"Four hours after the death of Elder Nikolai Guryanov, his hand rose and accepted the cross and the Gospel.

"Four hours after the death of Elder Nikolai Guryanov, his hand rose and accepted the cross and the Gospel. Before that, on Zalit Island, a man who could not walk rose to his feet at a single word from him. In a terrible snowstorm, the elder went to search for a stranger who was far away and praying for salvation. And Elder Nikolai Guryanov's beloved cat returned to life. He was resurrected.

Today, on the feast day of Elder Nikolai Guryanov, let us remember the priest's miracles. They were recounted by those who knew him personally.

One day, a man who couldn't walk and used a wheelchair was brought to the island. Seeing the elder, he slid to the ground and followed him on his knees around the church. Elder Nikolai turned around:

— Sasha, get up!

And he rose. Later, this man was seen again on the island. He walked alone, and they didn't immediately recognize him.

Another time, a snowstorm was raging over the island. It was late evening. Elder Nicholas suddenly fell silent and said:

- My name is.

Everyone listened—there was no one at the door. But the elder dressed and went out into the blizzard. He returned with an exhausted man who had lost his way and was in danger of freezing. All this time, the traveler prayed to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for salvation.

A woman came to Elder Nikolai to plead for her gravely ill mother. The doctors had given up hope that she would recover. But upon approaching Elder Nikolai, the woman forgot all her prepared words. His face seemed to glow with a soft white light from within. Elder Seraphim of Sarov had shone with the same light.

The woman nevertheless asked the elder to pray. Returning home, she learned that from that very day on, her mother began to recover and soon returned to her feet.

The elder's love extended beyond people. He had a cat named Lipa. He followed the elder to the temple like a faithful companion, and obediently returned home as soon as he heard:

- Lipushka, go home!

And one day, Lipa disappeared. He was later found in the yard, lifeless. Elder Nikolai Guryanov hugged the cat to his chest, wept, and carried him to his room. He prayed for several hours, alone with him.

When the cell attendants assisting the elder entered, they saw a living cat, Lipa, in the priest's arms. After that, the cat lived by the elder's side for the rest of his life.

After his death, when the elder's body was being prepared for burial, they attempted to place his right hand on his chest. A woman nearby recounted that as soon as the cross and the Gospel were presented, the elder's hand rose and accepted them. A surviving photograph shows the elder lying with the cross and the Gospel. This is how he held the cross during his life.

Thousands of people came to Elder Nicholas: the sick, the frightened, the hopeless. And many returned confident that God had not forgotten them.

Elder Nicholas said:

— Go and do good. Every love covers a multitude of sins.

Today, let's pray to Elder Nikolai Guryanov. And send this video to someone who especially needs to hear this: even in the darkest snowstorm, God knows where to find you."

РОМАН ГОЛОВАНОВ

DORMITION AT THE BURNING BUSH -"Rejoice, fiery throne of the Lord God; Rejoice, the sacred vessel that is filled with manna."

DORMITION AT THE BURNING BUSH -"Rejoice, fiery throne of the Lord God; Rejoice, the sacred vessel that is filled with manna."

From an Article by Sr. Joanna*

St. Catherine’s visitors typically categorize themselves as ‘pilgrim’ or ‘tourist’. Well-aware that mankind’s deepest longing is for God, monastics recognize the fallacy of such distinctions. All arrive here “hoping to experience the stillness that exists between the soul and God,” His Eminence [retired] Archbishop Damianos of Sinai has said. A hermit monk explains this is equally true whether expressed by exuberant hoots disturbing the night on the steps leading to the Holy Summit, or by anxiously searching for the entrance to the Monastery church in the same black night – hoping to arrive before the service begins, when the angels do.

Much has been made of the Sinai Monastery’s preservation of the precious artifacts of ancient Christianity, and also of the unbroken ages of its peaceful co-existence with neighbors in a non-Christian world.  

Less noted is that the Sinai represents the only center of ancient ascetic spirituality open to women – tourist, pilgrim, or monastic [historically]. In a sphere where women have often had to struggle to prove themselves much as in civilian life, female monasticism in Sinai dates from the third century, apparently to the inceptions of the current monastic community itself.

Naturally isolated by remote desert, ascetics seeking stillness never needed to fabricate a barrier to worldly civilization by sealing the Monastery off from visits by families. Of course such a step would never have been contemplated by the guardians of a holy pilgrimage of such literally Biblical proportions. By the time the world resolutely landed on their doorstep with the construction of asphalt roads and tourist infrastructure, Sinai monks had long accustomed themselves to a double burden: combining the rigors of eremitic life with hospitality to those seeking deeper understanding of God.

After all, the Holy Mountain capped by the Peak of the Decalogue – of the Ten Commandments – is the mountain of the knowledge of God. And the Burning Bush, which still thrives in the Monastery courtyard, the path to that knowledge – for it burned with the same fire of divine Wisdom that later shone forth upon all creation from the “Bush of the Holy Virgin.”

Let us ever applaud and praise the Lord God

Who was seen of old on the holy mount in glory,

Who by the fiery bush revealed the great mystery of the

Ever-virgin and undefiled Maiden unto the Prophet Moses.

Aflame but not consumed by the fire of divinity just like the Bush itself, the Holy Virgin is the fiery pillar guiding the faithful through the darkness of this world’s trials. The Israelites were led through the Sinai by fire at night and a cloud by day, and the Holy Virgin spreads the protection of her shelter over the world more broadly than a cloud. Under it, her love gathers together not only the monastics of Sinai, but all the faithful who glorify her Son, the God-man who saves the world from sin as He saved His All-holy Mother from the corruption of death at her Dormition.

Monasteries are not islands adrift on a sea beyond the wave length of stress. Tides break over their shores. They are havens only to the degree that one has learned to take refuge in the will of God – and until then, places of fierce struggle. Against the relentless enemies of one’s own egotism and pride, the invincible weaponry of salvation belongs to the Most Holy Theotokos. One says the Jesus Prayer at all times, for as Sinai’s Geronta Pavlos says, “Prayer is the sun of our souls, without which we cannot live any more than we can survive without the physical sun.”

 But in crisis – ask any monastic: The heart that was pierced with a sword at the cross of her Son rushes to help, as Father Pavlos describes, with the reflexive speed of a mother who springs forward to snatch a baby from falling. Power against evil is not lacking to the first person whose human nature was joined to the divine, the Mother of God who was also the first person to see and touch the resurrected Christ (a subtlety of the Gospels elucidated by Saint Gregory Palamas) – and to speak with Him, as she does unto the ages on our behalf. ...

"The heavens were astonished and stood in awe,

and the ends of the earth, Maid, were sore amazed,

for God appeared bodily to mankind as very man.

And behold, your womb has proved to be vaster

and more spacious than heaven's heights.

For this, O Theotokos, the choirs and

assemblies of men and angels

magnify your name."

(Source: The Dormition services’ 13th century Great Supplicatory Canon to the Most Holy Theotokos.)

* From the Article "Dormition at the Burning Bush" by Sr. Joanna, at the FMSM News Blog: https://www.mountsinaimonastery.org/news-blog/dormition2016

She will not grow old.SAINT PORPHYRIOS OF KAFSOKALIVITES.

She will not grow old.

Testimony of Mrs. Georgia Samartzi, Athens

A lady I know, Aikaterini, when she was 24-25 years old, the doctors had told her definitively: “You have a very serious gynecological problem and you will never be able to have children.”  In 1986, she went to the Saint and said to him: "Elder, I have decided, I will adopt a child. To have him, to take care of me in my old age... "You know, if you grow old, You will never grow old. This woman, when she told me, wondered: "Why should I grow old? I will always be young? It seems that I will never fall.." She did not understand what the Saint saw with his prophetic gift. 

Ekaterini, in 2017, at the age of 56, was killed in a car accident. This happened 31 whole years after her visit  to the Holy. 

Bibliography. The Holy Porphyrios the Prophet.

Testimonies.

Publications. 

Agios Paulites Holy Cell of Saints Theodores Mount Athos.

The great power of the Most Holy Theotokos! - As soon as you say Pa....., our Panagia is there!

The great power of the Most Holy Theotokos! - As soon as you say Pa....., our Panagia is there!

Several years ago (it was winter and night), we were walking with a friend in an area quite far from the city and because it was late at night, there was not a human soul! At some point, from a forest opposite us, which was pitch black, loud music was heard as if someone was playing a bagpipe. My friend thought about going to see what was being heard but I stopped him because I felt a stir inside me, as if there was something that was not of God in that forest! I told him to say the Jesus prayer and we moved on! On our way back, passing by the same spot, the demonic music continued!  After a while I met a nun friend and when I mentioned it to her she told me that this music was definitely not from God and that we did well to avoid approaching that spot! She even told me that in these moments only the prayer of Jesus Christ can protect us and that if we invoked our Blessed Mother, it would not be enough! Of course I was not reassured by what I heard because I knew very well that evil forces flee with just the name of the Most Holy Theotokos! After a while I visited Father Avraamios,

a very pious Hieromonk in the New Skete of Mount Athos and I mentioned the incident to him. The grandfather then said to me, raising his hands high: "Wouldn't the Blessed Virgin Mary help? You don't have time to say her whole name and as soon as you say Pa..., she's here"!

 Her help is truly immediate, as soon as we call upon her with faith!

  Great is Her glory and great is Her Holy Grace!  Amen!

Miltiadis Tsesmetzis - Educator

A MONK HELPS. SAINT PORPHYRIOS OF KAFSOKALIVITES.

A MONK HELPS 

Testimony of Fr. Joachim Hieromonk. Holy Cell of the Annunciation of the Theotokos. H.M. SIMONOPETRAS.

There was a group on Mount Athos that had a very strict and ascetic program. Almost every day they fasted and every night they kept a long vigil with countless kneelings, rosaries and a long Service. A monk suffered something, without even being able to determine what exactly was happening to him. He told them that he was sick, but no one in the group believed him. Even the Elder of the group mocked him for being lazy. 

He was constantly trying to be punctual in the strict schedule, but every day he was getting worse.

As soon as he learned about the Saint, he went to consult him.

This monk, Father P., was very familiar to me and had told me: “I felt like no one understood me. I am sick and they tell me: ‘You have nothing!’ When I went to Father Porphyrios, before talking to him, he said to me: ‘You are sick, but no one believes you!’ He told me exactly what I should do, how to talk to my Elder, and I left feeling very refreshed.”

 He had disturbed his nervous system with the indiscriminate and leveling ascetic program. Later, with the blessing of his Elder, he abandoned the escort and took a Holy Cell near a Monastery. He blindly obeyed his Spiritual, was taciturn, avoided socializing and did not stop saying the prayer. After years, not only I, but also many others, discerned in Father P. gifts of insight and foresight. God led him to the Saint and not only was he saved from the worst, but he also reached spiritual heights.

 This incident was very special and rare that only a Saint could shed light on it. Of course, it does not justify in any way those monks who want to abandon their entourage.

Bibliography. Saint Porphyrios the Prophet.

Testimonies.

Publications. Agios Paulites Holy Cell of Saints Theodores Mount Athos

HOLY ANGELS IN THE SKY. SAINT PORPHYRIOS KAFSOKALYVITE.

HOLY ANGELS IN THE SKY

Testimony of Mr. GE, D. Civil Engineer, Athens!

I was in the team of civil engineers who undertook the study and supervision of the construction of the Monastery of the Saint in Milesi,

One evening in 1985, we worked late and, at 01:00 after midnight, before going to sleep, we decided to take a walk in the courtyard. It was summer and the sky was clear. We could see the starry sky clearly and we headed towards the south side of the Cells, that is, approximately under the balcony of the Cell of the Saint.

 There were three of us and, since it did not have the trees it has today, we looked at the celestial dome, filled with hundreds of thousands of bright stars and luminous constellations, Small and large stars, irregularly spread out by the hand of God. At that time I loved and studied astronomy. As we were discussing this fantastic beauty, we saw the Saint coming towards us and when he came near us, very peaceful and calm, he asked us: 

“What are you doing out here? 

“We see the stars... 

“The stars, are they all you see? 

“What else can we see in the night? 

 -Well, the sky is full of Saints and Angels, don't you see them?

No, we don't see anything. 

"Do you want to see them? 

No one spoke, We were left bewildered and the Saint moved away. He descended and disappeared into the forest, apparently, at such a time he left his cell every night to go to the mountain to pray. We stayed for a while - watching him move away, I don't know why we didn't answer.  Perhaps because I felt it as audacity, as pride if I told him: “Yes, I want to see them”), 

In our lives there are opportunities that are repeated and opportunities that never come again. We missed a unique and unrepeatable opportunity, because the Saint had boldness in God and was able to show them to us. 

An elderly nun confided in me the following experience she had with the Saint. Once the Saint went to their Monastery and they hosted him.  As they were talking, he told them that he wanted to go for a walk alone on the mountain behind the Monastery, and left. After a while, this nun went to do some work on the back side of the Monastery, on the north side, and saw on the mountain, high above the trees, a large bird with its wings spread, descending. She continued her ministry and then she heard something like a flutter and saw the Saint descending to the ground right next to her. He said to her: “From what you have seen, you will not say anything to anyone.  Only when I leave, you can tell them,” He did not know if it had anything to do with the bird he saw, but the Saint descended from heaven. 

Bibliography. Saint Porphyrios the Prophet.

Testimonies.

Publications. Agios Paulites Holy Cell of Saints Theodores Mount Athos. Volume C.

Freemasonry..SAINT PORPHYRIUS.

Testimony of Mr. Evangelos P., Athens.

Freemasonry.

 Mr. Homer and Mr. Antipas were friends of my father and they encouraged him to join Freemasonry, but my father avoided it because he knew well the role of this secret organization. He even tried to bring them into contact with the Saint in order to help them escape the nets of Freemasonry.

One night, Mr. Antipas passed by our house and my father happily introduced him to the Saint, who, although he had not been informed, at one point said to him:

    You are a good man, may God bless you.., but you are in trouble!!!

 Where you are integrated, it is not as you think. Now they are presenting everything to you Perfectly, Know that in a short time their true face will be presented to you and they will pressure you. When you learn their intentions, you will not be able to stand it, you will “leave” and you will be in your office. Elder, we are working for the good of the Homeland. 

 "Come and confess and change your life... Where you are, it is a very bad thing..! However, I "see" that you will not be able to bear it... 

The Saint shook his head sadly, while the man was surprised by the Saint's straightforwardness. Without getting angry, he smiled condescendingly, bowed and kissed his hand reverently and left. 

Mr. Antipas was the director of a large bank and a very capable executive. He was a good man and from a good family, but he was also naive, because he believed what they were propagandizing to him in order to gradually introduce him into the sanctuaries of Freemasonry.  When he left home, my father asked the Saint: 

-Grandpa, what did you mean when you told him: “You will leave and be in your office”. 

“Your friend will soon learn truths that he now refuses to see. They will ask him to do things that he should not..., that he cannot imagine now! And they will put a lot of pressure on him! Then he will see their true face, he will understand how entangled he is and his heart will not be able to bear it. He will die on his desk and you will learn about it over the phone! 

Indeed, ten months later, it was noon, the phone rang and they asked for our father. A voice  informed him that that morning his friend had died of a heart attack at his desk. And he was a young man! Immediately our father asked for and we brought him the wooden cross that was a gift from the Saint, and after hugging it tightly, he cried for his unfortunate friend. 

Bibliography. Saint Porphyrios the Prophet.

Testimonies.

Publications. Agios Paulites Holy Cell of Saints Theodores Mount Athos. Volume C.

HE IS GUARDED BY SAINT NEKTARIUS. SAINT PORPHYRIUS.

.

SAINT NEKTARIUS GUARDS HIM

Testimony of Mr. Georgios Tsitsopoulos, Athens

My brother first told me about Saint Porphyrios around 1973 and I went and met him in Kallisia.

A little while later, without us having informed him where I was working, he came late at night to the sheet metal shop in Agios Fanourios where I worked as an employee with my cousin.

The Saint asked us to take a barrel and showed us how to cut it to make a wood stove.  Because it was winter and very cold, I made him and his companion sit at the back of the shop, inside the closed office. As I was cutting the barrel, the electric wheel slipped from my hands, fell on me, got tangled and cut my clothes. I called to my cousin to unplug the cable from the socket, but he did not hear me. At the same moment the wheel stopped. 

The Saint had unplugged the cable and was next to me.  I was wearing a lot of clothes and they were torn to pieces, but in a miraculous way I was not injured at all and embarrassedly I said to the Saint:

-Elder, do you see how calm I am?

-You are not calm, blessed one... Above your head was Saint Nektarios. Can't you see across? The whole area became day!

Opposite the shop were plots and fields. All I could see was darkness, because it was 12 midnight.

***

It was August 14, 1978 and I was passing through the bars of a building in Ano Liosia.  It was early noon and I said to my assistant. Gather the tools, we're going to school. Tomorrow is the Virgin Mary's. Great is Her grace, glorified is Her name! 

And as I hit the hammer to nail the last cement nail, it broke and hung off the balcony, a piece of concrete slab 2.5 x 1.3m., because the contractor had reinforced it with thin iron bars, and I ran straight over the railing into the void. From the third floor I ended up on the street! First I hit a PPC cable, from there on the pillar, then on a fig tree to end up in the lime.  A driver who saw the whole fall stopped immediately, picked me up and took me to the hospital in Kifisia. I was in a coma for a week. They only gave me 8 stitches and when I came to, I went straight to the Virgin Mary of Tinos to thank her.

I also owe gratitude to Saint Nektarios, because - as Saint Porphyrios told me - he is my patron.

When the Saint was building his Monastery, I volunteered to make the iron structures, mainly doors and windows. He didn’t want them made of wood or aluminum. 

One day I was hanging at 9 meters. I was holding on with one hand and with the other I was clinging to a window. I was standing level on a small ledge of the wall and the Saint passed by with Mr. George A..., who said to him anxiously:

-Elder, George is hanging up there!

-Go ahead... He has Saint Nektarios above his head.

He once told me:

-God has given you a great gift.

What is this and I don't know it?

You never get angry and you never blaspheme!

Bibliography. Saint Porphyrios the Prophet.

Testimonies. 

Publications. Agios Paulites Holy Cell of Saints Theodores Mount Athos. Volume C.

The future. Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvitis.

Testimony of Mr. Doukas Bygiatiotis. Real estate agent. Athens.

The future

During my first visits to the Saint, in 1984-5, he told me the following important thing:

-Elder, how do you see the future in general?

-Very difficult days will come, especially when people start to move. The world will not be able to bear it. Greece will be one of the countries that will bear the greatest burden. We must stay united, pray and not be afraid.

-What is the European Community? Is it good that we joined?

-For the big states, it is good.  However, when the movements of peoples begin, we will suffer. It will be difficult for everyone, but especially for Greece, which will bear the greatest burden. Everyone will fall on us...!

-What should we do then?

-God will take care of everything. We should pray day and night, be united, and God will take care of us.

I understood how the European Economic Community (EEC) was created to serve the interests of the great and powerful powers.  At that time, these things seemed strange to me and I hesitated to believe them, but today, 35 years later, I see them come true and I think about how enlightened the Saint was. Now I see them vividly before me, whereas at that time they seemed unbelievable to me. The Saint had told me other things about our future, but unfortunately I did not write them down and I do not remember them well.

Once the Saint also told me the following: “The people who will take the straight path will be few and they will reach their destination and be happy. The masses, drifting away, will fall into wild seas and black mountains.  Beyond them will be waiting for black lions and wild beasts that will devour them. They will find themselves in a dead end and will not have a good end. Alas, we have reached the end of the straight. We are fleeing and joy to those who will flee and will not see this end! 

The distancing of today's man from the path of God is now so generalized that one feels like we live in a jungle where everyone wants to "eat" the other. Most are carried away by this spirit of greed, by a constant struggle to dominate their fellow man, while few are those who faithfully keep the commandments of God.  Perhaps we have reached the final stretch for the end of the history of humanity.

I want to mention that I had also noticed the following important thing. When I wanted to go to see the Saint, something inside me told me that he would not accept me and he did not accept me. However, when he told me how he would accept me, then he did indeed accept me. In other words, the Saint informed me internally whether I should go or not, so that I would not suffer unnecessarily.

The people who went to the Saint were in pain, with various problems and illnesses.  The Saint prayed to God for all of them and took their illnesses upon himself. Perhaps that is why God allowed him to suffer from so many illnesses. The Saint loved everyone much more than himself. To some extent, he also carried the cross of other people. I always felt that the Saint loved me especially. 

He was a terrible saint.

 In May or June of 1991, the Saint called me to come to him and said: “You know, I will soon be leaving for Mount Athos and I called you to say goodbye... Don’t think you are good. You need a long journey and even prayer.

You can’t lie to me!”

The truth was that my confessions to my spiritual director, Fr. Daniel Gouvalis, were not completely honest. Out of shame, I avoided telling him about some sins.

But from St. Porphyrios, nothing could be hidden.  As in the eyes of God everything is obvious, so it is with His saints.

He also told me the following: “Go to Church regularly, confess clearly and receive communion. You will try to pray as much as you can, because only with effort and prayer will you find redemption and it is not easy. It takes a struggle to become a good Christian...!”

When the Saint showed me that he had gifts, I now considered him a saint, because he told me things that I never imagined could happen.  But ultimately, for a person to change his character and be freed from his passions, he needs a hard struggle, he also needs repentance, otherwise he will not be saved. As much as I can, I follow his advice.

Finally, I, who am a zero, will dare to ask God to have us all under His protection and I will ask the great Saint Porphyrios to intercede for us all. I ask forgiveness from God and from the whole world if I should not have written something or if I have written it wrong.

Bibliography. Saint Porphyrios the Prophet.

Testimonies.

Publications.  Agios Paulites Holy Cell of Saints Theodores, Mount Athos. Volume C.

You have not become worse than you were before.

 

You have not become worse than you were before.

It is simply that the circumstances of our life gradually reveal us even to ourselves, removing the veil of self-deception.

And thank God for that!

Seeing myself as I really am is difficult, but it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of my soul.

From this realization comes self-reproach, and what results is not humility and humble speech, but humility full of grace.

Thank the Lord for the school He has given you.

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin)

They asked: “What gives rise to humility and meekness?”

A humble person should not envy anyone,

for that would no longer be humility.

A meek person should not harbor malice against anyone,

for that would no longer be meekness.

They asked: “What gives rise to humility and meekness?”

— “The desire for salvation

not only for ourselves, but also for our neighbors.”

Archimandrite Cyril (Pavlov)

IT WAS AUGUST 4 . Our Father John Kalaidis (a Saint of God) fell asleep in the Lord ♰ on August 4, 2009, in Neochori, Sintiki, Serres prefecture.

IT WAS AUGUST 4

     Our Father John Kalaidis (a Saint of God) fell asleep

 in the Lord ♰ on August 4, 2009,

 in Neochori, Sintiki, Serres prefecture.

    He was buried in a tomb that he had prepared himself, next to the holy church of Saint Raphael. 40 days before he left.

    His Cross, as well as other objects of his, began to smell fragrant.

    He sang and conversed with the Angels and the Saints, a few days before he left.

    His passage into eternity was shocking.

    His shroud was flexible and warm, until the time of his burial.

    During the funeral service, while there were no clouds at all, one appeared and dropped a few drops like tears. 

    The same thing happened at the time of his burial. 

    The cloud again dropped two or three drops of rain and stopped. 

    During the funeral service, 

 at the moment of the change of the Gospel, the flexibility of the Holy Father was clearly visible. 

    His palm fell back as if it were not the hand of a sleeping person. 

    The most venerable Metropolitan of Sidirokastro, Mr. Makarios, during his speech at the funeral service said:

- “Father John is

      a Saint of God.”

  May he intercede at the heavenly altar, 

along with the other saints, 

for all of us.

May we have his wish!

☦️ Tsesmetzis Miltiadis    

       educational

Wayne Greenawalt reports:

Wayne Greenawalt reports: “I recently attended an excellent play. At the end, the actors returned to the stage one by one and the audience gave them a standing ovation.

Later, reading the cast list, I saw the names of the production team and was surprised by how many people worked behind the scenes. However, unlike the actors, their photos and biographies do not appear in the program.  No one applauds them for their work, yet they are essential to the success of the show.

Most of us know from the Bible the names of Peter, Paul, and Timothy, who contributed significantly to the beginnings of the Church. They were leaders, but they were not the only ones.

In Romans 16, the apostle Paul names at least 26 individuals from diverse backgrounds—men, women, Jews, Gentiles, slaves, and commoners—who contributed in many ways to the success of the Church. It is clear that the apostle Paul does not consider them insignificant, but rather highly esteems them.  He praises them for their dedication and hard work. Many of us feel that we do not contribute anything because we do not serve in a leadership position. This is not true. Each of us has gifts that are useful for serving others and that, as such, glorify God” (per. Ea, no. 386, 174).

Bibliography Archimandrite John Kostof. Bright Beacon. Publications Holy Monastery of Saint John of Damascus Oropos Attica 2026

Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell:

Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell:

When we think of miracles, we immediately call to mind Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand, turning water into wine, calming the storm, cleaning lepers, casting out demons, opening the eyes of the blind and ears of the deaf, healing paralytics and those suffering debilitating ailments, as well as raising the dead. 

All these miracles were in fact acts of mercy, meaning they were performed with benevolence and compassion, benefiting those in need. Yet the miracle of Christ walking on water is vastly different. Jesus coming to the disciples amidst the storm-tossed seas is unique; for it not only displays the Creator’s superiority over creation and laws of nature but testifies to His power and might. 

So why did our Lord come to them walking on water? To show His disciples that what they feared most was under His control; the waves that were over their heads were under Christ’s feet. This miracle illustrates tangibly that all storms of life we fear, whether they be physical, emotional, familial, or financial, can become quelled, calmed, or endured by putting your faith and hope into the One True Savior.

 Fr. John

These times press us from all sides:

These times press us from all sides: wars, fear, diseases, price increases, division, lies, people catching colds... and we run after news until we lose our peace. But let us be careful: the turmoil of the world must not enter our soul. Now is when our faith is shown, not when everything is going well. Let us put in more prayer and less panic, more fasting and less judgment, more charity and less stinginess. Fasting is not only changing food, but also stopping evil from our mouths, thoughts and actions. And when we no longer know where to turn, let us run to the Mother of God with a humble heart. She does not promise us life without a cross, but she helps us not to fall under it. Let us not lose hope... because the world may be shaken, but God does not change.  😇🤌

Father Kallistratos

God can work wonder through your efforts, too!

When we are faced with social problems, we often feel helpless. “What can I do that would make a little difference?” In the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus shows us that a little effort can make a big difference (or can have great results). The five loaves and two fish seemed insignificant, but they weren’t. Don’t be awed into inaction by the miracle. God can work wonder through your efforts, too!

Fr. John

Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell: A Little Can Be a Lot.

Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell: A Little Can Be a Lot

The miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand does not begin with an adult: someone of stature; important with prestige and status, ways and means, nor even with someone rich and powerful; it begins with a seemingly insignificant little boy amongst a great crowd of people. A little boy who had a “poor man’s lunch” tucked away upon his person, who instead of keeping it to himself, was inspired to bring it to Christ as an innocent gesture to offer help in a time of need; to “do something,” even if it were deemed too little. But there was a lot contained in that all-too-little gift. 

Five small barley loaves and two tiny fish were certainly not enough to feed so great a crowd (five thousand men, besides woman and children). That’s truly a multitude, to say the least! Yet, this young boy’s small offering was transformed from a “little to a lot” by the power of Christ; Who blessed, broke, and multiplied it to feed and satisfy that entire throng crowed on the side of a mountain, and still have twelve baskets of leftovers. [Note: This miracle becomes a type, a foreshadow, and the words an echo of what will occur at the Last Supper as our Lord institutes the Holy Eucharist.]

God often chooses to use weakness, meekness, and meagerness to showcase His might and power: A young boy toppling a giant with a slingshot; a widow using her last dregs of flour to feed Elijah, only to find that her flour jar became inexhaustible; a poor women offering of her last two pennies at the Temple Treasury; and simple, uneducated fishermen called upon to lead Christ’s Church.

When we make a sacrifice and humbly give God our “all,” even if we might consider it too little or too meager, our Lord is able to take those gifts, multiply them, and use them for His purposes to benefit a greater good.

Fr. John

Dochiariou Monastery, the place where the Mother of God hears us and fulfills our requests from the miraculous icon of “Virgin Mary Gorgoypikoos”✝️Most Holy Mother of God, hear us sinners. 🇬🇷

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Armed with a Harley Benton eight-string, genre-stretching Fr Dionysios Tabakis sent the music world into an unlikely frenzy with debut album Paradise Metal.

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Before Divine Liturgy, after the priest says his entrance prayers and vests, he performs what is known as the Prothesis......

Before Divine Liturgy, after the priest says his entrance prayers and vests, he performs what is known as the Prothesis, meaning in “setting forth” in Greek). This service is also known as the Proskomedia (meaning “offering” or “preparing the offering”) or the Office of Oblation. During this service the priest prepares the Gifts (bread and wine) which will eventually be transported to the Holy Altar for consecration to the Body and Blood of Christ. 

Five loaves of specially baked bread (Prosphora – meaning “offering”), are used to cut portions which are then placed prominently on the Diskos: 1) Lamb (which will be consecrated into the Body of Christ); 2) commemoration of the Theotokos; 3) commemoration of the nine ranks of saints; 4) commemoration of the faithful living (the “Church Militant”); and 5) remembrance of the faithful departed (the “Church Triumphant”).

It is from these last two loaves which the priest takes out particles for the Living and the Dead, remembering them by name and placing them upon the Diskos epitomizing the collective nature and “gathering” (synaxis) of the Church around the Lamb of God – because the Good Shepherd knows each of His Flock by name.

Fr. John