The Easter Candle (Λαμπάδα) It is approaching MIDNIGHT. The church is shrouded in darkness... only one solitary flame flickers gently in the altar unseen behind closed doors. Anticipation hangs in the air... Silence... as with bated breath we wait with unlit candles and prepare for the announcement from the Liturgist... “come  receive the light from the never-setting light; and glorify Christ, Who has risen from the dead”. No longer does death have a hold, CHRIST IS RISEN! The light spreads quickly as the community of faithful pass it on, person to person, candle to candle. The wonderful mystery of the [...]

Why would God voluntarily choose to give Himself up? The origin of our salvation goes back to Adam and Eve. The Scriptures tell us that God made humans in His image and likeness. He did this so that we could all share in His glory. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they placed a great chasm between themselves and God. We have inherited this fallen state. No matter what we do or how we live, we are too small and sinful to repair this chasm. God, on the other hand, could pluck us out of this world and place us [...]

St Macrina the Elder Celebrated on May 30th (and January 14th) St Macrina the Elder was the family root of a distinguished lineage of Saints that included St Macrina the Younger, St Basil the Great and St Gregory of Nyssa. She was born in Neocaesarea in Pontus, Asia Minor, to pagan parents sometime before 270 AD. She married and became Christian through the teachings of St Gregory the Wonderworker. Because of their faith, Macrina and her husband were persecuted under Emperor Maximian around 305-306 AD, and escaped into the Pontian mountains. They lived in-hiding there for seven years, protected and [...]

Gospel Reading April 12th Midnight Resurrection Service Mark 16:1-8 This passage recounts the dramatic events that unfolded after the Crucifixion. We read that because Christ died so close to the Sabbath, the burial customs of the Jews had not yet been completed. Therefore, the faithful myrrh-bearing women, Mary Magdalene and Salome, went as early as possible to the tomb of Christ to complete the burial rites. When the women arrived at the tomb, they were surprised to see that the stone that was covering the entrance had already been rolled away. The women then entered the tomb and they saw [...]

    The Information Highway and the Christian (B) Advances in digital technology produced the science of computing, which resulted in the explosion of information and made it available worldwide. The age of the Information Highway had arrived! In the previous issue of this periodical, the negative aspects of the Information Highway were discussed e.g. stress, anxiety, distortion of truth, mental confusion and brain overload, leading to distortion of spiritual values. In view of these negative effects, we Christians have to defend ourselves against the deleterious effects of the Information Highway. The problem is how we defend ourselves against the [...]