January 16, 2022

Our Father - Part 2
Sunday Sermon

- Fr. Gregory Edwards Ph.D - Dean -


Today, Father Gregory continues his series on the Lord's Prayer. Each of the three lines covered today, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, are considered commandments or wishes without specifying who accomplishes the wish. God wills for good to be done, but He never violates our free will. In each of the lines covered today, He depends on us, choosing to involve us in our salvation. Saint John Chrysostom says that Hallowed be Thy name could be translated as may Your name be glorified in us. We bless and glorify the name of God through our works and by our actions. In the very oldest manuscript of Luke, Thy kingdom come, is translated as Thy Spirit come. The Kingdom or Spirit of God comes to those who are gentle and humble because they know that God is the center of the universe, not themselves.



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

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

Photography Credits: Beth Hontzas - Music: Presbytera Katerina Makiej





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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.