Instructor: Archimandrite Peter, Abbot of Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, England
SEMINAR IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Tuesday 5 JULY. TIME: 6 PM – 8:30 PM EST (US TIME)
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13/13 Seminar of the series:
GETTING TO KNOW THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH SERIES
May 3- July 5 2022
SPONSOR TICKETS BY WRITING “SPONSOR” NEXT TO YOUR SURNAME. THE SPONSORED TICKETS WILL BE DONATED TO PEOPLE WHO WISH TO LEARN ABOUT OUR FAITH. EVERY SPONSOR WILL BE FORMALLY INFORMED FOR HIS/HER DONATION RECIPIENTS
Course Description
What is authentic Orthodox monasticism? Why do the saints call it the light of the world and the boast of the Church? What does it take to become a monk? What is the inner life of a true monk? What is his purpose, and how can he measure his progress?
Monasteries are the “nerves and support of the Church” as well as her boast and adornment because they directly contribute to the Church’s primary work, which is to save souls.
St. John of Sinai wrote: “Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men. Hence monks should spare no effort to become a shining example in all things.” Monastics who are devoted to God and focused on the spiritual life will naturally inspire others by their good example.
Because monastics are free from the burdens of the married life, they typically have more time to help the world through prayer, and can also use their talents to do God-pleasing activities, such as writing books, painting icons, composing hymns, etc. Larger monasteries have also been known for their effective social work in the form of caring for orphans, the elderly, the poor, the sick, etc.
The spiritual focus of monasteries has enabled them to preserve authentic Christianity in times when other Christians have been overcome by the spirit of this world.
(From the Introduction Chapter of the book: “The Angelic Life: A Vision of Orthodox Monasticism” – Hieromonk Ephraim, St Nilus Skete, Alaska)
This course is for…
The times in which we live aren’t normal. It’s an era of great changes and realignments. We’re living in a world which is in a state of flux. Ideologies and religions are amalgamating and there’s certainly an overall atmosphere of confusion and questioning. So it would not be strange or unexpected if we were to raise the question: ‘Why should I want to become an Orthodox Christian?’.
This question has to do with the heterodox or those of others religions since it’s what they always ask when anyone talks to them about the Orthodox faith. But this is a question which is related to all baptized Orthodox Christians who vacillate between doubt and disbelief, as well as those who have consciously renounced the Orthodox baptism their parents once gave them and have relinquished their membership of the Orthodox Church of Christ. The question also has to do with those who are Christians in name only, but who never think about Christ in their lives.
Instructor profile
Archimandrite Peter was born in the city of Kavala-Greece on the 16th of March, 1977. He has been spiritually connected with the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex since he was a student at the University of Essex.
He joined the Community of the Monastery in 2001 and received the monastic tonsure on the 25th of March 2004. He was ordained to the diaconate by His Eminence John Metropolitan of Pergamon on the 27th of May, the day of Pentecost, 2007 and to the priesthood by the same Bishop on the 13th of July, 2008.
In 2006, he enrolled in the Theological School of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, where he graduated with distinction in 2010. In 2016, he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the same Theological School. The theme of his thesis, supervised by Professor Georgios Mantzarides, was: The Mystery of the Word of God in the Life and the Writings of St Sophrony the Athonite, which was published in Greek as Τὸ Μυστήριο τοῦ Λόγου στὸν Γέροντα Σωφρόνιο (2019) and in English as Theology as a Spiritual State (2021).
On the 1st of December, 2016 he received the blessing to be a spiritual father, by His Eminence Gregory, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain. On the 27th of July, 2019, after his election by the brotherhood and with the blessing of His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he was appointed as Hegoumen of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist.
CURRICULUM
- BECOMING A MONK
THE ABBOT
OBEDIENCE
VIRGINITY
MONASTIC BEHAVIOR
CENOBITIC LIFE
MONASTIC SCHEMA