Should We Believe in Luck? Are There Unlucky and Lucky People?

Should We Believe in Luck? Are There Unlucky and Lucky People?

By Archimandrite Athanagoras Karamantzanes

For Christianity and our Orthodox Church, luck does not exist. Nowhere in Holy Scripture or in the entire body of Patristic literature is belief in luck taught. The word luck expresses nothing other than our ignorance of the causes of the phenomena or events of life. There is no goddess and no blind force called luck (τύχη). Whatever appears to us as accidental or coincidental always springs from a deeper cause.

When we say that an event is due to luck, it is merely a manner of speaking, and we mean nothing more than that its cause was unknown to us — not that luck is the cause of things. That is why someone once said: “Luck is perhaps the pseudonym of God, when He does not wish to put His signature.”

But then what does exist? The Providence of our Almighty, All-wise, and All-good God, which is expressed as the uncreated energy of creation, preservation, and governance of the visible and invisible world. Through the Providence of God, every created being is helped to fulfill the purpose for which it was created. In the Old Testament we read: “For Your providence, O Father, governs all things, because You have given even in the sea a way and amid the waves a safe path, showing that You are able to save from every danger” (Wisdom of Solomon 14:3).

Kat Von D Gracefully Explains Why An Historic Piece of Her Furniture Is Not Demonic

Kat Von D, a recent Orthodox Christian convert known for her dark aesthetic and artistry, which she did not entirely abandon upon her conversion, was recently accused by her fellow Christians of having a demonic piece of furniture in her home. The piece of furniture is a beautifully carved 19th century cabinet shaped like a cello that Napoleon had commissioned for his favorite cello player. In a response to this on her Instagram page, she gracefully explains why dark aesthetics like this gothic furniture piece are not necessarily demonic upon closer examination.

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The Haunted Graveyard of Hopeless Souls

By Fr. Stephanos Anagnostopoulos

Years ago, a young priest told me this amazing story: 

“My mother did not want her son to become a priest; and three years after I was ordained, she died. I did not pay particular attention at her death as a priest; I only did what was necessary and nothing else.

One evening, at dusk, I was walking by the cemetery and I thought: ‘Why don’t I stop and light her oil lamp?’ I lit her oil lamp and sat down on a rock. I didn’t have my stole with me, so I didn’t read a trisagion for her.

After a little while, I felt faint, and I looked up. It seemed like the graves were open, and the bodies of the dead were getting up and screaming: ‘HELP! HELP! Priests of the most high God, help us! Orthodox Christians, help us! Do liturgies, prayers, memorial services, trisagia… HELP us, Christian people!’

Alexandros Papadiamantis and "The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells

 

By Vangelis Hatzivasiliou, 
Editor of Eleftherotypia, 4/3/2010

The first translation of H. G. Wells' famous novel "The Invisible Man" in Greece was made, anonymously, by Alexandros Papadiamantis.

What does Alexandros Papadiamantis have to do with science fiction and horror literature? And how can he be connected to an author like H. G. Wells and his famous novel "The Invisible Man", which nurtured generations upon generations of readers and translators, as well as writers and artists?

Papadiamantis was, in an unsuspecting time, the anonymous first translator of "The Invisible Man" in Greece. A translator with imagination, resourcefulness, humor and, most importantly, a strongly sarcastic disposition. This, at least, is shown by today's edition of his text by "Kichli", edited by N. D. Triantafyllopoulos and Lambrini Triantafyllopoulos, who spoke about their find four years ago (with an article in the magazine "Nea Estia"), while the case had already been identified in 1987 by Eleni I. Damvounelli (with her announcement in the magazine "Diavazo").

The Spiritual World: On the Existence of Demons (19)

...continued from part eighteen.

17. Strange Phenomena in Yekaterinburg. 

The newspaper "Ural" published the following description of phenomena observed in Yekaterinburg and taking place in the house of the priest of the village of Loginovo, Father Nikolai.

Father Nikolai has lived in this house for 13 years. Last summer, the house underwent major renovations. Before the renovations, the house was completely quiet, and afterward, the same continued for another two months. But recently, Father began to hear scratching sounds from inside the kitchen floor, sometimes whistling. He carefully examined the floor, peered into the crawlspace, but found nothing there. Three days passed. He said nothing to anyone, afraid to embarrass the family. Then, in addition to the scratching and whistling, he began to hear knocking on the floor, quite loudly. It sounded like someone was scratching the floor with claws; scratching and whistling. Then the entire household heard and recognized it.