Category Archives: Readings

November 8, 2020 · 8:43 am

Synaxis of Archangels Michael and Gabriel

On November 8 in the Holy Orthodox Church we celebrate the Synaxis of the Supreme Commanders Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and of the other bodiless and heavenly orders, the Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Authorities, Principalities, Archangels and Angels.

Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of the Apostle Paul who was taken up into the third heaven (II Cor. 12:2), described the nine orders of angels in his book, On the Celestial Hierarchies. The Apostle Paul says all angels are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14). The leader of all the angelic hosts is the Archangel Michael. When Satan fell away from God and drew a part of the angels with him to destruction, then Michael stood up and cried out before the faithful angels: “Let us stand aright! Let us stand with fear! Let us attend!” and all of the faithful angelic heavenly hosts cried out: “Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory!” The Archangel Gabriel proclaimed the news of the conceptions of John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ to their mothers, Elizabeth and the Ever-virgin Mary (Luke 1).

The Archangel Raphael healed Tobit of his blindness (Tobit 11) and freed his daughter-in-law, Sarah, from a demon (Tobit 6). Every nation has its guardian angel, as does every Christian. We must always re- member that whatever we do, in open or in secret, we do in the presence of our guardian angel. By their holy intercessions, O God, have mercy upon us. Amen. (Synaxarion of the Feast)

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November 1, 2020 · 9:32 am

St. George Karslidis the New Confessor of Drama – 4 November

St. George Karslides was born in Argyroupolis (Gümüşhane), Pontos in 1901. He was orphaned very young, so it was his pious grandmother, who raised the young Athanasios (St. George’s baptismal name) to have a “holy fear of God and a fervent love for the Church’s divine services.”

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November 1, 2020 · 9:21 am

Saint David of Evia (Euboea) – 1 November

Blessed David was born at the beginning of the 16th century in the sea-side village of Gardinitza, opposite the island of Evia. His father was a devout and virtuous priest. When David was no more than three years old, Saint John the Baptist appeared to him one night and took him to the nearby church which was dedicated to him. He remained standing there, barefoot, for six days, lost in the vision, in front of the icon of the Forerunner. Nourished from an early age on the principles of obedience to his parents, asceticism and ceaseless prayer, he left his family home at the age of fifteen, in search of a spiritual father. He found him in the person of the Hieromonk Akakios, who was well-known in the villages of the region for his virtuous life and powerful preaching.

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November 1, 2020 · 8:13 am

Learning to see and Serve Christ in Poor Lazarus

5th Sunday of Luke, Luke 16: 19-31

It is tempting to think that those who seem to have it all in this world are God’s favourites whose success is a reward for holiness and virtue. It is appealing to think that God’s kingdom is simply an eternal manifestation of the arrangements of this world, of life as we know it, where the powerful usually lord it over the weak and the rich almost always seem to get their way.

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October 28, 2020 · 6:28 pm

The Feast Day of the Protection of the All-Holy Theotokos

The feast of the Holy Protection of the All Holy Theotokos is known throughout the Orthodox world, It is celebrated on October 1st and in the Church of Greece on October 28th, to commemorate the protection of Greece during World War II. Continue reading →

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October 25, 2020 · 7:11 pm

Saint Demetrios, The Myrrh-Streamer

Saint Demetrios was born in Thesaloniki, Greece in 270 AD. He came from a wealthy family and because he was athletic in appearance and heroic in spirit, he became a high-ranking officer in the Roman Army at a very young age. (This is why he is depicted in Byzantine icons in military dress, either standing or riding a horse.) He considered himself a soldier of Christ first, and a military soldier second. He spent most of his time as a devout missionary, preaching the Gospel at secret meetings and converting pagans to the Christian faith.

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October 25, 2020 · 10:47 am

Why is it, you ask, that one can pray for so many years with a prayer book . . .

~ Words of the Church Fathers ~

Why is it, you ask, that one can pray for so many years with a prayer book, and still not have prayer in his heart? I think the reason is that people only spend a little time lifting themselves up to God when they complete their prayer rule, and in other times, they do not remember God. For example, they finish their morning prayers, and think that their relation to God is fulfilled by them; then the whole day passes in work, and such a person does not attend to God. Then in the evening, the thought returns to him that he must quickly stand at prayer and complete his evening rule. In this case, it happens that even if the Lord grants a person spiritual feelings at the time of the morning prayer, the bustle and business of the day drowns them out. Continue reading →

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October 25, 2020 · 10:30 am

The Gadarinene Demoniac – 6th Sunday of St Luke

Luke 8:26-39

As our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ visited the villages of Judaea, he met a man from the village of Gergeseen. Now, this particularly man few years ago became possessed by many demons, who made him suffer in many ways. The possessed man was in a wild condition, the result of the demons’ influence. He was ripping off his clothes and was living in the tombs of the dead. Although his relatives were tying him up with chains, in order that he will be unable to harm any other human being, he was breaking his chains and was led by the demons into the wilderness. Continue reading →

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October 18, 2020 · 9:03 am

St Luke the Evangelist

Commemorated October 18

The awesome figure of St Luke looms larger and larger out of both the New Testament and the pages of documented human history so that 2000 years after his death his image has no less been diminished by time than that of the Nazarene, Jesus Christ, whom he so nobly served. His fellow apostle St Paul called him the ‘glorious physician’, but that was only one of the many talents which this magnificent man applied in a service to God. Continue reading →

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October 11, 2020 · 8:44 am

The Parable of the Sower

Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council, Luke 8: 5-15

There is a beautiful story I read this week about a German scholar who once toured many monasteries throughout Asia Minor before eventually coming to the Monastery of the Holy Virgin of Soumela. As he was walking through the monastery, he noticed the beautiful and vibrant gardens of flowers that were spread out in front of the monastic cells. Anyone who has been to a monastery knows that this is a rather common sight – monasteries are truly “escapes into paradise” for us. They offer us the ability to run away from this darkened world and back into a “Garden of Eden.” Continue reading →

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