Showing results by author "St. Gregory Palamas" in All Categories

The Saving Work of Christ, the second volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, covers all the major events in God’s dispensation in the flesh, from the Birth of Christ to the Day of Pentecost.

Opening passage "THE time is always right to make a beginning of a way of life that will lead to salvation. To prove this, the great Paul says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us do the works of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day” (cf. Rom. 13:12–13). He does not mean that one particular hour or day is the acceptable time, but the whole period after the manifestation of Our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. When the visible sun has risen upon earth it is time...

The Parables of Jesus, the fourth volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, covers the parables of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Prodigal Son, the Second Coming, the Unforgiving Servant, the Marriage Feast, the Sower, and of Lazarus and the Rich Man.

Contents: 1. That True Faith is Impossible Without Works of Repentance; 2. That Baptism Alone is Not Sufficient to Save Without Keeping God’s Commandments; 3. and On Why God Made Those Who Would Perish. St. Gregory represents Orthodox theology at its most sublime. Patristic theology in the fourteenth century, of which St. Gregory is indubitably the greatest exponent, touched the very boundaries of theological expression. St. Gregory’s sermons are among the finest in Patristic literature. In his treatment of the manifold themes contained therein, he is remarkably consistent in ...

Mary the Mother of God, the first volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, is a collection of some of the greatest homilies on the Theotokos ever written, including the most celebrated of all Palamas’ writings, his sermon “On the Entry of the Mother of God into the Holy of Holies”.

This sermon is Homily 53 in the surviving corpus, and may be found in the complete edition (with notes) in Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (2009 and 2014), and an earlier translation (without the notes) may also be found in Mary the Mother of God: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (2005), which is also available in Kindle format. See Sample Passage: "She lived, as though in paradise, in a place removed from the earth, or rather, as though in the courts of heaven, for that sanctuary was a symbol of those courts. Thus she led an unencumbered life without cares or occupation, free from ...

"The unseen patron of evil is full of evil ingenuity. Right at the beginning he can drag away, by means of hopelessness and lack of faith, the foundations of virtue already laid in the soul. Again, by means of indifference and laziness,he can make an attempt on the walls of virtue’s house just when they are being built up. Or he can bring down the roof of good works after its construction, by means of pride and madness. But stand firm, do not be alarmed, for a diligent man is even more ingenious in good things, and virtue has superior forces to deploy against evil. It has at its disposal ...

Miracles of the Lord is the fifth volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, and covers the Healing of the Paralysed Man in Capernaum, the Raising of Lazarus, the Healing of the Blind Men, the Raising of the Widows Child, the Healing of the Man Possessed by Devils, and the Healing of the Ten Lepers.

"I shall start by quoting to your charity the end of the Lord’s parable in today’s Gospel reading, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14). The Lord teaches us this through the whole parable, that we might strive to be not merely among those invited, but among the elect. For anyone who is just one of those called, but not one of the chosen, is not only deprived of the light without evening, but is also led away into outer darkness. After his hands have been bound, because they did not do God’s work, and his feet, because they did not run towards God, he is delivered up...

On the Saints is the third volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, in which the saints of both the Old and New Testaments are presented for the encouragement and edification of the faithful.

Contents: 1. That True Faith is Impossible Without Works of Repentance. St. Gregory represents Orthodox theology at its most sublime. Patristic theology in the fourteenth century, of which St. Gregory is indubitably the greatest exponent, touched the very boundaries of theological expression. St. Gregory’s sermons are among the finest in Patristic literature. In his treatment of the manifold themes contained therein, he is remarkably consistent in maintaining a balance between originality of thought and strict adherence to the tradition of his predecessors. Moreover, his genius resides in...

Homily XXIV from the corpus, in Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (2009 and 2014), with introduction and detailed notes. Also published in The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (2008). Excerpt:- "Those miracles accomplished by the Lord in the flesh, which bore witness that He was God’s only-begotten Son in His own person, united with us in the last days, came to an end. On the other hand, those wonders began which proclaimed the Holy Spirit as a divine person in His own right, that we might come to know and contemplate the great and venerable mystery of the Holy ...

"That evil which is evil in itself, namely sin, originates from us. On the other hand, what our senses perceive as evil, because it is grievous and painful, can also be from God who, like a physician, uses it to restrain and heal what is truly evil. When those who have sinned can be cured, He tends them in all sorts of ways, but if they are incurable, He even takes away their life for the salvation of the rest. Therefore we are to blame for our own misfortunes, since we make ourselves deserving of cauterizations, whereas He is our benefactor and Saviour in this, as He removes the real evil....

These two sermons are Homilies 21 and 22 in the surviving corpus, and may be found in the complete edition, Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (2009 and 2014), as well as in The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (2008), the latter of which is also available in Kindle format. The two sermons are: 1) On the Ascension of Our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ: Also Describing How the Sabbath as Laid Down in the Law is Fulfilled. 2) On the Same Feast: Referring also to Passions and Virtues

"He Who was before anything existed, and of His goodness made everything out of nothing, is in all things, even though He is above all. He was in the world before He came in the flesh, but the world did not recognize Him, as they did not want to (cf. John 1:10). But those who were willing did know Him. All who acknowledged Him were accepted, and those who did not were left, as Paul, who not only wanted to know God, but was wanted by Him, and strove to apprehend that for which also he was apprehended (Phil. 3:12), says, writing of the pagan Greeks: “Even as they did not like to retain God ...

On the sunday of all saints, is a sermon (Homily XXV in the surviving corpus) taken from On the Saints (2008), the second volume in the series, Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, the purpose of which is to bring the life and teaching of this remarkable fourteenth century saint (1296–1359) to a wider readership, to all those who are interested in the rich Biblical tradition of the Church Fathers. "Truly “God is glorious in his saints” (Ps. 68:35 Lxx). Let us call to mind the martyrs’ superhuman struggles, how in the weakness of their flesh they put to shame the evil one’s strength, ...