He Came Down from Heaven for Our Salvation Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation of God: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). But why did God become human? Many people say that the only reason Christ was born was to save us from our flawed human nature. We know that Adam and Eve became subject to pain, suffering and physical death through their disobedience against God. From that moment, it seems that sin - against one’s own self, against others, and against God - became a basic human trait. Without being aware, we slip [...]

Holy Eucharist In the Orthodox Church, the faithful gather together at the Divine Liturgy as one community, to pray, to read the Holy Scriptures, to proclaim God’s word, and to remember Christ and His all saving passion, death and resurrection. The culmination of the Divine Liturgy is the sacrament of the Eucharist, which is also known as Holy Communion. ‘Eucharist’ in Greek means thanksgiving. We thank God for all that He has done in making, saving and glorifying the world. The Eucharist is offered every Sunday (the Day of the Lord), as well as on Feast days and at the [...]

A Trace in the Sand The year is AD 274, the grand and mighty Roman Empire rules supreme and paganism reigns throughout the conquered lands. A wealthy son of a Roman Senator ponders upon the meaning of life, whilst his parents are focused solely on wealth and power, and his young slave lives in fear and anxiety. Amongst all this, the bravery and love of a young Christian sparks interest in the minds of these people until his flame of love is passed on and grows in them all. A Trace in the Sand is an inspiring and engaging tale [...]

Wedding Hymn - Troparion of the Holy Martyrs «Ἅγιοι Μάρτυρες, οἱ καλῶς ἀθλήσαντες καὶ στεφανωθέντες, πρεσβεύσατε πρὸς Κύριον, ἐλεηθῆναι τὰς ψυχὰς ἡµῶν». “O holy Martyrs, who have contested well and have been crowned, intercede with the Lord, that mercy be granted to our souls.” The Orthodox wedding service makes many references to the Holy Martyrs. The central prayer of crowning, which sets out how God “ordained physical marriage” to be between a man and a woman, then proceeds to ask God to bless and remember the newly wedded couple in the same manner as God blessed the well known couples [...]

Elder Gervasios Paraskevopoulos Abbot Holy Monastery of Saint Anthony the Great Yet another holy elder who was a spiritual child of St Nectarios of Aegina is elder Gervasios of Patra. He was instrumental in reviving, with much zeal, the Orthodox faith among young and old. In 1923, he founded the first catechetical schools of Patra. His students numbered in the thousands. “I remember him”, writes Professor Panagiotis Trembelas, “surrounded by a multitude of children … with what patience, what approachability, with how much love and calmness he stood!” He paid great attention to the girls because he believed that the [...]