Bishop Danilo of blessed memory was born on May 13, 1927 in Novi Sad. He studied law in Belgrade, and graduated from Sorbonne in literature in 1952. From 1954 to 1958 he studied theology at the Saint Sergius’ Academy in Paris, whereas he gained doctoral degree at Harvard, USA in 1968. He took monastic vows in 1960, and in 1969 …

The following is a letter that Mode of Life sent off to various Greek Australian newspapers and news websites in response to questions regarding whether diasporan Greeks should have the vote in Greek elections. Of course there are similar discussions amongst other Orthodox Christian communities within Australia where the debate of whether Serbs, Bulgarians and so forth should have say …

Recently in the Neos Kosmos English Weekly Supplement (4/1/2014), there was a report made by Penni Pappas that looked at how the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia was bucking the trend of decline in youth presence within religious denominations. Needless to say, given the agenda and views of much of Australia’s local Greek mass media, the report did not give …

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHOFUc6xdcE] INTRODUCTION The Pitești prison (Romanian: Închisoarea Pitești) was a penal facility in Pitești, Romania, best remembered for the brainwashing experiments carried out by the Communist authorities of Romania between 1949 and 1952 (also known as Experimentul Pitești – the “Pitești Experiment” or Fenomenul Pitești – the “Pitești Phenomenon”). The Pitești Experiment was designed as a way of “reeducating” political prisoners opposed to the communist government of Romania. The experiment was designed as an attempt at violently …

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich Because John’s main role in his life was played out on the day of the Epiphany (Theophany), the Church from earliest times dedicated the day following Epiphany to his memory. To this feast is also linked the incident with the hand of the Forerunner. The Evangelist Luke desired to remove the body of John from Sebaste, …

By St. John Chrysostom We shall now say something about the present feast. Many celebrate the feastdays and know their designations, but the cause for which they were established they know not. Thus concerning this, that the present feast is called Theophany — everyone knows; but what this is — Theophany, and whether it be one thing or another, they …

By St. Hippolytus of Rome *1. Good, yea, very good, are all the works of our God and Saviour— all of them that eye sees and mind perceives, all that reason interprets and hand handles, all that intellect comprehends and human nature understands. For what richer beauty can there be than that of the circle of heaven? And what form …

Priest: O Trinity, transcendent in essence, in goodness and in divinity, O Almighty, invisible and incomprehensible, who watch over all, O Creator of intelligent essences, of natures endowed with speech, O Goodness of utter and unapproachable brilliance, who enlighten every person who comes into the world: enlighten me also, your unworthy servant! Illuminate the eyes of my mind, that I …

Why do we bless houses (and almost anything else that we can sprinkle) with water? Many years ago, when I was yet a deacon, I was visiting with some non-Orthodox friends who were inquirers into Orthodoxy (they sadly, never followed through with their interest – or even their promise to become Orthodox) and we were discussing this topic in the …

By St. John Maximovitch On Theophany, the Day of the Lord’s Baptism, every year a great miracle is performed. The Holy Spirit, coming down upon the water, changes its natural properties. It becomes incorrupt, not spoiling, remaining transparent and fresh for many years. This Holy Water receives the grace to heal illnesses, to drive away demons and every evil power, …