Opinion
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Does God Punish?
Fr. Andreas Agathokleous The notion that God punishes those who sin, recalling a strict father who punishes his naughty children seems to be one which is difficult to banish from people’s hearts. Besides, the Church does, indeed, speak of punishment, ‘the outer fire’ and a number of Fathers urge us keep hell in mind, so…
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Greek Carols for the New Year – The Kalanta Tradition
Whether it’s the rosy-cheeked, hair-cropped kiddies of yesteryear clutching traditional Greek instruments and a boat, or the modern-era iPhone-armed youngsters of today donning the latest Gap wear, Greek children continue to this day – albeit several time-induced changes – to sing the carols, some dating to Byzantine times, on New Year’s Eve. As with all traditions in this tiny…
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Chestnut Recipe that Makes it Feel Like Christmas in Greece
The first truly cold days in a Greek city can put you in a bit of a gloomy mood. Walking around the streets under grey skies, island beaches a figurative million miles away, the weekday seems a drag until… a smell suddenly tickles your nose, and year heart. Warm and sweet, it smells like a…
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Vaccination protects you and your family
Around 11 million doses of the COVID 19 vaccine have now been administered. We are now tracking at around 1 million doses a week. Sure, we’ve had our problems. Not all the calls we have made have turned out like we had hoped. In a pandemic no country gets everything right. But having saved more…
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Facebook Users Said No to Tracking. Now Advertisers are Panicking
When users get asked on iPhone devices if they’d like to be tracked, the vast majority say no. That’s worrying Facebook Inc.’s advertisers, who are losing access to some of their most valuable targeting data and have already seen a decrease in effectiveness of their ads. The new prompt from Apple Inc., which arrived in an…
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What to know about the struggle against thoughts
By Saint Paisios the Athonite We should put question marks against speculations – Elder, what helps to dismiss speculation? – Everything’s always the way you see it. Always put a question mark against every one of your thoughts, because you usually see everything in a bad light. Do the same for any good thought you…
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How to recognize the authentic Christian experience
By Metropolitan Nikolaos (Hatzinikolaou) of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki What are the characteristic features of the authentic Christian experience? We can begin by looking at the end of the first chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John, the section regarding the call of the disciples. This passage is of particular interest, because it’s an image…
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Saint Sophrony, a Man of the Word of God
By Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou As Saint Silouan says and Saint Sophrony explains, the word of God can resound in the heart of man in unison with prayer. As a result of his fall, man is divided at all levels. He has one thing in his mind, another in his heart and desires yet another with…
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The Lord’s Ascension: the Visible Sign of God’s Reconciliation with Us
By Monk Gennadios The Lord’s Ascension is the visible sign of God’s reconciliation with us, but also the glorification of our human nature. This reconciliation and our glorification were achieved through the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, His teachings, His voluntary Passion, His glorious Resurrection, culminating in His Ascension into heaven. The…
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A common cause of depression and phobias is perfectionism.
Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘Not everyone can attain perfection, either because they lack the zeal or because they do not have the strength’ (Saint John of the Ladder) A common cause of depression and phobias is perfectionism. Perfectionists are never satisfied. They don’t enjoy the good they achieve or encounter in their lives, because they’re thinking…
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