Pascha: The Fountain of Life Eternal   The sacred readings and the divine hymns on the night of the Resurrection fill the hearts of every faithful and sincere Orthodox soul with heavenly sentiments, and strengthen their faith in the great victory of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, against the power of death and against the darkness of our worst enemy, the devil. We believe that all the blessings that derived from the Resurrection of our Lord, are also ours. In this world, we enjoy them within the Church, and we hope in the mercy of God and expect and hope that [...]

The Arena of Virtues For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His face come knowledge and understanding; and He stores up salvation for the upright. He will protect their journey. (Prov 2:6-8, reading during the first Wednesday of Holy Lent) We tend to think of an arena today as a place where athletes compete in order to attain a precious prize. Winning such a prize requires practice, strenuous exercise, discipline and great determination. In the great sporting arenas of our times, superhuman effort is required to actually become a winner. The arena of virtues, in contrast to the sports arena, [...]

A New Year, Has it a New Meaning for You?   Time is passing us by imperceptibly. The years follow one another and we would not know what year it is, were it not for the information abounding around us about its pending arrival. The New Year 2017 is already here and we all hope it will be better than the one before it. All of us were born at a particular moment in time, and entered the present world, inside which we will grow, develop qualities, knowledge, and abilities. Eventually, we will run the period of our stay here, [...]

Christmas: In Pursuit of its Meaning   The birth of Christ is a mystery of our Faith. "And without controversy great is the mystery of piety" (1 Tit 3:16), declares the apostle Paul, and one can feel this mystery, only when it becomes his personal existential experience. But how can one penetrate the meaning of this mystery? He must knock on the door of Bethlehem, and follow the forgotten and ignored path leading to the Stable where God was made human. This path leads to the centre of Christianity, which is the birth of God, the Incarnation of His Son. [...]

The Most Significant Yet Most Neglected Mystery After His glorious Resurrection, Jesus Christ gave authority to his disciples to forgive sins (John 20:23). This grace has been preserved by the Church through the unbroken link of Apostolic Succession, and is maintained in our own days through the priesthood. There is no other way to receive forgiveness than face to face confession with a priest, and it must be preceded by repentance in order to be effective. Some people don’t confess at all, yet claim to have repented. Their sins remain. Others approach the confessor yet remain unrepentant and make no [...]