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What we Hear in Church Ode 9 of the Katavasies of Christmas   The incarnate presence of the God amongst us is not just the greatest event of human history; it is also the greatest mystery for Christians to behold. It is beyond our human understanding to comprehend and interpret. This is the sentiment the hymnographer St Cosmas of Maiouma wishes to impart in this hymn. In doing so, he borrows the opening line from the most well-known of St John Chrysostom’s five Sermons on Christmas, “I see a new and wonderful mystery”.  St Cosmas then attempts to poetically interpret [...]

Psalm 22 (LXX)  “The LORD is my Shepherd” This Psalm is one of the most beloved and most quoted among Christians. We as Orthodox Christians are very familiar with it, especially as it is part of the prayers in preparation to receive Holy Communion. St. Gregory of Nyssa saw in this Psalm both a prophecy and a summary of the Sacraments: “…Christ teaches the Church that, first of all, you must become a sheep of the Good Shepherd (verses 1-3)… Then you must be buried with Him into death by baptism. But this is not death, but a shadow and [...]

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 [...]

Why does the Orthodox Church have married priests? Married clergy is one point of difference between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church allows priests to marry, as long as they do so before their ordination. However, only celibate or unmarried priests can become bishops. In the early Church, we see that some of the Lord’s disciples were married. Τhe Scriptures talk about Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law. At the time of the apostles, when the titles ‘presbyter’ and ‘bishop’ were used interchangeably, St Paul advised that a bishop “must be blameless, the husband of one wife, [...]

Gospel Reading January 15th Luke 12: 32-40   "You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour." (v. 40) Watchfulness constitutes the central theme of this passage. Our Church Fathers emphasise that watchfulness has two dimensions. The first dimension is the “eschatological” dimension which is concerned with how we will be judged by God after we die. It encourages us to live each moment of our lives as if we could suddenly receive a tap on the shoulder and be taken before the judgment seat of the Lord in order to give an [...]