Hieromonk Gregorios

Love Your Enemies

Elizabeth Theokritoff

A Commentary in the Light of the Fathers

The Divine Liturgy

Understanding the Vice of Passing Judgment

Do Not Judge

When we wish to emphasize the importance of something, we say that it is a matter of life and death. A matter of primary importance for those of us who believe in heaven and hell - perhaps even the most important - is our departure from the world and the life after death. After we are born, the only thing we can take for granted is that at some point we will die. In Holy Scripture, death is called the way of all the earth (3 Kingd. 2:2), because it is the road which we will all travel. All of us, therefore, must contemplate our death and prepare to encounter it. Christ himself stresses this, saying: Therefore, be ready, for it is at an hour which you do not expect that the Son of Man will come. (Matt. 24:44)

An Approach to the Mystery of Death

Be Ready

When Christ first spoke about the Mystery of the Divine Eucharist, He called Himself the 'Bread of Life', which came down from heaven to be offered for the life and salvation of the world. Christ, the 'Bread of life' comes down at the moment of the Eucharistic annunciation into the virgin Church, and the holy CHurch becomes the 'good earth and blessed' which brings forth the Bread of life. It is this reality of Christ's descent and His presence within the Church that we experience in the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is Christ in our midst. The holy Evangelists and the God-bearing Fathers spoke to us of Christ as they experienced Him when He was with them, as they experienced Him as a living reality in the Divine Liturgy: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, con­cerning the Word of life (1 John 1: 1-2). It is from the writings and eucharistic experiences of these saints, who have seen the true Light, who have heard the Word and 'touched the immaculate head of the Master', and who are eternally contemporary, that the present commentary is compiled. Hardcover edition of ISBN: 978-0981731766

Repentance and Confession

Hieromonk Gregorios

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