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By George Mantzarides Professor at the School of Theology, University of Thessaloniki Are you aware that counting 40 days from today, on the 40th day we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross? It's not a mistake. The Transfiguration of Our Savior has a central place in the Orthodox Church and in Orthodox theology. It is the event that reveals the glory of the Church and of the faithful. It is a witness to the new reality introduced by the … [Read more...]
by St. Anastasius the Sinaite St. Anastasius was a priest and abbot of Mt. Sinai. His zeal for true faith led him to travel through Egypt, Arabia, and Syria to combat the errors of the Acephalites and Eutychians. His writings show not only a thorough command of Holy Scripture and a wide knowledge of the writing of the Church Fathers and other Christian writers, but also classical erudition and a solid grounding in Aristotelian … [Read more...]
by St. Leo the Great The Lord reveals his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is like that of the rest of mankind, but he makes it shine with such splendor that his face becomes like the sun in glory, and his garments as white as snow. The great reason for this transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples, and to prevent the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the … [Read more...]
by St. Anastasius of Sinai Upon Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed to his disciples a heavenly mystery. While living among them he had spoken of the kingdom and of his second coming in glory, but to banish from their hearts any possible doubt concerning the kingdom and to confirm their faith in what lay in the future by its prefiguration in the present, he gave them on Mount Tabor a wonderful vision of his glory, a foreshadowing of the kingdom of … [Read more...]
by St. Gregory Palamas Our father among the saints Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), Archbishop of Thessalonica, was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece (at Vatopedi and Esphigmenou Monasteries), and later became Archbishop of Thessalonica. His feast days in the Church are Nov. 14 and the 2nd Sunday of Great Lent. In anticipation of the feast of Transfiguration this homily of St. Gregory for your homiletic preparations. For an explanation of … [Read more...]
by St. John Chrysostom “Verily, verily, I say unto you, There are some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Thus, inasmuch as He had discoursed much of dangers and death, and of His own passion, and of the slaughter of the disciples, and had laid on them those severe injunctions; and these were in the present life and at hand, but the good things in hope and … [Read more...]
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