“What has been said so far is no small proof that death has been destroyed and that the Lordly cross is the trophy over it. For those having sound mental sight, the proof of the resurrection of the now immortal body effected by Christ, the common Savior of all and true Life, is clearer through …
Fasting is a medicine. But medicine, as beneficial as it is, becomes useless because of the inexperience of the user. He has to know the appropriate time that the medicine should be taken and the right amount of medicine and the condition of the body, which is to take it, the weather conditions and the …
Marriage was ordained by God as a blessing to the human race. A certain wise man in the Scriptures, when enumerating which blessings are the most important, included “a wife and husband who live in harmony” (The Wisdom of Sirach 25:1). From the beginning, God in His providence planned this union of man and woman. …
In our day controversy abounds over the mysterious institution we call "marriage." For some, marriage is a purely human invention, a kind of civil partnership or temporary contract. From this point of view, marriage, like any human institution, is what we make of it. It is not necessarily sacred, or permanent, and it tends to …
After the period of martyrdom came the period of monasticism in Libya. There were remote monastic communities in the mountains and desert that survived beyond the Arab victories. They were following in the path of the crucified Lord and of the martyrs of the Roman persecution. Monasticism flourished in the Pentapolis and later in the …
In current speech, the word "cell" immediately evokes a room where, in a prison, a criminal is locked up, isolated and cut off from all contact with others. And, in fact, for the Egyptian who really enjoys fresh air and relations with others, the hermit's cell must look like a veritable dungeon. The Desert Fathers …
It is our duty to discern our thoughts, in order to know their origin and thus avoid being fooled by the Devil. "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God" (1Jn 4:1). There are thoughts that come to us from God, the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. These are …
In this world there shall be tribulation. Whether reduced to a minimum by man himself, or given some relief by the religious promise of a reward in the "other world," suffering remains here, it remains awfully "normal." And yet Christ says, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33). Through his own …
Fr Grigoris Balakian’s memoir Armenian Golgotha, for decades has been an important text of Armenian literature, belonging to this group of significant books that deal with crimes against humanity in the modem age. Fr Balakian, a priest and later a bishop in the Armenian Apostolic Church, was an esteemed clergyman and intellectual. On the night …
With this song we praise our Lord Jesus Christ during Holy Week, following Him step by step. Our Lord Jesus Christ left Jerusalem to Bethany, and we follow Him saying, "To You is the Power." The Chief priests were annoyed when the Lord cleansed the Temple, and they planned to kill Him. But we object …
