Our Byzantine Heritage - A Proud Past! The Byzantine Empire had its origin in the early 4th century when Constantine the Great moved Rome, which was then the capital of the Roman Empire, to a little-known Hellenic town of Byzantium. This town straddled the Straits of Bosporus, in today’s Turkey, and it marks the meeting point between Asia and Europe. The view from the shore was unbelievably exotic, littered with numerous little beaches in the beautifully expansive Sea of Marmara on one end, and the Straits of Dardanelles at the other end. The site was strategic in controlling trade between [...]

I believe in one God, Father Almighty Our Creed proclaims our faith in the Trinitarian God. It does so in an eloquent, specific, yet far from exhaustive manner. The fathers of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils (325, 381 AD) did not set out, through sheer curiosity, to create a sophisticated philological text espousing the Christian faith. Rather, they responded to the theological provocations of their time, setting forth the Truths of the Christian faith, as illumined by the Holy Spirit. They dogmatised out of necessity to safeguard the Apostolic Faith in the pure form it was handed down from [...]

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent   «Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία, καὶ στήτω μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου, καὶ μηδὲν γήϊνον ἐν ἑαυτῇ λογιζέσθω· ὁ γὰρ Βασιλεῦς τῶν βασιλευόντων, καὶ Κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων, προσέρχεται σφαγιασθῆναι, καὶ δοθῆναι εἰς βρῶσιν τοῖς πιστοῖς· προηγοῦνται δὲ τούτου, οἱ χοροὶ τῶν Ἀγγέλων, μετὰ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας, τὰ πολυόμματα Χερουβίμ, καὶ τὰ ἑξαπτέρυγα Σεραφίμ, τὰς ὄψεις καλύπτοντα, καὶ βοῶντα τὸν ὕμνον· Ἀλληλούϊα, Ἀλληλούϊα, Ἀλληλούϊα.» “Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and stand with fear and trembling, and take no thought for any earthly thing; for the King of kings and Lord of lords comes to [...]

Elder Evmenios The Hidden Saint of our Times St Porphyrios had asked for a confessor one time and requested Elder Evmenios from the Leprokomeio (Hospital of Infectious Diseases) in Athens. So greatly was he impressed that he would send people to him saying “you should go and receive the blessing of Elder Evmenios, he is the hidden saint of our time. Saints like this come along only once every two hundred years.” The young Konstantinos Saridakis was born in 1931. He was the eighth child of a poor family in Ethia of Crete. He was brought up with little schooling [...]

Fr Thomas Hopko on becoming a mature adult Christian   In his podcast on ‘Who is the Theotokos’, Father Hopko advises us to read the entire New Testament several times and to pray to God to illumine our understanding, “Holy Spirit enlighten me, guide me.” We need to set aside our prejudice, anger and hang ups. If we don’t believe in God, pray to whom it may concern. If we are not sure, pray “God, if you are there, please help me. I want to know. Illumine my heart. Show me your way. I am ready to follow if I [...]