Fr. Andreas Agathokleous We usually view other people on the basis of our own inner eyes and ‘what the heart is full of’ (Luke 6, 45). If we’re cunning, we think other people are cunning, as well; if we’re guileless, we think that other people are, too. Saint Gregory the Dialogist notes the following: ‘The purer the heart, the more trusting it is’. This is how it can be tricked by wicked people who act on
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 20, 2023 Jesus was not a theoretician. He was not all words and theories. His teaching had practical applications and consequences. His core message was about the presence of the kingdom of heaven within us and among us here and now using metaphors from daily life, fishing and farming, wedding feasts and banquets to anchor Christian spirituality in the real stuff of this world. Although many
By Metropolitan of Gortyn and Megalopolis, Ieremias † [Having shown what God is and that He is incomprehensible] Saint John goes on to prove that He is One, not many. This is clear to those who are convinced by the Holy Scriptures. The Lord says as much at the beginning of the Law: ‘I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other gods but
The invincibility of Christianity is epitomized by the superhuman endurance of the priest Haralambos, who suffered inhuman tortures and martyrdom at the hands of pagan tormentors. No single martyr was recorded to have endured as much physical punishment as Haralambos. He was an obscure Orthodox priest who earned his sainthood solely by his steadfastness to the Christian faith in the face of prolonged agonies. Although this seemingly indestructible servant of the Lord had that divine
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 5, 2022 The Odes of Solomon is a first or second century document known to the Holy Father’s and quoted by a few. Olivier Clement used it to great effect in THE ROOTS OF CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM. Here is the quote. “Blessed are the men and women who are planted…in your garden, who grow like trees and flowers grow, who transform their darkness into light. Their roots
St. Theodore the General and Great Martyr St. Theodore lived during the reign of emperor Licinius (c. 320 AD). He was born in Euphraita of Galatia (central Turkey), but spent most of his life in the city of Heraklia, near the Black Sea. He surpassed most of his contemporaries in spiritual matters, bodily beauty, and eloquence of speech. Consequently, he won the admiration of many, including that of emperor Licinius, who appointed St. Theodore the
By Father Stephen Freeman, May 11, 2018 Our culture changes things. One of its myths is that changing things results in a better world. And so we endure unending advertisements for the newest, the latest, and the improved. Very few things, apart from medications, are tested for their consequences. As such, we are a society in perpetual experiment. It reminds me of a local joke. The last words of a redneck … “Hold my beer.
Commemorated on February 6 Saint Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, “the Church’s far-gleaming beacon,” lived during the ninth century, and came from a family of zealous Christians. His father Sergius died as a martyr in defense of holy icons. Saint Photius received an excellent education and, since his family was related to the imperial house, he occupied the position of first state secretary in the Senate. His contemporaries said of him: “He so distinguished himself with
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 25, 2024 In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. One God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever! I haven’t really preached since this past Christmas because of my illness so I’m going to give it a go today. We’ll see what happens! It’s interesting Metropolitan Saba is endearing himself to me quite a bit. He wrote a wonderful piece
Dr. Nikolaos Koios, Content Coach of Pemptousia It’s been noted by theological scholarship on more than one occasion that, in Orthodoxy, dogma and ethos, theory and practice, faith and life are indissolubly bound together. Every invitation to spiritual struggle has a powerful dogmatic foundation and vice versa: the spiritual life of the Church of love and humility is what produces, in a sense, the dogmatic conscience of each member individually and of the Church as
© 2020 Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral
