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St Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow (1865-1925)   Born Vasily Ivanovich Belavin in the Pskov region of Russia in 1865, St Tikhon from his youth displayed fervour for the Orthodox Faith. He entered the Pskov seminary at the age of thirteen, and went on to graduate from the St Petersburg Theological Academy at the age of 23. He took monastic vows at the age of 26, taking the name of Tikhon in honour of St Tikhon of Zadonsk. Made an Archimandrite in 1892, he became Bishop of Lublin in 1897. The next year, he was made Bishop of the Aleutians and [...]

«ποῦ πορευθῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός σου, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου σου ποῦ φύγω;» (Ψαλμ. ΡΛΘ᾽ 7)  “Where could I go from Your Spirit, οr flee from Your face?” (Ps 138:7)   Psalm 138 is a remarkable portrait of the deep awareness the Holy Prophet-King David had of God’s presence in his life. David was well acquainted with every corner of the land of Israel. As a young shepherd, he would wander through the mountains, he spent much of his youth hiding from King Saul in the forests and the caves, and he fought many battles in the plains and deserts [...]

Recalling the sound of hand grenades   A gentle, tall and dignified man, Barba Gianni, recalls his memories of the German occupation during the Second World War in Greece. He remembers the different sounds of hand grenades, and how as children they had been taught to distinguish between the sizzle and the whistling sounds. He remembers how he was fearful of overhead planes, and remembers how he had a very close encounter with death when a bomb exploded near him. Regarding the civil war, he recalls how his father refused to take sides when coerced by a Greek communist fighter [...]

The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas Published by Mount Thabor, 2013   The Saving Work Of Christ is the second volume in the series of sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (1296– 1359), Archbishop of Thessalonica, whose brilliant and inspiring sermons have a refreshingly practical relevance to our daily lives. This second volume edited by Dr Christopher Veniamin covers his sermons on the major Feast Days of Jesus Christ (Δεσποτικές Εορτές): Christmas; Presentation; Epiphany; Transfiguration; Palm Sunday; the Precious and Life-giving Cross; Redemption; Sabbath and the Lord’s Day; Ascension; as well as the bestowing of the Holy [...]

The Word Became Flesh (John 1:1-17)   The Gospel reading for the Divine Liturgy of Pascha begins by stating that the Word (or Logos) of God was present with God in the beginning and is God by nature, and all things were created through Him: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3). Nevertheless, we humans did not know Him who is the life and light of Mankind, and thus were on a hopeless [...]