerusalem. The house of his mother Mary adjoined the Garden of Gethsemane. As Church Tradition relates, on the night that Christ was betrayed he followed after Him, wrapped only in a linen cloth. He was seized by soldiers, and

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Monday of Pascha: No Walls

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 9, 2021 Faith. Deep and true faith means being open to what the truth turns out to be as we grow and learn and come more fully to understand. We come to know most fully through an experience of the Living God just like so many did when encountering the Crucified One risen from the dead. In the journey of faith, we must be willing to

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Holy and Great Martyr George the Trophy Bearer

The great martyr George was the son of wealthy and pious parents, who raised him in the Christian faith. He was born in the city of Beirut at the foot of the Lebanese mountains. Having entered military service, George stood out among the other soldiers by virtue of his mind, valor, physical strength, military bearing and beauty. Having quickly attained to the rank of millenary, an officer in the Roman army in charge of a

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! BRIGHT FRIDAY: THE LIFE-GIVING SPRING OF THE THEOTOKOS

Outside of Constantinople, towards the district of the Seven Towers, there was in ancient times a very large and most beautiful church named in honour of the Theotokos; it had been built about the middle of the fifth century by the Emperor Leo the Great (also called “Leo of Thrace,” he is commemorated on Jan. 20). Before he became Emperor, he had encountered there a blind man, who being tormented with thirst asked him to

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! BRIGHT THURSDAY: The Healing of Thomas

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes at St. Mary Orthodox Church of Cambridge, MA on Sunday, April 15, 2018 In reading and interpreting Holy Scripture we must always remember to do so in the light of Christ whose preeminent message was, “Be compassionate as your Father in heaven is compassionate.” As the God-Man he sees our deepest needs and understands from his own incarnate experience exactly what cure to apply when, how, and where. Thomas

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Bright Wednesday: The Senselessness of Suffering and Death

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 11, 2017  I recently posted a note on social media in which I said that Christ’s death and resurrection changed the “senseless” character of death. Therefore, Christians need no longer fear it. I got a bit of push-back. What is senseless about suffering and death? There are two aspects of suffering and death that are particularly felt to be senseless. The first is suffering that seems to have no purpose: