Divine Worship and Sacramental Life · Lecture 031
On Churchgoing (Part 8)
A lecture by Dimitrios Panagopoulos · Δείτε στα Ελληνικά
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Summary
In the eighth talk Dimitrios Panagopoulos sets out peace as the first condition of acceptable prayer. The opening petitions of the Liturgy, “In peace let us pray to the Lord” and “For the peace from above,” show that peace with God and with one's neighbour precedes everything else. Where unrepented sin or bitterness remains, the worshipper stands in a state of enmity and his prayers, offerings, and memorials profit neither himself nor those he names. Citing Saint John Chrysostom's repeated “Peace to all,” he calls peace the mother of every good, and notes how often it is absent among clergy, chanters, and regular attenders. Prayer belongs to the publican and not the Pharisee; claims to a fixed seat or to one's own righteousness reveal the ego God abhors, who regards only the contrite heart (Isaiah 66:2).
English audio is a digitally generated narration of the translated transcript. Disclosed as such on every lecture.
The Greek original audio is preserved unchanged. It is the authoritative recording for this lecture.
Transcript coming soon.