Archpastoral Reflections
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This past year, the Pew Research Center and the Gallup poll reported that a small percentage of Americans are active in their religious communities, and few are attending worship services. But, why is it that on Easter night our churches are filled with hundreds of brethren, even those who attend rarely, if at all? Tomorrow, known in Greek as Kathara Deftera or Clean Monday, Orthodox Christians begin a spiritual journey called the Great Lent. It is a time of promise, of expectancy and of renewal. Tomorrow, we begin fasting, we attend colorful worship services and keep customs honored for many centuries by Orthodox Christian families. March 18 marks the beginning of the Great Lent. It is known in Greek as 'Kathara Deftera' or Clean Monday. The word kathara is closely related to catharsis or cleaning. As we begin this season of Holy and Great Lent, we do so in anticipation of the blessings we will receive as we commune with Christ through the special services, observances, and disciplines of our Orthodox Christian faith. We embark on a journey of faith, with the destination of the joy of Pascha before us, knowing that abundant spiritual treasure awaits if we are committed to intensifying prayer and fasting and service to others in charity. A few weeks ago we closed our personal Book of 2011 and placed it in the library of eternity. Rather than make resolutions for the New Year - resolutions which more than likely I would not keep - I decided instead to reflect upon the past, observe more carefully the present, and try to envision the future, as these aspects of time bear upon the life of the Church and of her members. The story is told about a number of frogs which were placed by scientists in a tub of water whose temperature was exactly the same as the pond from which they were taken. "We must feel the urgency to undertake this missionary effort immediately" "Priests work cooperatively with the laity and utilize their individual gifts to build the community, the Church, the Body of Christ." Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord,
In recent times, we observe an elevated level of concern. Many challenges arise. The world is suffering and yearns for help. Indeed, we are going through a general test. Some people call it a financial decline; others refer to it as a political crisis. So far as we are concerned, it is a matter of spiritual perversion. And a solution exists.2014
Metropolitan Methodios' Paschal Message
Archpastoral Reflection on Forgiveness Sunday
Archpastoral Reflection on The Great Lent
Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios for Holy and Great Lent 2012
Archpastoral Reflection "Imagine" By Metropolitan Methodios
Archpastoral Reflection
Thoughts for the new Ecclesiastical Year
The Parish and the Priest
Ecumenical Patriarch Issues Catechetical Homily For Holy And Great Lent
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