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Gerontissa Macrina (1921-1994)   The life of Gerontissa Macrina is one marked by the vibrant experience of God’s grace which permeated through daily encounters with her fellow person. Born in 1921 in Asia Minor, Macrina came to Greece with her parents in the 1922 Exchange of Population, growing up in the city of Volos. At age nine Macrina was an orphan left to fend for herself and her four-year old brother. During the war she endured particular hardship, almost starving to death several times and becoming ill with pleurisy from which she was miraculously cured by the Mother of God. [...]

Prophet Elijah on Mt Horeb (1 Kings 19:1-16)   One story of the Prophet Elijah particularly stands out from his life. Elijah was on the run – almost the whole of Israel had embraced paganism and no one who held to the true faith was safe. The Prophets were particularly a target. Elijah must have truly thought he was the only faithful servant of God left, and so he fled into the desert and was immediately overcome by profound despair. Our Lord then took compassion upon him and sent an angel to encourage him. Strengthened spiritually and physically, Elijah walked [...]

A migrant woman reminiscing on her past   There are no names in this story, because, even though this is a specific case, it is also a shared history of many nameless migrant women who put up with very difficult circumstances in their married lives… She spoke simply about her adult life and there was no sense of regret, nor was there any anger in her tone. Now she is a widow and has three caring children and their spouses, as well as seven grandchildren who love her dearly. She recounts her tale to me: ‘All I wanted prior to [...]

The Mother of Christ: The Mother of God by Archimandrite Vassilios Bakoyannis. Published by Orthodox Book Center, 2005.   In The Mother of Christ: The Mother of God Archimandrite Vassilios Bakoyannis examines the conception, upbringing, and spiritual life of the Theotokos, her impact on society, and her importance to us personally - particularly when we depart from this life. He primarily draws from the apocryphal Protoevangelium of St James, ascribed to the ‘Brother’ of our Lord, writing from his personal daily experience of the Virgin Mary, who had adopted him upon her betrothal to his widowed father Joseph. These writings [...]

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (Matthew 14:14-22) 8th Sunday of Matthew Gospel Reading   In this Gospel passage, Christ has been followed by a large crowd, and the disciples believe that there is no way to feed all the people present. Christ then takes two fish and five loaves of bread and multiplies them, feeding the people with twelve baskets left to spare. When Christ heals the sick among the crowd (v 14), He does not test their faith as He usually does by asking whether they wish to be cured. By following Christ into the wilderness straight after the [...]