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ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Thursday of Pascha: The Empty Tomb and the Overflowing Heart

Sermon preached on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, May 4, 2014 by Fr. Antony Hughes Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen. I always ask myself these days, when preparing a sermon, why does anyone need to hear this?  How can I bring something out of the text that will help people understand more and live more beautiful lives? What do the Myrrh-bearing Women have

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Wednesday of Pascha: Resurrection

And He rose again from the dead on the third day, according to the Scriptures . . . Christ is risen from the dead! This is the main proclamation of the Christian faith. It forms the heart of the Church’s preaching, worship and spiritual life. “. . . if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15.14). In the first sermon ever preached in the history of

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Second Monday of Pascha: Bookends and the Resurrection

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 12, 2018 A series of recent conversations with a parishioner turned up the problem of “bookends,” that is, questions of the beginning and the end. It is only natural in our day and age to attack problems in this manner. “How did it start?” is a way of saying, “What is it?” The end, of course, is not so obvious, other than its connection with our insatiable desire to know how

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Bright Thursday: I Await the Resurrection of the Dead (part 2). Christopher the Martyr of Lycea

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on May 8, 2021 Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist, Kareas Attikis The resurrection of the dead, then, will certainly take place. The angel’s trumpet will definitely sound (Rev. 11, 15-18). What is important for us, however, is that we should have accomplished something in our life on earth towards the sanctification of our soul and body, so that the resurrection will not be ‘unto judgment’ for us, but ‘unto eternal life’ (Matth.

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Bright Wednesday: I Await the Resurrection of the Dead (part 1)

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on May 7, 2021 Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist, Kareas Attikis It’s the event that each and every one of us can be absolutely sure of: sooner or later death will come to us. Yet, for most people, the end of life remains greatly undesirable and is to be firmly resisted. This is because, during the course of our life on this earth, we haven’t been nourished on the expectation of ‘the

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Bright Tuesday: The Secret and Humble God, a Holy Week Reflection

By Fr. Antony Hughes, April, 2003 A Holy Week Reflection Our God comes in secret… Olivier Clement The Christian God reveals himself in secret, in humility. His birth was in the quiet anonymity of a cave for animals. Few came to worship him. Only the humble who had been seeking and who would be able to recognize the Humble One found their way with divine assistance to the manger. He was born far from places of

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Bright Monday: George the Great Martyr and Triumphant. Prefiguration of the Resurrection in the Easter Canon.

Reading George, this truly great and glorious Martyr of Christ, was born of a father from Cappadocia and a mother from Palestine. Being a military tribune, or chiliarch (that is, a commander of a thousand troops), he was illustrious in battle and highly honoured for his courage. When he learned that the Emperor Diocletian was preparing a persecution of the Christians, Saint George presented himself publicly before the Emperor and denounced him. When threats and

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Great and Holy Pascha. Irene the Great Martyr.

Introduction On the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha, Orthodox Christians celebrate the life-giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This feast of feasts is the most significant day in the life of the Church. It is a celebration of the defeat of death, as neither death itself nor the power of the grave could hold our Savior captive. In this victory that came through the Cross, Christ broke the bondage of sin,

The Great and Holy Saturday

Introduction On Great and Holy Saturday, the Orthodox Church commemorates the burial of Christ and His descent into Hades. It is the day between the Crucifixion of our Lord and His Glorious Resurrection. The Matins of Holy Saturday is conducted on Friday evening, and while many elements of the service represent mourning at the death and burial of Christ, the service itself is one of watchful expectation. Commemoration of Holy Saturday On Great and Holy

The Great and Holy Thursday

Introduction On Thursday of Holy Week four events are commemorated: the washing of the disciples’ feet, the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas. Commemorations of Holy Thursday The Institution of the Eucharist At the Mystical Supper in the Upper Room Jesus gave a radically new meaning to the food and drink of the sacred meal.