Thoughts and How to Confront Them by Hiermonk Benedict of Holy Mount Athos Published by The Attendants of Hiermonk Spyridon, New Skiti, Holy Mount Athos, 2002. This booklet has much to teach us about how to control our thoughts. To begin with, most of our sinful thoughts are caused by our many passions. It is the devil's aim to cast us into sin, either through thoughts or the performance of the sinful act itself. Such sinful thoughts can be overcome by prayer, Confession, reading spiritual books, doing the right thing according to our conscience, partaking in regular Holy Communion, and [...]

St Euphemia and the Council of Chalcedon When heresies arise in the Orthodox Church, the Truth is always defended by the Saints of God. In the case of the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, the Truth was revealed by a miracle of St Euphemia. Two sides were arguing in this Council over one question: what was Jesus Christ: Man, or God? The Monophysites, the heretics, argued that Christ was only Divine, not really human at all. The Orthodox, on the other hand, believed that He was both, at once, equally. These two groups spoke for months on this issue, but neither [...]

St Gregory the Theologian – 31st Oration – “On the Holy Spirit” St Gregory the Theologian was one of the pre-eminent defenders of the Orthodox dogma of the Holy Spirit at a time when various heretical groups were attacking the Church. One group were called Pneumatomachoi i.e. fighters against the Holy Spirit. In this oration, St Gregory forcefully insists on the divinity of the Holy Trinity: “As to the Spirit, listen well; we profess the Spirit as God. I repeat: You are my God. And, for the third time, I shout: the Spirit is God”. One of the main heretical [...]

         The Third Ode: A Prayer of Anna, the Mother of Samuel the Prophet (1 Kings 2:1-10 LXX) The text above is an example of a hymn from Ode 3, selected from the Orthros of Sunday of Pentecost. During the Orthros service, the Canon (a series of structured hymns) is chanted which is comprised of nine Odes based on nine Biblical Canticles; eight from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Canons are also chanted during the Compline, the most well-known being the Akathist to the Theotokos. Each Ode has a specific theme. The third [...]

The Tower of Babel   The Old Testament story of the Tower of Babel refers to a people who spoke one language and were like minded. Following the flood, God had promised Noah that he would protect his descendants. They moved east to a valley called Shinar south of Babylon. There, they decided to build a city with a tower that would reach the heavens! This tower would show their strength to the whole world and protect them so they would never be scattered over the face of the earth. They put more faith in the tower than in God's [...]