Holy Pascha in Hong Kong (2013)
The Service of Resurrection at Saint Luke Orthodox Cathedral in Hong Kong. Christ is Risen!
Archive for July, 2012
The Supracosmic Gift of Priesthood as a Ministry of Reconciliation between the World and God
Christ’s priesthood, of which we are partakers, is a great and marvellous gift of the Holy Spirit, and the reason for this is ‘difficult to explain’[1] for us poor ones. It is seen in the world as a ministry of reconciliation of the world with God the Saviour. [...]
The Image of the Priest in Today’s World
What is the essence of priesthood? I think we do well to occasionally take a step back from our daily ministry to contemplate this question, because it is all too easy to lose track of what our service to the [...]
The Holy Days of the Dormition Fast
By the grace of God, Who is worshipped and glorified in Trinity, we have been found worthy of these holy days of the Dormition Fast. The Mother Church has dedicated this period to the honour and memory of the Most-holy Mother of God and Ever-virgin Mary, whose Dormition we celebrate every [...]
Saint Joseph of Arimathea (July 31)
Saint Joseph of Arimathea was accounted worthy to bury the immaculate body of our True God, Jesus Christ and, after the Lord’s glorious ascension into heaven, preached the Holy Gospel in many diverse lands. Of St. Joseph’s early years little is known except that he was the [...]
The Procession of the Holy Cross (August 1st)
On August 1st the Church celebrates the feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Holy Cross of the Lord.
In the Greek Horologion of 1897 the derivation of this Feast is explained:
“Because of the illnesses that occur in August, it was customary, in [...]
Sermon on 8th Sunday of Matthew (14:14-22)
“…people anxiously hope for just two things: bread and circuses” writes Juvenal in his tenth Satire, immortalizing thus a phrase that has been known ever since: panem et circenses. By these two, every nation and each man’s conscience can be tamed, manipulated, and enslaved.
Bread [...]
The Church and the Olympic Games
The following article was written in 2002 when Greece was preparing to host the 2004 Olympics. It contains some interesting evaluations of the Olympics to consider as we begin the Summer Olympics of 2012. The 2004 Olympic Games in Athens are a top world event and our country is preparing feverishly because the whole world [...]
The Ethics of Facebook, Twitter and Social Media
SYNOPSIS Social media are growing explosively and are changing the way people around the globe think of friendship and community. While media such as Facebook offer us unique opportunities, they also present real dangers. Christians should realize that not all forms of culture are advantageous to human flourishing and that every medium has it limitations. [...]
Saint Irene Chrysovalantou
St. Irene Chrysovalantou flourished after the death of the greedy Emperor Theophilos the first. After Theophilos’s death his spouse, the most reverend and God-loving Theodora, took the throne. The Empress Theodora supported the Orthodox faith and re-established the veneration of the holy icons, as was the tradition [...]
Preparation for the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
The commemoration of the Dormition of the Theotokos and the preparation for the Feast begin on August 1 with a period of fasting (August 1-14). A strict fast is followed on most of the days (no meat, dairy, oil, or wine), with the exceptions of fish on the Feast of the Transfiguration (August [...]
