St Athanasius on the Manner of Death of our Lord "On the Incarnation", St Athanasius' seminal work, explores Christ's humanity and considers many aspects of His mission on earth. Chapter 4 is titled "The Death of Christ", and seeks chiefly to answer questions about the manner of Christ's death and to affirm its theological significance. St Athanasius links Christ's death to the rest of His missionary work, claiming in truth that by His death, "no less than by His other acts, Christ is revealed as God and Son of God". All creation stood still, witnessed and reacted to Christ's death as [...]

Newly-Canonised St Paisios of Mount Athos (Celebrated July 12) On 13 January 2015, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate “unanimously accepted the proposal of the Canonical Committee to incorporate the monk Paisios of Mt. Athos into the registry of the Saints of the Orthodox Church.”[i] St Paisios’ humble and Grace-filled life and practical and pastoral teachings, known through the famous biography written by Hieromonk Isaac[ii], the five volume set of St Paisios’ Spiritual Counsels[iii] and those who personally met him, continue to touch the lives of many thousands of Orthodox faithful around the world. Fr. Peter Alban [...]

The Three Holy Hierarchs Celebrated on January 30   Saints Basil the Great (c.330-379), Gregory the Theologian (329-c.390) and John Chrysostom (c.349-407) each had devoted followers during the 11th century who sought to declare one Saint superior to the other two. Some spoke of Saint Basil, who explained the mysteries so well, as superior to Saint John Chrysostom, who was inclined to absolve sinners. Supporters of Saint John pointed to his homilies as the most accomplished interpretation of the Divine Word. Others declared Saint Gregory the Theologian as preferred of the three for his purity and grace in explaining the [...]

Holy Father Nikon, the Preacher of Repentance Commemorated on 26th November Born in 930 AD near Pontus, Nikon had a privileged upbringing. He witnessed the laborious toils of the field-workers on his father’s estate as a child and contemplating this as he grew, he realised that working hard on a field or living comfortably and wealthy, all people will go to the grave in the end - in the hands of God.  Nikon decided to become a monk and joined the Monastery of the Golden Stone, located on the borders of Pontus in the north-east of today’s Turkey. He shrugged [...]

‘Strip yourself of worldly cares, for the season is one of wrestling. Clothe yourself with the spiritual armour, for we have a heavy warfare to wage with demons. … Sharpen your sickle, which you have blunted through gluttony - sharpen it by fasting.’ (Homily 3 On the Statues). St John Chrysostom (AD c.347-407) was a truly committed Christian warrior for Christ. The above words were written to his congregation in order to remind them to look beyond the difficulties of their day-to-day struggles, and to realise their heavenly destiny. There was a very turbulent period of social and civil unrest, [...]