The First Anniversary of the Tragic War in the Middle East (October 7, 2023)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

As we all remember, on October 7th 2023 Hamas gunmen entered the Jewish Kibbutz and the cities of southern Israel and spread death, abuse and rape at a Festival where young people danced for peace! That day 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 were kidnapped.

From that day, a horrible war began in the Middle East between Israelis, Hamas and Hezbollah of Lebanon; other countries, such as Iran and Yemen, also got involved in it. In a central newspaper article on October 7, 2024, one year after the start of the war, the results of this horrible war were written.

"Since this day last year (October 7, 2023) 1.9 million Palestinians, 1 million Lebanese and 60 thousand Israelis have been displaced. Hamas has launched 12,000 rockets at Israel and Hezbollah 8,000. Iran 500 missiles and drones. Israel has already spent 67 billion dollars on the conflict and the economy of Gaza has shrunk by 86%" (TA NEA, p. 2, Monday 10/7/2024).

Overcoming Both Fear and Fearlessness

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The terrorist attacks in Paris, in the heart of Europe, created very deep pain for all of us and we commonly condemn the criminal acts, while we have prayed for the victims of these actions. One cannot transfer a covert war amid civilian people, when they have made it a standard program to be carefree from every evil. Whatever arguments they use to support such outrage cannot eliminate the brutality of the event.

However, the aim of this article is not to stress the nonnegotiable good of freedom and respect for others, but to comment on aspects of the subject which can be specifically summarized in the words fear and fearlessness, and how to overcome them.

The Birth of Christ Celebrates the End of the Sickness of Religion

By His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos
of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The feast of the Birth of Christ cannot be confined to a few sentimental situations: festive decorations, an intellectual and rationalistic interpretation of events, a moralistic framework; rather it has a very profound meaning and existential significance. If one remains at an external level, then they are leaving themselves hungry and thirsty, deprived of a life of meaning and existential freedom.

The incarnation of Christ was considered and was celebrated by the Fathers of the Church and the worshipping ecclesiastical community as the abolishing of religion and its transformation into a Church. In fact, the ever-memorable Father John Romanides had said in the most categorical way that Christ became human, in order to free us of the sickness of religion.