The Apostle Thomas, writes Fr. Daniel Sisoyev, was by nature skeptical and stubborn. He demanded to see Christ in his body after the resurrection before he would believe the apostolic testimony that Christ rose from the dead. "The other disciples said unto Thomas, 'We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my … [Read more...] about The Stubborn Apostle
Liturgy, Scripture & The Seasons of the Church
St. Porphyrios Elucidates the Meaning of Pascha
Unlike the English term Easter, which evokes the Teutonic spring-goddess Ostara or Eastra, the Greek word Pascha is a direct transliteration of the Aramaic pascha, which in turn renders the Hebrew pesach, meaning Passover. St Porphyrios explains here in simple, but compelling language how Christ Himself has become our true Passover from darkness into light, from sin and death … [Read more...] about St. Porphyrios Elucidates the Meaning of Pascha
First Discourse on the Annunciation by St. Gregory the Wonderworker (Part I)
Truth first enters the world through a word and the more sublime a truth, the more sublime is the language that expresses it. In the essay below written in the third century, St. Gregory the Wonder Worker writes of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, where the angel Gabriel converses with the Virgin Mary in preparation of the coming of the Son of God as man. The Incarnation … [Read more...] about First Discourse on the Annunciation by St. Gregory the Wonderworker (Part I)
The Threshold to Lent: Remembering our Explusion from Paradise
First we must remember what we have lost. Indeed, "all mankind weeps and sighs over the first Adam, over the now elusive phantom of happiness.” But we don’t realize that it is paradise itself from which we have been expelled and that this is why we live as exiles. "The whole world, harassed and weary, weeps because of its waywardness, because of its naked soul; … [Read more...] about The Threshold to Lent: Remembering our Explusion from Paradise
Memory Eternal: Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona
At 10 PM (MT) on September 7, 2019 Elder Ephraim (Moraitis) reposed at the age of 92. Born Ioannis Moraitis in Volos, Greece on the Day of the Nativity of St John the Baptist in 1927, he was raised in worldly poverty and spiritual wealth, and from the age of fourteen experienced the calling to monastic life. On September 26, 1947, Ioannis arrived at Mt. Athos at St. Anna's … [Read more...] about Memory Eternal: Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona