Archive

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

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

I’m Educated So I Have a Right to … Everything

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on December 5, 2021 Educated people are very difficult, because they have strong inclinations towards individualism. I’d even say this: the educated among us won’t stand for any adverse comment on their behavior, but instead each thinks he or she is always right about everything’ (Saint Sophrony in Essex). Clearly the saint wasn’t against letters and education. This would hardly have been consistent, since he was vastly educated, the author of many books filled with

[An Essay on] The Holy Dormition of our Most Pure Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on August 15, 2021 Saint Gregory Palamas If ‘the death of the saints is precious and the memory of the righteous is blessed’, with how much greater praise should we keep the memory of the ‘saint of the saints’ through whom the whole of sanctity came to them, that is the memory of the Ever-Virgin Mother of God? This is what we do when we celebrate the anniversary of her holy dormition or transferal,

Teachings (3)

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 13, 2021 Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis Love Seek love. Every day, ask God for love, because with love comes the whole host of other good things and virtues. Love and you’ll be loved by others. Give your whole heart to God, so that you may dwell in love. ‘Those who abide in love abide in God; and God abides in them’. (1 Jn. 4, 16). You must be very careful in your

Teachings (2)

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 12, 2021 Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis Spiritual Struggle The aim of our life is for us to become perfect and holy; to prove to be children of God and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. We must be careful lest, for the sake of this present life, we’re deprived of that of the future; lest, because of the cares and concerns of daily living, we neglect the aim of our life. Fasting,

Teachings (1)

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 11, 2021 Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis The Road to Happiness Nothing is greater than a clean heart, because such a heart becomes the throne of God. And what’s more glorious than the throne of God? Nothing, of course. Regarding those who have a clean heart, God says: ‘I will live with them and walk among them; and I will be God to them and they will be a people to me’ (2 Cor. 6,

Miracles of Our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God of the Holy Monastery of Choziba

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on September 22, 2021 In our narration of the miracles of our glorious Lady, full of grace, the Mother of God, we shall draw some drops from the boundless sea, to the honor of the all-praised Mother of God. No woman had ever entered the Monastery of Choziba. This is the reason why they were later allowed to do so. There was a certain noblewoman in Byzantium, who suffered from an incurable internal illness

The Holy and Blessed Martyr Paraskevi (26 July)

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on July 26, 2021 Saint Nicodemus the Hagiorite A Saint who passed through fire and iron* This saint lived at the time of Emperor Antoninus, about the year 140. She came from a village near Old Rome [as opposed to New Rome, i.e. Constantinople] and was the daughter of Christian parents, called Agathon and Politeia. They were meticulous in their observance of the Lord’s commandments, but were childless and constantly entreated the Lord to

Prophet Elijah: Alone Against All!

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on July 20, 2021 † Dionysios, Metropolitan of Servia and Kozani In the ranks of the Old Testament prophets, a special position is occupied by the Prophet Elijah, whose sacred memory the Church honours and celebrates today. In the New Testament, the name of the Prophet Elijah is frequently mentioned by Christ Himself. Zacharias, the father of the Forerunner, said that John would come “in the spirit and power of Elijah”, that is, that he

The Perfectionist

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on December 16, 2021 Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘Don’t, out of vanity or sycophancy, insist on having your own way, quarrelling with and tormenting yourselves and your neighbor, just so that, afterwards, you can hear people saying that nobody can beat you’ (Abba Dorotheos) There are two ways of carrying out a task: with diligence which borders on perfectionism or with casualness, the ‘whatever’ approach. This is also true in human relationships. There are those