Author: Constantinos Metallidis

He preached repentance and through that preaching he did missionary work. A paradox really… how is it possible for such a sermon to have an impact on the souls of people? And yet; it is, and very naturally so, since he was calling souls to return to their natural state, their pre-temporal relationship with their Creator, to their full rest, whether they were Christians or not…

For the first time in the New Testament, he gives the disciples on the mountain – and therefore all of us who want to be disciples of Him, the revealed God – a commandment: ‘listen to him’…

It is impossible to have missionary activity without delivering to our brothers and sisters the unadulterated Orthodox doctrine; mission is the offering of the true faith, the only faith that leads to salvation…

Our Lord’s final exhortation to His disciples and by extension to all of us, the Mission, cannot leave us indifferent. On the contrary, it ought to swirl in our minds, shape our character, regulate our heartbeats, guide our steps and direct our lives…

Just as the Virgin Mary, having first surrendered herself to the providence of God, claimed her Annunciation – that is, she received the most joyful, the most shocking news that heaven ever whispered to earth – so we, too, need to surrender ourselves to the providence of God, to stand by His side, to ask Him to strengthen us in our ministry and to support us in our efforts to achieve the Annunciation of the Gentiles…

Man was created free… he has the ability to accept or reject. But every soul, without exception, finds rest in the presence of its Creator. When it meets Him, it lives a Christmas within! It celebrates Christmas and each time it renews this unique encounter…

The tax collector’s was a profession full of shamelessness and insolence, with no rational justification for all that they did, and it was a trade full of insolence as well as theft covered by the law on the outside. Yet He who called him felt no shame for any of this…

“What prevents us from being baptized?” cry with the Ethiopian and the nations, brothers and sisters unbaptized all over the world, where the Truth of Christ is ignored…

This is Joseph who was previously in hiding. But now after the death of Christ he showed great boldness. For he was neither insignificant, nor of those who remain unnoticed, but one of the members of the Congress and very illustrious. From this indeed his valour is clearly shown. For he condemned himself to death when he proclaimed his abhorrence of all by his sympathy for Jesus, and dared to ask for His body, and did not depart until after he had accomplished what he wanted…

Castus and Emilio repented and were led to martyrdom. The Lord forgave them and, as St. Cyprian points out, “although they were defeated in the first battle, they were victorious in the second. Those who had previously retreated before the flames became stronger than the flames…

The bravery of the martyrs covered the cowardice of the disciples in these difficult events and for this they were honoured by the Lord; first to them the message of the Resurrection came from the angel, first to them Jesus appeared risen and they received the first command to transmit the joyful announcement of the Resurrection of Christ…

Saint Cyril was born, in all likelihood, in 313 AD in Jerusalem. From his pious and orthodox parents he received as a sacred heritage piety and correct doctrines, at a time when the heresy of Arius was actively and expansively manifesting itself in the area of faith. At the age of only twenty, and while…

He approached the king asking for gold and promised him that with it he would buy pearls and precious stones to offer to him and the empire. Constantine relented and granted Zoticus as much gold as he needed. Immediately, the Saint came to an understanding with the soldiers who were assigned to kill the lepers. Bribing them, he bought the sick, transported them to a region outside Byzantium, made tents for them to live in, and tried in every possible way to ease their pain…

After Jesus’ final and decisive command to his disciples, just before his ascension, which was decisive for all humanity: “Go ye into the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation”, the Apostle Andrew, the first-called, was called to illuminate with the unique, indescribable and always relevant light of the Gospel Bithynia, the regions around the Black Sea, Byzantium, Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly and the Peloponnese…

The prophet Jonah – whose name means “dove” – is found in the Old Testament book of the same name, not as the author of the book but as its protagonist. He was the son of Amathi and lived in the first half of the 8th century, at a time when Nineveh was in its…

The way and the way for the resurrection -both mainly the spiritual but also the economic and cultural resurrection- of a “third world” country was shown by St. Cosmas the Apostle…

Vladimir did not rest in idols, in the power murders he committed and in the obscenities he fell into with the hundreds of concubines he had, just as a man who knows the law of God does not rest in a life of sin. He was tormented, in a good sense, by the truth his grandmother taught him! On the other hand, he wanted, free spirit that he was, to examine and learn about the religions of the neighbouring countries of his empire…

In this fiery way, all nationalistic and linguistic barriers were broken down and it was proclaimed that the horizon of Christian preaching was not Judea, but the whole world. The event of Pentecost reveals in a magnificent way the ecumenical character of the Church…

But although their work apparently failed, history has subsequently shown that the Lord blessed it, giving to His Church spiritual fruit through the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, who preached the gospel with fervent zeal wherever they were…

He who loves God and, therefore, he who keeps His commandments, apart from his time, his youth or any other good, can – if necessary – even sacrifice his own life…

In Alaska John discovered “nuggets” of Christians, baptized but abandoned for decades by the official church. Immediately, he began his missionary work by utilizing a dilapidated chapel. He rebuilt churches, established missionary services, hospitals and schools.

Saint Photini continued her missionary work in Cartagena, Africa, until Nero was informed of her faith. So she was taken to Italy and pressured, in various torturous ways by the emperor, to deny her faith. In every trial, however, the miraculous actions of God made her whole. Finally, after much torture, she gave her spirit to the Lord in prison to meet him again in eternity…

The apostle Timothy came from the town of Lystra in Lycaonia. He had a Greek father, a pagan by religion, and his mother Eunice was a Christianized Judean. At an early age Timothy was orphaned by his father and was raised by his grandmother Lois, providing him not only with material goods but mainly with…

Really, TODAY, who and how many are living the birth of the God-Man Christ?

God’s plan for the salvation of the people of Ethiopia is clearly revealed. From here on, the missionary initiatives of St. Fromentius begin. He gathers the few Christians in the country and establishes the first Church…

Saint James the Brother, according to Saint Nicodemus, was ordained by the Lord himself as the first bishop of Jerusalem. He wrote the Divine Liturgy taught by Jesus himself, which made it an integral part of the Apostolic ministry as well as of ecclesiastical history, revealing its divine origin. The writing of the Divine Liturgy…

This cowardly, cowardly, cowardly man, who bent before the yatagani of the Pasha, the traitor of his faith, offered the Church a missionary model, not only for the inhabitants of Zagliveri and the neighbouring villages or the people of that time, but for all of us, the people of the following centuries.

If the mission is the spreading of Orthodoxy to nations of other religions or heterodoxy, the institution of the Ecumenical Councils is the preservation of Orthodoxy. It makes it unadulterated, genuine and unchangeable, with the aim of spreading it throughout the world…

Saint Mary came from Magdala in Syria, which is why she is called Magdalene. Her encounter with Jesus was accompanied by her miraculous healing, her deliverance from the seven demons that tormented her. She joined the circle of Christ’s disciples and served Him with zeal and self-denial throughout His saving work, even up to His…

Saint Peter was the brother of Saint Andrew the Proto-Cretan. He came from the poor, humble town of Bethsaida and his father was Jonah of the tribe of the patriarch Simeon, according to the synaxis of St. Nicodemus. He lived poorly, practicing the trade of a fisherman. He was, moreover, a devout man who loved…

Lydia was “baptized”, but not alone. She was led to the sacrament of baptism by her exhortations and living example, and her “household”…

The apostle Paul urges us: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Taking the Great Missionary, our Lord Jesus Christ, as our model, we can learn great missionary lessons.

Many people ask – what does monasticism have to do with mission? The monk leaves the world, withdraws and disappears from it, whereas the work of the mission is a plunge into the world, with all that this implies. And yet, the basis, the purpose and the goal are common…

Saint Aquila came from the Black Sea region (Prax.18,2) and his wife was named Priscilla. They lived in the first half of the 1st century AD. Following the decree of the emperor Claudius (49 AD) to expel all Jews from Rome, they left Italy and headed for Corinth as refugees. There they were first met…

Lessons for today’s missionaries from the life of the Three Hierarchs

With His birth, Christ makes it possible for us not to continue on the downward, disobedient path of the firstfruits. As the new Adam, He is “born” to resurrect “the image that fell before,” that is, the fallen image of God, man…

“The more one tries to get to know them, the more one can see the treasure that lies within them.” And this treasure he shares and gives to others…

The blood of the apostles, of Longinus and of all the martyrs proclaims that it is true that the Resurrection preached by the missionaries to the nations with the Word of the Word in catechesis is true, it is true the Resurrection taught in the Bible, it is true the Resurrection experienced by the newly converted brethren in the sacraments of the Church and especially in that of the Eucharist…

An example for all missionaries is the great confessor and enlightener of Armenia, Saint Gregory

Her courageous attitude impels us, individually or collectively, to imitate her obedience by participating in the Church’s supreme work, the work of evangelization of all nations…

Inspiration for us too from the life of the 7 Deacons

The life of the greatest missionary of all centuries in his own words

We open a new thematic section, dedicated to the 150+ holy missionaries of our Church, starting from the first great apostle, Saint Constantine, who is a model missionary