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The Refuge    The Refuge is a modern English translation of some of the writings of St Ignatius Brianchaninov. St Ignatius, who lived between 1807 and 1867, was a bishop and theologian of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was one of the most prolific and influential writers of the modern Church, and wrote extensively on the spiritual life, on prayer, and on how to progress in the spiritual world. Many readers would be familiar with another of his books, The Arena, which sets out a series of guidelines for the spiritual life. The Refuge contains 21 chapters, each seeking to [...]

Pentecost Kneeling Prayers   “The Lord Jesus Christ sowed a most precious seed in the field of this world,” writes St Nikolai Velimirovich, “but the power of the Holy Spirit was needed to come upon it, to give it warmth and light, and make it grow.” At Pentecost, Orthodox Christians celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples and on the whole of the earth. Towards the conclusion of the Pentecost Divine Liturgy, it is the recent practice that the prayers of the Vespers service for the commemoration of the Holy Spirit on the next day are read. [...]

Argyro (the Leper)   A German firing squad is about to execute a group of soldiers in WWII. A young woman marches across placing herself between the rifles and the soldiers, pleading for the life of her fiancé. This was Argyro. When the executioner granted her request he was surely caught off guard when she demanded that all should be released or else she would not step aside. After the war she and her fiancé were married but the joy was short lived for after her first child she was diagnosed with the then incurable Hansen’s disease. Forced to go [...]

Psalm 62:2   “O God, my God, I rise early to be with You; My soul thirsts for You. How often my flesh thirsts for You In a desolate, impassable, and waterless land.” «Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ Θεός μου, πρὸς σὲ ὀρθρίζω· ἐδίψησέ σε ἡ ψυχή μου, ποσαπλῶς σοι ἡ σάρξ μου ἐν γῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ ἀβάτῳ καὶ ἀνύδρῳ». This Psalm was written by the Prophet and King David when he was in the wilderness of Judea, when he was fleeing from the persecution of Saul. It is striking that David, in a time of such great difficulty, found it possible [...]

1821 Independence Milestones At the start of the war of independence, the Greeks had been under the Turkish yoke for almost 400 years. The Greeks faced the Ottomans, a well-established world power for 400 years. The Greeks did not have a regular army, centralised government or military command, let alone materials for waging war, or funds for the struggle. However, the Greeks had a desire for liberty and religious freedom. As Kolokotronis said “Greeks, God has signed our Liberty and will not take his signature back.” As God blessed David against Goliath, so He blessed the Greeks in their struggle. [...]