Orthodox Patristic Books

  PROLOGUE. Some non-Christians resort to the Old Testament to prove that the Christian God is harsh. This view, however, is only half the truth.The whole truth will be revealed in the stories of the Old Testament, which are outlined in the present book. Then we will be moved to exclaim: “ Who is as great a God as our God? You are the God who works wonders ” (Psalm 77:13-14).   HIGHLIGHTS "If there is a God, He must be compassionate; I have stepped over corpses, yet He still keeps me alive," confessed an atheist. Yes! God was, is, and will always be compassionate. That is His very nature. Thus, He was compassionate even in the Old Testament.   He had to deal with a fallen world unlike any before, a world that had sits own psychology, its own DNA. Accordingly, it required a special approach, one that aligned with its psychology. Its defining trait was hardness of heart. Parents burned their children alive, offering them as sacrifices to their gods. In s...

  PROLOGUE Alexander the Great was a conqueror; he ruled over the known world. However, he conquered it with weapons and an army, by defeating his enemies. Saint John Chrysostom was also a conqueror; greater than Alexander the Great. He conquered souls, not with weapons and armies but with love as his only weapon. We shall see this unfold. George I, Patriarch of Alexandria (7th century), authored the work: “Exegesis, namely, the Life, Conduct, and Miracles of our Holy Father, Ecumenical Teacher, and Archbishop John Chrysostom”. It contains unknown and fascinating details about the life of Saint John. It was published for the first time (text and translation) by the current professor of the University of Thessaly, Mr. Sotirios Balatsoukas (Trikala, 2016, pp. 568). This work serves as a primary source for our book. A SEGMENT OF A CHAPTER Part A 2. John shocked Athens (...). With his mother’s “blessing” (since his father had passed away), he went to ...

  PROLOGUE. The Holy Fathers, guided by the light of the Holy Spirit, "penetrated" the depths of the Sacrament of Baptism and "discovered" its secrets. Precious things; we carry within us a great treasure. May this book help us, so that we can use-evaluate this treasure, for the salvation and sanctification of our souls. Amen. A SEGMENT OF A CHAPTER   Baptized and Unbaptized " The demons dwell in the souls of the unbaptized, because they want to deceive them and pollute them...and they incite them to works that God hates. " And that's not the only bad thing. The unbaptized does evil things with ease. And when he does something evil, e.g., a homicide, he feels guilty, but in comparison to the baptized person, who commits the same evil, his guilt is light, bearable. In other words, they have no (great) inhibitions about such sins.     St. Diadochos  " From the moment a man is baptized and born again, Satan comes...

"Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist" (Mt.11:11), said Jesus of John the Baptist.He was the supreme ascetic; he who was filled with the Holy Spirit from His mother's womb (Lk. 1:15);he who preached Christ in Hades, and many more such wonders. Prologue PART I 1. Gabriel's message    2. Mute and deaf    3. Questions-answers    4. A strange meeting    5. John's birth and Circumcision    6. Herod slaughters the infants    PART II 1. Hermit    2. Confronting the Devil      PART III 1. The Jordan River    2. His motto    3. Chatting with the crowds    4. Brood of vipers    5. "Divide and conquer"    PART IV 1. "Behold the Lamb of God"    2. Α Visit to Jesus    3. The bride and the bridegroom    4. John and the ne...

  God: " My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you " (Prov. 3:1-2).  And modern science "confirms" that faith in God and the observance of His commandments bring health and longevity. A great thing indeed.  We will examine this.     CONTENTS PART I    1. " It is not good " 2. " Connected " 3.  Our words PART II.   1. The lost one 2. The mistake Man is not what he seems; what shows is half of his existence; what is not seen is the other half; he may look beautiful, handsome, smiling on the outside, but inside he has nightmares... - Doctor, I'm lonely; save me! A sick man asked his psychiatrist. - Distract yourself with pleasures and amusements. - I've had enough of them. I'm disgusted. - Distract yourself with travel. - I've been all over the world. I'm tired. - Watch comedies, you will laugh! - They get on my nerves! - Don't say tha...

       T he Epistles are written by Paul in ancient Greek. However, if Paul would be writing them in demotic words, what sentences would he be using? Nobody knows!      Τhus, the essence is to accurately convey the spirit and meaning of Paul. We tried to do this in this book, by translating in demotic the above Epistles, extracting the appropriate messages.      In this book some innovations related to the translation and the interpretation of the Epistles are presented, that have been "discovered" by St. Nicodemous the Hagiorite, a profound scholar of the Scriptures and our guide in the writing of this book.      It is also a brief presentation of the Church history of the first century. May it be  useful for all Christians, laymen and clergy. We wish it with all our hearts. Amen.    CONTENTS PART I   FROM  JANUARY 1st TO THE  FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION. PART II. TRIODION PART III. GREAT LEN...

The teaching of the Holy Bible and the Holy Fathers of our Church on the issue “Priest and High Priest ” is extensive. Volumes could be written on it. However, keeping in mind, “give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser” (Pr. 9:9), we simply touch on the subject. May the seed “fall on good ground” (Lk 8:8) and bear much fruit, pleasing Jesus Christ. Amen. CONTENTS Prologue 1. Church: ark of salvation 2. Church & clergy 3. Holy things in a holy way PART I 1. Priests: God's gift 2. The priesthood of the laity 3. It is a personal choice 4. “Feed My lambs” 5. The Βishop is a watchman PART II 1. Clergy marriage 2. Married and single Priests 3. Married and single Bishops 4. Priests and Βishops   Bishops are a type of Christ. The Priests and Deacons are like the hands of Christ, because through them the work of the Bishop is carried out. First the head then the hands. But the head can do nothing without the hand.   The Bishops stand on the Synthron, as a sign t...

One of the greatest gifts that our savior Jesus Christ left to His Church, for the sake of His beloved people, is the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Through this Sacrament we meet our Lord, our Savior! Is there anything greater than this? Contents Prologue PART I 1. The Tradition of the Mystery 2. Common Meals and Holy Communion 3. The First Liturgy 4. The Evolution of the Liturgy 5. The Evolution of Proskomede PART ΙΙ 1. Bread and Wine 2. Entrance Prayer. Vestments 3. Liturgy and Kneeling 4. “Christ is in the midst of us" 5. Eucharist and Union of the Church PART III 1. The Priest as Holy Altar 2. One Priest Two Liturgies? 3. Ancient High Priest Liturgy 4. How they Communed 5. Dismissal. Antidoron PART IV 1. “According to the pattern” 2. “Our sacrifice may be acceptable” 3. “Let us stand aright” 4. “Behind closed doors” 5. Silently or Aloud? 6. Eucharistic Prayers PART V 1. Early Church & Holy Communion 2. Great Turn 3. Participating in the Divine Liturgy 4. “In all and for...

" How great are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom" (Ps. 104:24). Nowhere else, in this world does God's wisdom and omnipotence manifest so obviously as in creation! "Oh Lord, I heard your voice and was afraid!" (Habakkuk 3:2). Watching, O Lord, Your works, it was as if You were talking to me. And I was afraid...!  We can't articulate the miracle of creation. What we can do, is just to touch upon it. And this is what we try to do in the present book . CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART I 1st - 6th DAY OF CREATION FIRST DAY 1. The creation of earth and the heavens 2. "The earth was invisible" 3. "Let Light be born" SECOND DAY The firmament THIRD DAY 1 . The seas 2. "And the dry land appeared" Moses met God at the peak of Mt. Sinai in person, and stayed with him for a total of 80 days (Ex. 24:18, 34:28). During this period God revealed to Moses in detail how He created the world and Moses wrote it down, otherwise wha...

“Man is the only one who eats without hunger, drinks without thirst, speaks without saying anything” (Mark Twain).  Of course, this may apply to every human being but never applies to Jesus because He was God, and as God was the only one Who even His slightest “movement” had a significant meaning. That is why the Gospels are a continual revelation of mysteries, a vast ocean of hidden life-giving messages.  From that vast ocean we have drawn some drops, which in front of the dry wisdom of this world are large springs. This could sooth the tired traveler of this world. AMEN CONTENTS PROLOGUE INTRODUCTION                       1. Creation of the New Testament 2. Jesus as Preacher  C hrist’s mission on earth had two purposes. One was to teach the people, and the other was His Crucifixion. During His public life, many times the Jews had tried to capture Him , but “no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet co...

What is Little Holy Water and what is Great Holy Water? How did the one Holy Water come about, and how did the other? And how are they used?  These topics, and others, are presented in this book. May it benefit our brothers in Christ. Amen. CONTENTS Preface The Orthodox answer In summary  T oday they say: "The Great Holy Water is the same as the Little one." Is this the case? How will we find the answer? Not just any answer but the right one, the orthodox answer. We will seek it within Orthodoxy. According to our research, it turns out that the Little Holy Water and the Great one are two different things. One is truly little and the other is truly great. Accordingly, different is the use of one, different is the use of the other.  This is the "view" of our Orthodox Church on this particular issue. And this must also be the "view" of all its members. Our personal views are valid, when there is no tradition. But when there is, we leave our personal views asi...

(... ) Why did Jesus place Peter as head of the Twelve and not Andrew the First Called? (...). What temptations, what persecutions, what dangers did Andrew suffer for the sake of Christ? And how did he die for Christ? We will read about all these in this book. May he give us strength in the name of the Lord. CONTENTS prologue PART I UNTIL PENTECOST 1. Disciple of the Baptist 2. "Behold the Lamb of God!" 3. Preamble to the call 4. Their Calling 5. The Final Calling 6. Andrew the First Called 7. Peter the head of the Twelve 8. Living with Christ 9. "Beginning in Jerusalem" PART II THE PROFILE OF ANDREW’S WORK 1. The Main Sources 2. Hunger, thirst and more 3. His Preaching Strateg 4. Preaching and miracles PART III THE TOURS OF SAINT ANDREW 1. With the blessing of the Virgin Mary 2. In Sinope 3. In Samsun 4. In Nicaea 5. Returning Back to Pontus PART IV SAINT ANDREW IN PATRAS 1. From the Byzantium to Patras 2. Arriving in Patras 3. Continuing to Perform Miracles 4. And...

J esus said to His disciples: "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Mt. 18:18). Have we reckoned that? Assuredly, one of Christ’s greatest gifts to His Church is the rite of Confession. CONTENTS PART I THE HISTORY OF CONFESSION 1. Public and private Confession 2. Confession before the Priest 3. Confession or discussion? 4. The service of Confession PART II REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION 1. The Lord’s mercy "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood" (Mt. 27:4), Judas said to those who crucified Christ. However, Judas should have said these words to the merciful Lord, to kneel and seek His mercy, and his heart would fill with hope. But instead of doing this, he committed suicide! (Mt. 27:5). He recognized his illness, but he did not go to the doctor. You may also have sinned. You may also be overwhelmed by grief and despair, saying “ My situation is hopeless, ” “I’m lost, ...

"You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day" (Gen. 2:16-17). Adam ate and (spiritually) died. "We are what we eat" (L. Feuerbach). Food, whatever it is, affects our spirituality.  We will see in this book how this mysterious thing happens. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1. Belly & Heart 2. Cuisine And The Banquet SECTION I MAN & ANIMAL 1. The Difference (....) B oth man and animal have the same bodily instincts: Hungry, thirst, sleep and sexual reproduction, which are all, for the same purpose: the survival and the propagation of the species (...).  However, the instincts of man are under the control of his mind. In other words, logic intervenes between the personality of man and his instincts. On the contrary, animals are identified by their instincts. This difference makes man a man and the animal an animal.  For m...