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Christ is risen from the dead, having trodden down death by death, and to those in the tombs, He has granted life. Having beheld the resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, who alone is without sin. We worship Your cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify Your holy resurrection. For You are our God, and we know no other besides You. We call upon Your name. Come, all you faithful, let us worship the holy resurrection of Christ. For through the cross, joy has come to all the world. Forever blessing the Lord, we sing of His resurrection. Having endured the cross for us, He has destroyed death by death. Jesus, having risen from the tomb as He foretold, has given us eternal life and great mercy. Christ is risen! >> Truly He is risen! >> Glory to God. Welcome then to the little monastery of the Panagia. Here is the monastery of the Panagia, it is the Holy Protection. I don't know if you know that here the Panagia is a spiritual generator, that for those who wish, they come here with good intentions, they recharge their spiritual batteries, and then they go back into the jungle to struggle there with the beasts. Glory to God for those who are willing, of course, because many come here. Well, few recharge their spiritual batteries as they should. Well, I wish that all of you and all of us may draw strength. Thus, our Panagia is the greatest mediator between God and man. After our Lord, it is our Panagia. Regardless of the fact that the antichrists, the heretics, especially the millenarians, blaspheme her constantly. Yes. But unfortunately, not only the heretics. So, the so-called Orthodox, baptized ones, also blaspheme. And you hear them blaspheming the Panagia. The most sacred name on the planet is being blasphemed. What love this God has, that He has not yet burned us. His long-suffering is one of the greatest miracles for man. Glory to God. Today was very beautiful. The day is amazing. Here, as you see, is an earthly paradise. We celebrated liturgy at Prophet Elias. We tasted the grace of God, because the Divine Liturgy has this purpose: to taste the grace of God. And we taste it when we go to the Divine Liturgy prepared, repentant, confessed, and especially when we are ready to partake of the body and blood of Christ. Then man is complete. The purpose of man is to unite with God, and united, when God calls us, to be united eternally in the kingdom of heaven. But it seems that here our brothers have not grasped the meaning so well, and some of them came without tasting this grace. And since we don't know if we will have another time, if we will have another opportunity for the Divine Liturgy, we don't know. I have no assurance for myself that I will be here tomorrow. But even if I had assurance that we would be here for another 100 years without Christ, life is hell. Hell in every sense of the word. Yes. Because man can have nothing good without Christ. Nothing good. What does he have without Christ, let me tell you what he has. He has anxiety, phobias, psychological issues, nerves, anger, bitterness, suffering. Yes. Let me tell you about the Gospel, Peter. The entire Gospel is so important that today it spoke to us about the myrrh-bearing women. These blessed myrrh-bearing women, after the crucifixion of Christ, went to anoint Him. So, do we have any connection with the myrrh-bearing women? Because any person who strives for the faith, for the church of Christ, is like going to anoint the church of Christ. But unfortunately, it seems we do not resemble the myrrh-bearing women. And you see what a blessing these blessed women had. To see the Resurrection first. To see Christ first there. First. What honor, what great honor, the honor Christ gave them to appear first to the myrrh-bearing women. And what does He say next that greatly impressed me? Tell the Apostles and Peter. But Lord, Peter is Your apostle. No. After his denial. He is not My apostle. What message is this for us? How many times have we rejected our Christ? How many times have we betrayed Him? So, we may call ourselves Orthodox Christians. Peter denied Him three times and fell from the level of an apostle. Well, of course, Peter later repented, found his way, and became a cornerstone again. We, the unfortunate ones, do we repent for the denial? Because every sin we commit is a denial of our Christ. We deny Him, especially the grave sins, especially the mortal sins, are like denying, like denying our Christ. This means that if we want to return, for Christ to accept us again, we must repent and confess, as Peter did. The Apostle Peter repented. Not just in word. He wept, they say. He wept when he understood what he had done. And indeed, there is a tradition that throughout his life, when he heard a rooster crow, he wept because he remembered what Christ had told him. Because he had so much confidence in himself. Out of love, of course, he did it, saying, "I will never deny You, and even if all deny You." He put the "I" first, which we use very often. He did not say, "By Your grace, I will not deny You." No, "I, and even if all deny You." And He prophesied to him. The rooster will not crow three times, and before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. Yes. It happened so. And from then on, when Peter heard the rooster crow, he wept, remembering. But Peter had repented. May we also repent and have his repentance, and he is a cornerstone among the Apostles. Indeed, Peter, you are Peter, you are. I wish we resembled him in repentance. Not in betrayal. >> Woe to you and to me. Indeed. Glory to God. Glory to God. We also have the Apostle, of course, which was a great lesson for all of us, that after the resurrection of Christ, many Christians gathered. They had a common table. And murmuring began there from the Hellenists, saying that they were not paying attention to the widows of the poor and were paying attention to the rich. There was murmuring, and they decided, they say, to choose from the multitude of Christians there 12 helpers, so to speak. And they chose 12. Their names are there, and by the laying on of hands, the Apostles laid their hands. You see the Holy Spirit acted through the hands, and the three, the seven came out. The deacons, how many were there? Seven were there. Their names are there. Separately, they ministered, and the Apostles devoted themselves to the Lord, and a great multitude gathered every day. Now, unfortunately, in our time, the Apostles do not work as they worked then, and today's Apostles are our hierarchs. In place of the Apostles are our hierarchs, because the Apostles ordained bishops, and bishops in turn ordained other priests and hierarchs, and so on until today. Those Apostles worked. Our Apostles only have the staff and they hit the floor with it. They don't break any heads, they don't cast out any demon-possessed rulers. What does the boss say there? Whereas the Apostles did not spare. You see >> how our times have changed now. If a good priest is found, they hunt him. What he endures. The Holy, Holy is Cyprian of Paphos. The unfortunate one, what he endures because he wants to rightly divide the word of God. He wants to revive Orthodoxy. Yes. Yes. Of course, you will tell me that with Christ there have always been few, and as we approach the end, there will be even fewer. Among these few is this blessed one. It is enough for him to persevere until the end. And you know, all true Orthodox Christians are with him. Ask throughout Greece if you want, an Orthodox person. They agree with the unfortunate one. They all agree. Those who disagree are the ecumenists. These sweet, weak ones. Let's get along with everyone. Let's unite with everyone. Let's unite with the devil. That is, ecumenism is the greatest heresy that the devil has created with his instruments. And he, because he does not agree with ecumenism, is persecuted. We are with you, unfortunate one. We are with you. Yes. All Orthodox. Yes. Ask an Orthodox person if they disagree with him. You won't find one. Yes. Only his own archbishop disagrees with his own instruments. These. They disagree. Yes. And woe to them. Woe to them. Because we will all give an account on the day of judgment, and I don't know if these people fear God. They are God-fearing. Yes. Yes. They resemble what the elders did in that time with Mark Eugenikos. What that saint of ours endured when he was the only one who did not sign the union with the Papists. The only one who did not sign, and he became the reason, and is the reason, that today we are Orthodox and free because of this Saint. Yes. Because if Saint Mark Eugenikos had also signed, we would be Papists. We would not even have a nation. Yes. Because these go together. Did you hear, blessed one, where do you disagree, tell me >> Nowhere >> Glory to God. We are doing well. Glory to God. Tell him, this one. >> Tell us a few words about this heresy that was condemned in Spain. >> The heresy that was condemned in Spain. One of the greatest heresies, which has recently presented itself as Christian, Jehovah's Witnesses. That's how they present themselves. Recently, they even added "Christian." But they are antichrists. And they do as much damage to Christianity as all the enemies of the faith combined cannot do. I would say they are alongside ecumenism. Whatever damage ecumenism does to the Orthodox faith, Jehovah's Witnesses do just as much damage. And indeed, I hear they were condemned by a great court in Spain, which concerns all of us, because we are also in united Europe, as is she. So, whatever validity it has there in Spain, it has the same validity in our homeland. That it was condemned by the greatest court in Spain, and indeed they consider them dangerous. >> >> And they are not wrong. A criminal organization. That's how they characterize them. Because is there a greater crime than separating people from Christ? There is not. That's what they do. They pretend to hold the Holy Scripture, which they have twisted as they please. Yes. And they separate people, and people are confused. Because the world is confused, and with temptations, in any way they distance people from God, and they think they are doing something. Yes. Glory to God that a country was found to condemn them as they deserve. Ours here embrace them. Of course, they have taken many. You will tell me, they embrace the devil here, or will they embrace them? Is it possible? They embrace Freemasonry, which is the greatest enemy of our faith and our homeland. They will not embrace them. They are accomplices together. They are together. Where do you disagree, policeman, where do you disagree? Tell me. >> I agree. I agree with everything. >> No, if I disagree, let's discuss it. So, off the cuff here. >> I agree, as a month and a half has passed >> and still, he answered that some are not Masons, we did not receive. >> Of course. Otherwise, they were offended that I called them Masons, but none of them said, "I am not." Let them make an announcement. They dare not, because if they were not, they would make an announcement, or even the Holy Synod would condemn Freemasonry. Not a sound, not a whisper. What does silence indicate? That >> they are complicit. >> Complicit. Exactly. Yes. Orthodoxy >> does not compromise with Freemasonry. It does not compromise. Yes. You cannot be both a Mason and an Orthodox. The Church has condemned this with an ecumenical council. Yes. But now the lodges will speak. Who will we elect as hierarch, who will we elect as patriarch? Who will we elect? Yes. Who will we elect as prime minister and ministers? Indeed. Only God can save us, and He can save us if we repent. He can. He can. What do you say, He cannot? He has all the power. >> If we repent >> If we repent. >> First, he must repent, and then. >> Here they told me an incident with an Israeli on a plane, where Christ appeared on his screen, and he couldn't press the trigger. He says. Now in the war here >> that they are waging with Iran, He appeared on the screen. Of course, that was a violation, and they put him in prison because he did not obey the order. They put him in prison, and in prison, Christ Himself visited him. Yes. He told him, "What were you going to do? And who were saved, and there were Christians praying." This is the power of Christ. This is the power Christ gives to the believer through prayer, to turn the projectiles back and not to detonate the bombs. This is our Christ. This is our faith. This is the weapon He has given us: prayer. Let us use it, my brothers, and you will see what will happen. Let us use it. Especially now, more repentance is needed. Let us turn to the church of Christ, to the sacramental life. Let us unite with Christ. Because the more we unite with the church of Christ, the more we unite with Christ Himself, our God. Our resurrected Christ. Yes. Our only Christ. He is the only God who has created everything. Both what is seen and what is not seen. What are you thinking, my good lady? What are you thinking? Tell me. >> I am in agreement with everything you say, with some of my own points. >> Are you ready to take up arms? >> The situation has reached that point. >> Glory to God. Glory to God. Tell us, Peter, what do you have to tell us? Let's start with what we say these days: Christ is Risen, and the Lord answers us, Truly. The state of affairs. This is the state of affairs. Truly, to hear this now from Orthodox people, because here in our homeland, 99% are Orthodox, and they don't know the greeting, the greatest greeting of Orthodoxy. To say "Christ is Risen" and to be told "Truly." What does "Truly" mean, sir? What does "Truly" mean? Are you afraid to say that Christ has risen? I understand the devil is afraid of that. Are you afraid too, and you are a Christian? "Many happy returns." What does "many happy returns" mean? He has risen so that He may give you many happy returns. That was the purpose of the resurrection. The most beautiful greeting of Christianity. This is "Christ is Risen," "Truly He is Risen." Neither "many happy returns," nor "truly," nor anything else. Truly He is Risen. Yes. Yes. The greatest event. Because if our Christ had not risen, woe to us, woe to us. We could not have risen either. Death would have been immortal. But now Christ has conquered it. And since Christ has conquered it, whoever is with Christ, with our Christ, will conquer death too. Death has been conquered through our Christ, and therefore we must be united with Christ and with the church of Christ so that we too may conquer death. For the Christian, there is no longer death. For the Christian, there is "he has fallen asleep." And I often hear, "I have lost my person." But what was your person that he is lost? Was he a key that is lost? Here, an entire God became man. He rose so that your person would not be lost. And you tell me, "My person is lost." Your person has fallen asleep. And when someone falls asleep, they wake up. Just as there is the small death, which is sleep. Sleep is a small death, and death is a great sleep. Where do you disagree, blessed one? Tell me, where do you disagree? I don't disagree about waking up. Waking up. If you see me doing something wrong, tell me. Where does it say that? Because I try not to say my own nonsense. What does my church say? For 2,000 years, this is what it says. And woe to me if I hide it. You came here. You didn't come to see the scenery. You came here to hear the word of God. Yes. Tell him, blessed one. Tell him. Tell him whatever you want. >> When our person falls asleep, for 40 days, do we light a candle only at the grave or can we also light it at home? >> Look, we can light it at the grave and at home, not for 40 days, but all year round. Let us have our icon corner, let us have our icons, let us have our candle and let it burn with clean oil. Well, not that it's leftover there. And there, a space where we will pray for ourselves and for our departed. Because the Church is united. We are the militant Church, and they are the triumphant Church. The departed are the triumphant Church. And we are the militant, but we are united. They pray for us, provided they are saved. And we pray for them through the Church, with memorial services and with our prayers, both communal and individual. So, it is good for the lady to have her icon corner at home, with her icons, and at the cemeteries. Not at cemeteries, because we don't have cemeteries, we have κοιμητήρια (cemeteries/dormitories). Let her have it there too. It is a blessing. But above all, to unite with Christ, with the church of Christ, with repentance, with confession, with frequent Holy Communion. This helps more than anything else, more than candles and hands and everything. And the more our person is sanctified, the more our departed rests. Yes. Yes. Again, Peter. Tell this to the gentleman or lady who asked you this question. >> I have ugly thoughts, he says, about my husband. What should I do? >> What should you do? Know, above all, that these thoughts are not from God, and the saints say that the bridge of demons is thoughts, and do not accept them. And what should you do? What I do. The prayer rope: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." My husband is holy. I am the one who needs it. "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy." You will unravel that thought, it will leave, and it will not bother you again. Or if it comes back, the weapon. This is our weapon, the prayer. "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy." This is the prayer. My children have a problem with procreation, she says. How can I help? >> With prayer. Prayer is the greatest. And we don't know why God, perhaps your children, my good lady, do not have a relationship with Christ. If they don't, you can admonish them beautifully, humbly. "Do you want children, my children? Children are from God. God gives them." Isn't that so? So, have a relationship with God. And our relationship should be organic. Repent for your sins, confess, first find a good spiritual father. Well, we start from there. Repentance, confession, church attendance. Let us observe the fasts at home, as our Church says, and with frequent Holy Communion, provided you have the blessing from your spiritual father, and then God will give you children if it is for the benefit of your soul. Because sometimes God foresees that it is not beneficial for your soul, nor for the child He would give you, and He does not give. However, know that all the children in the world are yours, they are ours, and we can have as many children of God as we want. And if God wills, He will give us our own children again, but not just one. As many as You want, my God. But if you make a deal with Him, "I want one, my God," He will not give you any. But if you say, "My God, as many as Your love wants. As many as Your love wants, and I will prepare them for You again." Because this is the purpose of marriage and procreation. Where do you disagree, Peter? Tell me. >> No, if you want me to disagree, I don't. It's not a day. >> What can we say to someone who tells us that books like the New Testament were written by humans? >> We can tell them that yes, they were written by humans. The Apostles were humans. They were not sent down from heaven. However, they lived with Christ for three years. They heard, they saw, they wrote them. And the Holy Fathers, with the Holy Spirit, did not write them out of their own logic. They sat down there and did philosophy. Yes. That's why the Holy Scripture and all the writings of the Saints are timeless, for 2,000 years, and nothing has changed. Nor did they find any mistake, saying, "The Holy Scripture made a mistake there." Nothing. For 2,000 years, it has been the same. And indeed, it is therapeutic. And the Holy Scripture heals, and the writings of the Saints heal. Of course, when we use them through the church of Christ, because the church is a healing place and heals both souls and bodies. And indeed, the doctor is Christ Himself. Christ, the physician of souls and bodies. And not psychiatrists, Peter, not psychiatrists. They are good too, but they should not be called psychiatrists. They are for another job. We would say for neuropathic patients. Only Christ knows the soul, and He can heal it. >> Why are you shaking your head, blessed one? >> You say it very well, that's why. >> They are not mine, blessed one. They are not mine. Mine are for the trash bin. I tell you the truth. It is the grace of God. Glory to God. Glory to God. These are what my Church has been saying for 2,000 years. This is what my Apostle says. My Synod. Yes, yes, yes, yes. This is what they say. And not even a comma has changed, nothing that you would say we need to follow, lest we miss an episode. It is the same. It is enough for a person to want to learn the truth. The truth is the church of Christ, with Christ as its head, continuing through the ages. Yes. Forgive me. Yes. >> My classmates constantly curse the holy things. How should I handle this spiritually? >> Great grace, great problem, great misfortune for our youth. Poor children, poor things, you should pity them. I would say to this young person, who I imagine is young, the one asking the question. >> Young woman >> I would say what Saint Cosmas of Aetolia says. Choose your company. When we see a group blaspheming, if we can admonish them in a beautiful way, say a word if we can, if not, discreetly get up and leave. Our stance might help, if there is some good intention from the children, to help. Because if they ask us someday why we left, we will tell them, "I could not bear to hear my father and mother blasphemed, just as God and the Panagia and the saints are, and for me to be near blasphemers." I could not bear that. I cannot bear it if they blaspheme my earthly father or my earthly mother, how much more my God, to whom I owe everything, and to hear them blaspheme. And I wonder how you, how you blaspheme, and how God tolerates you, how He tolerates you. Therefore, if you want, stop blaspheming, because the spiritual laws will function, and you will suffer great harm. Truths. Yes. Yes. Because a blasphemer can get cancer of the tongue. Do you know how many cancers there are in the tongue because of blasphemy, and in the larynx? Cancer. Yes. Someone told me, "What should I do? I feel like blaspheming." In that case, if you feel like blaspheming, it is better to cut off your tongue with your teeth. Cut it off and throw it away. What will benefit you more than to let the Creator of all things be blasphemed? The greatest benefactor. There is no greater sin than to blaspheme your benefactor. Your greatest benefactor, to whom you owe everything, your existence and everything. Therefore, it is better to cut off your tongue. It will be a thousand times better to be without a tongue than to have that tongue that blasphemes your greatest benefactor. Let's go, please. >> In Australia, the priests do not have enough Orthodox spirit. What do we do, he says? Do we go to another church, or do we stay home without attending church and communing? First, we pray a lot for these heretics. I don't know, of course, how he means that now, because if they are personally negligent, it's not a big problem, as it would be if they were heretical here. He doesn't clarify the question. If they are heretical, let's move on. We look elsewhere. Even if we have to go to an Orthodox church of the Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, Russians, as long as it is Orthodox. Well, if it is their personal sins, then that is their issue, and we go to church normally, and normally, provided we meet the conditions, we commune and everything, because he will give an account for his personal sins. Here, discernment is needed. It's one thing if they are heretical, and another if they are personally negligent. So, could you tell us how to confess properly, meaning, do we say it in detail? >> No, we don't say it in detail, but the most correct thing is to confess ourselves at home, to take notes, not lengthy, but single words. I stole, I lied, I envied. I killed, I had an abortion. Details are not needed. If I did it many times, I did it many times. I lied. Many times. If the spiritual father asks something more, then you tell him something more. Otherwise, you don't give details. Single words. And you will have the best confession. Provided you go repentant and determined that you do not want to do them again. That's it. And whoever wants the confession guide, send us a message, and we will send it to them. >> Yes. There are helpful leaflets that mention single words, and it is good to use them. Because sin, you know, is like this: just as a person with a smudge on their face cannot see it without a mirror, so sins are difficult to identify. Either because many years have passed, or because we did not consider it a sin. And yes, it is needed. And glory to God, our Church has such aids. Here at our monastery, we always have leaflets, which we give completely free, but also online, if I'm not mistaken, which can >> on the website of Elder Zosimos. >> Yes. which can be used to consult and make a >> clear, correct confession, especially with repentance. Because this sacrament has two aspects. It has both repentance and confession. It does not have only confession or only repentance, but both together. Because many repent but do not confess. They have done nothing. Others confess but do not repent. They have also done nothing. Both, repentance and confession. Yes. Glory to God. >> I am a student and I am concerned about the use of artificial intelligence. What should be the stance of a Christian? And my elder mentions it more and more, because you see that everyone asks whatever they want. They no longer search for something in an encyclopedia. He mentions this artificial intelligence. Tell me about this. That is, if someone fiddles with it, it can tell you whatever it wants, and you believe it. You know, it reminds me of the end times. Then, with the Tower of Babel, people had reached that point of reaching God. They built the tower to reach God. It somewhat resembles this now. To replace God, saying, "Oh, we are gods." That is, they deified science, and from there they want to get information, not from God. You understand that everything indicates that we are in the end times, that we are heading towards the end. Science, this tool, is neither good nor bad. It is a matter of use. If you use it correctly, it will produce correct results. But if you use it badly, as is happening now with artificial intelligence, it will lead you in the other direction and you will lose eternal life, the soul, which is of inestimable value. Therefore, if you can use it for benefit, for the glory of God and for the salvation of people, do so. If not, do not do so. At this moment, this is what we are doing. We are using an invention, a technology of science, which, from what I am told, this voice reaches America, reaches Canada, reaches Australia. Yes. Yes. But for the glory of God. And many tell me, I don't say this for praise, that people benefit, because when the word of God is pure, it benefits. So, we try to use it correctly so that God is glorified, because it is love. We must love Him, and our neighbor, who is our fellow human being. We have a duty, both as Orthodox Christians and, moreover, as an Orthodox monk that I am. Yes. Glory to God. Is it right to pray for our departed and to ask them to intercede to God for us? Look, we have so many saintly intercessors that we know have been sanctified, and we ask for their intercessions, their prayers. Now, if our departed, we know that he is saved, that person may need our prayers, and we ask him now to help us. If he is saved, God willing, but at least in our time, most of our fellow human beings leave unprepared and need more prayer. So, let us make our saints our intercessors. We have millions of saints. Millions of saints. Yes. And if, God willing, they find solace there, they will intercede even without us asking, if our departed find solace there. Yes. But they need more for us to remember them, to give their names, to have Trisagion services for them with polyelaios. They need more, especially by living a holy life ourselves. Those they left behind to live a holy life so that they may benefit. This benefits more than anything else. Yes. >> Is there spiritual benefit when we go to church every day out of habit, or is it better to go less often with more substance? >> This reminds me of the camel that says, "Is it good to go uphill or downhill?" "Lord, have mercy." Let us go to church often and be righteous within it and pray. Yes. Because we have one of the two. This is not logical, either one or the other, or both correctly. Yes. >> What should we do to feel Christ? >> What should we do? Live a spiritual life. Unite with the church of Christ, and especially with its sacraments. The sacramental life is what makes a person feel Christ, live with Christ, have Christ as everything, and taste a part of paradise in this life. Yes, Peter, do it and you will see. You, of course, are doing it, I say. Yes. For those who want to try. Come and see. Yes. Our faith is not theoretical. It is action. If you act, you will see the results. Tell us. >> Is it a sin when we listen to songs instead of psalms? >> Well, anything that is a waste of time is a sin. What does sin mean? Missing the mark. Listening to songs, you benefit nothing for your soul. You benefit nothing. Whereas listening to psalms, which are the word of God, they benefit. Instead of reading what you read, you hear it in psalms. These benefit your immortal soul. So, let's look at what is good and beneficial, what benefits the soul. In this case, it is beneficial to sing psalms, to study the word of God, and to engage in spiritual matters, whatever relates to the salvation of our soul. Sit down, blessed one. Sit down. >> Ah, glory. I know a woman who wants to be baptized to baptize a baby. Not because she believes in God, she says. >> And to be able to baptize him, she says, simply. How can she be godmother just to baptize >> a baby? >> Yes. The parents of the baby should think carefully about whom they entrust their child to, someone who herself needs it. Because the purpose of the godparent is to admonish, to help this child go to paradise. In this case, she herself needs admonishment. So, how many >>