Upon an initial reading of the Genesis account of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-7), one would superficially conclude with the question of why God did not accept Cain’s sacrifice, which may seem to be undue preference of a petty and jealous God. Quite often Cain’s overreaction by killing his brother out of jealousy and envy, is often overlooked and explained …
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This Gospel reminds us more or less of our own troubled time where people who by following their own imagination and individual notions of life, create huge problems in the peaceful course of humanity. It would be no exaggeration to state that Church life in today’s world has become irrelevant. This is why as mature and serious Christians, Christ’s presence …
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Q. According to your thoughts and meditations Holy Elder, who was the first pious person to show genuine faith in God? A. As you may recall, in spite of what had transpired, people had become immensely savage and barbarian turning to all forms of idolatry. It seems that within this spiritually historical context, that Abraham was the first, some 2,039 …
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“We have seen the True Light; we have received the Heavenly Spirit; we have found the true Faith, in worshipping the indivisible Trinity; for He has saved us”. (Sticheron at Saturday Great Vespers for Pentecost Sunday) Introductory Remarks The feastday of Pentecost (Greek: Πεντηκοστή, “the Fiftieth [day]”) is one of the prominent feasts within the Orthodox Christian liturgical year which …
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“The Lord said: as you would want others to do to you, you also do unto others” Sometimes, dear brothers and sisters, we believe that the standard Christ gives us in today’s Gospel passage is not very different to what was stated in the Old Testament, which was very much in accordance with human logic. The Old Testament stated: “whatever …
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This gospel refers to the greatness of the role of women for a better society. At the time that Christ’s disciples were waiting hidden in a secure place, “due to fear of the Jews”, we see a few women, the myrrh bearers, arriving courageously at Christ’s tomb without any fear for their lives. It was known to everybody that fanatical …
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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 …
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“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 …
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Meditate upon the Scriptures, for within them you shall find eternal life. Our Lord, Jesus Christ my dear brethren, is the sweetest Master and Creator of all the Angels, and all the Noetic and sensible/perceptible beings which came forth from the depths of His mercy, immense goodness and boundless love, on which He has bestowed upon all of humanity, and …
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Meditate upon the Scriptures, for within them you shall find eternal life. Our Lord, Jesus Christ my dear brethren, is the sweetest Master and Creator of all the Angels, and all the Noetic and sensible/perceptible beings which came forth from the depths of His mercy, immense goodness and boundless love, on which He has bestowed upon all of humanity, and …
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ModeOfLife Become love as God exhorts us, for this is the true starting point for changing your life and the world. For it is love that will bring respect, justice and equity into the world, not our personal opinion of what justice or equity is.