Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, July 16, 2017 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (5:14-19) I love this teaching from the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams (a very spiritual man, a man of prayer), “And the face we need to show our world is the face of a humanity in endless growth towards love…” The bushel Jesus refers to in today’s Gospel reading refers to that which
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 20, 2020 Here we are only a few days until Christmas. While we will be giving and receiving gifts, let’s take a moment to reflect on the greatest gift we have been given – the gift of union with God. I love the reading of the Genealogy. It reminds me of the poignant scene in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus laments over Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on October 16, 2021 Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘When our conscience tells us to do something and we ignore it, and when it then tells us to do something else and we don’t do it, we steadily and relentlessly stamp upon it; we bury it and it can’t shout aloud within us anymore, because of the weight that’s covering it’ (Abbas Dorotheos). Nowadays, our conscience has been banished from the stage of upbringing, education, and
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 10, 2019 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! The Gospel always gives us a glimpse into Christ’s Great Good Heart. The Lord reveals to us His Father’s gracious will to heal and save all of creation by living among us an incarnate life and demonstrating in living color what it
Published by Pemptousia Partnership on February 17, 2022 Archimandrite Kyrillos Kostopoulos ‘Herein lies the essence of sin: in our lack of trust in and absolute love for God the Creator; and in our total attachment to the ego’. In society today, in particular, the notion of sin has been deliberately distorted. This is because we dwell on the superficial meaning of the word (‘failure’, ‘missing the mark’) and miss the more profound meaning. For the Orthodox Church and
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 29, 2021. In our changing times when many are questioning the relevance of the Church, I was reminded of a quote by Carl Jung that sparked this meditation. “It is high time that we realize it is pointless to praise the light and preach it if nobody can see it. It is more needful to teach people the art of seeing.” How, then, do we teach
Published by Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, August 29, 2021 King Herod heard of it; for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
The true self versus the false self By Abbot Tryphon, January 5, 2020 Reformed theology focuses on forensic justification, whereas the mystical theology of the Orthodox Church focuses on restoration to God through healing of the darkened soul alienated from Him. These are two very different models, but not really equal, because one can have faith in Christ’s sacrifice, but still not be healed and restored. Our restorative healing is not about some terrible legal
I die by brightness and the Holy Spirit. —Thomas Merton (1915-1968) [1] For most of us, growth is a long process of being drawn “by brightness and the Holy Spirit,” as Merton says. I interpret this brightness as being overwhelmed and undone by Immense Mystery and Goodness. Yet the Holy Spirit leads and must direct this undoing. We cannot take control, and this is our “dying” as we have to gradually let go of our need for control,
The Lenten Struggle Lent is the perfect time to struggle with the ego By Abbot Tryphon, March 26, 2019 Modern psychology has told us we must feel good about ourselves and instructed us to reject the idea of guilt and sin. Sin is seen as religion’s instrument for keeping people in line, making them dependent on an institution that should be relegated to the Dark Ages. In an age where man is elevated to being
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