We would like to bring to your attention a matter that has been debated in the public domain recently. Currently our Federal House of Representatives is considering proposals that would re-define marriage to include same sex couples. The Australian Parliament is asking for our views. Our Orthodox Bishops have already made a joint submission to the Senate (click here). It is …

Review: Let Us Attend – A Journey through the Orthodox Divine Liturgy Author: Fr. Lawrence Farley Publisher: Conciliar Press Ministries, April 25, 2007 It is quite often difficult to locate in English, books that give a good introduction and basic outline of the Divine Liturgy for catechumens and those attending church for the first time. Let Us Attend is one such …

LESSON 2 – ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TOWER Q. Holy Elder, after the events pertaining to Noah and the Flood, what was the next crucial turning point for humankind according to what our Faith asserts? A. My beloved child, since multitudes of people came into existence and repopulated the earth, once again the same problems arose, with people turning …

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTtM_4uH98] Introduction The experience of Lent is a spiritual journey whose purpose is to transfer us from one spiritual state to another, a dynamic passage. For this reason the church commences Lent with the great repentance Canon of St Andrew of Crete. This  repentant lamentation conveys to us the scope and depth of sin, shaking the soul with despair, …

Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Genesis Author: Fr Patrick H. Reardon Publisher: Conciliar Press (2008) The intention of this particular book is not to serve as a purely exegetical work on Scripture in the traditional sense, but to serve as an accompaniment to the Scriptures. It does not aim to spoon feed the reader, but rather to help …

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Ps 22:1; cf. Matt 27:46). These were the words Jesus cried out at about the ninth hour while He was crucified on the cross. These words were echoed in the Psalms by the prophet David. Taken by themselves, these words could be interpreted as an expression of despair. How could the …

Introduction The purpose of this article is to explore St Gregory Palamas’ use of the analogy of the sun in his work The One Hundred and Fifty Chapters[1] in order to assess its value within the context of his exposition of the various doctrinal themes covered therein. Focusing on those chapters which express the sun analogy, the article will discuss …

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcOkNXVgSg4] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqnj8H6Xk5U] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2e_bTxTGSs] Introduction Not too recently, we at Mode of Life stumbled across an old 2008 Pocket Calendar/Directory of the Holy Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Zealand and Oceania. Upon looking through this particular item we were struck by images and brief citations speaking of the efforts to establish Eastern Orthodox Christian parishes on the islands of Fiji, Samoa …

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DO2oZLx5XQ&feature=related] “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” This declaration of a faithful man of God to his colleague, dear sisters and brothers, is not a mere figure of speech . It is not a mere thought. It is a confession of faith. And …

“Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him”(Romans 14:3). Paul had sent a letter to the church in Rome with those words. In spite of his communication to them it seems that troubles arose in whether ‘to eat or not …