The Dialectic of the Church in the World

By Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece

(Excerpt from a Homily for the Sunday of Orthodoxy in 2000)

The sacred images, but the very Divine Liturgy itself, as well as the hymnology and everything else that transpires within the church constitute a complete break with the criteria of all that takes place in the world outside the church.

This break or rupture is expressed by our Lord when He says: "My Kingdom is not of this world". By so stating our Lord not only declares that the present world is a place of death, displacement and failure, but also that the world is unable to become man-befriending, with respect for all who are weak; that it cannot become a world devoid of pain.

The Church is "not of this world"; She does, however, live "in the world", for the world's salvation. Her word, the comprehensive and dialectic orthodox word, is in opposition to the "mind" of the world; at the same time, however, the object of her mission is man, who abides in the world. Her kerygma revolves around problems which beset man, not because she does not observe the many positive things that are being accomplished, but because she knows that the positive elements "of this world" are also carriers of death, unless they are transformed within her, into works unto God's glory. Otherwise, they remain works of human vanity. That which is positive for the world is always chained to the unjust, to that which is inhuman and demonic.

Orthodox Criteria for Voting in Political Elections

Many Orthodox Christians often wonder, when it comes to voting for political leadership of any kind, how they are to vote. Though it is difficult to give a general answer to this question, below is an example of what sort of criteria we should look for to help us choose best. It is an encyclical by Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, issued in May 2014, on the local government elections of Greece and the elections of the European Parliament. Though this bold encyclical is given in a unique context of elections in Greece, without being associated with a particular candidate or political party, since this would not be prudent for any ecclesiastical figure, and in the midst of government corruption, essentially it gives criteria to help Orthodox anywhere to arrive at the best choice possible, and avoid a similar crisis as endured in Greece.

The Absurdity of Conservatism and Liberalism

By John Sanidopoulos

Let us begin with some quotes that demonstrate the absurdity of conservatism and liberalism:

* The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected. -- G. K. Chesterton

* Conservative: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others. -- Ambrose Bierce

Orthodoxy and Political Ideologies

By Protopresbyter Fr. John Romanides

When we look at the teaching about purification, illumination and theosis, we are looking at a science. But can we give this science a political character? Can we Orthodox Christians claim, for example, that only leftists are able to acquire noetic prayer or that someone who possesses noetic prayer is obligated to be on the Left or on the Right? Of course, we cannot make such a claim.

Archbishop Christodoulos on the Future of Europe

By His Beatitude Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece

Address to the University of Iasi - "Futurum" June 2003

Right Honorable Chancellor,
Honorable Professors,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My very dear youths, our pride and hope,

I am deeply moved as I speak to you in your University today, in this town where, during the years of slavery, a Greek School flourished. At that time we spent together stony years, years of persecution and of death, years of suffering. Freedom remained hidden like embers smouldering in the souls of your forefathers, and of the Greeks who lived here with you and thanks to your hospitality. In those years learning was a rare good and the price to be paid for it was high, sometimes with persecution, sometimes even with one’s own life. Those years have left memories deeply engraved, as if by a penknife, on the marble of our hearts. May our address today be considered a homage to the memory of your forefathers, who wrapped the Greek School in the cocoon of their affection.

The Myth of Byzantine Caesaropapism

The article below is a response to an article titled The Real Islam, Ctd which made the following statement: "You could argue, in fact, that Constantine’s adoption of Christianity as a state religion was an original sin from which Christianity has still not recovered."

Constantine And Christianity

February 1st, 2010
by Daniel Larison
The American Conservative

You could argue this, but it would have no basis in fact. This may seem a minor point, but the misunderstanding of Constantine’s relationship to Christianity is a common and very frustrating one. Regardless of what one thinks Constantine’s reasons for becoming first a patron of Christianity and then a convert may have been, it is very important to understand what his patronage and involvement did not entail. First of all, Christianity did not become a state religion under Constantine. Christianity became the emperor’s favored religion, and this meant a diversion of wealth away from pagan cults and towards the Church, but the religion did not achieve a distinct and higher legal status until considerably later.

National Healthcare and the Church-State Relationship in Byzantium

By John Sanidopoulos

July 25, 2009

"Dr. Miller is a learned and enterprising historian with a fascinating theme. He shows beyond a doubt that the Western hospital tradition goes back to the early Byzantine Empire in the fourth century." -- Medical History

Fr. John Romanides writes the following about the relationship between Church and State in the Roman Empire following the conversion to Christianity of Emperor Constantine the Great: