‘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, [...]

Elder Sophrony of Essex (1896-1993) Elder Sophrony of Essex was born in Russia, but departed as a young man in 1921 for the intellectual and artistic hubs of Europe. He finally settled in Paris where he found success as an artist. During this time, he engaged in the practices of oriental mysticism. These were years of struggle as he searched for eternal beauty beyond the realities of time and space. Art was his way of accessing the spiritual experiences he had long desired. After some time, he returned to Christianity and became one of the first students of the Orthodox [...]

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 [...]