The true disciple of Jesus, whether a man or a woman, is not the one who carries a Christian identity on account of having been baptized, but the one who imitates the courageousness of Joseph of Aramathea, the Myrrh-Bearing Women, and the martyrs who offered themselves up in order to hold fast to their faith... only the courageous deserve to be beloved of Jesus. By Fr … [Read more...] about Fr Georges Massouh on the Myrrh-Bearing Women
Spirituality
The Stubborn Apostle
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
The Sign of the Prophet Jonah in Our Days
This Holy Week and Pascha, the Covid-19 pandemic has given the faithful a hard saying. They will be deprived of celebrating these high and holy days in their parishes. They will be deprived of receiving holy communion. Nevertheless, they need not, now or ever, be deprived of Christ, for nothing, neither death nor life, neither things present nor things to come, can ever … [Read more...] about The Sign of the Prophet Jonah in Our Days
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)
Word of Consolation for the Pandemic
Don't be confused, don't fear, don't panic over the Coronavirus pandemic counsels Archimandrite Zacharias of St. John the Baptist Monastery in Essex, England. Nothing that happens to us falls outside the purview of God, and God does everything in love. So why do difficulties come? Initially they come to draw us closer to God. What must we do? First we come come to know who … [Read more...] about Word of Consolation for the Pandemic