“Greek Orthodox Christian Church - Birmingham, Alabama”

Photography Credits: Beth Hontzas - Music: Presbytera Katerina Makiej






Sunday Sermon

Reflections on Time
September 01, 2024

- Fr. Gregory Edwards, Ph.D -


On September 1, we celebrate the Church New Year. In his sermon, Fr. Gregory reflects on time and its significance in our faith and lives.

First, he speaks on the Gospel reading from Luke, in which Christ reads from the prophecy of Isaiah and proclaims “Today, this reading has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In this, Christ brings together the past and future to the present. When Christ entered into human time, he sanctified it. In the church’s feasts and seasons, we seek to manifest Christ in and through time, often saying “today” to show that the feasts of the past are happening in the present as well.

Next, Fr. Gregory discusses the difference between two Greek words for time — chronos and kairos. Chronos is the chronological movement of time from one point to the next, whereas kairos consists of interruptions in time. Kairos refers to God’s interventions in history, demonstrated by the dialogue at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy in which the clergy say “It is time (kairos) for the Lord to act.”

Finally, Fr. Gregory discusses the relationship between depression and time, pointing out that depression arises from a broken relationship with time, a rejection of the present. He explains that reclaiming the present through prayer, gratitude, and patience is how we may redeem time and make the most of it.



The Rev. Fr. Gregory Edwards, Ph.D., was raised in Virginia and eastern Pennsylvania, and became a member of the Orthodox Church while studying for his Bachelor's degree ...[more]
“Greek Orthodox Christian Church - Birmingham, Alabama”

Photography Credits: Beth Hontzas - Music: Presbytera Katerina Makiej

Sunday Morning Divine Liturgy - 9:30

307 19th Street South, Birmingham, Alabama 35233 | Fr. Gregory Edwards, Dean | 205.716.3080





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The Rev. Fr. Gregory Edwards, Ph.D., was raised in Virginia and eastern Pennsylvania, and became a member of the Orthodox Church while studying for his Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies at Brown University. After completing a Master's Degree in the New Testament and early Christianity at Florida State University, he conducted doctoral studies in Greece at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, graduating summa cum laude in 2012. Ordained in 2007, he served parishes in Thessaloniki and Volos for 9 years. He and his wife Presvytera Pelagia lived in Greece from 2006-2016, where their four children were born. He has served as Assistant Professor of Missiology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in New York since 2014. Before coming to Birmingham in March 2019, Fr. Gregory served St. George Greek Orthodox Church in New Port Richey, FL from 2016-2019.