The Danger of Sinking Into the Abyss of Unbelief

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

“You did not leave Thomas, O Master, as he was being submerged, in the abyss of unbelief, stretching out Your palms for investigation” (Ode 6 of the Canon of Thomas Sunday).

We are accustomed to speaking about the unbelief or distrust or little faith of the Holy Apostle Thomas, because he did not accept the testimony of the other disciples that they had seen the Risen Christ. “Unless I see, I will not believe,” he told them. And the Lord granted him this grace and (when of course he was found together with the other apostles, showing his good disposition and his inner struggle) called him “with His own hands” to be assured of His risen body. Yet He also expressed His complaint that “he believed because he saw Him and touched Him with his bodily senses,” without reaching the higher faith and vision that exists, that is, the blessedness of those who believe without seeking to see Him with their bodily eyes. Of course, the hymnography of the Church takes this event as an occasion ultimately to “praise” this unbelief of Thomas — “O good unbelief of Thomas,” because the Lord “rejoices in being investigated” — which gave and gives the opportunity through the ages for the Resurrection of the Lord to be proclaimed even through the touching of the body of the Lord, made fiery by His divinity; but also for the true meaning of theology to be emphasized, as a reality grounded in the experience of Christ, whether through the touching of His breast by John the Theologian or through the touching of His hands pierced by the nails and His side pierced by the spear, and not in an ideological and “thin”, bare, approach to faith.

Christ and Humanistic Society (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)

 By Archimandrite George Kapsanis,
Former Abbot of Gregoriou Monastery of the Holy Mountain

As much as a man is cleansed of his passions, so he acquires the possibility of true communion with God and other human beings.

Those who view man romantically and externally transfer the evil from individuals to society, which is why they preach that the improvement of society will also bring about the improvement of individuals. But the Orthodox, without denying the importance of social influence on persons, give priority to the transformation of the person through repentance and Divine Grace.

It is a great delusion to want to change society without struggling to change ourselves. It is at least naïve to believe that changing some social institutions will bring about change in people without repentance.

An Atheist at the Grave of Saint Paisios

 

By Archimandrite Ephraim of Vatopaidi

This man Saint Paisios has done so many miracles, that it makes you wonder:

"But is it so? Is it possible?"

And yet it is possible! An acquaintance of mine that came to see me told me, as he says:

"We were with the family at our house and since we are near Souroti,* we said we were going to visit the grave of Saint Paisios."

Homily on the Origins of Modern Godlessness (St. Luke of Simferopol)

On the Origins of Modern Godlessness

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on February 27, 1948 -
Friday of the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee)

You know what the Jews, the contemporaries of Christ, said: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46).

It was about Him. And when the Lord came to Nazareth, where He grew up, where He was brought up, there people treated Him with contempt, did not consider Him a saint or a prophet, and said: “After all, we know that this is the son of the carpenter Joseph.” A significant part of the human race still treats the Savior with the same contempt - that portion that was once Christian, but now has become apostate. Why, why? Precisely because the teaching of Christ is extremely simple, so simple that it is accessible to the understanding of the simplest, most uneducated person.

And proud people scorn everything simple, lowly, while people bow before what they consider great and significant. And because of their pride, because of their arrogance, they do not want to know the Lord Jesus Christ, they have chosen other teachers, other leaders.