I was in deep pain. It was wonderful!.Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalivia.

Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalivia.

Saint Porphyrios always gave prominence to sickness of soul, regardless of whether the physical illness was seri­ous or not. Many sick visitors insisted that he only pray for the cure of their physical sicknesses. They could not bear them. They thought that if their bodily illness spread it would shake their faith in Christ and would finally lead them to be sick in soul. According to the Saint, exactly the opposite took place, "The sickness of the soul, that they were oblivious to, i.e. sin, blinded their eyes and they could not see the higher educational meaning of their physical sickness. A sickness that was allowed by God's love. The Saint knew that if he only prayed for the cure of their body he wouldn't help them, because in essence they would be incurable. He always tried to link the healing of their bodies with the healing of their souls.

At a religious gathering a Christian psychiatrist was heard to say, "As a psychiatrist I am not a healer of the human soul, but of the nervous system." He was actually speaking literally, because someone who has psychiatric illness, in the literal sense of the term, is the unrepentant sinner. The soul is only ever sick when it sins without repenting. The only true doctor of the soul is Christ. Also, through the Grace of Christ the saint, knowing the soul, has acquired self-knowledge and knowledge of others. How can a person who is not a saint, a person with pas­sions, who is ignorant of the soul, both his own and that of others, be a doctor of souls? Christ, and, by Christ's Grace, the saint, can do the easier thing that is healing the body, insofar as they can do the more difficult thing, that is, heal the soul. This occurs when the former helps the later.

Resurrection and Despair.Saint Sophrony the Athonite.

A letter written by Saint Sophrony to his sister Maria, after the death of their sister Alexandra(Shura).

Christ is Risen!.                                                                           The old rectory

27th May 1971

Dearest Maria,

Peace be with you from the Lord.

 

Icon of Saint Sophrony the Athonite.

Romanian style.

[ ... ] Once again with love I have been praying about Shura. In my last letter I said, or wrote, to you that she, poor woman, spent her life in despair. Now I will clarify what I mean. When I speak of despair, I do not have in mind a bitter facial expression, a bad digestion, insomnia and the like. No. The essence of despair is the loss of hope, of expectation to attain to Divine eternity. People do not understand this. Espe­cially people of our civilized, humanist era. But one cannot kill completely in oneself the capacity of the human spirit to receive eternity. Those who have managed it live completely like animals; and those who have not managed, live in a state of hidden inner conflict. Thus our poor Shura spent her life, without understanding herself. But I do not in any way despair for her, because she was at heart an honest person, and on meeting with a new reality she will, I am sure, choose what is true and eternal.

Heavenly justice is nailed on the Cross.Saint Sophrony the Athonite.

           

Saint Sophrony the Athonite.

Yesterday our Abbot said to a certain visitor that for us monks theology is life; life without "external expression" of words; life in silence and internal self-concentration. If it is so, then it is always difficult to find the words to speak about the way of Christ which leads to salvation; the way through which one is led to the Heavenly Father.

                Yesterday, in this small church of St. Silouan, we lived a foretaste of heavenly life. It was, if you like, a triumph of our faith. And perhaps for this reason precisely, we must remember today that, according to the word of Christ, our way is to carry our cross and follow Him to Golgotha.

          In the mind and heart of many people there is a thirst for justice and truth. I opened thus, by chance a booklet with the title Hope, which circulated in the form of a pamphlet during the persecution in Russia. A certain Abbess writes there about those who follow a single aim, that if they were to see justice practiced on earth, they would never come to know what Divine justice is.

          You will hear this translated from Russian: "The man who does not seek anything but righteous judgment or human justice will soon find the end of his way; whereas the widening of the soul in order to grasp and to know the justice of God has no end; just as the Lord, Who is the aim of this lifting of the soul, has no end. If man acts according to human justice, it means that he does not recognize heavenly justice, because there is a difference between them. On earth, Divine justice is nailed on the cross."[1]...

On the Love and Humility of God. Elder Ephraim of Arizona.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona.

Love is the Christian's triumph over the devil, hatred, and envy. In order to reach the divine harbour of God's love, we must first fear Him as God, Who chastens sin and transgression. It is not possible to cross the sea and reach the harbour without a boat. Likewise, it is impossible to reach the harbour of love without repentance. The fear of God appoints us com­mander and captain in the boat of repentance, and it takes us across the murky sea of life and guides us to the divine harbour of divine love. Just as we are unable to live without air likewise it is impossible to live in the eternal life with God if we do not breathe the very sweet and fragrant air of God's love.

Let us shake off the burden of our sins with the power of repentance, and thenceforth light and free as eagles, let us fly high above where the eternal God has stored up the inex­haustible treasures of virtue and wisdom, so that we may drink the waters of eternal life and be deified, as the Scrip­tures say: "You are gods, and all of you are the sons of the Most High."

O my merciful Redeemer!. Metropolitan Kallistos Ware.

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware.

As soon as we make a serious attempt to pray in spirit and in truth, at once we become acutely conscious of our interior disintegration, of our lack of unity and wholeness. In spite of all our efforts to stand before God, thoughts continue to move restlessly and aimlessly through our head, like the buzzing of files (Bishop Theophan) or the capricious leaping of monkeys from branch to branch (Ramakrishna). To contemplate means, first of all, to be present where one is - to be here and now. But usually we find ourselves unable to restrain our mind from wandering at random over time and space.

We recall the past, we anticipate the future, we plan what to do next; people and places come before us in unending succession. We lack the power to gather ourselves into the one place where we should be - here, in the presence of God; we are unable to live fully in the only moment of time that truly exists, now, the immediate present. This interior disintegration is one of the tragic consequences of the Fall. The people who get things done, it has been justly observed, are the people who do one thing at a time. But to do one thing at a time is no mean achievement. While difficult enough in external work, it is harder still in the work of inner prayer.

What is to be done? How shall we learn to live in the present, in the eternal Now? how can we seize the kairos(time), the decisive moment, the moment of opportunity? It is precisely at this point that the Jesus Prayer can help. The repeated Invocation of the Name can bring us, by God's grace, from dividedness to unity, from dispersion and multiplicity to singleness. “To stop the continual jostling of your thoughts,” says Bishop Theophan, “you must bind the mind with one thought, or the thought of One only”.

The Lily announcing Christ's birth.Father Arseni Boca.

The soul that reaches the state of purity receives the Lily announcing Christ's birth. At this time the unfolding of gifts received through Holy Chrism occurs. Now the soul must pass against its will through tribulations not dependent on it though ordained by God, completing what was missing from the soul's understanding of things in its life on earth. Throughout this time, the power of Holy Spirit continues working within the ascetic. Let us not forget: the Holy Spirit acted only after the ascetic disengaged all of his soul's powers from working against nature and set them to work for their originally intended purpose: in accordance with nature. Once this conversion and inner harmony of powers is obtained in us, then comes the work of the things above human nature, assisting the growth and development of the Holy Spirit is gifts ordained by God for each of us.

A new child has been born in the flesh, bringing it into a state of purity. Then the child grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon Him."He is the morning star which arises in the hearts of the believers," as Peter says. He is God -as- Light - our light - the one covered by the darkness of ignorance from the time of passions, which will rise like the dawn and will speed your healing.' And thy old waste desert places shall be built up, and thy foundations shall last through all generations:" Jesus Christ. The Light of the world and your light will glow more brightly. The child Jesus became perfect man in the army of perfected men and comes, bowing his head under the hand of dust of His creation, showing His humility in receiving Baptism.

Persecution and monasticism preparation for sanctity.Saint Sophrony(Sakharov)

Archimandrite Thomas, Saint Sophrony, Mother Mariam,
contemplating the icon of the Mother of God.

  

Fr. Sophrony:

          As always, I come to our synaxes without preparation. My preparation rests on the prayer which you have just chanted: that the Spirit may come and vivify our heart and mind. And once again I rejoice that I am living this moment of our meeting together...

          We are living in an exceptionally important time. Two or three years ago a team of theologians from Serbia visited us. These young Serbian theologians asked me what I thought about the future. Here in our country (England), no one knew at that time the word "perestroika", which all the world today knows. I answered them that I am not a prophet, but my prayer tells me that humanity is living in a tragic tension, which surpasses the capacities of whichever State leader. Thus, if destruction through a nuclear war does not come in the near future, there will occur an inevitable revival of Christianity. And behold, a little while later, we began to hear talk on "perestroika" (= reconstruction- reformation), so that the Orthodox Church in Russia is now undergoing a period of revival.

          As Christ said that through the Providence of our Creator and Father even the hairs of our head are numbered[1], it is obvious that through the same Providence also Russia was preserved throughout this entire period of seventy years. The Word of God entered total kenosis, when He said to the Father, on the Cross : "Why have You forsaken me?"[2]The Apostle Paul tells us that God did not answer His Son who was dying saying, "Father, into Your hands I commit  my spirit"[3]. And precisely from that moment of His death, Christ began to be known not as a Prophet, no matter how great He was, but as God Himself.

          What the Church of Russia lived throughout the period of the seventy years, was allowed by Divine Providence, even though from a human point of view these years were an exceptionally tragic period. The slaughter of Christians was allowed by the Providence of God, at a time when the voices and innumerable prayers of the faithful remained unanswered from the part of the Heavenly Father. Knowing very many texts of prisoners, exiles etc., we can see there the repetition of all that occurred during the first centuries of Christianity. Thus, was granted in our times an exceptionally grand privilege: the privilege not only to believe in God, but also to suffer with Him[4]. In other words, these events, which seem to us terrible and which urged in us tearful prayer for them and for the whole of mankind, permitted a harvest of thousands and thousands of great saints.

Saints Sergius and Bacchus.

          

Saints Sergius and Bacchos.
Byzantine icon,  Monastery of Saint Catherine, Sinai.

          Saints Sergius and Bacchus, were officers of high rank in the "Schola Gentilium" which was an equestrian body of men from all races. Sergius was one of the commanding officers of that equestrian body, and Bacchus was his second in command. According to their official functions and to their direct relation with the Emperor whose trust they had gained, these two young officers of high rank enjoyed great influence at the palace, and their prestige was felt in all the Orient, so much so that Antiochus, the commanding officer had been appointed to his post thanks to the influence of Saint Sergius.

          We do not know whether Saints Sergius and Bacchus were born Christians; but it is certain that they were so when they commanded that equestrian body. They had news about the martyrs, and listened to their stories with emotion. They may have seen martyrs being tormented, condemned and put to death; and it is possible that some of these military martyrs were their comrades.

          It is certain that there were many jealous fanatic pagans, or weak people paid by the authorities, who were ready to denounce the Christians to their persecutors. The Emperor learned that his devoted friends, these faithful military chiefs, these noble figures so familiar to him, whom he fully trusted, were Christians.

Orthodoxy and Salvation.Father James Bernstein.

Father James Bernstein.

Father James Bernstein: Raised in Queens, New York by formerly Orthodox Jewish parents whose faith had been undermined by the Holocaust, Arnold Bernstein went on his own personal quest for spiritual meaning. He was ready to accept God in whatever form He chose to reveal Himself and that form turned out to be Christ. But Bernstein soon perceived discrepancies in the various forms of Protestant belief that surrounded him, and so his quest continued -- this time for the true Church.  In 1981 he and his family were received into the canonical Orthodox Christian Church in America. In 1997 Father James was made Dean of the Pacific Northwest Deanery of the Antiochian Archdiocese, and in 1999 was elevated to the rank of archpriest. In 2017 Fr. James retired as pastor of St. Paul and became priest Emeritus.

Orthodoxy introduces us to a whole spectrum of terminology that spoke of salvation in a non-juridical manner. The Orthodox understand that in Christ's death and Resurrection we are united with Him, not in a legal, positional, or virtual sense, but in a very real, literal sense. This is possible because in the Incarnation, Christ took upon Himself our human nature and united it to His Person. In His Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension, the common human nature He shares with us is now glorified.

The Scripture uses imagery that reinforces this concept of organic participation and unity with Christ in His human nature. For example, unity with Christ is presented as being like that between parts of a body. St. Paul often speaks about salvation as being included within the Body of Christ.

What is the purpose of life.?!.Father Andrew Philip.

Saint John the Baptist.
Constantinople, Turkey,
 circa 1300.

Throughout the ages at various times in their lives people in every generation have asked the questions: "What is the purpose of life? What is the point of life?".

Ancient, primitive people, obeying animal instincts, decided that the purpose of life is to multiply, to reproduce, to have as many offspring as possible, simply in order to ensure the survival of the race.

We can see this near the beginning of the Old Testament when Abraham was told “to go forth and multiply”. Gradually, however, as revelation came upon revelation to the chosen people of God in the Old Testament, this command was refined. It was revealed that people were to multiply for a reason other than survival. Barrenness was a stigma, not only because through it men and women failed to ensure survival, but also because it was revealed that somewhere one woman was called to give birth to the Messiah. The Messiah meant the Savior. Thus children were born to various devout and often aged couples, to Adam and Eve, to Abraham and Sarah, to Jacob and Rachel. Thus sons like Abel and Joseph or Joshua and Samuel and many others all in some sense prefigured the Messiah.

Who is Jesus?!.Father Anthony Coniaris.

"Jesus Pantocrator".

 Church of Saint John the Baptist.

 Douma, Lebanon. XVII century.

Who is this Jesus who says, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) and "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:19)?!.

Who is this who says that before Abraham was born, He was living: "Before Abraham was I am" (John 8:58)?!.

Who is this Who claims that all the Old Testament prophe­cies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled in Him?!.

Who is this of Whom His enemies said, "No man ever spoke as this man"?

Who is this Who assumes the awful authority of pronounc­ing final judgment on men (Matt. 7:21-23)?!.

Who is this who equates His voice with the voice of God that spoke in the Old Testament: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old: “You shall not kill”... But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother is liable to judgment" (Matt. 5:21-23)?!.

Who is this who said not "I'll show you or teach you or lead you to the way, the truth and the life", but "I am the way, the truth and the life"?!.

The hidden spiritual joy.Abbot Nikon.

Abbot Nikon was born in Russia in 1894. He began to pursue his higher education in the field of medicine-psychiatry, but he became convinced that: true knowledge of man was possible only through knowledge of God. Discontinuing his studies, he began to lead a secluded life, devoting himself to the study of the Gos­pels and the Holy Fathers. Here at last he discovered the "one thing needful."

In 1931 he gave monastic vows, and within a year he was ordained hieromonk. A year later he was sentenced to four years in the Siberian camps. Towards the end of the war, with the re­opening of many churches, Fr. Nikon was assigned first to one parish then to another. Finally he was sent, as though exiled, to the small town of Gzhatsk, where he remained until his death in 1963.

Abbot Nikon.

How are you feeling?! Are you depressed?! We should not fall victim to despondency, grumbling about our illnesses and sor­rows, for God has established a law firmer than heaven and earth, that only through many trials is it possible to enter the Kingdom of God.

We have now come to such a period in the history of humanity when one is saved exclusively through enduring sor­rows without a murmur, with faith in God and hope in His mercy. Today there are no other paths by which to attain salvation. For our times one path alone is left to us: the patient endurance of sorrows. “Saint Isaac the Syrian” writes: "More precious to God than any prayer and sacrifice are sorrows endured because of Him and for His sake.

Have we found paradise?.Archimandrite Aimilianos Simonopetra.

On Thursday, May 9, Archimandrite Aimilianos, the former Hegumen of Simonopetra Monastery, and spiritual father of many monks, nuns and lay people, reposed in the Lord, at the Monastery of the Annunciation in Ormylia (Chalkidiki) at the age of 85, after a long illness. Memory Eternal!.

“the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Delight to cultivate and keep it” (Gen 2.15).

Archimandrite Aimilianos
 Simonopetra.

 Those plants were like a robe of divine beauty, forming a natural world, a natural expression, of God's majestic holiness. The nat­ural world was a reflection of God's grandeur, and through nature God was visible to the eyes of our first ancestors. In tending the garden they were attending to the glory and majesty of God, care­fully tilling and cultivating the living things around them.

In the first place, then, comes work. We can never experience God without work. People who don't work bard and succeed at their earthly labors are not likely to find much Success in their spir­itual lives. We have to work.

After placing Adam and Eve in the garden, God said to them: “you may eat of any of the trees in paradise” (Gen 2.16). Don't be sur­prised by this. Eating is also a spiritual task, because paradise is a place that relates both to the senses of the body and to those of the intellect. Adam communed with God by means of the fruit of the trees, which was a figure of the food of heaven, about which Christ says: Take, eat, and drink (Mt 26.26-27). By eating of the food of the garden, Adam wasn't merely nourishing his body, but also his soul. It was a way for him to participate in God. And thus when we hear the words: Take, eat, drink, we hear the voice of God calling us to the communion of paradise. But whereas Adam's food was the fruit of the garden, we eat of the bread which came down from heaven (Tn 6.32-35).

The “Master of Eloquence and silence” between the Silence of Man and the silence of God.

Pastoral Letter of Metropolitan Silouan of Byblos, Botrys and dependencies on the 6th Anniversary of the Kidnapping of His Eminence Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo April 22, 2013-2019

 “God finished on the seventh day His work, which He had done:

and He rested on the seventh day of all His work, which He had made”
(Genesis 2:2)

       

Metropolitan Silouan (Musi).

“Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo is on an ecclesiastical mission.” This is an expression that occurred to me in the first days after Monday, April 22, 2013 (the day he was kidnapped), an expression that opened a window through which I have tried to explore the mystery of that great day, a day of God's work in the history of humanity.

Arriving at the threshold of the seventh year of this invisible “ecclesiastical mission,” we notice that infertility and drying up are encircling us; the infertility of hope and the drying up of inspiration. Consequently, you believe that time is uprooting hope from you, while you have no inspiration regarding how to defend the work of God within us and in us. In that case, how can you possibly defend your hope and your faith, and what may you say regarding this matter? An answer comes to you: “Keep silence!” But how could you manage, with silence, to defend your hope and your faith in this “ecclesiastical mission?”

On Slander and Condemnation.Elder Ephraim of Arizona.

Elder Ephraim of Arizona.

Slander is a great evil. Just as the little rudder steers the whole ship wherever it wants, likewise the tongue leads a person either to good or to evil. The holy fathers greatly censure judging other people’s sins, faults, or evil habits. When we judge our brother, we condemn ourselves to a great sin. But when we cover our brother, God will also protect us from great sins. When we expose our brother, we drive the grace of God away from us and He permits us to fall into the same sins so that we learn that we are all weak and that the grace of God supports us. Whoever guards his tongue guards his soul from great sins and grievous falls. The chief cause of criticism and slander is pride and egotism, because one considers oneself better than the others. For this reason it is very beneficial for a person to think of himself as below everyone, so that he considers his brother than him in order that, with the help of God, he may be delivered from this evil.

If something pushes you to criticism in any matter regarding a brother or the monastery, try to pray about the matter instead, without passing it under the judgment of your reason. If you turn within yourself through prayer, humility, and mourning, you will find a spiritual treasure—just keep pride and criticism far from you.

On The Holy Angels.Mother Gavrilia Papayanni.

Mother Gavrilia.

Mother Gavrilia: The Angels are always ready to help us. I have seen it happen with my eyes, with the eyes of my mind - even at the most difficult moments ... When I was in India, jackals, a whole pack of jackals, with their eyes glowing in the dark, rushed in my direction in the jungle forest and God made me invisible to them, as if I didn't exist. Wasn't that protection by the Angels?. What do you think?. After such adven­tures nothing frightens me ... And something else too. When we have love in our heart, the Angels become our best «colleagues». They are the ones to come when, at times we ask ourselves: "Where am I to go now?. What shall I find there"?.

“Suffer little children to come unto me” (Mt19: 14).Father Thomas Hopko.

           

 

Father Thomas Hopko.

Father Thomas John Hopko (March 28, 1939 – March 18, 2015) was an Eastern Orthodox Christian priest and theologian. He was the Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary from September 1992 until July 1, 2002 and taught dogmatic theology there from 1968 until 2002. In retirement, he carried the honorary title of Dean Emeritus.

In addition to the intellectual and informational aspects of preparing children for liturgical and Eucharistic worship, there are spiritual and moral aspects as well. This part of the preparation, at least in the beginning with small children, has to do with external behavior. To participate fruitfully in Eucharistic worship a certain external and formal discipline must be observed so that the deeper, internal spiritual experi­ences may take place. This means that children must learn how to stand in church, how to pay attention, how not to bother others, etc. It also means that they must be trained in certain ascetical exercises in preparation for Holy Communion, as they are able, according to their age and maturity. These "ascetical exercises" include such things as praying personally and fasting as one can; dressing in a manner proper to litur­gical celebration with others, particularly adults; confessing one's sins in a formal sacramental manner when the time comes when this is possible and necessary; asking forgiveness for one's sins and faults; making acts of reparation and recon­ciliation, etc. The spiritual life the practitioner first learns the letter of the law before he or she can enter into the glorious liberty of gracious communion with the Lord. This biblical principle certainly applies to the preparation of chil­dren (and adults) for Eucharistic worship.

Spiritual weapons..Saint Nil Sorsky.

Saint Nil Sorsky.

For those who sincerely seek to repent, and who seek God in love and fear, and have Him alone before their eyes and walk according to His commandments, God will accept all of them, granting his mercy and giving them His grace and glorifying them. Thus all of Holy Scripture assures us of this.

In ancient times many Fathers themselves walked in this exem­plary way of life and, directed others accordingly. But now it is not the same, due to a great lack of such spiritual directors. But whoever dedicates himself completely to the work of God, God's very own grace will wisely guide him, being his strength now and for all ages, in the life to come.

The Power of the Holy Cross.Metropolitan Gerasimos of Belmont,California.

           

Mosaic of the Holy Cross, Ravenna, Italy.

I would like to reflect briefly on a few themes found in the Veneration of the Holy Cross. 

          The Cross is truly like the tree spoken of in the first psalm: planted besides running waters, it produces fruit in due season. How does it produce its fruit?. Where Adam snatched at equality with God and seized the forbidden fruit in Eden, the New Adam, the Son of God, willingly laid aside his glory and became obedient even unto death, to death on the Cross. In the same hour of the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday, we listen to these words addressed to us by Christ taken from an ancient homily:

           « See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree. I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you”.

The Ouija* Board Spelled, “Evil”.The story of Elena Smirnova, a former witch.Priest George Maximov, Elena Smirnova

Priest George Maximov interviews people who converted to Orthodoxy on the​ TV program “My Path to God”. Sometimes the journey to the Light takes people through years of serving dark forces. This is what happened to Elena Smirnova, today’s guest of Father George’s program. She used to practice witchcraft and esoteric arts, and summon evil spirits. Elena will tell us whether those who summon dark forces are masters or slaves of such forces. We will also learn what led her to Christ and what she sees as her mission now.

Father George Maximov.

Priest George Maximov: Hello!. You are watching “My Path To God”, a program about people whose lives were drastically changed after turning to Christ. Sometimes people convert after being infinitely far away from Christianity. The story of the guest of today’s program is a case in point. Before she found God, she used to communicate with evil spirits. "Elena Nikolayevna", could you tell us how it all started?!. Am I correct to assume that you grew up in a non-religious family?...

Elena Smirnova: My family was Orthodox, but we weren’t religious. We would

Elena Smirnova.

go to church once a year on a feast day to light candles. I had some idea about the Church, but it was quite vague. My parents baptized me shortly after I was born. My grandmother helped to arrange it. She invited a priest to our place and he came over and performed the baptism. After that, she cast a spell to protect me from hernia. My parents were just like her. They believed in God and yet they believed in house elves¹ too. My mother used to tell me that a house elf visited her when she was at our summerhouse. My grandmother would tell such stories too. They used to tell me many amazing stories when I was a child. I was into it too. I liked fairy tales. As a child, I kept to myself and liked to daydream. I think I learned how to tell fortunes when I was in the second grade. My mother showed me some simple ways to tell if your wish would come true. These were my first attempts at fortune telling.

I told fortunes to a few girls and understood that this gave me power over people.