I’m the LIGHT and you don’t see me. I’m the WAY and you don’t follow me. I am the TRUTH and you don’t believe me. I’m LIFE and you don’t seek me. I’m the TEACHER and you don’t listen to me. I’m the LORD and you don’t obey me. I’m your GOD and you don’t pray to me. I’m your best FRIEND and you don’t love me. If you’re unhappy, don’t blame me.
This is how Dionysius describes the divine names, in the fifth chapter of his treatise: ‘The divine name “Good” tells of all the processions of the universal Cause; it extends to beings and nonbeings and that Cause is superior to being and nonbeings. The name “Being” extends to all beings which are, and it is beyond them. The name of “Life” extends to all living things, and yet is beyond them. The name “Wisdom” reaches out to everything which has to do with understanding, reason, and sense perception, and surpasses them all.’ As we can see, Dionysius places hierarchically the above names with the following order: Good, Being, Life and finally Wisdom. This order is of high importance, since the name Good ...
Novices need more time in order to train themselves in prayer. It is impossible to reach this supreme virtue shortly after entering the monastery or following the first few steps in asceticism. Asceticism needs both time and gradual progress, so that the ascetic can mature for prayer in every respect. In order that a flower might bloom or the fruit grow on a tree, the tree must first be planted and left to develop; thus also does prayer grow out of the soil of other virtues and nowhere else. The monk will not quickly gain mastery of his mind, nor will he in a short time accustom it to abide in the words of the prayer as if enclosed in ...
If you call God your Father then you’ll trust Him as your only real Father, Who is merciful and all-wise, unalterable in His love and perfection
Jesus and the blind man, 6th century sarcophagus, L'abbaye Saint-Victor, France And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 1. ‘And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth’. Being full of love for us and caring for our salvation, and desiring to stop the mouths of the ungrateful, He overlooks nothing that is His to do, even if there’s no-one to pay attention. The Prophet knew this when he said: ‘that you might be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged’. So here, too, when they wouldn’t accept the sublime meaning of His words, but said that He had a devil, and attempted to kill Him, ...
Spiritual progress, brethren is, humility. There isn’t any other progress. In other words, the more you descend into humility, the more you ascend to spiritual heights. Book of the Elders
On the occasion of the convocation of the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church, we are publishing a text by George Mantzaridis, Emeritus Professor of Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, which deals with the manner in which Orthodox Theology is produced. This text is a contribution to the more general dialogue which is preceding the discussions of the Pan-Orthodox Synod. From the beginning, Orthodox monasticism was hesychast. The original monks, living far from the world and practicing unceasing prayer, were, in essence, hesychasts . They felt they had to have recourse to tranquillity ‘in order to speak to God clearly’ . This was and is, however, a self-evident requirement for every real believer. And so we have ...
Just as the shadow follows the body, so God’s mercy follows humble reflections. “Saint Isaac the Syrian” Read more “Words of Life” at www.pemptousia.com
Uprightness is simplicity, innocence and untarnished purity of the soul. It’s virtue of the highest order, because it’s the fruit of Christian perfection. Upright people are interested day and night in learning about the will of God, what is good, pleasing and perfect, in order to conform to it. They examine their lives and investigate the depths of their hearts. They will not allow anything in there, they eject any evil desire and cast out every passion.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. It is not only awesome, at times it is frightening to preach the Word of God, because the Lord said "By thy words thou shall be judged." Judged, because if you proclaim God's truth and remain idle and not the doer of what the Lord has commanded, and what you know well enough to proclaim to others - then, how shall you stand before the judgement of God? This does not apply only to the priest, but to every Christian who is called to be a witness, an apostle, one that brings God's word to the people who are in darkness or twilight, who need divine light, and truth ...
While the Samaritan woman was talking to Christ, she basically didn’t understand what he was saying. He was talking on the level of eternal life. She automatically transferred what she heard to the level of this transitory life. There was no meeting point. This point was created through a ‘sign’- a miracle- that Christ revealed to her. He said, ‘Go and fetch your husband and come back here’. She replied that she didn’t have a husband. Then Jesus said to her, ‘You’re quite right in saying that you don’t have a husband. You’ve had five and the one you have now isn’t your husband. It was true, what you said’. The words of the Lord shifted the Samaritan woman onto another ...
Elder Porphyrios loved everyone with Christ’s love, which is unique for each individual. But the rich heart of Christ and the rich hearts of all those who resemble Him are capable of loving all men in a unique way, each individual being an image of the beloved Christ. And this love attracts Divine Grace, which falls upon the person who is loved in the form of a great and boundless joy. The person who loves feels joy because loving means giving and giving is a blessing, as the Lord Himself said (‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ – Acts 20: 35). “Former Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals George Arvanitis” This is an excerpt from an article published ...
Spiritual vigilance and your struggle against demonic evil will last until the end of your life. This is because Satan is constantly vigilant and never rests. He’s like a wild lion prowling around, seeking to devour anyone who’s escaped him. Anyone he finds asleep is in trouble.
Our ordinary condition, the condition of all mankind, is one of fallenness, of spiritual deception, of perdition. Apprehending—and to the degree that we apprehend, experiencing—that condition, let us cry out from it in prayer, let us cry in spiritual humility, let us cry with wails and sighs, let us cry for clemency! Let us turn away from all spiritual gratifications, let us renounce all lofty states of prayer of which we are unworthy and incapable! It is impossible "to sing the Lord's song in a strange land" (Ps. 136:5), in a heart held captive by passions. Should we hear an invitation to sing, we can know surely that it emanates "from them that have taken us captive" (Ps. 136:3). "By ...
The Word became flesh; that is, the Son of God, co-eternal with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit, became human --- having become incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. O, wondrous, awesome and salvific mystery! The One Who had no beginning took on a beginning according to humanity; the One without flesh assumed flesh. God became man --- without ceasing to be God. The Unapproachable One became approachable to all, in the aspect of a servant. Why, and for what reason, was there such a condescension on the part of the Creator toward His transgressing creatures --- toward humanity which, through an act of its own will had fallen away from God, its Creator? It ...
On the occasion of the convocation of the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church, we are publishing a text by George Mantzaridis, Emeritus Professor of Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, which deals with the manner in which Orthodox Theology is produced. This text is a contribution to the more general dialogue which is preceding the discussions of the Pan-Orthodox Synod. The experience of tranquility of course requires external peace. It cannot be achieved in the turmoil and noise of modern life, even though there are always a few bright exceptions who manage to achieve the unachievable. Tranquillity is a state of the soul, or, more accurately, of the intellect. When our intellect stops expending itself on external ...
A meditation for those preparing to stand before the Creator and Church community in the awesome Mystery of Holy Confession, thereby being given the renewal of a second baptism. I, a sinful soul, confess to our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, all of my evil acts which I have done, said or thought from baptism even unto this present day. I have not kept the vows of my baptism, but have made myself unwanted before the face of God. I have sinned before the Lord by lack of faith and by doubts concerning the Orthodox Faith and the Holy Church; by ungratefulness for all of God's great and unceasing gifts; His long-suffering and His providence for me, a sinner; by lack of ...
