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Let Me Not be Put to Shame
St. Theophan the Recluse 1815-1894 Ps. 118:80 Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame. The prophet does not mention how and where one 'may not be put to shame.' The nearest 'not being put to shame' occurs during the arising of inward battles... The second moment … [Read More...]
St. John Damascene on Angels
St. John Damascene ca. 676-749 He is Himself the Maker and Creator of the angels: for He brought them out of nothing into being and created them after His own image, an incorporeal race, a sort of spirit or immaterial fire: in the words of the divine David, He makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame … [Read More...]
Chrysostom on the Priesthood
Saint John Chrysostom 347-407 A.D. ‘When one is required to preside over the Church, and to be entrusted with the care of so many souls, the whole female sex must retire before the magnitude of the task, and the majority of men also; and we must bring forward those who to a large extent surpass all others, … [Read More...]
Wednesdays and Fridays
At the sheepfold there was an experienced older monk, Fr. Galacteon, who guided the young Constantine (the future Elder Cleopa Ilie of Sihastria Monastery)...On Wednesdays and Fridays the Elder would not eat at all until after the first stars had appeared in the sky. Then he would cross himself, ask forgiveness of … [Read More...]
The Power of Spiritual Books
Remembering about Elder Paisius Velichkovsky with awe and reverence, Athanasius [a monk of Mt. Athos] told the following in order to confirm the height of spiritual strivings: "I was fortunate to know the last living disciple of Elder Paisius, an ancient elder. You can understand how great was this Paisius … [Read More...]
St. Gregory on Luxury
St. Gregory of Nyssa A.D. 335-395 “Those, then, whose reasoning powers have never been exercised and who have never had a glimpse of the better way soon use up on gluttony in this fleshly life the dividend of good which their constitution can claim, and they reserve none of it for the after life; but those … [Read More...]
On the Chief Apostles
St. Paisius Velichkovsky 1722-1794 Christ the Savior, our true God, when He wished to entrust the world to His chief disciples and Apostles Peter and Paul, so that they might preach in it His Gospel and by their preaching might instruct those who believed in Him in the true knowledge of God and the keeping of … [Read More...]
Of a Certain Sinner Who Died
St. Pachomius the Great ca. 292-346 And it came to pass once that Abba Pachomius went to another monastery to visit the brethren who were there, and as he was on his journey he met the funeral of a certain brother of the monastery who was dead, and [the monks] were going to the funeral and were singing as they … [Read More...]
Lives of the Saints
A Vision of the Heavens
St. Andrew, the Fool for Christ of Constantinople ca. 9th cent. Once during a terrible winter when St. Andrew lay in a city street frozen and near death, he suddenly felt a warmth within him and beheld a splendid youth with a face shining like the sun, who conducted him to paradise and the third heaven. "By … [Read More...]
The Righteous Repose of St. Seraphim of Sarov
St. Seraphim of Sarov 1759-1833 Near St. Seraphim's cell was the cell of a monk called Paul who, being his neighbor, performed the duties of his cell attendant.When he went from the monastery to his near hermitage, St. Seraphim used to leave candles burning in his cell which he had lit from morning before the … [Read More...]
St. Salvius the Seer of Heavenly Mysteries
St. Gregory of Tours ca. 538-594 The feeling of reverence which I have for him compels me to say something about St. Salvius. He often used to tell how, during his years as a layman, while he was occupying himself with worldly affairs he never permitted himself to be ensnared by the carnal desires which so … [Read More...]
On Orthodox Monarchy and Saint Nicholas II
The battle against Tsar Nicholas II was clearly bound up with the battle against God and faith . . . He became a Martyr, having remained faithful to the Ruler of those who rule, and accepted death in the same way as the martyrs accepted it. Archbishop John Maximovitch. Very soon after Russia accepted the seed … [Read More...]
On the Death of the Saints
Wis 3:1 But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. Abba Sisoes ca. 4th-5th cent. It was said of Abba Sisoes that when he was at the point of death, while the Fathers were sitting beside him, his face shone like the sun. He said to them, ‘Look, Abba … [Read More...]
Articles
An Orthodox Perspective of the Last Days
The following is a sample chapter from the book Ultimate Things: An Orthodox Christian Perspective on the End Times, by D.E. Englemen. Although Orthodoxy does not have an official and dogmatic position on the later times, this book provides very useful information from the Holy Fathers and Scripture. Chapter … [Read More...]
On Orthodox Monarchy and Saint Nicholas II
The battle against Tsar Nicholas II was clearly bound up with the battle against God and faith . . . He became a Martyr, having remained faithful to the Ruler of those who rule, and accepted death in the same way as the martyrs accepted it. Archbishop John Maximovitch. Very soon after Russia accepted the seed … [Read More...]
Building The New City: St. Basil’s Social Vision
By Paul Schroeder In St. Gregory the Theologian’s funeral oration for St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory describes the legacy of St. Basil’s philanthropic endeavors in this way: “Go forth a little way from the city, and behold the New City, the storehouse of piety, the common treasury of the wealthy … … [Read More...]
St. Paisy Velichkovsky on Demonic Activity
There is a crucial aspect of Orthodox theology that we, as “modern folk” need to concern ourselves with: the study and nature of demonic influence. All throughout the Scripture we see how Christ and the Apostles speak of us battling demons. We see Christ cast them out of people. We see Saint Paul insist, in … [Read More...]
Understanding Orthodox Worship
Many who either do not understand or who despise the traditional/liturgical worship service of the Orthodox Church do so because, for one reason, they do not understand the very nature of worship. Christ says in Matthew 16 that nothing will prevail against the Church. This is how the Church worships: without … [Read More...]
