Postcards from Greece

Fr. Peter discusses the virtue and vice of silence.

Fr. Peter reminds us why the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council were important, arguing that the greatest threat to the Orthodox Church is the blurring of its boundaries.

Fr. Peter speaks on the 'PNEVMA of PYTHON at St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, California.

Fr. Peter takes us through the story of the meeting of Christ with the Samaritan Women, how the Master took her step by step from earth to heaven, morality to spirituality, religion to revelation.

Fr. Peter answers questions about Elder Paisios at St. John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fr. Peter speaks at St. John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church in Atlanta, Georgia, about the life and ministry of Elder Paisios of Mount Athos. Click here to see a video of the talk.

Fr. Peter announces a number of talks he will be giving during a prolonged stay in the U.S. this spring, most of which have to do with the book The Life of Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain.

Fr. Peter reminds us of the essentials and the criterion of salvation; neither a moral life, nor a "religious life," nor love of "man" will save us. Rather, salvation comes to those who love the Truth and give their life for Him.

What is the Orthodox response to the new "citizen card" and the events and developments surrounding it? How should we live and what should be our stance vis-a-vis these "signs of the times"? It is an issue of personal religious freedom of conscience and a matter of confessing the Faith and the name of Christ. Listen as Fr. Peter relates the major points from a speech recently given to a large gathering in Thessaloniki by an Elder from Mount Athos, who is also one of the twenty abbots on Athos.

Fourteen Bishops are dead set against it. The Holy Synod is suspicious and has grave reservations. The Holy Mountain of Athos urges the government to cease and desist and encourages the faithful to refuse it. What is happening in Greece? Listen as Fr. Peter explains to us why so many Greek citizens are up in arms, calling for resistance to tyranny and vigilance before "the signs of the times."

Fr. Peter continues his series on life in Greece with a brief description of the major events and important traditions and customs that take place in his mountain village Petrokerasa.

In this postcard, Fr. Peter stops to examine the previous Sunday's gospel, through which the Church is preparing us to accept the glory of the Lord, His crucifixion, by directing us to divest ourselves of the desire to seek worldly glory. Fr. Peter explains how worldliness, worldly glory, or secularization, is the spirit of the evil one, of the Antichrist, and our mortal enemy as Christians, who want to be glorified with the Lord. He also touches upon our freedom in Christ, the wrong teaching of predestination, those who have true authority in the Church, and more.

In this podcast, Fr. Peter takes a short break from his series on life in Greece to address a question raised by a listener in Moscow: Why did Fr. Peter refer to Fr. Daniel Sysoev as a "New Martyr" when he has yet to be officially declared one by the hierarchy of the Church of Russia? Fr. Peter takes this opportunity to briefly address the issue of authority in the Church and who it is that first and foremost recognizes the holiness of the saints—the people or the hierarchy?

Fr. Peter continues his series featuring descriptions of life in Greece with this explanation of what transpires at the average Greek funeral.

Fr. Peter begins a new series featuring descriptions of life in Greece with this experience of a recent all-night Vigil he attended on Mt. Athos.

Fr. Peter continues his presentation of the New Martyr Fr. Daniel Sysoev's spiritual and missionary program, which was a part of Fr. Peter's speech recently given in Athens to clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Glyfada. Fr. Daniel is a great contemporary example of what a missionary parish can do and be, and his missionary school is an effort that can be replicated by pastors the world over.

Father Peter spoke to a gathering of clergy and lay people in Athens recently and pointed to the witness of the new martyr of Moscow, the missionary priest Father Daniel Sysoev, as a model for mission work today. Father Daniel walked the "Royal Path" of the Church, avoiding two extremes, that of indifference to the person from the right and indifference to the Truth from the left.

In this postcard, Father Peter speaks to us just after a visit to an ailing parishoner, whose soul may be on the verge of departing this life. Father Peter relates to us his thoughts on why we suffer, how we should understand suffering, how important it is for us to obtain self-knowledge before the approach of death, and what is the deeper meaning of faith.

In this program, Fr. Peter stresses the need for each believer to delve ever deeper into the experience of the Grace of God—to participate firsthand in the life of the Church, thus knowing experientially the savour of Orthodoxy. In order to better communicate this, he has translated a portion of a chapter from a book by Photios Kontoglou, renowned iconographer and ecclesiastical writer from Greece (1895-1965) on "The Holy Days of Christmas."

Fr. Peter examines the crisis in Greece from a spiritual standpoint, pointing us toward two important developments that have worldwide implications. Fr. Peter places these developments in the larger context of salvation history, as well as in the mysteries of salvation and iniquity which are at work in the world

Fr. Peter explains how phyletism undermines the catholicity of the Church.

Fr. Peter explains the heresy of Phyletism, which means placing one's ethnic identity above the Orthodox faith.

Over the last ten years, a great interest has arisen in Greece in the writing and life of America's own Fr. Seraphim Rose.

Fr. Peter explains that the only reason to become Orthodox is because the Church can offer something that the world cannot.

The phrase "Good Resurrection" implies that one might likewise have a "Bad Resurrection."

If one is silent with knowledge, this guarding of the mouth opens the conscience toward God. Fr. Peter explains how silence protects us from sin, judgment, and idle talk.

What can you learn from the prayer lives of the monks on Mt. Athos? First off, you need to formulate a program.

Fr. Peter explains why the divine services at your home parish should not be all that different from the services conducted on Mount Athos.

Today, Fr. Peter and his family are at the Holy Monastery of the Archangel in Thassos where he reflects on the value and spiritual nurturing that comes from a pilgrimage to a monastery.

Fr. Peter laments the secularism of modern Greece but ends with an Axios! for the new Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America!

Fr. Peter examines the root of sin and the cause of scandals in the church, as well as the way to avoid them.

What sets Christianity apart from the religions of the world? Here is another postcard from Greece. We apologize for the distortion on this episode and are working to adjust Fr. Peter's recorder.

Walk with Fr. Peter Alban Heers into the historic St. Demetrios Basilica in Thessaloniki Greece. While touring, Fr. Peter reflects on this great Saint and his significance to all Christians.

As he continues his stroll down the busy streets of Thessaloniki, Fr. Peter observes many merchants who sell wonderful Orthodox items but he is concerned about the hearts of the people of Greece.

Today we take a stroll with Fr. Peter down the historic streets of Thessaloniki and observe the structures both old and new as he reflects on the spiritual fabric of the city.

For more than two and a half centuries, the little mountain village of Petrokerasa has celebrated the feasts of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday with the arrival of a segment of the True and Precious Cross of Christ, brought to them by the fathers of the Holy Monastery of Xeropotamou on Mount Athos. Fr. Peter tells the story.

Today Fr. Peter talks about the truth of the incarnation and resurrection by pointing to some of the incorruptible relics found in Greece and other locations.

Fr. Peter explores the spiritual history of Greece, the origin of the term "Byzantine" and the baptism of Hellenism.

Fr. Peter continues to set the stage for his new podcast focusing on the Grace of God at work in the land of Greece.

Introducing the Postcards from Greece Podcast with Fr. Peter Alban Heers