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'On Prayer' is the 28th chapter of St John Climacus' 'Ladder of Divine Ascent', a treatise comprised of 30 chapters (steps) concerning the spiritual life. St John urges his readers to "pray in all simplicity" and to forget over-complicated words in prayer. The "simple and unadorned lisping" of children is enough to win the heart of the Lord. St John reminds us that the tax collector and the prodigal son both received forgiveness by a single phrase. Our prayer should therefore contain more heart than intellect. The reader is warned that our minds can be distracted in searching for words. [...]

In his homily on the Annunciation of the Theotokos, St. Nicholas Cabasilas asks: “But those things which drew the Artificer Himself to earth… What were these things?  A blameless life, an utterly pure way of life, the rejection of all evil, the practice of every virtue, a soul purer than light, a body that was entirely spiritual, brighter than the sun, purer than Heaven, and more sacred than the Cherubic thrones.” In the Theotokos we have the perfect example of humanity victorious over sin. By struggling against sin she overcame it, never becoming receptive to it as we are. Our [...]

In the beginning… As we approach Clean Monday, the start of our journey of Great Lent, the Church calls us in the vespers service to remember another start – the start of the earth “In the beginning…” (Gen 1:1-13). In light of the other passages read during this service which directly focus on attributes of fasting; how to prepare, to ask for forgiveness (Isaiah 1:1-20) and to do all with humility (Matthew 6:14-21) the inclusion of the passage can seem a bit strange. Why was it chosen for this day? The story of creation, reminds us that this time of [...]

«Εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐντός μου τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ» (Ψαλμ. ΡΒ᾽ [102]: 1) “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name” (Ps 103:1) The Psalmist begins by expressing his strong desire to praise God. We discover the meaning of our existence only when our life becomes an act of worship, a gift of praise offered in gratitude and love towards God. Because the desire to bless the Lord is something deeply rooted and innate in our human nature, the Psalmist refers to the soul's inner [...]

  Our yearly motto, “Be at peace with one another and with all”, is taken from a hymn written by the famous hymnographer Kosmas of Maiouma of the 8th century. The verse is from the tropario of the 8th Ode of the Canon of the Holy Monday matins service and is chanted on Palm Sunday Evening. St Kosmas became bishop of Maiouma, a port-town near Gaza in modern day Palestine and helped defend the Church against the heresy of iconoclasm. This was a turbulent period. Having this in mind, how is it that St Kosmas still wrote the words “be [...]