(12 ἀπομαγνητοφωνημένες ὁμιλίες τοῦ Μητροπολίτου Φλωρίνης π. Αὐγουστίνου Καντιώτου σὲ pdf, μεταφρασμένες στὰ Ἀγγλικα)

I.M. Agiou Augoustinou
Florina 531 00
GREECE

Dear Fathers and Friends,
Gerondissa Synglitiki is pleased to send you these homilies of Fr. Augoustinos which have been translated into English.
Most of them have been translated by Rev. Dr. John Palmer of Canada.
We hope you enjoy them and receive much spiritual benefit.
Please feel free to pass them on to anyone you think may be interested.

1. The withered fig tree.pdf

2. Are we Ready

3. Christ Lives and Reigns

4. Christ Noetic Sun

5. Creator of All-1

6. Death and Ressurection

7. Death equals Birth

8. Eternity

9. New Heresies

10. Saint Kosmas the Aetolian as a Missionary

11. The History of the Cross

12. The Salvation of our souls

Are We Ready for Christmas?

(Εἴμαστε ἕτοιμοι γιὰ τὰ Χριστούγεννα;)

Metropolitan Avgoustinos (Kantiotes) of Florina

Beloved in Christ, I would like to ask you a question; I ask it of myself and I ask it of you. Are we prepared to celebrate the great feast of Christmas?

There are two kinds of preparation; material and spiritual. Our material preparation is more or less finished. Housewives have cleaned their houses, husbands have finished – or have almost finished – their shopping, and children await their presents. Everyone has written their Christmas cards, signing them with the customary, ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy New Year’. This is worldly preparation; I am not interested in this. What I am interested in is spiritual preparation, the kind of preparation which makes us ready to celebrate the great event of the Incarnation of the Divine Word as is proper. Only a small number have properly prepared themselves. Of one thousand Christians, I doubt if even one celebrates Christmas truly. Does my estimate seem exaggerated? Let us see.

How is Christmas celebrated today? A portion of Christians will celebrate it ‘typically’, let us say. Hearing the bells on Christmas Eve, they will go and take part in the service out of habit. This is certainly better than being absent altogether; it is something at least. Read more »

A SHORT ANTHOLOGY

 OF NICHOLAS J. SOTEROPOULOS

(IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

CONTENTS TABLE

1. Do You Want To Be Saved?………………………………………………….. 1
2. I Ask for Forgiveness!……………………………………………….. 21
3. Elder Porphyrios Special Interview with Nicholas J. Soteropoulos….……..28
4. The Few…………………………………………………………………………. 34
5. Three Qualities of the All-holy Mary………………………………………….45
6. God Does Not Punish?……………………………..52
7. How Scripture Speaks Concerning Heretics………………………………….55
8. Critical Commentaries (Nafpactou)……………………………………………58
9. Wrong Perceptions Concerining Orthodoxy………………………………….59
10. The Humbling Mystery……………………………………………………….66
11. Proofs of God’s Existence …………………………………………………….68

DO YOU WANT TO BE SAVED?

Read more »

The all Holy Virgin

«And was incarnated by the Holy Spirit and of

the Virgin Mary and became man»

http://www.orthodoxpath.org

Dear friends, humanity is the summit of earthly creation, and if God created nothing else, mankind would be enough to testify that there is a God, an all-wise God, omnipotent and benevolent. What an excellent creation man is! We see a beautiful statue and admire it, and no one dares to say the statue created itself without the sculptor. But, when compared to a human, what is a statue, even the most perfect one kept in a museum and considered a treasure of infinitive value? The statue is dead, inanimate, idle. It has eyes but does not see, ears but does not hear, feet but cannot walk. Man, however, is alive, with soul, and active and creative statue, which when studied more and more gains more and more admiration. Common sense says that, just as every statue was made by an artist, man was created by God.

Man is a marvelous creation of God, a little bit less than the angels, and is divided into man and woman. Man and woman are equal. They have the basic characteristics of human personality, reason, conscience, will and the rest. They do possess differences, but the differences between man and woman does not reduce, but rather enhance the admiration due to humanity. They add beauty and charm, making human life a pleasant thing. Since the first man until now, billions of people have been born. Of these billions of people, men and women, there have been some who have tried to destroy the grandeur of humanity by their criminal acts, they tried to degrade the human personality and put the human race to shame. Mankind fell from the lofty height of honor and dignity into the slime of dishonorable passions, and became like the wild beasts. Reading history and seeing contemporary reality, one shudders and is ashamed of mankind’s horrible crimes and shameful acts. Among billions of people, however, there are still some who, by their acts and virtues, have honored and continue to honor humanity, demonstrating that we were created for a higher purpose, making us aspire for heaven, for the blessed life which man lived in Paradise before the Fall. Read more »

– New Heresies – ΝΕΑ ΑΙΡΕΣΗ

By +Metropolitan Augoustinos (Kantiotes) of Florina

«We will not deny you, Beloved Orthodoxy» – Joseph Vryennios

ΟΥΚ ΑΡΝΗΣΟΜΕΘΑ ΣΕ ΦΙΛΗ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΙΑ…Ιωσήφ Βρυέννιου    

Of late, certain theologians, under the influence of contemporary, world-wide currents, have begun to savour the words «ecumenicity», «ecumenical spirit», and «ecumenical movement», as if they were hard-candy.  Ecumenicity; what a beautiful word!  And yet, behind these words, lay hidden a most fearful danger for Orthodoxy.  What is this danger?  We will show you by means of an example.  
     Imagine a woman, a woman faithful to her husband, a woman who will allow no third party to enter into their relationship, ever mindful of the promises which she had made before God and before men.  She is a woman of exceptional beauty, drawing the eye of many a man.  On account of her uprightness, however, anyone who dares to touch, or to proposition her, immediately meets with her anger.  Should such a one persist, this honourable woman will deliver a strong slap to his face in order bring him to his senses.  
     Those men who are learned in this vile business, however, will try another method.  These will try to uncover what it is that this woman likes; does she perhaps love poetry, or philosophy, or art?  By means of these things the secret admirer will trap her.  With great deftness he will begin having innocent conversations with her on those subjects that are beloved to her.  «What a wonderful poem!»; «What a beautiful painting!»; «What a wonderful play!»; «How sweet a piece of music!»  And thus begins the dialogue.  Gradually the unsuspecting woman is lured into longer conversations with the deceiver who, while his tongue speaks of philosophy and art, his heart leaps at the hope of taking the woman for himself.  Finally, after an air of great familiarity and mutual understanding has been achieved through these conversations, the door is opened to the foul deed, the shameful union.  Just as the most-evil serpent succeeded in beguiling Eve by means of a simple conversation, in like manner the seed of shameful union was sown. Read more »

BISHOP AUGUSTINE N. KATIOTES

FORMER METROPOLITAN OF FLORINA

Anti-papal Discourses

“The piety, or godliness, handed down to us by out fathers we shall not deny…In this we were born, in this we were baptized, in this we associated, in this we live and in this shall we fall asleep (die): and if the occasion invites us, we shall die a thousand times in its behalf and no one shall be able to separate us from this true confession. Do not move eternal bounds, nor transpose ancient legislations…Until the end, brothers in Christ, let us remain firm in Orthodoxy, let us keep godliness/piety unbroken, unshaken, and let us keep the faith sure, let us reverence the fathers, let us venerate the saints, let us fear the Lord, and let us not betray our salvation. No one compels us, nor is forced obviously, if we ourselves do not apostasize (fall away) from the good membership of the Church. Let us, then, be manly and no one shall be able turn us over.

JOSEPH VRYENNIOS

(See, “THE SURVIVING WORKS”, “TA EVRETHENTA”,Vol. I, pp. 147,148, Leipsia, 1768)

Dedicated to the faithful children of the Orthodox Church struggling against papism, especially in the Hellenism abroad.

PROLOGUE

Since the time the patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras without the canonical decision of the Orthodox Church lifted the Anathema against the heretical papists and with frequent declarations and other activities hastened very quickly to the pope, to the orthodox world, and indeed to archbishoprics and metropolises which are dependent upon the Ecumenical Patriarchate, there was created a philo-papal and a philo-unionist climate, which reminds one of the climate prior to the fall of Constantinople. The philo-unionists then, hoping in the pope’s help for the saving of Constantinople, hastened to Ferrara and Florence and signed the false-union with the papists, being heavily pressured religiously, but also being played nationally, since essential help on the part of the pope for the saving of the Byzantine Empire was not given.

After Read more »

In Honour of the Holy Apostles

by matushka constantina

Βιβλίο Μητροπολίτου Φλωρίνης π. Αυγουστίνου Καντιώτου

( he Blessed Bishop Fr. Augustine +

ORTHODOXY BEFORE ECUMENISM

CONTENTS………………………………………………………….1
Dedication…………………………………………………………….
Prologue………………………………………………………………
Instead of an introduction (1971)……………………………………

I. On the occasion of the convening of conventions……Evanston (1954)
In Rhodos (1959)………………………………………………
New Arguments (1969)…………………………………………

II. To the ecumenical patriarchs……………………………………..
Open letter to ecumenical patriarch lord Athenagoras (1962)….
Upon the enthronement of ecumenical patriarch
lord Demetrios (1972)……………………………………
Open letter to ecumenical patriarch lord Demetrios (1985)……
III. Ecclesiastical Affairs in Austrailia……………………………….
Australia (1986)………………………………………………….
Our radical difference (1986)………………………………Done
Dialogue and its consequences (1987)……………………..Done
Are we prohibited from speaking about Christ? (1987)……Done+
Charge against the archbishop of Australia lord Stylianos (1989).
IV. Appendix…………………………………………………………….
Crisis of conscience (1988)………………………………………

Year 42 – Athens – July – August 1986 – Issue No. 447

A timely article from the Greek religious periodical

“CHRISTIAN SPARK”

Editor-Publisher

AUGUSTINE N. KANTIOTES Bishop of Florina

Response to the archbishop of Australia Mr. Stylianos

OUR RADICAL DIFFERENCE

Yet again, my beloved readers, yet again the word is concerning Australia.

We are not disposed to be occupied with the internal problems of the Church of Australia, whose Archbishop is the most reverend Stylianos. As the he himself admits, there is nothing personal between us. Neither have I seen his face nor he mine. There exists however, a collision of ideas, and indeed at the most sensitive point, which is the Orthodox Faith. And in this case according to the spirit of patristic teaching it is permitted to each bishop – and bishop only? – wherever on earth he may dwell, that he raise his voice of protest, so that heresy and error might not prevail not only in his region, but in whichever other place on the planet, because all, clergy and laity, are – we must be – guardians, to whose ears the constant admonition must resound: GUARDIANS, BE VIGILANT! Error, even the incorrect dealing with the issues of the faith, which scandalously shows good will to error and heresy, engender the greatest danger, because the evil as a spark is spread from one end to the other, as the history of heresies testifies.

For this reason this writer also, Read more »

”Kyriaki” , Period 4 – Year 19 – Page No. 910 – Nov. 3, 2002

 What is Hell?

Tι είναι κόλαση

“…So that they too do not come to this place of torture” (Luke 16:28)

“Ινα μη και αυτοι έλθωσιν εις τον τόπον τούτον της βασάνου” (Λουκ. 16,18)

Does another world exist? Behold, my beloved, the huge question that the sacred gospel sets forth today.

I once went to a village, and there they asked me: Who came from the other world? Maybe someone was resurrected, to tell us what’s going on there?…But what do you understand, these people who ask to see a dead man resurrected, if he is resurrected, will they believe? I doubt it. I won’t deny that to see a dead man resurrected is no small testimony. But there is yet a more powerful testimony. Even if a thousand dead people rise up from their tomb, they aren’t silencing testimonies. Because they are people. I have an invincible witness; him whom today’s gospel says, and is more than every other proof and evidence and document. And he is holy Scripture.

Holy Scripture never said a lie; no mistake was ever found in its pages. It contains the words of God. Christ said it: “The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). I then, my brethren, am not waiting for a dead person to be resurrected from the tomb. Nor for my faith to be verified by an x or y scientist. It suffices for me, and I bless the holy Trinity for this, who gave us this small book, the Gospel, so we can have it as guide in our life, a lighthouse in the darkness of the soul.

For this reason unfortunate is the person who doesn’t read the Gospel, and more unfortunate is whoever reads but doesn’t try to practice it. I recommend, therefore, and entreat you: No home without a Gospel! Saint John Chrysostom says: “Wherever the Gospel is, there the devil doesn’t wedge in.”

***

The immortal Gospel assures us also that another world exists. The Old but especially the New Testament preaches it. Hell exists, paradise exists. It preaches it everywhere, and today’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus says it.

Should we narrate it? It is known. What does it say? Read more »

Kyriaki – Sunday Sermonette Issue no. 988

Demoniacs then and Now

(Δαιμονισμένοι τότε και τώρα)

My beloved, you heard the sacred and holy gospel. A small book the Gospel, but it is the most beautiful, most powerful, most superb, incomparable book of the world. Happy, then, is the one who not only reads it, but also tries to enforce it to a “T”;  “blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28).

The gospel today narrates one of the many miracles which our Lord Jesus Christ performed. This miracle is of interest to all, but particularly to young people. For, there were two youngsters that Christ cured here.

***

Where did they live? In the city of the Gadarenes, at the Western shore of the lake of Gennesaret. They were peaceful people, the joy of the city. But suddenly what happened to them? Did they fall ill? Would that they had fallen ill. For, there is something worse than even the most fearful illness, even cancer, too. A crisis took hold of them with fearful symptoms and seen for the first time. They began to tremble like the leaves. Their face grew wild, there eyes emitted flames, their mouth foamed. They fell down and rolled around; at one moment they fell into fire and in another instance into water. They tore their clothes, they stripped nude completely. They left from their homes, went far abroad, into the tombs, and there they slept. They had become the fear and terror of the whole region; no man dared to pass. At some point they would catch them and bound them with chains; but, well, they had such strength inside them, that they broke the chains like threads and frenzily ran into the deserts. What were they? One word: “Demoniacs” (Matt. 8:28).

Someone will say: Fairy tales; the devil, demons, and demoniacs don’t exist.

I too, my beloved, would like for the devil not to exist. Yet, he exists. He isn’t a phantasm, a ghost; he’s a reality, a being, and an entity. That the devil exists is proved by many crimes, which are not explained any other manner. Great psychologists, in regard to people who committed great crimes, find one explanation; that they remain under the influence of an invisible evil-dealing power. In the tongue of Scripture these are called “demoniacs.” That there exists the devil and demons Christ verifies it still more, Who came into the world “in order to loose the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Finally, if someone continues to doubt that the devil exists, let him go to St. Gerasimos of Cephalonia. There the demoniacs gather; but when the priest appears with the cross that the saint held, they shout trembling: “You burned us, “Kapsali” (“Burner”, “Kapsali” is what they call saint Gerasimos). There exists then the devil. But there’s no need for us to go to Cephalonia to see it (i.e., the fact that he exists). Throw a glance into your heart, particularly the youth, and you will see there the influence of Satan. You’ll see similarities, the same symptoms with the youth of the gospel. I remind you of some.

• First similarity. Read more »

ΡΑΣΟ ΚΑΙ ΦΟΥΣΤΑΝΕΛΛΑ

Οι αγωνιστές

    Από τέτοιους κληρικούς, όπως ο Παλαιών Πατρών Γερμανός, από τέτοιους δασκάλους, όπως ο Γεώργιος Γεννάδιος, από τέτοιες προπαντός μητέρες, όπως ήταν οι ηρωίδες του Ζαλόγγου και της Νάουσας, γεννήθηκαν οι αγωνιστές, οι γίγαντες του 1821. Έκλειναν στην καρδιά τους το Χριστό και την Ελλάδα, και γι’ αυτό έψαλλαν με όλη την ψυχή τους το πολεμικό άσμα του 1821·

    «Για του Χριστού την Πίστη την αγία
    •και της Πατρίδος την ελευθερία,
    •γι’ αυτά τα δύο πολεμώ.
    •Κι αν δεν τ’ αποκτήσω,
    •τι μ’ ωφελεί να ζήσω;».

    Δείτε τις σημαίες των αγωνιστών. Δείτε τα ιερά τους σύμβολα και συνθήματα. Όλα εκπέμπουν πίστη ακράδαντη. Οι Χειμαρριώτες είχαν σημαία, στην οποία είχαν ζωγραφισμένους τους αρχαγγέλους Μιχαήλ και Γαβριήλ με τις πύρινες ρομφαίες. Οι αρματολοί και οι κλέφτες είχαν σημαία, στη μια πλευρά της οποίας ζωγραφιζόταν ο Σταυρός, ενώ στην άλλη η Αρχιστράτηγος, η Υπεραγία Θεοτόκος. Ο Λάμπρος Κατσώνης είχε σημαία με την εικόνα των αγίων Κωνσταντίνου και Ελένης. Ο Μάρκος Μπότσαρης λευκή σημαία με την εικόνα του αγίου Γεωργίου. Ο Παπαφλέσσας ένωσε λωρίδες ράσου και φουστανέλας και έκανε τη σημαία των στρατευμάτων του. Ο Πλαπούτας έ-γραψε στη σημαία τα αρχικά Ι. Χ. Ν. (Ιησούς Χριστός Νικά). Και ο Αθανάσι-ος Διάκος κάτω από το Σταυρό το σύνθημα· ελευθερία ή θάνατος…

    Οι Φιλέλληνες

    Στην αρχή του ιερού αγώνα όλη η Ευρώπη ήταν δυσμενώς διατεθειμένη εναντίον των Ελλήνων. Αλλά η αυταπάρνηση ανδρών, γυναικών και παιδιών, η οποία ιδίως αποκορυφώθηκε στην πτώση του Μεσολογγίου, έκανε τα έθνη να στρέψουν βλέμματα θαυμασμού προς την μικρή αλλά ένδοξη αυτή Πατρίδα. Και τότε άρχισαν να συρρέουν από όλα τα έθνη άνδρες, οι οποίοι πρόσφεραν ό,τι είχαν, τα χρήματά τους, τις γνώσεις τους, και τέλος θυσίασαν και τη ζωή τους υπέρ της επιτυχίας του αγώνα. Αυτοί είναι οι Φιλέλληνες.

    Κορυφαίος μεταξύ των Φιλελλήνων θεωρείται ο λόρδος Βύρων, ο οποίος ήλθε στο Μεσολόγγι και σε ηλικία 36 ετών πέθανε στην αγκαλιά της Ελλάδας, την οποία αγάπησε ως δική του πατρίδα. Οι τελευταίες του λέξεις ήταν·

    «Ελλάδα! Σε σένα έδωσα ό,τι μπορεί να δώσει άνθρωπος·
    την περιουσία μου, το χρόνο μου, την υγεία μου, τώρα μάλιστα και
    την ίδια τη ζωή μου. Είθε η θυσία μου να αποβεί προς ωφέλειά σου».

    …Μπροστά μας σήμερα στέκονται η ζωή και ο θάνατος. Η ζωή με το Χριστό· ο θάνατος μακριά από το Χριστό. Ας επιλέξουμε τη ζωή την αθάνατη. Ας γευθούμε την αθάνατη ζωή με λόγια, με έργα και με τα Μυστήρια. Ο Χριστός ας βασιλεύει στην καρδιά μας. Αυτός ας ρυθμίζει την ατομική, την οικογενειακή και εθνική μας ζωή. Αυτός και μόνο ας είναι ο Θεός μας· το όνομά του επικαλούμαστε· εκτός από Αυτόν δεν αναγνωρίζουμε κανέναν άλλο. Εάν προσπέσουμε ενώπιόν του με μετάνοια νινευιτική, εκζητώντας το άπειρο έλεός του, τότε υπάρχει ελπίδα που δεν καταισχύνει ότι η αγαπητή μας Πατρίδα θα εξέλθει από το σκοτάδι σε νέο φως, θα δει καλύτερες ημέρες, και σαν πρωινό αστέρι θα λάμπει και πάλι ανάμεσα στου λαούς Ανατολής και Δύσης!

    Apospasma bibliou “ΕΘΝΙΚΑΙ ΕΠΕΤΕΙΟΙ”  tou Mitropolitou Avgoustinou Kantioti (Mitropolitοu Florinis)

–

    RASO AND FOUSTANELA

                         The Agonistes – «The Fighters For Greek Independence»

Translated by Constantine George Mourtos, (LTC, US Army, Retired)  Nafpaktos, Greece, 30 March 2010  

Of such clerics, as Palaion Patron Germanos, of such teachers, as George Gannadios, and, of, particularly such mothers, as the heroines of Zalogou and Naousa, were born the Fighters for Greek independence, the Giants of 1821.  Having accepted Christ and Greece in their heart, enabled them to sing with their entire soul the battle hymn of 1821:

«For Christ’s Faith, the Holy,
and our Country’s Freedom,
For these, two, I will Fight,
And, should I not secure them,
What use is to go on living?»

Oh, Say, look at the Battle Banners of the Independence Fighters!  See their Holy Symbols and Battle Cries!  All, breathe unequivocal Faith!  The Himarians had a flag upon which was drawn the Archangels Michael and Gabriel with the fiery furnace (πυρινεs ρομφαιεs?).   The Armatoli and Klefts had a flag on whose one side was drawn the image of the  Holy Cross, while on the other was drawn the image of the Supreme Commander, the Holiest Theotokos.  Lambros Katsonis had a flag on which was drawn the  Icon of  Saints Constantine and Helen.  Markos Botsaris, had a white flag upon which was drawn the image of Saint George.  Pappaflesas, joined together strips of the priestly garment «raso», with strips of a foustanela, thusly, creating the battle banner of his army! Plapoutas, wrote on his flag the initial «I.X.N.» ( Jesus Christ Nika – Jesus Christ Conquers).   Lastly,  Athanasios Diakos, carried a banner with the Holy Cross upon it, and right below was the written the Battle Cry: Liberty or Death!

           The Philhellenes

At the beginning of the Holy Fight for Independence, Europe, in its entirety, was disposed against the Greeks.  However, the willingness to self-sacrifice exhibited by the Greek men, women, and children, climaxing with their Martyrdom at the  fall of Messolonghi, compelled the European Nations to take notice with admiration of this small, but glorious, country.  Thus, men from all Nations stepped forth, offering whatever they had; their wealth, their knowledge, and at the end, the very sacrifice of their lives, to insure the success of the struggle.  These men, are known as the Philhellenes.

Foremost among the Philhellenes was Lord Byron, who came to Messolonghi to join the Greek Cause, dying at the age of 36; embraced by Greece, whom he loved as his own country.  His last words before he died were:

«Greece!  To you I gave whatever mankind can give;
my fortune, my time, my health, and now, even my life.
May my sacrifice be proven to be to your benefit».

….Today, we are also presented with a choice of Life or Death.  Either Life, with Christ, or, Death, far from Christ.  Let us chose Life Eternal.  Let us savour Life Eternal through our Words, our Deeds, and through the Mysteries.  Let Christ Reign in our hearts.  Let Him regulate our individual, family, and national life.  Let Him be our Only God-Whose Name we are drawn to-Except for Him we recognize none other.  If we kneel before Him, with true repentance, asking for His Boundless Mercy, then there is unrelenting hope that our beloved Country will emerge from the darkness to new light, will realize better days, and, like the Morning star, will, again, shine between the peoples of the East and West!

Excerpt from Metropolitan Augustine Kantioti (Mitropolitan Florinis)

Translated by Constantine George Mourtos, (LTC, US Army, Retired)  Nafpaktos, Greece, 30 March 2010

Speech given by Fr. Augoustinos on 7/4/1963 i.e. before he became a bishop
on Holy Sunday evening
Holy Church of St. George in New Ionia, Greece

I have not translated all the introduction, but translated the “point” of the speech. Very prophetic.

The withered fig tree

… on the road to Bethany, the Bible says characteristically that the Lord was hungry. But isn’t that strange for the Bible to say that Christ hungered? Christ, who who made the plants, the trees that bend from the weight of the multitude of juicy fruits, hungered? Christ, who rained manna in the desert and fed hundreds of thousands of people, hungered? Christ, who opens his hands and bestows countless benefits to the world, hungered? Christ, who blessed the five loaves of bread and fed 5,000 men, not including women and children, hungered? Christ was hungry? Yes, my beloved, He hungered as a man, because He hungered —but in this situation, my beloved, Christ’s hunger— exactly like when He was on the Cross and thirsted, where He said “I thirst”… Today we hear “I hunger,” but in a few days, on Good Friday we will hear Him say “I thirst.” He who created the oceans and lakes and waters, says “I thirst?” He both hungers and thirsts? But beyond this hunger and thirst, my brethren, we must see another hunger and another thirst – because Christ truly hungers and truly thirsts. He hungers for our salvation, He thirsts for the salvation of all the world... Read more »

H EYΘYNH TOY ΣKANΔAΛOY

The Responsibility of Scandal

«Οὐ μὴ φάγω κρέα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἵνα μὴ τὸν ἀδελφόν μου σκανδαλίσω»(Α΄ Κορ. 8,13)

I will [am prepared to] not eat meat forever in order to not scandalize my brother» (I Co. 8.13)

Σήμερα, ἀγαπητοί μου, εἶνε Κυριακὴ τῶν Ἀπόκρεων. Σὲ ὅλους τοὺς ναοὺς τῆς Ὀρθοδοξίας διαβάζεται ἡ περικοπὴ τῆς μελλούσης Κρίσεως. Τὸ σημερινὸ εὐαγγέλιο εἶνε τρομερό. Ποιός ἁμαρτωλὸς δὲν τρομάζει; Ὅσο κι ἂν προσπαθῇ κανεὶς νὰ διώξῃ τὴν ἰδέα τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τῆς κρίσεως, ἡ ἡμέρα ἐκείνη ἔρχεται, εἶνε βέβαιο. Θὰ ἔρθῃ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου νὰ κρίνῃ «τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ»(Ψαλμ. 9,9).

Today, my beloved, in all the Orthodox temples is read the passage of the future Judgment. Today’s Gospel is very serious. Which sinner does not “get really concerned?”  As much as one may try to get rid of the idea of death and judgment, that thid day is coming, it is certain. The Son of Man will come to judge «the universe in righteousness» (Ps. 9.9).  

Θὰ κρίνῃ εἰδωλολάτρες, Ἰουδαίους, Χριστιανούς. Τοὺς εἰδωλολάτρες μὲ τὴ φωνὴ τῆς συνειδήσεως, τοὺς Ἰουδαίους μὲ τὸ Δεκάλογο.
Ἡ δική μας ὅμως θέσι, τῶν Χριστι ανῶν, τῶν βαπτισμένων, ποὺ κοινωνοῦμε τὰ ἄχραντα μυστήρια καὶ «μπροστὰ στὰ μάτια μας ζωγραφίστηκε ὁ Χριστὸς ἐσταυρω μένος»(Γαλ. 3,1), θὰ εἶνε τραγική. Γιατὶ θὰ κριθοῦμεκαὶ μὲ τὴ φωνὴ τῆς συνειδήσεως, καὶ μὲ τὸ Δεκάλογο, ἀλλὰ πρὸ παντὸς μὲ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιο, ποὺ εἶνε ζυγαριὰ ἀκριβείας· θὰ ζυγιστῇ καὶ τὸ τελευταῖο δράμι ἀρετῆς καὶ τὸ τελευταῖο δράμι κακίας.

He will judge idolaters, Jews and Christians: the pagans with the voice of conscience, the Jews with the Decalogue but our own position as baptized Christians who commune of the immaculate Mysteries and before our eyes is depicted Christ the Crucified One (Gal. 3.1), will be tragic. For we shall be judged with the voice of conscience and with the Decalogue/Ten Commandments but above all with the Gospel, which is a scale of precision. The last ounce of virtue and last ounce of evil will be weighed.             

Δὲν τρέμετε, δὲ φοβᾶστε; Ἐγὼ εἶμαι ἁμαρτωλὸς καὶ τρέμω τὴν ἡμέρα ἐκείνη, ποὺ θὰ στηθῇ τὸ δικαστήριο, θ᾽ ἀνοιχθοῦν βιβλία, καὶ ἄγγελοι θὰ τρέχουν γιὰ νὰ συλλέξουν «τοὺς ποιοῦντας τὴν ἀνομίαν καὶ τὰ σκάνδαλα»(Ματθ. 13,41). Ναὶ «τὰ σκάνδαλα»! Καὶ γιὰ σκάνδαλαλέει σήμερα καὶ ὅλο τὸ ἀποστολικὸ ἀνάγνωσμα.

Do you not tremble, are you not afraid? I am a sinner and tremble at that day when the court will take place, the books will be opened, and angels will run to collect «the doers of iniquity and scandals» (Mt. 13.41). Yes, «the scandals!»…                     

* * *

Ἀκοῦμε «σκάνδαλο». Τί εἶνε τὸ σκάνδαλο; Στὴν ἑλληνικὴ γλῶσσα, ἀγαπητοί μου, σκάνδαλο στὴν κυριολεξία εἶνε μία πέτρα ποὺ ῥίχνει κάποιος στὸ δημόσιο δρόμο, καὶ καθὼς περνάει ὁ ἀνύποπτος διαβάτης σκοντάφτει πάνω της, πέφτει καὶ τσακίζεται. Σκάνδαλο λοιπὸν εἶνε τὸ πρόσκομμα στὸ δημόσιο δρόμο.

We hear «scandal.» What is a scandal? In the Greek language my beloved, scandal is literally a stone, which someone throws into the public street, and as the unsuspecting passer goes by, he stumbles over it, falls, and gets cut. So the scandal is the thing in the way on the public road.   

Ἀλλ᾽ ἐκτὸς ἀπὸ τοὺς δρόμους αὐτοὺς ὑπάρχει καὶ μία ἄλλη ὁδός, πνευματική, ἡ ὁδὸς πρὸς τὸν οὐρανό. Ἀρχίζει ἀπὸ τὴ γῆ καὶ φθάνει ἐκεῖ!
Εἶνε ὡραία ὁδός, ἀλλὰ ὁ δι άβολος προσπαθεῖ νὰ τὴν κάνῃ ἀδιάβατη. Ὁ Κύριος μᾶς λέει ὅτι δὲν εἶνε ἀδιάβατη, εἶνε ἁ πλῶς «στενὴ καὶ τεθλιμμένη»(Ματθ. 7,14). Ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτὴ ἦταν κλεισμένη· ἕνα τεράστιο ὁδόφραγμα ἀπέκλειε τὴν ὁδὸ πρὸς τοὺς οὐρανούς· ἦταν τὸ ἁμάρτημα τοῦ Ἀδὰμ καὶ τῆς Εὔας, τὸ προπατορικὸ ἁμάρτημα. Κλειστὸς λοιπὸν ὁ δρόμος. Δὲ μπόρεσαν νὰ τὸν ἀνοίξουν οὔτε προφῆτες, οὔτε πατριάρχες, οὔτε ἄγγελοι. Τὸν ἄνοιξε –ποιός; τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἡ θυσία τοῦ Ἐσταυρωμένου(πρβλ. Ἑβρ. 10,20)· ἀπὸ τότε πλέον ὁ δρόμος αὐτὸς εἶνε βατός (πρβλ. «τρίβον βατὴν Πόλου τίθησιν ἡμῖν»εἱρμ. – καταβ. ἰαμβ. καν. Χριστουγ. α΄ ᾠδ.), καὶ τὸν βάδισαν καὶ τὸν βαδίζουν ἀμέτρητοι ἅγιοι.

But besides these roads there is another avenue, a spiritual way, the path to heaven. It begins from the earth and arrives there! It’s a beautiful road but the devil tries to make it impassable. The Lord tells us [though,] that it is not impassable. It is simply “narrow and full of sorrow» (Mt.7.14). This road was closed. A huge roadblock kept the road from reaching heaven. It was the sin of Adam and Eve, the ancestral sin. Closed therefore, was the road. Neither prophets nor patriarchs nor angels could open it. Who opened it? The blood of Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of the Crucified One (Heb. 10.20). From then, this road is passable (see the iambic katavasia of the canon of Christmas, 1st ode) and innumerable holy ones have marched on it and march on it even now.   

Ἀλλ᾽ ὅπως στὸ δημόσιο δρόμο κακοποιοὶ ῥίχνουν πέτρες ἢ βάζουν νάρκες, ἔτσι καὶ στὸ δρόμο πρὸς τὸν οὐρανό, ἔρχεται ὁ σατανᾶς καὶ τὰ ὄργανά του καὶ παρεμβάλλουν σκάνδαλα. Τί σκάνδαλα; Τὰ σκάνδαλα ἐδῶ εἶνε τὰ λόγια καὶ τὰ ἔργαἐκεῖνα, ποὺ σπρώχνουν ἰδίως τοὺς πιὸ ἀδύναμους στὸ βάραθρο τῆς ἀπωλείας. Σκάνδαλο γιὰ τὸ παιδὶ γίνονται οἱ κακοὶ γονεῖς, ὅταν δὲν προσέχουν καὶ μπροστὰ στὸ ἀθῷο ἐκεῖνο ἀγγελούδι αἰσχρολογοῦν, βωμολοχοῦν, ὅταν τὸ ἀντρόγυνο μαλώνῃ διαρκῶς. Σκάνδαλο γιὰ τὸ μαθητὴ εἶνε ὁ δάσκαλος, ὅταν στὸ σχολεῖο εἰρωνεύεται ἱεροὺς θεσμούς, ἐμπαίζῃ τὰ θεῖα, διδάσκῃ ἀθεΐα.

But as in the public street evildoers throw stones or lay landmines, so also in the road to heaven, Satan comes with his ministers and they lay scandals along the way. What scandals? The scandals here are the words and those actions, which push especially the weakest into the pit of perdition.
Scandals for the child are the bad parents when they are not careful in front of that little angel and speak nasty obscenities, profanities, and when the husband and wife constantly fight. Scandal for the student is the teacher at school who mocks sacred institutions, plays with things divine, teaches atheism.

Ἀκόμη χειρότερο σκάνδαλο γίνεται ὁ κληρικός, ὅταν ὡς ἱερεὺς δὲν ἐκτελῇ τὰ καθήκον τά του, ὅταν ὡς ἀρχιερεὺς καταλαμβάνῃ θρόνο ὄχι γιὰ νὰ διδάξῃ καὶ φωτίσῃ ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον γιὰ νὰ θησαυρίσῃ. Σκάνδαλο γίνεται ὁ ἄρχοντας, ποὺ κατέχει ἀξίωμα, ἀλλὰ δὲν δείχνει ἐνδιαφέρον γιὰ τὰ κοινά. Σκάνδαλο γίνεται γενικὰ ὁ καθένας γιὰ τὸν πλησίον του, ὅταν δὲν προσέχῃ τὴ ζωή του.

Even a worse scandal is the cleric when as a priest he does not perform his duties, or when as a high priest [a bishop] he takes up the throne not to teach and enlighten but rather to collect treasures. Scandal is the public official who holds an office, but has no interest in the common people’s needs. In general, any or everyone becomes a scandal when he/she does not watch his/her life

Γεμᾶτος ὁ κόσμος ἀπὸ σκάνδαλα. Δὲν ὑπάρχει κάποιο μέρος, κάποιο λιμάνι ἤρεμο ἀπὸ σκάνδαλα; Ἂς πᾶμε λοιπὸν στὴν Ἐκκλησία!  Ἀλλὰ δυστυχῶς ἡ ἐκκλησία μας δὲν βρίσκεται σήμερα στὸ ὕψος τῆς ἀποστολῆς της. Κι ὅταν λέω ἐκκλησία δὲν ἐννοῶ τὸ θεῖο καθίδρυμα, ἐννοῶ τὴν ἀνθρώπινη πλευρά του μὲ τὶς ἀτέλειες ποὺ παρουσιάζει. Μπαίνει κανεὶς στὸ ναὸ νὰ ἐκκλησιαστῇ, καὶ ἀπὸ τὸ ἕνα μέρος τὸ παγκάρι καὶ οἱ ἐπίτροποι, ἀπὸ τὸ ἄλλο οἱ ψαλτάδες μὲ τὶς φωνασκί ες καὶ τὴν εὐρωπαϊκὴ μουσικὴ ποὺ μετέτρεψε τὴν ἐκκλησία σὲ θέατρο, ἀπὸ τὸ ἄλλο οἱ ἱερεῖς μὲ τὴν ἀνευλάβεια καὶ τὴ φιλοχρηματία τους, ὅλα αὐτὰ διώχνουν τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς ἀ πὸ τὴν Ἐκκλησία, καὶ πηγαίνουν ἄλλοι στοὺς φράγκους, ἄλλοι στοὺς προτεστάντες, ἄλλοι στοὺς ἰεχωβῖτες· ἔτσι ἡ Ἐκκλησία συνεχῶς ἀραιώνει.

The world is full of scandals. Is there any place, any port that is a haven from scandals? Let us go to the Church. Unfortunately though, our Church today is not up to the height of its mission. And when I say the Church I do not mean the divine Foundation [or Organism of the Body of Christ], I mean its human side with the imperfections that it shows. One comes into the temple to pray and on the one side is the candle stand and council members, on the other the chanters with their shoutings and european music that has turned the church into a theatre. And then there are the priests with their irreverence and taking this all just as a business. All these things drive the Christians from the Church and they go elsewhere: some to the Franks [sadly referred to today, as (Roman) Catholics];others to the Protestants; others to the Jehovah Witnesses. And the Church continually thins out.         

* * *

Τὸ σκάνδαλο, εἴτε τὸ κάνει παπᾶς ἢ τὸ κάνει ἐπίσκοπος ἢ τὸ κάνει ἡ μάνα ἢ τὸ κάνει ὁ πατέρας ἢ τὸ κάνει ἀξιωματικὸς ἢ τὸ κάνει ὑπουργὸς ἢ τὸ κάνει ὁποιοσδήποτε ἄλλος, εἶνε ἁμαρτία μεγάλη. Καὶ εἶνε τόσο μεγαλύτερη ὅσο ὑψηλότερη εἶνε ἡ θέσις ποὺ κατέχει ὁ σκανδα λοποιός. Δὲ μᾶς ἔφερε ὁ Θεὸς σ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸν κόσμο γιὰ νὰ γκρεμίζουμε καὶ νὰ κατα στρέφουμε· δὲ μᾶς ἔφερε γιὰ νὰ βαπτίζουμε «εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος»καὶ μετὰ νὰ τοὺς «ξεβαφτίζουμε» μὲ τὰ σκάνδαλά μας. Δὲ μᾶς ἔφερε γιὰ νὰ εἴμαστε σκότος, ἀλλὰ γιὰ νὰ εἴμαστε φῶς· ὁ κάθε Χριστιανὸς πρέπει νὰ εἶνε «φῶς»καὶ «ἅλας»μέσα στὴν κοινωνία(βλ. Ματθ. 5,13- 14), νὰ προσπαθῇ μὲ τὴ ζωή του νὰ φέρῃ καὶ ἄλλους στὸ δρόμο τοῦ Θεοῦ. Νά ποιό εἶνε τὸ μεγαλύτερο ἐμπόδιο στὴν ἐξάπλωσι τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ, τὰ σκάνδαλα τῶν «χριστιανῶν».

The scandal, whether from the priest or bishop or mother or father or an officer or civil servant or whomever else remains a great sin. And it [the scandal] is so much the greater the higher the position the scandal-maker has. But God has not brought us to this world to break down and destroy. He did not bring us to baptize «in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit» and then «unbaptize” with our scandals. He did not bring us to be darkness, but light. Every Christian needs to be «light» and «salt» in society (Mt. 5.13-14), to try with his life to bring others also, to God’s way. Here is what is the biggest obstacle in the spread of Christianity, …the scandals of the «Christians.»   

Πῆγαν ἱεραπόστολοι στὴν Ἀφρικὴ νὰ διδάξουν τὸν Χριστιανισμό. Καὶ θὰ ἦταν σήμερα Χριστιανοὶ ὄχι μόνο ἡ Ἀφρικὴ ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅλος ὁ κόσμος. Βλέπουν ὅμως τὴν ἀσυνέπεια, τὰ σκάνδαλα τῶν λεγομένων «χριστιανῶν», καὶ λένε· Καλὸ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιο, θαυμάσιος ὁ Χριστός, ἀλλὰ φυλαχτῆτε ἀπὸ τοὺς «χριστιανούς»!…Συνεπῶς τὸ μεγαλύτερο ἐμπόδιο στὴν ἱεραποστολὴ εἶ νε ἡ δική μας ὑποκριτικὴ ζωή. Καὶ ἐδῶ στὴν πατρίδα μας, ἐὰν ἐμεῖς οἱ κληρικοὶ ποὺ φοροῦμε τὸ ῥάσο ἀλλὰ καὶ κάθε ὀρθόδοξος ἤμασταν ὑπόδειγμα βίου, ἡ Ἑλλὰς θὰ ἦταν παράδεισος, οὐράνιο βασίλειο. Μὲ τὰ σκάνδαλα ὁ λαός μας σπρώχνεται στὴν ἀ θεΐα, στὴν ἀπιστία, στὴν ἄβυσσο.

Missionaries went to Africa to teach Christianity. And they would be Christians today not only [in] Africa but the whole world as well. They see however, the inconsistency, the scandals of the so-called ‘Christians,» and say “the Gospel is good, Christ is marvellous, but be careful of the ‘Christians’!” … As a consequence, the biggest hurdle in missionary work is our hypocritical life. Here also, in our country if we as clergy who wear the robe but also, every Orthodox were a model of life, Greece would be paradise, a heavenly kingdom. With the scandals, our people is pushed into atheism, into unbelief, into the abyss.                                     

Γι᾽ αὐτὸ ὁ Χριστὸς τονίζει τὴνεὐθύνη τῶν σκανδαλοποιῶν. Δὲ θέλω ν᾽ ἀκούσετε ἐμένα, ἀκοῦστε τί λέει ὁ Χριστός. Σὲ λίγες περιπτώσεις ὁ Κύριος ἤλεγξε τόσο αὐστηρὰ ὅσο στὴν περίπτωσι τῶν σκανδαλοποιῶν. Γιὰ τὸν Ἰούδα, ποὺ ἔγινε σκάνδαλο στὸν κύκλο τῶν μαθητῶν, ὁ Χριστὸς εἶπε, ὅτι ὁ ἄνθρωπος αὐτὸς προτιμότερο νὰ μὴ ἐγεννᾶτο(βλ. Ματθ. 26,24). Καὶ ἄλλοτε εἶπε· «Οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων»· ὅποιος μὲ λόγια καὶ ἔργα σκανδαλίζει κάποιον, καὶ τὸν πιὸ ἀσήμαντο, εἶνε προτιμότερο νὰ κρεμάσῃ στὸ λαιμό του μυλόπετρα καὶ νὰ καταποντιστῇ στὴ θάλασσα. «Ὃς δ᾽ ἂν σκανδαλίσῃ ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμέ, συμφέρει αὐτῷ ἵνα κρεμασθῇ μύλος ὀνικὸς εἰς τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ καὶ καταποντισθῇ ἐν τῷ πελάγει τῆς θαλάσσης»(Ματθ. 18,6-7).

That is why Christ stresses the responsibility of the scandal doers. I do not want you to hear me. Hear what Christ says. In a few cases, the Lord rebuked so strictly the scandal doers. Concerning Judas who became a scandal in the circle of disciples, Christ said that it “would have been better for that man to not have been born” (Mt. 26.24). And in other places, He said, «Beware to the world of scandals.» Anyone who with words and deeds scandalizes even the most insignificant, it is preferable for him to be “hung with a millstone around his neck and be drowned in the sea… He who scandalizes one of these little ones [children] who believe in Me…” (Mt. 18. 6-7).     

Τί θέλει ὁ Χριστὸς νὰ πῇ μ᾽ αὐτά; Συνιστᾷ, ὅπως λένε μερικοί, τὴν αὐτοκτονία; Ἄπαγε τῆς βλασφημίας! Δὲ λέει τέτοιο πρᾶγμα, ὄχι. Ἐννοεῖ τοῦτο· ἂν κάποιος ἔχῃ γίνει δημόσιο σκάνδαλο καὶ ἔχῃ ταραχθῆ μιὰ ὁλόκληρη κοινωνία, αὐτὸς ν᾽ ἀποσυρθῇ στὴν ἀφάνεια, νὰ φύγῃ, νὰ κλειστῇ σ᾽ ἕνα μοναστήρι ἢ νὰ πάῃ μακριὰ στὸ ἐξωτερικό, ὅπως γινόταν παλαιότερα, νὰ μὴν ἀκούγεται τὸ ὄνομά του καὶ σκανδαλίζῃ. Τώρα ἀντιθέτως σκανδαλοποιοὶ μεγάλοι ἔχουν τὴν ἀξίωσι νὰ βρίσκωνται στοὺς θρόνους καὶ τὶς θέσεις τους καὶ νὰ κυβερνοῦν.

What does Christ want to say with these words? Does He as some say, recommend suicide? Away with such blasphemy! He says no such thing. He means this. If someone has become a scandal to the public and alarmed an entire society, he should go into oblivion, leave to be closed up in a monastery or as would happen in the old days, go far abroad so that his name would not be heard and people continue to be scandalized. In contrast, great doers of scandals have the honor to be found on thrones with positions to govern.

* * *

Ἀλλὰ πέστε μου, ἀγαπητοί μου, ὑπάρχει κανεὶς ποὺ δὲν σκανδάλισε ποτέ κανένα, οὔτε ἕνα μικρὸ παιδί, οὔτε μιὰ γυναῖκα; Ἀμφιβάλλω. Ὅλοι μας κατὰ κάποιο τρόπο σκανδαλίσαμε τὸν πλησίον, εἴτε μὲ λόγια εἴτε μὲ ἔργα εἴτε μὲ τὴν ἐν γένει συμπεριφορά μας. Ὅλοι εἴμαστε σκανδαλοποιοί, στὸ βαθμὸ μόνο διαφέρουμε.

But tell me, my beloved, is there anyone who has not scandalized another, not even a small child or a single woman? I hesitate to think such. We all, in some way have scandalized the one next to us, either by words or deeds or our general behavior. We are all scandal makers who only differ in degree

Πῶς μπορεῖ ν᾽ ἀποφευχθῇ ἢ νὰ θεραπευθῇ ὁ σκανδαλισμός; Ὁ ἀπόστολος Παῦλος, ποὺ ἔφτασε σὲ μεγάλο ὕψος ἀρετῆς, στὴ σημερινὴ ἀποστολικὴ περικοπὴ λέει, ὅτι ὁ ἴδιος ἔκανε γι᾽ αὐτὸ μεγάλες θυσίες· καὶ δικαιώματα καὶ ἐξυπηρετήσεις καὶ ἀνέσεις, ὅλα τὰ θυσίασε. «Οὐ μὴ φάγω κρέα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα», λέει, εἶμαι διατεθειμένος νὰ μὴ φάω ποτέ κρέας, «ἵνα
μὴ τὸν ἀδελφόν μου σκανδαλίσω»(Α΄ Κορ. 8,13).

How can the scandalizing leave us or be healed? The Apostle Paul who arrived at a great height of virtue, in today’s apostolic passage says that he himself made great sacrifices and gave up rights of being served with amenities, sacrificing all. «I will not eat meat forever,» he says. I am prepared to not ever eat meat “so I do not scandalize my brother «(I Co. 8.13).   

Ἔχοντας ὑπ᾽ ὄψιν αὐτὰ ἂς προσπαθήσουμε νὰ ῥυθμίσουμε τὴ ζωή μας. Γονεῖς, ἐκπαιδευτικοί, κληρικοί, ἄρχοντες, μὴ γινώμαστε σκάνδαλο. Νὰ ζοῦμε μὲ πίστι καὶ ἀρετή, μὲ ἁγνότητα, μὲ ἐγκράτεια, μὲ σωφροσύνη, μὲ δικαιοσύνη, πρὸ παντὸς μὲ ἀγάπη. Νὰ ζοῦμε ἐδῶ σὰν φωτεινὰ ἀστέρια, κι ὅταν ἔρθῃ ἡ ὥρα νὰ φύγουμε ἀπ᾽ τὴ ζωὴ αὐτὴ καὶ νὰ φτάσουμε στοὺς οὐρανούς, νὰ μᾶς ἀξιώσῃ ὅλους ὁ Θεὸς ν᾽ ἀκούσουμε ἐκεῖ τὴ φωνὴ τοῦ Κυρίου· «Δεῦτε οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ πατρός μου, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου»(Ματθ. 25,34)· ἀμήν.

Taking into consideration these things let us try to regulate our lives. Parents, educators, clergy, rulers, let us not become a scandal. Let us live with faith and virtue, with purity, with moderation, with wisdom, with justice, above all, with love. Let us live here like bright stars, and when our time has come to leave this life and to arrive in the heavens, may God make us all worthy to hear the voice of the Lord, «Come, o blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the world was made» (Mt. 25.34). Amen.

(†) ἐπίσκοπος Αὐγουστῖνος

(+) Bishop Augustine

(Ἀπομαγνητοφωνημένη oμιλία του Μητροπολίτου Φλωρίνης π. Αυγουστίνου Καντιώτου στον ιερό ναό του Ἁγίου Ἰωάννου Γαργαρέττας – Ἀθηνῶν τὴν 17-2-1963)

Taped speech of Metropolitan of Florina, Augustine Kantiotis in the sacred temple of St. John Gargarettas, Athens, 17/02/1963