As of all foods bread is the most essential, so the thought of death is the most necessary of all works. The remembrance of death amongst those in the midst of society gives
In the very beginning of our renunciation, it is certainly with labor and grief that we practice the virtues. But when we have made progress in them, we no longer feel sorrow, or we feel little sorrow. But as soon as our mortal mind is
The clergy and the monks are often asked “Who should we vote for?” This question even if it shows a very laudable humility, shows also a certain lack of spiritual knowledge. The church
To sin is human but to remain in sin is devilish; To fall is not ruinous to the soul but to stay on the ground is. That’s why for us
Whatever a man loves he inevitably clings to, and in order not to lose it he
When a thought is prolonged in us we become enslaved to the attraction. When a thought lingers within a man,
We cannot play with eternity. We aspire to glory and this is natural. However the sin of Adam distorted this by separating us from God and now we seek glory in vain here on Earth. Saint Evdokimos
For us Orthodox the unique and absolute goal of life in Christ is theosis, our union with God, so that man
Do not let difficulties, lack of understanding, and so on, overwhelm you, but live each day with
It is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us
How is the soul cured? First we must emphasize the right faith. We Orthodox attach great importance to preserving the faith, just because we know that when faith is distorted, the cure is automatically distorted. We have previously emphasized that theology should be interpreted as medicine. Medical science has
The communists took everything from us: they took our physical liberty, they took our wealth, our friends and relatives, our freedom of speech and expression – everything. But they couldn’t enter into
There is nothing more burdensome and grievous then when our conscience accuses us , and there is nothing dearer than calmness and approval of our conscience. So many psychological illnesses are caused by
To fast is to force nature. It is to do away with whatever pleases the stomach. Fasting ends lust, roots out bad thoughts, frees one from
The successful repetition of the experience of confirmation, which in medical and patristic science is cure, is the truth of every science. Just as it is absurd to say that one who
Christ willed freely with His divine and His human will to be obedient to God the Father till death, for free will is absolutely inherent in every rational nature. After all,
Evidently we are not yet perfect, but at least we
Willing obedience is an action which shows more courage and strength of spirit than subjugating great kings and ruling over them. So, who is wise and understanding among you? Let him
Οur Lord said ”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” . The Church explains this as the
No one can say, “I am poor and hence I have no means of giving alms.” For even if
It’s one thing to give out excellent advice, but quite another to put it into practice personally…
No matter how much we may study, it is not possible to come to know God unless we
In the desert everything is different than in the world. Vatopaidi Monastery is in the “desert”, as the monastic fathers call it — in other words, a deserted or isolated place. There are no electrical cables, no water pipes, no physical utility conduits connecting it to the “outside” world. The monastery
Remember the Blessed Elder’s definition of philotimo: “The reverent distillation of
There is a debate going on among scholars whether it really said “camel” or rather “rope” – both words (κάμηλος/kámêlos for camel and κάμιλος/kamilos for rope) are very close to each other and might have been mistranslated. There are some early bible translations in
Twice a year at the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, Mount Athos, a miracle happens: the
You may find yourself hampered by someone who sows tares of despondency. He tries to prevent you from climbing
God does not “suffer” anything. God has no need of anything. He is above everything, including any necessity that might stem from His nature or existence. In fact, God does not “exist”. God is above existence; He
Our holy fathers have listened to the Lord who said that from the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander [Mt 15:19] and how these are the things that make a man unclean. [Mt 15:20] Further, they have listened to the part of the gospel where we are ordered to clean the
God does everything to save you. Your salvation is a low hanging fruit. You just need to pick it up by