What is Man? Series (2)- Male and Female Engaged in the Holy Struggle

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Beloved in Christ,

Before we start discussing anything, we have to recognize that there is a difference, an enormous difference, between the state of Creation before the Fall and after the Fall. We also have to acknowledge that we only know, through our senses and through our rational knowledge, the formal, the fallen world. All we know about the state of the cosmos, before… Continue reading

The Christian Family Suspended Between Tradition and Temptation*

Root of JeseeBeloved Brothers and Sister in Christ,

As you can see, even from my short greeting, this talk about family is actually a talk in the family. I am not here to preach to strangers, but to converse with people familiar to us who will be able to better understand what I have to say, because you are hearing it from within. You hear a lot from the outside as well; there is a lot of talk about family these days, with everyone trying to define, or rather re-define, what family is, many times based on personal thoughts and feelings or ideologies of various groups of interests, creating a lot of confusion. In the midst of all… Continue reading

Looking Death in the Face or The Aesthetics of Dying

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” (1Cor 15:54-55)

As a parish priest one has the privilege to face all aspects of human life from birth until the final departure. In the eyes of a priest, humanity is exposed in its most glorious and most deplorable experiences. Among them one of the most challenging is death. Even writing about it is a difficult task because it is a very unpopular subject.  Nobody wants to die and even more so, nobody wants to talk about it, is a taboo, a place where you just don’t want to go… Continue reading

My father? I dont know…

Visitation Icon, Fresco at Timios Stavron Church in Palendri, CyprusI’ve recently stumbled upon two blog posts addressing the donor artificial insemination from a perspective that goes against the grain of the society trends, acknowledging a  problem that is often dismissed. Here are the links:

Orphaned at conception:

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/deadbeat_donor_dads/

Who did I come from? The children of donor dads grow up:

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/who_did_i_come_from_the_children_of_donor_dads_grow_up/

I also wanted to give the readers a personal Orthodox perspective, both as a priest and as a medical doctor; so here we go.

There is a great number of problems with the issue of sperm bank donors that rank from practical theology to human psychology.  I will try to put my thoughts in… Continue reading