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The Red Egg Easter is a special time of year for all Orthodox homes. Preparations are made for our spiritual journey towards Pascha, which includes extra Church Services, fasting, prayer, Confession and alms giving. On the ascent towards Pascha, we have the tradition of dyeing eggs on Holy Thursday. In the Greek tradition, the eggs are dyed red while in other Orthodox jurisdictions these may be dyed multiple colours. The custom of the Easter egg originated amongst the early Christians of Mesopotamia, who dyed the eggs red to represent the blood of Christ, which was shed on the Cross. The [...]

Saint Gregory Palamas on the Resurrection Though man’s salvation was possible for God to accomplish by any means, the Son of God became flesh and was crucified for us because by this method, He was best able to communicate His divine message to our fallen nature. His message was and is that eternal life has been restored by the defeat of death. In his sermon delivered on Holy and Great Saturday, St Gregory Palamas traces the history of man's relationship with God in order to establish the significance of the Resurrection as the event that perfected and restored man's communion [...]

Paschal Homily of St John Chrysostom In older parish practice, it was customary for this homily to be read out at the end of the Matins Service (Orthros) of Easter Sunday as an introduction to the Paschal Liturgy. The first three lines of the Homily reveals why: “If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival. If anyone is a wise servant, let him, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord. If anyone has wearied himself in fasting, let him now receive his recompense.” The Paschal Liturgy itself is where we [...]

Joseph the All Good The story of Joseph is one of diligence, strength of faith and great virtue in the face of constant hardship and betrayal. From a young age, Joseph was blessed by God with the gift of prophetic dreams. His dreams, as well as the open favouritism his father held for him, led him to be held in contempt by his brothers: to the extent that they decided to sell him as a slave to the Egyptians. Despite this drastic change of circumstance, Joseph remained dutiful to God, carrying out his work as a slave with love and [...]

St Athanasios' Letter to Marcellinos In the first part of the Letter to Marcellinos, St Athanasios shows how the book of Psalms summarises the whole of the Old Testament and foreshadows the New Testament. For the remainder of the letter, he demonstrates the rich variety of the Psalms and their applicability to our own spiritual life. St Athanasios writes: "It is possible for us, therefore, to find in the Psalter not only the reflection of our own soul's state, together with precept and example for all possible conditions, but also a fit form of words wherewith to please the Lord [...]