Orthodox Wisdom (Readings from Saints of Holy Orthodoxy)

St. Hilarion Troitsky, New Martyr of Russia and righteous Confessor of the Church, brilliantly sets for the Scriptural and Patristic understanding of what Christ came to establish: not an invisible, personal “Christianity” but the Church which He promised He would build (cf. Matt 16:18). The question posed as the title of the work must be asked and answered by everyone who calls themselves a Christian. St. Hilarion is our guide if we are unsure how to answer.   

Read the text of "Christianity or the Church" here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/sthilarion_church.aspx  

2:47 The Church was designed to reflect the perfect unity of the Three-One God 

4:47 There is no form of unity on earth that compares to the unity of the Church 

7:17 St. Cyprian and St. Cyril of Alexandria on the unity of the Church 

9:02 Christ did not come simply to teach, but to build his Church (cf. Matt 16:18) 

10:40 On the Tower of Babel and the inadequacy of human law to rid us of egoism, the obstacle of Church unity 

14:05 Church unity is organic, like a tree and its branches 

14:22 St. Paul on the physical and organic nature of Church unity 

16:19 How is such a unity possible? 

16:46 The command to love is not enough, we must have the power, and we have this in the Church 

17:43 The Holy Spirit is the source of life and organic Church unity 

18:40 What is the unity of the Spirit? St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Theodoret, Blessed Jerome, and Blessed Theopylact answer 

20:08 According to the teaching of the Apostle, all Church life is a manifestation of God's Holy Spirit 

20:58 God is love and acts in love in His Church 

21:31 The teachings of St. Paul on the Church and on love are inseparably linked, despite what some scholars say 

22:50 All of [St. Paul’s] Christian ethics are based upon the dogmatic teaching about the Church.  

23:31 Christ creates not only a moral person, but a perfect society, i.e. the Church 

24:05 “Outside the Church and without the Church, Christian life is impossible.” 

25:14 On Eph 4:16: “the body of the Church reaches perfection in all its members” 

27:07 “the perfection of the human personality depends upon its belonging to the Church as a living organism” 

27:46 A hand cut from the body, a branch cut from a tree, a ray separated from the sun 

29:29 “Spiritual life can exist only in an organic unity with the Universal Church” 

30:04 “Dogmatic truths have moral significance, and Christian morals are founded on dogma.” 

31:18 The word "Church" (ekklisia) appears 110 times in the NT, while "Christianity" is completely unknown 

32:05 What did it mean to be a Christian in the early days of the Church? 

32:57 How St. Paul joined the Church 

33:59 Saul (St. Paul) did not persecute followers of some Christian teaching, but the Church  

35:29 The Church is not a theory but life itself 

35:57 The Church is not a school but a life 

36:35 Protestant teaching of an “invisible” church 

37:53 We will look at two Church fathers who dealt extensively with the dogma of the Church: St. Cyprian and St. Augustine

"Outside the Church and without the Church, Christian life is impossible. Without the Church, the Christian teaching alone remains as an empty sound, for Christian life is Church life. Only in the life of the Church can a person live and develop. In a bodily organism, separate members never grow or develop independently of one another, but always and only in connection with the whole organism. The same applies to the Church. For the growth of the Church is at the same time the growth of its members." -St. Hilarion

Excerpts from Vol. 1 & 2 from the 12 Volume Booklet Series by Fr. Daniel Sysoev titled "How to Inherit Eternal Life". These booklets are great to give out to inquirers and catechumens, to sell at parish bookstores, and more. This recording covers two excerpts from each of the first two booklets. BUY the entire 12 volume, 560 total page booklet set here ($45):

https://mission-shop.com/product/how-to-inherit-eternal-life-whole-series-of-12-books/ 0:00 Intro Booklet 1: God's Love and God's Will 0:20 The Path to Divine Love 4:27 How Are We to Will Where Holy Scripture is Silent? Booklet 2: The Divine Names 8:10 The Meaning and Significance of Names 10:08 The Names of God Who Gives Life TITLES of the 12 booklets: --God’s Love and God’s Will --The Divine Names --How Does God Rule the World? --On Fear of God and Good Works --On Meekness and Freedom from Anger --On Internal and External Prayer --Spirit, Soul, and Body --On Gluttony and Avarice --On Envy and Despondency --How We Should View the Government --Orthodox Upbringing of Children --The Resurrection of the Dead

LEARN more about Fr. Daniel:

https://mission-shop.com/daniel/

DONATE to the Benevolent Fund to support Matushkas (priest wives) who have lost their husbands and need support for themselves and their children:

https://mission-shop.com/pozhertvovanie-na-fond/ WATCH an interview with the wife, daughter, and spiritual son of Fr. Daniel Sysoev: --Who Was New-Martyr Daniel Sysoev? with Yulia Sysoeva:

https://www.youtube.com/live/cXFNiKcoi9I?feature=share _______

Fr. Daniel teaches:

"The apostle Peter says that we have already been given all the gifts that are necessary for salvation. They are given at the time of the sacraments of baptism and chrismation. These gifts are achievable through knowledge of God. The Lord, however, bestows not only gifts, but also the promise that we will be participants in the Divine nature, that through divine grace we will become participants in the nature of the Creator Himself." -from "God’s Love and God’s Will"

"If there is no obvious answer to our question in Holy Scripture, how are we then to learn God’s will? For this we have the holy Church of God. We must go to the Church and ask the advice of the priest. This advice must be given grounded in Holy Scripture and the holy fathers. This is necessary not because we do not trust the priest, but so that we might learn, and the next time the choice will be simpler for us.... There are cases, however, where it is not possible to go to a priest or an elder for advice, and the situation must be resolved without delay. In this case there are several means of learning God’s will..." -from "God’s Love and God’s Will"

"Ordinarily names are given by those in authority. For example, parents give their children names, exercising their authority over them.... Thus, on the one hand the name signifies personal contact, and on the other—a subordinate status. Hence, strictly speaking, our God is a nameless God. If we ask what God’s sole, absolute name is, the answer is that there is none! For there is no one greater than He." -from "The Divine Names" _______

Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Fr. Alexey Young, also known as Hieroschemamonk Ambrose, is a close spiritual son of Fr. Seraphim Rose. In the same spirit of Fr. Seraphim, Fr. Alexey calls all Orthodox Christians to a greater awareness and conscious resistance to the error of Roman Catholicism and the grave temptation, very present in our own day, of false union with Rome.

0:00 Intro

0:10 The first way to resist false union is to pray and repent, then appeal to our hierarchs

0:30 What any patriarch and bishop does matters to all of us, from layman to hierarch 1:33 We must teach the faithful the truth and the true nature of Roman Catholicism 2:12 “This is not a time for half measures.” 2:51 Met. Philaret’s teaching on the boundaries and uniqueness of Orthodoxy 4:06 The meaning of “ecumenical” and how it means something different today 5:07 St. Mark of Ephesus: a great example for us today 6:15 Statement by Representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church in 1957 8:02 Elder Philetheos: “Let there be union… but in the way Christ wishes it: far from every worldly purpose and every compromise…” 8:40 Orthodoxy in America has fiddled with secondary matters while secularism has crept in to our Church 9:45 This worldliness is a new kind of Orthodoxy being preached today and it sets us up for false union with Rome 11:02 “Too many of us lack a sufficiently developed Orthodox conscientiousness to be aware of the present ecumenist threat to our Faith.” 11:58 Many have become numb to true repentance, accustomed to comforts, and it is this that makes many Orthodox Christians attracted to Roman Catholicism

-from "The Rush to Embrace" by Fr. Alexey Young, pp. 80-86.

More from Fr. Alexey: --The Rush to Embrace: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/9781879066090/

--Many of Fr. Alexey's other writings can be read here: https://orthochristian.com/83940.html

--Letter From Father Seraphim: The twelve-year correspondence between Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) and Father Alexey Young: https://hvcbookstore.com/Letters-From-Father-Seraphim

--A Man Is His Faith, the life of Ivan Kireyevsky, a lay theologian and disciple of Optina Elders.https://sjkp.org/products/a-man-is-his-faith

Other recordings from Orthodox Wisdom:

--A Desperate Appeal (Against False Union with Rome) - Elder Philotheos Zervakos:

https://youtu.be/X19FQxiLlhA --On False Union With Rome & Fighting From Within - St. Paisios the Athonite:

https://youtu.be/sAK7BMuUkic _______

Fr. Alexey writes:

This is not a time for half measures. Orthodox priests who tell their flocks that they may attend Roman Catholic (or Episcopal) churches if there is no Orthodox parish nearby, must be corrected, and disciplined if they persist in this grievous error. Priests must be again reminded that they may not, under any circumstances, give Holy Communion to non-Orthodox. Also, those who tell Roman Catholic and Protestant inquirers that they should stay in their own Churches and not convert to Orthodoxy, must be reprimanded. Immortal souls are at stake! Too many of us lack a sufficiently developed Orthodox consciousness to be aware of the present ecumenist threat to our Faith. Not only is the development of such a consciousness greatly hindered by the relativism and materialism (the opposite of asceticism) that saturate our society, but our natural human longing for peace and harmony, for love and brotherhood, has made us vulnerable to ecumenical "sweet talk." An inadequate knowledge of Church history and a weak understanding of Orthodox ecclesiology is now putting us even further at risk. Brothers and sisters: our holy Orthodox Faith is at stake here! We cannot afford to be naive, and ignorance is not bliss—it is suicide. And it is this very ignorance that has made possible the growing "union fever" we see around us today.

What is the firmament? What does Scripture mean by “waters above the heavens”? St. Ambrose expounds upon the Scriptural testimony and raises our minds and hearts both to God’s creation and God Himself. As he asks rhetorically, "When you hear this, why do you marvel if, by the operation of such majesty, water can be held suspended above the celestial firmament?" 📖 "Hexaemeron" by St. Ambrose of Milan https://www.scribd.com/doc/46349268/Hexaemeron-of-Saint-Ambrose-of-Milan 🎧 The Firmament and the Waters Above - St. John Chrysostom https://youtu.be/ZMCuHkVA-lo 📖 "Hexaemeron" by St. Basil the Great https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/hexaemeron ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Ambrose teaches: We follow the tradition of the Scriptures and we value the work by our esteem of the Author [Moses], as to what was said, who said it, and to whom it was said. ‘Let there be a firmament made,’ He said, ‘amidst the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters’ (Genesis 1:6). From this I learn that the firmament is made by a command by which the water was to be separated and the water above be divided from the water below. What is clearer than this? He who commanded the waters to be separated by the interposition of the firmament lying between them provided also the manner of them remaining in position, once they were divided and separated. The word of God gives nature its power and an enduring quality to its matter, as long as He who established it wishes it to be so, as it is written: ‘He hath established them forever and for ages of ages. He hath made a decree and it shall not pass away’ (Psalm 148:6). And that you may know that He said this concerning these *waters which you say cannot exist in the higher parts of the heavens,* listen to the words which precede: ‘Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens, and let all the waters above the heavens praise the name of the Lord’ (Psalm 148:4).... *When you hear this, why do you marvel if, by the operation of such majesty, water can be held suspended above the celestial firmament?* -Hexaemeron, p. 53-54 This firmament cannot be broken, you see, without a noise. *It also is called a firmament because it is not weak nor without resistance.* Hence, in dealing with thunderbolts, which give forth a tremendous crash when currents of air on the point of arising in the midst of the clouds meet together in collision, the Scripture speaks of strengthening the thunderbolt. Therefore, *the firmament is called because of its firmness or because it has been made firm by divine power,* just as Scripture teaches us, saying: "Praise ye him in the firmament of his power" (Psalm 150:1). And I am not unaware that some refer "the heaven of heavens" to the intelligible powers, the firmament to the efficient powers and that the heavens praise and "shine forth the glory of God and the firmament declareth it"—yet, as we have said above, they declare them not as spiritual powers, but as things of the world. Others also interpret the waters to mean the purificatory powers. We accept this interpretation as a simple adornment to our treatise. To us, however, it does not appear to be inappropriate nor absurd, if we are to understand these to be *real waters* for the reasons given above. According to the hymn of the Prophet, dew, frost, cold and heat bless the Lord, the earth, too, blesses Him. Furthermore, we do not understand the stars to be unseen powers of nature, but as having real existence. Even dragons give praise to the Lord, because their nature and aspect, if one examines them closely, are not without presenting a certain modicum of beauty and design. -Hexaemeron, p. 62 _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Every year during the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the questions arise: "Why are we anathematizing people? Is the Church really sending them to hell? What is an anathema?" In his homily on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, St. Theophan the Recluse provides as answer to such questions, raising our theologoical consciences higher and guarding the faithful against seculization of the Church increasingly present today. -READ the text here: https://www.orthodox.net/articles/anathema-bp-theophan.html#:~:text=After%20all%2C%20an%20anathema%20is,to%20think%20upon%20joining%20her. -WATCH the Rite of the Triumph Orthodoxy (Anathema Service, or Synodikon) in English and Church Slavonic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZzhpSoaXtM&t=543s -WATCH a short, powerful video of the Proclomation of Anathemas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF00JJ13l7Y -READ St. John Maximovitch addressing the same topic: https://catalogueofstelisabethconvent.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-word-anathema-and-its-meaning.html -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ Audio of singing "Anathema!" at the beginning of this recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZzhpSoaXtM&t=543s _______ St. Theophan teaches: To some people our anathemas seem inhumane, to others constricting. Such charges might be valid in other situations, but there is no way they can apply to our Rite of Orthodoxy. Let us take, for example, a temperance society. It has rules which every member must fulfill. And each of its members is a member precisely because he accepts and abides by its rules. Now suppose that some member not only refuses to abide by the rules but also holds many views completely opposed to those of the society and even rises up against its very goal. He not only does not himself observe temperance but even reviles temperance itself and disseminates notions which might tempt others and deflect them from temperance. What does the society ordinarily do with such people? First it admonishes them, and then it expels them. There you have an anathema! No one protests this, no one reproaches the society for being inhuman. Everyone acknowledges that the society is acting in a perfectly legitimate manner and that if it were to act otherwise, it could not exist. Do you not see with what wisdom and foresight the holy Church acts when she makes us perform the present proclamation and listen to it? And yet they say, "This is outdated." It is precisely now that it is relevant. Perhaps 100 years ago it was not relevant. But one must say concerning our time, that if a Rite of Orthodoxy did not as yet exist, it would be needful to introduce one, and to perform it not only in the capital cities but in all places and in all churches: in order to collect all the evil teachings opposed to the Word of God, and to make them known to all, in order that all might know what they need to beware of and what kind of teachings to avoid. Many are corrupted in mind solely due to ignorance, whereas a public condemnation of ruinous teachings would save them from perdition. Whether your teaching and your name are pronounced as being under anathema or not, you already fall under it when your opinions are opposed to those of the Church, and when you persist in them. Fearful is the anathema. Leave off your evil opinions. Amen. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A story of the power of prayer, of the noetic energy of the heart, that can overcome otherwise very disrupting noise.

St. Porphyrios says, “As I was leafing through it I lighted on a page showing the following experiment: If you throw a small stone into a calm lake you see the water making ripples over a small area. If you then throw in a larger stone, the ripples become larger and extend over a larger area so that they outflank the first ripples. At that moment I received the answer to my dilemma. It was divine illumination. I reasoned as follows: the small ripples from the singing outside the church can be outflanked by the prayers of great spiritual intensity that are being said inside the church. And at the same time there came at once into my mind forcefully, very forcefully: 'And if you celebrate here and have your mind on God, who can cause you any harm?'”

From ”Wounded by Love: The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios”, p. 56-58  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

With pain of heart, we present the teachings of St. Paisios to correct the blasphemies of Archbishop Elpidophorus and guard the faithful against his lies, whose speech was presented by Bishop Athenagoras at the opening of a Hindu temple in New Jersey on October 4, 2023. Archbishop Elpidophoros writes: “This Hindu temple represents a Sacred Space…May the opening of this beautiful shrine be a beacon of joy, understanding and harmony within the Hindu community and beyond…In the spirit of love and fellowship, I offer my congratulations and blessings for the success and flourishing of this sacred endeavor.”

St. Paisios’ words to a Greek Orthodox seminary graduate would apply today: "You are harming yourself and others when you relate this refined Hindu nonsense and at the same time present yourself as a graduate of Chalki. Be careful, you will become possessed bythe devil."

Full Video of the Interfaith Harmony event at the Hindu temple. Go to 1:20:10 for Bishop’s speech:https://www.youtube.com/live/7VhZtb2wGek?si=AfYGZF8WUUvG_bKz

Orthodox articles on the event here:

1) https://orthochristian.com/158195.html

2) https://www.monomakhos.com/the-downfall-of-the-goa-proceeds-apace/

Details of the temple and its shrines:

1) https://www.baps.org/News/2023/Interfaith-Harmony-Day-24199.aspx

2) https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/january-february-march-2024/americas-largest-hindu-temple-opens-in-new-jersey/

0:00 Beginning

0:23 On the Asceticism of Hinduism

3:12 Hinduism Has Done A Lot of Harm

7:52 The Seduction of People (Hinduism & Other Sects)

11:48 Baptism is not magic, not given to cure psychological problems

14:19 Return to Orthodoxy

16:51 Two accounts of St. Paisios helping Hindus come to Christ

-BUY “Spiritual Counsels, Vol. III: Spiritual Struggle” by St. Paisios:

https://www.holycross.org/products/spiritual-struggle-elder-paisios

-BUY "Saint Paisos of Mount Athos":

https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/products/saint-paisios-of-mount-athos

-FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you:

https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/

______

St. Paisios writes:

They practice and practice but what do they achieve in the end? Orthodox temperance and abstemiousness — ascetic discipline in general — always aims for a higher spiritual purpose, the sanctification of the soul. The Hindu’s satanic and worldly asceticism results in an agile body, flexing arms and legs like a paper puppet so they can be admired by fools and mocked by demons.

Some of our people go to the Hindus and are taught to say in the Hindu language certain incantations about Christ, Panaghia and the Saints. Some may know that these things are blasphemous, others may not, in the end they become possessed by demons. Then they start uttering incoherent words. They eventually become delirious, and onlookers consider them to be in a spiritual state, but this is actually a demonic state.

What can you say? The confusion is immense! There was a sign outside a Roman Catholic Church in Paris that read: "Teaching of the Jesus Prayer with the yoga method." What have they come to! No wonder psychological problems abound, and people lose their mind.

Impressed by the Elder's spiritual gifts, the man asked him about meditation and other spiritual techniques. "Look, my child," the Elder kindly interrupted him, "techniques do not matter at all. You are trying, but where you are digging, there is no gold; there is just the devil. The gold is Christ." ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Why does God allow the righteous to suffer? What spiritual laws are at work when we are prideful and when we fall? How does God help both the humble and the proud to walk the narrow path of salvation? St. Paisios the Athonite answers these questions and more. -BUY St. Paisios' book, "Elder Hadji-Georgis the Athonite": https://www.athoniteusa.com/products/elder-hadji-georgis-the-athonite -LISTEN to my playlist "St. Paisios - Teachings and Prophecies" https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFKi22k2KYiSgEA_N0bQIIeUFas-lw_P -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Paisios writes: Since some people might have the question, "Why does God allow righteous men, such as the man of God Hadji-Georgis, even though he was a very pure soul from the time of his childhood, to be tormented with trials, slanderings, etc.?", I thought it good to write my feelings on this. Naturally, the unjustly treated are the most beloved of God's children. However, according to my thinking, they themselves do not see things this way. On the contrary, they see themselves as guilty, and if the Grace of God were to abandon them they would even be in prison as guilty and their consciences would torment them; they would be overcome with remorse. Although unjustly treated, they have in their hearts the unjustly treated Christ, and rejoice in exile and in prison as if they were in Paradise; because wherever Christ is, there is Paradise. Of course, those who work for reward are la-bourers, and those who avoid sin so as not to be condemned, again are looking after their own interests. Indeed, that is good, but there is no nobility in it because in the face of the great sacrifice which Christ made in order to redeem us, out of philotimo we ought not to go to hell, so as not to grieve Him through His sensing that we are suffering. This is the kind of love that the Holy Fathers of our Church had for Christ. But unfortunately many of us have only an inferior love that only goes far enough so as not to be punished. Love of this kind goes hand in hand with lack of faith; in other words we enjoy the things of this world to a degree just enough so as not to be punished in this life, but also not to be deprived of Paradise. The higher we throw an object, the greater the force with which it is drawn down by the gravity of the earth and is shattered (law of physics). As much as one is exalted, so too will be his spiritual fall, and according to the magnitude of his pride he will be shattered — unless his pride surpasses that of humans and reaches that of the demons. Then he is no longer within the grasp of spiritual laws of this life but rather that of the Apostolic one: "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived? However, when a man immediately perceives the lifting up of his pride, and humbly asks forgiveness of God, the merciful hands of God immediately pick him up with joy and bring him gently down without his descent being perceptible, and so he is not shattered since he has already been crushed in his heart beforehand by his repentance. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The miraculous sign of St. Euphemia at the 4th Fourth Ecumenical in Chalcedon proved the truth of the Orthodox confession of two natures in Christ, united and yet distinct. This text includes a brief Life of St. Euphemia, the events of the 4th Ecumenical Council, including those preceding it, and the miracle of St. Euphemia. St. Euphemia's miracle is commemorated on July 11th. She is also commemorated on September 16th. This reading is from The Great Synaxaristes (Lives of Saints) Thumbnail: icon of St. Euphemia embracing the Orthodox confession in her hands and placing the heretical Monophysite confession under her feet. -READ the Life of St. Euphemia: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2023/09/16/102626-great-martyr-euphemia-the-all-praised -READ additional historical sources testifying of St. Euphemia's miracle: https://arizonaorthodox.com/2022/07/21/historical-sources-for-the-miracle-of-st-euphemia-at-the-fourth-ecumenical-synod/ -BUY ($6) the best text in English (to my knowledge) on the Non-Chalcedonian/Oriental/Monophysite controversy: "The Non-Chalcedonian Heresy" by Elder George of Gregoriou https://www.ctosonline.org/ecumenism/N.html -MORE resources on the Orthodox and Non-Chalcedonians, including recent developments: http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/ea_mono.aspx -WATCH videos by David Erhan refuting the heresies of the Non-Chalcedonians: https://youtu.be/TAa2iwupUZA?si=RscJPZLdAqbCb-FL -READ teachings from St. Justin Popovich, Vladyka Philaret of NY, and St. John Maximovitch on "The Anti-Chalcedonian Monophysites" -READ Craig Truglia has a handful of articles and videos on this issue, including some videos with an Oriental Orthodox subdeacon. Here is one article: https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2022/07/14/the-miaphysite-schisms-inauspicious-origin/ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

On occasion, I depart from my standard approach and record texts by those still alive in this world. Generally, I stick to texts from those who finished their race and are widely embraced as being victorious in Christ. This text from Fr. Zacharias, the disciple of St. Sophrony of Essex, is truly life-changing and worthy of your heart’s attention. As it has been said, “many confess, few repent.” Fr. Zacharias inspires us to confess more genuinely, bearing our shame, and teaches us how to make a confession that attracts the grace of God and brings greater power to live the life in Christ. The original title of this talk is "The Awakening of the Heart through Bearing Shame in the Sacrament of Confession". The video title is shortened due to YouTube and Spotify character limitations. Also, a Q&A immediately following this talk is included in the book. I did not record it in order to encourage listeners to buy the book and support the monastery in Essex, England. -BUY "The Hidden Man of the Heart (1 Peter: 3:4): The Cultivation of the Heart in Orthodox Christian Anthropology" https://essexmonastery.com/bookshop/the-hidden-man-of-the-heart-BUY the first book in this series of four, "Christ, Our Way and Our Life: A Presentation of the Theology of Archimandrite Sophrony"https://essexmonastery.com/bookshop/christ-our-way-and-our-life -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ Fr. Zacharias teaches: When the believer becomes aware of his iniquity, he no longer does anything to conceal it, but he will confess his iniquity to the Lord against himself (cf. Ps. 32:5 Lxx). And the Lord forgives the ungodliness of his heart and renews him with the grace of eternal salvation in return for the shame he bears in the act of repentance. The deeper the shame with which he reveals his sins in the sacrament of confession, the greater the power and grace he receives for his regeneration. The presence of shame in the mystery of confession is not only healthy and normal, but also confirms that repentance is offered from the heart — that it is voluntary and deeply humble. Whoever truly repents and confesses his transgressions takes full responsibility for them, without justifying himself as Adam did in Paradise. He does not blame God or his neighbour. Instead, he endures the shame of his sins with humility and courage.

The Gospel account of Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus throws a great deal of light on our subject (Luke 19:1-10). This notable and influential man, a tax-collector of ill-gotten wealth, Was overcome by the desire to see who Jesus was. But his desire Was frustrated by the density of the crowd for he was of small stature. Zacchaeus, however, was so eager that he thought nothing of becoming a laughing-stock to the crowd. Because he was willing to accept whatever shame might come his way, he took courage, and climbed up into a sycamore tree so that he would be able to see Jesus. The Lord drew near, and He noticed Zacchaeus. Then He called him down from the tree so that He could meet him. He even gave him the honour of visiting his house and staying with him. And the result of this visit was truly marvellous: Zacchaeus who had despised his standing with the crowd was put right. All his former iniquities were made good, and his debts were restored fourfold in righteousness. Christ our God and Saviour declared: 'Salvation is come to this house.' _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Eugene wrote this letter to Thomas Merton in 1962, the same year he was received into the Orthodox Church after an arduous and painful journey in search of the truth, which he ultimately realized is a person: the Lord Jesus Christ, whose Body is the Holy Orthodox Church. He had been previously inspired by Thomas Merton and his pursuit of the other world, and with pain of heart wrote a letter expressing his concerns, concerns which were later justified by Merton’s ultimate abandonment of not only prayerful, ascetic Christianity, but of the uniqueness of Christian truth altogether.

The ideas set forth in this letter were written at the same time Eugene was writing his desired magnum opus, The Kingdom of Man and the Kingdom of God, specifically the chapter titled “New Christianity.” Neither this chapter nor the entire book were finished, but in addition to this letter to Merton, what was completed was the chapter on Nihilism, available from St. Herman Press under the title: “Nihilism: the root of the Revolution of the modern age”.  

Presented here is a reading of Eugene’s letter in its entirety, beginning and ending with valuable context from the biography of Fr. Seraphim: “Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works” by Hieromonk Damascene, finishing with a quote by Fr. Seraphim from his book “Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future”

Introduction: 00:00

Letter to Thomas Merton: 04:52

Conclusion: 44:36

Excerpt from “Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future”: 48:37  

Excerpts from Eugene’s letter:   

“The outward Gospel of social idealism is a symptom of this loss of faith.”  

“The Kingdom is not of this world; to think or hope that Christianity can be outwardly "successful" in the world is a denial of all that Christ and His prophets have said of the future of the Church. Christianity can be "successful" on one condition: that of renouncing (or conveniently forgetting) the true Kingdom and seeking to build up a Kingdom in the world. The "Earthly Kingdom" is precisely the goal of the modern mentality; the building of it is the meaning of the modern age. It is not Christian; as Christians, we know whose Kingdom it is. And what so greatly troubles me is that today Christians—Catholic and Orthodox alike—are themselves joining, often quite unaware of the fact, often with the best possible intentions, in the building of this new Babel....”

“When I feed my hungry brother, this is a Christian act and a preaching of the Kingdom that needs no words; it is done for the personal reason that my brother—he who stands before me at this moment—is hungry, and it is a Christian act because my brother is, in some sense, Christ. But if I generalize from this case and embark on a political crusade to abolish the "evil of hunger," that is something entirely different; though individuals who participate in such a crusade may act in a perfectly Christian way, the whole project—and precisely because it is a "project," a thing of human planning—has become wrapped in a kind of cloak of “idealism.”"

Orthodox Wisdom is now on your favorite podcast platform! Go to the “About” tab at the top of the this channel to find links to: 

-Apple Podcasts 

-Spotify 

-Stitcher -and more…  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Herman, who traveled from his monastery in Valaam to share the gospel of Christ with the native Alaskans, established the light of Orthodoxy in the hearts of countless souls and forever changed North America. This reading shows forth some of his most inspiring and well-known teachings, vital for everyone, especially Americans 0:00 Beginning 0:13 The Way of a Christian 2:50 Love For God 6:19 The Providence of God 7:18 Spiritual Warfare The text comes from the "Treasury of Spirituality" of St. Herman of Alaska, sections of which are found in various places online and originally published in The Orthodox Word. See selections here: https://orthochristian.com/38612.html -READ the Life of St. Herman: https://orthochristian.com/47984.html -BUY St. Herman's Life and Service text here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/shls.htm -BUY "Father Herman: Alaska's Saint" by F.A. Golder here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/Father-Herman-Alaska-s-Saint-p/fh.htm -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ Troparion to St. Herman: O venerable Herman, ascetic of the northern wilderness / and gracious advocate for all the world, / teacher of the Orthodox Faith and good, instructor of piety, / adornment of Alaska and joy of all America; // Entreat Christ God, that He save our souls. Photo: Chapel of Sts. Sergius & Herman of Valaam on Spruce Island, Alaska built over St. Herman’s originally burial site. His relics now lie in Kodiak, Alaska. ______ St. Herman writes: “A true Christian is made by faith and love toward Christ. Our sins do not in the least hider our Christianity, according to the word of the Saviour Himself. He deigned to say: not the righteous have I come to call, but sinners to salvation; there is more joy in heaven over one who repents than over ninety righteous ones. Likewise concerning the sinful woman who touched His feet, He deigned to say to the Pharisee Simon: to one who has love, a great debt is forgiven, but from one who has no love, even a small debt will be demanded. From these judgements a Christian should bring himself to hope and joy, and not in the least accept an inflicted despair. Here one needs the shield of faith.” "For our good, for our happiness," concluded the Elder [Herman], "at least let us make a promise to ourselves, that from this day, from this hour, from this minute we shall strive to love God above all, and fulfill His holy will!" ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A reading of Homily 8 from St. Isaac the Syrian's Ascetical Homilies 📖 Buy “Ascetical Homilies of Saint Issac the Syrian” here: https://www.bostonmonks.com/product_info.php/cPath/75_105/products_id/635 🎧 The Prayers of St. Isaac the Syrian https://youtu.be/nq5L6RXiH9M 🎧 On the Power of Sin & What Causes Sin To Cease - St. Isaac the Syrian https://youtu.be/sV8QJ0AcDmg ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Isaac teaches: Blessed is the man who knows his own weakness, because this knowledge becomes to him the foundation, the root, and the beginning of all goodness. For whenever a man learns and truly perceives his own weakness, at that moment he contracts his soul on every side from the laxity that dims knowledge, and he treasures up watchfulness in himself. But when a man becomes humble, at once mercy encircles him, and then his heart is aware of Divine help, because it finds a certain power and assurance moving in itself. And when a man perceives [the coming of] Divine help, and that it is this which aids him, then at once his heart is filled with faith, and he understands from this that prayer is the refuge of help, a source of salvation, a treasury of assurance, a haven that rescues from the tempest, a light to those who are in darkness, a staff of the infirm, a shelter in time of temptations, a medicine at the height of sickness, a shield of deliverance in war, an arrow sharpened against the face of his enemies, and, to speak simply: the entire multitude of these good things is found to have its entrance through prayer. From this time forward he revels in the prayer of faith, his heart glistens with clear assurance, and does not continue in its former blindness and the mere speech of the tongue. -(Brackets included in published text from HTM) All these good things are born to a man from the recognition of his own weakness. For out of his craving for God's help, he presses on toward God by the petitions of his prayer. Therefore, whoever is walking upon the path of God must give thanks to Him for all the things that come upon him, and revile and blame his own soul, and know that he would not have been delivered over by his Provider except for the sake of negligence, in order that his mind might be awakened, or else because he has become puffed up. But he should not be overly disturbed on this account, nor quit the arena and the fight, nor leave himself free of self-reproach, lest his evil grow twofold. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The account of St. Cuthbert's life by his contemporary, the Venerable Bede, translated in the 19th century by J. A. Giles, and adapted in 2019 by Timothy Honeycutt.  

St. Cuthbert is a man of universal importance and the most venerated saint of Lindisfarne and Northern England. Through his many miracles and faithful witness, he has inspired, and continues to inspire, countless people to live for Christ. Pilgrims can still venerate his relics, travel to his islands, and find consolation by his prayers.  

Go to orthodox-wisdom.blogspot.com to DOWNLOAD: 

-Adapted Text of The Life of St. Cuthbert (PDF) 

-Audiobook of The Life of St. Cuthbert (mp3)   

This is the audiobook of the adapted text by Timothy Honeycutt. The intended goal of this adaptation is to maintain the integrity of the original text, both in substance and in style, while adding clarity in two different ways: first, by substituting select antiquated words with more modern, yet reverent, language; secondly, with a desire to help Eastern Christians learn more about this blessed saint of the West, since during St. Cuthbert’s time the Faith in the East and in the West was one and the same, certain religious terminology more common in the East has been used.  

Both the text and the audiobook are in the public domain. Commercial profit is forbidden.  

Icon of St. Cuthbert by Lee Harvey: www.leeharveyicons.com   

“Northumbria is exceedingly glad, cherishing the sacred relics of the holy Cuthbert in its bosom; and England exulteth in his intercessions; but all the Orthodox throughout the world trust in his heavenly mediation.”  

–From the Service to St. Cuthbert  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the prayers, hymns, teachings, and service texts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

These prayers come from the excellent book "On the Upbringing of Children" by Bishop Irenaius, published by St. Xenia Press

0:00 Intro

0:06 A Prayer of Parents for their Children

1:53 A Prayer of Children for their Parents

2:17 Another Prayer of Children for their Parents

3:33 A Prayer of Spouses for Each Other

-BUY "On the Upbringing of Children" by Bishop Irenaius ---Physical book: https://sjkp.org/products/on-the-upbringing-of-children-1 ---Audiobook: https://stpaisiusgiftshop.com/cds/on-the-upbringing-of-children-cd/ ---Read the first 3 chapters free: https://saintkosmas.org/on-the-upbringing-of-children-bishop-irenaius

-EDUCATION: Orthodox education resources at Saint Kosmas Orthodox Education Association: https://saintkosmas.org/ -PREGNANCY RESOURCES: ZOE for life! is a support center (in person and online) for women needing recourse for unplanned and planned pregnancies, adoption, and more: https://zoeforlife.org/ -BUY: Orthodox Christian Parenting by Zoe Press: https://www.zoepress.us/all-books-cds/orthodox-christian-parenting-recipes-for-raising-children-2020-2nd-edition -PRAYER: Akathist to the Mother of God, "Nurturer of Children": https://www.akathists.com/the-most-holy-theotokos/nurturer-of-children/ -LISTEN: Admonitions for Parents - St. John Chrysostom: https://youtu.be/lFcUbGHnU28 -LISTEN: The Holy Childhood of Archbishop John Maximovitch: https://youtu.be/hXB4wW4iozw --FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The great Theologian of the 11th century stirs up the hearts of his readers, calling us to a truly Christian life that daily stands ready for the dread Day of the Lord. Reading from St. Symeon's Tenth Ethical Discourse "On the Fearful Day of the Lord and the Future Judgement" from _On the Mystical Life, The Ethical Discourses, Vol. I: The Church and The Last Things_ p. 166-170 📖 _On the Mystical Life, The Ethical Discourses, Vol. I: The Church and The Last Things_ by St. Symeon the New Theologian https://svspress.com/on-the-mystical-life-the-ethical-discourses-st-symeon-the-new-theologian-volume-i-the-church-and-the-last-things/?srsltid=AfmBOoo3FTmj3IffQOCkTpoLgHkVw9ZUV9Td8jNa5myzU10fZLPmy6oR 🎧 On the Mystery of the Resurrection of Christ - St. Symeon the New Theologian https://youtu.be/FlR9rgfFCX0 🎧 On Conscious Participation in the Mystical Supper - St. Symeon the New Theologian https://youtu.be/mXYj7-fnnFQ ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St Symeon writes: Blessed are they who even now have put on His light, for they are clothed already with the wedding garment. They will not be bound hand and foot, nor will they be cast into the everlasting fire. Blessed are they who hourly taste of the ineffable light with the mouth of their intellect, for they shall walk "becomingly as in the day" (Rom 13:13), and spend all their time in rejoicing. Blessed are they who have not reasoned in themselves that men in this life have no assurance of salvation but receive on their departure from it or, indeed, after it, for they have struggled to receive it now. Blessed are they who ever weep bitterly for their sins, for the light shall seize them and change the bitter into sweet. Blessed is he who has seen the light of the world take form within himself, for he, having Christ as an embryo within, shall be reckoned His mother, as He Himself Who does not lie has promised, saying: "Here are my mother and brothers and friends." Who? "Those who hear the word of God and do it" (Luke 8:21). So those who do not keep His commandments deprive themselves voluntarily of so great a grace, because the thing was and is and will be possible, and has happened and happens and will happen for all who fulfill His ordinances. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

"I'm bored!" we hear people say, maybe even we ourselves have said this. St. Theophan the Recluse offers practical advice to overcome boredom and the feeling of being all alone. -BUY the book which includes this text: "The Spiritual Life and How to Be Attuned to It": https://stpaisiusgiftshop.com/new-products/the-spiritual-life-new-edition/ -LISTEN to "What is an Anathema?" by St. Theophan the Recluse: https://youtu.be/N7LEV_WqRw0 -LISTEN to "On Truth & Love" by St. Theophan the Recluse: https://youtu.be/rIOg5LTU-p4 -BUY “The Path to Salvation” by St. Theophan the Recluse: https://stpaisiusgiftshop.com/books/monastery-publications/the-path-to-salvation/ -BUY “Thoughts for Each Day of the Year” by St. Theophan the Recluse: http://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=tedy -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Theophan writes: You write, "I am left alone and I am bored." This is a natural feeling. But it seems to me that you should not feel this way after the decisions you made and what you were told to do in consequence of this. If the latter took root in you at all, then you would never have realized that you were alone, even though you are by yourself. You would not have realized you were alone, because you would have realized that the Lord is close by, as is your Guardian Angel—not in thought, but in actuality. Then the feeling of loneliness would have seemed out of place, and consequently, the boredom that follows. Here is the most reliable way for you to avoid it: Arrange things so you do not have a single idle moment and all your time is filled with suitable occupations so that, upon completion of one activity, you have another one ready to begin. What kind of activities should these be? 1) Aesthetic occupations: music, singing, painting. 2) Some sort of handicraft: knitting, needlework and the like. 3) The best remedy for boredom, however, is to acquire a taste for serious reading and the study of subjects that you are unfamiliar with. It is not so much the reading that drives away boredom as the study. would note for you that the study Count Speransky is referring to is the study of entire sciences, or certain parts of them. By this, it is obvious that one avoids any reading of frivolous books. It seems that you do not like to do this anyway. That is good. Do not give up this habit. Read more the spiritual books (than scientific ones). This is the sphere of the most serious subjects, and, most importantly, the most necessary. In this sphere everything is new and never becomes obsolete. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Hear about Christ's revelations to St. Joseph and his brotherhood on the difficult and often contentious issue of the calendar and true Orthodoxy. As a zealot of Athos once confessed, "Fathers, we must admit that Elder Joseph was right. It is not possible for a rotten root to produce such fruits [i.e. his spiritual children]. A tree is known by its fruit.’ Therefore, we must have been wrong, and Elder Joseph must have been right." 0:10 Background 5:14 Revelations from God 9:33 Exactitude with Obedience 12:19 The Encyclical of 1950 14:59 The Revelation (about grace with the New Calendarists) 16:19 Resistance 21:55 Geronda’s Revelation 25:42 More Grace With the New-Calendarists Buy "My Elder Joseph the Hesychast" written by his disciple, Elder Ephraim of Arizona, here:

https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/my-elder-joseph-the-hesychast _______ For further study on the calendar issue, here is a short list of resources: -Elder Sophrony of Essex on the Calendar Issue:

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2016/08/elder-sophrony-on-calendar-issue.html

-Elder Paisios the Athonite on the Old Calendar Zealots:

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/04/elder-paisios-athonite-on-old.html

-Elder Ephraim of Arizona Exposes Old Calendarism:

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2016/03/elder-ephraim-of-arizona-exposes-old.html

-Ecumenism and Schismatic Old Calendarism, a letter by Blessed Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos:

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/02/ecumenism-and-schismatic-old.html

-Elder Philotheos Zervakos on the Schismatic Old Calendarists:

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/01/elder-philotheos-on-schismatic-old.html

-The Three Hierarchs and the Calendar Issue (Elder Cleopa Ilie):

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2020/01/the-three-hierarchs-and-calendar-issue.html#more

-Schismatic Old-Calendarism is an Anti-Patristic Stance by Monk Basil Gregoriates (a few problems in this text, but overall good):

https://www.oodegr.com/english//ekklisia/sxismata/antipater1.htm

Fr. Peter Heers has some very helpful videos addressing the temptation on the right:

-The Zealot Jungle Which is Growing Up Around Us - Letter from Fr. Seraphim Rose

https://youtu.be/4nNsx5UJIfo

-On Canon 15 and Ceasing Commemoration of One's Own Bishop

https://youtu.be/NY-9baGX0Lc

-The Prophecy of St. Anatole the Younger (“Heretics will take over the Church”)

https://youtu.be/v_1vmlsNDl4

-Patristic and Canonical Treatment Toward a Local Church Whose Hierarch Preaches Heresy

https://youtu.be/jUM5ividbGE

*Not everything on the JohnSanidopoulos.com website is faithfully Orthodox _______ St. Joseph’s revelation from God about the Calendar issue: While I was praying, I saw a brilliant, beautiful church. It had a small exit on the side, and everyone was coming out of the church. In the courtyard, they were arguing. One person shouted, 'I am right!' Another person shouted, 'I am more right!' And a third person, 'I am with the true church!' This reveals that although they were arguing, they all belonged to a single church. They have dogmas in common, and they have grace, but they were arguing because they don't have an open mind and haven't achieved saint-hood. So how could I say now that the official Church of Greece is heretical and lacks God's grace? Should I call it heretical only because of the calendar? And should I say that their bishops are damned? I am with the old calendar, but I think differently from the old calendarists. Indeed, the calendar issue does not affect the salvation of the faithful because it is not a dogmatic issue. There can be differences between local churches in non-dogmatic issues of a liturgical or administrative nature. This does not deprive them of God's grace. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The Great Fast is upon us. Let us attend!  

“You see, God gave us these holy days so that by diligence in abstinence, in the spirit of humility and repentance, a man may be cleansed of the sins of the whole year and the soul relieved of its burden. Purified, he goes forward to the holy day of the Resurrection, and being made a new man through the change of heart induced by the fast, he can take his part in the Holy Mysteries and remain in spiritual joy and happiness, feasting with God the whole fifty days.”  

“Everyone who wants to purify himself of the sins of the whole year during these days must first of all restrain himself from the pleasure of eating. For the pleasure of eating, as the Fathers say, caused all men’s evil. Likewise he must take care not to break the fast without great necessity or to look for pleasurable things to eat, or weigh himself down by eating and drinking until he is full.”  

“So also let our eyes keep fast. No looking for trivialities, no letting the eyes wander freely, no impudent lying in wait for people to talk to. The same with the hands and feet, to prevent them from doing anything evil. Fasting in this way, as Saint Basil says, is an acceptable fast and, leaving behind all the evil to which our senses are inclined, we may come to the holy day of the Resurrection, renewed and clean and worthy to share in the Holy Mysteries, as we have already said.”  

Text: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Hear how St. Joseph faced the most fearsome spiritual battle of his life, an eight year battle against lust and fornication, and how by the powerful name of Christ and his indomitable spirit he became victorious. 0:27 St. Daniel the Hesychast calls Francis (St. Joseph the Hesychast) and Fr. Arsenios to be obedient to an Elder 2:32 Their Elders: Elder Joseph and Elder Ephraim the Barrel-Maker4:15 The perfect obedience of St. Joseph 6:43 The call to war 8:29 The battle against the demon of fornication begins 9:42 St. Joseph’s courage and dedication to be victorious 10:38 The intensity of the struggle 12:32 St. Joseph begins to despair and God grants a vision to console him 13:29 The vision 17:01 St. Joseph telling of the vision to his disciples 18:31 The warfare intensifies but St. Joseph did not give in 19:56 Physical manifestation of the demons battling against St. Joseph 22:55 Final victory Buy "My Elder Joseph the Hesychast" written by his disciple, Elder Ephraim of Arizona, here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/my-elder-joseph-the-hesychast NOTE: Francis was the name of St. Joseph before his monastic tonsure. ______________________________ From “My Elder Joseph the Hesychast”, p. 91-105:

St. Joseph was called to this battle not because in his youth we was promiscuous and rebellious; no, “he had never had any past experience with carnal sins and was completely chaste…”
"Francis struggled intensely because he was completely aware of what was happening. Besides, it was in his character never to give in to anything improper. He fasted strictly and kept vigil all night. He only partook of dry bread and water. When he would reach the limits of exhaustion, grace would strengthen him, and thus he would continue his fearsome struggle. The more time passed, the tougher the demons' warfare became—it was nearly incessant. But he, too, was full of rage against them. He was so courageous that he said to the demons,' 'Either I’ll devour you or you'll devour me.' This is why he never lost a single battle against the demons. With such dedication to fight till death, how could the grace of God not help him and raise him to lofty spiritual states?" “For it is a law of God: whatever causes sensual pleasure is cured by pain.” -St. Joseph It is very likely that contemporary monastics and struggling laymen will wonder why this young ascetic beat himself so mercilessly. Even though it sounds horrible, it is not a sign of mental instability, nor is it the only such instance in ascetical literature.** God has revealed through various miracles that He accepted this form of ascesis as a martyrdom. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers and The Ladder are full of similar ascetical struggles in which the body is not being punished but rather being subdued to the ruling nous. The aim of Orthodox asceticism is to kill the passions, not the body.

Through his indomitable determination, Father Joseph attained this lofty state, even though he had not yet reached the age of thirty-two. From his own experience, he was able to teach his spiritual children: “When a person struggles to keep his body pure and his nous chaste from filthy thoughts, his life and his prayer ascend like fragrant incense to the heavens. I have seen in practice what I am telling you. There is no sacrifice to God more fragrant than chastity of the body which is obtained with a bloody and dreadful struggle...." **For example, see the lives of Saints Leontius, Epiphanius, Nephon, Martinius, and Benedict. Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

BUY the NEW BOOK: A CHRONICLE OF THE BEGINNING by Fr. Daniel Sysoev https://mission-shop.com/product/a-chronicle-of-the-beginning/ Publisher’s note: Where was science when God was making the universe? To this day the question of the world’s creation and the origin of the nations is the subject of numerous debates and disputes. The author asserts that Christian teaching on the origin of the universe in no way contradicts authentic science. The reader is presented with proof of the world’s divine origins, substantiated by modern scientific discoveries. This book gives a detailed description of the most enigmatic period in human history—the time from Adam until the exodus of Israel from Egypt. “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Prov. 30:5–6). 0:12 Excerpt from the Forward 2:21 Chapter 2: Evolutionism and the Origin of Death 4:04 Fr. Daniel examines Orthodox teachers who error, beginning with Fr. Stefan Lyashevsky who teaches that death was normal in Paradise, that animals “devoured each other” 7:41 The views of Fr. Alexander Men, writes Fr. Daniel “...death is the essential and original state of the world, and it leads to good. He deliberately confuses the providential work of the Lord with the creative.” 12:09 Fr. Daniel quotes Fr. Seraphim Rose in defense of the patristic view 12:54 The views of Bishop Vasily (Rodzyanko): “The world in which we live in was not created by God.” 18:11 The key error of Bishop Vasily: “that the logoi of creation are identical to the creations themselves.” 21:57 It is clear that attempting to reconcile Orthodoxy with evolution undermines the very roots of revelation 22:40 Evolution destroys the very reason Christ’s coming to earth was necessary Learn more about Fr. Daniel: https://mission-shop.com/daniel/ Donate to the Benevolent Fund to support Matushkas (priest wives) who have lost their husbands and need support for themselves and their children: https://mission-shop.com/pozhertvovanie-na-fond/ _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

In Fr. Seraphim Rose’s time, as well as today in 2023, many diverse and strongly held opinions exist when it comes to how we should regard Blessed Augustine of Hippo. In one extreme, some treat him as either the greatest father of the first millennium, as one can see in some western confessions and even by some Orthodox. In another extreme, some see him as the root source of a multitude of heresies, even explicitly or implicitly condemning him as a heretic. This collection of writings by Fr. Seraphim Rose is meant to express the moderate, sober understanding of the place Blessed Augustine holds in the Orthodox Church. What follows are readings from the biography of Fr. Seraphim Rose, titled “Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works”, sections from his book titled “The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church”, selected private letters, and concluding with the Troparion and Kontakion for Blessed Augustine. This collection of writings is by no means all of what Fr. Seraphim taught on Blessed Augustine. You’ll find much more when you buy the book here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=blaug 0:08 Editor’s Introduction 1:42 Excerpts from “Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works” From “On The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church”: 4:07 Preface 13:10 The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church 14:24 The Controversy over grace and free will 20:53 The Doctrine of Predestination 30:06 St. Photius on Blessed Augustine 35:26 Opinion of Blessed Augustine in Modern Times 40:58 A Note on the Contemporary Detractors of Blessed Augustine Readings of Sections of Letters Written by Fr. Seraphim Rose: 51:15 Letter to Nicholas 53:35 Letter to Fr. Michael Azkoul 58:30 Troparion and Kontakion for Blessed Augustine _______ "Probably St. Cassian would not have spoken so eloquently and so in detail on the subject of God's grace if Augustine had not already been teaching his own one-sided doctrine. But the important thing to bear in mind here is that the disagreement between Cassian and Augustine was not one between Orthodox Father and heretic (as was, for example, the disagreement between Augustine and Pelagius), but rather one between two Orthodox Fathers who disagreed only in the details of their presentation of one and the same doctrine. Both St. Cassian and Blessed Augustine were attempting to teach the Orthodox doctrine of grace and free will as against the heresy of Pelagius; but one did so with the full depth of the Eastern theological tradition, while the other was led into a certain distortion of this same teaching owing to his overly-logical approach to it.” -Fr. Seraphim Rose, pp. 34-35 "Today all we Orthodox Christians, whether of East or West-if only we are honest and sincere enough to admit it--are in a 'Western captivity' worse than any our Fathers in the past have known. In previous centuries, Western influences may have produced some theoretical formulations of doctrine that were wanting in preciseness; but today the 'Western captivity' surrounds and often governs the very atmosphere and tone of our Orthodoxy, which is often theoretically "correct" but wanting in true Christian spirit, in the indefinable savor of true Christianity." -Fr. Seraphim Rose, p. 88 "I myself fear the cold hearts of the 'intellectually correct' much more than any errors you might find in Augustine. I sense in these cold hearts a preparation for the work of Antichrist (whose imitation of Christ must also extend to 'correct theology'); I feel in Augustine the love of Christ." -Fr. Seraphim Rose, p. 100-101 "We, though, who know that some of our Holy Fathers and teachers strayed from the faith of true dogmas, do not take as doctrine those areas in which they strayed, but we embrace the men." -St. Photius the Great, p. 67

_______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A few passages from Fr. Seraphim Rose regarding the canons of the Ecumenical Councils. There are other passages from Fr. Seraphim one should find and read (see link below, for example). This collection presents a good overview of his views. The canons are laid down by the fathers of the Ecumenical Councils, are the teachings of the Holy Spirit, and are the responsibility of bishops and priests to apply and enforce. But they are also profitable for laypeople to know, as long as divine discernment is applied. As Fr. Seraphim says, the canons "have their place", but "we must go deeper into our faith" "if we are to remain in the Church in these difficult times."

0:00 Beginning 0:08 Concerning Canons - Letter dated Oct. 18/31, 1972 to Fr. Alexey Young (excerpt) 2:50 We Must Go Deeper - "Orthodox Christians Facing the 1980's" (excerpt) 3:50 Iconoclast and Met. Sergius - Letter Mar. 25/Apr. 7, 1971 to Daniel Olsen (excerpt) 6:44 Advice for a New Convert - Letter Apr. 20/May 3, 1979 to Barry (excerpt) 📖 Fr. Seraphim's unpublished letters: https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose-1961-1982/ 📖 The Rudder (Pedalion; Collection of Canons with Commentary) by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite https://www.scribd.com/doc/113651636/The-RUDDER-Copyright-Ralph-J-Masterjohn-2006 🎧 Fr. Seraphim Rose - Articles and Teachings (PLAYLIST) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFKi22k2KYjDHTp3rJVE7B66juR7bDzI ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ Fr. Seraphim Rose wrote: The canons were made for man, and not man for the canons. Some canons simply cannot or should not, at certain times or in certain circumstances, be applied with strictness; hence the Church’s “economy.” Also, as a rule, the application of the canons (and their “economy”) is the business of bishops, and they do as much as possible with mutual consultation. How much more, then, should the rest of us refrain from trusting our own judgment with regard to them? Some of them, to be sure, that concern us directly, we must know about and, if possible, being taught by or consulting with others wiser in the faith, must be prepared to defend—for example, the canons regarding common prayer with heretics, the transgressing of which involves a betrayal of the very idea of the Church of Christ. Other canons, such as the permissible age for ordination to diaconate or priesthood, do not involve any such betrayal and are none of our business, and if we were to start making bishops accountable (to ourselves!) for them it would be exactly the same as if the bishops were to start interfering in the home and job life of ordinary parishioners. In general, however, the canons are doubtless too much stressed in polemics, and if we are to remain in the Church in these difficult times it will be primarily because we are faithful to the Spirit of the Church, and not to the canons.

In the testimony of the Catacomb bishops of the late 1920’s one finds again and again that the GPU agents asked them first of all whether they were for or against Sergius, and if they were against, then these agents demonstrated that Sergius had “violated neither dogmas nor canons”! Thus, either the atheist torturers are “defending the Church”—or else there is something dreadfully wrong, and the Church is up against an extremely formidable enemy. As it turns out, however, there are several dogmatic and canonical grounds on which Sergius was wrong; but first of all the Orthodox soul sensed that he was on the wrong side. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Bishop (then Hieromonk) Luke gives a firsthand account of the Glorification (Canonization) services of St. John Maximovitch of Shanghai & San Francisco (+1966). Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us! Photo in thumbnail is from the 1994 Glorification services at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco. -READ: the text of this recording from Orthodox Life, July-August, 1994: https://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com/ -READ: The Life of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco (+1966): https://orthochristian.com/54575.html -BUY many icons and other items of St. John from the SF Cathedral bookstore: https://www.hvcbookstore.com/ -BUY: the book "Man of God" which includes the reminiscences, miracles, sermons, and more on this exceptional saint on the 20th century: https://notofthisworldiconsandbooks.com/products/man-of-god-saint-john-of-sf?variant=4087103193115 _______ No one present during these holy days was there simply out of curiosity or by accident. Each person who took part had a sense of purpose, a conscientious desire to witness to an honor Saint John. We were all humbled by the knowledge that we venerated and sought help from on of whol Saint Paul wrote, "the world was not worthy" (Heb. 11:38). With this knowledge of our spiritual poverty, we were humbled and speechless when calling to mind the words of Holy Scripture, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all that He hath rendered unto me" (Psalm 115:3). Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us! _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The Venerable Bede sheds patristic light on this passage which not a few have stumbled over. He clearly presents a harmony of faith and works, of the Apostles James and Paul, of how seemingly contradictory teachings in the Scriptures find their balance while retaining their intended weight. All will do well to head his words, especially Protestants so convinced their teaching matches what was “once delivered to the saints.”

On James 2:15-17: “It is evident that just as words of concern alone do not help a naked or hungry person if food or clothing is not provided, so faith observed in name only does not save, for it is dead in itself if it is not made alive by works of charity, by which it may be made to come to life. Nor is that contrary to this statement which the Lord uttered, He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16) for it must be understood there that only he truly believes who carries out in deed what he believes.”  

On James 2:20-21: “Since the apostle Paul, preaching that man is made righteous by faith without works, was not well understood by those who took this saying to mean that when they had once believed in Christ, even though they might commit evils and live wickedly and basely, they could be saved by faith, [James] explains how the passage of the apostle of Paul ought to be understood to have the same meaning as this letter. And all the more therefore he uses the example of Abraham about faith being useless if it does not issue in good works, because the apostle Paul also used the example of Abraham to demonstrate that man is made righteous without deeds.”  

This text can be found in “The Venerable Bede: Commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles,” published by Cistercian Publications.  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ.

A thorough examination of Fr. Alexander Schmemann's views on the historical development and meaning of the Orthodox Church's prayer and worship. Fr. Michael Pomazansky, author of the popular book Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, provides an antidote to the poisonous stance of Fr. Alexander, which Fr. Seraphim Rose warns of, describing it as "the inevitable iconoclastic conclusions from Fr. Schmemann's already Protestant views". 0:00 Beginning 0:11 Introduction by Fr. Seraphim "Renovated Orthodoxy": The Liturgical Theology of Father A. Schmemann 2:10 Article Begins 3:50 The Orthodox Liturgical Order 9:51 The Constantinian Era 13:37 The Sacraments and the Sanctifying Element In Sacred Rites 21:53 The Hierarchy and the Sacrament of Priesthood 28:13 The Invocation and Glorification of Saints 41:43 Church Feasts 48:30 Conclusion Letters 51:13 "If Fr. Schmemann is their 'theologian'..." -Fr. Seraphim, Apr 26/May 9, 1970 52:31 “Who are not Orthodox” -Fr. Seraphim, June 8/21, 1970 📖 "Renovated Orthodoxy": The Liturgical Theology of Father A. Schmemann (published both by Holy Trinity Publications and St. Herman Press) http://orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/pom_lit.aspx https://archive.org/details/100101V17N05061981SepOctNovDec/035%20V06N06%201970%20Nov%20Dec/ 📖 Selected Essays of Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky https://bookstore.jordanville.org/9780884651451 📖 Unpublished Letters of Fr. Seraphim https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose-1961-1982/ ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ In this article the work on liturgical theology of one well known and widely respected contemporary Russian theologian is carefully criticized and its "reformist" tendency pointed out. In all fairness it should be noted that Fr. Schmemann probably does not see himself as a 'reformer," and it will doubtless be left to other less sensitive souls, another generation removed from the life of genuine Orthodoxy, to draw the inevitable iconoclastic conclusions from Fr. Schmemann's already Protestant views. -Fr. Seraphim Rose, Introduction The author is convinced that he has succeeded, as he expresses it, in "escaping Western captivity" while using non-Orthodox sources. He avoids the extreme affirmations of Protestant historians. He writes: "We categorically reject the understanding of the Peace of Constantine (i.e., the era of Constantine the Great) as a 'pseudo-victory' of Christianity — victory bought at the price of compromise." But such affirmations are not enough in themselves, and we consider it our obligation to focus attention on the book's contents in one respect: has the author indeed escaped Western captivity? As many facts testify, he has in fact not escaped it. -Fr. Michael Pomazansky Basing himself on the ready conclusions of Western researchers in his judgements on the ancient Church, the author pays no attention to the direct evidence of the apostolic writings, even though they have the primary significance as memorials in the life of the early Christian Church. -Fr. Michael Pomazansky And which for us is more necessary and important: to strive for ecumenical communion and union with those who think differently and who remain in their different opinion, or to preserve catholic communion of spirit with those teachers of faith, luminaries of faith, who by their life and by their death showed faithfulness to Christ and His Church and entered into yet fuller union with Her Head? -Fr. Michael Pomazansky _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Three accounts of St. Porphyrios' teachings regarding ecumenism and ecumenical meetings. —"Did he say nothing? Was he never asked by anyone about Ecumenism?" asked Prof. Tselengidis. —"But," replied the Saint's spiritual child, "he certainly was, Professor! Of course! He told us so... We used to ask him... And he said: 'Downright scum, spiritual filth.'" 0:00 Introduction 0:22 "Those Uniates, this Trojan horse..." 0:50 Ecumenism is "Downright scum, spiritual filth" 2:37 On Ecumenical Meetings, the Pope and Patriarch These teachings are found in the sources listed below and in the book "Love in Christ or Meta-Patristic Agapology?" by Archimandrite Savvas Hagiorite, published by the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Edessa, Greece (2023) with the blessing of Metropolitan Joel of Edessa. 🎧 A reading of "The Orthodox Spirit is the True One - St. Porphyrios": https://youtu.be/3JgzCGJtfDc 🎧 Original recording of Saint Porphyrios saying the Jesus Prayer: https://youtu.be/w7XSW7wpCfY?si=w3yUXGV94QMWg4FH 📖 "Wounded by Love: The Life and Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios": https://www.holycross.org/products/wounded-by-love-the-life-and-the-wisdom-of-elder-porphyrios?srsltid=AfmBOoorE21YcZGUDow6RQlSnMJLerM851JSD-JP01Rl_2lvrmd0tO7n 📖 "Healing the Soul: Saint Porphyrios as a Model for Our Lives". The St. John Chrysostom Monastery in Wisconsin publishes this book. Email them to ask how to obtain a copy: https://www.stchrysostomoscrafts.com/ ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ "Don't fear, the Pope has always longed to subdue the Orthodox Church and there will be a day when the dialogue will be cancelled. Nothing will come out of it. Anyway those Uniates, this Trojan horse, more than obviously want nothing else than the Orthodox to recognize the Pope as their head." —St. Porpyrios, “Anthology of Advice”, p. 290. From the “Orthodoxos Typos” of 3/26/1993, testimony of Archimandrite Pavlos Nikitaras. http://www.impantokratoros.gr/420E74B9.el.aspx -Prof. Tselengidis: "Did he say nothing? Was he never asked by anyone about Ecumenism?" -Spiritual Child: "But he certainly was, Professor! Of course! He told us so... We used to ask him... And he said: 'Downright scum, spiritual filth.' Now you will say: Yes, but this is not written. So what? Is the truth only what is written? What, then, is the Holy Tradition of our Church? Is absolutely everything written in the Holy Scripture? Are we Protestants or something? And in any case, all this is being verified by the facts themselves." —Tselengidis Dimitrios, Professor of Dogmatic Theology, "Dogma and Life, An Indivisible Co-Existence", transcribed extract from the Professor's homily in the Cultural Centre of Kalambaka Municipality, on 11/26/2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEwns3MvuD8 “You cannot say," St. Porphyrios said, "to the Papists that they have Grace and Mysteries. The Patriarch should not have journeyed to Rome, because it is only to their own benefit, without them being corrected, and Orthodoxy loses. Papism is sheer pride. Orthodoxy is sheer humility. I saw with my discernment the Cathedral of Saint Peter, and the Vatican making every effort to impress with the ceremony. The Patriarch stood stern and thoughtful." "However," Hieromonk Damascene said, "in the same way as some distort the conversation between Christ and the Samaritan woman, or distort even the Holy Fathers, they also distort Saint Porphyrios and present him as allegedly approving inter-religious dialogue, to support their fallacies." —Hieromonk Damascene (Holy Community of Philadelphou, Mount Athos), Ο Άγιος Πορφύριος, ο Παπισμός και το Άγιον Όρος [Saint Porphyrios, Papism and Mount Athos] https://orthodoxostypos.gr/ο-άγιος-πορφύριος-ο-παπισμός-και-το-άγι/ _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Part III of "Christianity or the Church?"

Read the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/sthilarion_church.aspx

0:00 St. Irenaeus on how Christ’s incarnation is not about teaching but about man becoming a new creation in Christ

1:26 If Christ is only a teacher he is not very original

2:18 “The essence of Christ's activities, as we have seen, is not at all in teaching, but in salvation.”

4:13 People seeking life from the Bible and not the Church are like Adam and Eve seeking life from the apple and not from the God-Man

5:25 Leo Tolstoy, the infamous preacher of churchless Christianity in Russia

7:10 Tolstoy also denied the Holy Spirit, calling the Church “the Holy Spirit’s” and not Christ’s

8:35 At least Tolstoy showed us the logical conclusion of separating Christ’s salvific acts from his teaching

10:00 The example of Tolstoyism shows that churchless Christinaity even destroys Christiniaty itself, but not the Church, refuted by its own lifelessness

10:40 What have the Protestants obtained? Hopeless disunity and the destruction of Church life

12:46 An Orthodox researcher summarizes the state of Lutheranism

13:44 On Protestant student missions to Russia

15:31 St. Hilarion’s pain of heart of the chasm between Protestant “Christian” life and true Church life

16:28 Appeals to create and obtain a common religion, a “union” of religions under general, abstract theses

17:27 Many think the Orthodox teaching on the Church is too lofty and too despotic, but true love requires humility and this is a great burden to egotists

19:00 Those who reject and misunderstand the true teaching on the Church may even condemn those who are enthusiastic about the Church and Church life

21:37 Churchless Christianity is death

22:56 Many are positive toward Christian teaching and even call themselves Christian while disdaining the Church and Church life

25:26 Can the Church not excommunicate those who reject Her?

28:00 The reason the Church’s right of excommunication from the Church was readily accepted in past times

29:58 It seems the Church is in great disorder, what are we to do?

31:14 Many today are asking, “Where is the Church?”

32:13 Without clear boundaries between the Church and what is outside the Church, those seeking the Church can easily become wanderers and not Orthodox Christians

34:15 Orthodox Christians are responsible for making bright and clear the light of the Church for those seeking Her

35:27 “Only one who has come to believe in the Church, …one who has felt a Church life within himself, he and only he is on the correct path.”

36:12 One only comes to realize the truth and power of the Church by experience, not scholarly research

37:28 Any talk of “reviving the Church” is nonsense to one who lives Church life, for the life of the Church is the Holy Spirit

38:33 Church life is fullness of Christ and we must treasure and preach the truth and beauty of Church life

39:46 “While believing in the Church, we constantly seem to pardon ourselves for the fact that we still believe in it.”

41:08 CONCLUSION - “Thus it must be considered as the most vital necessity of the present time to confess openly that indisputable truth that Christ created precisely the Church and that it is absurd to separate Christianity from the Church and to speak of some sort of Christianity apart from the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ.”

42:05 A parable about a bird in storm, the tree he finds in refuge in is the Church

"Members of the Church are very guilty in that they fail to point the way clearly and they poorly illuminate with their examples the final point of arrival for those who are seeking. This point is not the abstract understanding of Christianity, but precisely the Church of the living God."

Fr. Daniel Sysoev (+2009) addresses the dynamics of men and women, husbands and wives, headcoverings, and the often misunderstood teachings of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11. Fr. Daniel draws heavily on St. John Chrysostom and St. Theophan the Recluse in his analysis, offering timeless teachings for all Orthodox Christians.

"...he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man." -St. Paul, 1 Cor 11:7Reading from _Women in the Church: Submission or Equality?_ by Fr. Daniel Sysoev, p. 10-31 📖 _Women in the Church: Submission or Equality?_ by Fr. Daniel Sysoev -BUY here: https://mission-shop.com/product/women-in-the-church-submission-or-equality/ -READ a portion here: https://issuu.com/mission-shop/docs/05-women_in_the_church-submission_o 🎧 The Life and Final Homily of Fr. Daniel Sysoev https://youtu.be/ufXoK_C1eyU 🎧 Why Should We Dress Modestly? - Fr. Daniel Sysoev Answers https://youtu.be/2BliiHVYngc ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ In family life also, Christ is the head of the husband. This means that the husband must govern the family according to the will of Jesus Christ, based on His way of thinking. People often forget this. They think that since the husband is the head of the family and of the wife, he can do whatever he wants. But this is not the way in the Church. In the Church everything is part of a universal hierarchy. The husband in a Christian family must draw his way of thinking from God, from Christ…. This is why men pray with their heads bared: to be open to God. A woman who prays with bared head shows herself to be a rebel. These outward signs are very important. Each man is created in the image of God, but in the family the husband is the model of divine rule. As God is the head of the universe, so in the family the head is the husband. This is why he is called "the image and the glory of God." He must precisely convey the revelation of God to his whole family. Thus, through the husband the glory of God is revealed. Theophan the Recluse says, "First the man was created, created in the image and likeness of God. He is a reflection of the glory of God. The woman was then taken from the man, created in his image as it were, and hence is the image or a reflection of the glory of the man….” (Collected Works, vol. 6 of 31. Moscow, 2008 [Russian]). I have heard wives lament: "Why doesn't my husband obey me? How dare he?!" But the Lord did not charge the husband to obey the wife and be accountable to her in everything. The husband is charged with being accountable to God. When the wife attempts to subjugate the husband the family collapses. Even secular psychologists acknowledge this. They have a special list of what to do to make the husband abandon the family as quickly as possible. For example: every day ask him in detail where he was that dav and with whom he met. Have him prove that he was in fact there and not somewhere else. Be sure to watch him carefully, keep tabs on him, supervise everything he does, always contradict him even if he is right, etc. Then the husband's hasty departure is guaranteed. This is exactly what the apostle Paul is saying: this is a violation of the will of God, and the husband will leave for this very reason. Some may say, "My hair is nice and long; why should I cover my head?" Chrysostom replies: "And if it be given her for a covering,' say you, wherefore need she add another covering?' That not nature only, but also her own will may have part in her acknowledgment of subjection. For that you ought to be covered nature herself by anticipation enacted a law. Add now, I pray, your own part also, that you may not seem to subvert the very laws of nature; a proof of most insolent rashness" (Homily 26 on 1 Corinthians).

The inspiring account of St. Victoria’s trial and martyrdom for assembling to celebrate the Eucharist in secret against the law of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Along with 48 others, she was arrested and put on trial for celebrating this secret Divine Liturgy. She is unwavering, holding fast to the Faith and the centrality of the worship of the true God. May this be an ongoing source of inspiration as we continue to see increased persecution of the Church in America and around the world, whether Coronavirus related or otherwise, whether from outside the Church or within.   

This recording was inspired by Fr. Josiah Trenham, who in his reflection titled “Dangerous and Illegal Worship?” he recounted the words of St. Victoria “We cannot do without the Eucharist” and tells us about the centrality of Holy Communion for each Orthodox Christian. Listen to his reflection on youtube at PatristicNectarFilms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKE67... 

0:19 Background on St. Victoria and those with her 

4:35 The account of her trial 

17:55 St. Victoria responds “We cannot do without the Eucharist.”  

It was difficult to find good sources from known Orthodox websites. Therefore I have used information as best I could find. The account of the trial is the same account Fr. Josiah read from in his reflection linked above.  

The Life/Background: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint...

The Trial (pages 86-103): https://archive.org/details/dailylife... 

St. Victoria reposed in 304 and is celebrated on February 11th.   

Holy Martyr Victoria, pray to God for us!  This channel is dedicated to sharing the prayers, hymns, teachings, and service texts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Daniel of Katounakia (+1929) cuts to the heart of who is a true theologian, and how one might walk the path towards that experience. His letter to a student of theology is especially applicable today when many are more drawn to follow academic theologians, Latin scholasticism and rationalism, and a devotion to an abstract reading of saints centuries ago without living connection to the saints of our day.

Text of the letter: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2022/09/a-letter-of-saint-daniel-of-katounakia.html

St. Daniel was born in 1846, lived in Smyrna and became interested in the life of Christ from a young age. He visited Saint Arsenios of Paros, as he wanted to receive his blessing in order to go to Mount Athos. There he became a monk, living in the monasteries of Saint Panteleimon and Vatopaidi. He was also friends with St. Nektarios of Aegina and had influence on a young St. Joseph the Hesychast. He lived with nephritis (a kidney disease) for almost ten years, before being healed by the Holy Belt of the Theotokos at Vatopaidi on the Belt’s feast day. A few years later he moved to Katounakia and lived alone for three years. More monks came to live there and that is how the Danielaioi brotherhood was founded. Saint Daniel had many God given gifts and abilities, which led to his recognition around the world. He fell asleep in peace in 1929. Saint Daniel’s feast day is celebrated on September 7.

_______

ST. DANIEL'S SUMMARY:

"To put it simply, he who has preferred the study of Theology, is bound by duty to practice the path of virtue, which in the future he will teach, and to practice without deviation his high profession, without aiming either for the attainment of hollow insignificant glory, or some speculative means, nor in the satiety and gratification of the passions; and then he will see the ageless fruits of his preaching abound." _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, one of the most beloved Russian saints of the past few centuries, describes the duties of the pastor towards his flock and of the flock towards their pastor. 0:00 Beginning 0:10 On the Duty of Pastors (Bishops and Priests) 9:02 On the Duty of the Flock Toward the Pastor Text is from "Journey to Heaven: Counsels on the Particular Duties of Every Christian" by St. Tikhon of Zadonsk ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Tikhon writes: For the Pastor: A pastor must without fail teach people, lead them to true repentance, plant the fear and love of God in men's hearts, put the fear of God's judgement in reckless and unrepentant sinners, encourage the troubled and doubtful and those inclined to despair with he mercy of God and the consolation of the Gospel, and root out superstition, schism and heresy. He must draw all this teaching from the wellsprings of Israel, the sacred books of the word of God, and transmit it to the people under him. When people, whoever they may be, commit iniquity and you know it openly, take extreme care not to be silent, but everywhere reprove their iniquity in your speech, lest you be like a dumb dog that does not bark when thieves break into a house and loot it, and wolves fall upon the flock and devour it. Without the help of God, the efforts of the pastor himself as well as those of the people will not be discharged or meet with success. For this reason the pastor has an obligation to pray diligently to God for himself and for the people, that He help both himself and all the people. For the Flock: Because the pastor speaks the word of God, then to whatever he teaches, pay diligent heed, O Christian, and do it. Because many among the people are not men of goodwill and as they do not love pastoral reroof but wish to live according to their own will, they invent and broadcast no little slander against the pastor. Then when you hear such slander and ill report against the pastor, do not believe it and guard your lips, lest you say anything about it to anyone else. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Our Lord said, "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment (Matt. 12:36)." Abbess Thaisia, a spiritual daughter of St. John of Krodstadt, served as abbess of a convent in Leushino, Russia. Her autobiography and letters have served as an inspiration to countless souls and are as timely today as they were in pre-revolutionary Russia. -READ the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/idletalk.aspx -BUY "Letters To A Beginner", a collection of letters from Abbess Thaisia to her nuns: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/lett.htm -READ Elder Joseph of Vatopedi's introduction to the greek edition of her autobiography: https://pemptousia.com/2016/12/elder-joseph-of-vatopedi-on-the-life-and-personality-of-abbess-taisia-olga/ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ Abbess Thaisia writes: On this subject I want to write you a few words about the harm arising from the idle talk and gossip so common among you. This is something you yourself don't even notice; you speak too much, without discerning whether it is necessary or unnecessary, profitable or harmful, provided only that something is spoken. It is as if you are afraid of silence, which in fact is a nun's first obligation, the chief condition of her success and the adornment of her whole life. Deeply rooted in people is the love of idle talk, i.e., empty, unnecessary conversations, and it has become a beloved pastime among them. It seems we don't know and don't believe that idle talk is a sin, and a serious sin, which gives birth to a multitude of other sins: quarrels, conflicts, gossip, slander, condemnation, calumny, and the like. One deeply thinking pastor, contemporary to us, writes the following on idle talk, among other things: "How heedlessly, how carelessly we use our words, Which should be highly valued as a great gift from God! But on the contrary, what do we least esteem, if not the spoken word? In what are we fickle, if not in the spoken word? What do we throw out every minute, as though it were dirt, if not the spoken word? O Christian! Value your words, be attentive to them!" ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Dorotheos of Gaza (+565), disciple of Sts. Barsanuphius and John, is one of the most revered teachers on spiritual life, speaking from his direct experience with Christ through his ascetic struggle. Many basic questions we have about the fear of God and how to have it are answered here.  

St. Dorotheos writes, “If, now, even the Saints, who so love the Lord, fear Him, why does St. John say that ‘love casteth out fear?’ The Saint wishes to indicate to us that there are two kinds of fear, one initial and the other perfect, and that, while one is characteristic of neophytes, as we say, in the spiritual life, the other is characteristic of the holy, of those who have been made perfect spiritually and have attained to a measure of holy love. Heed what I am saying. One does the Will of God out of fear of punishment. He, as we have said, is a total neophyte. He does not strive on account of goodness itself, but because he fears chastisements. The other does the Will of God because he loves God and since he especially rejoices when his life is pleasing to God. He knows the essence of goodness; he has tasted of what it means for one to be united to God. This is the one who has the true love that St. John calls ‘perfect.’ And this love leads him to perfect fear. For he fears and does the Will of God, not out of fear of chastisements, not out of fear of perhaps going to Hell, but, just as we have said, because he has tasted of the sweetness experienced by those who are united to God and fears that he might be deprived of it. Thus, this perfect fear, which comes forth from love, distances us from initial fear. And for this reason, it is said that: ‘Perfect love casteth out fear.’ Nonetheless, it is impossible for one to arrive otherwise at perfect fear, save by initial fear.”  

“As St. Anthony the Great says, ‘I do not fear God, because I love Him,’ and as the Lord said to Abraham, after the latter offered to sacrifice his son, ‘for now I know that thou fearest God." It is this sort of fear that is meant: fear that comes into the soul from love.’”

“I do not know if I have ever done anything good; but if the Grace of God has always covered me, I know that I have been protected by that fact that I never favored myself over my brother, but always put my brother first.”  

“Of course, indifference is a bad thing. But neither is it, once more, a good thing for one to become so preoccupied with something that happens that he loses his irenic disposition, such that the soul is harmed. Because, in whatever obedience you may undertake, and even if it is urgent and important, I do not wish you to do anything that occasions squabbling and upset, but to be convinced that every task that you fulfill, great or small, as I earlier said, is but an eighth of what is asked of us. Indeed, to maintain your peace, even if thereby you should fail at your obedience, is four eighths, or half, of what has been asked of you. Do you see the difference?”   

For more quotes from the text, please look at the description for our YouTube upload of this podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CHHNtUv2YQ

Text from "Our Holy Father Dorotheos of Gaza: Various Soul-Profiting Instructions to His Disciples" by Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies. Buy the text here: https://www.ctosonline.org/patristic/... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia on Mount Athos discusses how to pray the Jesus Prayer and why it is "the key to the spiritual life" for every Orthodox Christian. A reading of _Wounded by Love_ p. 118-122 📖 _Wounded by Love: The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios_ https://www.holycross.org/products/wounded-by-love-the-life-and-the-wisdom-of-elder-porphyrios?srsltid=AfmBOoorE21YcZGUDow6RQlSnMJLerM851JSD-JP01Rl_2lvrmd0tO7n 🎧 Original recording of Saint Porphyrios saying the Jesus Prayer: https://youtu.be/w7XSW7wpCfY?si=w3yUXGV94QMWg4FH 🎧 Divine Eros: Insatiable Love For Christ - St. Porphyrios https://youtu.be/v2iwE1FVYm0 📖 _Healing the Soul: Saint Porphyrios as a Model for Our Lives_ by Elder Savvas Hagiorite. The St. John Chrysostom Monastery in Wisconsin publishes this book. Email them to ask how to obtain a copy: https://www.stchrysostomoscrafts.com/ ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Porphyrios teaches: As the most effective prayer the Church Fathers use the short phrase, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me: This prayer is the key to he spiritual life. It is a prayer that cannot be taught either by books, or by spiritual fathers or by anyone else. Its sole teacher is divine grace. If tell you honey is sweet and runny, or this and that, you won't understand unless you taste it. The same is true of prayer. If I say, this is what it's like or 'this is how you'll feel, you won't understand, nor will you pray except in the Holy Spirit. When grace comes, when love comes, you say the name 'Christ and your mind and heart are flooded. This love, this craving, also has degrees. When you experience this love, you desire to acquire spiritual things, not only when you are awake, but even in your dreams you see the same things. You desire to do everything within the embrace of this love, to move within this love. You wish to engage in effort, in every effort, out of love for God. You feel love and gratitude towards God, without having in mind to achieve anything specific. What is of value is to repeat the Jesus Prayer with tenderness of soul, with love, with longing, and then it doesn't appear at all as a chore to you. It's like when you say, 'my mother...my father, and you feel perfect consolation. Force, therefore, is not the way to acquire prayer. Pray without forming images in your mind. Don't try to imagine Christ. The Fathers emphasized the need for prayer to be free of images. With an image, the focus of prayer is easily lost, because one image can easily be displaced by another. And the evil one may intrude images and we lose the grace. You can say the prayer, 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, gently, without straining and without contortion wherever you happen to be — on a stool, on a chair, in a car, walking along the road, at school, in the office or at work. Don't tie yourself down to a specific place. What is all-important is love for Christ. If your soul repeats with worship and adoration the seven words, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, it never can have enough. They are insatiable words! Repeat them all your life. There is such life-giving sap hidden within them! _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

How do we prepare for Holy Communion and the Divine Liturgy? How should we spend the night before? How much do we desire to acquire and preserve the grace of God in our souls and bodies? Archbishop Averky and St. John Maximovitch embodied the holy tradition of the ancient fathers in the 20th century, expressing the wisdom of Christ applied to our own days. As you listen, do you find yourself struggling with these teachings, finding them burdensome? The Apostle John wrote, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). 0:00 Beginning 0:12 St. John's Ukase [Decree] 1:00 Archbishop Averky's homily titled "Be Not Deceived, Brethren, God Is Not Mocked!" Readings from: “Man of God: Saint John of Shanghai & San Francisco”, p. 234; "The Just Shine Like The Stars: A Photographic Biography on the Life of Archbishop Averky of Jordanville Including Some of His Selected Sermons", pp. 37-39 -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ St. John’s “Ukase [Decree] concerning the inadmissibility of engaging in entertainments on the eves of feast days”: The holy canons dictate that Christians should spend the eves of feast days in prayer and with reverence in preparation for participation or attendance at the Divine Liturgy. If all Orthodox Christians are called to this, then this pertains all the more to those who take an active part in the church service itself. Their participation in diversions on the eve of a feast day is especially sinful. In view of the above, those who attend a dance or similar form of entertainment and diversion may not participate in the choir the next day, may not serve in the altar, enter the altar or stand on the cliros. Archbishop Averky teaches: Alas, though we build churches, we do not fully appreciate what takes place within them. We do not value the freedom of being able to pray in these churches and of living with all the fulness of grace of church life, without which there is no salvation. Our celebration begins in the evening with the serving of the all-night vigil; the night preceding a feast is a holy night. The only activity proper to such a night is prayer. It is obvious from the very name of the evening service — the "all-night vigil," that the first Christians passed the entire night in prayer on the eve of a feastday, just as we now do on the eve of Pascha. Would it occur to those living abroad to organize an "evening of dancing" or a "charity" theatrical performance on the eve of Pascha, for Sunday is our weekly celebration of Pascha. People rarely sin or commit crimes without trying to justify themselves in every way possible. Yet the voice of our conscience is heard within us nonetheless. And thus, with every sin and crime, there is always some sort of excuse one can come up with to justify oneself before others and one's own conscience. the organizers of entertainments on the eves of feastdays have also devised cunning, "high-principled" justification for their sin. The diversions are organized for a "lofty, noble, purpose." with the aim of "aiding our neighbor," with the goal of "charity." But what kind of "charity" can this be? True Christian charity is practiced for the sake of Christ, in the name of God, and not in violation of God's commandments and the Church's precepts! There is scant value in the sort of charity that is purchased by defiling the sanctity of our feastdays and luring believers from church. Are Christians really unable to be charitable unless they can dance and amuse themselves at the same time? ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Excerpt from homilies on Revelation, Lesson 89 (Rev. 21:8) by Elder Athanasios  

The Lord said to the Apostle John: "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death." -Revelation 21:8  

Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios, a dynamic and beloved preacher, abbot of the Monastery of Komnineiou and Saint John the Theologian in Stomion, Larisa, Greece, gave 104 consecutive lessons of Revelation to thousands of faithful. This beloved elder, venerated by many in Greece and around the world, reposed in the Lord in the year 2006.   

The edifying lecture series by Fr. Peter Heers on the Revelation of Jesus Christ can be viewed here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCFiE3qfVkDhKNfZnuLfsyW-xwVicvogB 

Elder Athanasios says:  

“The very first category includes the cowardly, which may be surprising to some. Did you ever dream that cowardice would be such a heavy sin? I believe with a little analysis you will come to agree with the mind of Scripture regarding this vice. Initially we must mention that many faithful Orthodox Christians suffer from cowardice. I do not know about you personally, but I feel that I must constantly remind myself about this danger. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, and I do not know how I will stand under persecution. No one should be totally confident about his ability to remain unscathed by future temptations and difficulties. He who is overconfident and self-assured of his bravery lacks understanding.”  

“We do not know, beloved, how we will react if and when that time comes. Those who we may label as weak may turn into lions at the moment of challenge, and those who appear and act like lions now may prove to be most cowardly, and turn their back on their faith. Generally speaking, however, cowardice seems to be like a dark cloud that covers all of us faithful Christians today, and it is quite obvious in our daily lives. The coward is in direct opposition to the one who struggles and to the one who strives for victory. Christ promised His inheritance to the one who thirsts, the one who undertakes the Christian struggle, the victor. The cowardly do not wish to enter the spiritual arena, because they find the struggle burdensome, difficult, and unachievable. They are terribly afraid of the God-opposing powers of the world and everything that opposes their faith. They are afraid to face the opposite paradigm, and they finally betray the tenets of the their faith due to their cowardice. This can be especially true during a time of widespread persecution. Let us not forget that the gospel was never free of persecution, ever during its golden epochs. This is the nature of the genuine gospel, and it needs to be so, because otherwise the Word of God would be speaking falsehoods.”  

“As we were saying, there has been no one who wished to live a godly life, a life of piety, who did not face persecution (cf. 1 Tim 3:12). The gospel and its followers are in a permanent state of persecution, not excluding the snide remarks, sarcasm, and opposition from those of our own family. And the enemies of a man will be the members of his own household (Matthew 10:36).”  

Purchase Volume V of the homilies on Revelation, as well as Volume I to IV here: https://www.zoepress.us  

Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The story of 30 nuns, imprisoned for Christ, who refused to work for the Soviet regime and the miraculous events surrounding their witness to the truth. Originally published in English in “Russia’s Catacomb Saints” by I. M. Andreyev, Fr. Seraphim Rose, and Fr. Herman Podmoshensky. “We can work, but we do not wish to work for the regime of Antichrist and we shall not work even though they might kill us for this." -READ "Russia's Catacomb Saints" here: http://russiascatacombsaints.blogspot.com/ -MORE images of the known icon of the Nuns of Shamordino: https://orthodoxwiki.org/Nuns_of_Shamordino -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ From “Russia’s Catacomb Saints”: "But without a definition of the category of your inability to work, they will send you to extraordinarily difficult labor." "All the same, we will not work whether it be difficult or easy labors." "Why?" I asked in astonishment. "Because we do not wish to work for the regime of Antichrist." “We can work, but we do not wish to work for the regime of Antichrist and we shall not work even though they might kill us for this." Though prisoners, they were spiritually free. No one in the Soviet Union had such freedom of worship as they. What their example did to instill religious faith in thousands of prisoners and guards there at Vorkuta, I cannot begin to describe. Later on, when I had the opportunity as a locker-room attendant for the MVD men to talk with some of the more hardened Russian Communists about religion, not one failed to mention the Miracle of the Nuns. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The fourth of twenty-two sermons specifically on the subject of the Divine Liturgy, preached by New Martyr St. Seraphim (Zvezdinski). Learn more about yet another inspiring martyr under the Soviet antichrists here: https://orthochristian.com/7426.html 

“At this time in Antioch, it happened that persecutors seized the priest Lucian together with his flock. He was condemned (and while in prison) his flock said with sorrow to St. Lucian, “Our dear Father, how will we partake of the Holy Mysteries?” Lucian lay motionless on a hard board, his legs were shackled so that he could not stand up. “Do you have bread and wine?” He asked. “Yes, some kind people have brought some,” they answered. “Only, how will you serve the Liturgy, for we have no altar?” “Bring here the bread and wine and place them on my chest, let it be a living altar for the Most-Pure Mysteries of the Lord,” proclaimed the imprisoned priest. And so they brought the bread and wine and St. Lucian served the Divine Liturgy on his own chest. He together with all the assembled Christians partook of the Holy Mysteries.”  

“The Liturgy is the diamond, that priceless gift from Christ. The Liturgy is the river, strengthening and refreshing, flowing from the side of Christ. The Liturgy is the golden bridge on which only it is possible to come to eternal life.”  

This was recently translated into English by Fr. Zechariah Lynch, rector of Archangel Michael Orthodox Church (OCA) in Pueblo, CO. If you have not already done so, follow Fr. Zechariah’s excellent blog at https://inklesspen.blog 

Text: https://inklesspen.blog/2021/09/19/th... 

Orthodox Wisdom is now on your favorite podcast platform! Go to the “About” tab at the top of the this channel to find links to: 

-Apple Podcasts 

-Spotify 

-Stitcher 

-and more…  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Leo the Great, Pope of Rome (+461) calls us to embark on the Holy Fast of Nativity with gratitude and active love for God and neighbor. “For by prayer we seek to propitiate God, by fasting we extinguish the lusts of the flesh, by alms we redeem our sins: and at the same time God's image is throughout renewed in us, if we are always ready to praise Him, unfailingly intent on our purification and unceasingly active in cherishing our neighbor.” 📖 Read the homily here: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2017/11/sermon-1-on-fast-of-advent-st-leo-great.html ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Leo teaches: Accordingly, as God wishes us to be good, because He is good, none of His judgments ought to displease us. For not to give Him thanks in all things, what else is it but to blame Him in some degree. Therefore, dearly beloved, in all works of godliness let us use what each year gives us, and let not seasons of difficulty hinder our Christian benevolence. The Lord knows how to replenish the widow's vessels, which her pious deed of hospitality has emptied: He knows how to turn water into wine: He knows how to satisfy 5,000 hungry persons with a few loaves. And He who is fed in His poor, can multiply when He takes what He increased when He gave. …even as this tenth month brings round again to us the opportunity when according to the ancient practice we may give more diligent heed to those three things of which I have spoken. For by prayer we seek to propitiate God, by fasting we extinguish the lusts of the flesh, by alms we redeem our sins: and at the same time God's image is throughout renewed in us, if we are always ready to praise Him, unfailingly intent on our purification and unceasingly active in cherishing our neighbor. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A love poem written by St. Joseph to our Lord Jesus Christ. One can quickly feel the deep love he has for Christ. Reading from _Letters & Poems by Saint Joseph the Hesychast_ , p. 529-531 📖 _Letters & Poems by Saint Joseph the Hesychast_ https://www.monasterevmc.org/en-us/products/letters-poems 📖 _Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast_ https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/monastic-wisdom 📖 _My Elder Joseph the Hesychast_ https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/my-elder-joseph-the-hesychast 📖 _Saint Joseph the Hesychast: A Narrative Biography for Children_ https://newromepress.com/saint-joseph-the-hesychast/?srsltid=AfmBOorhQKPF5m_Xxvl-g5UxUa0NyvhmdZZ9FWG2p-bRr9fXn5Oqnr7h 🎧 Elder Ephraim of AZ & St. Joseph the Hesychast - Readings (PLAYLIST) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFKi22k2KYg5pt1Tvc3lnjd41E9pdR-p ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Joseph wrote: My sweetest Jesus, balsam of my soul, Love of my heart, air of my breath, Noetic Light most sweet, my eros, my strength, Amazing love, yearning of my life, My faith and hope, my sweet love, O most coveted Savior, sweet consolation, Come, my sweet breath; come my divine life; Come, light of mine eyes, my sweet joy, And enlighten my bowels, mind, and heart, And bestow upon my body perfect dispassion. Flash in my mind Thy divine illumination- The most brilliant movement of Thy divine knowledge. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Herman, who traveled from his monastery in Valaam to share the gospel of Christ with the native Alaskans, established the light of Orthodoxy in the hearts of countless souls and forever changed North America. This reading shows forth some of his most inspiring and well-known teachings, vital for everyone, especially Americans. 0:00 Beginning 0:16 Apostolic Fervor 3:38 Protector of Orphans 5:06 Spiritual Power 8:44 Pride 10:15 Humility The text comes from the "Treasury of Spirituality" of St. Herman of Alaska, sections of which are found in various places online and originally published in The Orthodox Word. See selections here: https://orthochristian.com/38612.html -READ the Life of St. Herman: https://orthochristian.com/47984.html -BUY St. Herman's Life and Service text here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/shls.htm -BUY "Father Herman: Alaska's Saint" by F.A. Golder here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/Father-Herman-Alaska-s-Saint-p/fh.htm -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ Troparion to St. Herman: O venerable Herman, ascetic of the northern wilderness / and gracious advocate for all the world, / teacher of the Orthodox Faith and good, instructor of piety, / adornment of Alaska and joy of all America; // Entreat Christ God, that He save our souls. Photo: Chapel of Sts. Sergius & Herman of Valaam on Spruce Island, Alaska built over St. Herman’s originally burial site. His relics now lie in Kodiak, Alaska. ______ St. Herman writes: In all my life here from my own Russians I have seen more of scorn and reproach and mockery, to which I have already become accustomed, and from such custom I think that in actual fact my lowliness is such. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

“We have arrived, my beloved, at the saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, at Great Week. This week is called Great, because in its 168 hours from today until the night of the Resurrection, we give honor to great events, unique and world historic, which shocked the earth, the heavens, and that which is below the earth. This is why this week is called Great, and it is why it should not pass us by like all the others.”  

He lists these duties for all Orthodox Chrisitans:  

1) To thank our Lord Jesus Christ from the bottom of our hearts 

2) To follow the sacred services 

3) To fast 

4) To go to Confession and receive Divine Communion

5) To serve our brethren who are suffering and are in need 

6) To forgive everyone for everything. 

Met. Augoustinos reminds us that if we do not forgive “then you are not a Christian”  

“Do you know who we are like? We are like a beggar who every day has fifteen cents thrown at him, but one day a certain king passes by him and says, "Open your pockets!" and begins to count 1, 2, 3,... 5,... 10,... 100,... 168 gold coins that dazzle his eyes. And he, instead of taking this treasure to use it, he goes to the river and throws the gold coins in the water. Isn't this insanity? These hours therefore that the Church gives us is a treasure. Every hour, every bell ring, every beat, every second, is an important hour.  Let us take advantage of these holy days. Let us not allow them to escape from us like the rest of our lives. Do we know if we will live to celebrate another Great Week? Perhaps this Great Week is the last of our lives? How many people did we have with us last year? Where are they now? We are leaving, the train is whistling, only once do we go through life with this skin.  I pray this Great Week is an important milestone in our lives. May the Lord give us this week holy thoughts, holy feelings, heroic decisions, sanctification of the soul. May we seal Holy Week with the words, "Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your kingdom" (Lk. 23:42).”   

Text: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2020... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Porphyrios, our God-bearing Elder abounding in love and divine gifts, is not known for addressing contemporary issues of dogma and how Orthodoxy compares to other religions. However, the Elder did address these topics and in these two recorded conversations we hear his views plainly expressed: he embraces Orthodoxy as the only true religion, the only faith inspired by the Spirit of God, and rejects ecumenism and its evil philosophies. 0:00 Beginning 0:10 Introduction from the Publisher 2:33 First Conversation 27:26 Second Conversation 30:49 Quote from First Conversation "The Orthodox Spirit is the True One" is published in greek by the Holy Convent of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, Melesi, Greece. The Elder entrusted all his material to this convent, which he helped establish, before his repose in 1991. 📖 Full text of "The Orthodox Spirit is the True One" https://www.oodegr.com/english/oikoumenismos/porphyrios_orthodox_spirit.htm 🎧 Original recording of the conversations included in this podcast: https://youtu.be/QkhE7Vs-zQw?si=WRrr4o81EOY5T-kO 🎧 Original recording of Saint Porphyrios saying the Jesus Prayer: https://youtu.be/w7XSW7wpCfY?si=w3yUXGV94QMWg4FH 📖 Buy "Wounded by Love: The Life and Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios": https://www.holycross.org/products/wounded-by-love-the-life-and-the-wisdom-of-elder-porphyrios?srsltid=AfmBOoorE21YcZGUDow6RQlSnMJLerM851JSD-JP01Rl_2lvrmd0tO7n 📖"Healing the Soul: Saint Porphyrios as a Model for Our Lives". The St. John Chrysostom Monastery in Wisconsin publishes this book. Email them to ask how to obtain a copy: https://www.stchrysostomoscrafts.com/ ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Porphyrios teaches: VISITOR: But don’t all religions teach love, Elder? ELDER: Bah! What kind of love do they teach? Don’t be so gullible! Hush now! True love is only Christ’s love. Don’t imagine that it’s like parents who love their children. Can you imagine, if there were rumors that I have a “free spirit” and that I acknowledge all religions? Well, I don’t. Regardless who tells me – even if an angel comes and tells me – that “the way so-and-so believes is the right way”, I will say “No, you are lying. You are not a benevolent spirit. You are an evil spirit for saying so.” That’s what I will say to the angel… I won’t believe it… (…) Of course I don’t want you propagandizing here and there, saying that “all religions are one, there aren’t any differences between them, all of them are God’s, you can go to any one of them, and you can worship any God you want…” I don’t want such things – I can’t tolerate them. That’s how my spirit is. Look, there are Masons, there are all sorts of things and people believe them all, and they go along with Satan and they have all sorts of satanic events and mysterious things, because they exist, and Satan exists, and mysterious things exist… evil things. ELDER: I’m telling you, that... I personally love you very much…. And that my love has not diminished on account of these things. I may of course complain a little, worrying why such good youngsters are involved in such fallacies and aren’t Orthodox Christians… I feel truly sorry… but I do pray that God will enlighten you so that you realize our faith – Orthodoxy – has nothing to do with other religions. But nowadays, everyone has all sorts of mentalities… different people, even older ones, who don’t even believe that God exists… they are of the opinion that there shouldn’t be many religions because they cause divisions among people and generate hostility among them. So, everyone – young and old and nations and entire … are striving to ensure the creation of one religion. And it will be accomplished in such a way – by claiming that “all religions are the same”; that “we shall form a new religion”… This is being done by something they call Zionism.

The first Orthodox priest born in America, St. Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson is an Apostle to America for having served across its vast land in countless parishes amongst Orthodox and non-Orthodox people of all ethnic backgrounds. Born in San Francisco in 1863, he helped establish the first Serbian Orthodox parish in the Western Hemisphere in Jackson, CA in 1894. He served tirelessly in America and Serbia where he reposed in 1940 at the Zhicha Monastery. In 2007 his holy relics were transferred back to Jackson, CA and in 2015 he was formally canonized a Saint by the Orthodox Church, confirming what the faithful had known for some time--that St. Sebastian's last wish had been granted him: “the Kingdom of Heaven without end.“  

This is part three of five of the Life of Saint Sebastian and has been generously offered by our brother Sergius.  

1. Read the Life of St. Sebastian here (link to PDF at top of page): http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/archi...

2. Read his Catechism "The Holy Orthodox Church" here: https://books.google.com/books?id=5jJ...

3. On the canonization of St. Sebastian and St. Mardarije, including Troparion and Kontakion: https://westsrbdio.org/canonication/

4. Akathist: https://www.stsavajackson.org/akathis... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Our holy father Paisios the Athonite exposes the plans of the enemy and calls those who love the Truth, Christ Himself, to be aware and resist. Repent, receive the Mysteries, prayer fervently, since, as St. Paisios says, "Perhaps you, too, will live to see many of the signs written in the Book of Revelation." This text is found in “Spiritual Counsels, Vol. II: Spiritual Awakening” by St. Paisios, pp. 197-201 -BUY “Spiritual Counsels, Vol. II: Spiritual Awakening” by St. Paisios: https://www.holycross.org/products/spiritual-awakening-elder-paisios -BUY "Saint Paisios of Mount Athos": https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/products/saint-paisios-of-mount-athos -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ A similar text from St. Paisios: "On Our Times" -READ: http://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.com/2015/06/on-our-times-st-paisios-of-holy-mount.html -LISTEN: https://youtu.be/0KIEmH-qt2Q ______ St. Paisios teaches: -Geronda, tell us something about the Antichrist. -Let us for once say something about Christ... We must be as close to Christ as we can. Will we be afraid of the Antichrist if we are united with Christ? Isn't the antichrist spirit present today? One way or another, evil is done by the antichrist spirit. And even if an antichrist monster is created to do some horrible things, in the end he will be ridiculed. But many events will take place. Perhaps you, too, will live to see many of the signs written in the Book of Revelation. Ecumenism, the European Union, one huge nation, one religion made to fit — these are the schemes of the devil. The Zionists are preparing someone to be the Messiah. For them the Messiah is a king who will reign here on earth. The Jehovah's Witnesses are also looking toward an earthly king. The Zionists will present someone and the Jehovah's Witnesses will accept him. They will say, "He is the one." There will be great confusion. In that confusion, everyone will be looking for a Messiah to save them. And then they will present some who will say, "I am the Imam, I am the fifth Buddha, I am the Christ expected by the Christians, I am the one expected by the Jehovah's Witnesses, I am the Messiah of the Jews." He will have five "selves"… Rather, the anticipated Antichrist will, in some manner, be the incarnate devil, who will present himself to the Jewish nation as the Messiah and will mislead the world. Difficult years are ahead; we will be tested very severely. The Christians will suffer great persecution. And, you see, people are not at all aware that we are living during the signs of the times, that the sealing is already advancing. -Geronda, do the Zionists believe what is said about the Antichrist? -They would like to govern the whole world. To achieve their goal, they will use even sorcery and satanism. -Geronda, when I hear about the Antichrist, I feel a fear inside of me. -What do you fear? Will he be more terrible than the devil? He is a man after all. Saint Marina used to beat the devil, and Saint Justina dispelled so many demons. After all, we didn't come in this world to have an easy life. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, one of the most beloved Russian saints of the past few centuries, exhibits his apostolic love and zeal in these brief exhortations. Always remember the sufferings, the love of Christ Jesus.

0:00 Beginning

0:11 Remembrance of the Divine Passion

3:16 Imitation of the Life of Christ Text is from "Journey to Heaven", p. 99-103. To my knowledge, this book is out of print and unavailable except for overpriced third party copies. If this book is available for a reasonable price, please add a comment below. -READ the text here: https://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/tikhon_zadonsk_2.htm#_Toc530611586 -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ St. Tikhon teaches: A real and powerful encouragement in the struggle against sin, and in the holy and Christian life, is the contemplation of the sufferings of Christ. Keep the faith, then, and guard it against your enemy the devil, who desires and attempts to seize it away from you and make you his captive. Struggle against this enemy; consider, then, the suffering of Christ and it will teach you every virtue. In order to correct yourself and become a true Christian, that is Christ's, set the holy life of Christ before your eyes and imitate its example. And even though your heart, corrupt as it is, does not wish it, force and convince yourself to imitate the beautiful virtues of Christ. You look into a mirror so that you may know what is in your face, whether there are any blemishes in it, and having seen blemishes, you cleanse them. Let the immaculate life of Christ be a mirror to your soul, look into it often and know what is in your soul. Does it desire the same things that Christ desires? And does it do what Christ did when He lived on earth? And in it you will see what is contrary to the life of Christ, and you will cleanse it all like blemishes with repentance and contrition of heart. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

This short excerpt from Elder George's treatise explains the qualifications for attaining the true purpose of each and every human being: union with God, or Theosis. Elder George (Kapsanis), former Abbot of the St. Gregorios Monastery on Mount Athos who reposed in the Lord on Pentecost 2014, presents the Orthodox understanding of Theosis and the essential path towards receiving this divine gift. -READ "Theosis: The True Purpose of Human Life" by Elder George in many languages: http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/theosis.aspx -LISTEN to "Theosis: The True Purpose of Human Life - Part I" https://youtu.be/ReheAcnRPmU -READ a reflection on the life and works of Elder George by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2014/07/fr-george-kapsanis-former-abbot-of.html -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ This recording is an excerpt from "Theosis: The True Purpose of Human Life - Part II" https://youtu.be/E5tLjZBrpS0 ______ Elder George teaches: If man cannot be deified with divine Grace and divine energies what purpose does his life have? Only that he becomes morally better. But moral perfection is not enough for man. It is not enough for us simply to become better than before, simply to perform moral deeds. We have as our final aim to unite with holy God Himself. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A reading of St. Basil's Lament for Sin  

Find the text here: https://www.orthodox.net/confess/lament.html 

St. Basil prays:  

In profound humility I weep for all my sins, voluntary and involuntary, conscious and unconscious, covert and overt, great and little, committed by word and deed, in thought and intention, day and night, at every hour and minute of my life.  

How often, through selfishness, pride or false modesty, have I refused help and attention to those in need, been uncharitable, miserly, unsympathetic, mercenary and grasped at attention!  

How often have I entered the House of God without fear and trembling, stood there in prayer, frivolous and absent-minded, and left it in the same spirit and disposition! And in prayer at home I have been just as cold and indifferent, praying little, lazily, and indolently, inattentively and impiously, and even completely omitting the appointed prayers!  

My God, my God! Why hast Thou forsaken me? Be it unto me according to Thy will, 0 Lord! If Thou wouldst grant me light, be Thou blessed; if Thou wouldst grant me darkness, be Thou equally blessed. If Thou wouldst destroy me together with my lawlessness, glory to Thy righteous judgment; and if Thou wouldst not destroy me together with my lawlessness, glory to Thy boundless mercy!   

Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

"Don't be negligent, boys, lest you fall into the hands of thieves," counseled St. Joseph to his brotherhood. This short text is an ever-timely word from a God-bearing elder of our days. The text featured in this recording is from "The Elder Joseph the Hesychast (1897-1959): Struggles - Experiences - Teachings" by Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, p. 195-198. As of December 2023, it seems this book is out of print and very difficult to find. If this changes, please email me: orthodoxwisdom1@gmail.com -BUY other books by and about St. Joseph here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/collections/all-books -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ When we asked about the chief cause of man's failure in his spiritual purpose, [St. Joseph] would reply that it was negligence. On one occasion I asked him how it was that the Fathers give self-esteem as the reason, and he replied, "Yes, that conspires against us too; but not all of us, only those it deceives. And again it affects only a few, because self-esteem corrupts treasures that have been amassed, while negligence does not even let you collect them. Negligence is like a drought in which nothing grows. Self-esteem damages those who have fruit, who have made some progress; whereas negligence harms everyone, because it impedes those who want to make a start, it stops those who have advanced, it does not allow the ignorant to learn, it prevents those who have gone astray from returning, it does not permit the fallen to get up - in general, negligence spells destruction for all those it holds captive. Using the pretext of physical needs and weariness from the struggle, this deceiver makes itself credible; and like a conductive material, listlessness transmits us and hands us over to self-love, the more general enemy. Only a courageous soul grounded in faith and hope in God can overthrow this conspiracy. Otherwise, it is difficult for someone inexperienced to escape from these nets. As a cure for negligence, the Elder recommended eschatological meditation in ascending and descending form: reward and punishment, the Kingdom of heaven and hell; and also calling to mind the honorable memory of those who have taken part in the struggle. The means of grace against negligence are prayer, tears and faith. Again, the Elder would recount many examples from the lives of earlier spiritual warriors who happened to be led astray by negligence and lost the record of spiritual progress which they had gained through great fervour and ascetic labour. To wake us up in the morning he would always shout to us, 'Don't be negligent, boys, lest you fall into the hands of thieves.' He even regarded a pointless occupation as negligence, because he believed that this too could lead to the same bondage. As David says, 'Let not thy foot be moved, and He who keeps thee will not slumber' (Ps. 121:3, LXX); and again, 'If Thy law had not been my meditation, I should have perished in my humiliation' (Ps. 119:92, LXX). _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Elder Ephraim writes, "Immediately say the [Jesus] prayer with pain of soul and at once you will be delivered from the warfare." This recording includes the following two excerpts: 1) My Elder Joseph the Hesychast by Elder Ephraim of Arizona, p. 339-343 -BUY HERE: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/my-elder-joseph-the-hesychast 2) Counsels from the Holy Mountain: Selected from the Letters and Homilies of Geronda Ephraim of Arizona, p. 165-169 -BUY HERE: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/counsels-from-the-holy-mountain 0:00 Intro From “My Elder Joseph the Hesychast” by Elder Ephraim 0:26 Advice on Carnal Warfare 3:57 Chastity 6:10 Facing Carnal Warfare From “Counsels from the Holy Mountain” by Elder Ephraim 10:04 Be patient--with the grace of God everything will pass 11:02 God knows how to deliver us from fornication 11:21 Carnal warfare stems from pride…so humble yourself 12:48 Be very careful with filthy fantasies 13:07 Do not lose heart, have courage 14:13 A letter from Athos, June 30, 1958 18:16 The weapons of demons and the weapons of Christ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ NOTE: A word regarding St. Joseph’s practice of fighting carnal warfare with a cane: A general principle of Orthodox life is that we imitate the saints. We look at the way they lived and seek to learn how to better love God and man by imitating their example. However, if we try to imitate each specific detail of the lives of one or more saints, then we are very prone to falling into prelest (spiritual deception), or worse. Our imitation must apply to our current spiritual state and be spiritually therapeutic for us now. The cancer patient and the man with a broken leg need very different treatment. When we see St. Joseph inflicting pain on himself with his cane, and even advising another monk suffering from carnal warfare to do the same, it would be exceedingly ignorant to quickly assume we should do the same. Certainly, both St. Joseph and the rest of us must apply the Lord’s command, “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you” (Matt 5:30) but we must do so in the way that is best for us, according to our abilities. This is not done alone; it is done under the guidance of an experienced spiritual father. If you desire to imitate St. Joseph in the details of his life, first speak with an experienced spiritual father and humbly submit to his guidance. _______ ---From "My Elder Joseph the Hesychast"--- Elder Joseph: “My child, carnal warfare is not set aflame so much by excessive eating, drinking, wine, and sleep, as it is by judging others.” Elder Ephraim: “Why, Geronda?” “So that we learn that we all have the same nature, the same devil fights us, and that we are all liable of being judged. Would you like to hear something even more amazing? “What, Geronda?” “A person who does not judge his neighbor gives evidence that he is saved. Whoever does not judge will not be judged, as the Word of God verifies: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged.’” That is why he told us: “Has a judgmental thought about someone come to you? Don’t just sit there, debating with yourself whether that person is to blame or not. Justify everyone and take all the blame yourself. As soon as you start having negative thoughts about someone else, there is a danger that you will judge him. Just interrupt the thoughts and say to yourself: ‘What he is saying and doing is right. My ego is making me think evil about my brother, and so there’s no point trying to analyze it.’ If you don’t face the assaults of judgmental thoughts in this manner, whether you express them outwardly or cultivate them within you, you will have carnal warfare. And if you still don’t come to your senses then, then grace will abandon you, and you will fall. And if you do not repent after your fall and continue to judge others, your falls will have very serious consequences.”

In addition to St. Justin Popovic's piercing theological clarity, this text offers us three significant examples: 1) The Serbian Hierarchs humbly asked a priest for his thoughts before making their decision 2) This priest, St. Justin, responded boldly and clearly 3) The Serbian Hierarchs followed his advice. All this is regarding a most tempting and powerful heresy attacking the Orthodox Church today: Ecumenism. -READ the text here: https://www.orthodoxethos.com/post/orthodoxy-and-ecumenism-an-orthodox-appraisal-and-testimony 0:00 Begin 0:11 Introduction and Historical Context by Bishop 7:17 Quote from Bishop Athanasius Yevtich on St. Justin not breaking communion with the local Churches 8:39 St. Justin’s reply to the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church -BUY “The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism” by St. Justin: https://lazarica.co.uk/bookshop/ -BUY "Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ" by St. Justin: https://ibmgs.org/miscellaneous.html -LISTEN to more recordings by Orthodox Wisdom of St. Justin's teachings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFKi22k2KYgxvJMJchHwGAWGZebY0s2s -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Justin writes: The Church of Christ has defined her stand towards heretics— and all non-Orthodox are heretics—once and for all through the Holy Apostles and the Holy Fathers, namely, through the Holy Theanthropic Tradition, which is unique and immutable. In keeping with this stand, Orthodox are forbidden to engage in joint prayer or liturgical communion with heretics.

Was it really necessary for the Orthodox Church, the all-immaculate Theanthropic Body and organism of the God-Man Christ, to be so monstrously humiliated that Her theological representatives, including even Hierarchs (among whom were also Serbs), should seek after “organic” participation and inclusion in the World Council of Churches, which thus becomes a new ecclesiastical “organism,” a “new Church” above the churches, of which the Orthodox Church and non-Orthodox churches are merely “members,” “organically” joined to each other? Alas, an unprecedented betrayal! Orthodox theologians should participate not in “ecumenical joint prayers,” but in theological dialogues in the Truth and about the Truth, as the Holy and God-bearing Fathers have done throughout the ages. _______ Bishop Athanasius Yevtich writes: “We were closely acquainted with the Blessed Father Justin and we know that he had never broke communion with any of the Orthodox Churches or a Bishop or a Patriarch, not even with the Serbian Patriarch Germans (1958-1990—as some "zealots "shamelessly lie—not even when the Patriarch Ger-manos was one of the "presidents of WCC" (a formal and honorary title without any binding conditions or duties as indeed was the participation of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the WCC). As a free and responsible member of the Church of Christ, Justin prophetically reproved and, when necessary, criticized in written form (having written a couple of criticism letters to Patriarch Germans and the Synod, inter alia, the letters pertaining to superficial western ecumenism). But on no account did he ever create a schism, but on the contrary used to say: “Schisms are easily made but they are enormously difficult to heal.” -Notes on Ecumenism, pp. 36-37 _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

This foundational text comes from “A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel” by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite. This particular chapter is a summary of the principles and practices found in the Philokalia. According to Fr. Maximos Constas, this should be read before beginning the Philokalia. St. Nikodemos, the great man of prayer and illumined teacher of Athos, guides the faithful in the method of spiritual healing and noetic progress.

Especially key in seeking to apply the teaching of St. Nikodemos is to be under the guidance of a true spiritual father. He can help you take the next steps based on who you are and your current stage of spiritual progress. If you do not have a spiritual father, ask God for the grace to find the one meant for you.   

This is the first recording of the newest contributer to Orthodox Wisdom: Timothy D. He cam into the Church in 2018 and lives in Alabama. Please pray for Timothy and give thanks to God for another co-laborer with Orthodox Wisdom!

A word about the nous:  

The English word that best conveys the meaning of the Greek word "νοῦς" is the word "mind." The Fathers use this term with several other meanings, too. They mainly refer to the nous as the soul (the "spiritual nature" of a man—St. Isaac the Syrian) and the heart (or "the essence of the soul"—vid. Philokalia, Vol. I, p. 109, 73). More specifically, it constitutes the innermost aspect of the heart (St. Diadochos §§79, 88). However, they also refer to it as the "eye of the soul" (St. John of Damascus, The Orthodox Faith, FC Vol. 37, p. 236) or "the organ of theoria" (Makarian Homilies) which "is engaged in pure prayer" (St. Isaac the Syrian). They call the energy of the nous "a power of the soul" (St. Gregory Palamas, On the Holy Spirit, 2, 9) "consisting of thoughts and conceptual images" (St. Gregory Palamas, On the Hesychasts, p. 410, 3). However, the nous is more commonly known as the energy of the soul, whereas the heart is known as the essence of the soul. (From the glossary of “Counsels from the Holy Mountain” by Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona)

From “On Guarding the Mind of the Heart”:  "In guarding the heart and keeping it pure, one can also keep all the divine commandments of Christ. For in truth this is how it is. The guarding of the mind and the heart and the spiritual prayer of the heart that is thus made possible has as its subject matter the commandment to love God. But by virtue of the power of this one commandment all of the other commandments are also included and fulfilled. This is why the Lord said: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15)."  

“The memory of God is a pain to the heart [that is done] for the sake of piety; everyone who forgets God experiences sweetness by remains unhealed.” -St. Mark the Ascetic

Download “A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel” here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_zym...  

Orthodox Wisdom is now on your favorite podcast platform! Go to the “About” tab at the top of the this channel to find links to: 

-Apple Podcasts 

-Spotify 

-Stitcher 

-and more…  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

“In writing this, we are not writing either the history of Europe, of its virtues and faults, or the history of the European pseudo-Churches. We are simply setting forth the entirety of their ontology, penetrating to the heart of European conceit, its demonic underground, where its dark sources lie and with whose waters it threatens to poison the world. This is no passing of judgment on Europe, but a wholehearted and prayerful call to the only way to salvation: through repentance.”   

St. Justin Popović (+1979), the great twentieth century theologian of Serbia, masterfully expounds upon the nature of protestantism, both its papal and reformed varieties, refining and preserving the dogmatic conscience of his disciples and students. Some of what St. Justin says may be shocking, but as disciples of Christ we must run to the saints, those saints the Church has glorified and recognized as authentic teachers of the Faith. St. Justin is a theologian par excellence.  

The meaning of Theanthropic: divine (in Greek theos = God) and human (in Greek anthropos = man); the Theanthropos = the God-Man, i.e. Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.

“The supreme rule of the Orthodox philosophy of society is: We must not adapt Christ the Theanthropos to the spirit of the times, but adapt the spirit of the times to Christ's eternity, Christ's theanthropy.” 

“Various pseudo-Christian humanisms fill the world with books, but Orthodoxy fills it with saints.” 

“However, the tragedy of western Christendom consists precisely in its having attempted, whether by revising the image of the Theanthropos or denying Him, to reintroduce the demonised humanism that is characteristic of sinful human nature into the heart of the very theanthropic organism, the Church, the purpose of which is to liberate from it; and through the Church into all spheres of life, by pronouncing it to be a dogma, a universal dogma. Man's demonised pride, under the auspices of the Church, in that way becomes a dogma of faith without which there is no salvation. It is terrible even to contemplate, let alone say, that in this way the only 'workshop of salvation' and theanthropisation in this world is gradually being transformed into a demonised 'workshop' of violence against the conscience and of dehumanisation, a workshop of the disfigurement of God and man through the disfigurement of the Theanthropos.” 

The text is from “The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism,” pages 119-126, 142-154. The first half of this text: http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/pap... The second half is found in “The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism”: https://lazarica.co.uk/bookshop/

For extra information about the divisions between sections in this episode, please go to the YouTube upload at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xXm1PfcQUw&ab_channel=OrthodoxWisdom.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

A short but substantive article on priestly attire and why it is important that they wear their cassocks. Ecumenical Canons, comments from the author (a priest of the Russian Church Abroad), and stories illustrating the importance of the cassock for priests provide a memorable word on this topic.

A reading of "Priestly Attire" from Orthodox Life, Jan-Feb, 1991 (Holy Trinity Seminary & Monastery, Jordanville, New York)

0:00 Introduction 1:29 Canons 3:52 Commentary 4:35 Stories7:23 Concluding Remarks Thumbnail: Patriach Pavle of Serbia walking down a crowded street (Left); The priest mentioned in the article who desired to be photographed with his cross in his pocket (Right) 📖 Priestly Attire (Orthodox Life, Jan-Feb, 1991) https://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com/2015/10/v41-1.html ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ The 27th Canon of the 6th Ecumenical Council states: "None who is counted with the clergy should dress inappropriately, when in the city, nor when travelling. Each should use the attire which was appointed for clergy members. If someone breaks this rule, may he be deprived of serving for one week." Here everything is clear. If you do not wish to wear a priest's clothing, do not dare to stand before the altar of God. The great interpreter of Church Canons, Balsamon, in his interpretation of the 14th canon of the 7th Ecumenical Council, which speaks of the ordination of readers, notes: "He who has put on black attire with the purpose of entering the clergy, cannot remove it, for he has stated his intent of serving God and therefore cannot break his promise to God and ridicule this holy image, as other ridiculers do." If constant wearing of "black attire" is expected of the first rank of the priesthood, the reader, then all the more does it refer to those who are fully in the rank of the priesthood. We must remember that if the Church canons and laws were not important, the Church would not have written them. Physician heal thyself. I must admit, that I am a young priest, and at times find it very difficult to follow the above rules. There are times when one's nerves are raw, and I want to go somewhere with my Matushka and children and not stand out, i.e., be "one of the crowd." I am overweight, and in the summer it is hard to bear the heat in my cassock. Yet all this merely exposes my weakness, my lack of desire to constantly be a confessor of my faith; my lack of desire to suffer for Christ even to the most microscopic degree. A certain priest decided to have a photograph of himself made. He put on his coat and hat. For some reason he was embarrassed to be photographed with a cross on. He took the cross off and put it into his left coat pocket. The photograph was taken, developed and printed. To the amazement of both the photographer and the priest, on the photograph there was a huge ray (by shadows one can see that this ray is not from the sun), which pointed to the pocket, where the hidden cross lay. Batiushka asked to have this published after his death. Concerned about the question, "should and can a priest possible always wear a cassock?", I began asking the grown children of elderly or deceased pastors, whether or not their fathers always wore a cassock. Almost everyone has answered in the affirmative, recalling that they rarely saw their father-priest without a cassock. There are even cases where the children said that they never saw their father without a cassock. This means that the requirement of the Church is possible to fulfill with God's help. One only needs to try. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

"Although I had sinned a lot from when I was a small child, when I returned to the world I continued to commit sins which, today are very many. The world, however, thought highly of me, and everyone shouts that I'm a saint. I however, feel that I am the most sinful person in the world."  

While at the Holy Skete of Kavsokalyvia on Mt. Athos, Elder Porphyrios had given orders for his grave to be dug. Through a spiritual child of his, he dictated a farewell letter of advice and forgiveness to all his spiritual children. It is dated June 17, 1991. It was found amongst the monk's garments that were laid out for his burial on the day of his departure. Elder Porphyrios departed in the Lord on December 2, 1991. It again indicates his profound humility.  

Text: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Fr. Seraphim Rose writes to a woman who was baptized as a child, left the faith, and returned to the Church as an adult. Fr. Seraphim rejoices in her return, shares how he too was far from Christ, and some basic tenants of living the Orthodox life.  

Fr. Seraphim writes:  

“Coming from a Protestant background, I rejected it completely and became an agnostic and atheist, and then started searching for some meaning to life in various philosophies and Eastern religions, until I finally came to the point where I thought there was no meaning to life at all, and I wondered why I should keep on living. And then I went for the first time to a Russian Orthodox Church, and something in my soul responded to this, and I began a gradual but sure recovery from my spiritual disease of despair and lack of faith.

Many people today say that God has turned away from us and does not listen to us. But I have found that just the opposite is true: it is we who have turned away from God and followed vain philosophies and our own selfish desires. But God remains always the same and is always ready to receive us with great love.”  “True faith comes from a small seed which is planted in our hearts by God Himself, and which is nourished and gradually grows through God’s grace and through our own actions which are in accordance with His commandments and the tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church, which has been given by the Holy Spirit and handed down to us through our Holy Fathers.”  

The three practical suggestions Fr. Seraphim gives:  

1) Daily Prayers, morning and evening 

2) Read every day at least a chapter or even a few verses from the Four Gospels 

3) Read a little each day of the book “Unseen Warfare”  

“Do not read any books on “spirituality” by Catholics, Protestants, psychologists, or anyone who is not Orthodox, because they will only mix you up. There may be wisdom or insights in some of these, but only in our Orthodox Faith is there to be found the whole path of salvation, the infallible way of coming to God. Many people spend a lifetime trying to find what is only to be found in the Orthodox Church; but God has granted you the good fortune of being born in His Holy Church, and you only need to return to what is yours already. Even I, from a Protestant background, felt that I had “come home” when I found Holy Orthodoxy; how much more you will feel the same way when faith begins truly to grow within you.” 

-Letter dated Jan. 23/Feb. 5, 1971  

https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose-1961-1982/ 

Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

It is fitting not only to read about God's saints but also to sing to them and lift our hearts to God. This beautiful akathist hymn to St. Cuthbert is chanted with this is mind. Let us seek to emulate God's chosen saints in chanting to Him and His holy ones.  

For the Akathist text: http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/oe4... 

To listen to the Audiobook of the life of St. Cuthbert: https://youtu.be/Ct_d7PTABJY 

To read his Life and download the Audiobook: www.orthodox-wisdom.blogspot.com  

Icon of St. Cuthbert: www.leeharveyicons.com  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the prayers, hymns, teachings, and service texts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Seraphim of Sofia discusses an important aspect of the Ecumenical Movement in the 20th century: Freemasonry. Presenting to the Moscow Pan-Orthodox Congress of 1948, which included representatives from nearly all autocephalous Orthodox churches, St. Seraphim highlights the well-known Freemason, John Raleigh Mott, the main promoter of "unity" among separate Christian groups. Mott spearheaded the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh and the first meeting of the World Council of Churches in 1948. Mott helped send Protestant student missionaries with the YMCA to evangelize Orthodox countries and for his ecumenical efforts won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. St. Seraphim understands that ecumenical efforts only serve to blur the boundaries between the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church (the Orthodox Church) and other sects claiming to be part of the Church. Such blurring draws people away from the only place, as St. Seraphim teaches, men can become saints: the Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, despite St. Seraphim's warning of the sinister nature and dreadful consequences of the Ecumenical Movement for Holy Orthodoxy, the Patriarchate of Moscow joined the World Council of Churches at its Third Assembly in New Delhi in 1961 and has been one of its most active members ever since. -READ St. Seraphim's full address to the 1948 Moscow Pan-Orthodox Congress: http://www.dep.church/downloads/StSeraphimEcumenism.pdf -READ the book of his life and works: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/saint-seraphim-of-sofia-his-life-teachings-miracles-and-glorification/ -READ a brief account of St. Seraphim's life here: https://blog.obitel-minsk.com/2021/02/adapt-your-life-to-your-faith-not-the-other-way-around-st-seraphim-sobolev.html -RESOURCE to help laity write respectful letters to their hierarchs: https://www.voiceoforthodoxlaity.com/ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ This recording is an excerpt from "Does the Russian Orthodox Church Need to Participate in the Ecumenical Movement? (Part II/II)": https://youtu.be/P2w0hvEgE6Q TEXTS on Freemasonry and Orthodoxy: -Freemasonry: Official Statement of the Church of Greece (1933): http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/masonry.aspx -Freemasonry and the Orthodox Church. This article details, among other things, that Ecumenical Patriarchs Meletios (+1935) and Athenagoras (+1972) were Freemasons: https://orthodoxhistory.org/2023/09/27/freemasonry-and-the-orthodox-church/ VIDEOS on Freemasonry from an Orthodox viewpoint: -Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios on Revelation https://youtu.be/u6y0a4kx58s?si=LN1tb5iYaKSAa4hH -Freemasonry: Today’s Satanic Gnosticism by Fr. Peter Heers (analyzing the teachings of Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios) https://youtu.be/kUv6jfzRcts?si=uhoR9694xoQSflpU BOOKS/ARTICLES on Ecclesiology and Ecumenism: --Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future by Fr. Seraphim Rose https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/orf.htm --The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism by St. Justin Popovic https://lazarica.co.uk/bookshop/ --The Missionary Origins of Modern Ecumenism by Fr. Peter Heers https://uncutmountainpress.com/shop/product/the-missionary-origins-of-modern-ecumenism/ --A Confession of Faith Against Ecumenism (signed by saints, elders, hierarchs, priests, and laity around the world): https://www.impantokratoros.gr/FA9AF77F.en.aspx --On Common Prayer with the Heterodox According to the Canons of the Church by Fr. Anastasios Gotsopoulos https://uncutmountainpress.com/shop/product/on-common-prayer-with-the-heterodox/ _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Ignatius teaches, “The prayer rule, chosen prudently to suit one’s strength and manner of life, offers great support to those seeking to attain salvation. Observance of the rule at the proper times of day and night turns into a habit, into a natural and indispensable requirement. And as soon as the one who has acquired this happy habit comes near the place where he usually performs the rule, his soul is filled with a prayerful mood, and before he can even begin reciting his prayers, his heart is filled with emotion and his mind withdraws into his inner chamber [the heart].” 

St. Isaac the Syrian says: “It is not for abandoning Psalms that we shall be adjudged by God on His Judgment Day, not for abandoning prayer, but for the entry of demons into us which follows. When demons find the place, they come in and shut the doors of our eyes, and then they use us, as their instruments, to perform forcibly and uncleanly, with the worst of vengeance, everything forbidden by God. And because we abandon a small [rule], which grants us Christ’s intercession, we fall under the sway of demons, as one most wise abba wrote: ‘He who fails to submit his will to God, such a one shall submit unto his adversary.’ These rules may look small to you, but they shall be the walls protecting you from those who want to take you prisoner. The keeping of these rules within your cell was most wisely established by the makers of the Church rule, by a Divine revelation, in order to safeguard our life.” (Homily 71)  

Text: https://pravoslavie.ru/81258.html 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Theophan discusses the aether, the way our prayers reach God, Saints, and Angels, the covering of our souls, and how to live life according to the Spirit. A reading of letters 13, 14, and 15 from _The Spiritual Life And How to Be Attuned to It_ 0:00 Beginning 0:15 Letter 13: Aether, True Happiness, Soul's Covering 11:19 Letter 14: The Covering of the Soul 17:36 Letter 15: How Saints Hear Our Prayers, Aether, Prayer From the Heart 📖 _The Spiritual Life And How to Be Attuned to It_ https://stpaisiusgiftshop.com/new-products/the-spiritual-life-new-edition/ 🎧 Excerpt from "Creation, Early Man, & Evolution" - St. Theophan the Recluse https://youtu.be/HRZHvGc6XTk ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Theophan wrote: In case you have not forgotten, at one time I began talking with you about *an exceedingly subtle element that is finer than light. It is called ether.* Let us suppose that it exists as a matter of fact, and not just in name. *I recognize that such a very subtle element exists, and that it penetrates and passes everywhere, serving as the smallest particle of material substance.* Along with this, I suppose that *within this element soar all the blessed spirits—the angels and Divine saints—who are themselves garbed in a kind of raiment made of that very same element.* The covering of our soul (understand this word to refer also to the spirit, which is the soul of our human soul) is also made of this very same element. *The soul itself is the immaterial spirit; but its covering is made from this ethereal immaterial element.* Our bodies are coarse; *but that covering of the soul is very fine and serves as the intermediary between the soul and body. Through it the soul acts on the body and the body on the soul.* I am speaking of this only in passing, however. Just keep in mind that the soul has this very fine covering, and that our souls have the very same kind of covering as do all spirits. From this it will not be hard for you to conclude that *this omnipresent element, very fine, out of which these coverings are made and in which all spirits soar, is the intermediary for the intermingling of our souls and these spirits.* When true prayer that is, sincere prayer—moves in the soul, then that prayer, by means of the action of the element upon it, flies as if on a beam of light to the saints, and tells them what we want and what we are praying about. There is no gap between the time we make our prayer and when it is heard; the only necessity is that it come from our heart. (Note: Bolding is as found in the book) _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Blessed Lent brothers and sisters! St. Theodore the Studite (+826) reminds us of the stance of the righteous in the face of "small" matters such as eating or not eating meat during Great Lent. Yet, for "these men it was permissible to partake of any meat under necessity, as St Basil says. But since the order from the Scythians was aimed at the rejection of the faith, they refused..." Are not the demons the Sythians of our day? Those thoughts that say fasting is not necessary, that what we eat doesn't matter, than only loving others is the true fast...are they not inspired by the demons? Let us both fast from meat (and the other foods) during Lent and love others more deeply.   

St. Theodore says:  

In Bulgaria, as those who were accurately informed have reported, an evil decree went out from the ruler there that the Christians in captivity and our brothers were to eat meat during the period of the holy Forty Days; those who obeyed would live, those who disobeyed would be killed. The word of the godless was exceedingly strong and the people assembled and there was weeping and groans and much lamentation with women and children, on the one side of those clinging to the Christian law, on the other of those quailing before the death of the flesh. Finally—ah, the pitiable announcement—they were defeated and submitted to the godless order. Fourteen of them though broke away and stood apart saying it was not possible either to obey or to eat meat in violation of the Christian law. At this, appeals and exhortations by the people were made: 'Let them yield to constraint, not die foolishly, and through repentance they can be restored again.' But nothing could persuade them or weaken them from keeping their gaze fixed on God and on the blessedness that was laid up in his promises. The Scythian then, when he saw the implacable determination of the men, thought to subdue the rest by means of one, and having slain him he at once distributed his children and his wife among the Scythians as slaves, so that the others weakened by this would be brought over. But they rather remained unbowed and shouted out, 'We are Christians, and our lot is that of our dead brother'. At this confession they were crucified on planks and died in the Lord.

They were obedient then to the commands of the Gospel, they obeyed the authority of the Lord and were wreathed with the crown of martyrdom, imitating the holy Maccabees and doubling their number, for the Maccabees were seven, but they were fourteen; the former so as not to taste swine's meat in violation of the law, the latter so as not to partake of any meat in violation of the Christian rule; this latter seems stricter, because for the Maccabees partaking of pork was utterly forbidden, but for these men it was permissible to partake of any meat under necessity, as St Basil says. But since the order from the Scythians was aimed at the rejection of the faith, they refused; but they considered all things as secondary for the love of Christ. O blessed men! O blessed action! They were obedient then to the commands of the Gospel, they obeyed the authority of the Lord and were wreathed with the crown of martyrdom, imitating the holy Maccabees and doubling their number, for the Maccabees were seven, but they were fourteen; the former so as not to taste swine's meat in violation of the law, the latter so as not to partake of any meat in violation of the Christian rule; this latter seems stricter, because for the Maccabees partaking of pork was utterly forbidden, but for these men it was permissible to partake of any meat under necessity, as St Basil says. But since the order from the Scythians was aimed at the rejection of the faith, they refused; but they considered all things as secondary for the love of Christ. O blessed men! O blessed action!  

Text: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/03/catechesis-63-historical-concerning.html

"Let the children be conscious that they are members of Christ's family. Let the children come to love church!" With an inspiring message for parents, Fr. Michael Pomazansky exhorts us to help our children not just come to church but to learn to love church. Addressing practical aspects and the important matter of compulsion, this short article offers a always timely message to Orthodox Christian parents and their children. 0:00 Beginning 0:07 The parents’ obligation to raise their children in the love of God in church 2:51 Contact with spiritual grace is one of the first concerns of Christian parents 3:35 The key to religious education and the matter of compulsion 7:24 There must be at least some active participation for the child to grow to love church Fr. Michael Pomazansky was a priest trained in Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution and later Professor at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY. Highly revered as a living link to Holy Tradition and transmitter of true Orthodoxy, Fr. Michael reposed just before his 100tg birthday in November 4th, 1988. -READ the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pomaz_children.aspx -BUY Fr. Michael's most famous work, "Orthodox Dogmatic Theology": https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/odt.htm -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ------- Fr. Michael writes: And however we may influence them in our family at home, however much we might teach them the Gospel, we would be depriving them of the direct action of heavenly grace, and at best we would arouse a thirst for faith in them—but we would still be keeping them far from the heavenly light and warmth, which comes down, regardless of our human efforts, in the mysteries, in all the services, in holy prayers. The task of religious 'education will be fulfilled only when we teach our children to love church. But certainly, if this remains just compulsion, and to such an extent that it creates a psychological repulsion in the young people—this will show that the aim has not been attained, that the method has proved to be inadequate and the compulsion in vain. Let the child brought by our will express a desire to remain there through his own will. Then you will have justified your action. “The holy maidens Faith, Hope and Charity, and the holy young bride Perpetua, who became martyrs, are witnesses to the fact that adolescence is an age prepared even for the highest active participation in Christ's Church. The baby in his mother's arms in church who cried out, "Ambrose for bishop!", and by his exclamation determined the choice of the renowned Ambrose of Milan for the episcopal cathedra—this baby is a defender of children's rights to an active participation in Christ's Church. And so let us take some trouble over our children: first let us give them the chance to take more part in church—and in a wider and more elevated form than just giving the censer to the priest; and secondly, let us adapt ourselves somewhat to our children when praying together with them. Let the children be conscious that they are members of Christ's family. Let the children come to love church! ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The Pope wanted Elders Paisios and Porphyrios to visit him at the Vatican…how did they respond? 0:00 Beginning 0:21 The Invitation from the Pope and the Elders’ Response —Commentary by Elder Savvas Hagiorite on the meaning of the Elders' Response— 1:00 The Pope is a heretic 1:56 Not dialogue, but prayer is helpful 2:58 The Pope believes the Orthodox do not possess the truth 3:44 St. Porphyrios: “The attitude of the Pope has always been to subject the Orthodox Church…” A reading from “Healing the Soul: St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia as a Model for Our Lives" by Hieromonk Savvas of the Holy Mountain, p. 97-101. 🎧 A reading of "The Orthodox Spirit is the True One - St. Porphyrios": https://youtu.be/3JgzCGJtfDc 🎧 Ecumenism is "Downright Scum, Spiritual Filth" - St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia https://youtu.be/QxFFmBHbFqM 🎧 Original recording of Saint Porphyrios saying the Jesus Prayer: https://youtu.be/w7XSW7wpCfY?si=w3yUXGV94QMWg4FH 📖 "Wounded by Love: The Life and Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios": https://www.holycross.org/products/wounded-by-love-the-life-and-the-wisdom-of-elder-porphyrios?srsltid=AfmBOoorE21YcZGUDow6RQlSnMJLerM851JSD-JP01Rl_2lvrmd0tO7n 📖 "Healing the Soul: St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia as a Model for Our Lives" here: https://www.stchrysostomoscrafts.com/old-style-icons ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ "A certain American woman, a professor, passed along a message from the Pope to an Orthodox clergyman stating that Elder Paisios and Elder Porphyrios were invited to go to the Vatican. The answer from both was the following: No, we cannot go, because the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope are not ready for us yet. They have way too much pride. Not only do they wish to subjugate us, but they also believe that we do not possess the truth. There is no need for us to go. We will better aid the cause through our prayers.” —Lisikatos Sotirios, ΧΑΡΙΤΩΜΕΝΕΣ ΔΙΔΑΧΕΣ ΤΟΥ ΓΕΡΟΝΤΟΣ ΠΑΪΣΙΟΥ [Graced Teachings of Elder Paisios] (Thessaloniki: Palimpsiston Publications, 2004), and http://pigizois.gr/afieromata/paisios/xaritomenes_didaxes.htm _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Sebastian of San Francisco & Jackson (Nov. 30), Apostle to all America and first American-born priest, reposed in 1940 after his remarkable labor for Christ and His lost sheep. This essay comes from his book “Preaching in the Russian Church” and shines light, in a clear and simple way, on the truth of the uniqueness of the Orthodox Church. This saint is worthy of far greater recognition than he currently receives for all that Christ did through him.

0:09 Introduction by Fr. Seraphim Rose from The Orthodox Word

3:02 St. Sebastian: What is the Orthodox Church?

3:55 The true and divine doctrine of holy faith

5:08 Heresy, or injury to the teaching of Christ

7:39 God the Father

8:00 God the Son

8:23 God the Holy Spirit

9:05 To be saved one must belong to the Orthodox Church

13:03 conditions of the true of lawful hierarchy

13:13 1) grace-filled Apostolic Succession

15:06 2) confesses the truth and is foreign to heresy

15:22 3) The Sacraments must retain the form and actions, otherwise the Sacrament may not be valid.

16:49 4) the true and lawful hierarchy must obey the rules and canons universally accepted by the Orthdoox Church.

17:27 5) also needed is unity in a spirit of peace and love.

17:59 The Orthodox Church is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

”What is the Orthodox Church? The Orthodox Church is a body or community of people who, 1: correctly believe in Divine Revelation; and, 2: who obey a lawful hierarchy instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, through the Holy Apostles.”

“In the course of time the Apostolic Tradition, which was transmitted orally at first, was gradually, as the necessities of the Church demanded, committed to writing; and it is found in the works of the Holy Fathers and teachers of the first several centuries.”

“The Apostles transmitted the power of conferring the Holy Spirit only to bishops.” -context is the example of how the Deacon Philip could not bring down the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans

”Therefore, it is the duty of Christians to obey the Church, for outside of her there is no salvation.”

This text can be found in Issue #5 of The Orthodox Word: https://archive.org/details/100101V17N05061981SepOctNovDec/001%20V01N01%201965%20Jan%20Feb/

ALSO, listen to the Life of St. Sebastian (five parts) here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFKi22k2KYiAmhiJ6mQaberXVJ0FZePY

Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The first Orthodox priest born in America, St. Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson is an Apostle to America for having served across its vast land in countless parishes amongst Orthodox and non-Orthodox people of all ethnic backgrounds. Born in San Francisco in 1863, he helped establish the first Serbian Orthodox parish in the Western Hemisphere in Jackson, CA in 1894. He served tirelessly in America and Serbia where he reposed in 1940 at the Zhicha Monastery. In 2007 his holy relics were transferred back to Jackson, CA and in 2015 he was formally canonized a Saint by the Orthodox Church, confirming what the faithful had known for some time--that St. Sebastian's last wish had been granted him: “the Kingdom of Heaven without end.“  

This is part one of five of the Life of Saint Sebastian and has been generously offered by our brother Sergius.  

1. Read the Life of St. Sebastian here (link to PDF at top of page): http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/archi...

2. Read his Catechism "The Holy Orthodox Church" here: https://books.google.com/books?id=5jJ...

3. On the canonization of St. Sebastian and St. Mardarije, including Troparion and Kontakion: https://westsrbdio.org/canonication/

4. Akathist: https://www.stsavajackson.org/akathis...  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

“Many times a temptation happens which, at first glance, does not seem to conceal anything salvific within it. Yet afterwards, we see that within it is eternal life!”  

“God allows temptations so that they might rouse us to remember Him. When we call upon Him, He acts as though He does not hear us so that we multiply our supplications and cry out His holy name, in fear of the various passions. Then, through the pain of the entreaties, our heart is sanctified, and through experience we learn the weakness of our lame nature. And thus we realize in practice that without God's help we are not able to do anything.”  

“Is there anyone who has entered paradise by a different path, a path without temptations, whom we can imitate? No. All the saints passed through fire and water, through various temptations and afflictions, and they glorified God with their patience and received crowns of eternal glory!”  

The text is from “Counsels from the Holy Mountain” by Elder Ephraim of Arizona. The book can purchased here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/produ... 

Audiobooks from St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery, including “Counsels from the Holy Mountain” can be found for free here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/pages... 

Learn more about this great Athonite Elder and Saint of America here: https://www.stanthonysmonastery.org/a...

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Two passages from St. Nikodemos on how Orthodox Christians should approach smoking in general, and specifically smoking tobacco. St. Nikodemos writes, "But when they inhale and swallow the foul fumes of tobacco through their nose and mouth... how afterwards are they to be, in accord with their calling [i.e. Bishops and Priests, but indeed all Orthodox Christians], sweet perfume and the savor of life to those who approach them?" Reading from _Smoking and the Orthodox Christian_ by Constantine Cavarnos (quoting St. Nikodemos in the section read for this recording). 📖 _Smoking and the Orthodox Christian_ by Constantine Cavarnos https://easternchristiansupply.biz/index.php/ecs/catalog/product/view/id/2888/s/smoking-and-the-orthodox-christian/category/41/ 📖 _Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession_ by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite https://uncutmountainpress.com/shop/product/exomologetarion-a-manual-of-confession/ 🎧 On Guarding the Mind and the Heart - St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite https://youtu.be/QYD5-u6sGRQ 🎧 Fasting On Wednesday & Friday - St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite https://youtu.be/4dqIdbwLX4w ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Nikodemos writes: It is a revolting sight for someone to put in his mouth the stem either of a turned and filthy piece of horn or cob or drilled-out wood, and from that fiery and smoking piece of wood to inhale puffs of hellish smoke through his throat and, exhaling it, to give off smoke like a burning furnace from the mouth and the nostrils, and, like Diomedes' horses and Jason's bulls, to spew out smoke and sparks from the mouth and nose. *Can there be found a filthier, more disgusting, or more detestable act than this?* Since the Bishop is a typos of God and an icon of Christ, all of his morals, then, must be Christlike, pure, and occasion not scandal, but benefit to the people. But what purity is to be had in the indecent use of the filthiest of weeds? And of what benefit-rather what scandal- for Christians to see their Bishop or Priest holding a little drilled-out rod in his teeth; lighting a little bowl at the end of it; exhaling from his mouth and nose foul-smelling smoke; and his house filled with a thick, darkish cloud of loathsome fumes? *Bishops and Priests need to breathe in a spiritual savor through all of their senses, in such a way as to make fragrant all those who approach them,* whether Christians or heathens, as Saint Paul says: "For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish." But when they inhale and swallow the foul fumes of tobacco through their nose and mouth (which causes many who cannot endure this to pass out), how afterwards are they to be, in accord with their calling, sweet perfume and the savor of life to those who approach them? Indeed, if they think it is noble and decorous to smoke a pipe and so on, let them hear how contemporary moral philosophers condemn them for this in their writings on ethics, saying: What kind of nobility and decorousness is this for man, a rational and noble creature, to put a drilled-out piece of wood in his mouth filled with burning weeds, which is what a pipe is? Or to blow out of his mouth and nose a black cloud of offensive smoke, like a furnace, thereby resembling a dragon, which is allegorically the Devil, about whom God says to Job: "Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or cauldron" (Job 41:20)? *What kind of decorousness and nobility, I ask you, is this? I doubt that a more barbaric or disorderly habit than this can be found.* _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The third of twenty-two sermons specifically on the subject of the Divine Liturgy, preached by New Martyr St. Seraphim (Zvezdinski). Learn more about yet another inspiring martyr under the Soviet antichrists here: https://orthochristian.com/7426.htm 

“In the flow of nineteen centuries there has not been one day in which the Divine Liturgy was not offered; and it will not cease as long as the world exists, as long as this earth exists. No kind of enemy power is able to extinguish this lamp of the Divine Liturgy which is lit by the very Divine Ray Himself. Satan has stirred up storms, he has raised up the most cruel abuse, and has incited raging waves of suffering – all of this so to extinguish the lamp of the Divine Liturgy! Yet he has not succeeded, nor will he ever succeed.”  

This was recently translated into English be Fr. Zechariah Lynch, rector of Archangel Michael Orthodox Church (OCA) in Pueblo, CO. If you have not already done so, follow Fr. Zechariah’s excellent blog at inklesspen.blog.  

Text of the sermon: https://inklesspen.blog/2021/09/19/th... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A word for us all from one the greatest Russian saints of recent times. "The sons of the world consider distraction to be something innocent, but the holy fathers recognize it to be the origin of all evils." -LISTEN to other recordings of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov ---My Cross and the Cross of Christ https://youtu.be/RDmmWFqGGYA ---Exhortation on the Prayer Rule https://youtu.be/YvCo0NiHMjU ---The Antichrist Will Be the Natural Result of the Spiritual Direction of Man https://youtu.be/Y97eoXfZJ_k ---On Prayer https://youtu.be/ElPypoFJM3A -BUY a number of books by St. Ignatius here: https://www.holytrinitypublications.com -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ Text is from "Divine Ascent: A Journal of Orthodox Faith", Autumn 2001, No. 7 _______ St. Ignatius writes: The sons of the world consider distraction to be something innocent, but the holy fathers recognize it to be the origin of all evils. The person who is given up to distraction has, concerning all subjects and even the most important ones, a very light and most superficial understanding. One who is distracted is usually inconstant. The feelings of his heart usually lack depth and strength; they are not solid but transitory. As a butterfly flits from flower to flower so also a distracted person passes from one earthly satisfaction to another, from one vain care to another. Distraction itself punishes the one who is devoted to it. With time everything bores him, and as one who has not acquired any sound understandings and fundamental impressions whatsoever, he is given up to a tormenting endless despondency. As much as distraction is harmful in general, it is especially harmful in the work of God and the work of salvation, which requires constant and intense vigilance and attention. "Watch and pray lest you enter into misfortune," says the Savior to his disciples (Matthew 26: 41). "I say to all: watch," (Mark 13:37), the Savior said to all Christianity, and therefore, he said it to us in this time. He who is leading a distracted life is directly contradicting the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ with his life. All of the saints diligently fled from distraction. They were concentrated in themselves constantly or at least as often as possible They paid attention to the movements of their mind and heart and they directed them according to the testament of the gospel. The habit of attending to oneself keeps one from distraction, even amongst distractions which are noisy and surrounding one on all sides. The attentive person abides in solitude, even amidst a multitude of people. A certain great father who had learned by experience the benefit of attention and the harm of distraction said that without intense watchfulness over oneself it is impossible to succeed in even one virtue. The attentive life weakens the effect of a person's bodily feelings. It sharpens, strengthens and warms the feelings of the soul. While on the contrary, distraction dulls the feelings of the soul. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A reading of “Against Those Who Attack the Divine Images” (First Apology) by St. John of Damascus (+749). In response to the iconoclast heresy of the 8th century St. John wrote three treatises in defense of the apostolic tradition. His defense centers on the incarnation of Christ, how the invisible God became visible, and how from the witness of Holy Scripture we are commanded by God to make and venerate holy icons. St. John’s message is ever relevant as sectarians and heretical-minded people continually find new ways to reject the veneration of icons which are a divine safeguard for truth and a means of God’s economy of salvation.

0:10 Introduction - When the Church is being attacked “I deem it unreasonable to keep silence"

1:40 St. John knows the teaching of the Church and exclaims we must not forsake Her ancient tradition

2:55 St. John’s prayer and stance in setting forth the Orthodox teaching on icons

4:08 St. John begins his defense of icons; there is one God Whose Son became flesh, the invisible became visible

7:15 Passages from Scripture that command no graven images lest idolatry ensue

8:47 More passages from Scripture showing that nothing is to be adored in the way God is to be adored

10:16 The newness of life in Christ, the fulfillment of the law in Christ, no longer means images are such a stumbling block to worship of God alone. 

13:58 God has ordained that the intangible is made known through that which we can see

17:11 The images are of two kinds: words written down or material images. Either reject the authority of God Who willed them to be made or esteem them as is fitting.

18:10 The degrees of worship: 1) adoration which we offer to God alone 2) the honor we offer the friends of God, for the sake of God 3) the respect as we see with Abraham and the sons of Nahor.

19:30 God commands cherubim and other images to overshadow the mercy seat, calling us to worship Him through created matter

21:43 “I do not worship matter; I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake..."

23:28 “Either do away with the honor and veneration these things deserve, or accept the tradition of the Church and the veneration of images.”

24:05 Exodus 31:1-6 and Exodus 35:4-10

26:44 The images worthy of God “sanctify the noblest of the senses, which is that of sight.”

28:08 If God ordered twelve stones to be taken from the Jordan after Israel passed through, shall we not make images of Christ and His saving passion?

29:06 It is utter foolishness to make images of Christ and not of His saints, for he says, “I will glorify those who glorify Me” (1 Sam 2:30).

31:30 On the images God commanded David and Soloman to make in the temple, and how depicting the saints is far greater

33:04 “Shall we strip [the saints] of the glory given them by the Church? What audacity! What effrontery of mind, to fight with God, refusing to follow His commands!”

38:08 Christians have seen God in human form. Peter’s shadow and Paul’s handkerchief healed and put demons to flight. Therefore, we glorify the saints in material images.

39:12 St. Basil the Great teaches that the tradition of the Church is passed down both orally and in writing and “both sources have equal power to lead us to righteousness.”

41:03 “Pagans make images of demons which they address as gods, but we make images of God incarnate, and of his servants and friends, and with them we drive away the demonic hosts.”

41:45 St. John: the words against icons from St. Epiphanius are “fictitious and inauthentic.” Furthermore, “one exception cannot be a law for the Church…”

43:23 “The former holy things, the tent, and everything therein were made by hands, and no one can deny that they were venerated.”

A sermon given in 1971 by Elder Aimilianos of Siminopetra, Mount Athos on Holy Matrimony and the life of husband and wife in Christ.  

“Christ says, "wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am among them" (Mt 18.20). And whenever two people are married in the name of Christ, they become the sign which contains and expresses Christ himself. When you see a couple who are conscious of this, it is as if you are seeing Christ. Together they are a theophany.” 

“Above all, pay attention to the person's faith. Does he or she have faith? Has the person whom you're thinking of making the companion of your life have ideals? If Christ means nothing to him, how are you going to be able to enter his heart? If he has not been able to value Christ, do you think he will value you? Holy Scripture says to the husband that the wife should be "of your testament" (Mal 2.14), that is, of your faith, your religion, so that she can join you to God. It is only then that you can have, as the Church Fathers say, a marriage "with the consent of the bishop," that is, with the approval of the Church, and not simply a formal license.”  

“Bring him into touch with your spiritual father. If you don't have one, the two of you should choose a spiritual father together, who will be your Elder, your father, the one who will remind you of, and show you God.”  

“Oh, my dear friends, who can say that his life has not been marked by difficult moments? But it is no small thing to know that, in your difficult moments, in your worries, in your temptations, you will be holding in your hand the hand of your beloved.”  

“Remember: from the moment you marry, he says, you will have much pain, you will suffer, and your life will be a cross, but a cross blossoming with flowers. Your marriage will have its joys, its smiles, and its beautiful things. But during the days of sunshine, remember that all the lovely flowers conceal a cross, which can emerge into your sunshine at any moment.”  

Read the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/marria... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ.

A reading of the homily titled, "On Watchfulness and Noetic Prayer" from Chapter 15 of "Counsels from the Holy Mountain" by Elder Ephraim of Arizona -Learn more about the ever-memorable Elder Ephraim: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/pages/elder-ephraim -Buy the book here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/counsels-from-the-holy-mountain -Find an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ 0:09 The Watchful Fathers, especially St. Gregory Palamas, showed us the way2:41 We must attack evil thoughts with anger, the Jesus Prayer, and rebuttal 5:06 Before noetic prayer was systematized, monks primarily focus on asceticism done with the body 8:02 The work of watchfulness led the Watchful Fathers to freedom from care 9:40 The value of silence 10:26 If one has tasted prayer and then loses prayer, he feels empty 11:29 Those who pray with watchfulness acquire great gifts 13:32 Prayer is the catapult against the demons, passions, and sin 14:45 The ax of prayer 15:37 A story of how a demon spoke through a woman to show a negligent monk that the Jesus prayer burns the demons 17:40 Must listen! A story of a man who comes to Elder Joseph and suffers from the demons yet courageously persists in saying the Jesus prayer 24:10 The power of prayer and the demons’ refusal to repent, yet we are lazy 25:34 Even laypeople occupy themselves with the prayer and bear fruit 27:54 Conclusion _______ Elder Ephraim teaches:

A monk who lacks prayer feels empty, unless he has not tasted the benefit of prayer and does not realize his emptiness. If a poor man never had anything, he is not troubled. But if a monk who has been taught the prayer becomes neglectful and loses it, he knows his loss and is troubled. Therefore, monks must pray not only to carry out their duty as monks, but at the same time to be monks in deed; not just monks in name and outward appearance, but also inwardly. According to the Watchful Fathers, one is not called a monk if he does not have this hidden work within him. Therefore, we too must compel ourselves to pray for our soul to be full of benefit. Only then can we consider ourselves to be monks. Just as someone could wonder how a body could live without a soul, likewise a person experienced in prayer would be at a loss and say, "But how can people live without this spiritual nourishment!" Our passions of soul and body are remedied in proportion to the progress we have made in prayer and the benefit we have received from it. The healing of one's passions and weaknesses marks how much a person has advanced in prayer. Consequently, we must compel ourselves. We must constantly urge ourselves not to forget the prayer, not to neglect it. When we notice that the prayer has "sprung a leak," has weakened and begins to waver and stumble, it is necessary as quickly as possible to strive to correct it, to work with diligence, to restore strength to our prayer. How will this be accomplished? the soul must collect itself immediately, must concentrate, "tighten the belt,” as we say, and vigorously begin to pray. It must drive away thoughts, expel worries, free the mind from distraction and say, “I will occupy myself with the prayer now." And when we occupy ourselves with it in this way for a while, we shall soon feel the power which proceeds from diligence in prayer. In conclusion, there is nothing left for us to do except to compel ourselves; to compel ourselves constantly. We should occupy ourselves with prayer above all, saying continuously: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." As we wake up in the morning we should say the prayer; then, we should do our work with the name of Christ on our lips. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Excerpt from "Holy Scripture and the Church" by St. Hilarion Troitsky  

St. Hilarion offers much clarity and foundational argumentation to help both Protestants and Orthodox come to a truly Christian approach to these central matters.   

This except is from part II. Listen to all three parts here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz... 

Read the full text here: https://www.newmartyr.info/files/Sain... 

"“Two sources of doctrine are usually spoken of: Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. Both of these sources are necessary, although preference is often given to Holy Scripture. In disputes with sectarians and Protestants, much effort is made to prove that Holy Scripture alone is insufficient, that besides Scripture Holy Tradition is also needed. But if Holy Scripture is a source of doctrine, how do we extract the doctrine contained within this source? It is enough to remember Arianism and the First Ecumenical Council in order to realize that every heresy is based on Scripture. e question clearly arises: “How are we to understand Scripture so as to obtain from it true doctrine?” “It has to be understood in accordance with Tradition,” they respond to us. “Wonderful! And what sort of tradition should we accept?” “ at which does not contradict Scripture.” What do we end up with? Scripture must be interpreted in accordance with Tradition, and Tradition must be veri ed by Scripture. We end up with circular logic, idem per idem, or, translated somewhat loosely into Russian, the story of the white calf.                      

Church doctrine has but one Source: the Holy Spirit, Who lives within the Church, Whom Christ promised would guide (ὁδηγήσει) the Church into all truth (John 16:13). Thus, the Church possesses true doctrine not because she draws it from Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, but only because she is in fact the Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of Truth (1Tim 3:15), guided by the Holy Spirit. It is necessary to speak only about the Church. Both Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition stand or fall together with the Church.”  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

What is feminism? What are the consequences of the movement? What is the role of women in the Church and the world? And what women and the priesthood? Abbess Theologia gives succinct and clear answers to these questions. 0:00 Intro The Feminist Movement 0:14 Causes for the Movement 1:51 The Movement’s Success 3:00 Problems with the Movement Orthodoxy and the Feminist Movement 5:16 Women and the Priesthood 11:36 Feminism and the Holy Mountain 📖 "The Perfection of Women in Christ" by Abbess Theologia https://newromepress.com/perfection-of-women-in-christ/ 📖 "The Disappearing Deaconess: Why the Church Once Had Deaconesses and Then Stopped Having Them" by Dcn. Brian Patrick Mitchell: https://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Deaconess-Hierarchical-Ordering-Diaconate/dp/099101698X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 📖 "Occult Feminism: The Secret History of Women's Liberation" by Rachel Wilson: https://www.amazon.com/Occult-Feminism-Secret-History-Liberation/dp/B09NGXZKHB 🎥 "The Mother of God Destroys Secularism and Feminism" by Fr. Josiah Trenham: https://youtu.be/J7X1TwsaIN8?si=IOxssrzaT_ZaNGkW 🎧Fr. Josiah's lectures on Contemporary Women Saints https://app.patristicnectar.org/discover/theological-lectures/contemporary-women-saints 🎥 "The Orthodox Deaconess: Partial Acceptance, Complete Abandonment" with Dcn. Brian Patrick Mitchell and Fr. Peter Heers: https://www.youtube.com/live/7nCkRHCXcb4?si=EcatFPOsa7Npr8Rt This is a reading from "The Perfection of Women in Christ" by Abbess Theologia, p. 33-43. Abbess Theologia is the abbess of the Holy Monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God at Mikrokastro, Greece The image on the left side of the thumbnail is of recently ordained Deacon Angelic and her bishop, Metropolitan Seraphim of Zimbabwe. It's important to note that she was ordained a deacon, she is not a deaconess as the early Church had, but a Deacon. The Deaconate is part of the priest, and as Abbess Theologia says, echoing Holy Tradition, the priesthood is only for men. Read more: https://ocl.org/bishop-ordains-orthodox-christian-woman-as-deaconess-in-response-to-local-needs-in-africa/ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ Abbess Theologia writes: The problem with the feminist movement was that it went too far. It was not satisfied with the new equity of things. It began to espouse materialistic theories of life. It imagined that the past history of the debasement of women was attributable to the Christian faith, and thus rushed to discard religious life [as an oppressor]. She fought against the indissolubility of marriage, without giving proper consideration to the fact that the legal obligation of a man to care for his family is an important restraining force against divorce. She accepted the idea of cohabitation, without realizing that by doing so she took part in reestablishing the harems of old. And the very worst part of this transformation was the crippling of her own nature. God endowed woman with a hidden river of affection, issuing from deep within her very nature, which is able to reshape the world: to tame it, reconcile and sweeten it, to give and receive love, and elevate it out of its banality. Instead of this, women became ensnared in a relentless vocationalism, competing with men, and steadfastly uncompromising in regard to his unique qualities. She abandoned her duty as nurturer, educator, and guardian, thus allowing herself to become a sterile fountain. Women are not barred from the Priesthood because they are somehow less worthy than men. Indeed, many times unworthy priests transmit the sanctified grace of the Mysteries to holy women! Rather, it is because the woman has a different vocation than the man. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A reading of St. Paisios’ letter written in 1969 to a priest regarding the recent scandalous actions of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and how to respond in a healthy, salvific way as an Orthodox Christian. -read the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/elder-paisios-the-athonite-letter-on-ecumenism.aspx -Find an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ First of all, I would like to ask forgiveness from everyone for being bold to write something when I am neither holy nor a theologian. I trust everyone will understand me, that my writing is nothing more than an expression of my deep pain for the unfortunate stance and worldly love of our father Patriarch Athenagoras. It appears he loved another modern woman—which is called the Papist Church—because our Orthodox Mother has not made an impression on him at all, for She is so modest. This love, which was heard from Constantinople, caused a sensational impression of sorts among many Orthodox, who nowadays live in an environment of such meaningless love, in cities across the entire world. Moreover, this love is of the spirit of our age: the family will lose its divine meaning from just such kinds of love, which have as their aim breakup and not union. With just such a worldly love the Patriarch takes us to Rome. While he should have shown love first to us his children and to our Mother Church, he unfortunately sent his love very far away. The result, it’s true, delighted the secular children who love the world—who have this worldly love—, but completely scandalized us, the children of Orthodoxy, young and old, who have fear of God... Also, we should know well that our Orthodox Church does not have even one shortcoming. The only apparent insufficiency is the shortage of sober Hierarchs and Shepherds with a Patristic foundation. “Few are chosen.” This should not, however be upsetting. The Church is Christ’s Church, and He governs Her. It is not a Temple built by the pious from rocks, sand and mortar, which is then destroyed by the fire of barbarians; the Church is Christ Himself. “And whosoever shall fall on this Stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” (Matt. 21:44-45) In times past we see that many faithful children of our Church, monastics and laymen, have unfortunately broken away from Her on account of the unionists. In my opinion, separation from the Church each time the Patriarch makes a mistake is not good at all. From within, close to the Mother Church, it is the duty and obligation of each member to struggle in their own way. To cease commemoration of the Patriarch; to break away and create their own Church; and to continue to speak insultingly to the Patriarch: this I think, is senseless. If, for this or that occasional deviation of the Patriarchs, we separate ourselves and make our own Churches—may God protect us!—we’ll pass up even the Protestants. It is easy for one to separate but difficult to return. I would further like to say that there does exist another, third group, within our Church. They are the brethren who remain as Her faithful children, but who don’t have spiritual concord between themselves. They spend their time criticizing one another, and not for the general good of the struggle. The one monitors the other (more than himself) to see what he will say or write so as to ruthlessly nail him. However, if this person had said or written the same thing, he’d certainly have supported it with numerous passages from the Holy Scriptures and the Fathers.

We’re all needed within the Church. All the Fathers, both the mild and the austere, offered their services to Her. Just as the sweet, sour, bitter and even pungent herbs are necessary for a man’s body (each has its own flavor and vitamins), the same is true of the Body of the Church. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Many Orthodox Christians have had to learn the hard way how to prepare not only to fast, but to feast. A feasting period, like we begin on Pascha and Christmas, requires us to remain watchful and sober if we are to preserve the grace we gained during the fast and avoid falling back into our old sins and bad habits. St. John Chrysostom is well aware of this and offers a timeless word to all who wish to take up their cross and follow Christ. -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you, the hospitals for all the passions: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ -HELP: An Orthodox ministry devoted to helping those struggling with drunkenness: https://inexhaustiblecup.org/ -PRAYER to overcome addictions: Akathist the Theotokos, “The Inexhaustible Cup”: https://prescottorthodox.com/text-akathist-inexhaustible-cup/ 0:00 Beginning 0:20 After fasting, we fast a different fast 2:39 Consequences of eating and drinking too much 3:41 The drunkenness from wine and the drunkenness NOT from wine 7:03 Continued analysis of St. Paul’s words / prodigal young men 8:18 Drunkenness is a self-chosen demon 10:19 “neither fornicators…nor drunkards will possess the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-11) 11:32 The reasons St. John teaches this to neophytes 13:47 “Human nature is inclined to nothing so harmful as ease.” / Examples of the Ancient Jews 17:02 The shining example of Apostle Paul 19:48 Consider what gifts, what dignity the King of all has given us 20:52 Unlike in human affairs, only we can remove our God-given dignity as Christians initiated into Christ 21:55 Keep watch and preserve our baptismal purity 24:01 Shine your weapons and armor, and spite the devil 25:01 Final exhortation This reading comes from “Baptismal Instructions” by St. John Chrysostom, pp. 80-92. Different versions exist online, and you can buy a copy here: https://svspress.com/saint-john-chrysostom-baptismal-instructions-hardcover/ _______ Beloved, even if the fasting is over, let the piety remain. Even if the time of the holy quarantine is gone by, let us not put aside the memory of it. Let no one feel displeasure at this exhortation; for I do not say it to impose on you another period of fasting, but because I wish you both to relax and to display not a more exact kind of fasting -- but the true one. For it is possible for one who is not fasting to fast. How is this? I shall tell you. While on the one hand we are taking food, let us, on the other, abstain from sin. For this is the fasting which helps us, and it is with this fasting in view that we abstain from food, so that we may more easily run in the course of virtue. Therefore, if we wish both to take proper care of the body and to keep the soul free from sin, let us take heed and act accordingly. You did not need exhortation and advice during the holy season of Lent as much as you need it now. During that season the practice of fasting made you be temperate, even in spite of yourselves; but now I am afraid and I fear the freedom from this obligation and the relaxation which it produces. Human nature is inclined to nothing so harmful as ease. Therefore, our loving Master, from the very beginning, has put on human nature a kind of curb and, in His great providence, has condemned man to toil and misery.

Sin, however, is born precisely from such sources as wantonness, gluttony, and too much sloth. Therefore, I exhort, since we know clearly that these are wrong, let us not use what is wrong on the pretext that we are relaxing. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Leo the Great, Pope of Rome (+461) offers another homily during the Holy Fast of Nativity calling us again to active love for God and neighbor. "[Satan] is aroused with keener stings of hatred, that under a false profession of the Christian name he may corrupt those whom he is not allowed to attack with open and bloody persecutions, and for this work he has heretics in his service whom he has led astray from the catholic Faith..." 📖 Read the homily here:

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2017/12/sermon-5-on-fast-of-advent-st-leo-great.html

🎧 By Almsgiving We Redeem Our Sins - Pope St. Leo the Great (Nativity Fast, Homily 1)

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6TWyeeSPJR4uDiE4uOpAWO?si=ppllmzpoQ5akNa_D6lnYuQ

⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Leo teaches: And while all seasons are opportune for this duty, beloved, yet this present season is specially suitable and appropriate, at which our holy fathers, being Divinely inspired, sanctioned the Fast of the tenth month, that when all the ingathering of the crops was complete, we might dedicate to God our reasonable service of abstinence, and each might remember so to use his abundance as to be more abstinent in himself and more open-handed towards the poor. For forgiveness of sins is most efficaciously prayed for with almsgiving and fasting, and supplications that are winged by such aids mount swiftly to God's ears: since as it is written, "the merciful man does good to his own soul" (Prov. 11:17), and nothing is so much a man's own as that which he spends on his neighbor.

But at all these acts of godliness, dearly-beloved, which commend us more and more to God, there is no doubt that our enemy, who is so eager and so skilled in harming us, is aroused with keener stings of hatred, that under a false profession of the Christian name he may corrupt those whom he is not allowed to attack with open and bloody persecutions, and for this work he has heretics in his service whom he has led astray from the catholic Faith, subjected to himself, and forced under various errors to serve in his camp. And as for the deception of primitive man he used the services of a serpent, so to mislead the minds of the upright he has armed these men's tongues with the poison of his falsehoods. But these treacherous designs, dearly beloved, with a shepherd's care, and so far as the Lord vouchsafes His aid, we will defeat. And taking heed lest any of the holy flock should perish, we admonish you with fatherly warnings to keep aloof from the "lying lips" and the "deceitful tongue" from which the prophet asks that his soul should be delivered ; because "their words," as says the blessed Apostle, "do creep as does a gangrene" (2Tim. 2:17).

Display then a holy zeal of religious vigilance, and let all the faithful rise in one body against these savage enemies of their souls. For the merciful God has delivered a certain portion of our noxious foes into our hands in order that by revelation of the danger the utmost caution might be aroused. Let not what has been done suffice, but let us persevere in searching them out: and by God's aid the result will be not only the continuance in safety of those who still stand, but also the recovery from error of many who have been deceived by the devil's seduction. And the prayers, and alms, and fasts that you offer to the merciful God shall be the holier for this very devotion, when this deed of faith also is added to all your other godly duties. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Prayer for all of America, for peace, justice, and unity, with one end in mind: the salvation of our souls and eternal joy in the Holy Trinity. #Orthodox 

This prayer can be used for any nation, not just the United States, just substitute the name of the country. Come Lord Jesus!  

I encourage you all to join your prayer with action, whatever God directs you to do to help others who are suffering in one way or another. Ask your priest, your mentor, your friend for help and mutual support. 

You can find this prayer in the new St. Tikhon's prayer book "Orthodox Christian Prayer": https://www.stspress.com/shop/books/p... 

Photo is of Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York.  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the prayers, hymns, teachings, and service texts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The account of St. Cuthbert's life by his contemporary, the Venerable Bede, translated in the 19th century by J. A. Giles, and adapted in 2019 by Timothy Honeycutt.  

St. Cuthbert is a man of universal importance and the most venerated saint of Lindisfarne and Northern England. Through his many miracles and faithful witness, he has inspired, and continues to inspire, countless people to live for Christ. Pilgrims can still venerate his relics, travel to his islands, and find consolation by his prayers.  

Go to orthodox-wisdom.blogspot.com to DOWNLOAD:  

-Adapted Text of The Life of St. Cuthbert (PDF) 

-Audiobook of The Life of St. Cuthbert (mp3)   

This is the audiobook of the adapted text by Timothy Honeycutt. The intended goal of this adaptation is to maintain the integrity of the original text, both in substance and in style, while adding clarity in two different ways: first, by substituting select antiquated words with more modern, yet reverent, language; secondly, with a desire to help Eastern Christians learn more about this blessed saint of the West, since during St. Cuthbert’s time the Faith in the East and in the West was one and the same, certain religious terminology more common in the East has been used.  

Both the text and the audiobook are in the public domain. Commercial profit is forbidden.  

Icon of St. Cuthbert by Lee Harvey: www.leeharveyicons.com   

“Northumbria is exceeding glad, cherishing the sacred relics of the holy Cuthbert in its bosom; and England exulteth in his intercessions; but all the Orthodox throughout the world trust in his heavenly mediation.”  –From the Service to St. Cuthbert  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the prayers, hymns, teachings, and service texts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A collection of some of the most clear and direct teachings of the Holy Fathers on Heaven, Hell, and Universalism: the belief that in the end all will be saved, even those in hell.

Sometimes simply referred to "Apokotastisis," which in Greek means "restoration," is often referred to as the restoration of all things in Christ, in this world and in all of creation. Origen and his modern companions distort the patristic teaching and posit that ultimately everyone will use their free will to choose to love God, even after death. Let the listener hear what the Church has said, what the consensus of the Fathers is, and may we all follow the wisdom of St. Isaac the Syrian: "This life has been given to you for repentance. Do no waste it in vain pursuits."

We all must be sober, not triumphalistic nor arrogant, but must labor diligently that we may enter through the narrow gate that leads to life!

This is not a complete treatment of this most important issue. But this collection of teachings should stand as a signpost of the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. A fuller treatment is scheduled to be finished by Orthodox Wisdom later in 2022.

INTRODUCTION: 00:00 

Holy Scripture (KJV): 00:56 

St. Ignatius of Antioch: 04:29 

St. Justin Martyr: 05:01 

St. Theophilus of Antioch: 05:14 

St. Irenaeus of Lyons: 05:38 

St. Hippolytus of Rome: 06:08 

St. Cyprian of Carthage: 06:26 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem: 06:43 

St. Basil the Great: 07:25 

St. Epiphanius of Cyprus: 08:20 

St. John Chysostom: 08:50 

Blessed Jerome of Stridonium: 09:43 

Blessed Augustine: 10:10 

St. Theodore the Studite: 12:43 

St. Symeon the New Theologian: 13:08 

St. Nicetas Stethatos: 13:48 

Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria: 14:14 

St. Symeon of Thessalonica: 14:56 

St. Elias Miniatis: 15:46 

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov: 16:44 

St. Theophan the Recluse: 18:00 

St. Cyriacus the Solitary: 20:53 

Blessed John Moschus: 21:50 

Evening Prayers by St. John Chrysostom and St. John Damascene: 23:08 

St. John Chrysostom: 23:30 

St. Amphilochius of Iconium: 24:52 

St. Ephraim the Syrian: 25:08 

Synodical Letter of St. Sophronius of Jerusalem read and accepted by the Sixth Ecumenical Council: 26:15 

Concerning the views of St. Isaac the Syrian: 29:44 

Concerning the views of St. Gregory of Nyssa: 31:51 

CONCLUSION: 

St. Paisios the Athonite: 34:47 

Prayer to the Mother of God during Compline of Great Lent: 35:15 

Evening Prayer from St. John Chrysostom: 36:14

"Here it is possible to go unto the king, and entreat, and free the condemned person: but there, no longer; for He permits it not, but they continue in the scorching torment, and in so great anguish, as it is not possible for words to tell. For if, when any are in flames here, no speech can describe their sharp pangs, much less theirs, who suffer it in that place: since here indeed all is over in a brief point of time, but in that place there is buming indeed, but what is burnt is not consumed." -St. John Chrysostom (Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, NPNF 1.10, Homily 43, p. 269.)

"We must not be going, together with the demons, to where the fire is unquenchable ... and not for a certain time, or for a year, or for a hundred or a thousand years: for the torment will not have an end, as Origen thought, but will be forever and for eternity, as the Lord said." -St. Theodore the Studite, Catechetical Instructions and Testaments (Moscow. 1908) p. 75 [in Russian]. Quoted in The Orthodox Word, “Will the Torments of Hades Have an End?”, Vol. 56, Nos. 1-2 (330-331), p.4

A reading of Homily 32 from St. Isaac the Syrian's Ascetical Homilies

0:11 One must hate sin to be freed from it 1:18 A Prayer 2:18 “On that Day God will not judge us about psalmody…" 3:55 “The End of unseasonable freedom is absolute slavery.” 4:48 “How sweet are the origins of the passions!” and “We do not desire sin, but with pleasure we accept the causes with bring it upon us.” 6:50 “Blessed is the man who has receded from this darkness and sees himself!” 7:54 “Every rest is followed by hardship.” 8:57 “Beware of the freedom that precede an evil slavery.” 10:27 The tragic consequences of “relaxation of the members” 12:16 Remember death, patiently endure your trial that you may receive a crown and enter into that rest which is without end Buy “Ascetical Homilies of Saint Issac the Syrian” here: https://www.bostonmonks.com/product_info.php/cPath/75_105/products_id/635 _______ St. Isaac writes:

A man is not freed from the pleasure of sin's working until he truly abhors the cause of sin with his whole heart. This is the fiercest struggle, the struggle that withstands a man unto blood, wherein his free will is tested as to the unity of his love for the virtues. On that day God will not judge us about psalmody, nor for the neglect of prayer, but because by abandoning them we have opened our door to the demons. Beware of the freedom that precedes an evil slavery. Beware of the consolation that precedes warfare. Beware of the knowledge that is acquired before an encounter with temptations; but especially beware of the ardent love that is prior to the completion of repentance. If we are all sinners and no man is superior to [sin's] temptations, it is certainly true that no virtue is more pre-eminent than repentance. For a man can never complete the work of repentance. It is always suitable for every sinner and righteous man who wishes to gain salvation. There is no limit to perfection, for even the perfection of the perfect is truly without completion. And for this very reason repentance is bounded neither by periods of time nor by works until a man's death. Remember that every pleasure is followed by disgust and bitterness as inseparable companions. Do not be frightened by the turbulence of your Adamitic body, fashioned to enjoy that delight (the knowledge of which surpasses the intellect of carnal man) when it will put on the heavenly Image, Who is the King of peace. Do not be troubled by the change and turbulence of nature, for the hardship caused by this quickly passes from the man who accepts it gladly. The passions are like dogs that are wont to spend their time before the butchers' shops; they run away at the sound of a man's voice, but if they are left unattended, they attack like great lions. Set every small desire at naught, that you may not ponder upon the vehemence of its burning. For patience shown for a short time with respect to small matters disperses the danger of great ones. It is impossible to overcome great evils, if you do not subdue the lesser. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The first Orthodox priest born in America, St. Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson is an Apostle to America for having served across its vast land in countless parishes amongst Orthodox and non-Orthodox people of all ethnic backgrounds. Born in San Francisco in 1863, he helped establish the first Serbian Orthodox parish in the Western Hemisphere in Jackson, CA in 1894. He served tirelessly in America and Serbia where he reposed in 1940 at the Zhicha Monastery. In 2007 his holy relics were transferred back to Jackson, CA and in 2015 he was formally canonized a Saint by the Orthodox Church, confirming what the faithful had known for some time--that St. Sebastian's last wish had been granted him: “the Kingdom of Heaven without end.“  

This is part five of five of the Life of Saint Sebastian and has been generously offered by our brother Sergius. In part four we read the end of his earthly life and here were read the events surrounding the translation of his relics and his then possible canonization that later happened in 2015.  

1. Read the Life of St. Sebastian here (link to PDF at top of page): http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/archi...

2. Read his Catechism "The Holy Orthodox Church" here: https://books.google.com/books?id=5jJ...

3. On the canonization of St. Sebastian and St. Mardarije, including Troparion and Kontakion: https://westsrbdio.org/canonication/

4. Akathist: https://www.stsavajackson.org/akathis... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Foundational to any spiritual life is to have an experienced guide. St. Paisios offers answers to various questions regarding this essential aspect of Orthodox spiritual life: finding an experienced spiritual father and being healed by love and obedience. 0:00 Beginning

0:14 The Spiritual Life Requires a Spiritual Guide

2:29 Refer People to a Spiritual Father

5:38 A Spiritual Father Must Be Nearby

7:48 The Spiritual Father in the Family

This is a reading from "Spiritual Struggle: Saint Paisios the Athonite, Spiritual Counsels (Vol. III)", pp. 277-282.

-BUY "Spiritual Struggle: Saint Paisios the Athonite, Spiritual Counsels (Vol. III)": https://www.holycross.org/products/spiritual-struggle-elder-paisios -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Paisios teaches: The most necessary thing today is for people to find a Spiritual Father, to confess, trust him and follow his advice. If people have a spiritual guide and establish a rule of prayer and study, if they go to Church on a regular basis and receive Holy Communion, then they have nothing to fear in this life. The soul must be attended to closely by the Spiritual Father so that it does not go astray. Spiritual study certainly helps in our struggle for the spiritual life, but if we are without a spiritual guide, we can easily give our own interpretations to what is being studied and fall into error. For example, when someone is going on a long trip and is not certain of the way, he can consult the map but he can also stop and ask for directions. Of course, one should choose his spiritual guide carefully and not entrust his soul to just anyone. Just as one seeks the best doctor for his physical health, he should also seek out a good Spiritual Father for his spiritual health, and go to him, the doctor of his soul, on a regular basis. Just as one takes care to have his family doctor available as nearby as possible, he should also have his Spiritual Father near him. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

An interview with Elder Justin Parvu of Petru Vodă Monastery (Romania) given on October 7th, 2009. Elder Justin spent 16 years in prison under the communists and tirelessly served the Romanian people until his repose on June 16th, 2013. Read a brief account of his life with the text of this interview below.The vaccine Elder Justin is referring to is likely the mandated vaccine for the 2009 swine flu outbreak.📖 The Pinnacle of Nihilism: An Interview With Elder Justin Parvuhttps://www.nepsisblog.com/2025/03/the-pinnacle-of-nihilism-interview-with.html🎧 On Our Times - St. Paisios the Athonitehttps://youtu.be/0KIEmH-qt2Q🎧 Sermon on the 1910 Cholera Pandemic - St. Peter Zverevhttps://youtu.be/gBYKptqJ-pI🎧 How to Understand the Jews as Being a Chosen People: An Orthodox Analysishttps://youtu.be/Zwtcox3ivCs⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______Elder Justin teaches:I urge you not to seek solutions anymore. There are no human solutions, my dear ones! The solution is death for Christ. That is why I tell you, have trust that the Lord will give you the strength to confess Him. We live in an anarchic world; the entire political class is hostile to Christ and serves evil. Therefore, simply living without renouncing our Christian principles is a daily testimony and martyrdom.So, do not accept this vaccine and anything new brought by today's political powers. The Jews rule the world, and the Americans work for them, believing they have come to dominate it because they have no more shame.Our only weapons are spiritual: prayer, humility, love, and also confession. There cannot be love without confession [of faith]. Love is sacrificial, and if we are afraid to confess the truth, what sacrifice do we have? Or if we do not care about our neighbor who is ignorant and do not inform him, letting him fall prey to this system, what love do we have? Those who still fight today to awaken their brother, who have not remained indifferent to the future of their nation and their Church, are children of God's love, who lay down their lives for their brothers.If [political rule] opposes Christ, the voice of that ruling should no longer be obeyed. What kind of rulership is this that gives us poisoned bread to eat? That kills our children?Man comes to be formed in the Church, and what formation do we give if we preach the same teachings as the anti-Christian state? The Church is not indifferent to this entire political and social conjuncture and is obliged to be involved both in society and politics, as long as political laws hinder God's commandment. The priest, at ordination, swears to submit to God and His commandments, but also to state authority. To whom do we swear? Presidents and parliamentarians who legalize prostitution and [the micro]chip?It is not enough to confess a truth only to those under your epitrachelion; it must be proclaimed to everyone. We have a duty to bring the truth to light. You can withdraw out of strategy, but how long does this strategy last? The people suffer from so much strategy, and [to the point that] we do nothing. Let us not confuse strategy with laying down arms.Our greatest problem now is that we find ourselves in the darkness of ignorance and consider the sin of ignorance a great privilege. This generation has reached the pinnacle of nihilism. And what if they do this? Ah! It's nothing! You take the chip: Ah, it's nothing! You serve with the Catholics: Ah, it's nothing, and so on… everything is nothing. Nihilism has given birth to this libertinism, and this state somehow entitles you to do anything, whatever you want; to mix light with darkness, to go with both God and Mammon. In this case, we are no longer disciples of Christ._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The full passage of St. Paisios’ famous saying: Be the Bee Reading from “Spiritual Counsels, Vol. III: Spiritual Struggle”, p. 29-31 📖 “Spiritual Counsels, Vol. III”: https://www.holycross.org/products/spiritual-struggle-elder-paisios?srsltid=AfmBOooXR9CN7PYCrw_LtAPzstMv45LrxH5kcB9DeLsMIOd7zKxBD9gj 🎧 Spiritual Laws - St. Paisios the Athonite https://youtu.be/8E9PIINma_Q 🎧 The Fragrance of Reverence - St. Paisios the Athonite https://youtu.be/RVEI8v6IXqU ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ Some people tell me that they are scandalized because they see many things wrong in the Church. I tell them that if you ask a fly, "Are there any flowers in this area?" it will say, "I don't know about flowers, but over there in that heap of rubbish you can find all the filth you want." And it will go on to list all the unclean things it has been to. Now, if you ask a honeybee, "Have you seen any unclean things in this area?", it will reply, "Unclean things? No, I have not seen any; the place here is full of the most fragrant flowers." And it will go on to name all the flowers of the garden or the meadow. You see, the fly only knows where the unclean things are, while the honeybee knows where the beautiful iris or the hyacinth is… As I have come to understand, some people resemble the honeybee and some resemble the fly. Those who resemble the fly seek to find evil in every circumstance and are preoccupied with it; they see no good anywhere. But those who resemble the honeybee only see the good in everything they see. The stupid person thinks stupidly and takes everything in the wrong way, whereas the person who has good thoughts, no matter what he see, no matter what you tell him, maintains a positive and good thought. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Want to learn more about Baptism and the Reception of Converts? Uncut Mountain Press has just released a first-of-its-kind book: "Reception of the Heterodox into the Orthodox Church: Patristic Consensus and Criteria". BUY the book by 7/30/23 and receive excellent BONUS content. Learn more: --BUY the BOOK (including info about the bonus content and a free preview):

https://uncutmountainpress.com/shop/product/on-the-reception-of-the-heterodox-into-the-orthodox-church-the-patristic-consensus-and-criteria/ --WATCH the Trailer:

https://youtu.be/8qhnX3qEPUw --READ Endorsements by Bishop Luke of Jordanville and Fr. Zechariah Lynch:

https://www.orthodoxethos.com/blog --WATCH a Short with a quote from St. Diadochos, narration from Timothy Honeycutt (Orthodox Wisdom):

https://youtube.com/shorts/MATU6jsF_D4?feature=share _______ St. Diadochos reveals the immense grace and power of baptism: satan is expelled from the heart and Christ is planted therein. "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ," (Gal 3:27) as the Apostle Paul proclaims. With Christ now dwelling in the depth of the heart, the battle against sin and the flesh is both similar and different than before baptism. St. Diadochos expresses with divine clarity the nature of the heart's activity and how the nous is purified and illumined as it battles against sin, no longer filled with demonic energy but now with grace and truth dwelling within. Sections 76-85 of "On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination: 100 Texts" by St. Diadochos of Photiki --BUY volume 1 of the Philokolia:

https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/9780571130139/ --LISTEN to the ENTIRE PHILOKALIA for FREE, from Patristic Nectar:

https://patristicnectar.org/philokalia For more: --WATCH Fr. Peter discuss a portion of this text and how it teaches us about the nature of Grace in the Church and in the world: Is There Grace Outside the Church? St. Diadochos of Photiki and Fr. Peter Heers Answer

https://youtu.be/nRv9OG0N6tU

--READ: On the Operations of Nous according to St. Basil the Great

https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/11/st-basil-great-on-operations-of-nous.html

--LISTEN: On Watchfulness and Noetic Prayer - Elder Ephraim of Arizona

https://youtu.be/sujsxSdh-MM _______ St. Diadochos writes: "Before holy baptism, grace encourages the soul towards good from the outside, while Satan lurks in its depths, trying to block all the nous's ways of approach to the divine. But from the moment that we are reborn through baptism, the demon is outside, grace is within. Thus, whereas before baptism error ruled the soul, after baptism truth rules it. Nevertheless, even after baptism Satan still acts on the soul, often, indeed, to a greater degree than before." "For when through holy baptism divine grace in its infinite love permeates the lineaments of God's image - thereby renewing in the soul the capacity for attaining the divine likeness - what place is there for the devil? For light has nothing in common with darkness (cf. 2 Cor 6:14). We who are pursuing the spiritual way believe that the protean serpent is expelled from the shrine of the intellect through the waters of baptism; but we must not be surprised if after baptism we still have wicked as well as good thoughts. For although baptism removes from us the stain resulting from sin, it does not thereby heal the duality of our will immediately, neither does it prevent the demons from attacking us or speaking deceitful words to us. In this way we are led to take up the weapons of righteousness, and to preserve through the power of God what we could not keep safe through the efforts of our soul alone." _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Hear the story of the healing of a demon-possessed man in Shanghai by St. John Maximovitch when he was Bishop of Shanghai from 1934-1949. This account comes from The Orthodox Word, Issue 48, Jan-Feb 1973. Read here: https://archive.org/details/100101V17N05061981SepOctNovDec Read here the Life of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco (+1966): https://orthochristian.com/54575.html Buy the book "Man of God" which includes the reminiscences, miracles, sermons, and more on this exceptional saint on the 20th century: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/9781879066069/ _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Fr. Seraphim Rose offers us the foundational, patristic approach to the modern phenomena of UFOs, aliens, and "intelligent beings" from above. Be not deceived...hold fast to Christ and the faith of the God-bearing Holy Fathers.

0:00 Title 0:08 Introduction, excerpt from “Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works”, Ch. 77 3:24 Excerpt from "Explanation of the UFO Phenomena", Ch. 6, Section 4 from "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future" (ORF) 13:20 "The Meaning of UFOs", Section 5 (ORF) 26:22 Excerpt from "Living the Orthodox World-view" 28:26 Excerpt from Conclusion of ORF

-BUY Fr. Seraphim's book "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future" here ($10):

https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/orf.htm -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you:

https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ -Painting of Fr. Seraphim in thumbnail is by Shayne Swenson:

https://shayneswenson.com/ _______

Fr. Seraphim writes:

The most puzzling aspect of UFO phenomena to most researchers—namely, the strange mingling of physical and psychic characteristics in them—is no puzzle at all to readers of Orthodox spiritual books, especially the Lives of Saints. Demons also have "physical bodies," although the "matter” in them is of such subtlety that it cannot be perceived by men unless their spiritual "doors of perception" are opened, whether with God's will (as in the case of holy men) or against it (as in the case of sorcerers and mediums).

A true evaluation of the UFO experience may be made only on the basis of Christian revelation and experience, and is accessible only to the humble Christian believer who trusts these sources. To be sure, it is not given to man entirely to "explain" the invisible world of angels and demons; but enough Christian knowledge has been given us to know how these beings act in our world and how we should respond to their actions, particularly in escaping the nets of the demons. UFO researchers have come to the conclusion that the phenomena they have studied are essentially identical with phenomena that used to be called "demonic; but only the Christian—the Orthodox Christian, who is enlightened by the Patristic understanding of Scripture and the 2,000-year experience of Saints encounters with invisible beings—is able to know the full meaning of this conclusion.

In the Christian apocalyptic view, we can see that the power which until now has restrained the final and most terrible manifestation of demonic activity on earth has been taken away (II Thess. 2:7), Orthodox Christian government and public order (whose chief representative on earth was the Orthodox emperor) and the Orthodox Christian worldview no longer exist as a whole, and satan has been "loosed out of his prison," where he was kept by the grace of the Church of Christ, in order to "deceive the nations" (Apoc. 20:7-8) and prepare them to worship antichrist at the end of the age. Perhaps never since the beginning of the Christian era have demons appeared so openly and extensively as today. The "visitors from outer space" theory is but one of the many pretexts they are using to gain acceptance for the idea that "higher beings" are now to take charge of the destiny of mankind.

Science fiction has given the images, ‘evolution’ has produced the philosophy, and the technology of the ‘space age’ has supplied the plausibility for such encounters. _______

Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Excerpt from Elder Athanasios homilies on Revelation, Lesson 13. Read the text of this recording here: https://orthodoxethos.com/post/elements-of-idolatry-sexual-pleasure 

Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios, a dynamic and beloved preacher, abbot of the Monastery of Komnineiou and Saint John the Theologian in Stomion, Larisa, Greece, gave 104 consecutive lessons of Revelation to thousands of faithful. This beloved elder, venerated by many in Greece and around the world, reposed in the Lord in the year 2006. 

The fantastic and edifying lecture series by Fr. Peter Heers on the Revelation of Jesus Christ can be viewed here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCFiE3qfVkDhKNfZnuLfsyW-xwVicvogB 

Purchase Volume 1 of the homilies on Revelation, as well as Volume II to V here: https://www.zoepress.us  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Ever-timely gems of wisdom from St. John of Kronstadt on prayer. He speaks especially to people living in the world with everyday cares and responsibilities. Anyone discouraged in their prayer life will find consolation and inspiration in these words from this great saint of Russia. 0:00 Introduction 0:09 Perseverance in Prayer 5:17 The Ordering of Prayer 7:49 Hindrances in Prayer 13:03 Despondency in Prayer Reading from _The Spiritual Counsels of Father John of Kronstadt: Selected Passages from My Life in Christ_ , p. 47-56. 📖 _The Spiritual Counsels of Father John of Kronstadt: Selected Passages from My Life in Christ_ https://svspress.com/the-spiritual-counsels-of-father-john-of-kronstadt/?srsltid=AfmBOooJspRRbAgXWm6ERIqUEiy521j_H1M9hbdgZiz7Qxy-iX6qG0eB 📖 _My Life in Christ_ by St. John of Kronstadt https://bookstore.jordanville.org/my-life-in-christ-Hardcover 📖 The Life of _Saint John of Kronstadt_ https://www.bostonmonks.com/product_info.php/products_id/986?srsltid=AfmBOooRVQ-AviJsWWeLqIOZ2qhT6w-7YTpOEEjKKMnVb_k_wRxJ4x2M 🎧 What Has the Feast of Pascha Left In Our Souls? - St. John of Kronstadt https://youtu.be/uWCkPqxuBt8 ⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodox-world.org/ https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. John teaches: We soon grow weary of praying. Why? Because we do not vividly represent to ourselves the Lord, who is at our right hand. Look upon him unceasingly with the eyes of your heart, and then, even if you stand praying all night, you will not grow weary. What do I say all night? You will be able to stand praying two and three nights without growing weary. People say that if you do not feel inclined to pray it is better not to pray; but this is crafty carnal sophistry. If you pray only when you are inclined to, you will cease praying altogether; this is what the fesh desires. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence. You will not be able to work out your salvation without forcing yourself. Are you in a hurry to get to your place of service or work? Get up earlier; do not sleep so long; and pray fervently—you will get calm, energy and success for your whole day's work. You want to finish your rule of prayer quickly, in order to rest your weary body? Pray fervently, and you will enjoy peaceful, calm and healthy sleep. Do not hurry, then; nor say your prayers anyhow—by half an hour's prayer you will gain three whole hours of the soundest sleep. When during prayer your heart is overwhelmed with des pondency and melancholy, be sure that these proceed from the Devil, endeavouring by every means to hinder you in your prayer. Be firm, take courage, and by the remembrance of God drive away this deadly feeling. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

“Let us correct our lives in order to avoid eternal Hell and instead acquire (through God’s mercy and compassion) the Kingdom of Heaven. We must take a long, hard look at our salvation and realize that it is not a game; it is not something we can ignore; it is not a joke.”  

“May our good God enlighten each one of us and give us the strength to settle and arrange any outstanding debts. Let us exert ourselves; let us not be negligent. The present life is not a time for negligence and procrastination.”   

This homily is found in the Epilogue of “The Departure of the Soul” published by St. Anthony’s Monastery in Florence, AZ. Purchase this book here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/produ... 

Holy Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona, pray to God for us! 

Read the text of the this homily here: https://www.eighthdayinstitute.org/de... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

What separates the Orthodox Church and the various Non-Chalcedonian churches? Is it merely semantics and misunderstandings, as some today proclaim? The Holy Monastery of Gregoriou on Mount Athos, in this 1994 treatise, gives a detailed examination of the issues and offers much for anyone interested in the truth of Christ, His Church, and the Non-Chalcedonian heresy. 📖 This is a reading of _The Non-Chalcedonian Heretics_ by the Monastery of Gregoriou (Mount Athos) (originally published as _The Non-Chalcedonian Heresy_ in Orthodox Life (Jordanville)). Buy here: https://www.ctosonline.org/ecumenism/N.html 0:00 Beginning 0:19 Prologue by Abbot George Kapsanis 2:00 Introduction Part I: Ecclesiological Presuppositions 5:30 The Orthodox Church is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church 6:01 The Church is Conscious of Her Identity Over Time 6:47 Using “Polemical” Language Part II: The Historical Witness 8:34 Union Attempts in the Past 13:24 The Agreements of 433 Expose the Non-Chalcedonians 22:03 The Witness from the Synaxaria (Lives of Saints) Part III: Dogmatic Differences 28:42 Is Severos Orthodox? 32:32 1) The Theology of Serveros is Aristotelian 37:09 2) Severos Accepts that the Human Nature of Christ Subsists as a Hypostasis 43:54 3) The Hypostatic Union According to Severos 50:59 4) Severos teaches Monoenergism 56:56 5) Severos Accepts the Heretical Teaching of Individual Essences 59:03 6) How Does Severos Conceive the Deification of Man? 1:02:22 The Theopaschite Addition to the Trisagion 1:06:10 St. Maximus the Confessor on the Phrase “In Thought Alone” 1:09:26 Iconoclasm and its Monophysite Presuppositions 1:14:00 Thoughts on the Joint Declarations of 1989 and 1990 1:17:22 Conclusions *Primary Sources* 📖 _The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon_ translated and introduced by Fr. Richard Price (Roman Catholic) https://archive.org/details/the-acts-of-the-council-of-chalcedon-translated-texts-for-historians-lup-volume-45 📖 Letters 1-50 of St. Cyril of Alexandria https://archive.org/details/letters-1-50-cyril-of-alexandria-etc.-z-library 📖 Letters 51-110 of St. Cyril of Alexandria https://dokumen.pub/fathers-of-the-church-saint-cyril-of-alexandria-letters-51-110-0813200776-9780813200774.html 📖 The "Tome" of Pope St. Leo of Rome https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3604028.htm 📖 _Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith_ by St. John of Damascus (see Book 3) https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/exact-exposition-of-the-orthodox-faith *Secondary Sources* 📖 _Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy_ by Fr. John McGuckin https://svspress.com/saint-cyril-of-alexandria-and-the-christological-controversy/ 📖 The Political Subterfuge of Chalcedon by Patrick Craig Truglia https://orthodoxchristiantheology.com/2022/09/07/the-political-subterfuge-of-chalcedon/ *Audio* 🎧 Oriental Orthodoxy Refuted (Playlist) by David Erhan https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3QQ7jHr1GrTO3WLauMBQ6kbTEphu2rHg&si=epm0F_1DRZaz3Aqc *From Non-Chalcedonians* 📖 From V.C. Samuel (a Copt), quoted in the text from Gregoriou: _The Council of Chalcedon Re-Examined_ https://a.co/d/if45jyR

From an historical perspective, it should be said that the Holy Fathers knew well with whom they were conversing, and there is no possibility that they misconstrued and condemned the Non-Chalcedonians on account of a misinterpretation. It is neither theological terminology nor racial and cultural factors that played a decisive role in the separation of the Non-Chalcedonians from the communion of the Catholic [i.e., Orthodox] Church, but chiefly their erroneous conception, and consequently their formulation, of the manner of the union of the two Natures in Christ. The dogmatic differences between the two sides are so great that, if they were forgotten, salvation itself would be put at risk.

Consider Archbishop Averky’s words in the context of the previous two years, and even to this day. Does fear of sickness and avoidance of the holy things have any place in this “earthly heaven,” as St. John of Krondstadt calls the holy temple? Do face masks (as well as immodest attire) conform to the mind of Archbishop Averky when he says, “All those who come into church - this “earthly heaven,” - must, even in their outward appearance, imitate the celestial ones, with whom they are entering into converse there, and they should not by any means cause them, or the other people praying there, any visual offence”? Is not the grace of God attracted to the man of faith and resistant to the rationalistic and proud? As the Apostle says, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). Our beloved Fr. Seraphim Rose says, “Orthodox Christians! Hold fast to the grace which you have; never let it become a matter of habit; never measure it by merely human standards or expect it to be logical or comprehensible to those who understand nothing higher than what is human or who think to obtain the grace of the Holy Spirit in some other way than that which the one Church of Christ has handed down to us. True Orthodoxy by its very nature must seem totally out of place in these demonic times.” Let us simply and humbly heed the words of our Saints, begging their help in all things, that we may not fall prey to the noetic wolf and with a nous cleansed of the passions glorify our Father in Heaven, now in this “earthly heaven,” the temple of the living God. For if we are not faithful in this earthly heaven, will we be prepared for the heaven above?  

Excerpt from “Standing in the Temple of Thy Glory, We Think Ourselves to Stand in Heaven, O Theotokos.” 

Full text here: https://orthodoxethos.com/post/standi... 

Read more from Archbishop Averky: https://www.holytrinitypublications.c... 

https://archbishopaverky.blogspot.com/ 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Elder Ephraim reflects on the great love of God for man and how critical humility is to remain in communion with God and His grace. Excerpt "Counsels from the Holy Mountain: Selected from the Letters and Homilies of Geronda Ephraim of Arizona", p. 379-384 -BUY "Counsels from the Holy Mountain": https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/counsels-from-the-holy-mountain -LISTEN to many audiobooks from St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/pages/audiobooks -PRAY the Jesus Prayer with Elder Ephraim: https://youtu.be/pmFA4LTADQE?si=ig5DyyyQgX-WEgOA -READ "A Call From the Holy Mountain": https://www.scribd.com/document/166719693/124153494-a-Call-From-the-Holy-Mountain-Elder-Ephraim -LISTEN to "A Demon Reveals the Power of the Jesus Prayer to Elder Ephraim of Arizona": https://youtu.be/sujsxSdh-MM -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ Elder Ephraim writes: Love is the Christian's triumph over the devil, hatred, and envy. In order to reach the divine harbor 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 harbor without a boat. Likewise, it is impossible to reach the harbor of love without repentance. The fear of God, as commander and captain, makes us sit in the boat of repentance and takes us across the murky sea of life and guides us to the divine harbor 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. God is love and full of compassion. Let us not sadden Him in anything! He endured the Cross for us; His head was pricked by the crown of thorns; His side was pierced by the spear; His feet were nailed; His back was scourged; His All-holy mouth was given gall and vinegar; His heart ached from the insolence and ingratitude; He was naked up on the Cross in front of such a demonic mob. This, my children, is Whom we should not sadden with our carelessness, which intensifies His suffering. The Jews were His enemies, whereas we have been baptized in His holy name we are His disciples who are devoted to serving Him! _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Abba Pambo, a 4th century Egyptian desert father, speaks prophetically about the state of the Church and the world in the last times.📖 Text is from the Gerondikon (Sayings of the Desert Fathers). The translation I read can be found here:https://orthodoxheritage.org/2003%20Issues.pdf🎧 The 38 Sayings of St. Anthony the Greathttps://youtu.be/YNh81oWWJUc⛪ FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery: https://orthodox-world.org/https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/_______And I’ll tell you this, my child, that the days will come when the Christians will add to and will take away from, and will alter the books of the Holy Evangelists, and of the Holy Apostles, and of the Divine Prophets, and of the Holy Fathers. They’ll tone down the Holy Scriptures and will compose troparia, hymns, and writings technologically.The church leaders will consider useless anything concerned with salvation, as much for their own souls as for the souls of their flocks, and they will despise any such concern. All will show eagerness and energy for every matter regarding their dining table and their appetites. They’ll be lazy in their prayers and casual in their criticisms.As for the lives and teachings of the Holy Fathers, they’ll not have any interest to imitate them, nor even to hear them. But rather they will complain and say that “if we had lived in those times, then we’d have behaved like that”.And the bishops shall give way to the powerful of the world, giving answers on different matters only after taking gifts from everywhere and consulting the rational logic of the academics. The poorman’s rights will not be defended, they’ll afflict widows, and harass orphans. Debauchery will permeate these people. Most won’t believe in God, they’ll hate each other and devour oneanother like beasts. The one will steal from the other, they’ll be drunk and will walk about as blind.The disciple again asked: What can we do, in such a state?And Abba Pambo answered: My child, in these times whoever will save his soul and prompt others to be saved will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven._______Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

A first-hand account of Pascha celebrated by prisoners of the Solovki concentration-camp, a formerly active monastery.

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED, HE IS RISEN!  

"The white night of Solovki was nearing its end. The delicate, rose-colored morning of Solovki, the sun playing for joy, greeted the monastery-concentration camp, converting it into the invisible city of Kitezh and filling out free souls with a quiet, unearthly joy. Many years have passed since that time, but the fragrant remembrance of this delicate Paschal morning is unforgettably alive; it was literally only yesterday."  

Text: The Orthodox Word, Issue 32, pages 161-163: https://archive.org/details/100101V17... 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Nikodemos writes, “Reflect, my beloved, that we have a duty to rejoice with the Virgin Panagia, who upon seeing her Son and God risen, was filled immediately with such great joy which was as great as her grief experienced during His Passion.”

Every true Christian heart is eager to rejoice in the Theotokos, and to share in the pure joy she has in her Son. Let us rejoice with her, now that we have noetically beheld the Resurrection of Christ, and remember that “The greatest joy which you can give to the Theotokos, however, is the decision to conquer your passions and at every moment to live with chastity for the love of the Virgin.”  

CHRIST IS RISEN!  

Text by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite (also known as St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain): https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2012... 

Orthodox Wisdom is now on your favorite podcast platform! 

Go to the “About” tab at the top of the this channel to find links to: 

-Apple Podcasts 

-Spotify 

-Stitcher 

-and more…  

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Metropolitan Philaret of New York, third First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and towering figure in the great cloud of 20th century witnesses. An ardent defender of the Truth, both the Person of Christ and the dogma and ethos of His Body, the Orthodox Church, Vladyka Philaret’s ascetic and prayer-filled heart guided ROCOR from 1964 until his repose in 1985. He is well known for his three “Sorrowful Epistles” written to the Hierarchy of the world in defense of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church against ecumenism and modernist corruptions of the life of the Church. Thirteen years after his repose on Nov 8/21, 1985, his relics were translated to the crypt under the altar at Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary in Jordanville, NY and were found to be incorrupt. In God’s time, we may see this righteous Hierarch officially number with the Saints.  

Fr. Seraphim Rose wrote of Met. Philaret in 1976: “Among the Primates of the Orthodox Churches today, there is only one from whom is always expected—and not only by members of his own Church, but by very many in a number of other Orthodox Churches as well—the clear voice of Orthodox righteousness and truth and conscience, untainted by political considerations or calculations of any kind.  The voice of Metropolitan Philaret of New York, Chief Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, is the only fully Orthodox voice among all the Orthodox primates.  In this he is like to the Holy Fathers of ancient times, who placed purity of Orthodoxy above all else, and he stands in the midst of today's confused religious world as a solitary champion of Orthodoxy in the spirit of the Ecumenical Councils.”   

Learn more about Met. Philaret at the ROCOR Eastern Diocese website: https://www.eadiocese.org/metropolita... 

And also at this blog (run by an Old Calendarist, for your information): http://blessedphilaret.blogspot.com 

This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

The Church worldwide loves St. John of Kronstadt… but do we love him for plainly speaking the truth? I can only imagine if parish priests today gave a homily like this. Most would get a lot of complaints from their parishioners, maybe even yelled at during coffee hour, and the bishops might hear of it, too. God grant us humility to accept the bitter medicine meant to heal our souls! -READ the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/sjok_pascha.aspx -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ St. John teaches: The Great Fast was a defeat of, was death for, the devil; because he fled from many souls and died to them, as it were, after their sincere repentance and communion of the Holy Mysteries; but on the feast of Pascha he rose again in not a few souls. How did he arise? Through gluttony, drunkenness, outrage and other vices that drunkenness gives rise to, and to which many Christians gave themselves over. It is thus that Christians love Christ; it is thus that they celebrate the greatest holiday of the year! What benefit is there in such people calling themselves Christians? ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!