The Official Website of the RTOC Diocese of Pallini & Western Europe
The Official Website of the RTOC Diocese of Pallini & Western Europe
The Holy Apostle Paul warned Timothy that there would come those who possess “a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.” These words are often applied to the secular world, to nominal Christians, or to those outside the Church.…
Much Devotion About Nothing. When religious activity replaces prayer.
Among the ancient traditions of Mount Athos and the monasteries influenced by Athonite spirituality throughout Greece, and in full accordance with the Fathers of the Desert, is the practice of praying by the prayer rope (komboskini) in place of written…
Modern culture teaches self-esteem as the answer to life’s problems, but the Orthodox Church offers a very different path. Drawing on the wisdom of St. Isaac the Syrian, this article explores the difference between the modern cult of self-esteem and the liberating truth of Christian humility.
The Feast After the Feast: Where Shall We Find the Holy Spirit? Today, on the day following the great Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Church gathers us together for the Synaxis of the Holy Spirit. It is a feast that…
There was a time when to be a Christian meant danger. To confess Christ meant the possibility of exile, ridicule, poverty, imprisonment, or death. The early Christians entered the Church knowing that they might lose everything for the sake of…
Something is intimidating about the silence of Christ before Pontius Pilate. The Lord who opened the eyes of the blind, raised the dead, cast out demons, and taught with divine authority now stands accused before a corrupt court — and…
There are feasts in the Church year that overwhelm the soul with joy, and there are feasts that reveal mysteries so profound that the mind itself stands in silence before them. The glorious Feast of the Ascension of our Lord…
There was a time when a man could sit in silence, not merely in the absence of noise, but in the deeper stillness of an undivided soul. He could walk beneath the sky without reaching for distraction. He could endure…
There is perhaps no more dangerous delusion in the spiritual life than the belief that one is close to God simply because one appears religious, speaks about spiritual things, or surrounds oneself with the atmosphere of holiness. The soul may…