Saint Silouan the Athonite and Adam’s Lament
Saint Silouan the Athonite: Adam's lament, love for enemies, and prayer for the whole world. From lost grace to hope in the love of God.
Saint Thecla and the Apostle Paul
Saint Thecla, Protomartyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles: her discipleship under the Apostle Paul, from the window in Iconium to preaching the Gospel.
The Conception of Saint John the Baptist
On 23 September the Church celebrates the conception of Saint John the Baptist. Why the Church honours this beginning, and what the five months in which Righteous Elizabeth hid herself show us.
Taking Up the Cross and Following Christ
Self-denial, taking up the cross and following Christ: the Holy Fathers on Mark 8:34–9:1, read on the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
The Serpent in the Wilderness and the Cross
The serpent of brass and the Cross: Nicodemus, birth from above, and the love of God in the Holy Fathers’ interpretation of John 3:13–17.
Thinking and the Heart
Thinking and the heart: on guarding thoughts, discernment and the prayer that gathers the mind before God, in the teaching of the Holy Fathers.
The Forty-Day Fast in Scripture and the Lives of the Saints
The forty-day fast of Moses, Elijah and Christ: patristic interpretations, the meaning of the number forty, and fasting in the Christian life.
Saint Joachim, Father of the Theotokos
Saint Joachim, father of the Theotokos: his prayer in the wilderness, his offering to God, and the commemoration of Joachim and Anna on 9 September.
The Nativity of the Mother of God, the Beginning of Our Salvation
The Nativity of the Mother of God on 8 September: Joachim and Anna, the teaching of the Holy Fathers, and the meaning of the icons of the feast.
“Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”
The wedding garment in the teaching of the Holy Fathers: Baptism, a changed life and love. Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Matthew 22:2–14.
