Discourse on the Feeding of the Five Thousand With Five Loaves (Basil of Seleucia)

 

Discourse on the Feeding of the Five Thousand With Five Loaves

By Basil of Seleucia

I praise the desire for love of learning, but I approve the degree of love for the divine. And I know who instilled in you this excellent zeal. I know the instructor of your virtue, the father and at the same time shepherd and physician and governor. The one who excels in the evangelical life, and breathes apostolic grace. He who steers you to the heavenly meadows with spiritual trumpets, as the treasure of spiritual concepts that he is. The living image of philanthropy, he who has transcended the meekness of the law and is unconquered by anger, and shines with wisdom, and is crowned with virtues.

But great is the richness of your aversion to death, and the breadth of your love of learning, as I have said. And how can I satisfy you with my poor meal? How can I satiate with the small possibilities of my speech the greedy belly of your hearing? How will poor language be enough to edify so many people? Or, to use the timely words of the Apostles: "Where in the wilderness are we to get enough bread", so that again the rich Master, freeing from poverty, can bestow abundance?

Homily for the Epistle Reading of the Eighth Sunday of Pentecost - Holy Unity Within the Church (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)

 

Holy Unity Within the Church

 

By Archimandrite George Kapsanis,
Former Abbot of Gregoriou Monastery

We heard in the apostolic reading (1 Cor. 1:10-17), which is from the first letter to the Corinthians of the apostle Paul, that the Apostle recommends to the Corinthians, but also to Christians of all ages, to be united in the Church with a unity not external but spiritual and internal.

"Brethren," he says, "I appeal to you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree." He did not say this by his own name, but by the name of Christ, who is the Head of the Church.

Let not one person say one thing and the other another. Let there be no disagreement within the Church, among Christians. There should not be different opinions and views and teachings, but all of you should follow the opinion, the teaching and the spirit of Christ, in order to agree.

Homily Two on the Holy Apostles of the Seventy Silas, Silouan, Epainetos, Crescens and Andronikos

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Today the Church celebrates the memory of the Apostles of the Seventy Silas, Silouan, Epainetos, Crescens and Andronikos.

From the New Testament we know that Christ received Twelve Disciples, who followed Him throughout His three-year activity, and apart from Judas who betrayed Him and lost the Grace of being a Disciple of Christ, they saw Him Risen, they saw Him taken up into heaven, and on the day of Pentecost they received the Holy Spirit and were sent to the whole world to preach the new life that Christ brought to the world.

However, apart from the Twelve Disciples and Apostles, Christ also had a wider circle of Disciples called the Seventy, i.e. Seventy Disciples and Apostles. In the Gospel of the Evangelist Luke, reference is made to the circle of the Seventy Disciples. It is written: "After these, the Lord also appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two before Him to every city and place where He was about to come" (Lk. 10:1).

Eighth Sunday of Matthew Resource Page

Eighth Sunday of Matthew

 

Seventh Sunday of Matthew: Gospel Reading

 

Gospel Commentary for the Eighth Sunday of Matthew (St. John Chrysostom)

 

Discourse on the Feeding of the Five Thousand With Five Loaves (Basil of Seleucia)

Gospel Commentary for the Eighth Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophylact of Ochrid)

 

Reflection on the Eighth Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 

Homily One for the Eighth Sunday of Matthew (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Homily Two for the Eighth Sunday of Matthew (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Homily One for the Eighth Sunday of Matthew - On Hunger and Abundance (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Two for the Eighth Sunday of Matthew - The Mystery of the Divine Eucharist (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Three for the Eighth Sunday of Matthew - The Basic Needs of our Lives (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Four for the Eighth Sunday of Matthew - The Blessing of Christ (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 

Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

 

Homily for the Epistle Reading of the Eighth Sunday of Pentecost - Holy Unity Within the Church (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)

Homily One for the Epistle Reading on the Eighth Sunday After Pentecost (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Two for the Epistle Reading on the Eighth Sunday After Pentecost (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 

Homilies on the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed) - The Incarnation of the Son and Word of God (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

On the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed)

 

The Incarnation of the Son and Word of God

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

In the Symbol of Faith, after the first two articles, three more articles follow, which refer to the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, His Passion, His Cross, His Resurrection, His Ascension to Heaven and the Enthronement at the right hand of the Father.

We confess:

"Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; and He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures. And He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father."

Homilies on the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed) - The Divinity of the Word (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

On the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed)

 

The Divinity of the Word

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

In the fourth century, after the cessation of the persecutions, a great disturbance broke out in the Church due to the heresy of Arius, who was a presbyter of the Church of Alexandria and taught that Christ is not true God, but a creation, the first creation of God.

In fact, this heresy came from theologians who preceded Arius, who, using Greek philosophy, tried to reconcile how God is one and at the same time three. One cannot accept this with logic, but only with faith from vision and faith from hearing.

When this theological problem arose, there was a great discussion, Arius was condemned by the Synod in Alexandria and then he was also condemned by the First Ecumenical Synod in 325 in Nicaea of Bithynia. Therefore, the second article of the Symbol of Faith was drawn up, which reads as follows:

When Saint Panteleimon Healed Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi

 By Archimandrite Ephraim of Vatopaidi

At that time, [Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi] again suffered strongly with stomach issues. His only food was pasta. He did not forgive himself for using oil because of his illness, when the typikon called for no oil. He ate pasta with or without oil.

In spite of the bad state of his health, no longer being obliged to participate in the various common obligations of the Skete, he went willingly to help. This was despite the fact that the typikon stipulated that the fathers in the dry huts of the Skete beyond the Tower were not obliged to participate in the common obligations like the other fathers, because at that time they were not included in the huts of the Skete, but were directly dependent on the dominant Monastery.

The late Elder Konstantinos of the Hut of Saint Haralambos spoke with admiration about his great self-denial.

Homilies on the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed) - Faith in God the Creator (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

On the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed)

 

Faith in God the Creator

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

This year in the short Sunday sermons I will refer to the interpretation of the "Symbol of Faith". It is a confessional text, which is read in the Mystery of Baptism, the Mystery of the Divine Liturgy, in every church service and in every prayer. It is our faith, that is why it is referred to as the "I Believe", from the first verb of its text.

Since the ancient Church, when someone was preparing to be baptized, they confessed their faith in God and the Church. They are the so-called baptismal symbols for catechumens. Because, however, many heretics also appeared among the Christians, that is why the Fathers defined the Symbol of Faith to be recited by the baptized and in general by all Christians, so that they remain steadfast in the right faith.

The Hermitage of Saint Paraskevi in Larissa and It's Mysterious Coffin

In Larissa, on the borders of the ancient city of Omolio and at the end of an impassable path, a branch of which the road leads to the Tempe Theater, is the unknown Hermitage of Saint Paraskevi, where it has been located for several centuries.

It is a temple naturally formed in a rock cavity, surrounded by a wall of stones and blocks of bricks and probably dating back to the time of the Palaiologoi (1261–1400). Unfortunately, today it is partially destroyed, as a result of which it is preserved in low ruins.

An elderly woman who currently cares for this sacred site makes mention of an old macabre story about a coffin that can be found in this hermitage and the contents that it contains.

The Location of the Place Where Saint Paraskevi Was Martyred

 By Fr. Elias Makos

While the manner of Saint Paraskevi's martyrdom is preserved, there are various versions about the place of her martyrdom.

However, it is indisputable that she stood out for her Christian ethos, which was connected to the truth of faith.

And she spread the gospel in various places, with the power and grace of God. God ignited a flame in her, and the Saint kept this flame unquenchable.

The brilliance of her life, made even more brilliant by her martyrdom, had an effect on others.

Homilies on the Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy - Grant This, O Lord (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy 

 

Grant This, O Lord

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

The "completions", namely the entreaties we address to God during the Divine Liturgy and other services, are said by the Priest or the Deacon. And the people each time respond with the phrase: "Grant this, O Lord", that is, Lord, we beg you to give us what we beseech.

The people at the Divine Liturgy and in every service, to the entreaties of the Priest, sometimes respond with "Lord have mercy", that is, have mercy on us, Lord, and sometimes with "Grant this, O Lord", that is, Lord, we beg you to give this to us. We ask for God's mercy, His compassion and His gift. We are like beggars, who understand our poverty on the one hand, and God's love and philanthropy on the other. We feel that we are very poor and small, but we have a rich and great God, we are sick, but we have near us the true Physician. Thus, we ask for His help.

Saint Olympia the Deaconess Resource Page

 

Verses

Olympia was attacked by her beloved homeland,

Now she runs rejoicing to her homeland above.

 

Synaxarion of Saint Olympia the Deaconess 

 

Saint Olympia the Deaconess in the 'Ecclesiastical History' of Sozomen 

 

Saint Olympia the Deaconess as a Model for our Lives 

 

Saint Olympia the Deaconess

 

Letters From A Lonely Exile: John Chrysostom to Olympias the Deaconess

 

The Relics of Saint Olympia the Deaconess

 

 

Saint Olympia the Deaconess

 Archimandrite Elias Mastrogiannopoulos

Seventeen whole centuries separate us from the bright figure of a forgotten social worker, who lived and worked in Byzantium at the end of the 4th century. And yet Olympia, although she is so far removed from us, presents an extraordinary interest for modern social people. This wonderful figure is the glory of the body of "deaconesses".

Many of her contemporaries and later historians dealt with the life and actions of Olympia. And everyone mentions her next to John Chrysostom, who stood by her as a father and guide, in glory and in pain. But was she not also an advisor and support and partner of the great man in his difficult and rough work? This is why her work can only be understood when studied within the context of close collaboration with Chrysostom. After all, perhaps this collaboration, which came from a deeper psychic similarity of those two wonderful souls, is also the secret of the greatness and glory of Olympia. A look at her life, first, will help us delve further into her personality and work.

Homilies on the Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy - A Christian End (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy 

 

A Christian End

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

The prayers we address to God during the Divine Liturgy and in the so-called "completions" refer to actions of the past for which we ask for repentance, to actions of the present for which we ask for help, and to actions of the remaining days of our lives for which we ask for divine protection. The last prayer to the Lord our God also refers to the remaining days of our life.

We ask God to give us a Christian end. We know that one day the end of our biological life will come and we have interest in that as well. We ask for this because we know from our experience that we cannot live perfectly as Christians, but at least we can, with the Grace of God, die as Christians. That is why we entreat the Lord: "For a Christian end to our life, painless, shameless, peaceful, and for a good defense before the awesome judgment seat of Christ." That is, let us ask the Lord that the end of our lives be Christian, without pain and shame, but peaceful and to give a good defense before His awesome judgment seat at the Second Coming.

Homily Two for the Feast of the Holy Prince Vladimir (St. Luke of Simferopol)

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on July 15/28, 1957 - the 7th Sunday After Pentecost)

 

The beginning of the great activity of the Apostle Paul was initiated by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who appeared to him on the way to Damascus and completely changed his mind and heart.

Note: The Lord Jesus Himself pointed out to the Apostle Paul the work of his holy life, and Paul fulfilled it.

The great results of his preaching and suffering life were a great and God-blessed work for the rest of the apostle's life.

One of the greatest events in the history of the Church - the decree of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine, Emperor of Byzantium on the replacement of paganism with the Christian faith, also happened at the miraculous command of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, in broad daylight, erected in the sky before the eyes of Constantine and his troops a cross of stars with the inscription: "By this you will conquer."

Miracles of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb, in Baptism Known as Roman and David

Miracles of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb, 

in Baptism Known as Roman and David

 

“All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing,” (Ecclesiastes 1:8) said the Preacher. Thus, our understanding is unable to state, nor can the tongue express, nor words relate, the miracles of the holy martyrs, inasmuch as they received a reward for their labors directly from the Lord as sons and companions of God. And as John the Theologian said: “But as many of them as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12). And David said: “To the saints that are in His earth, the Lord manifests all His will among them”; and again, “God is wondrous among His saints; He alone does wonders”. And the venerable John of Damascus wrote as follows about such men in his book called Faith:

“Men such as these are alive even after death, and stand before the Lord. The Lord Christ will give to us through their relics the wellsprings to our salvation, drawing fragrant myrrh from their martyred bodies.” And also: “Those who believe in God and in the hope of the resurrection we call not dead, for dead flesh, O Lord, can work miracles.” For demons are exorcised by them, diseases are driven out, infirmities expelled, the blind given sight, lepers cleansed, and injury and sorrow ended. Every good thing given by the Father of Light through them shall come to those who ask with faith and without doubt. How much labor will it cost you to find a defender to come before a mortal emperor and to speak on your behalf, or other kinds of protectors who would also render prayers to God for us!

Homily One for the Feast of the Holy Prince Vladimir (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on July 15/28, 1951)

The troparion of the great God-pleaser and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir begins with these words: “You were like a merchant who sought a precious pearl, O glorious Sovereign Vladimir.”

How did he become like a merchant looking for a precious pearl? He searched among all faiths for the most holy, the purest, the most right, and he found it in the Orthodox faith.

He found a precious treasure, the priceless pearl of the Lord Jesus Christ. And having found it, he was baptized himself and baptized the entire Russian people.

Oh, how great was the significance of this event!

Homilies on the Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy - The Remaining Time of our Life (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy 

 

The Remaining Time of our Life

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

The time of our biological life begins from the first moment of our conception and reaches the moment when the soul is separated in time from the body. This period is called biological life, because human life never ends. Physical life (βίος) ends (τελειώνει), but life (ζωή) itself is completed (τελειούται), as we say in the synaxaria: "Our holy Father completed his life in peace" or the holy Martyr "completed his life by the sword", that is, it is completed and does not end.

However, when there is remaining time until death, that's why we pray to God: "That we may complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance, let us ask the Lord," that is, let us ask the Lord to spend the rest of our life in peace and repentance.

Saint Christina the Great Martyr Resource Page

St. Christina (Feast Day - July 24)

Verses

Your Christina was killed by a spear O Christ,

Having not denied the faith of Christians.

On the twenty-fourth a sharp spear was cast at Christina.

 

Synaxarion of the Holy Great Martyr Christina 

 

Saint Christina the Great Martyr as a Model for our Lives 

 

Saint Christina and the Reptiles of the Magicians

The Incorrupt Relics of Saint Christina the Great Martyr in Venice 

 

6 Greek Orthodox Shrines Dedicated to Saint Christina

 

Crypt of Santa Cristina in Carpignano Salentino

 

 

Homily Two on the Prophet Ezekiel (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Today we celebrate the Prophet Ezekiel who lived in Old Testament times and indeed in the 7th to 6th century BC, and who was the son of a Jewish priest and lived in the time of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.

The Prophet Ezekiel was married and a priest in the Temple of Solomon, when the Babylonians conquered the Jews, and he himself was taken captive to Babylon. In this city of captivity he was called by God to the prophetic office and he lived among his other captive compatriots.

The name Ezekiel in the Hebrew language means "God's Strength or God will strengthen", and this shows that throughout his life, with the work he accomplished, he proved that God is powerful and strengthens His Prophets. Therefore, the Prophet Ezekiel is one of the great Prophets, he lived and acted prophetically and died in Babylon, in the place of captivity. He practiced his prophetic work for about twenty years. As I said before, he was married, but his wife died on the day the Babylonians captured Jerusalem.

Seventh Sunday of Matthew Resource Page

 

Seventh Sunday of Matthew

 

Seventh Sunday of Matthew: Gospel Reading

 

Gospel Commentary for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew (St. John Chrysostom)
 

Gospel Commentary for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophylact of Ochrid)

 

Reflection on the Seventh Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 

Homily One for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew - On the Physical and Spiritual Senses (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Two for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew - Diseases of the Eye of the Soul (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Three for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew - The Gospel of the Kingdom (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Four for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew - Slandering and Blaspheming the Church (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

7th Sunday of Matthew - Two Extremely Tragic Cases 

 

 

Seventh Sunday After Pentecost 

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: Romans 15:1-7 

Homily for the Epistle Reading on the Seventh Sunday After Pentecost (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 

Saint Menelaos as a Model for our Lives

St. Menelaos (Feast Day - July 22)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Menelaos was born in the city of Précigné in France at the beginning of the 8th century AD. He came from an aristocratic and famous family. When he became a man, his parents pressured him to get married, however, his great love for God, which was manifested from his childhood, led him on the path of complete dedication to Him. After a fervent prayer, he settled himself, together with two of his friends, who also had the same desire, in the ancient and well-known, but in ruins at that time, Monastery of Saint Menas. The three of them lived in asceticism for quite some time, until a monk who passed by recommended them to be under the guidance of an experienced spiritual father, so that they could escape the traps of the devil and progress spiritually. They accepted and submitted to the Elder who pointed this out, and he was Saint Eudos.

Saint Hieronymos of Simonopetra and the Miraculous Left Hand of Saint Mary Magdalene

 

There are many letters in the archive of the Monastery of Simonopetra of Mount Athos, where metropolises and communities of Macedonia and Asia Minor beg the fathers to come with the sacred relic of the incorrupt left hand of Saint Magdalene.

There are also many letters of thanks that mention miracles of the Saint.

After conducting a sanctification of the waters and doing a procession with the sacred relic, the locusts disappeared from the fields.

In these missions, the sacred relic was often accompanied by our Holy Father Hieronymos Simonopetritis.

Holy Martyr Markella of Chios (St. Justin Popovich)

Commemoration of the Holy Martyr Markella

July 22

By St. Justin Popovich

It is not even known where Saint Markella is from or where she suffered, because no historical data has been preserved. But in ancient times, the inhabitants of the island of Chios built her a church, and this Saint enjoys immense respect on the island of Chios. Miracles happen every day in her church. According to legend, Markella was an unusually pious girl who lost her mother at an early age. Her heathen and beastly father wanted to live with his daughter as a wife. Markella ran away from her father. But he, enraged like a true beast, caught up with her and cut her into pieces.

Homily Two on the Glorious Prophet Elijah (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)

 By Archimandrite George Kapsanis  

 

(Delivered in 1988)

 

Many holy men before Christ were adorned with various gifts of the Holy Spirit, as was the Prophet Elijah whom we celebrate today, who, apart from the common characteristics he had with the other holy men of God, also had this special feature: that he was a man who for the ordinances of God, for the commandments of God, for the faith in the true God, made great and heroic struggles. He risked many times in his life and did not rest unless he saw the will of God, the justice and commandments of God and faith in the true God prevail.

The Israelite nation in those years - about five hundred years before Christ - faced a situation similar to the situation we face today.

There was a great influence of foreign peoples, who were idolaters, and the people were being led astray. They abandoned the tradition of their fathers, faith in the true God, for whom they had so many proofs and had seen so many miracles, and from a spirit of pseudo-modernization and modernism, so to speak, they followed the religions and ideologies that came to Israel from the neighboring states.

Miracles of Saints Parthenios and Evmenios of Koudoumas (2 of 3)

...continued from part one.

Demetrios H., a Pension Inspector for the Hellenic Railways Organization, is a resident of Agiou Nikolaou in Crete, and narrated the following:

In December 2007, while doing some examinations for two epidermal abscesses, the doctors diagnosed that a biopsy should be done, so they were also done and the result was that they were carcinomas in an advanced state.
      
The oncologist's decision was for me to go to Athens immediately and to be operated on by a dermatologist. The date of the operation was set and it would be Thursday.
      
On Wednesday night I bid farewell to my children and grandchildren because I was leaving very early in the morning and I fell asleep.
      

Homilies on the Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy - Our Real Interests (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy 

 

Our Real Interests

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

We often hear people refer to their interests. The word "interest" means the benefit one derives from something one pursues, mainly at an individual level. There are individual interests, family interests, social interests, national interests. Usually, the word "interest" is used on an individual-personal level and refers to material goods. We say: "this is not in my interest to do", "this threatens my interests".

The liturgical language also speaks of interests, but it means other interests, good ones, which refer to our soul: "For that which is good and of interest for our souls, and for peace for the world, let us ask the Lord", that is, let us ask the Lord to give us good and beneficial things for our soul and peace in the world.

On the Prophet Elijah (St. Ephraim the Syrian)

By St. Ephraim the Syrian

 

Regarding the life of the blessed Elijah, who can narrate it? For he so lived upon the earth, that before his translocation he might be thought to live in the heavens, and associate with the incorporeal Angels; he who obtained nothing at all upon the earth; he who was wrapped only in sheepskin, and to those who wore crowns and royal robes he appeared dreadful, not because of the strength of the body, but by the power of landlessness and self-control, and by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, which he obtained by his good life; he who had nothing, and yet possessed everything; he who refused all the comforts of this life; he who parted the river with his command; he who commanded the sky not to rain on the earth for three years and six months; he who shunned all the vain glory of this life; he who quenched the flame of sin with the coolness of temperance; he who never thought of anything carnal; he who rebuked the blasphemies of the prophets of delusion, and slaughtered the priests of Baal; he who commanded fire to come down the third time from heaven, and consumed the unbelievers, and rebuked the king for his diversion; he who had so much boldness and courage of speech; he who bound the clouds.

Homilies on the Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy - The Remission of Sins (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

The Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy 

 

The Remission of Sins

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

One of the requests of the "completions" that we are interpreting in the Sunday sermons of this summer also refers to our day being perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless. This can be realized by Christ's friends with His own Grace and their own synergy. However, this is not done by all of us, that is why we usually taste from the bitter cup of failure. We fail to keep God's commandments, to respond to His love and, of course, then our sorrow is great, the pain is deep.

This is the reason why we feel the need to pray to God to forgive us: "For the forgiveness and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask the Lord."

Homily Three on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on July 8/21, 1958)

 

I know with what love you listen and sing the troparion to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and I would like you to understand more deeply why we call the Most Holy Theotokos a Zealous Intercessor for Christians.

Remember how on the day of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Archangel Gabriel answered Her perplexed question: “How will this be, for I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:34). The archangel replied: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Lk. 1:35).

The Athenian Festival of Saint Marina of Thiseio and the Shocking Miracle That Took Place in 1911

The old Church of Saint Marina below the Observatory at the end of the 19th cent.

By Eleutherios Skiadas

We have written a lot about the "Lady of Thiseio", the temple that stands proudly below the Observatory.*

At one time on the day of its celebration, that is July 17th, the biggest festival of Athens took place there. By various means, believers arrived from the surrounding villages, Mesogeia and Katadema, to light a candle for the Saint and pray for the health of their children, because Saint Marina is considered the protector of children. They called her and still call her a "wonderworker".

There are many folk traditions, legends and recorded cases of miracles that have occurred. Such a miracle also happened in 1911 that shocked the faithful.

Homilies on the Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy - Our Guardian Angel (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Litany of Completion of the Divine Liturgy 

 

Our Guardian Angel

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

All people feel an insecurity from time to time, physical, mental, psychological, spiritual, and we ask for protection. Man comes into the world and lives in society, where there are so many influences coming from everywhere, he feels unable, weak, powerless, especially when his physical powers leave him. Then he seeks help and protection.

As Christians, we have God, the Panagia, the Saints, the Church as our protector. We are not alone in life, we are "fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of God" (Eph. 2:19). But many times we don't understand this either, because we are of little faith and weak spiritually. However, God gave us His Angels to protect us and each person has their own Guardian Angel. The Church has this truth in mind and prays to God: "For an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask the Lord," that is, let us ask the Lord God to give us an angel of peace, who will be a faithful guide and guardian of our souls and bodies.

Homily Six for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - The Knowledge of God (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

 

The Knowledge of God

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

Today's Sunday is dedicated by our Church to the Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod, which convened in Chalcedon in 451 AD.

At that time, the Church faced many heretics, who, using Greek philosophy, proclaimed that Christ had two natures, divine and human, but the human nature was absorbed by the divine nature. This, however, questioned the orthodox truth that Christ was perfect God and perfect man, i.e. the God-man. If Christ has only the divine nature, as Monophysitism maintained, then not only faith in the God-man Christ, but also the salvation of man is overturned. Because in such a case the whole of ecclesiastical life has no meaning, i.e. Baptism, Chrismation, the Divine Eucharist, the partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Homily Five for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - Holy Hieromartyr Athenogenes (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

 

Holy Hieromartyr Athenogenes

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Today's Sunday, beloved brethren, has been established by our Church as the feast of the Holy Fathers who gathered for the Fourth Ecumenical Synod in Chalcedon, to deal with the heresy of Monophysitism.

Monophysitism was a heresy that maintained that Christ was composed of two natures, the divine and the human, but after the union only the divine nature remained, since the human nature was absorbed by the divine. This teaching overturns the entire theology of Christ's Deity, and even overturns the mystery of man's salvation. Because since, in their opinion, there is no human nature in Christ, which, according to the Monophysites, was absorbed by the divine nature, then how can we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ and how can we be united with Him?

Homily Four for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - The Light and the Lights (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

 

The Light and the Lights

(Matthew 5:14-19)

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

Today's Sunday is dedicated by the Church to the Holy Fathers who gathered for the Fourth Ecumenical Synod in Chalcedon and dogmatized regarding about the two natures in Christ, the divine and the human, and about how these two natures acted in His single person.

The Gospel reading refers to the words of Christ He told His Disciples that they are lights in the world and that they should shine with their teaching and works. But to be able to shine both in teaching and in works one must be a light himself, having received the Light of God within himself and having a connection with the eternal uncreated Light, the Light of God. After all, the Disciples first received the Light of God and then shined with their whole being.

Homily Two for the Epistle Reading on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers - The Heretical Man (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

 
"Reject a heretical man after the first and second admonition." (Titus 3:10)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

The Apostle Paul orders his disciple Titus, who was a Bishop in Crete, to reject the heretical man after the first and second admonitions and not to deal with him. That is, wherever he meets a heretical person, he should try to advise him, but this should not be done for a long time, since it is probable that he is seriously ill and will not be amenable to treatment.

A heretical person is one who has a different point of view from the teaching that Christ handed down to us and that the Church preserves. These are heretical teachings about the Triune God, the creation of the world and man, the incarnation of Christ, the Church, the salvation of man, eternal life. All this teaching is contained in the Creed, in the doctrines of the Church, in the decisions of the Ecumenical and Local Synods, in the Holy Bible and the worship of the Church, in the prayers of the Mysteries of the Church. We may have different opinions on everyday issues, but as long as we are Christians and live in the Church, we cannot have different opinions from what the Church teaches.

Encyclical on the Bishops of Nafpaktos Who Participated in Ecumenical Synods

Pastoral Encyclical for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

Bishops of Nafpaktos Who Participated in Ecumenical Synods

2023

Beloved children in the Lord,

Many times I have referred to my Metropolitan Predecessors, each of whom had their own special gifts, but they also have common gifts which are the High Priesthood, which is transmitted from generation to generation with the apostolic tradition, which is the Revelation of God to the Saints, and the apostolic succession, which is the uninterrupted series of ordinations.

Among the Bishops and Metropolitans of the Diocese and Metropolis of Nafpaktos there are also four Bishops who participated in Great and Ecumenical Synods. There is Bishop Martyrios of Nafpaktos, who participated in the Synod of Sardis, i.e. today's Sofia in Bulgaria, in the year 343 AD, which was a continuation of the First Ecumenical Synod and supported Athanasios the Great. Also, there is Bishop Kallikrates of Nafpaktos, who participated in the Third Ecumenical Synod, which met in Ephesus of Asia Minor, in the year 431 AD, and decided that the Most Holy Theotokos gave birth to the true God, therefore she should be called Theotokos and not Christotokos, as Nestorius claimed. There is also Bishop Irenaios of Nafpaktos who participated in the Fourth Ecumenical Synod in Chalcedon, which was convened in 451 AD, and decided that Christ has two natures, divine and human, which natures act in His one Person "unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably". Finally, there is Bishop Antonios of Nafpaktos, who participated in the Eighth Ecumenical Synod, which was convened in Constantinople in the year 889-90 and condemned the filioque of the Franks, who claimed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and decided that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father and is sent to the world through the Son.

Homily for the General Epistle for Monastic Saints - Galatians 5:22-6:2 (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

General Epistle for Monastic Saints, or Venerables

  

Galatians 5:22-6:2

 

 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

One of the main topics that the Apostle Paul deals with in his letter to the Galatians is the contrast between the spirit and the flesh. We heard an aspect of this topic today in the apostolic reading.

 

The Apostle Paul advises Christians to live in the Spirit and then they will not follow the desires of the flesh.

 

The concepts "spirit" and "flesh" in the language of the Apostle Paul have a different meaning than we use them. Spirit is the Holy Spirit and flesh is the man who does not have the Holy Spirit.

 

Homily Two on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered in Alushta on July 8/21, 1957)

 

The enemy of our salvation, the devil, especially hates the two most important commandments of Christ - about humility and obedience - and with all his might he pushes weak Christians onto the path of self-will and pride, especially teaches to despise the canons and decrees of the Ecumenical and Local Synods and consider the authority of the great Fathers and Teachers of the Church as nothing.

Those who have severed ties with the Catholic and Apostolic Church willingly heed the advice of their enemy: the Lutherans, the Protestants who have divided into many communities, and sectarians who have come out of the midst of the Lutherans - Baptists, Evangelicals, Adventists. They all understand and interpret Holy Scripture in their own way. And each community and sect considers its own understanding to be the only correct one.

Homily on the Commemoration of the Archangel Gabriel on July 13th

 By Metropolitan Gerasimos of Petras and Herronisos

(Delivered during Great Vespers on July 12th 2022 

at the Church of the Archangel Michael in Exo Lakonia)

Although, my beloved brethren, there exists for today the commemoration of the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, unfortunately the synaxarion does not give us the reason of the commemoration, whether it is for a miracle or an appearance of the Archangel. It seems to have been forgotten over the centuries. Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, who wrote the Synaxaristes, despite his research in all the archives and libraries of the Monasteries of Mount Athos, failed to discover the reason why the Archangel Gabriel was celebrated on July 13.

The Festival of Saint Paisios the Athonite in Santorini

In 2018 a church dedicated to Saint Paisios the Athonite was built in Mesaria on the Greek island of Santorini, and it was consecrated in 2019. It is seen as a spiritual jewel on an island known throughout the world for its immensely popular summer tourist attractions, which makes it especially valuable to have a festival in honor of this modern Saint of the Orthodox Church in the middle of summer on the island. This year, July 11-12th 2023, Metropolitan Amphilochios of Thera led a multitude of believers in honoring Saint Paisios, who crowded not only the inside of the church but its outside courtyard as well, and led the faithful in a procession on the island.

 

Homily Four for the Fifth Sunday of Matthew (St. Luke of Simferopol)

"On the Possessed Gadarenes"

5th Sunday of Matthew
 

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered in 1958)

 

Regarding the great miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ, about the healing of the demon possessed Gadarene by Him, I have repeatedly told you and my former flocks. Genuine demonic possession is, of course, rare. A huge number of demons, a whole legion of them, are infused into the bodies and souls of the unfortunate demoniacs. But demons wage an unceasing struggle against every person in order to subjugate them to their power. This is what we read about this struggle in the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).