ἀνθρώποισι πᾶσι μέτεστι γινώσκειν ἑωυτοὺς καὶ σωφρονεῖν.
You might ask why it is that we today, who are less ascetic as Christians, are overcome with fear and trembling when we hear about asceticism. It makes us feel somewhat uncomfortable. This is because we’ve lost sight of a great truth of our faith. It’s summed up by Saint John of the Ladder: ‘love is conquered by love’*. Continue reading “Love as the Essence of Orthodox Asceticism”
by Father Alexis
I am most grateful for the comments generated by my previous post. I have been musing about why not judging others seems to be a stumbling block. Perhaps, it is because we consider the spiritual life in the absolutist, rational categories of right and wrong or guilt and innocence, rather than in terms of healthy, living communion with God and diseased, deadening alienation from Him or radiant, grace-attracting humility and darkened, grace-repelling pride. Continue reading “Justice Does Not Belong to the Christian Way of Life”
It’s not unusual for people to be very concerned that others should have a good image of them. This demonstrates a lack of self-awareness, humility and seriousness. In the depths of their being, the dominant feeling is one of egotism, the basis for vanity. In other words, it’s a state of spiritual imbalance in which the person is dependent on the opinions of others, takes them seriously into account and acts accordingly. Such people ignore their true self- their weaknesses and their gifts- they ignore the fickleness of others, who aren’t slow to change their views, and they ignore the love of their heavenly Father, the only constant we have, whoever we may be. Continue reading “Our ‘Good Image’”
By Saint Justin Popovich
We humans find ourselves on the road between paradise and hell, between God and the devil. All our thoughts and reflections, and every one of our feelings, bring the soul a little closer to paradise or hell. Continue reading “The Human Condition”
Here we present words of wisdom of St. Nektarios of Aegina. Continue reading “St. Nektarios, help us find the Path to Happiness”
By Protopresbyter George Metallinos, Dean of the Athens University School of Theology
On the Last Sunday of Lent “we commemorate the Second and Incorruptible Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. The expression “we commemorate” of the Book of Saints confirms that our Church, as the Body of Christ, re-enacts in its worship the Second Coming of Christ as an “event” and not just something that is historically expected. The reason is, that through the Divine Eucharist, we are transported to the celestial kingdom, to meta-history. It is in this orthodox perspective, that the subject of paradise and hell is approached. Continue reading “Paradise and Hell according to Orthodox tradition”
Novo Scriptorium 