STYLIANOS
By the grace of God, Archbishop of Australia,
To all the Reverend Clergy and devout faithful of our Holy Archdiocese.
Dearest brothers and sisters, and beloved children in the Lord;
All of Christendom is preparing this year, once again, to celebrate Christmas, within a world that is troubled, frantic and contradictory.
The following are Christmas carols which are sung or chanted throughout the Orthodox Christian world in a variety of languages and musical styles. As one may note, Orthodox Christmas carols tend to have a deep explanation of theological teaching or re-tell in musical form the stories surrounding the Nativity of Or Lord Jesus Christ, or of the various other days of Christmas (known in Orthodoxy as “Dodecaimeron” – that is the Feast of the 12 Days of the Nativity). Thus there are carols for the Feast of the Epiphany which mark Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River and the beginning of His ministry. In this liturgical arrangement of the feastdays beginning with the Nativity on 25th December and ending with the Epiphany, the Church links the reason and purpose of the Incarnation with Christ’s ministry of salvation. Anyway enjoy the small selection.
By Manlio Dinucci
Voltaire Network | Rome (Italy) | 6 December 2014
The Pope’s statements in Turkey shocked Syrian refugees. Indeed, the head of the Catholic Church thanked Ankara for its assistance without referring to the context. The flight of the Syrian population was in fact caused by the military support provided to the jihadists, including by Turkey. In addition, the situation of refugees may turn to disaster after international food assistance as halted on 1 December. The UN thereby intends to punish the refugees, who, since the Syrian presidential election in June, have proven that far from being opposed to the Syrian Arab Republic they are overwhelmingly in favor.
By Aya Lowe
In a land where neither business nor booze is known to prosper, one enterprising Palestinian turns hops and locally grown grapes into both profit and pride.
The use of digital technologies is reshaping human brains and the impact on young people must be considered by their parents and educators, a neuroscientist warns.
Below are some very characteristic and very important passages from Saint John of Damascus on the subject of Hell:
*1. Hell is not God’s punishment, but it is a state of receptivity. It appears that Hell and Paradise as “places” do not exist. There is only God, who is present in all places (omnipresent).
ModeOfLife.org 