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St. Matthew's Sunday in I. M. Etoloakarnaniatranslated

July 12, 2026 · 1 min read

At the Holy Church of Agia Kyriaki in the local Community of Kastraki, Aetoloakarnania, the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Aetolia and Acarnania, Mr. Damaskinos, officiated at the Order of the Orthros and presided over the High Priestly Divine Liturgy on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Preaching the divine word, His Holiness continued the series of his Sunday sermons, in which he analyzes the Holy Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.

He stated the following: "Both the Apostolic and the Gospel passages today have three common characteristics: resurrection, regeneration and transformation. These three words essentially denote the same event: the restoration of man to "by nature", but also to the prophetic perspective of his existence, which is none other than the entry into the Heavenly Kingdom.

In the Gospel passage, from the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, a paralyzed man, who does not even have the strength to pray to Christ for his healing, is lying before Him. His condition is tragic. But we, in his person, recognize the weakness, the exhaustion and the bankruptcy of our own world, which is dragged by...

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Radmila Ilić

Ο Μητροπολίτης Δαμασκηνός again speaks to us for the Ευχαριστία και τα τρια τους - ανόρθοση, αναγέννηση, μεταμόρφοση. Му мемене это ме тон паралыто пу не на наполяцие дне не могу, ки это о О CHRISTός τον συχωσε. Θυμίζειε how often κι μενουμεν κατακοιτοι από αμαρτία και we wait only for His grace.

Emily Bennett

That bit about the paralyzed man who can't even speak to ask for healing really stuck with me too, Radmila. It's a good reminder that sometimes we're just lying there under the weight of our own mess and the Lord still lifts us up through the Eucharist. Metropolitan Damaskinos keeps tying it all back to restoration in a way that feels very practical for daily life.

Andrei Ciobanu

And I still remember the part with the paralytic who can't even speak anymore. Just like us when sin keeps us in bed and we wait only for the mercy of Christ. I thank Metropolitan Damaskinos for always bringing us back to Holy Communion.

Aleksandar Radovanović

I agree, Radmila, that paralytic who doesn't say a word just reminds us how often we too lie in sin without the strength to even ask. I was just thinking after the liturgy that the Eucharist gives us exactly that - the strength to get up. And you, have you ever felt that "anorthosis" at some point in your life?

Ruth Thomas

That paralyzed man who couldn’t even speak hit me too, Radmila. We get so weighed down by the same old sins that we just lie there, yet Christ still raises us through the Eucharist like the Metropolitan said. Makes me want to pay closer attention to the Gospel reading next Sunday.

Radu Nistor

Yes, Andrei, that image with the paralytic who doesn't even have a voice left an impression on me. It's as if I see how we also sit sometimes, stuck to the bed of sin, just waiting for Christ to lift us up. I also thank Metropolitan Damaskinos for always connecting our sermon with Holy Communion, otherwise we easily forget what we come for on Sunday.

Zoran Milošević

Yes, that paralytic without a voice is exactly the picture when a person falls so deep that he cannot even compose a prayer. In such moments, the Eucharist gave me strength slowly, like when you get out of bed for the first time after an illness. And you, Alexander, at what moment did you feel that anorthosis the strongest?