Psalm 22 (LXX)  “The LORD is my Shepherd” This Psalm is one of the most beloved and most quoted among Christians. We as Orthodox Christians are very familiar with it, especially as it is part of the prayers in preparation to receive Holy Communion. St. Gregory of Nyssa saw in this Psalm both a prophecy and a summary of the Sacraments: “…Christ teaches the Church that, first of all, you must become a sheep of the Good Shepherd (verses 1-3)… Then you must be buried with Him into death by baptism. But this is not death, but a shadow and [...]

Basil Stavropoulos 1959-2012 It is not often that a father says to a son “You have understood the spiritual better than I ever understood it”. These words were said to Basil Stavropoulos by his father. Briefly, Basil was devoted to his faith from his earliest days. As a young child, he described himself as a soldier of Christ. He was amongst the first products of the Sunday Schools in Australia, having attended first at St George, Rose Bay, then at St Euphemia, Bankstown. He attended the Omatha boys youth group at the Archdiocese, travelling each Saturday from Bass Hill by [...]

Why does the Orthodox Church have married priests? Married clergy is one point of difference between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church allows priests to marry, as long as they do so before their ordination. However, only celibate or unmarried priests can become bishops. In the early Church, we see that some of the Lord’s disciples were married. Τhe Scriptures talk about Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law. At the time of the apostles, when the titles ‘presbyter’ and ‘bishop’ were used interchangeably, St Paul advised that a bishop “must be blameless, the husband of one wife, [...]

Gospel Reading January 15th Luke 12: 32-40   "You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour." (v. 40) Watchfulness constitutes the central theme of this passage. Our Church Fathers emphasise that watchfulness has two dimensions. The first dimension is the “eschatological” dimension which is concerned with how we will be judged by God after we die. It encourages us to live each moment of our lives as if we could suddenly receive a tap on the shoulder and be taken before the judgment seat of the Lord in order to give an [...]

Miracles of our Times The last of our oil I give to you, Panagia!   It is 24 March 1942 and the Second World War is waging across Europe. Shortages, sickness, hunger everywhere. I am in my home town of Drama in occupied Northern Greece, where I have an aunt who lives here. She is a widow with five children: her husband died in the fighting of 29 September 1941. On this the eve of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, my aunt takes stock of her meagre food store. All she has left is a thimble full of olive oil [...]