The Appearance of Christ in John's Book of Revelation

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The sermons on the Sundays of this summer (2026) will refer to the Epistles that Christ sent through the Evangelist John to the seven Churches of Asia Minor, which are called the Churches of the Apocalypse. They are written in the last book of the New Testament and of the whole of Holy Scripture, which is called the “Revelation of John.” This is a revelation of Jesus Christ to His beloved Disciple, the Evangelist John, when he was on the island of Patmos on the Lord’s Day, because he was preaching the word of God and bearing witness to Jesus Christ (Rev. ch. 1).

First of all, the phrase “Revelation of Jesus Christ” signifies the manifestation of Christ to the Evangelist John after Pentecost. We know that the Evangelist John was Christ’s beloved disciple, who was together with Peter and James on Mount Tabor and saw the glory of Christ’s divinity, who followed Christ to the Cross on Golgotha, and to whom Christ entrusted His mother, the Most Holy Theotokos, so that he might protect her. Afterwards, he saw the risen Christ, and on the day of Pentecost he received the Holy Spirit and became a member of the Body of Christ. Then, in the New Testament are included his Gospel, which was characterized as the “spiritual Gospel,” his three theological Epistles, which are called Catholic Epistles because they were sent to all the Churches, and the Book of Revelation, that is, the manifestation of Christ to him, when he was in exile on the island of Patmos.

Persian Drones and "Prophecies"

By Metropolitan Nektarios of Hong Kong

The so-called “prophecies” that circulate from time to time in Orthodox circles — about great wars, the recapture of Constantinople, the “partition” of states, and spectacular geopolitical upheavals — have a strange endurance over time. They reappear almost inevitably whenever the world is afraid: during wars, in periods of national tension, in economic crises, and even whenever social media discovers a new “publication” with a heavy title and a dramatic promise.

The question, however, is not simply whether some of these “will come true.” The essential issue is whether this kind of discourse belongs to the mind of the Church or whether, on the contrary, it distorts the faith and turns it into a tool of fear and political fantasy.

After the Fall of Constantinople (1453) the subjugated Greek world lived through trauma, loss, and long humiliation. In such circumstances societies generate consoling narratives: “one day justice will come,” “God will restore everything,” “history will take its revenge.” This is not something unique to the Orthodox. History shows that apocalyptic scenarios and eschatological expectations flourish in times of crisis because they give meaning to chaos and transform fear into certainty.

Timeline: Hell as the Experience of God’s Love

 

 

Timeline: Hell as the Experience of God’s Love

 

Century	Figure	Key Teaching on Hell
2nd c.	Irenaeus of Lyons	Separation from God = death; punishment arises from refusal of Life, not divine cruelty.
2nd–3rd c.	Clement of Alexandria	Punishment is medicinal and corrective; God acts as teacher/physician, not avenger.
3rd c.	Origen of Alexandria	Divine fire is spiritual, exposing sin; souls punish themselves by resisting divine reality.
4th c.	Basil the Great	God remains good; suffering results from human opposition to divine goodness; fire = God revealed.
	Gregory the Theologian	Divine light illuminates saints, burns sinners; God’s presence is the measure of judgment.
	Gregory of Nyssa	The same divine light that glorifies saints torments the unrighteous; suffering comes from resistance to God.

The Eschatological Iconography of the Preparation of the Throne

The Preparation of the Throne (Etoimasia tou Thronou, Η Ετοιμασία του Θρόνου) is consistently depicted within the multifigured representation of the Second Coming, precisely beneath the throne of Jesus the Judge.

Within a circular glory there stands an empty throne with the cushion and the cloth spread upon it, as well as the footstool. Behind the throne is the Precious Cross with the crown of thorns and the symbols of the Passion (the Spear and the Sponge) on either side of the Cross.

Directly beneath the throne kneel in supplication the two First-Created, Adam and Eve. Behind Eve stand two half-naked figures, who stand in awe before the Righteous Judge and are ready to be “judged.”

The iconographic theme of the Preparation of the Throne was originally an independent representation, but from the 11th or 12th century it was incorporated into the scene of the Second Coming. The empty throne is accompanied either by the Holy Spirit (a dove) and the Gospel placed upon the throne, or by the symbols of the Passion (the Cross and others), thus symbolizing the mystical presence of Christ, following the models of corresponding imperial iconography.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

"Beware of False Prophets" (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 

By St. Theophan the Recluse

"Beware of false prophets" (Matt. 7:15).

From the beginning of Christianity and to this day there has not been a time when this warning was not applicable.

The Lord did not indicate exactly which false prophets to beware of, for how could they be pinpointed?

They change like fashions and are continually generating more like them. They always appear in sheep’s clothing, with a likeness of good will in their deeds and a mirage of truth in their speech.

In our time their clothing is sewn of progress, civilization, education, freedom of thought and deed, a personal conviction which does not allow for faith, and such like. All of this is a deceptive cloak.