The Book of Obadiah The book of Obadiah is one of the shortest in the Old Testament, comprising only one chapter. It is the prophet Obadiah’s retelling of the vision which he received from God, which had both a literal and a spiritual dimension. Obadiah of Shechem was born into the tribe of Ephraim and was, according to St Ephraim the Syrian, a contemporary of prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos and Isaiah. His vision was a prophecy against the Edomites, who had collaborated with the Babylonians against the Jews. This betrayal was made worse because the Edomites did this to their [...]

Orthodox Saints of the World III The Spread of Christianity throughout Europe In the previous articles of this series we discussed how Christianity spread in the Apostolic period. We will now focus on the later centuries when Christianity made its way through Europe, from the Eastern-most parts of the Roman Empire to the West, including Britain. While Christianity was not recognised by authorities and was subject to intense persecution during the first centuries AD, it nevertheless continued to steadfastly make its way through Europe through the blood of the martyrs. Their lives and deaths have been recorded in the Synaxarion [...]

St Paisios on non-possessiveness When someone asks us for something and we’re sad when we give it to them, that means that we love it more than we love Christ. - St Paisios Not willing to let anything stand between himself and Christ, St Paisios disdained all worldly possessions and happily gave away anything that was asked of him, “for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) His life is a pure testimony to the godly grace that is provided when one follows a life of non-possessiveness. Whilst non-possessiveness is often seen as a monastic virtue, St Paisios strongly [...]

Hymn of Love (1 Corinthians 13:1- 8) This passage is the definitive explanation of what is expected of Christian love (agape). St Paul explains to the Corinthians, and to us today, that love surpasses other graces or talents. St Paul rejects the idea that the gifts of tongues (v.1), prophecy, knowledge and faith (v.2), and even the acts of almsgiving and martyrdom (v.3) can be performed in a Christian manner without love. This helps us to understand that though works and faith are spiritually essential for us, they of themselves are not adequate to bring us closer to Christ. They [...]

What draws people to Orthodox Christianity? If we are to look at the usual makeup of the congregations in the Greek Orthodox Church in Sydney, most of the worshippers are ‘cradle Orthodox’, ie. worshippers who are Orthodox because they were born into the faith. Converts are a small minority. However, that is not the case everywhere. There are pockets of Orthodox missions in developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia, which are blossoming. There are also pockets of Orthodox Churches in the United States whose congregations have a significant proportion of converts to Orthodoxy. Books written by converts, such as [...]