The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas Published by Mount Thabor, 2013   The Saving Work Of Christ is the second volume in the series of sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (1296– 1359), Archbishop of Thessalonica, whose brilliant and inspiring sermons have a refreshingly practical relevance to our daily lives. This second volume edited by Dr Christopher Veniamin covers his sermons on the major Feast Days of Jesus Christ (Δεσποτικές Εορτές): Christmas; Presentation; Epiphany; Transfiguration; Palm Sunday; the Precious and Life-giving Cross; Redemption; Sabbath and the Lord’s Day; Ascension; as well as the bestowing of the Holy [...]

The Word Became Flesh (John 1:1-17)   The Gospel reading for the Divine Liturgy of Pascha begins by stating that the Word (or Logos) of God was present with God in the beginning and is God by nature, and all things were created through Him: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3). Nevertheless, we humans did not know Him who is the life and light of Mankind, and thus were on a hopeless [...]

How do we know we have a soul?   If you think about it, there is nothing we can be more certain about than the fact the we are aware of our own existence, that we have our own first person perspective, that we have feelings and we are aware that we have these feelings, or that there is a certain “inner feel”, a “me-ness” about us. The vast majority of people believe that this is due to our soul; indeed this seems very obvious to most of us, it is “primordial data”. One has to admit, however, that there [...]

Holy Martyr Alexandra the Empress (Commemorated 21st April)   Alexandra was the wife of Roman Emperor Diocletian, who mercilessly persecuted Christians in the late third and early 4th century AD. She witnessed the martyrdom of Saint George and was one of many who converted upon seeing how perseveringly the Saint withstood his many tortures. Not only did the pagan masses see this Christian man approach Emperor Diocletian determined to make his case, but they saw him miraculously remain unharmed by the tortures, undeterred in his devotion to Christ before the cruellest of emperors. Having confessed Christ as the true God, [...]

Loneliness in Our Times   Loneliness is the essence of being human. Each human being comes into the world alone, travels through life as a separate person and ultimately dies alone. Coping with this situation, accepting it, and learning how to manage his life with some degree of grace and satisfaction, is the human condition. The condition is complex, usually an unpleasant emotional response to isolation, and typically is associated with some degree of anxiety and even anger. An accurate definition is difficult, but roughly one can define loneliness as: a reduced degree of social interaction available to the individual, [...]