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welcome… me… just the sinner… a listener, an observer, a thinker, an admirer… I am an Orthodox Catholic Christian interested in computers, electronics, automation, soccer, music, life, love, Truth, Holy Tradition, the Holy Trinity, the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, the Holy Bible/Holy Scripture, ethics, morality, philosophy, religion, spirituality, asceticism, Creation, and pro-life.Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!
“The only thing we learn from history “When two men [in business] always agree, one of them is that we learn nothing from historyunnecessary.” —Friedrich Hegel—William Wrigley Jr., The American Magazine, 1931
“Where they burn books, so too will they in “Assume the end burn human beingsperson you're listening to knows something you don't.” —Heinrich Heine—Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
“Those who don't know history are doomed “I often quote myself. It adds spice to repeat itmy conversation.” —Edmund Burke—George Bernard Shaw
“Those who forget “Inequality is the past, they lose an eye. Those who dwell on the past, they lose both eyesprice of civilization.” —Hungarian Proverb—George Orwell
“[Behold] I am “When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become deatha king, the destroyer of worldspalace becomes a circus.” —J. Robert Oppenheimer (chapter 11 verse 32 of the Bhagavad Gita)—Turkish Proverb
“Power tends to corrupt“During times of universal deceit, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad mentelling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” —John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton—George Orwell
“An eye for an eye “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will make the whole world blindhate those that speak it.” —Mahatma Gandhi—George Orwell
“Democracy “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the dictatorship of the ignorant massesParty is always right.” —Plato—George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
“The biggest argument against Democracy is a 5 minute conversation with “The past was erased, the average votererasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.” —Sir Winston Spencer Churchill—George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
“The price “We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of apathy towards public affairs the obvious is to be ruled by evil the first duty of intelligent men.” —Plato—George Orwell
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” —John F. Kennedy—George Orwell
“We're losing our way as a society. If we don't stand up“People will never come to love their oppression, if we don't say what we think those rights should be, and if we don't protect them, we will very soon find out to adore the technologies that we do not have themundo their capacities to think.” —Edward Snowden—Aldous Huxley
“Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes “The best way to keep a majority of one alreadyprisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison.” —Henry David Thoreau—Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind – it is made up for me. I cannot live as “Censorship reflects a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact – I can only submit to the edict society's lack of othersconfidence in itself.” —Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.— Potter Stewart
“Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but you “Censorship is telling a man he can never say again that you did not know't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.” —William Wilberforce—Mark Twain
“He who strikes terror “Where they burn books, so too will they in others is himself continually in fearthe end burn human beings.” —Claudius Claudianus—Heinrich Heine
“Who feareth to suffer suffereth already, because he feareth“The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” —Michel de Montaigne—Friedrich Hegel
“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” —Thomas Jefferson—Edmund Burke
“Sweet is “Those who forget the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect - Mis-shapes past, they lose an eye. Those who dwell on the beauteous forms of things:-- We murder to dissectpast, they lose both eyes.” —William Wordsworth—Hungarian Proverb
“Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time“According to Hegel, man will be completely free only ‘by surrounding himself with a world entirely created by himself.’ But this is precisely what he has done, and man has never been so enchained, so much a slave as now.” —Terry Pratchett—E. M. Cioran
“Only two things are infinite“Hard men make good times, the universe and human stupiditygood times make soft men, and I'm not sure about the formersoft men make bad times.” —Albert Einstein—Alex Jones, Tucker on X, Ep. 46
“Time is a violent torrent; no sooner is a thing brought to sight then it is swept by and another takes its place“[Behold] I am become death, and this too will be swept awaythe destroyer of worlds.” —Marcus Aurelius—J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Bhagavad Gita, chapter 11 verse 32
“The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” —Marcus Aurelius—John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
“Politeness has become so rare that people mistake it “An eye for flirtationan eye will make the whole world blind.” —unknown—Mahatma Gandhi
“Political correctness “Kindness is tyranny with mannersthe language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.” —Charlton Heston—Mark Twain
“In the time of heroes and tyrants, the true heroes are the small men“There's nothing that divides nations like a common language.” —unknown—George Bernard Shaw
“All such action would cease if those powerful elemental forces were to cease stirring within us“Democracy is the dictatorship of the ignorant masses.” —Albert Einstein—Plato
“It doesn't take an expert to be an expert on experts“The biggest argument against Democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter.” —Dr. Bruce Dovey—Sir Winston Spencer Churchill
“In the genius lies the defect“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” —Imposter (2001)—Plato
“You were born an original“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. Don't die a copyLet us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” —John MasonF. Kennedy
“Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: “We're losing our way as a society. If youwe don're alivet stand up, if we don't say what we think those rights should be, it isnand if we don'tprotect them, we will very soon find out that we do not have them.” —unknown—Edward Snowden
“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years“Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one already.” —Abraham Lincoln—Henry David Thoreau
“One today “So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind – it is worth two tomorrowsmade up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact – I can only submit to the edict of others.” —Benjamin Franklin—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Life “Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the art democracy of drawing without an eraserthe dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.” —John W—G. K. GardnerChesterton
“Art like morality, consists “That the dead are as much a part of drawing the line somewherepresent as the unborn is a fundamental conservative idea.” —G. K. Chesterton—Armin Mohler
“A painter paints pictures on canvas“Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but musicians paint their pictures on silenceyou can never say again that you did not know.” —Leopold Stokowski—William Wilberforce
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending“He who strikes terror in others is himself continually in fear.” —Maria Robinson—Claudius Claudianus
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has “Ignorance is the courage to lose sight cause of the shorefear.” —André Gide—Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Those who dwell“Who feareth to suffer suffereth already, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of lifebecause he feareth.” —Rachel Carson—Michel de Montaigne
“You“…the brain, in and of its physical self, does not think, any more than a musical instrument can give forth melody without the touch of the musician've got to love life to have lifes hand. The brain is indeed the instrument of thinking, but the mind is the skillful player that makes it give forth the beautiful harmony of thought… … It is because of the disastrous results of fear thought not only on the individual but on the nation, that it becomes the duty of every sane man and you've got woman to have life to love lifeestablish quarantine against fear. Fear is a psychic disease which is highly contagious and extraordinarily infectious. Fear though is most dangerous when it parades as forethought. Combat fear by replacing it with faith. Resist worry with confidence.”—Thornton Wilder ” —William Samuel Sadler (Our Town1875-1969), Act IIM.D., Part I)F.A.C.S. Director of the Chicago Institute of Research and Diagnosis
“The true meaning “You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life is . We will do all we can not only to plant treeshelp you die peacefully, under whose shade but also to live until you do not expect to sitdie.” —Nelson Henderson—Dame Cicely Saunders (1918-2005), founder of the Hospice Palliative Care movement
“One who can laugh at himself will never be without entertainment“Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect - Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:-- We murder to dissect.” —Chinese Proverb—William Wordsworth
“Blood is thicker than water“Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.” —German Proverb—Terry Pratchett
“Birds of a feather flock together“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” —English Proverb—Albert Einstein
“You can want a women for her body, but you can only love her for her character“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” —Spanish Proverb—Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
“If all you have “Time is a hammerviolent torrent; no sooner is a thing brought to sight then it is swept by and another takes its place, everything looks like a nailand this too will be swept away.” —English Proverb—Marcus Aurelius
“One picture “The universe is worth a thousand wordschange; our life is what our thoughts make it.” —Traditional Proverb—Marcus Aurelius
“Silence speaks volumes“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habbit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” —Traditional Proverb—Lao Tzu
“Better to remain silent “For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubtfor everything you gain, you lose something else. It is about your outlook towards life. You can either regret or rejoice.” —Mark Twain—Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The wise speak because they have something to say“Men are, fools because they have to say somethingunfortunately generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children.” —Plato—William Penn
“Silence in the “The hardest job kids face of evil today is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to actlearning good manners without seeing any.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer—Fred Astaire
“We should pray“Like father, flat on our faces, that we never become so craven as to suppress evidence of injustice, for fear of persecution. Ephesians 5:11 commands us, without qualification, to ‘expose the deeds of darkness,’ not to show them only privately, and only as a last resort. Responsibility for the terrible longevity of history’s most horrific slaughter does not rest entirely upon our adversaries. We will be judged for our timidity, perhaps as harshly as they will be judged for their barbarity – by history and by Providencelike son.” —Gregg Cunningham—Traditional Proverb
“The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The Tragedy of our time is “Politeness has become so rare that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passionate convictionpeople mistake it for flirtation.” —Fulton J. Sheen—unknown
“Facts don't care about feelings“Political correctness is tyranny with manners.” —Ben Shapiro—Charlton Heston
“At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion“Of all tyrannies, a point tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to Godlive under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, which is never his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our disposal, from which God disposes our lives, which is inaccessible to own good will torment us without end for they do so with the fantasies approval of our their own mind or conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the brutalities same time likelier to make a Hell of our own willearth. This little point of nothingness very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one's will and cured of absolute poverty states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the pure glory age of God in us… It is like a pure diamondreason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybodyimbeciles, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely…I have no program for this seeingdomestic animals.” —C. It is only givenS. But Lewis, God in the gate Dock: Essays on Theology (Making of heaven is everywhere.” —Thomas MertonModern Theology)
“The holocaust has to be thought as a chapter in the long history of man's inhumanity to man. One cannot ignore the discrimination inflicted on many people because of race“All tyrannies rule through fraud and force, color, or creed. One cannot ignore slavery. One cannot ignore the burning of witches. One cannot ignore the killing of Christians in but once the Roman period. The holocaust perhaps fraud is the culmination of the kind of horror that can occur when man loses his integrity, his belief in the sanctity of human lifeexposed they must rely exclusively on force.” —Dr. Randolph Braham, Holocaust Survivor—George Orwell
“You never miss “Necessity is the water 'till plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the well runs dryargument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” —English Proverb—William Pitt the Younger
“Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat“In the time of heroes and tyrants, the true heroes are the small men.” —Scottish Proverb—unknown
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else“All such action would cease if those powerful elemental forces were to cease stirring within us.” —Margaret Mead—Albert Einstein
“A fool and his money are soon parted“It doesn't take an expert to be an expert on experts.” —English Proverb—Dr. Bruce Dovey
“The rich would have to eat money if “In the poor did not provide foodgenius lies the defect.” —Russian Proverb—Imposter (2001)
“Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich“You were born an original. Don't die a copy.” —Napoleon Bonaparte—John Mason
“Before managing “Here is the test to make poverty historyfind whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, we have to consider the history of povertyit isn't.” —Vandana Shiva—unknown
“In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich “Don't try to do two things at once and poor alike expect to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets, and steal loaves of breaddo justice to both.” —Anatole France—Traditional Proverb
“First “And in the man takes a drink; then end, it's not the drink takes a drink; then years in your life that count, it's the drink takes the manlife in your years.” —Japanese Proverb—Abraham Lincoln
“Better to be slapped with the truth than kissed with a lie“One today is worth two tomorrows.” —Russian Proverb—Benjamin Franklin
“During times “Life is the art of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary actdrawing without an eraser.” —George Orwell—John W. Gardner
“The further a society drifts from the truth“Art like morality, consists of drawing the more it will hate those that speak itline somewhere.” —George Orwell—G. K. Chesterton
“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want “A painter paints pictures on canvas, but musicians paint their illusions destroyedpictures on silence.” —Friedrich Nietzsche—Leopold Stokowski
“Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, for being correct, for being you. Never apologize for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you’re right but anyone can start today and you know it, speak your mind. Even if you are make a minority of one, the truth is still the truthnew ending.” —Mahatma Gandhi—Maria Robinson
“It “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has been said that for the truth courage to exist it takes two people… one to speak it and another to hear itlose sight of the shore.” —The Outer Limits (1995)—André Gide
“Ignorance“Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the root beauties and stem mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of all evillife.” —Plato—Rachel Carson
“A liberal is someone who only wants “You've got to be free from the consequences of freedomlove life to have life, and you've got to have life to love life.” —Mike Adams”—Thornton Wilder (Our Town, Act II, Part I)
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light “He who has a why to live for can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do thatbear almost any how.” —Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—Friedrich Nietzsche
“Those “Things turn out best for those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek make the lightbest of the way things turn out.” —Bruce Lee—John Wooden
“Mistakes are always forgivable“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, if one has the courage under whose shade you do not expect to admit themsit.” —Bruce Lee—Nelson Henderson
“Simplicity is the key to brilliance“One who can laugh at himself will never be without entertainment.” —Bruce Lee—Chinese Proverb
“Perfection “Blood is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take awaythicker than water.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupery—German Proverb
“To err is human; to forgive, divine“Birds of a feather flock together.” —Alexander Pope—English Proverb
“When the solution is simple, God is answering“Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” —Albert Einstein—William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 2, Scene 2
“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side“You can want a women for her body, but you can only love her for God is always righther character.” —Abraham Lincoln—Spanish Proverb
“Loneliness belongs to all the things of the past“One picture is worth a thousand words.” —unknown—Traditional Proverb
“Two purposes in human nature rule. Self-love to urge, and reason to restrain“Silence speaks volumes.” —Alexander Pope—Traditional Proverb
“There “Silence is no task more difficult for human beings than the victory over themselvesgolden.” —Bulgakov—Traditional Proverb
“To learn who rules over you“Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together; that at length they may emerge, simply find out who you full-formed and majestic, into the daylight of Life, which they are not allowed thenceforth to criticizerule.” —Voltaire—Thomas Carlyle
“A man is still “Better to remain silent and be thought a slave who is afraid fool than to speak his heartout and remove all doubt.” —Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)—Mark Twain
“Sometimes when you“It're troubled and hurt, you pour yourself into things that can't hurt backs easier to fool people then to convince them they have been fooled.” —Gentleman's Agreement (1947)—Mark Twain
“Do not allow the pain of loss“The wise speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to stop the process of livingsay something.” —Trent Thomas—Plato
“Hope springs eternal “Silence in the human breast;Man never face of evil is, but always itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to be blest:The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,Rests and expatiates in a life speak is to speak. Not to act is to comeact.” —Alexander Pope (An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733)—Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“They knew that the tree is known by its fruit and “We should pray, flat on our faces, that we never become so craven as to suppress evidence of injustice corrupts a tree, that its fruit withers and shrivels and falls at last for fear of persecution. Ephesians 5:11 commands us, without qualification, to that dark ground ‘expose the deeds of history where other great hopes have rotted and dieddarkness,’ not to show them only privately, where equality and freedom remains still only as a last resort. Responsibility for the only choice terrible longevity of history’s most horrific slaughter does not rest entirely upon our adversaries. We will be judged for our timidity, perhaps as harshly as they will be judged for wholeness their barbarity – by history and soundness in a man or in a nationby Providence.” —Gentleman's Agreement (1947)—Gregg Cunningham
“Those “The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The Tragedy of our time is that those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselvesstill believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passionate conviction.” —Abraham Lincoln—Fulton J. Sheen
“A coward is incapable of showing love“We must always takes sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, it is reserved for never the bravetormented.” —Mahatma Gandhi—Elie Wiesel
“Only the courteous can love, but “The reason it is love difficult is that makes we have been conditioned to laugh at conspiracy theories, and few people will risk public ridicule by advocating them courteous.” —COn the other hand, to endorse the accidental view is absurd. SAlmost all of history is an unbroken trail of one conspiracy after another. LewisConspiracies are the norm, The Allegory of Lovenot the exception.” —G. Edward Griffin
“How long is love blind? Love has eyes and sees. And if love can see, and seeing, you love anyway, that“Facts don's lovet care about feelings.” —Gertrude Berg (The Goldbergs, s1e10, 1955)—Ben Shapiro
“You never receive love until you learn how to accept it“There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.” —Mr. Roarke (Fantasy Island, s4e7)—Jim Hightower
“You never deny love until you learn how to reject it“People are funny, they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.” —th—Debbie Macomber, Call Me Mrs. Miracle
“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well “Arguing that you don't care about the right to remember from time privacy because you have nothing to time that hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing that is worth knowing can be taughtto say.” —Oscar Wilde—Edward Snowden
“Imitation “[The best solution to offensive speech is the sincerest form of flattery] more speech, not enforced silence.” —Charles Caleb Colton—Louis Brandeis, US Supreme Court Justice
“Fallacies do not cease “I may disagree with what you have to be fallacies because they become fashionssay, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.” —G. K. Chesterton—Voltaire
“Truth can never “The holocaust has to be told so thought as a chapter in the long history of man's inhumanity to be understood and not be believedman. One cannot ignore the discrimination inflicted on many people because of race, color, or creed. One cannot ignore slavery. One cannot ignore the burning of witches. One cannot ignore the killing of Christians in the Roman period. The holocaust perhaps is the culmination of the kind of horror that can occur when man loses his integrity, his belief in the sanctity of human life.” —William Blake—Dr. Randolph Braham, Holocaust Survivor
“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man“You never miss the water 's growth without destroying his rootstill the well runs dry.” —Frank A. Clark—English Proverb
“When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will “Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulativeunder a poor coat.” —Henri Nouwen—Scottish Proverb
“The beginning “Don't talk to me of female beauty, rather virtues of wisdom her soul. A beautiful woman who has not decorated herself with virtue is to call things by their right nameslike a painted coffin.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)—St. John Chrysostom
“If names are “A wife is appealing not correctin the beauty of her body, language will not be in accordance with rather for the truth virtues of thingsher soul, neither in creams and cosmetics, nor gold and expensive clothes, rather chastity, meekness, and abiding awe before God.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)—St. John Chrysostom
“I must “The beauty of woman is the greatest snare. Or rather, not the beauty of woman, but unchastened gazing! For we should not accuse the objects, but ourselves, and our own carelessness. Nor should we say, ‘Let there be no women’, but ‘Let there be no adulteries’. We should not say, ‘Let there be no beauty’, but ‘Let there be no fornication’. We should not say, ‘Let there be willing to give no belly’, but ‘Let there be no gluttony’; for the belly makes not the gluttony, but our negligence. We should not say, that it is because of eating and drinking that all these evils exist; for it is not because of this, but because of our carelessness and insatiableness. Thus the devil neither ate nor drank, and yet he fell! Paul ate and drank, and ascended up what I am in order to become what I will beheaven!” —St.” —Albert EinsteinJohn Chrysostom, Homily 15 on the Statues, 10
“They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)—Margaret Mead
“The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort“A fool and his money are soon parted.” ——K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)—English Proverb
“Everything has beauty, but “The rich would have to eat money if the poor did not everyone sees itprovide food.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)—Russian Proverb
“All I have seen teaches me to trust “Religion is what keeps the Creator for all I have not seenpoor from murdering the rich.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson—Napoleon Bonaparte
“And she [Athens] has brought it about that the name "Hellenes" suggests no longer a race but an intelligence“Before managing to make poverty history, and that we have to consider the title "Hellenes" is applied rather to those who share our culture then to those who share a common bloodhistory of poverty.” —Isocrates—Vandana Shiva
“He who has a thousand friends has not a friend “In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to spare; sleep under bridges, beg in the streets, and he who has one enemy will meet him everywheresteal loaves of bread.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson—Anatole France
“There are no strangers here“First the man takes a drink; Only friends you haven't yet metthen the drink takes a drink; then the drink takes the man.” —William Butler Yeats—Japanese Proverb
“I teach them all the good I can, and recommend them “Better to others from whom I think they will get some moral benefit. And the treasures that be slapped with the wise men of old have left us in their writings I open and explore truth than kissed with my friends. If we come on any good thing, we extract it, and we set much store on being useful to one anothera lie.” —Socrates—Russian Proverb
“What a lot of things there are a man “Lies written in ink can do withoutnever disguise facts written in blood.” —Socrates—Lu Xun
“The whole is greater than “Sometimes people don't want to hear the sum of its partstruth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.” —Aristotle—Friedrich Nietzsche
“We walk by “Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the light we truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologize for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you’re right and you know it, speak your mind. Even if you are givena minority of one, the truth is still the truth.” —Mahatma Gandhi “It has been said that for the truth to exist it takes two people… one to speak it and another to hear it.” —The Outer Limits (1995) “Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil.” —Plato “A liberal is someone who only wants to be free from the consequences of freedom.” —Frank Shaeffer—Mike Adams
“Beware the wrath of a patient man.“The sins ye do by two and two, ye must pay for one by one!” —John Dryden—Rudyard Kipling
“Heaven has no rage like “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love to hatred turned,Nor hell a fury like a woman scornedcan do that.” —William Congreve (The Mourning Bride, spoken by Zara in Act III, Scene VIII)—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Control thy passions lest “Those who are unaware they take vengeance on theeare walking in darkness will never seek the light.” —Epictetus—Bruce Lee
“Give me that manThat is not passion's slave“Mistakes are always forgivable, and I will wear himIn my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart,As I do theeif one has the courage to admit them.” —William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2, Page 3)—Bruce Lee
“You are never too old “Simplicity is the key to set another goal or to dream a new dreambrilliance.” —C. S. Lewis—Bruce Lee
“There are “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more things in heaven and earthto add, …Than are dreamt of in your philosophybut when there is nothing left to take away.” —William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5, Page 8)—Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“A philosophical vogue “The root of all wisdom is as irresistible as a gastronomic one: knowing what an idea is no better refuted than a sauceasshole you are.” —E. M—Tucker Carlson, Tucker on X, Ep. Cioran46
“No man “To err is an island,Entire of itself,Every man is a piece of the continent,A part of the main.If a clod be washed away by the sea,Europe is the less.As well as if a promontory were.As well as if a manor of thy friend'sOr of thine own were:Any man's death diminishes mehuman; to forgive,Because I am involved in mankind,And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;It tolls for theedivine.” —John Donne—Alexander Pope
“All men are born brothers, “It is through error that man tries and anything that hurts my brother hurts merises.If my brother commits a crime, I am a criminal; if It is through tragedy he sings, there is music learns. All the roads of learning begin in my heart.Before you have dealings with any man, ask yourself: ‘Am I my brother's keeper?’The answer is ‘Yesdarkness and go out into the light.’” —Henry Hassett Browne” —Hippocrates of Kos
“Compared to what we ought to be“When the solution is simple, we are half awakeGod is answering.” —William James—Albert Einstein
“It “My concern is a profitable thingnot whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, if one for God is wise, to seem foolishalways right.” —Aeschylus—Abraham Lincoln
“I am indeed amazed when I consider how weak my mind is and how prone “If you want to errormake God laugh, tell Him your plans.” —Descartes—Woody Allen
“If you hear that someone is speaking ill “Loneliness belongs to all the things of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: ‘He obviously doesn't know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentionedthe past.’” —Epictetus” —unknown
“As I have said so many times“Two purposes in human nature rule. Self-love to urge, God doesn't play dice with the worldand reason to restrain.” —Albert Einstein —Alexander Pope
“It is strictly and philosophically true in nature and reason that there “There is no such thing as chance or accident; it being evident that these words do not signify anything really existing, anything that is truly an agent or the cause of any event; but they signify merely men's ignorance of task more difficult for human beings than the real and immediate causevictory over themselves.” —Samuel Clark—Bulgakov
“While the admission of a design for the universe ultimately raises the question of a Designer (a subject outside of science)“To learn who rules over you, the scientific method does simply find out who you are not allow us to exclude data which lead to the conclusion that the universe, life and man are based on design. To be forced allowed to believe only one conclusion--that everything in the universe happened by chance would violate the very objectivity of science itselfcriticize.” —Werner Von Braun, Ph.D., the father of the NASA space program—Voltaire
“Relativity applies “A man is still a slave who is afraid to physics, not ethicsspeak his heart.” —Albert Einstein—Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)
“Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in“There's no mask for a treacherous heart like an honest face.” —Mark Twain—Captain Kidd (1945)
“When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing – they believe in anything“[S]he has an honest face even if it is the result of triumph of plastic surgery.” —G—The Man from U. KN. ChestertonC.L.E. (1964), s2e13
“If everyone has his own truth, where is falsehood? Falsehood hides behind the guise of truth. They say to us: Every person has his own truth“Sometimes when you're troubled and hurt, we should respect everyone’s opinion and have no right to express any opposition to his error because you pour yourself into things that would be ‘intolerant’. Then where is Truth? Have we erased it? God is absolute Truthcan't hurt back.” —Archbishop Stephan —Gentleman's Agreement (Kalaidjishvili1947) of Tsageri and Lentekhi, Georgia
“Faithful copies “Do not allow the pain of a counterfeit original yield only more counterfeitsloss, to stop the process of living.” —unknown—Trent Thomas
“Faith “Hope springs eternal in the human breast;Man never is not the clinging , but always to be blest:The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,Rests and expatiates in a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heartlife to come.” —Abraham Joshua Heschel—Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733
“God tends “Patriotism is as fierce as a fever, pitiless as the pagans toograve, but the Christian knows the donorblind as a stone, and irrational as a headless hen.” —St. Tikhon of Voronezh—Ambrose Bierce
“This I give you to share, and to defend all your life, the one Godhead and power, found in the three in unit, and comprising the three separately; not unequal, in substances or natures, neither increased nor diminished by superiorities nor inferiorities; in every respect equal, in every respect the same; just as the beauty and the greatness of the heavens “A nation is one; the infinite conjunction of three infinite ones, each God when considered in himself; as the Father, so the Son; as the Son, so the Holy Spirit; the three one God when contemplated together; each God because consubstantial; one God because of the monarchia. No sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined a society united by the splendor of the three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one. When I think of anyone of the three I think of him as the whole, a delusion about its ancestry and my eyes are filled, and the greater part a common fear of what I am thinking escapes me. I cannot grasp the greatness of that one so as to attribute a greater greatness to the rest. When I contemplate the three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the undivided lightits neighbors.” —St—W. Gregory the Theologian (Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory of Nazianzus), Orations 40R.41, as quoted by Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity, 378Inge
“The Lord calls “Patriotism means unqualified and unwavering love for the Holy Spirit the 'voice nation, which implies not uncritical eagerness to serve, not support for unjust claims, but frank assessment of a gentle breeze'. For God is breathits vices and sins, and the breath of the wind is shared by allpenitence for them.” —St. Maximus the Confessor—Alexander Solzhenitsyn
“We neither call the Holy Spirit unbegotten, for we know but one unbeggoten and one source of all things, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor do we call Him begotten, for we are taught by the tradition of the faith that there “Patriotism is one only-begotten. Rather, we have been taught that the Spirit often an arbitrary veneration of Truth proceeds from the Father and confess that He comes from God in an uncreated fashionreal estate above principles.” —St. Basil the Great (Letter 125, PG 32.549c)—George Jean Nathan
“The Father “They knew that the tree is in the Sonknown by its fruit and that injustice corrupts a tree, that its fruit withers and the Son in the Father, whilst the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father shrivels and resteth in the Son. But falls at the same time each Person has Its own particular properties: God the Father is not begotten, not created, does not proceed; the Son is begotten; the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father, whilst the substance of the three Persons is one, a Divine, incomplex substance. This similarity is based upon the words of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who calls Himself the Light of the world, and thus speaks of the Holy Ghost, comparing It in Its actions last to the element water: ‘He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out dark ground of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirithistory where other great hopes have rotted and died, which they that believe on Him should receive.’ 415 He also compared the Holy Ghost to the air or wind: ‘The wind bloweth where it listeth, equality and thou hearest freedom remains still the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh only choice for wholeness and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spiritsoundness in a man or in a nation.’” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ” —Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
“In “Freedom – truthful free speech, open discourse, and debate – is the history of soil for real science to emerge from which we may uncover truth to identify real problems so as to innovate real solutions for the human race there have been three principal falls: that of Adam, that health of Judasour body, community and that of the popeworld.” —St—Dr. Justin PopovichShiva Ayyadurai
“But the Church of God is “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not subject to a wicked pope; nor even absolutely, and on all occasions, to a good onefor themselves.” —Archbishop Arnulf of Orléans, Synod of Verzy, 991—Abraham Lincoln
“They [Rome] do not know and do not wish to know the truth; they argue with those who proclaim “A coward is incapable of showing love, it is reserved for the truth to them, and assert their heresybrave.” —St. Basil the Great, letter to Eusebius of Samosata—Mahatma Gandhi
“Even if “Only the whole universe holds communion with the [heretical] patriarchcourteous can love, I will not communicate with him. For I know from the writings of the holy Apostle Paul: the Holy Spirit declares but it is love that even the angels would be anathema if they should begin to preach another Gospel, introducing some new teachingmakes them courteous.” —St—C. S. Maximus the ConfessorLewis, The Life Allegory of St. Maximus the ConfessorLove
“Those who do not belong to the Truth do not belong to the Church of Christ either; “How long is love blind? Love has eyes and all the more sosees. And if love can see, if they speak falsely of themselves by calling themselvesand seeing, or calling each otheryou love anyway, holy pastors and hierarchs; [for it has been instilled in us that] Christianity is characterized not by persons, but by the truth and exactitude of Faith's love.” —St. Gregory Palamas—Gertrude Berg, The Goldbergs, s1e10, 1955
“Chrysostomos loudly declares not only heretics, but also those who have communion with them, “You never receive love until you learn how to be enemies of Godaccept it.” —St—Mr. Theodore the StuditeRoarke, Fantasy Island, Epistle of Abbot Theophiluss4e7
“Some have suffered final shipwreck with regard “You never deny love until you learn how to the faith. Others, though they have not drowned in their thoughts, are nevertheless perishing through communion with heresyreject it.” —St. Theodore the Studite—th
“Guard yourselves from soul-destroying heresy“Education is an admirable thing, communion with which but it is alienation well to remember from Christtime to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” —St. Theodore the Studite—Oscar Wilde
“It “Imitation is better to have discord for piety’s sake, than harmony full the sincerest form of the passionsflattery.” —St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration 6, PG 35, 736—Charles Caleb Colton
“All the teachers of the Church, and all the Councils, and all the Divine Scriptures advise us “Fallacies do not cease to flee from the heterodox and separate from their communionbe fallacies because they become fashions.” —St—G. Mark of EphesusK. Chesterton
“We do “Truth can never be told so as to be understood and not change the boundaries marked out by our Fathers. We keep the Tradition we have received. If we begin to lay down the Law of the Church even in the smallest things, the whole edifice will fall to the ground in no short timebe believed.” —St. John of Damascus—William Blake
“So mine is a little flock? But it is “The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of… We know the truth not being carried over a precipice. So mine is a narrow fold? But it is unapproachable by wolves; it cannot be entered by a robber, nor overcome only by thieves and strangers. I shall yet see it, I know well, grow wider… I fear not for the little flock; for it is seen at a glance. I know my sheep and am known of mine. Such are they that know God and are known of God. My sheep hear from my voice that which I have heard from the oracles of Godreason, which I have been taught but by the Holy Fathers, which I have taught in like manner on all occasions, not conforming myself to fashion, and which I will never cease to teach; in which I was born, and in which I will departheart.” —St. Gregory the Theologian—Blaise Pascal
“Concerning the Patriarch I shall say this, lest it should perhaps occur “The human heart can see what is hidden to him to show me a certain respect at the burial of this my humble bodyeyes, or to send to my grave any of his hierarchs or clergy or in general any of those in communion with him in order to take part in prayer or to join and the priests invited to it from amongst us, thinking heart knows things that at some time, or perhaps secretly, I had allowed communion with him. And lest my silence give occasion to those who do not know my views well and fully to suspect some kind of conciliation, I hereby state and testify before the many worthy men here present that I do not desire, in any manner and absolutely, and do not accept communion with him or with those who are with him, mind does not in this life nor after my death, just as (I accept) neither the Union nor Latin dogmas, which he and his adherents have accepted, and for the enforcement of which he has occupied this presiding place, with the aim of overturning the true dogmas of the Church. I am absolutely convinced that the farther I stand from him and those like him, the nearer I am begin to God and all the saints, and to the degree that I separate myself from them am in union with the Truth and with the Holy Fathers, the Theologians of the Church; and I am likewise convinced that those who count themselves with them stand far away from the Truth and from the blessed Teachers of the Churchunderstand. And for this reason I say: just as in the course of my whole life I was separated from them, so at the time of my departure, yea and after my death, I turn away from intercourse and communion with them and vow and command that none ” —They Might Be Giants (of them1971) shall approach either my burial or my grave, and likewise anyone else from our side, with the aim of attempting to join and concelebrate in our Divine services; for this would be to mix what cannot be mixed. But it befits them to be absolutely separated from us until such time as God shall grant correction and peace to His Church.” —St. Mark of Ephesus, The Example of, [as quoted in The Orthodox Word, June-July, 1967, pp. 103ff.]
“With all “At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our strength let us beware lest we receive Communion disposal, from which God disposes our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or give it to hereticsthe brutalities of our own will. ‘Give not what This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is holy to the dogspure glory of God in us… It is like a pure diamond,’ says blazing with the Lordinvisible light of heaven. ‘Neither cast ye your pearls before swine’It is in everybody, lest and if we could see it we become partakers would see these billions of points of light coming together in their dishonour the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and condemnationcruelty of life vanish completely…I have no program for this seeing.” —StIt is only given. John But the gate of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, IV, 13heaven is everywhere.” —Thomas Merton
“In sum, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, “I myself am nothing; all that is good in theory embracing almost the whole universe and in fact extending its authority only over several dioceses, and in other places having only a higher superficial supervision and receiving certain revenues for this, persecuted by the government at home and not supported me is accomplished by any governmental authority abroad: having lost its significance as a pillar of truth and having itself become a source of division, and at the same time being possessed by an exorbitant love grace of power--represents a pitiful spectacle which recalls the worst periods in the history of the See of ConstantinopleGod.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, from Orthodox Word, vol. 8, no. 4 (45), July-August 1972, pp. 166-168, 174-175.Kronstadt
“The Lord of all gave to His apostles the power of “Humility collects the gospel, and soul into a single point by them we also have learned the truth, that is, the teaching of the Son power of God—as the Lord said to them, ‘He who hears you hears Me, and he who despises you despises Me, and Him Who sent Me’ [Lksilence.10:16]. For we learned the plan of our salvation from A truly humble man has no other than from those through whom the gospel came desire to us. The first preached it abroadbe known or admired by others, and then later by the will of God handed it down but wishes to us in Scripturesplunge from himself into himself, to be the foundation and pillar of our faith. For it is not right to say that they preached before they had come to perfect knowledgebecome nothing, as some dare to say, boasting that they are the correctors of the apostles. For after our Lord had risen from the dead, and they were clothed with the power from on high when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were filled with all things and if he had perfect knowledgenever been born. They went out When he is completely hidden to the ends of the earthhimself in himself, preaching the good things that come to us from God, and proclaiming peace from heaven to all men, all and each of them equally being in possession of the gospel of he is completely with God.” —St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, IIIIsaac the Syrian
“Those that wish to discern the truth may observe the apostolic tradition made manifest in every church throughout the world. We can enumerate those who were appointed bishops in the churches by the apostles, and their successors (or successions) down to our own day, who never taught, and never knew“Criticism, absurdities such as these men produce. For if the apostles had known hidden mysteries which they taught the perfect in private and in secretlike rain, they would rather have committed them to those to whom they entrusted the churches. For they wished those men to should be perfect and unbelievable whom they laughed as their successors and gentle enough to whom they handed over their own office of authority. But as it would be very tedious, in nourish a book of this sort, to enumerate the successions in all the churches, we can found all those who in any way, whether for self-pleasing, or vainglory, or blindness, or evil mindedness, hold on authorized meetings. This we do by pointing to the apostolic tradition and the faith that is preached to men, which has come down to us through the successions of bishops; the tradition and creed of the greatest, and most ancient church, the church known to all men, which was founded and set up at Rome by the two men most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul. For with this church, because of its position of leadership and authority, must needs agree every church, that is, the faithful everywhere; for in her the apostolic tradition has always been preserved by the faithful from all partsman's growth without destroying his roots.” —St—Frank A. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, IIIClark
"True Christianity is glorifying God “When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with our own lives. To glorify God with our own the source of life is , it will be possible only when we have true faith to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and when that faith indeed existsforgiving without being soft, we express it in words and in deedstrue witnesses without being manipulative.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco—Henri Nouwen
“I will tell you my opinion briefly and without reserve. We ought “The beginning of wisdom is to remain in that Church which was founded call things by the Apostles and continues to this day. If ever you hear of any that are called Christians taking their name not from the Lord Jesus Christ, but from some other, for instance, Marcionites, Valentinians, Men of the mountain or the plain, you may be sure that you have there not the Church of Christ, but the synagogue of Antichrist. For the fact that they took their rise after the foundation of the Church is proof that they are those whose coming the Apostle foretoldright names.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)
And let them “If names are not flatter themselves if they think they have Scripture authority for their assertionscorrect, since the devil himself quoted Scripture, and the essence of the Scriptures is not the letter, but the meaning. Otherwise, if we follow the letter, we too can concoct a new dogma and assert that such persons as wear shoes and have two coats must language will not be received into in accordance with the Churchtruth of things.” —St. Jerome—K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)
“Sometimes Japanese protestants come “I must be willing to me and ask me give up what I am in order to clarify some place in the Holy Scripturesbecome what I will be.” —Albert Einstein
"You have your own missionary teachers“They must often change," I tell them, "Go ask them. What do they say?" "We have asked them. They say: understand as you know how. But I need to know the real thought of God, not my own personal opinionwho would be constant in happiness or wisdom."” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)
…It's not like that with us. Everything is clear, trustworthy and simple, since we accept Holy Tradition in addition to the Holy Scriptures. And Holy Tradition is a living, unbroken voice of our Church from the time of Christ and His Apostles until now, and which will exist until the end “The superior man thinks always of virtue; the world. In it all the meaning common man thinks of the Holy Scriptures are preservedcomfort.” —St. Nicholas of Japan——K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)
“It is Christ Himself“Everything has beauty, but not the Bible, Who is the true Word of God. The Bible, read in the right spirit, and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Himeveryone sees it.” —C. S. Lewis—K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)
“The humility of Jesus is not a superfluous detail in the gospel narrative. The humility of Jesus is essential “All I have seen teaches me to trust the gospel. If Jesus lacked humility, there would be no incarnation, no crucifixion, and no redemptionCreator for all I have not seen.” —Jack Wisdom—Ralph Waldo Emerson
“A false interpretation of Scripture causes “And she [Athens] has brought it about that the gospel of the Lord becomes name "Hellenes" suggests no longer a race but an intelligence, and that the gospel of man, or, which title "Hellenes" is worse, of the devilapplied rather to those who share our culture then to those who share a common blood.” —St. Jerome—Isocrates
“How long shall we continue in this manner, our intellect reduced to futility, failing “Those who are able to make see beyond the spirit shadows and lies of their culture will never be understood, let alone believed by the Gospel our own, not knowing what it means to live according to our conscience, making no serious effort to keep it pure?masses.” —St. Mark the Ascetic—Plato
“It is self evident, however, that sincere Christians “He who are Roman Catholics, or Lutherans, or members of other non-Orthodox confessions, cannot be termed renegades or heretics—i.e. those who knowingly pervert the truth… They have been born and raised and are living according to the creed which they have inherited, just as do the majority of you who are Orthodox; in their lives there has a thousand friends has not been a moment of personal friend to spare; and conscious renunciation of Orthodoxy. The Lord, ‘Who he who has one enemy will have all men to be saved’ (I Tim. 2:4) and ‘Who enlightens every man born into the world’ (Jn. 1.43), undoubtedly is leading them also towards salvation in His own waymeet him everywhere.” —Metropolitan Philaret of New York—Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You ask, will the heterodox be saved… Why do “There are no strangers here; Only friends you worry about them? They have a Saviour Who desires the salvation of every human being. He will take care of them. You and I should not be burdened with such a concern. Study yourself and your own sins… I will tell you one thing, however: should you, being Orthodox and possessing the Truth in its fullness, betray Orthodoxy, and enter a different faith, you will lose your soul foreverhaven't yet met.” —St. Theophan the Recluse—William Butler Yeats
“The Orthodox confess “I teach them all the good I can, and recommend them to others from whom I think they will get some moral benefit. And the treasures that SHE IS the Onewise men of old have left us in their writings I open and explore with my friends. If we come on any good thing, Holywe extract it, Universal (katholikos) and Apostolic Ecclesia! Any other model is gnosticwe set much store on being useful to one another.” —St. Irenaeus of Lyons—Socrates
“Orthodoxy is what Christ taught“We shall not cease from explorationAnd the end of all our exploringWill be to arrive where we startedAnd know the place for the first time.Through the unknown, remembered gateWhen the last of earth left to discoverIs that which was the beginning;At the source of the longest riverThe voice of the hidden waterfallAnd the children in the apostles preachedapple-treeNot known, and because not looked forBut heard, half-heard, in the Fathers keptstillnessBetween two waves of the sea.” —St—T. Athanasius of AlexandriaS. Eliot, Four Quartets
“He is ‘the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8). Orthodox Christians “What a lot of things there are committed to the truth claim of the Christian Faith not as ideology but as an expression of holinessa man can do without.” —Rev. Dr. George C. Papademetriou, An Orthodox Reflection on Truth & Tolerance—Socrates
“The beginning of theology “Love is not the card catalogue, but doing battle against the passions; and the end composed of theology is not becoming a professor, but becoming a saintsingle soul inhabiting two bodies.” —Dr. David Fagerberg—Aristotle
“Only “The whole is greater than the Religion of Christ unites and all of us must pray that they come to this. Thus union will occur, not by believing that all sum of us are the same thing and that all religions are the same. They are not the same… our Orthodoxy is not related to other religionsits parts.” —St. Porphyrios the Kapsokalyvite—Aristotle
“Orthodoxy is life, one must not talk about it, one must live it“We walk by the light we are given.” —St. Nektary of Optina—Frank Shaeffer
“Orthodoxy can't be comfortable unless it is fake“Beware the wrath of a patient man.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina—John Dryden
“As for all those who pretend “Heaven has no rage like love to confess sound Orthodox Faithhatred turned, but are in communion with people who hold different opinionNor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” —William Congreve, if they are forewarned and still remain stubbornThe Mourning Bride, you must not only be spoken by Zara in communion with themAct III, but you must NOT even call them brothers.” —St. Basil the GreatScene VIII
“Today, while the overall teachings of the Fathers is under attack and the shipwrecks of Faith are numerous, the mouths of the faithful are silent. Anyone who is capable of speaking the truth but remains silent, will be heavily judged by God, especially in this case, where the faith and the very foundation of the entire Church of the Orthodox is in danger. To remain silent under these circumstances is to betray these, and the appropriate witness belongs to those that reproach (stand up for the faith)“Control thy passions lest they take vengeance on thee.” —St. Basil the Great, ep. 92—Epictetus
“I beseech you to do “Give me that manThat is not passion's slave, and to carry out good to all men with care and assiduityI will wear himIn my heart’s core, becoming all things to all menay, as the need in my heart of each is shown to you; heart,As I want and pray you to be wholly harsh and implacable with the heretics only in regard to cooperating with them or in any way whatever supporting their deranged beliefdo thee. For I reckon it hatred towards man and a departure from Divine love to lend support to error” —William Shakespeare, Hamlet, so that those previously seized by it might be even more greatly corrupted.” —St. Maximus the ConfessorAct 3, Patrologia GraecaScene 2, Vol. 91Page 3
“Be aware not “You are never too old to be corrupted from love of the heretics; for this reason do not accept any false belief (dogma) in the name of loveset another goal or to dream a new dream.” —St—C. S. John ChrysostomLewis
“Genuine love is displayed, not by the common table, nor by lofty addresses or flattering words“There are more things in heaven and earth, but by the correcting and the seeking of the benefit of one's neighbour and the lifting up …Than are dreamt of the one who has fallenin your philosophy.” —St. John Chrysostom—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5, Page 8
“Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for “A philosophical vogue is as irresistible as a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy gastronomic one: an idea is far older no better refuted than any of her heresiesa sauce.” —St—E. M. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San FranciscoCioran
“Where the bishop “No man isan island,Entire of itself, there let Every man is a piece of the multitude continent,A part of believers the main.If a clod be; even as where Jesus iswashed away by the sea, there Europe is the Catholic Churchless.” —StAs well as if a promontory were. Ignatius As well as if a manor of Antiochthy friend'sOr of thine own were:Any man's death diminishes me,Because I am involved in mankind,And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;It tolls for thee.” —John Donne
“Take care to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and with the presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles“All men are born brothers, and with the deacons, who are most dear to anything that hurts my brother hurts me.If my brother commits a crime, entrusted with the business of Jesus ChristI am a criminal; if he sings, who was with the Father from the beginning and there is at last made manifestmusic in my heart.” —St. Ignatius of AntiochBefore you have dealings with any man, Letter to the Magnesians 2, 6ask yourself:1‘Am I my brother's keeper?’The answer is ‘Yes.’” —Henry Hassett Browne
“Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that “Compared to what we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. For that is truly and in the strictest sense "Catholic," which, as the name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith ought to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all priests and doctorsare half awake.” —St. Vincent of Lérins, Commonitory, For the Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith Against the Profane Novelties of All Heresies., Chapter II (circa 434 AD)—William James
“The blood of martyrs “It is the seed of the Churcha profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.” —Tertullian—Aeschylus
“The candles lit before icons “Mankind is made of saints reflect their ardent love for God for Whose sake two kinds of people: wise people who know they gave up everything that man prizes in life, including their very lives, as did the holy apostles're fools, martyrs and others. These candles also mean that these saints fools who think they are lamps burning for us and providing light for us by their own saintly living, their virtues and their ardent intercession for us before God through their constant prayers by day and night. The burning candles also stand for our ardent zeal and the sincere sacrifice we make out of reverence and gratitude to them for their solicitude on our behalf before Godwise.” —St. John of Kronstadt—Socrates
“The saints of God live even after their death. Thus, I often hear in church the Mother of God singing her wonderful, heart-penetrating song which she said in the house of her cousin Elizabeth, after the Annunciation of the Archangel. At times, “I am indeed amazed when I hear the song of Moses; the song of Zacharias--the father of the Forerunner; that of Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel; that of the three children; and that of Miriam. And consider how many holy singers of the New Testament delight until now the ear of the whole Church of God! And the Divine service itself--the sacraments, the rites? Whose spirit weak my mind is there, moving and touching our hearts? That of God and of His saintshow prone to error.” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ—René Descartes
“Each person is an icon of God“…a…transparent mind, of God in heaven and of God on the cross. Yet, each person is also an icon of the Mother of God, who bears Christ through the Holy Spirit. Our soul, therefore, unites itself in two images; participating in the principles and realities of both Christ and his Mother. These are age old archetypes, symbols by which the soul orients itself on the journey…in no way implies clear thinking.” —St. Maria Skobtsova, On The Imitation of the Mother of God—Columbo (1971)
“The Christian who does not feel “If you hear that the Virgin Mary someone is his or her mother is an orphanspeaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: ‘He obviously doesn't know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned.” —Pope Francis’” —Epictetus
“Creating man according to his image“As I have said so many times, God diffused into mandoesn's very being the longing for the divine infinitude of life, of knowledge, and of perfection. It is precisely for this reason that the immeasurable longing and thirst of humanity is not able to be completely satisfied by anything or anyone except God. Declaring divine perfection as the main purpose for humanity's existence in t play dice with the world – ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father who is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matth. 5: 48) – Christ, the Savior, answered the most elemental demand and need of our God-like and God-longing humanity.” —St. Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ, Highest Value and Last Criterion in Orthodoxy—Albert Einstein
“Concerning the charge of idolatry: Icons are not idols but symbols. Therefore, when an Orthodox venerates an icon, he “It is not guilty of idolatry. He strictly and philosophically true in nature and reason that there is no such thing as chance or accident; it being evident that these words do not worshiping the symbolsignify anything really existing, but merely venerating it. Such veneration anything that is not directed toward wood, truly an agent or paint or stone, the cause of any event; but towards they signify merely men's ignorance of the person depicted. Therefore relative honor is shown to material objects, but worship is due to God alonereal and immediate cause.” —St. John of Damascus—Samuel Clark
“We do “While the admission of a design for the universe ultimately raises the question of a Designer (a subject outside of science), the scientific method does not bow before allow us to exclude data which lead to the nature of woodconclusion that the universe, but we revere life and bow before man are based on design. To be forced to believe only one conclusion--that everything in the one who is depicteduniverse happened by chance would violate the very objectivity of science itself.” —St—Werner Von Braun, Ph. John D., the father of Damascusthe NASA space program
“We do not make obeisance to “With me the nature horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of woodman's mind, but we revere and do obeisance to Him who was crucified on which has been developed from the Cross… When the two beams mind of the Cross lower animals, are joined together I adore the figure because of Christ who was crucified on the Cross, but if the beams are separated, I throw them away and burn themany value or at all trustworthy.” —St. John of Damascus—Charles Darwin
“I do “Evolutionary naturalism implies that we should not worship mattertake any of our convictions seriously, but including the Creator of matter, who for my sake became material and deigned to dwell in matter, who through matter effected my salvation…” —Stscientific world picture on which evolutionary naturalism depends. John of Damascus
“That which That is, naturalism, and therefore atheism, undermines the foundations of the word communicates by soundvery rationality that is needed to construct or understand or believe in any kind of argument whatsoever, the painting shows silently by representationlet alone a scientific one.” —St. Basil the Great—Thomas Nagel, On the 40 Martyrs of SebasteMind and Cosmos
“We depict Christ as our King and Lord“Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, and do not deprive Him nobody designed my brain for the purpose of His armythinking. The saints constitute It is merely that when the Lordatoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It's army. Let the earthly king dismiss his army before he gives up his King like upsetting a milk jug and Lord. Let him put off hoping that the purple before he takes honour away from his most valiant men who have conquered their passionsway it splashes itself will give you a map of London. For But if I can't trust my own thinking, of course I can't trust the saints are heirs of Godarguments leading to Atheism, and co-heirs of Christtherefore have no reason to be an Atheist, (Romor anything else. 8Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.17) they will be also partakers of the divine glory of sovereignty” —C.” —StS. John of DamascusLewis
“Our afflictions are well known without my telling; the sound of them has now gone forth over all Christendom. The doctrines of the fathers are despised; apostolical traditions are set at nought; the speculations of innovators hold sway in the churches. Men have learned “Do not say, ‘this happened by chance, while this came to be theorists instead of theologiansitself. The wisdom of the world has the place of honour’ In all that exists there is nothing disorderly, having dispossessed the boasting of the cross. The pastors are driven awaynothing indefinite, grievous wolves are brought in instead, and plunder the flock of Christnothing without purpose, Houses of prayer nothing by chance… … How many hairs are destitute on your head? God will not forget one of preachers; the deserts are full of mourners: the old bewailthem. Do you see how nothing, comparing what is with what was; more pitiable are even the youngsmallest thing, as not knowing what they are deprived of. What has been said is sufficient to kindle the sympathy of those who are taught in escapes the love gaze of Christ, yet compared with the facts, it is far from reaching their seriousness.God?” —St. Basil the Great, ep. 90
“Let us be firm, my brothers, on the rock of faith, “There are no coincidences in the tradition of the Church, and not remove or change the boundaries established by our Holy Fatherslife. Let us close the road to innovators and not permit them to demolish the structure of the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of GodAll things are providential. If we allowThey are allowed for our salvation, however, the introduction of any innovation, we unconsciously support the collapse of the Church. No, my brothers, you who love Christ, no, you children of the Church, you will never want to surround your Mother Church in correspondence with confusionour inner state and needs.” —St—Fr. John Seraphim Rose of Damascus, Concerning Images, III.41Platina
“Therefore, brethren, let us stand on the rock of faith and on the tradition of the Church, and not remove the boundaries which our Holy Fathers have set. Thus“Relativity applies to physics, we will not give the opportunity to those who wish to innovate and destroy the edifice of the holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Godethics. For if permission is granted to everyone who wants it, little by little the whole body of the Church will be destroyed. Do not, brethren, do not, oh Christ-loving children of the Church of God …” —Patriarch Jeremias II, prophetic warning of to the Lutheran scholars” —Albert Einstein
“Unbelief is an evil offspring of an evil heart“Heaven goes by favor; for the guileless and pure of heart discovers God everywhere, everywhere discerns Himif it went by merit, you would stay out and always unhesitatingly believes your dog would go in His existence.” —St. Nectarios of Aegina—Mark Twain
“He who learns must sufferAnd even “When people stop believing in our sleep pain that cannot forgetFalls drop by drop upon the heartGod,And they don’t believe in nothing – they believe in our own despite, against our will,Comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of Godanything.” —Aeschylus—G. K. Chesterton
“The greatest wisdom often emerges from the deepest wounds“Those who stand for nothing, fall for everything.” —Jane Lee Logan—Alexander Hamilton
“Monarchy can easily be debunked“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, but watch the faces, mark well the debunkersyou must fear or hate them. These are the men whose taproot in Eden has been cut: whom no rumour of the polyphony, the dance, can reach - men The second is that to whom pebbles laid in a row love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are more beautiful than an archnonsense. … Where men are forbidden You don’t have to compromise convictions to honour a king they honour millionaires, athletes or film stars instead: … For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poisoncompassionate.” —C. S. Lewis—Rick Warren
“There “Evil preaches tolerance until it is nothing impossible unto those who believe; lively and unshaken faith can accomplish great miracles in the twinkling of an eye. Besides, even without our sincere and firm faith, miracles are accomplished, such as the miracles of the sacraments; for God's Mystery is always accomplisheddominant, even though we were incredulous or unbelieving at the time of its celebration. 'Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?' (Rom. 3:3). Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God's wisdom, nor our infirmity God's omnipotencethen it tries to silence good.” —St—Charles J. John of Kronstadt, My Life in ChristChaput
“The human spirit needs places “If everyone has his own truth, where nature has not been rearranged by is falsehood? Falsehood hides behind the hand guise of mantruth. They say to us: Every person has his own truth, we should respect everyone's opinion and have no right to express any opposition to his error because that would be ‘intolerant’. Then where is Truth? Have we erased it? God is absolute Truth.” —unknown—Archbishop Stephan (Kalaidjishvili) of Tsageri and Lentekhi, Georgia
“People were created to be loved. Things were created “Tolerance of falsehood is intolerance to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being usedTruth.” —unknown—th
“If we could look into each others hearts, and understand the unique challenges each of us faces“Orthodox Christianity is not true because I believe It, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and carebelieve It because It is Truth.” —Marvin J. Ashton—th
“Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see; that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me“Faithful copies of a counterfeit original yield only more counterfeits.” —Alexander Pope—unknown
“The human heart can see what is hidden “Seeing, contrary to the eyespopular wisdom, isn't believing. It's where belief stops, and the heart knows things that the mind does not begin to understandbecause it isn't needed any more.” —They Might Be Giants (1971)—Terry Pratchett
“The greatest thing a man can do “To trust God in the light is nothing, but to a woman trust Him in the dark – that is to lead her closer to God than to himselffaith.” —unknown—Charles Spurgeon
“God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself because it “Faith is not therethe clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart. There is no such thing” —Abraham Joshua Heschel “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.” —C. S. Lewis—Malachi 1:11
“The supreme happiness of life is “God tends the conviction of being loved for yourselfpagans too, or more correctly, being loved in spite but the Christian knows the donor.” —St. Tikhon of yourself.”—Victor HugoVoronezh
“It “We do not worship a created thing, but the Master of created things, the Word of God made flesh. Although the flesh itself, considered separately, is hardly complimentary a part of created things, yet it has become the body of God. We do not worship this body after having separated it from the Word. Likewise, we do not separate the Word from the body when we wish to God worship Him. But knowing that ‘the Word was made flesh,’ we should choose him recognise the Word existing in the flesh as an alternative to hellGod.” —C—St. Athanasius the Great, Ep. ad Adelph. S, par. Lewis3
“If “Take, in the next place, the subjection by which you die before you diesubject the Son to the Father. What, than when you diesay, you will is He not dienow subject, or must He, if He is God, be subject to God? You are fashioning your argument as if it concerned some robber, or some hostile deity.” —written on But look at it in this manner: that as for my sake He was called a cell wallcurse, who destroyed my curse; and sin, St. Paul's Monasterywho taketh away the sin of the world; and became a new Adam to take the place of the old, Mtjust so He makes my disobedience His own as Head of the whole body. Athos
“War As long then as I am disobedient and rebellious, both by denial of God and by my passions, so long Christ also is called disobedient on my account. But when all things shall be subdued unto Him on the one hand by acknowledgment of Him, and on the other by a reformation, then He Himself also will have fulfilled His submission, bringing me whom He has saved to God. For this, according to my view, is the subjection of Christ; namely, the fulfilling of the Father's Will. But as the Son subjects all to the Father, so does the Father to the Son; the One by His Work, the Other by His good pleasure, as we have already said. And thus He Who subjects presents to God that which he has subjected, making our condition His own. Of the same kind, it appears to me, is the expression, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ It was not He who was forsaken either by the Father, or by His own Godhead, as some have thought, as if It were afraid of the Passion, and therefore withdrew Itself from Him in His Sufferings (for who compelled Him either to be born on earth at all, or to be lifted up on the name Cross?) But as I said, He was in His own Person representing us. For we were the forsaken and despised before, but now by the Sufferings of religion Him Who could not suffer, we were taken up and saved. Similarly, He makes His own our folly and our transgressions; and says what follows in the Psalm, for it is war against religionvery evident that the 22nd Psalm refers to Christ.” —His All Holyness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew—St. Gregory the Theologian, On God and Christ, Oration 30, V
“Believe me“The Lord calls the Holy Spirit the 'voice of a gentle breeze'. For God is breath, if God revealed to us and the breath of the disasters to which we were exposed and from which He protected us, our whole lives would not suffice to offer Him thankswind is shared by all.” —H—St.H. Pope ShenoudaMaximus the Confessor
“In heaven“We neither call the Holy Spirit unbegotten, for we know but one unbeggoten and one source of all things, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor do we call Him begotten, for we are taught by the tradition of the faith that there is one only-begotten. Rather, God will not ask us why we have sinned; been taught that the Spirit of Truth proceeds from the Father and confess that He will ask us why we did not repentcomes from God in an uncreated fashion.” —H—St.HBasil the Great, Letter 125, PG 32. Pope Shenouda III549c
“Even if all spiritual fathers“The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, patriarchsnot in the manner of being begotten, hierarchsbut in the manner of procession (οὐ γεννητῶς, ἀλλ ἐκπορευτῶς). This is a different way of existence as incomprehensible and all unknown as the generation of the people forgive you, you are unforgiven if you don’t repent in actionSon.” —St. Kosmas AitolosJohn of Damascus, An Exact Exposition on the Orthodox Faith, 1, 8, PG 94.816c
“Nobody “The Father is as gracious in the Son, and mercifulthe Son in the Father, as whilst the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and resteth in the Son. But at the same time each Person has Its own particular properties: God the Lord Father isnot begotten, not created, but even He does not forgive proceed; the Son is begotten; the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father, whilst the sins substance of the man who does not repent; … we are being condemned not because three Persons is one, a Divine, incomplex substance. This similarity is based upon the words of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who calls Himself the Light of the world, and thus speaks of the multitude Holy Ghost, comparing It in Its actions to the element water: ‘He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of our evilshis belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive.’ 415 He also compared the Holy Ghost to the air or wind: ‘The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but because we do canst not want to repenttell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” ’” —St. Mark the AsceticJohn of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
“As a handful “For the Father only is Unbegotten, the Son only is Begotten, and the Holy Ghost from Father Proceeding, Co-eternal to the Father and the Son, for there is One Work, and there is One Operation of sand thrown into the oceanWill in the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. The Father Unbegotten, the Son Begotten, and the Holy Ghost from the Father Proceeding, so are Co-Eternal to the Father and Son; but That One [i.e. the sins Son] is Born, yet This One [i.e. the Holy Ghost] Proceeds, just as in the Gospel of Blessed John ye read: ‘The Spirit, Who Proceeds from the Father, He shall announce all flesh as compared with things to you.’ Therefore the Holy Ghost is neither to be the Father Unbegotten, nor held to be the Son Begotten; but the Holy Ghost, Who from the mercy of GodFather Proceeds.” —St. Isaac the SyrianMochta of Ireland, "Profession of Faith" of St. Mochta
“Just as a strongly flowing fountain “For when we mention the Omnipotent Father, the appelation of this Fatherly Name is not blocked up by a handful directed to the Person of earththe Son, and when we mention the Eternal Son, so He is referred to the compassion Person of the Creator is not overcome by Eternal Father; and when we name the Holy Ghost we demonstrate Him to Proceed from the wickedness Person of his creaturesthe Eternal Father.” —St. Isaac the SyrianMansuetus, Letter of St. Mansuetus (Archbishop of Milan) at 679 Synod of Milan to Emperor Constantine IV
“God is loving “This I give you to manshare, and loving in no small measure. For say notto defend all your life, I have committed fornication the one Godhead and adultery: I have done dreadful thingspower, found in the three in unit, and comprising the three separately; not once onlyunequal, but often: will He forgive? Will He grant pardon? Hear what in substances or natures, neither increased nor diminished by superiorities nor inferiorities; in every respect equal, in every respect the same; just as the beauty and the greatness of the Psalmist says: ‘How great heavens is one; the multitude infinite conjunction of Your goodnessthree infinite ones, O Lord!’ Your accumulated offenses surpass not the multitude of each God's mercies: your wounds surpass not the great Physician's skill. Only give yourself up when considered in faith: tell himself; as the Physician your ailment: say thou also, like David: ‘I saidFather, I will confess me my sin unto so the Lord’: and Son; as the same shall be done in your caseSon, which he says immediately: ‘And you forgave so the Holy Spirit; the wickedness three one God when contemplated together; each God because consubstantial; one God because of my heartthe monarchia.’” —StNo sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined by the splendor of the three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one. Cyril When I think of Jerusalemanyone of the three I think of him as the whole, Catechetical Lecture 2and my eyes are filled, On Repentance and Remission the greater part of Sins what I am thinking escapes me. I cannot grasp the greatness of that one so as to attribute a greater greatness to the rest. When I contemplate the three together, I see but one torch, and Concerning cannot divide or measure out the undivided light.” —St. Gregory the AdversaryTheologian, Ezekiel xviiiOrations 40. 20-2341, as quoted by Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity, 378
“Years are not needed for true repentance“God – who is truly none of the things that exist, and who, properly speaking, is all things, and at the same time beyond them – is present in the logos of each thing in itself, and in all the logoi together, according to which all things exist… God is whole in all things commonly, and not daysin each being particularly, but only an instantwithout separation or being subject to division…but on the contrary is truly all things in all, never going out of His own indivisible simplicity.” —St. Ambrose of OptinaMaximus the Confessor
“There “Perhaps you will say: ‘Then tell me, did the virgin become the mother of the Godhead?’ And to this we reply: There can be no doubt that the living and enhypostatic Word was begotten from Originator the very essence of God his Father, and has his existence without beginning in time, eternally co-existing with his Begetter. He is no sin which cannot be pardoned except conceived of as existing in him and with him, but in these last times of the age since he became flesh, that one is was united to flesh endowed with a rational soul, he is also said to have been born of a woman in a fleshly manner. This mystery concerning him is in some ways like the mystery of our own birth, for earthly mothers, assisting nature as regards the birth, have the embryonic flesh in their wombs, which lacks repentancein a short time by certain ineffable workings of God, increases and there is no gift which perfected into the human form. Then God introduces the spirit to this living creature in a manner known to him alone; for ‘he fashions the spirit of a man within him’ (Zech.12.1), as the prophet says. Nonetheless, the Word is different to the flesh, and equally different to the soul. But even if these mothers have produced only the earthly bodies, nonetheless they are said to have given birth to the whole living creature, I mean that of soul and body, and not augmented save to have given birth to just a part. To take an example, surely no one would say that which remains without acknowledgement. For Elizabeth was only the mother of the flesh, but not the portion mother of the fool soul, since she gave birth to the Baptist who was already endowed with a soul? Surely she is small the mother of one thing constituted from both realities; that is a man, of soul and body. We take it, then, that something like this happened in his eyesthe birth of Emmanuel.” —St. Isaac Cyril of Alexandria, the chief opponent of Nestorianism, Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the SyrianChristological Controversy
“When a “The power to bear Mysteries, which the humble man abandons his sins and returns has received, which makes him perfect in every virtue without toil, this is the very power which the blessed apostles received in the form of fire. For its sake the Saviour commanded them not to Godleave Jerusalem until they should receive power from on high, his repentance regenerates him and renews him entirelythat is to say, the Paraclete, which, being interpreted, is the Spirit of consolation. And this is the Spirit of divine visions. Concerning this it is said in divine Scripture: ‘Mysteries are revealed to the humble’ (Ecclus 3:19). The humble are accounted worthy of receiving in themselves this Spirit of revelations Who teaches mysteries.” —St. Isaiah Isaac the SolitarySyrian, Homily 77
“And so it is incumbent upon us “‘And my Father will love him, and we will come to strive, ratherhim and make our home with him’ (John 14:23). My friends, to correct consider the greatness of this solemn feast that commemorates God's coming as a guest into our faults hearts! If some rich and influential friend were to improve come to your home, you would promptly put it all in order for fear something there might offend your friend's eyes when he came in. Let all of us then who are preparing our inner homes for God cleanse them of anything our behaviorwrongdoing has brought into them.” —St. John CassianGregory the Great, on Pentecost in Be Friends of God
“Let us strive to purify ourselves through repentance and humility“If from one burning lamp someone lights another, and to unite all our senses as then another from that one to the God who is good, and transcends so on in succession, he has light continuously. In the good. Thensame way, trulythrough the Apostles ordaining their successors, everything which I have not quite been able to say or to demonstrate with my many wordsand these successors ordaining others, you will be taught in an instantand so on, the grace of the Holy Spirit is handed down through all at once. You will hear with your sight, generations and see with your hearing. You will be taught while seeing enlightens all who obey their shepherds and, again, hear what is unveiledteachers.” —St. Symeon Gregory Palamas, On how the New TheologianHoly Spirit was manifested and shared out at Pentecost
“Where “‘And there is Godappeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:3-4). They partook of fire, not of burning but of saving fire; of fire which consumes the thorns of sins, there but gives luster to the soul. This is no evil. Everything now coming from God is peacefulupon you also, and that to strip away and consume your sins which are like thorns, and to brighten yet more that precious possession of your souls, healthy and leads a person to give you grace; for He gave it then to the Apostles. And He sat upon them in the judgment form of his own imperfections fiery tongues, that they might crown themselves with new and humilityspiritual diadems by fiery tongues upon their heads.A fiery sword barred of old the gates of Paradise; a fiery tongue which brought salvation restored the gift.” —St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Book Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem
When a person accepts anything Godly“The Church is without beginning, without end and eternal, just as the Triune God, her founder, is without beginning, then he rejoices in his heartwithout end and eternal. She is uncreated just as God is uncreated. She existed before the ages, but when he has accepted anything devilishbefore the angels, then he becomes tormentedbefore the creation of the world – before the foundation of the world as the Apostle Paul says. She is a divine institution and in her dwells the whole fullness of divinity. She is an expression of the richly varied wisdom of God. She is the mystery of mysteries. She was concealed and was revealed in the last of times. The Church remains unshaken because she is rooted in the love and wise providence of God.
It is necessary that “Christ, invisible to the Holy Spirit enter our heart. Everything good that we do, that we do for Christbodily eye, manifests Himself on earth clearly through His Church … The Church is given to us by the Holy Spirit, but prayer most Body of all, which is always available Christ both because its parts are united to usChrist through His divine mysteries and because through her Christ works in the world.” —St.John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco
A sign “How does the Liturgy begin? ‘Blessed is the kingdom of spiritual life the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.’ …What is this kingdom, which is blessed, glorified, honored…? It is the immersion kingdom of a person within himself and heaven, the hidden workings within his heartkingdom of God.” —StIt is paradise, in which Christ has placed us; it is our holy Church. Seraphim Its king is the God of Sarovthree suns: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
“The Spirit offers its own light The servants of the king are the angels and archangels, along with the thrones, principalities, authorities, dominions, powers, the many-eyed cherubim, and the six-winged seraphim. The king's generals are the saints. Our Lady the Theotokos is the queen. The faithful soldiers of this kingdom are all those Christians who are ready to every mindfollow Christ, whatever the cost; all those who are ready to help it in its search for truthbear His honorable Name, all those who make up His Church.” —St. Basil All of them… are with us during the celebration of the GreatLiturgy…
“Sometimes a man's happiness During the celebration of the Liturgy, Christ is so deep inside him that with us exactly as he may forget it's there was when he was teaching, when he made the lame leap and start looking elsewhere hunting a fantasywalk, an illusionthe blind see, and the dead return to life.” —MrAnd this is not simply having the memory of Christ within our thoughts, but having Christ Himself truly and concretely present before us. Roarke (Fantasy IslandHe is present – He, the teacher, the prophet, the miracle-worker. Christ Who was crucified, Who was raised from the dead, Who ascended into heaven, s2e14)is now before us! …
“If he seeks answers The priest turns his eyes to heaven, and calls the things of heaven down to questions related earth. He commands the cherubim, the seraphim, even the Holy Trinity, because God gives the priest the power to his faithhave rights over Jesus Christ. Because He is not visibly present, his purpose Christ delegates His work to His priests. And when the priest is in lifethe sanctuary, he will find happiness.” —Elder Justin (Pârvu) is beyond every earthly ruler, for he does not govern men, but rather the choirs of saints and the armies of Romaniaangels…
“The person who loves God values knowledge of God more than anything created by God…Saint Gregory Palamas said that the church ‘resides on high, being an angelic and pursues such knowledge ardently transcendent place’ which ‘raises man to heaven and ceaselesslypresents him to the God who is above all’ …When we enter church… we are traversing the distance from earth to heaven.” —StWe pass beyond the stars, we leave the angels below us, and we rise up to the heights of the Holy Trinity. Maximus the Confessor
“A time is coming Don't think that when men will we go to church, we are simply entering and exiting an ordinary building. Instead, we go madup to, and make our entrance into, the Holy of Holies, into the heavens themselves… we sinners open the doors of heaven and enter! Although we are sinners, when they see someone who we enter into the Liturgy, we go up to the heavenly Jerusalem… So we have come to the church… Let nothing disturb the tranquility of your soul. God is not madpresent. Wherever we look, they will attack himGod is before us!” —Archimandrite Aimilianos, sayingThe Church at Prayer, 'You are mad; you are not like uspp.'” —St54, 56-57, 69, 71-72. Anthony the Great
“Adorn yourself with truth, try to speak truth in “Whosoever should ever call himself a bishop over all things; and do not support bishops or a lie, no matter who asks you.If you speak the truth and someone gets mad at you, don’t universal bishop shall be upset, but take comfort in the words of forerunner to the Lord:Blessed are those who are persecuted for Antichrist.” —Pope St. Gregory (I) the sake of truth, for theirs is Great (Gregory the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:10Dialogist).” —St. Gennadius of Constantinople, The Golden Chain, 26,2Forty Gospel Homilies
“You that are strong with all might in the inner man ought by rights to carry on the struggle against the enemies of the truth, and not to shrink from the task“And so I, that we fathers may be gladdened by the noble toil will of our sons; for this is God Allmighty the prompting Bishop of Rome, am the law of nature: but as you turn your ranksUniversal Bishop, and send against us the assaults of those darts which are hurled by the opponents of the truthBishop over Bishops, and demand that their hot burning coals and their shafts sharpened by knowledge falsely so called should be quenched with the shield only Vicar of faith by us old menChrist on Earth.” —St. —Pope Gregory of NyssaVII, Dictatus Papae
“I shall set forth the best contributions of the philosophers of the Greeks“We declare, say, because whatever there is of good has been given to men from above by Goddefine, since ‘every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights’ (Js. 1.17). If, however, there is anything pronounce that is contrary to the truth, then it is a dark invention of the deceit of Satan and a fiction of absolutely necessary for the mind of an evil spirit, as that eminent theologian Gregory once said (Homily 39.3). In imitation of the method of the bee, I shall make my composition from those things which are conformable with the truth and from our enemies themselves gather the fruit of salvation. But all that is worthless and falsely labeled as knowledge I shall reject. Then, next, after this, I shall set forth in order the absurdities of the heresies hated of God, so that by recognizing the lie we may more closely follow the truth. Then, with God’s help and by His grace I shall expose the truth–that truth which destroys deceit and puts falsehood every human creature to flight and which, as with golden fringes, has been embellished and adorned by the sayings of the divinely inspired prophets, the divinely taught fishermen, and the God-bearing shepherds and teachers–that truth, the glory of which flashes out from within be subject to brighten with its radiance, when they encounter it, them that are duly purified and rid of troublesome speculations. However, as I have said, I shall add nothing of my own, but shall gather together into one those things which have been worked out by the most eminent of teachers and make a compendium of them, being in all things obedient to your commandRoman Pontiff.” —St. John of Damascus—Pope Boniface VIII, The Fount of KnowledgeBull Unam Sanctam
“If we have obtained “Even if the grace of GodPope were Satan incarnate, none shall prevail we ought not to raise up our heads against ushim, but we shall be stronger than all who oppose us.” —Stcalmly lie down to rest on his bosom. John Chrysostom
“But He who rebels against our opinion Father is in accordance with condemned to death, for that which we do to him we do to Christ: we honor Christ if we honor the Eucharist, and Pope; we dishonor Christ if we dishonor the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinionPope.” —St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, 4:18:5
“If the poison of pride is swelling up in youI know very well that many defend themselves by boasting: ‘They are so corrupt, turn to the Eucharist; and work all manner of evil!’ But God has commanded that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himselfeven if the priests, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in youpastors, feed and Christ-on this Bread; -earth were incarnate devils, we be obedient and you will learn generosity. If subject to them, not for their sakes, but for the cold wind sake of coveting withers youGod, hasten to the Bread and out of Angels; and charity will come obedience to blossom in your heartHim. If you feel the itch ” —Catherine of intemperanceSiena, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood ‘St. Catherine of ChristSiena’, SCS, Who practiced heroic selfpp. 201-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things202, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow ferventp. Lastly, if you feel scorched 222 (‘Canonized’ by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste.” —St. Cyril of AlexandriaRC ‘Church’ in 1461)
“Don't be anxious about what you “In the history of the human race there havebeen three principal falls: that of Adam, but about what you arethat of Judas, and that of the pope.” —St. Gregory the GreatJustin Popovich
“The soul that is in all things devoted to “But the will Church of God rests quiet in Himis not subject to a wicked pope; nor even absolutely, for she knows of experience and from the Holy Scriptures that the Lord loves us much and watches over our souls, quickening on all things by His grace in peace and love. Nothing troubles the man who is given over to the will of Godoccasions, be it illness, poverty or persecution. He knows that the Lord in His mercy is solicitous for us. The Holy Spirit, whom the soul knows, is witness therefore. But the proud and the self-willed do not want to surrender to God's will because they like their own way, and that is harmful for the soula good one.” —St. Silouan the Athonite (From the Life and Teachings —Archbishop Arnulf of Orléans, Synod of Elder Siluan by Bishop Alexander and Natalia Bufius translated by Anatoly Shmelev)Verzy, 991
“The man who cries out against evil men, but does “They [Rome] do not know and do not pray for them will never wish to know the grace of Godtruth; they argue with those who proclaim the truth to them, and assert their heresy.” —St. Silouan Basil the AthoniteGreat, letter to Eusebius of Samosata
“Those who dislike and reject their fellow-man “The Greeks [Orthodox]… are impoverished in their being. They do not know heretics or schismatics but the most Christian people and the true God, who is all-embracing lovebest followers of the gospel on earth.” —St—Martin Luther, Luther, Martin (1999), Luther's Works, Vol. Silouan 32: Career of the AthoniteReformer II, J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed., 59, Philadelphia: Fortress Press
“If “When we detect hatred in our hearts against any man whatsoever for committing any Greeks find faultwith the filioque, we they shake Peter's keys at us… … Nevertheless differences of custom and usage are utterly estranged from love no sufficient ground for Godschism. Experience shows that arguing about azyma and Lenten fasts gets nowhere. The Greeks should be accommodating and make concessions to the ignorant western barbarians, since love for God absolutely precludes us hoping that in time they will correct their errors to conform to the apostolic tradition stemming from hating any manJerusalem.” —St. Maximus —Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid, The Errors of the ConfessorLatins in Ecclesiastical Matters
“One must “For Petra (Rock) is not harbour anger nor hatred towards a person that derived from Peter, but Peter from Petra; just as Christ is hostile towards usnot called so from the Christian, but the Christian from Christ. For on this very account the Lord said, ‘On this Rock will I build my Church,’ because Peter had said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ On this Rock, therefore, He said, which thou hast confessed, I will build my Church. For the contrary. You must love him Rock (Petra) was Christ; and do as much good as possible towards himon this Foundation was Peter himself also built. Following the teaching of our Lord For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus Christ.” —St. Seraphim Augustine of SarovHippo, Tractate, CXXIV
“Do not ask “There is nothing more serious than the sacrilege of schism because there is no just cause for love from your neighbor, for if you ask and he does not respond, you will be troubled. Instead show your love for your neighbour and you will be at rest, and so will bring your neighbour to lovesevering the unity of the Church.” —St. Dorotheos Augustine of GazaHippo
“Love should never be sacrificed for “Do not fear sorrows, but fear the sake stubbornness of some dogmatic differenceheretics who try to separate a man from Christ, which is why Christ commanded us to consider them as pagans and pharisees.” —St. Nektarios Anatoly of AeginaOptina
“No term “This is used–and misused–among how you have union with the Orthodox people in America more often than the term canonicalRoman Catholics and Protestants: you baptize them.” —Fr. Alexander Schmemann, The Problems —Bishop Luke of Orthodoxy in America, The Canonical ProblemSyracuse
“Men are converted “…anyone joining the Church ought to God not because someone was able to give brilliant explanationsbecome renewed [by baptism], but because they saw in him order that lightwithin, through the holy elements, joyhe become sanctified… There being but one baptism, and there being but one Holy Spirit, depththere is also but one Church, seriousnessfounded by Christ our Lord… And for this reason whatever they [heterodox] do is false and empty and vain, everything being counterfeit and unauthorized… And to those who from error and love which alone reveal crookedness come for knowledge of the presence true and ecclesiastic faith we ought to give freely the mystery of divine power , of unity as well as of faith, and of God in the worldtruth.” —Fr—St. Cyprian of Carthage, Third Holy Council held under St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Reception of the Heterodox, p. Alexander Schmemann81
“Even “Holy priests, you must have large baptismal fonts in your churches so that the slightest thought entire child can be immersed. The child should be able to swim in it so that not even an area as large as a tick's eye remains dry. Because it is not founded on love destroys peacefrom there (the dry area) that the devil advances, and this is why your children become epileptics, are possessed by demons, have fear, suffer misfortune; they haven't been baptized properly.” —Archimandrite Thaddeus Strabulovich—St. Kosmas Aitolos, On the Reception of the Heterodox, p. 49
“What does love look like? It “One Baptism has been handed down to us Orthodox Christians (Ephesians 4:4) by our Lord as well as by the hands to help others. It has divine Apostles and the feet to hasten to holy Fathers; because the poor Cross and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows Death of the Lord, in the type or similitude of men. That which baptism is what love looks likecelebrated, were but one.” —St. Augustine of Hippo
“Your Lord is love: love Him and in Him all men, as His Children in Christ. Your Lord is fire: do not let your heart be cold, but burn with faith and love. Your Lord is light: do not walk in darkness of mind, without reasoning For this reason the present Apostolic Canon prescribes that any Bishop or understanding, or without faith. Your Lord is a God of mercy and bountifulness: Priest will be also deposed should he baptize a source of mercy second time anew and bountifulness to your neighbors. If you will be such, you will find salvation yourself beginning all over again someone who has been truly baptize as though he were dealing with everlasting glory.” —Stone utterly unbaptized. John of Kronstadt
“I guard you This is in advance against beasts accordance with the order given by the Lord and which was spoken of by the Apostles and divine Fathers. He shall be deposed if he rebaptizes someone who has been baptized in the form very same manner as Orthodox Christians, because with this second baptism he is re-crucifying and publicly ridiculing the Son of menGod, whom you must not only not receivewhich St. Paul says is impossible, but if it and he is possible not even meetoffering a second death to the Lord, but only pray for themover whom death no longer has dominion (Hebrews 6:4; Romans 6:5), if perchance they may repent…” —St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter according to the Smyrnaeans, Asame St.DPaul. 117
“Until you have eradicated evilLikewise in the event that any Bishop or Priest should refuse to baptize with the regular Orthodox baptism of the Catholic Church one who has been polluted, do not obey your heart; for it will seek more that is a person who has been baptized by the impious, or in plain language, baptized by heretics. Such a Bishop is to be deposed, since he is mocking the Cross and death of what it already contains within itselfthe Lord.” —St. Mark Nikodemos the AsceticHagiorite
“Whatever “This food is called among us the Eucharist, of that which no one is best has flowed into allowed to partake but the one who believes that the heartthings we teach are true, we should not pour out without need; for that which and who has been gathered can be free washed with baptism for the forgiveness of danger from visible sins, and invisible enemies only when it who is guarded in the interior of the heartliving his life as Christ has commanded.” —St. Seraphim of SarovJustin the Martyr
“No one professing faith sins“Even if the whole universe holds communion with the [heretical] patriarch, nor does does anyone possessing love hate. The tree is known by its fruit; thus those who profess to be Christ's I will be recognized by their actionsnot communicate with him. For I know from the work is a matter not writings of what one promises now, but of persevering to the end in holy Apostle Paul: the Holy Spirit declares that even the power of faithangels would be anathema if they should begin to preach another Gospel, introducing some new teaching.” —St. Ignatius Maximus the Confessor, The Life of Antioch (to St. Maximus the Ephesians)Confessor
“Indeed, man wishes “Those who do not belong to the Truth do not belong to be happy even when he the Church of Christ either; and all the more so lives as to make happiness impossible, if they speak falsely of themselves by calling themselves, or calling each other, holy pastors and hierarchs; [for it has been instilled in us that] Christianity is characterized not by persons, but by the truth and exactitude of Faith.” —St. AugustineGregory Palamas
“The confession “Faith is the unreserved acceptance of evil works is divine revelation and the full conviction that all things preached by the first beginning grace of good worksGod constitute the only truth.” —St. AugustineBasil the Great, On Faith, PG 31.677D-680A.
“The evil powers love the darkness and tremble at every light“Chrysostomos loudly declares not only heretics, but also those who have communion with them, especially at that which belongs to be enemies of God and to those who please Him.” —St. Nikolai VelimirovichTheodore the Studite, Epistle of Abbot Theophilus
“The one who has not yet obtained divine knowledge activated by love makes a lot of “Some have suffered final shipwreck with regard to the religious works he performsfaith. But the one who has been deemed worthy to obtain this says with conviction the words which the patriarch Abraham spoke when he was graced Others, though they have not drowned in their thoughts, are nevertheless perishing through communion with the divine appearance, ‘I am but earth and ashesheresy.’” ” —St. Maximus Theodore the ConfessorStudite
“Do not say that ‘mere faith in our Lord Jesus “Guard yourselves from soul-destroying heresy, communion with which is alienation from Christ can save me.’ For this is impossible unless you acquire love for him through works. For in what concerns mere believing, ‘even the devils believe and tremble.’” ” —St. Maximus Theodore the ConfessorStudite
“We see the water of a river flowing uninterruptedly and passing away, and all that floats on its surface, rubbish or beams of trees, all pass by. So does our life. I was an infant, and that time has gone. I was an adolescent, and that too has passed. I was a young man, and that too is far behind me. The strong and mature man that I was “It is no more. My hair turns white, I succumb better to agehave discord for piety’s sake, but that too passes; I approach the end and will go than harmony full of the way of all fleshpassions. I was born in order to die” —St. I die that I may live. Remember meGregory the Theologian, Oration 6, O LordPG 35, in Thy Kingdom!” —St. Tikhon of Voronezh736
“You should look downward. Remember: you are earth “All the teachers of the Church, and all the Councils, and you will return all the Divine Scriptures advise us to flee from the earthheterodox and separate from their communion.” —St. Ambrose Mark of OptinaEphesus
“Just “Therefore, in so far as a pauperthis is what has been commanded you by the Holy Apostles, seeing stand aright, hold firmly to the royal treasurestraditions which you have received, all the more acknowledges his own poverty; so also the spiritboth written and by word of mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:15), reading the accounts that you be not deprived of your firmness if you are led away by the great deeds delusions of the Holy Fathers, involuntarily is all the more humbled in its way of thought.” —Stlawless. John Climacus
“Do not shun poverty May God, Who is all-powerful, make them also to know their delusion; and having delivered us from them as from evil tares, may He gather us into His granaries like pure and useful wheat, in Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom belongs all glory, honor, and worship, with His Father Who is without beginning, and His All-holy and afflictionGood and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the fuel that gives wings to prayerages of ages. Amen.” —Evagrios the Solitary—St. Mark of Ephesus
“We suffer because “‘But if,’ they say, ‘we had devised some middle ground between the dogmas (of the Papists and the Orthodox), then thanks to this we would have no humility united with them and we do not love accomplished our brotherbusiness superbly, without at all having been forced to say anything except what corresponds to custom and has been handed down (by the Fathers). From love of our brother comes ’ This is precisely the love means by which many, from of God. People do not learn humilityold, have been deceived and because of their pride cannot receive persuaded to follow those who have led them off the grace steep precipice of impiety; believing that there is some middle ground between the Holy Spirittwo teachings that can reconcile obvious contradictions, and therefor the whole world suffersthey have been exposed to peril.” —St. Silouan the AthoniteMark of Ephesus, Encyclical Letter, Orthodox Word, March-April-May, 1967
“Some suffer much “Whoever preserves himself from poverty them (the Latins) and sicknesskeeps his faith pure will stand rejoicing at the right hand of God, but are not humbled, and so they suffer without profitwhoever willfully draws close to them will stand weeping bitterly with them on the left. But one who For there is humbled will be happy no eternal life for those living in all circumstances, because the Lord is his riches and joy, and all people will wonder at faith of the beauty of his soul.” —St. Silouan Latins or the AthoniteSaracens…
“My joyMy son, I beg youit is not appropriate to praise another's faith. Whoever praises an alien faith is like a detractor of his own Orthodox faith. If anyone should praise his own and another's faith, acquire the Spirit then he is a man of Peacedual faith and is close to heresy. That means If anyone should say to bring oneself you: ‘Your faith and our faith is from God,’ you, my son, should reply: ‘Who are you, you heretic? Do you consider God to such a state that our spirit will be of two faiths? Have you not be disturbed heard, accursed and perverted as you are by anything. For one must go through many sorrows to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This an evil faith that which is written: Thus saith the way all righteous men were saved and inherited the Heavenly Kingdom…” —St. Seraphim of SarovLord: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism’ (Ephesians 4:5)?…
“Peace is not absence Thus they of struggleevil faith, but absence of uncertainty after holding to the Orthodox faith for so many years, have turned away to an evil faith and confusion.” —Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozhto Satan's teaching…
“Humility is perfect quietness They have renounced the preaching of heart, it is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises methe apostles and the edification of the holy fathers, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have accepted a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in faith based on error and shut the door, and kneel a perverted dogma leading to my Father in secretperdition. Therefore, they have been torn away from us and am at peace as in a deep sea set apart…” —St. Theodosius of calmnessKiev Caves, when all around and above is trouble.” —Andrew MurrayTestament to the Great Prince Izyaslav of Kiev
“However great “It is impossible to recall peace without dissolving the afflictions we suffer, what are they compared with cause of the promised future rewardschism – the primacy of the Pope exalting himself equal to God.” —St. Macarius the GreatMark of Ephesus
“Shun “The Holy Spirit is nowhere to be found among them (the praise of men and love the one who, in the fear of the LordPapists), reprimands youbecause their mysteries are graceless.” —St. Pachomius—Dositheos of Jerusalem
“When people begin to praise us, let us hurry to remember the multitude of ours transgressions, “Holy Orthodoxy has two eternal enemies: Mecca and we will see that we are truly unworthy of that which they say and do in our honorRome.” —St. John ClimacusKosmas Aitolos
“…Don't “You should curse the Pope, because he will be frightened at your burden; our Lord will help you to carry itthe cause.” —St. John VianneyKosmas Aitolos
“Every tribulation reveals “We do not have merely ‘a group of Orthodox that consider Roman Catholics and Protestants to be heretics’ or ‘only pronouncements by particular ecclesiastical writers’, as some erroneously contend, but the totality of the state Saints of our Church who dealt with this issue unanimously conclude that Papism is heresy. There is not one Saint of our willChurch – no, not one – who contends that Papism is not a heresy.” —St—Fr. Mark Anastasios Gotsopoulos, On Common Prayer with the AsceticHeterodox
“Every affliction tests our will“The Anglican Communion ignores the Orthodox Church's dogmas and teachings, such as the invocation of Saints, prayers for the dead, showing whether it is inclined special honor to good or evilthe Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God, and reverence for sacred relics, holy pictures and icons. That They say of such teaching that it is why an unforeseen affliction is called a test‘a foul thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, because it enables a man but rather repugnant to test his hidden desiresthe word of God’ (Article of Religion, XXII).” —St. Mark the Ascetic
“Many are There is a striking variance between their wording of the wiles Nicene Creed and that of the enemy to despoil us Holy Orthodox Church; but sadder still, it contains the heresy of inner peace, so watch!” —Stthe ‘filioque. Theophan the Recluse’
“In every situation confusion is from I do not deem it necessary to mention all the striking differences between the Holy Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion in reference to the authority of Holy Tradition, the number of the devilGeneral Councils, etc. Sufficient has already been said and pointed out to show that the Anglican Communion differs but little from whom may all other Protestant bodies, and, therefore, there cannot be any intercommunion until she returns to the Lord shield ancient Holy Orthodox Faith and protect uspractices, and rejects Protestant omissions and commissions.” —St. Leo of Optina
“It should be noted Therefore, as the official head of the Syrian Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church in North America and as one who must ‘give an account’ (Hebrews 13:17) before the judgment throne of the ‘Shepherd and Bishop of Souls’ (I St Peter 2:25), that when I have fed the ‘flock of God’ (I St. Peter 5:2), as I have been commissioned by the fallen spirit wants to get dominion over Christ's asceticsHoly Orthodox Church, he and inasmuch as the Anglican Communion (Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States) does not act imperiously or domineeringlydiffer in things vital to the well being of the Holy Orthodox Church from some of the most errant Protestant sects, but tries I direct all Orthodox people residing in any community not to draw a man to consent seek or to accept the ministrations of the proposed delusion, Sacraments and after getting his consent he takes possession rites from any clergy excepting those of the person who has given his consent. Holy DavidOrthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, for the Apostolic command, that the Orthodox should not commune in describing his the fallen angel attacks manecclesiastical matters with those who are not of ‘the same household of Faith’ (Galatians 6:10), has very rightly saidis clear: "He lurketh in secret ‘Any Bishop; or presbyter or deacon who will pray with heretics, let him be anathematized; and if he allows them as a lion in his denclergymen to perform any service, let him be deposed’ (Apostolic Canon 45). ‘Any bishop, or presbyter, that he may ravish who accepts baptism or the poor; Holy Sacrifice from heretics, we order such to ravish the poorbe deposed, for ‘what concord hath Christ with Belial, when or what part hath he getteth him into his netthat believeth with an infidel?’’ (Apostolic Canon 46)."” —St”—St. Ignaty Bryanchaninov, The Arena, chapter 11Raphael of Brooklyn, On the Solitary LifeAnglican Communion
“The devil presents minor sins as insignificant in our eyes“If a Bishop or Priest baptize anew anyone that has had a true baptism, because otherwise or fail to baptize anyone that has been polluted by the impious, let him be deposed, on the ground that he would not be able lead us into major onesis mocking the Cross and Death of the Lord and for failing to distinguish priests from pseudo-priests.” —St. Mark the Ascetic—Apostolic Canon 47
“Do not leave unobliterated any fault, however small, for it may lead you on to greater sins“Whosoever has fallen from the True Faith cannot be called a Christian.” —St. Mark Athanasius the AsceticGreat
“He who honours “The heretics obey the Lord does what the Lord bids. When he sins or is disobedientdemons; they honor falsehood, he patiently accepts what comes as something he deservesand at every moment they provoke God to anger.” —St. Mark Symeon the AsceticNew Theologian
“It “Ecumenism is a great error to think that you must undertake important and great labors, whether the common name for heaventhe pseudo-Christianity of the pseudo-churches of Western Europe. Within it is the heart of European humanism, orwith Papism as its head. All of pseudo-Christianity, as the 'progressives' thinkall of those pseudo-churches, in order to make are nothing more than one's contribution to humanityheresy after another. That Their common evangelical name is not necessary at all: ‘pan-heresy. It ’ Why? This is necessary only to do everything in accordance with because through the course of history various heresies denied or deformed certain aspects of the God-Man and Lord's commandmentsJesus Christ; these European heresies remove Him altogether and put European man in His place. In this there is no essential difference between Papism, Protestantism, ecumenism, and other heresies, whose name is ‘Legion’.” —St. Theophan the RecluseJustin Popovich
“When we are immersed in sins“For Western Christendom God is indeed dead, and its leaders only prepare for the advent of the enemy of God, Antichrist. But Orthodox Christians know the living God and our mind dwell within the saving enclosure of His True Church. It is occupied solely with worldly careshere, we do in faithful and fervent following of the unchanging Orthodox path – and not notice in the state of dazzling ‘Ecumenical’ union with the new unbelievers that is pursued by Orthodox modernists – that our soulsalvation is to be found.” —St—Fr. John MaximovitchSeraphim Rose of Platina
“We have “Orthodoxy has one thing to say to be aware that what the ecumenical movement: here is being pounded in upon us is all of one piecethe truth, join yourself to it; it has a certain rhythm, a certain message to give us, remain to ‘discuss’ this message of self-worshiptruth not merely weakens the Orthodox witness, of relaxing, of letting go, of enjoying yourself, of giving up any thought of the other world … It is actually an education in atheismit destroys it. We have to fight back by knowing just what the world is trying to do to us…” ” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina
“I saw “The Ecumenism is a huge lie; they speak in the name of a love outside of Christ, which excludes you from the Truth. If the Ecumenists really loved the world, they would not disown the truth of the value and the spiritual richness of Church Tradition and of the Holy Fathers. They disown Christianity from the gracious beauty. God has left from them, what remains is only their ego. No, we don’t need You. We lead the world, we rule the snares that world, we give the bread, we give the enemy spreads out over happiness on this earth. Jesus must be arrested again not to disturb our march. Eliminating God from the world and I said groaningof the soul in any way – this is the goal of the Ecumenism also repelled by Saint Justin Popovich. The Ecumenism and the globalization are at the forefront of the apocalyptic times. They want to accustom the eye and the spirit of the Orthodox with the habit to serve together with these heretics, until they get to have Communion from the same chalice. Because this could give them the right to build their own churches. But no, they want strategically to compromise the shrines and the faint hearted priests who are quick to ‘obedience’. The Ecumenists have the false impression that they will bring something new in the Church of Christ. Let us not forget that the Church is the body whose head is Christ. You can not break it from Christ Who is the Path, "What the Truth and the Life. The Ecumenists will not fulfill anything. You can get not change the reality according to the human interests. The divine reality remains the same in every age. The Holy Spirit speaks through from such snares?" Then I heard the mouths of the bearers of God, not of the bearers of human interests. The Christian Church has never gone after the crowd; not the many lead or hold the truth, but the few, chosen, as the carriers of the Holy Spirit. We do work only under this Father’s truth, the Gospel of our Lord and the Orthodox Church Tradition. All this falsehood which has appeared in our world has no other purpose than to embarrass and undermine the whole tradition and the beliefs of a voice saying to menation. Questions are not posed and answers are not given, "Humilityand people take for granted everything that has been written at the official level."” —StBut, by not solving these dogmatic problems the untruth slowly settles in our Orthodox Christian Church. Anthony All the GreatEcumenical attempts of unifying the other Christian communities found in heresy, the dialogues which have developed in our Orthodox Christian Church, since I know, haven’t got any result because they have false basis, they are untrue and do nothing but disturb the authentic Christian life.” —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania, Din învățăturile și minunile Părintelui Justin
“Wouldst thou comprehend the height of God? First comprehend the lowliness of God“We must prepare for martyrdom and beyond this, I would not have to speak if people were not powerless in spirit and mind to understand. Condescend It's not easy to be humble for thine own sakelive these days. But if the Lord has so pleased that we should suffer these times, seeing then we must obey and receive with joy all that comes upon us, as from the hand of God condescended to be humble for thy sake too, for it was and not for his own.” —St. Augustinefrom the enemy…
“The greatness of a man consisteth of humilityTherefore, please stop looking for in proportion as a man descendeth solutions. Human solutions are not existent, my dears! The solution is to humilitydie for Christ. Fathers will give up their sons, he becometh exalted to greatnessmothers, their daughters, unto death.” —Paradise Behold, we witness the fulfillment of this prophecy. If the Holy Fathersmother will let the child be vaccinated, Vol. 2it's as if giving him over to die…
“It is easier Therefore I say to you, trust that the Lord will give you power to measure confess Him. We live in an anarchic world, the entire sea with political class is an enemy of Christ and a servant of evil, that is why even living our simple life without abdicating our Christian principles is a tiny cup than to grasp God's ineffable greatness with the human minddaily confession and martyrdom.” —St. Basil the Great
“You don't So: do not receive this vaccine or anything that the new political powers bring you today. The Zionists rule the world and the Americans work for them and they think they have come to own it because they have a soulno shyness. You Everything is in sight and they are a Soulaware that they have no opponent to fear and they fight to depopulate the world, with the few who will remain to worship them. Now they're studying and sorting, and the way they're going to distinguish people from each other is the chips. You Do you or do you not have a bodychip? For what is the chip after all? A weapon against Man.” —C. SAnd we have no weapons; our youth is weary, that even if they want to rise from the spell in which they live, they have no power. Lewis
“Learn Our only weapons are spiritual ones: prayer, humility, love, but also confession [of Faith]. You can't love without confession [of Faith]. Love is sacrificial, and if we fear to confess the truth, what sacrifice do we have? Or if we do not care about our neighbor who is unaware and we do not inform him and we let him fall prey to this system, what love humilitydo we have? Those who still struggle today to awaken their brother, who have not remained indifferent to the future of a nation and a church, for it will cover all your sins. All sins those are repugnant before God but the most repugnant children of all is pride the love of the heart.God, who lay their lives down for their brethren…
Do not consider yourself learned It is important to oppose all antichrists and wisedie with dignity; otherwise, all your effort will be destroyed and your boat will reach the harbor emptynot to have a cowardly position.” —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania
If you have great authority“Modern man lives on the dregs of Christianity, on Christian experience digested and turned into ‘ideas’ for mass consumption. Hence the parody of Christianity is to be seen in modern ideas like ‘equality’, do ‘brotherhood’, ‘charity.’ … And Christian messianism - the coming Kingdom which is not threaten anyone of this world (Jon 18:36) - has been perverted into the coming Kingdom in this world that practically everyone believes in today. Even those who see through the delusion of idealism… fall prey to the second idea, the idea that Truth can somehow be realized in this world, in the coming age of the ‘spirit,’ or in the relation of ‘man with deathman. Know’ But this world cannot hold the Truth in its fullness, that according any more than it could tolerate the presence in it of the God-Man; for man is called upon to naturebe more than man, you too are susceptible he is called to death deification, and this can only happen fully in the ‘other world’ - which, though it constantly impinges on this world, never does so more than partially, giving us warnings and indications of what is to come. This world must end, man as we know him must die, must be crucified before that every soul sheds its body from itself as the final garment‘other’ world can come into being.” —Fr.Seraphim Rose of Platina
In Byzantium there existed an unusual “Let not us, who would be Christians, expect anything else from it than to be crucified. For to be Christian is to be crucified, in this time and in any time since Christ came for the first time. His life is the example – and instructive custom during warning – to us all. We must be crucified personally, mystically; for through crucifixion is the only path to resurrection. If we would rise with Christ, we must first be humbled with Him – even to the crowning of ultimate humiliation, being devoured and spit forth by the emperors uncomprehending world. And we must be crucified outwardly, in the Church eyes of the Divine Wisdom [Stworld; for Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world, and the world cannot bear it, even a single representative of it, even for a single moment. Sophia]The world can only accept Antichrist, now or at any time. The custom was No wonder then, that when it is hard to be a Christian – it is not hard, it is impossible. No one can knowingly accept a way of life which, the patriarch placed more truly it is lived, lead the more surely to one’s own destruction. And that is why we constantly rebel, try to make life easier, try to be half-Christian, try to make the crown on best of both worlds. We must ultimately choose – our felicity lies in one world or the emperor's headother, at not in both. God give us the strength to pursue the same timepath to crucifixion; there is no other way to be Christian.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina, he handed him a silk purse filled with dirt from his journal as printed in the grave.biography Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works by Hieromonk Damascene
Then“One who merely knows these truths in the mind will be helpless to resist the temptations of those times, even and many who recognize the Antichrist when he comes will nonetheless worship him – only the power of Christ given to the emperor would recall death and heart will have strength to avoid all pride and become humbleresist him.” —St—Fr. Anthony the GreatSeraphim Rose of Platina
“Pride more than anything else“A lukewarm clergy lulls the people to sleep, deprives people of both leaves them in their good deeds and help from Godformer condition so they won't be upset. ‘Look’, they say. Where ‘By all means don't say that there is no humility'll be a war, pride takes its placeor the Second Coming, that one must prepare oneself for death.” —St. Macarius of OptinaWe must not make people alarmed!’
“This is the wisdom And others speak with a false kindness, saying: ‘We mustn't expose heretics and power of God: their delusions, so as to be victorious through weakness, exalted through humility, rich through povertyshow our love for them.’ Today's people are water-soluble.” —StThere's no leaven in them. Gregory Palamas
“You will lose nothing of what you If I avoid upsetting myself to protect my fleshly comfort then I'm indifferent to holiness! Spiritual meekness is one thing, and softness and indifference are quite another. Some say: ‘I'm a Christian and therefore I have renounced for the Lord’s saketo be joyful and calm. For in its own time it will return to you greatly multiplied’ But they're not Christian. They're simply indifferent.” —StAnd their joy is only a worldly joy. Mark the Ascetic
“Where can I flee? He in whom these worldly seeds are present is no spiritual person. A place cannot save you because there spiritual person consists of nothing but pain. In other words, he's in pain at what's going on, he's in pain for people's condition. And divine comfort is no place you can flee from yourselfbestowed upon him for his pain.” —St. Nikon Paisios of OptinaMt. Athos
“If our purpose is to fight “You have grown soft. So the worthless have risen up against the spiritual fight and to defeat, with God’s helphonourable, the demons of malicedisreputable against the renowned, we should take every care to guard our heart from the demon of dejection, just as a moth devours clothing and a worm devours wood, so dejection devours a man’s soul. It persuades him to shun every helpful encounter and stops him accepting advice from his true friends or giving them a courteous and peaceful reply. Seizing foolish against the entire soulwise, it fills it with bitterness and listlessness. Then it suggests to the soul that we should go away from other people, since they are young against the cause of its agitationaged. It does not allow the soul to understand that its sickness does not come Righteousness and peace are far from withoutyou, but lies hidden within, only manifesting itself when temptations attack inasmuch as you have abandoned the soul because fear of our ascetic effortsGod and become blind in faith.” —St. Clement of Rome
A man can be harmed by another only through “In our evil time, when the causes servants of the passions which lie within himself. It is for this reason that God, the Creator of coming Antichrist are putting forth all their efforts so as to undermine and the Doctor of men’s soulsreplace authentic Orthodoxy with a false ‘Orthodoxy’ - an Orthodoxy only in name, there have appeared not a few ‘pastors’ also who alone has accurate knowledge bear only the name of Orthodox but deny the soul’s wounds, does not tell us to forsake authentic power and spirit of true Orthodoxy. Precisely such false pastors filled up the company ranks of men; He tells us to root out the causes of evil within us (Soviet) ‘Living Church’ and to recognize that the soul’s health is achieved not by a man’s separating himself from his fellows, but by his living the ascetic life ‘Renovationist Church’ clergy in the company of holy men. When we abandon our brothers for some apparently good reason, we do not eradicate the motives for dejection but merely exchange them, since the sickness which lies hidden within us will show itself again in other circumstances.” —StRussia. John Cassian
“A life lived But the ‘Living Church’ and ‘Renovationalism’ were not recognized by the believing Russian people, who felt in their hearts their whole falsity; and they brilliantly collapsed on the world can be as goodRussian soil, ceasing their official existence. However, in the eyes spirit of Godthe ‘Living Church’ and ‘Renovationalism’ has not died, as one spent but has continued and up until now continues to live among us also in a monastery. It is indeed only the keeping of God's commandmentsRussian homeland, which has been enslaved by the godless, love of and also abroad among allthe Orthodox Local Churches who have become infected with this pestilential spirit, not without, and a true sense of humility that mattercourse, wherever we arethe most strenuous cooperation of those same servants of the coming Antichrist.” —Elder Macarius of Optina
“Those whoThese pseudo-pastors, because modernists and ecumenists, in place of true Orthodoxy, preach and insistently propagandize a false Orthodoxy, flattering all the rigor sinful passions and vices of their own ascetic practice, despise fallen man - striving in everything to go in step with the times and to adapt the Christian to the less zealous‘world which lies in evil, think that ’ under all possible cunning and well sounding pretexts. Everywhere now they are made righteous by physical worksseizing the reigns of government in the contemporary Orthodox Local Churches. But we They are even more foolish if we rely on theoretical knowledge striving to play everywhere the leading guiding role, and often they have success, for they skillfully and disparage the ignorantcunningly make themselves seem to be zealots of Orthodoxy.” —St. Mark the Ascetic
“A remedy against straying thoughts But their actual aim is mental attentionto undermine true Orthodoxy by a false ‘Orthodoxy, attention ’ in order to make it come about, in the fact expression of Christ the Savior, ‘that the salt has lost its savor’ (Matthew 5:13), that the Lord is before us it might lose its saltiness - that it might lose its spirit and we are before Himpower.” —St. Theophan This is a special kind of battle against the RecluseChurch!
“The roots Behold of evil thoughts what a frightful undertaking (of which) we are the obvious vicesliving and immediate witnesses! By all means there is being conducted in the world a frightful battle against the Faith of Christ, which we keep trying to justify in our words by a path of falsification and actions.” —St. Mark the Asceticimitations!
“Guard your speech from boasting …(this) truly most frightful and your thoughts from presumption; otherwise you may be abandoned by God nightmarish phenomenon (is) something more frightful than open atheism and fall into sin. For man cannot do anything good without the help of warfare against God, who sees everything.” —St. Mark (for it) threatens to destroy our holy Orthodoxy from the Asceticroot, having corrupted it from within…” —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse
"The higher “The fundamental task of the servants of the coming Antichrist is to destroy the old world with all its former concepts and ‘prejudices’ in order to build in its place a person’s position in society new world suitable for receiving its approaching ‘new owner’ who will take the more he should help others without ever reminding place of Christ for people and give them of his position.” —Tsar St. Nicholas IIon earth that which Christ did not give them…
“If you want your sins to One must be absolved by Christcompletely blind spiritually, then don't speak completely alien to others about any virtue that you may have, because God will treat our sins the same way we treat our virtues.true Christianity not to understand all this!” —St. Mark the Ascetic—Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse
“If any “Those forces that are preparing the appearance of Antichrist will have a leading significance in public life. Antichrist will be a man and not the devil incarnate. … That man is able in power wants to continue be in purityplace of Christ, to occupy His place and possess that which Christ ought to possess. He wants to possess the honour of the flesh of our Lord, let him continue so without boasting; if he boasts, he is undone; if he become known apart from same attraction and authority over the bishop, he has destroyed himselfwhole world.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch
“Guarding And he will receive that authority before his own destruction and that of the mouth wakes up whole world. He will have a helper, a Magus, who, by the conscience to Godpower of false miracles, if it is with knowledge will fulfill his will and kill those that a man keeps silencedo not recognize the authority of Antichrist.” —St. Isaac John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, The Antichrist and the Signs of the End of the World, Homily on the SyrianLast Judgement
“Silence is more profitable than speech“The miracles of Antichrist will be chiefly manifested in the aerial realm, for as it where Satan chiefly has been said, "The words of wise men are heard even in quietdominion."” —St—Fr. Basil the GreatSeraphim Rose of Platina
“Never give your opinion “Without sanctification and illumination from above, our love – if you are not asked for itindeed is within us – lacks Gospel purity and holiness. It is poisoned by our self-love and egoism, which is so subtle and hard to grasp that we do not even if you notice it. We think that your view we truly love God and our neighbor, but in reality this is the bestself-love, not love for God and neighbor.” —St. Josemaria Escriva—Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse
“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning“The faithful remnant of Christians in the last days, that without listening speaking no longer healsas our Lord has told us, that without distance closeness cannot curewill be very small; the vast majority of those who call themselves Christians will welcome Antichrist as the Messiah … those who are not true Orthodox Christians belong the ‘new Christianity’, the ‘Christianity’ of Antichrist.” —Henri Nouwen
“Let your mouth continually administer blessing; then The Pope of Rome and practically everyone else today speaks of ‘transforming the world’ by Christianity: priests and nuns take part in demonstrations for ‘racial equality’ and similar causes. These have nothing to do with Christianity: they do nothing but distract men from their true goal, which is the scorn Kingdom of anyone will never hurt youHeaven.” —St. Isaac the Syrian
“Just as swine run to a place where there is mireThe coming age of ‘peace’, ‘unity’, and bees dwell where there are fragrances and incense‘brotherhood’, if it comes, likewise demons gather where there are carnal songs and will be the grace reign of the Holy Spirit settles where there are spiritual melodiesAntichrist: it will be Christian in name, sanctifying both mouth and soul.” —Stbut Satanic in spirit. John Chrysostom
“A psalm implies serenity of soulΕveryone today seeks happiness on earth, and they think this is ‘Christianity’; it is true Orthodox Christians know that the author age of peacepersecutions, which calms bewildering and seething thoughts. For, it softens the wrath of began again under the soulBolsheviks, and what is unbridled it chastens. A psalm forms friendships, unites those separated, conciliates those at enmity. Who, indeed, can still consider as an enemy him with whom he has uttered us, and that only by much sorrow and tribulation are we made fit to enter the same prayer to God?Kingdom of Heaven.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina
So that psalmody“It may be, bringing about choral singingbrethren, that soon you will again experience a bond, as it were, toward unitytime of turmoil, and joining some of you will be called to take the people into path of denying those sacred laws and to submit to laws established by mere human authority. Beware of such a harmonious union path! Beware of one choirthe path taken by the thief on the left, produces also for by the greatest weight of blessingsblasphemy, charityby the weight of reviling Christ he went to his eternal perdition. A psalm Those who revile the laws of the Church revile Christ Himself, Who is a city the Head of refuge from the demonsChurch, a means for the laws of inducing help from the angels, a weapon in fears Church were given by night, a rest from toils by day, a safeguard for infants, an adornment for the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. And the laws of local Churches are based on those same laws and canons of the Church. Let us not consider ourselves wiser than those at saints and hierarchs who established the height rules of their vigorthe Church; let us not imagine ourselves to be great sages. Rather, a consolation for let us humbly call out together with the elderswise thief: Remember me, O Lord, a most fitting ornament for womenin Thy kingdom!” —St.John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, Homily on the Sunday of Orthodoxy
It peoples the solitudes; it rids “Brothers and sisters! Let us aspire towards ascetic labor, in which is expressed precisely the market place essence of excesses; it our Orthodox Christian faith, which is the elementary exposition labor of beginners, imitating Christ in bearing the improvement cross and self-crucifixion – a faith of those advancinglabor and, laboring lawfully as the solid support Word of God teaches, let us suffer all things for the perfectTruth, the voice not moving away from it, as do many because of their poverty of the Churchspirit or self-interest. It brightens And let us remember well: where there is no labor, where there is no steadfastness in the feast days; it creates a sorrow which faith – there is neither Orthodoxy nor true faith in accordance with Godand in His Christ.Amen.” —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse
For“Being born, then, a psalm is of the work light of angelstruth, shun division and bad doctrines. Where the shepherd is, a heavenly institutionthere you, being sheep, must follow. For many wolves there are, apparently worthy of confidence, who with the spiritual incense.” bait of baneful pleasure seek to capture the runners in God's race; but if you stand united they will have no success…” —St. Basil the GreatIgnatius of Antioch
“Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all "fulness of blessing," both in this world and in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us“We must not mind insulting men, if by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, respecting them we await the full enjoymentoffend God.” —St. Basil the GreatJohn Chrysostom
“Humility consists“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not in condemning our consciencemad, but in recognizing God's grace and compassionthey will attack him, saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us.” ’” —St. Mark Anthony the AsceticGreat
“Children, I beseech you to correct your hearts “There will come a time when corruption and thoughts, so that you may be pleasing to Godlewdness among the youth will reach the utmost point. Consider that although we may reckon ourselves to There will hardly be righteous and frequently succeed in deceiving men, we can conceal nothing from Godany virgin youth left. Let us therefore strive to preserve the holiness They will see their lack of our souls punishment and will think that everything is allowable for them to guard the purity of our bodies with all fervorsatisfy their desires. Ye are the temple of Godwill call them, says the divine Apostle Paul; If any man defile the temple of Godhowever, him shall God destroy.” —Stand they will realize that it will not be possible for them to continue such a life. Nicholas of Myra
“Those who suffer for the sake of true devotion receive help. This must Then in various ways they will be led to God… that time will be learnt through obeying God's law and our own consciencebeautiful.” —StThat today they are sinning greatly, will lead them to a deeper repentance. Mark Just like the candle before it goes out, it shines strongly and throws sparks; with its light, it enlightens the Asceticsurrounding darkness; thus, it will be the Church’s life in the last age.
“When you are wronged and your heart and feelings are hardened, do not be distressed, for this has happened providentially; but be glad and reject the thoughts And that arise within you, knowing that if they are destroyed at the stage when they are only provocations, their evil consequences will be cut off, whereas if the thoughts persist the evil may be expected to developtime is near.” —St. Mark the AsceticSeraphim of Vyritsa
“Struggle to become immortal “When I remember the evil sins from now, by dying here on which the earth to your bad self. In this way, you won't be sadLord has delivered me, but you'll be very glad, living together with ChristI have imperishable food for salvation.” —Elder Porphyrios—St. Mary of Egypt
“I saw that there was no tragedy in “We all want God. Tragedy is to be found solely in the fortunes give unity of faith to the man whose gaze has not gone beyond the confines of this earthworld. But you are confusing things.” —Archimandrite Sophrony
“In advising against being carried away by artificial practices such as Transcendental Meditation I am but repeating the age-old message of the Church … The way reconciliation of the Fathers requires firm faith and long patiencepeople is one thing, whereas our contemporaries want to seize every spiritual gift, including even direct contemplation of the Absolute God, by force and speedily, and will often draw a parallel between prayer in while the Name reconciliation of Jesus and yoga or Transcendental Meditation and the likereligions is another. I must stress the danger Christianity requires all of such errors … He is deluded who endeavors us to divest himself mentally of all that is transitory and relative in order to cross some invisible threshold, to realize his eternal origin, his identity love everyone with the Source of all that existsour hearts, in order to return and merge with him, the nameless transpersonal Absolute. Such exercises have enabled many to rise to suprarational contemplation of being, to experience a certain mystical trepidation, to know the state of silence of mind, when mind goes beyond the boundaries of time and space. In such like states man whatever faith they may feel the peacefulness of being withdrawn from the continually changing phenomena of the visible world, may even have a certain experience of eternity. But the God of Truth, the Living God, is not in all this.
It is man’s own beauty, created in At the image of God, that is contemplated same time we are ordered to keep our faith and seen as divinity, whereas he himself still continues within the confines of his creaturelinessdoctrines intact. This is a vastly important concern. The tragedy of the matter lies in As Christians you must be merciful to the fact that man sees a mirage which, in his longing for eternal lifewhole world, he mistakes for a genuine oasis. This impersonal form of ascetics leads finally to an assertion of the divine principle in the very nature of manall people. Man is then drawn to the idea of self-deification—the cause of the original Fall. The man who is blinded by the imaginary majesty of what he contemplates has in fact set his foot Even your life you should give on the path to self-destructiontheir behalf. He has discarded the revelation of a personal God … The movement into the depths of his own being is nothing else but attraction towards the non-being from which we were called by the will of the Creator.” —Archimandrite Sophrony of Mount Athos, His Life is Mine, 115-116
“Christ said, 'I came not But you have no right to send peace, but a sword' and 'division'. Christ summoned us to war on touch the plane truths of the spirit, and our weapon is 'the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of GodChrist.' Our battle is waged in extraordinarily unequal conditions. We Because they are tied hand and footnot yours. We dare The faith of Christ is not strike our property to do with fire or sword: our sole armament is love, even for enemies. This unique war in which it as we are engaged is indeed a holy warwish. We wrestle with the last and only enemy of mankind death” —St. Our fight is the fight for universal resurrection.” —Archimandrite Sophrony of Mount Athos, His Life is MineNikolai Velimirovich
“I ask you to try something“We do not change the boundaries marked out by our Fathers. We keep the Tradition we have received. If someone grieves you, or dishonors you, or takes something of yours, then pray like this: ‘Lord, we are all your creatures. Pity your servants, and turn them begin to repentancelay down the Law of the Church even in the smallest things,’ and then you the whole edifice will perceptibly bear grace in your soul. Induce your heart fall to love your enemies, and the Lord, seeing your good will, shall help you ground in all things, and will Himself show you experience. But whoever thinks evil of his enemies does not have love for God and has not known Godno short time.” —St. Silouan the Athonite, Writing, IX.21John of Damascus
“The whole therapeutic method “At this dawn of modern history, the Orthodox Church is not aimed simply at making human beings morally and socially balancedthirteenth century, but at re-establishing their relationship with God and one another. This comes about through all the healing seeds of modern mentality are present. And modern history follows logically from these seeds. Essentially, it is one thing – the soul's wounds and search for a new Christianity which is better than Orthodoxy, better than the cure Christianity of the passions through the Sacraments and the Church's ascetic practiceHoly Fathers, which Christ gave to us.” —Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, The Science of Spiritual Medicine: Orthodox Psychotherapy in Action
“A wise heart can transfer an affliction into a blessingLater on, even sin!! He benefits from it: contritionthis will take forms which go through atheism and all kinds of wild beliefs, humilitybut essentially the search remains the same, keenness and sympathy for sinnersin the end the world will be Christian, because it's Antichrist who gives them a new religion, which is not something foreign to Christianity.” —HIt will not be some kind of paganism.HIt will be something which everyone will accept as Christianity, but will be anti-christian. A substitute for Christianity which denies the very essence of Christianity. Pope Shenouda III
“Humility and suffering free a man from all sin; for And that is why the main history of the rebellion against Christ is no less than the apostasy which St. Paul talks about. It is not by means of persecution as it was in the first cuts out spiritual passionsbeginning, but by means of taking Christianity and changing it so that it will no longer be Christian. And this is what we can call the Unfolding of the latter bodilyMystery of Iniquity in preparation for Antichrist.” —St—Fr. Maximus the ConfessorSeraphim Rose of Platina, excerpt from Orthodox Survival Course
“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny“We who wish to remain in the true tradition of Orthodoxy will have to be zealous and firm in our Orthodoxy without being fanatics, and without presuming to teach our bishops what they should do. Above all we must strive to preserve the true fragrance of Orthodoxy, being at least a little ‘not of this world’, detached from all the cares and politics even of the Church, nourishing ourselves on the otherworldly food the Church gives us in such abundance.” —C. S—Fr. LewisSeraphim Rose of Platina
“The heart of a perfectly healthy man becomes weakened for faith “Test your bishops in only one respect: try and love find out whether they are Orthodox, whether they teach dogmas contrary to God and his neighborthe true Faith, and easily gives itself up to carnal desires: to slothfulnesswhether they concelebrate with heretics, negligenceor schismatics. As far as other things, coldness, gluttony, avarice, fornication, pride. Whilst the heart they act out of a sick man, ignorance or a wounded, oppressed, weary heart, is strengthened in faith, hope, and love, and is far removed from carnal passions. This is why because the Heavenly Father, Who careth for our salvation, chastises us by various sicknesses. The oppression days are evil and afflictions of sickness make us turn again they will give an account to Godonly.” —St. John Gennadios (II) Scholarios, Patriarch of KronstadtConstantinople
“Suffering reminds “Regarding the wise affairs of the Church, in the words of the Saviour, one of the most awesome phenomena of the last days is that at that time ‘the stars shall fall from heaven’ (Matt. 24.29). According to the Saviour’s own explanation, these ‘stars’ are the Angels of the Churches, in other words, the Bishops (Rev. 1.20). The religious and moral fall of the Bishops is, therefore, one of the most characteristic signs of the last days. The fall of the Bishops is particularly horrifying when they deviate from the doctrines of the faith, or, as the Apostle put it, when they ‘would pervert the Gospel of Christ’ (Gal. 1.7). The Apostle orders that such people be pronounced ‘anathema’. He said, ‘If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which ye have received, let him be accursed (anathema)’ (Gal. 1.9). And one must not be slow about this, for he continues, ‘A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition reject, knowing that he that is such is subverted, being condemned of Godhimself’ (Titus 3.10-11). Moreover, you may be subject to God’s judgement if you are indifferent to deviation from the truth: ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, but crushes those who forget Himand neither cold not hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth’ (Rev. 3.16).” —St. Mark the Ascetic—Archbishop Theophan of Poltava
“We must “The bishops of the end times will be prepared subservient [obedient and compliant] to accept the powerful of the world, and they will of God. The Lord permits all sorts of things make decisions according to happen to us contrary to our willthe gifts they receive from everywhere, for if we always have it our way, we will not be prepared for and consulting the Kingdom rational logic of Heaventhe academics.” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, "Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives"—St. Pambo
“What should “Do not be heard by little earsshow obedience to bishops who exhort you to do and to say and to believe in things which are not to your benefit. What pious man would hold his tongue? Who would remain completely calm? In fact, should not be said by big mouthssilence equates to consent.” —unknown—St. Meletios of Antioch
“I am incurably convinced that “Geronda, is the object silence of opening the mindChurch an indication of approval?Yes. Someone wrote some blasphemous things about Panaghia and no one spoke up. Then I told someone, as of opening the mouth‘Did you see what so-and-so has written?’ And he told me, ‘Well, is what can you do with those people? You'll get soiled if you try to shut it again on something soliddeal with them.” —G. K’ They're afraid to speak up. Chesterton
“What is slanderWhat did he have to fear, Geronda? It is every sort of wicked word we would dare not speak That people might write something about him and ridicule him in front the press. And so he tolerates blasphemous things about Panaghia! We want others to pull the chestnuts out of the person whom fire so that we are complaining aboutcan have our peace of mind. This indicates a lack of love. Then man begins to act out of self-interest.”—Elder Paisios of Mt.” —StAthos, Spiritual Counsels II, Spiritual Awakening, p. Anthony the Great40
“You cannot be too gentle, too kind. Shun even to appear harsh in “When they are blaspheming your treatment of each other. Joy, radiant joyfaith, streams from the face of him who gives and kindles joy in the heart of him who receives. All condemnation is from the devil. Never condemn each other. We condemn others only because we shun knowing ourselves. When we gaze at our own failings, we see such a swamp that nothing in another can equal it. That is why we turn away, and make much of the faults of others. Instead of condemning others, strive to reach inner peace. Keep you stay silent, refrain from judgment. This will raise you above the deadly arrows of slander, insult and outrage and will shield your glowing hearts against all evilbecome worse than that blasphemer.” —St. Seraphim Gabriel Urgebadze of SarovGeorgia, Confessor and Fool for Christ
“A man may seem to be silent“The clergy in the last years will become an instrument of the Antichrist. They will teach blind obedience as a virtue of peace and salvation. A satanic obedience, but if his heart is condemning others, he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks which will require from morning till night the believer ‘ignorance’ and contempt for the teachings of the Saints and indifference to the truth and yet he is truly silent, that is, he says nothing that is not profitablesuperficial piety.” —Abba Poemen—St. Niphon of Constantia (Cyprus)
“If your tongue “Christian shepherds, that is used , bishops and priests, are going to chatteringbe filled with vainglory (with some exceptions), your heart will remain dim and foreign utterly failing to distinguish the right way from the luminous intuitions left… The Churches of God are going to be deprived of the Holy Spiritgodly and pious shepherds.” —St. John Nilus the Myrrhgusher of DalyathaMt. Athos
“He who does not control his tongue when he is angry“Just as the unskilled doctor sends many people to the gates of Hades [physical death], will not control his passions eithersimilarly, the incompetent and irresponsible spiritual father sends many souls to Hades. O, what a terrible evil for someone to find [spiritual] death while seeking treatment.” —Abba Hyperchius—St. Nektarios of Aegina
“Firmly purpose in your soul to hate every sin of thought, word, and deed, and “The time will come when you are tempted to sin resist it valiantly and with a feeling of hatred for it; only beware lest will be sold by your hatred should turn against the person of your brother who gave occasion for the sinshepherds. Hate They will watch you being ripped apart by the sin with all your heart, but pity your brother; instruct him, wild beasts and pray for him they will not come to the Almighty, Who sees all of us and tries our hearts and innermost partsyour help.” —St. John —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of KronstadtRomania
“These eight passions should be destroyed as follows: gluttony by self-control; unchastity by desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store; avarice by compassion for “In the poor; anger by goodwill and love for all men; worldly dejection by spiritual joy; listlessness by patiencelast days, perseverance evil and offering thanks heresy will have spread so widely that the faithful will not be able to God; self-esteem by doing good in secret and by praying constantly with find a contrite heart; priest or shepherd to protect them from delusion and pride by not judging or despising anyone in the manner of the boastful Pharisee (cfguide them to salvation. Luke 18 : 11–12)At that time, and by considering oneself the least of all faithful will not receive safe guidance from men. When the intellect has been freed in this way from the passions we have described and been raised up to God, it ; but their guide will henceforth live be the life of blessedness, receiving the pledge writings of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 1 : 22)Fathers. And when it departs Especially at this lifetime, dispassionate and full of true knowledge, it every believer will stand before be responsible for the light whole fulness of the Holy Trinity Church. Brethren, it is time for us all to undertake our responsibility to God and with the divine angels to history. Do not tolerate any more foolishness or misguidance from priests or archpriests. Do not turn a blind eye for you will shine in glory through all eternitybe co-responsible. The Saints are forewarning you.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Damascus, On the Virtues Shanghai and the Vices, from The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 2)San Francisco
“We must consider all evil things“The last days are starting. Soon, even there will be an ecumenical council called ‘holy’. But that will be the passions very ‘eighth council’ which war against us, to will be not our own, but the assembly of our enemy the devilgodless. This is very importantAll religions will unite into one at that council. You can only conquer a passion when you do not consider it as part of youThen, all fasts will be canceled, monasticism will be completely destroyed, bishops will be married.” —StThe new calendar will be implimented in the Universal Church. Nikon of Optina
“A sinful soul, full of passions, cannot have peace and rejoice in the Lord, even if it had charge over all earthly riches, even if it ruled over the whole worldBe vigilant. If it was suddenly said Try to such a king, happily feasting and sitting on his throne, go to God'Kings church while they are still ours. Soon, now you will die,won' his soul would t be troubled and he would tremble with fear, and he would able to go there. Everything will change. Only the chosen will see his powerlessnessthis. But how many beggars They will be forcing people to go to church, but we should not go there are, whose only wealth is love for God, under any circumstances. Stand in the Orthodox Faith until the end and who, if you said to them, 'You will die now,' would answer peacefully, 'Let God's will be done. Glory to the Lord, that He has remembered me and wants to take me to Himself.'saved!” —St. Silouan the AthoniteKuksha (Velichko) of Odessa
“Man’s will, out “When the traces of cowardice, tends away from sufferingthe past historical order have become extinguished, and manthe new order has taken ground, against his own the Holy Mount will have no peace. Monastic dignity will, remains utterly dominated by be destroyed or disposed of for the fear freedom of death, the state and, in his desire the bishops to live, clings to his slavery to pleasuresquander its priceless treasures and relics.” —St—Elder Costas the Caveot and Fool for Christ of Mt. Maximus the ConfessorAthos
“Sin makes man “But woe to the monks in those days who will be bound with possessions and riches, who because of love of peace will be ready to submit to the heretics. They will lull to sleep their conscience, saying, ‘We are preserving and saving the monastery and the Lord will forgive us.’ The unfortunate and blind ones do not at all consider that through heresy the demons will enter the monastery and then it will no longer be a coward; holy monastery, but a life in the Truth of Christ makes Him boldmerely walls from which grace will depart.” —St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Anatoly the Statues, VIII. 2Younger of Optina
“Of all “Let us flee from those who reject patristic interpretations and attempt by themselves to deduce the complete opposite. While pretending to concern themselves with the good things in literal sense of the worldpassage, life is dearest to men, and men love life better they reject its godly meaning. We should run away from them more than truthwe would from a snake, although there is no life in truth. The highest goodfor when a snake bites it kills the body temporarily, then, is lifeseparating it from the immortal soul, but truth is the foundation of life. He who loves life must also love truth. But what is the way to truth? 'I am the way'when these evil men get their teeth into a soul, says the Lord. 'I am the way'they separate it from God, that none should think that there which is some other way to the truth besides the Lord Jesus. It was eternal death for that He was born soul. Let us escape as a man: to show men far as we can from such people, and take refuge with those who teach piety and salvation in accordance with the way. And for this that He was crucified, to make traditions of the way plain by His bloodFathers.” —St. Nikolai VelimirovichGregory Palamas, Homily 34, On the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus
“The natural passions become good “Brother Christians! Raise your voices in those who struggle whendefense of the Church's Apostolic Faith, wisely unfastening them from the holy things of the fleshChurch, use them the Church's heritage. Defend your right to believe and confess your faith as you learned it in days of old, as you were taught it by the holy apostles, the holy martyrs, the God-wise fathers of the Church, the Christian ascetics. Take care of the holiness of your souls, the freedom of your consciences. Say loudly that you have been accustomed to gain heavenly pray and save yourselves in the churches, that the holy thingsof the Church are dearer to you than life itself, that without them salvation is impossible. For example they No power can change appetite into demand from you that which is against your faith, your religious conscience: ‘We must obey God rather than men’, said the holy apostles. That is what we, too, must say. The apostles joyfully suffered for the movement of a spiritual longing faith. Be you also ready for divine things; pleasure into pure joy sacrifice, for podvig, and remember that physical arms are powerless against those who arm themselves with powerful faith in Christ. Faith moves mountains, ‘the faith of the cooperation Christians has conquered the pagan boldness’. May your faith be bold and courageous! Christ destroyed Hades. He will also destroy the snares of the enemies of our Church. Believe - and the mind enemy will flee from before your face. Stand in defense of your faith and with divine gifts; fear into care to evade future misfortune due to sin firm hope say: ‘Let God arise, and sadness into corrective repentance for present evil.” let His enemies be scattered!’” —St. Maximus Hermogenes, Hieromartyr and Bishop of Tobolsk, response to the ConfessorBolshevik tyranny in 1918
“How good it “The times ahead, more perhaps than ever before in the Church's history, are a time of what St. Gregory the Theologian called ‘suffering Orthodoxy.’ We truly live in apocalyptic times: atheism is conquering the public sphere in the whole world, false religion increases as never before and captures many of those who awaken from the sleep of unbelief, the ecumenical movement draws nearer its goal of a false world church (the harlot of the Apocalypse), and the spirit of the coming Antichrist begins to place its seal on everywhere. Those who would be faithful to conquer Christ in these terrible times must be prepared for sufferings and trials which will truly test the passions! After the victory one feels such lightness faithfulness of heartour hearts to Him. And yet, such peace greater than these sufferings and greatness the prince of this world who will inflict them upon us is He Who has promised to be with us even to the end of spirit!the age (Matt. 28:20).” —St—Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse, The Apocalypse, translated by Fr. John Seraphim Rose of KronstadtPlatina
“He who believes“Satan has spread 666 traps. His seal will be made not only invisibly but also visibly, fears; he who fears on the forehead and arm. If the seal impression is humble; he made by force, in God’s sight it will be considered like a virgin disgraced. The hardest trial for Christians will be their relatives who is humble becomes gentleaccepted the seal. The seal won’t affect if made against someone's will.” —StBut imagine the trap set by the antichrist for a mother having left with five children. Maximus How to feed them if she does not accept the Confessorseal?
“For every humble person is gentleAt first, the seal will be offered to volunteers. However, within the enthronement of Antichrist everyone will be forced to accept the seal. Disobedience will be claimed a treachery. People will flee to the forests. Precautions should be taken to move in groups of about ten-fifteen, as the demons might try to nudge single people from the cliffs. The believers will be protected by the Holy Spirit. Whatever happens, never lose your hope. Help each other. God will clear your mind and every gentle person is invariably humbleyou will know how to react. The one who endures will be saved. No true believer will feel either hunger, or thirst. A person is humble when he knows that his very being is on loan to himThe believers won't wither in the time of disasters. The Lord will work miracles for them. One leaf of a plant will be enough food for a month. Even the lump of the earth will be changed into the bread by making a sign of the cross over it.” —St. Maximus the Gabriel Urgebadze of Georgia, Confessorand Fool for Christ
“A humble person lives on earth as if in “Everyone is under the influence of a power that masters the mind, the will, and all the powers of the soul. And this power is cunning, because its source is the devil, and his tools are cunning people. Through them work the Antichrist and his forerunners. The Apostle said, ‘Because of that, God delivered them into the Kingdom spirit of delusion, of Heaven - always happydeception, peaceful because they did not accept the love of the truth’. Something dark and satisfied with everythingscary is coming over the world. The human will stay more or less under his mastery, and the more the power of that cunning one has on the human under his mastery, the less the human will be aware of what he is doing.” —St. Anthony of OptinaBarsanuphius
“Not every quiet man “The servants of Antichrist more than anything else strive to force God out of the life of men, so that men, satisfied with their material comfort, might not feel any need to turn to God in prayer, might not remember God, but might live as though He did not exist. Therefore, the whole order of today's life in the so-called ‘free’ countries, where there is no open bloody persecution against faith, where everyone has the right to believe as he wishes, is humblean even greater danger for the soul of a Christian (than open persecution), for it chains him entirely to the earth, compelling him to forget about heaven. The whole of contemporary ‘culture’, but every humble directed to purely earthly attainments and the frantic whirlpool of life bound up with it, keeps a man is quietin a constant state of emptiness and distraction which gives no opportunity for one to go at least a little deeper into his soul, and so the spiritual life in him gradually dies out.” —St. Isaac —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse, True Orthodoxy and the SyrianContemporary World
“You wish “They have built a church career for themselves on a false but attractive premise: that the chief danger to be great, begin from the leastChurch today is lack of strictness. You are thinking to construct some mighty fabric in height; first think No – the chief danger is something much deeper – the loss of the foundation savor of humility. And how great soever Orthodoxy, a mass of building one may wish and design to place above itmovement in which they themselves are participating, even in their ‘strictness.’… ‘Strictness’ will not save us if we don't have any more the greater the building is to be, the deeper does he dig his foundationfeeling and taste of Orthodoxy.” —St—Fr. AugustineSeraphim Rose of Platina
“A humble person lives “We ourselves have a feeling–based on earth nothing very definite as if yet–that the best hope for preserving true Orthodoxy in the Kingdom years ahead will lie in such small gatherings of Heaven - always happybelievers, peaceful as much as possible ‘one in mind and satisfied with everythingsoul.’ The history of the twentieth century has already shown us that we cannot expect too much from the ‘Church organization’; there, even apart from heresies, the spirit of the world has become very strong. Archbishop Averky, and our own Bishop Nektary also, have warned us to prepare for catacomb times ahead, when the grace of God may even be taken away from the ‘Church organization’ and only isolated groups of believers will remain. Soviet Russia already gives us an example of what we may expect–only worse, for the times do not get better.” —St—Fr. Anthony Seraphim Rose of OptinaPlatina, Hope, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works by Hieromonk Damascene
“A servant “Finally, in the twilight of history, the dictator of the world will come, the son of perdition… whom the Lord is he who shall consume with the spirit of His mouth (2 Thess. 2:8). And in body stands before menall that time of peace, but happiness and prosperity, there ‘will be great tribulation such as was not from the beginning of the world, nor will ever be after’ (Mat. 24:21). Because of these troubles, many will repent and turn to God the Saviour. And in mind knocks at Heaven with prayer.” —Stthem the Lord will have His last harvest. John Climacus
“In The countries of the Christian East – in fact, in world will lead the fight against Christ and His Church… The Church of Christ will be put outside the East in general – we love old age because we think that it is made for praying. When one is oldlaw, and feels the nearness public commemoration of God across Christ's name will be proscribed with severe penalties. But only those who call upon the increasingly transparent surface name of biological life, one becomes in consciousness a child, returned to the Father, made light in spirit by Lord will be saved. And the proximity Son of deathMan, transparent to another kind when He suddenly comes and destroys the ‘son of lightperdition’ [i.e.Antichrist], that last tyrant, will He find faith on the earth?
A civilization It will be found, but not in which one no longer prays is a civilization public. It will be found, but not in magnificent temples, such as are present, but in which old age has no meaningthe caves and deserts. One walks backward towards deathIt will be found, pretending but not as approved and protected, but as something tossed to and fro. It will be young; it’s an agonizing spectaclefound, because a wonderful possibility is offeredbut not in lavish liturgies and psalmody but in the temples of the human heart and in whispered speakings. For the Church began in Martyrdom, a journey towards ultimate relinquishmentand in the end there She will find Martyrdom, O holy brethren.” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich, and it is not taken advantage The Orthodox Church in the "twilight of.history"
We need old people who pray“During the days of Antichrist, the strongest temptation will be the anticipation of salvation coming from the cosmos, who smilefrom humanoids–that is from extraterrestrials, who live are actually demons. One should rarely look up to search the skies with a disinterested lovethe naked eye, who marvel; they alone can show young people that that living is worth since the effortsigns might be deceptive and one might be deceived.” —St. Gabriel Urgebadze of Georgia, Confessor and that oblivion is not the last word.Fool for Christ
Every monk whose spiritual practice has born fruit “So mine is a little flock? But it is not being carried over a precipice. So mine is a narrow fold? But it is called in the Eastunapproachable by wolves; it cannot be entered by a robber, nor overcome by thieves and strangers. I shall yet see it, whatever his ageI know well, 'grow wider… I fear not for the little flock; for it is seen at a beautiful old manglance. I know my sheep and am known of mine. Such are they that know God and are known of God.' He is beautiful with the beauty My sheep hear from my voice that rises which I have heard from the heart. In him all oracles of God, which I have been taught by the periods of his life Holy Fathers, which I have come into harmonytaught in like manner on all occasions, as with a symphonynot conforming myself to fashion, one might say. And especially the original child is found again: shining with a transfigured shiningand which I will never cease to teach; in which I was born, the beautiful old man has the eyes of a childand in which I will depart.” —Olivier Clément—St. Gregory the Theologian
“It is of great significance if there “If it should happen that a patriarch, metropolitan, or bishop is a person who truly prays in heretic, and such a family. Prayer attracts God’s grace heretic publicly professes heresy and disseminates heretical opinions boldly and all confidently among the members of the family feel itpeople, whoever separates from him will not only not be punished, but rather honored, even those whose hearts have grown coldfor they deserve recognition for separating from an association with a certain faith. Pray always” —Fr.” —Elder Thaddeus of VitovnicaJoannes Zonaras (9th century Byzantine canonist and historian on Canon 15)
“Prayer “If every Orthodox Christian is commanded by the place canons to depart from a heretical bishop even before he is officially condemned, or be guilty also of refuge for every worryhis heresy, a foundation for cheerfulnesshow much more must we depart from those who are worse (and more unfortunate) than heretics, a source because they openly serve the cause of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.Antichrist?” —St—Fr. John ChrysostomSeraphim Rose of Platina, Letter 40, 1970
“He “Concerning the Patriarch I shall say this, lest it should perhaps occur to him to show me a certain respect at the burial of this my humble body, or to send to my grave any of his hierarchs or clergy or in general any of those in communion with him in order to take part in prayer or to join the priests invited to it from amongst us, thinking that at some time, or perhaps secretly, I had allowed communion with him. And lest my silence give occasion to those who do not know my views well and fully to suspect some kind of conciliation, I hereby state and testify before the many worthy men here present that I do not desire, in any manner and absolutely, and do not accept communion with him or with those who angers youare with him, not in this life nor after my death, controls you!just as (I accept) neither the Union nor Latin dogmas, which he and his adherents have accepted, and for the enforcement of which he has occupied this presiding place, with the aim of overturning the true dogmas of the Church. I am absolutely convinced that the farther I stand from him and those like him, the nearer I am to God and all the saints, and to the degree that I separate myself from them am in union with the Truth and with the Holy Fathers, the Theologians of the Church; and I am likewise convinced that those who count themselves with them stand far away from the Truth and from the blessed Teachers of the Church. And for this reason I say: just as in the course of my whole life I was separated from them, so at the time of my departure, yea and after my death, I turn away from intercourse and communion with them and vow and command that none (of them) shall approach either my burial or my grave, and likewise anyone else from our side, with the aim of attempting to join and concelebrate in our Divine services; for this would be to mix what cannot be mixed. But it befits them to be absolutely separated from us until such time as God shall grant correction and peace to His Church.” —Bishop Melchisedek Pleska—St. Mark of Ephesus, The Example of, [as quoted in The Orthodox Word, June-July, 1967, pp. 103ff.]
“[The desire for] equality “With all our strength, therefore, let us beware lest we receive Communion from or give it to heretics. ‘Give not what is from holy to the Devildogs, because it comes entirely from envy’ saith the Lord. ‘Neither cast ye your pearls before swine’, lest we become partakers in their dishonour and condemnation.” —Fr—St. Alexander SchmemannJohn of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, IV, 13
“In your prayer seek only righteousness and “And, you see, people are not at all aware that we are living during the kingdom signs of Godthe times, that the sealing is, virtue and spiritual knowledge; and everything else 'already advancing. This is why the Sacred Scripture says that even the elect will be given to you' (Matt. 6:33)deceived.” —St. Evagrius Paisios of PonticusMt. Athos, Spiritual Counsels, Vol. II, Spiritual Awakening, p. 198
“Virtues “The Church is suffering today because Divine illumination is missing and people understand things as it suits them. The human element gets involved; passions are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride aroused, and envy. Prayer draws into then, the soul the Holy Spirit, devil comes and raises man thrashes about. That is why people who are governed by their passions should not seek to Heavengovern others.” —St. Ephrem the SyrianPaisios of Mt. Athos
“Even if we stand “In sum, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in theory embracing almost the whole universe and in fact extending its authority only over several dioceses, and in other places having only a higher superficial supervision and receiving certain revenues for this, persecuted by the government at the very summit home and not supported by any governmental authority abroad: having lost its significance as a pillar of truth and having itself become a source of virtuedivision, it is and at the same time being possessed by mercy that we shall be savedan exorbitant love of power--represents a pitiful spectacle which recalls the worst periods in the history of the See of Constantinople.” —St. John Chrysostom(Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, from Orthodox Word, vol. 8, no. 4 (45), July-August 1972, pp. 166-168, 174-175.
“The Holy Spirit has accomplishing “Those that wish to discern the truth may observe the apostolic tradition made manifest in every church throughout the world. We can enumerate those who were appointed bishops in the churches by the apostles, and their successors (or successions) down to our own day, who never taught, and never knew, absurdities such as these men produce. For if the apostles had known hidden mysteries which they taught the perfect in private and in each believer secret, they would rather have committed them to those to whom they entrusted the work churches. For they wished those men to be perfect and unbelievable whom they laughed as their successors and to whom they handed over their own office of Christauthority. Each Christian is But as it would be very tedious, in a communicant book of this sort, to enumerate the spiritsuccessions in all the churches, we can found all those who in any way, whether for self-pleasing, or vainglory, or blindness, or evil mindedness, hold on authorized meetings. This we do by pointing to the apostolic tradition and the faith that is something so necessarypreached to men, which has come down to us through the successions of bishops; the tradition and creed of the greatest, and most ancient church, the church known to all men, which was founded and set up at Rome by the two men most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul. For with this church, because of its position of leadership and authority, must needs agree every church, that is, the faithful everywhere; for in fact whoever does not have her the apostolic tradition has always been preserved by the Spirit is not of Christfaithful from all parts.” —St. Theophan the RecluseIrenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, III
“The Church is nothing but the world on “If you wait for the way perfect conditions to deification; for the Churchwork out your salvation, the world is no longer then you will never begin a tomb but a wombGod-pleasing life.” —Olivier Clément—St. Nikon of Optina
“The church "True Christianity is an earthly heaven glorifying God with our own lives. To glorify God with our own life is possible only when we have true faith and when that faith indeed exists, we express it in which the super-celestial God dwells words and walks aboutin deeds. ” —St. Germanus John (Maximovitch) of ConstantinopleShanghai and San Francisco
“Nothing is more abiding than “When I, while still in Australia, began to receive information from America already post factum that here [in New York City] there had been protests, demonstrations, and even molebens in front of the Church: she is your salvation; she is your refugeSoviet consulate, I became quite alarmed and regretted that I was not here, since I would have decisively opposed much of what took place.” —StIn particular, holding a moleben in such a place. John ChrysostomDid they not sing the Lord's song in a strange land? What cause was there to display the holy things of the Church's services before the gaze of the frenzied servants of Antichrist? Was it really not possible to pray in church?
“There I must say frankly that I am always seized by dismay when I hear of protests, demonstrations, and the like. In the USSR, life is governed by him (the one with horns) who fears only Christ and His Cross; and who fears nothing else in the world. And he merely chortles over protests and demonstrations. Public opinion? Why, the antichrist regime has nothing but the uttermost contempt for it! They wanted to seize Czechoslovakia and they seized it, paying no need heed to weep much over the destruction of a church; after allcommotion that was raised. They wanted to invade Afghanistan and they invaded it, each again paying no attention to the protests and threats of us, according the various Carters & Co. All attempts to God's mercy, has or should have his own church - shape public opinion in the heart so- go called Free World in there favor of those suffering from Communism are powerless and prayfruitless, as much as you have strength since the Free World stubbornly closes its eyes and time. If this church is not well made imitates the ostrich, which hides its head under its wing and is abandoned imagines that it cannot be seen…” —Metropolitan Philaret of New York, A letter from Metropolitan Philaret (without inward prayerVoznesensky), then to ROCOR Priest Victor Potapov concerning Father Dimitry Dudko and the visible church will be of little benefit.” —Archbishop BarlaamMoscow Patriarchate
“Our prayer reflects our attitude towards God. He who “That only the canonical Scriptures have infallibility is careless of salvation has a different attitude toward God from him who has abandoned sin and testified by Blessed Augustine in the words which he writes to Jerome: ‘It is zealous for virtue but has not yet entered within himself fitting to bestow such honour and works veneration only to the books of Scripture which are called 'canonical,' for I absolutely believe that none of the Lord only outwardlyauthors who wrote them erred in anything. Finally… As for other writings, he who has entered within no matter how great was the excellence of their authors in sanctity and carries the Lord within himselflearning, standing before Him, has yet another attitude. The first man is negligent in prayer, just reading them I do not accept their teaching as he is negligent in lifetrue solely on the basis that they thus wrote and thought.’ Then, and he prays in church and at home merely according a letter to Fortunatus [St. Mark continues in his citations of Augustine] he writes the following: ‘We should not hold the established customjudgment of a man, without attention or feeling. The second even though this man reads many prayers might have been orthodox and goes often had an high reputation, as the same kind of authority as the canonical Scriptures, to churchthe extent of considering it inadmissible for us, trying at out of the same time reverence we owe such men, to keep his attention from wandering disapprove and reject something in their writing if we should happen to experience feelings in accordance with discover that they taught other than the prayers truth which are read, although he is seldom successful. The third man, wholly concentrated within, stands with his mind before God's help, and prays to Him in his heart without distraction, without long verbal prayers, even when standing for a long time at prayer in his home has been attained by others or in churchby ourselves. … Every prayer must come from This is how I am with regard to the heart and any writings of other prayer is no prayer at all. Prayer-book prayers, your own prayers men; and very short prayers, all must issue forth from I desire that the heart reader will act thus with regard to Godmy writings also.’” —St. Mark of Ephesus, Second Homily on Purgatorial Fire, seen before youchs.” —St15-16; Pogodin, pp. Theophan the Recluse127-132
“It is sometimes well during prayer to say a few words of your own, breathing fervent faith “All who foolishly and love to proudly reject the Lord. YesHoly Fathers, let us not always converse who approach the Gospels directly with God in the words of others, not always remain children in faith foolish brazenness and hope; we must also show our own unclean mind, indite a good matter from our own and heart also. Moreover, we grow too accustomed to the words of others and grow cold in prayerfall into lethal self-deception. And how pleasing this lipsing of our own isThe Gospel has rejected them, coming from a believing, loving, and thankful heart. It is impossible to explain this; for it is only needful to say that when you accepts those who are praying to God with your own words the soul trembles with joy, it becomes wholly inflamed, vivified, and beatified. You will utter few words, but you will experience such blessedness as you would not have obtained saying the longest most touching prayers of others, pronounced out of habit and insincerelyhumble.” —St. John Ignatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of KronstadtCaucasus, The Field, Chapter 3
“Chastisement through the trials imposed on “The holy scriptures were not given to us is a spiritual rodthat we should enclose them in books, teaching us humility when but that we should engrave them in our foolishness we think too much of ourselveshearts.” —St. Thalassios the LibyanJohn Chrysostom
“Goodness is not confirmed “I will tell you my opinion briefly and without trialreserve. Every Christian is tested We ought to remain in that Church which was founded by something: one by povertythe Apostles and continues to this day. If ever you hear of any that are called Christians taking their name not from the Lord Jesus Christ, another by illnessbut from some other, a third by various thoughtsfor instance, a forth by some calamity or humiliationMarcionites, while another by various doubts. AndValentinians, through thisMen of the mountain or the plain, firmness you may be sure that you have there not the Church of faithChrist, hope and love but the synagogue of Antichrist. For the fact that they took their rise after the foundation of God the Church is proof that they are testedthose whose coming the Apostle foretold.” —St. Ambrose of Optina
“Sometimes men are tested by pleasureAnd let them not flatter themselves if they think they have Scripture authority for their assertions, sometimes by distress or by physical suffering. By means since the devil himself quoted Scripture, and the essence of His prescriptions the Physician of souls administers Scriptures is not the remedy according to letter, but the cause of meaning. Otherwise, if we follow the passions lying hidden in letter, we too can concoct a new dogma and assert that such persons as wear shoes and have two coats must not be received into the soulChurch.” —St. Maximus the Confessor, PhilokaliaJerome
“If “The key [to interpreting Holy Scripture]… is the Tradition of the Church… Now if you want to interpret the way you want, or rather intend, due to take a splinter out of another personyour satanic pride, then do not hack at it with you will most certainly fail. You will become a stick instead heretic, and heresy is nothing other than the logical interpretation of dogma. When I attempt to interpret things that cannot be interpreted with logic and intellect, when I attempt to interpret a lancetdeep mystery using my mere mind and my intellect, for you will only drive it in deeperthen I go astray.” —St—Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios, Homiles on the Book of the Revelation, Vol. I, p. John Climacus46
“To exalt oneself is one thing, “Christianity did not to do so anothercome from Judaism: rather, and to humble oneself Judaism is something less entirely. A man may always be passing judgement on others, while another man passes judgement neither on others nor on himself. A third, however, though actually guiltless, may always be passing judgement on himselfa perversion of Christianity.” —St. John ClimacusIgnatius of Antioch
“If a man accuses himself, he “Jesus Christ is protected on all sidesKing of Israel. Christians are the Israelite race.” —St. PoemenJustin the Martyr
“It “The synagogue is a refuge for demons, and it is more correct to say not then wealth that is only the foundation of pleasuresynagogue but also Jewish souls; if you consider yourself a true Jew, nor poverty of sadness, but our own judgment and the fact that then why are you burdening the eyes of our mind neither see clearly nor remain fixed in one place, but flutter abroadChurch.” —St. John Chrysostom, Against the Jews (Adversus Judeos), Homily 1 IV:2
“One “So it is that I exhort you to flee and shun their gatherings. The harm they bring to our weaker brothers is not slight; they offer no slight excuse to sustain to the folly of the Jews. For when they see that you, who knows oneselfworship the Christ whom they crucified, are reverently following their rituals, how can they fail to think that the rites they have performed are the best and that our ceremonies are worthless? For after you worship and adore at our mysteries, you run to the very men who destroy our rites. Paul said: ‘If a man sees you that have knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not his conscience, being weak, knows Godbe emboldened to eat those things which are sacrificed to idols’? And let me say: If a man sees you that have knowledge come into the synagogue and one participate in the festival of the Trumpets, shall not his conscience, being weak, be emboldened to admire what the Jews do? He who knows God falls not only pays the penalty for his own fall, but he is worthy to worship Him also punished because he trips others as well. But the man who has stood firm is right. Therefore, my beloveds in rewarded not only because of his own virtue but people admire him for leading others to desire the Lord, know yourselvessame things.” —St. Anthony John Chrysostom, Against the GreatJews (Adversus Judeos), Homily 1 V:7
“In whatever state a person is, he sometimes finds himself making pure and intense prayers. For even from “But do not be surprised that first and lowest sort, which has to do with recalling I called the future judgment, the one who is still subject to the punishment of terror Jews pitiable. They really are pitiable and the fear of judgment is occasionally miserable. When so struck with compunction that he is filled with no less joy of spirit many blessings from the richness of his supplication than the one whoheaven came into their hands, examining the kindnesses of God they thrust them aside and going over were at great pains to reject them in the purity . The morning Sun of his heartJustice arose for them, dissolves into unspeakable gladness but they thrust aside its rays and delight. For, according to the words of the Lord, the one who realizes that more has been forgiven him begins to love morestill sit in darkness.” —St. John CassianChrysostom, Against the Jews (Adversus Judeos)
“If a man's self “Certainly it is the time for me to show that demons dwell in the synagogue, not kept clean only in the place itself but also in the souls of the Jews. As Christ said: ‘When an unclean spirit is gone out, he walks through dry places seeking rest. If he does not find it he says: I shall return to my house. And coming he finds it empty, swept, and bright, his glimpse garnished. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter into him and the last state of God will that man is made worse than the first. So shall it be blurredalso to this generation.’ Do you see that demons dwell in their souls and that these demons are more dangerous than the ones of old? And this is very reasonable.” —C—St. S. LewisJohn Chrysostom, Against the Jews (Adversus Judeos)
“God rests within gentle hearts“It is absurd to speak of Jesus Christ with the tongue, and to cherish in the mind a Judaism which has now come to an end. For where there is Christianity there cannot be Judaism. The gentle For Christ is one, in whom every nation that believes, and merciful shall sit fearless in His regionsevery tongue that confesses, is gathered unto God. And those that were of a stony heart have become the children of Abraham, the friend of God and will inherit Heavenly gloryin his seed all those have been blessed who were ordained to eternal life in Christ.” —St. John ClimacusIgnatius of Antioch, On the Delusion of Being a ‘Jewish’ Christian, Epistle to the Magnesians, Chapter X
“That which “Jews are slayers of the Lord, murderers of the word communicates by soundprophets, enemies of God, adversaries of Grace, enemies of their Fathers’ faith, advocates of the devil, a brood of vipers, slanderers, scoffers, men of darkened minds, the painting shows silently by representation.leaven of Pharisees, a congregation of demons, sinners, wicked men, haters of Goodness!” —St. Basil the Great, on the 40 Martyrs Gregory of SebasteNyssa
“Do not call God just, for His justice “It is not manifest in the things concerning you. And if David calls Him just and upright (cf. Ps. 24:8, 144:17), His Son revealed to us true that He is good and kind. ‘He is good,’ He says, ‘to Muhammad started from the evil east and came to the impious’ (cf. Luke 6:35). How can you call God just when you come across the Scriptural passage on west, as the wage given sun travels from east to the workers? ‘Friend, I do thee no wrong I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Is thine eye evil because I am good?’ (Matt. 20:12-15)west. How can a man call God just when Nevertheless he comes across the passage on the prodigal son who wasted his wealth came with riotous livingwar, how for the compunction alone which he showedknives, the father ran and fell upon his neck and gave him authority over all his wealth? (Luke 15:11 ff.). None other but His very Son said these things concerning Himpillaging, lest we doubt it; and thus He bare witness concerning Him. Whereforced enslavement, thenmurders, is and acts that are not from the good God's justicebut instigated by the chief manslayer, for whilst we are sinners Christ died for us! (cf. Rom. 5:8). But if here He is merciful, we may believe that He will not changethe devil.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily LXGregory Palamas
“God chastises with love“They furthermore accuse us of being idolaters, not for because we venerate the sake cross, which they abominate. And we answer them: ‘How is it, then, that you rub yourselves against a stone in your Ka'ba and kiss and embrace it?’ Then some of revenge---far be them say that Abraham had relations with Agar upon it!---, but in seeking others say that he tied the camel to it, when he was going to make whole his imagesacrifice Isaac. And we answer them: ‘Since Scripture says that the mountain was wooded and had trees from which Abraham cut wood for the holocaust and laid it upon Isaac, [108] and then he does not harbour wrath until such time as correction left the asses behind with the two young men, why talk nonsense? For in that place neither is it thick with trees nor is no longer possible, there passage for he does not seek vengeance for himselfasses. This ’ And they are embarrassed, but they still assert that the stone is the aim of loveAbraham's. LoveThen we say: ‘Let it be Abraham's chastisement is for correction, but does not aim at retributionas you so foolishly say. … The man who chooses Then, just because Abraham had relations with a woman on it or tied a camel to consider God as avengerit, presuming that in this manner he bears witness you are not ashamed to His justicekiss it, yet you blame us for venerating the cross of Christ by which the same accuses Him power of being bereft the demons and the deceit of goodnessthe Devil was destroyed. Far be it ’ This stone that vengeance could ever be found in they talk about is a head of that Fountain of love Aphrodite whom they used to worship and Ocean brimming with goodness!” —Stwhom they called Khabár. Isaac Even to the present day, traces of the Syriancarving are visible on it to careful observers.
“Among all God's actions As has been related, this Mohammed wrote many ridiculous books, to each one of which he set a title. For example, there is none the book On Woman, in which is not entirely he plainly makes legal provision for taking four wives and, if it be possible, a matter of mercythousand concubines—as many as one can maintain, besides the four wives. He also made it legal to put away whichever wife one might wish, and, should one so wish, to take to oneself another in the same way. Mohammed had a friend named Zeid. This man had a beautiful wife with whom Mohammed fell in love . Once, when they were sitting together, Mohammed said: ‘Oh, by the way, God has commanded me to take your wife.’ The other answered: ‘You are an apostle. Do as God has told you and compassiontake my wife.’ Rather—to tell the story over from the beginning—he said to him: ‘God has given me the command that you put away your wife.’ And he put her away. Then several days later: ‘Now,’ he said, ‘God has commanded me to take her.’ Then, after he had taken her and committed adultery with her, he made this constitutes law: ‘Let him who will put away his wife. And if, after having put her away, he should return to her, let another marry her. For it is not lawful to take her unless she have been married by another. Furthermore, if a brother puts away his wife, let his brother marry her, should he so wish.’ [110] In the same book he gives such precepts as this: ‘Work the beginning land which God hath given thee and end of His dealings with usbeautify it. And do this, and do it in such a manner’ –not to repeat all the obscene things that he did.” —St. Isaac the SyrianJohn of Damascus, Fount of Knowledge, Heresies in Epitome: How They Began and Whence They Drew Their Origin
“The world is “Sometimes Japanese protestants come to me and ask me to clarify some place in the general name for all the passionsHoly Scriptures. When we wish to call the passions by a common name‘You have your own missionary teachers,’ I tell them, we call ‘Go ask them. What do they say?’ ‘We have asked them the world. They say: understand as you know how. But when we wish I need to distinguish them by their special names, we call them know the passions. The passions are the following: love real thought of richesGod, desire for possessionsnot my own personal opinion.’ … It's not like that with us [Orthodox]. Everything is clear, bodily pleasure from which comes sexual passion, love of honour which gives rise to envy, lust for power, arrogance trustworthy and pride of positionsimple, the craving since we accept Holy Tradition in addition to adorn oneself with luxurious clothes and vain ornaments, the itch for human glory which Holy Scriptures. And Holy Tradition is a source living, unbroken voice of our Church from the time of rancour Christ and resentmentHis Apostles until now, and physical fear. Where these passions cease to be active, there which will exist until the end of the world is dead; for though living in . In it all the flesh, they did not live for the flesh. See for which meaning of these passions you are alive. Then you will know how far you are alive to the world and how far you Holy Scriptures are dead to itpreserved.” —St. Isaac the SyrianNicholas of Japan, Diary, January 15, 1897
“We don't understand that happiness “It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, Who is the true word of God. The Bible, read in eternity the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him. We must not in vanityuse the Bible as a sort of encyclopedia out of which texts can be taken for use as weapons.” —Elder Paisios of Mt—C. S. AthosLewis
“Why do you beat the air “If Scripture is perfect and run in vain? Every occupation has a purposesufficient for everything, obviously. Tell me then, what why is the purpose of all the activity of the worldChurch's interpretation necessary? AnswerBecause, quite plainly, I challenge you! It Scripture is vanity of vanity: all is vanitynot accepted by everyone as having the same meaning.” —St. John ChrysostomVincent of Lérins
"Have you ever observed “When they are refuted by the life of Scriptures, they take to maligning the heart? Try it even for a short time and see what you findScriptures themselves. Something unpleasant happens, … But when we refer them to that tradition which originates with the apostles and you get irritated; some misfortune occurswhich is preserved in the churches through the succession of the presbyters, and you pity yourself; you see someone whom you dislikethey attack the tradition, and animosity wells up within you; you meet one of your equals claiming that they themselves are wiser not merely than the presbyters but even than the apostles. [However] anyone who has now outdistanced you on wants to see the social scale, and you begin truth can look to envy himthe tradition of the Apostles which is clearly manifested throughout the whole world; you think of your talents and capabilities, and you begin we can list those who were set up as bishops in the different churches as well as their successors right down to grow proud… All this is rottenness: vaingloryour own time, carnal desire, gluttony, laziness, malice-one on top men who neither taught nor knew anything like what these [Gnostics] are raving about. For if the apostles had known secret doctrines which they were in the habit of teaching to the other“perfect” clandestinely and apart from the rest, they destroy would most certainly have communicated these things to those to whom they were entrusting the heart.” —Stchurches themselves. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco
“As water And if a dispute should arise over some point or other, should we not have recourse to the most ancient churches, in which the apostles were actively interested, and fire oppose one another when combinedfind out from them what is certain and clear with regard to the point at issue? What if, so are self-justification and humility opposed in fact, the apostles had left us no Writings? Would it not be necessary to follow the line indicated by the tradition which they handed down to those to one another.whom they entrusted the churches?” —St. Mark the AsceticIrenaeus of Lyons
“Fire and water do “[Heretics] should not mix, neither can you mix judgment of others with the desire be admitted to repent. If a man commits a sin before you at the very moment of his death, pass no judgment, because the judgment any discussion of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open but have done greater deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke instead of sunlight in their eyes.” —St. John ClimacusScriptures…
“ChristiansThe Lord Jesus sent the apostles to preach. … Now what they actually preached can, above all menas I must here likewise prescribe, are forbidden be proved only by those very same churches which the apostles themselves founded by preaching to correct them both viva voce, as they say, and later by letters. Such being the stumblings of sinners by force… case, it is necessary to make a man better not consequently certain that any doctrine which agrees with [what is held by force but by persuasion. God gives ] these apostolic churches, moulds and original sources of the faith, must be considered the crown to those who are kept truth, undoubtedly containing that which these churches received from evilthe apostles, not by forcethe apostles from Christ, and Christ from God; but by choice.” —Stany other doctrine must be presumed false, since it smacks of opposition to the truth of the churches, of the apostles, of Christ, of God. John Chrysostom
“I Come now! Would they all have seen pride lead to humility. And I remembered him who said: Who hath known fallen into error? Would the steward of God, the mind Vicar of Christ [the Holy Spirit] have neglected His duty by allowing the Lordchurches to understand and believe otherwise than what He Himself taught the apostles? The pit Is it likely that so many and offspring such outstanding churches would all have strayed into the one [false] faith? No chance happening ever has the same outcome in the case of conceit is a fall; but a fall is often an occasion many different individuals. A doctrinal error in so many different churches would of humility for those who are willing to use it to their advantagenecessity have taken different forms.” —St. John ClimacusBut when unity exists amid diversity, this can be the result, The Ladder not of Divine Ascenterror, Step 15, Section 38but only of Tradition.
“Humility is the only thing Let us inquire, therefore, whether tradition, unless it be written, should be accepted. Certainly we shall say that it ought not to be accepted if we can allege as precedent no devil can imitatecases of other practices which we justify without any written document, but solely on the grounds of tradition and because of the approval of subsequent custom… If you demand scriptural justification for these and other such practices, you will find none. Tradition will be held out to you as their author, custom as their consolidator, and faith as their observer.” —St. John Climacus—Tertullian
“An angel fell “Since there are many who think they share the mind of Christ and yet some of them think differently from Heaven without any other passion except pridetheir predecessors, let the preaching of the Church be held fast, that preaching which has been handed down from the apostles through the ranks of succession and so we may ask whether it perdures in the churches to the present day. That alone is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of be believed as the virtuestruth which varies in no wise from ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition.” —St. John Climacus—Origen
“Run “It suffices as proof of our thesis that we have a tradition coming to us from pridethe fathers, for it is like a passion more treacherous than any otherlegacy handed down from the apostles through the saints who followed them in succession.” —St. John ChrysostomGregory of Nyssa
“Pride more than anything else“Of the beliefs and practices [disciplinary regulations] preserved in the Church, deprives people some we possess from teaching handed down in written form; others we have received as delivered to us in a mystery from the tradition of the Apostles, and both their good deeds and help from God. Where there of these have the same force as far as religion is no humility, pride takes its placeconcerned.” —St. Macarius of OptinaBasil the Great
“Day and night I pray “There is need of tradition also; for not everything can be found in Scripture. That is why the Lord for love, most holy apostles left some things in writing and the Lord gives me tears to weep for the whole worldothers in tradition. But if Paul affirms this very fact as follows: ‘as I find fault with any man, or look handed it on him with an unkind eye, to you.’ Likewise in another passage: ‘This is my tears will dry up, teaching and my soul sink into despondency. Yet do thus have I begin again handed it on to entreat forgiveness of the Lordchurches.’ Similarly: ‘If you continue to cling firmly to it, and the Lord in His mercy forgives me, a sinneras I preached it to you—unless your faith has all been for nothing.’” —St.Epiphanius
Brethren, before “Baptize first the face of my God I write: Humble your heartschildren, and while yet on this earth you will see the mercy of the Lord, and know your Heavenly Creatorif they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, and your souls will never have let their fill of loveparents or other relatives speak for them.” —St. Silouan the AthoniteHippolytus of Rome, The Apostolic Tradition, 21:16
“He who in his heart is proud of his tears and secretly condemns those who do “We baptize even infants, though they are not weep is like a man who asks the king for a weapon against his enemy defiled by sins, so they too may be given holiness, righteousness, adoption, inheritance, brotherhood with Christ, and then commits suicide with itmembership in Him.” —St. John ClimacusChrysostom
“Do not grow conceited if you shed tears “We believe the first man created by God to have fallen in Paradise, when you pray, disregarding the Divine commandment, he yielded to the deceitful counsel of the serpent. For And as a result hereditary sin flowed to his posterity; so that everyone who is born after the flesh bears this burden, and experiences the fruits of it in this present world. But by these fruits and this burden we do not understand [actual] sin, such as impiety, blasphemy, murder, sodomy, adultery, fornication, enmity, and whatever else is Christ who has touched your eyesby our depraved choice committed contrarily to the Divine Will, not from nature.” —StFor many both of the Forefathers and of the Prophets, and vast numbers of others, as well of those under the shadow [of the Law], as well as under the truth [of the Gospel], such as the divine Precursor, and especially the Mother of God the Word, the ever-virgin Mary, did not experience these [sins], or such like faults. Mark But only what the AsceticDivine Justice inflicted upon man as a punishment for the [original] transgression, such as sweats in labor, afflictions, bodily sicknesses, pains in child-bearing, and, finally, while on our pilgrimage, to live a laborious life, and lastly, bodily death.” —Confession of Dositheus, Synod of Jerusalem, 1672, Decree 6
“And here also we have diligently to consider“We believe Holy Baptism, which was instituted by the Lord, that it is far more secure and safe that every man should do that for himself whiles he is yet aliveconferred in the name of the Holy Trinity, which he desireth that others should do for him after his deathto be of the highest necessity. For far more blessed without it none isable to be saved, as the Lord says, to depart free out ‘Whoever is not born of water and of this worldthe Spirit, than being shall in prison to seek for releaseno way enter into the Kingdom of the Heavens.’ {John 3: and 5} And, therefore reason teacheth us, that we should with our whole soul contemn this present worldbaptism is necessary even for infants, since they also are subject to original sin, at least because we see that it is now gone and past: and without Baptism are not able to offer unto God obtain its remission. Which the daily sacrifice Lord showed when he said, not of tearssome only, but simply and absolutely, ‘Whoever is not born [again],’ which is the daily Sacrifice of His Body and Blood. For this Sacrifice doth especially save our souls from everlasting damnationsame as saying, which in mystery doth renew unto us ‘All that after the death coming of Christ the Savior would enter into the Son Kingdom of God: who although being risen from deaththe Heavens must be regenerated.’ And since infants are men, and as such need salvation, doth needing salvation they need also Baptism. And those that are not now die any moreregenerated, nor death shall since they have not any further prevail against him: yet living in himself immortallyreceived the remission of hereditary sin, are, of necessity, subject to eternal punishment, and consequently cannot without all corruptionBaptism be saved. So that even infants should, of necessity, be baptized. Moreover, infants are saved, he as is again sacrificed for us said in this mystery of the holy oblationMatthew; {Matthew 19: for there his body 12} but he that is received, there his flesh not baptized is distributed for the salvation not saved. And consequently even infants must of necessity be baptized. And in the peopleActs {Acts 8:12; 16: there His Blood 33} it is not now shed betwixt said that the hands of infidelswhole houses were baptized, but poured into and consequently the mouths of the faithfulinfants. Wherefore let us hereby meditate what manner of sacrifice To this isthe ancient Fathers also witness explicitly, and among them Dionysius in his Treatise concerning the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy; and Justin in his fifty-sixth Question, ordained for uswho says expressly, which for our absolution doth always represent ‘And they are guaranteed the passion benefits of Baptism by the only Son faith of God: for what right believing Christian can doubtthose that bring them to Baptism.’ And Augustine says that it is an Apostolic tradition, that children are saved through Baptism; and in another place, ‘The Church gives to babes the very hour feet of the sacrificeothers, at that they may come; and the words hearts of the Priest, the heavens be openedothers, that they may believe; and the quires tongues of Angels are present in others, that mystery of Jesus Christthey may promise; that high things are accompanied with low, ’ and earthly joined to heavenlyin another place, and that one thing is made of visible and invisible?” —St. Gregory the Great‘Our mother, Dialogues of St. Gregory the GreatChurch, Book 4, chfurnishes them with a particular heart. 58’
“… One must clean Now the royal house from every impurity matter of Baptism is pure water, and adorn no other liquid. And it with every beautyis performed by the Priest only, or in a case of unavoidable necessity, by another man, provided he is Orthodox, then and has the king may enter into itproper intention to Divine Baptism. In a similar way one must first cleanse And the earth effects of Baptism are, to speak concisely, firstly, the heart and uproot the weeds remission of sin and the passionate deeds and soften it with sorrows hereditary transgression, and of any sins of any kind that the narrow way of lifebaptized may have committed. Secondly, sow in it delivers him from the seed of virtueeternal punishment, water it with lamentation and tearsto which he was liable, as well for original sin and only then does the fruit of dispassion and eternal life growfor mortal sins he may have individually committed. For Thirdly, it gives to the Holy Spirit does not dwell person immortality; for in a man until he has been cleansed justifying them from passions past sins, it makes them temples of the soul and bodyGod.” —St. Paisius Velichkovsky, ‘Field Flowers’
“The passions And it cannot be said that there is any sin which may have been previously committed that remains, though not imputed, that is not washed away through Baptism, For that were indeed the height of impiety, and a denial, rather than a confession of piety. Indeed, truly, all sin existing, or committed before Baptism, is blotted out, and is to be regarded as never existing or committed. For the forms of Baptism, and on either hand all the words that precede and that perfect Baptism, do indicate a perfect cleansing. And the same thing even the very names of Baptism do signify. For if Baptism is by the Spirit and by fire, {Matthew 3:11} it is obvious that it is in all a perfect cleansing; for the Spirit cleanses perfectly. If it is light, {Hebrews 6:4} it dispels the darkness. If it is regeneration, {Titus 3:5} old things are passed away. And what are these except sins? If the baptized puts off the flesh may old man, {Colossians 3:9} then sin also. If he puts on Christ, {Galatians 3:27} then in effect he becomes free from sin through Baptism. For God is far from sinners. This Paul also teaches more plainly, saying: ‘As through one [man] we, being many, were made sinners, so through one [are we made] righteous.’ {Romans 5:19} And if righteous, then free from sin. For it is not possible for life and death to be described in the same [person]. If Christ truly died, then remission of sin through the Spirit is true also. Hence it is evident that all who are baptized and fall asleep while babes are undoubtedly saved, being predestinated through the death of Christ. Forasmuch as belonging they are without any sin; – without that common [to all], because delivered from it by the left handDivine laver, and without any of their own, because as babes they are incapable of committing sin; – and consequently are saved. Moreover, Baptism imparts an indelible character, self-conceit as belonging does also the Priesthood. For as it is impossible for any one to receive twice the right handsame order of the Priesthood, so it is impossible for any once rightly baptized, to be again baptized, although he should fall even into myriads of sins, or even into actual apostasy from the Faith. For when he is willing to return unto the Lord, he receives again through the Mystery of Penance the adoption of a son, which he had lost.” —St. Maximus the Confessor—Confession of Dositheus, Synod of Jerusalem, 1672, Decree 16
“When the soul leaves the body“A dangerous lie is preached by sectarians when they say that children should not be baptized, the enemy advances to attack itbut when children grow up and know what faith is, fiercely reviling it then they should be baptized. Man and accusing it son of its sins in a harsh man, shut your ears from such crazy words. Because if your child dies unbaptized, he will enter the other world as unclean and terrifying mannerundone by God. The devout soulWith whom, howeverthen, even though will he be in the past it has often been wounded by sineternity, is not frightened by the enemy’s attacks and threats. Strengthened by the Lord, winged by joy, filled with courage by the holy angels that guide itwhose name will he be? Look, you don't wait for your child to grow up and find out what water and milk and honey and encircled bread and protected by the light of faithmedicine are, and only then can you give him all that. But you give it answers the enemy with great boldness: ‘Fugitive from heaven, wicked slave, what have I to do with you? him even though he doesn't know it. You have no authority over me; Christ the Son of God has authority over me know what's good and over all things. Against Him have I sinned, before Him shall I stand on trial, having His Precious Cross as a sure pledge of His life saving love towards me. Flee from mefor her, destroyer! You does she have nothing to do with know that in the servants of Christ.’ When the soul says all this fearlesslycradle? And if your child has cough, the devil turns his backwill you treat it, howling aloud or will you wait until it grows up and unable to withstand the name of Christfind out what cough is? And hereditary sin is an unequally heavier pain than gout. Then the soul swoops down on the devil So when you are treating your child from abovegout, attacking treat him like a hawk attacking a crowalso from that more serious illness, for which the cure is baptism. After this it is brought rejoicing by the holy angels to the place appointed for it Don't let your unbaptized child die, because otherwise you will never and anywhere in accordance with its inward stateeternity meet his soul.” —St. Theognostos, On the Practice of the Virtues, Philokalia, Vol. 2Nikolai Velimirovich
“If you wish to be saved, O my soul, to go first on the most sorrowful path which has been indicated “…[T]here, to enter into were no New Testamental writings for the Heavenly Kingdom earliest Christians and receive eternal life – then refine your flesh, taste voluntary bitterness, yet they possessed the fullness of the truth and endure difficult sorrows, as all faith of Christianity. On the day of Pentecost the Saints tasted Church was born and enduredyet there were no Gospels as we know them today. And when It would not be a man is preparing himself and gives himself theological exaggeration to assert that the Church would be the Church in Her fullness even if She did not possess the command to endure for New Testament. For many raised on the sake Reformational principle of God all sorrows and pain which come upon him, then light and painless ‘sola scriptura’ this may seem for him all sorrows, unpleasantnesses and attacks a radical – even heretical – statement. …[T]here was a time when the Church did not possess this corpus of devils inspired writing and men. He does not fear deathyet the Church existed in Her fullness, and nothing can separate such a one from Christians experienced the love truth of Christ. Have you heard, my beloved soul, how the Holy Fathers spent their lives? O my soul! Imitate them at least a littlefaith in all its fullness.” —St—Fr. Paisius VelichkovskyGeorges Florovsky, The Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth Century
“If you rebuke yourself, accuse yourself“… Word and sacrament long ago lost touch with each other and became subjects of independent study and definition … I daresay that the gradual ‘decomposition’ of scripture, its dissolution in more and more specialized and judge yourself before God for your sinsnegative criticism, with is a sensitive conscience, even for this you will be justified.If you are sorrowful for your sins, or you weep, or sigh, your sigh will not be hidden result of its alienation from Him the Eucharist - and, practically from the Church herself - as Stan experience of a spiritual reality. John Chrysostom says” —Fr. Alexander Schmemann, ‘If you only lament for your sinsThe Eucharist, then He will receive this for your salvationp.’” —St. Moses of Optina66
“Where there “Anti-sacramental, anti-ritual evangelicalism emphasizes a personal relationship with God, but tends to encourage what Anthony Giddens calls ‘pure relationship,’ a relationship that is not tacked down with external anchors and supports. A live-in relationship, without benefit of the rites and legalities of marriage, is pride there cannot be gracea pure relationship. Evangelicalism tends to encourage a live-in relationship with Jesus. This is wrong, a departure from Christian tradition, and if we lose grace we unbiblical. It also lose both love places unbearable burdens on the soul. Tempted by the devil, Luther slapped his forehead to remind himself of his baptism. His standing before God and was anchored in Christ, to whom he had been joined by baptism. For evangelicals, assurance cannot be grounded in prayeranything so external and objective. The soul Spontaneous enthusiasm is then tormented by evil thoughts the test of sincerity, and does not understand the source of assurance. But eternal, self-scrutinizing vigilance is necessary to ensure that she must humble herself and love her enemies, for there the enthusiasm is no other way really spontaneous. Enthusiasm was supposed to please Godliberate the soul from all the dead forms, but it comes with its own set of chains.” —St—Rev. Dr. Peter J. Silouan the AthoniteLeithard
“A good heart produces good thoughts: its thoughts correspond “In the Orthodox approach to Scripture, it is the job of the individual not to strive for originality in interpretation, but rather to understand what is already present in the traditions of the Church. We are obliged not to go beyond the boundary set by the Fathers and Creeds of the Church, but to faithfully pass on the Tradition just as we have received it stores up in itself. To do this requires a great deal of study and thought–but even more, if we are to truly understand the Scriptures, we must enter deeply into the mystical life of the Church.” —St—ibid. Thalassios the Libyan, p. 44
“Fasting is “The scriptures and the Church are reduced here to the category of two formal authorities, two ‘sources of faith’ – as they are called in the scholastic treatises, for which the purification of only question is which authority is the soul and bodyhigher: which ‘interprets’ which…” —Ibid.” —St, p. John Chrysostom66
“Fasting “For if we proclaim holy scripture to be the supreme authority for teaching the faith in the Church, then what is wonderfulthe ‘criterion’ of scripture? Sooner or later it becomes ‘biblical science’ – i.e., because it tramples our sins like a dirty weedin the final analysis, while it cultivates and raises truth like a flowernaked reason…” —Ibid.” —St, p. Basil the Great66-67
“Fasting “It is therefore clear that [the mother apostles] did not teach everything in epistolary form, but that they taught many things besides in unwritten form, and these things, too, are worthy of health; acceptance. Wherefore we should consider the friend tradition of chastity; the partner Church also as worthy of humilitybelief. If there is a tradition, look no further.” —St. Symeon the New theologianJohn Chrysostom
“As salt is needed for all kinds “Certain men who hold different opinions (i.e. heretics) misuse these passages. They essentially destroy free will by introducing ruined natures incapable of food, so humility is needed for all kinds of virtuessalvation and by introducing others as being saved in such a way that they cannot be lost.” —St. Isaac the Syrian—Origen
“Let it be known to you “A false interpretation of Scripture causes that if in your life you have mastered every virtue and every good deed such as mercythe gospel of the Lord becomes the gospel of man, prayeror, fast, and other virtues but have no humility in you, your toil will be in vain. For humility in all these virtues which is the solid foundation. Without itworse, we cannot master any of the virtues and all these virtues will become impure, filthy, and discarded before God because they were not sown with humility and lovedevil.” —St. John ChrysostomJerome
“Virtue is not “Truth cannot be acquired, the manifestation of many flesh with its passions and various works performed by lusts cannot be crucified, the body, but a heart that is most wise in its hope cannot be filled with the Light of Christ and unites a right aim to godly works. Oftenunited with Him, the mind can accomplish that which is good without bodily worksthrough salvation, but the body without wisdom of the heart can gain no profit for all it may dounless these are preceded by frequent prayer.” —St. Isaac the Syrian—The Way of a Pilgrim
“Fasting is “How long shall we continue in this manner, our intellect reduced to futility, failing to make the mother spirit of health; the friend of chastity; the partner of humility.Gospel our own, not knowing what it means to live according to our conscience, making no serious effort to keep it pure?” —St. Symeon Mark the New theologianAscetic
“What can sin “It is self evident, however, that sincere Christians who are Roman Catholics, or Lutherans, or members of other non-Orthodox confessions, cannot be termed renegades or heretics—i.e. those who knowingly pervert the truth… They have been born and raised and are living according to the creed which they have inherited, just as do where the majority of you who are Orthodox; in their lives there is penitence? And has not been a moment of personal and conscious renunciation of what use is love where there Orthodoxy. The Lord, ‘Who will have all men to be saved’ (I Tim. 2:4) and ‘Who enlightens every man born into the world’ (Jn. 1.43), undoubtedly is pride?leading them also towards salvation in His own way.” —Abba Elias—Metropolitan Philaret of New York
“Pride is poverty “You ask, will the heterodox be saved… Why do you worry about them? They have a Saviour Who desires the salvation of every human being. He will take care of them. You and I should not be burdened with such a concern. Study yourself and your own sins… I will tell you one thing, however: should you, being Orthodox and possessing the soulTruth in its fullness, which imagines itself to be richbetray Orthodoxy, and being in darknessenter a different faith, thinks it has lightyou will lose your soul forever.” —St. John ClimacusTheophan the Recluse
“Modern society calls “The Orthodox confess that SHE IS the beggar bum One, Holy, Universal (katholikos) and panhandler and gives him the bum's rushApostolic Ecclesia! Any other model is gnostic.” —St. But the Greeks used to say that people in need are the ambassadors Irenaeus of the gods.” —Peter MaurinLyons
“Every family should have a room where “Orthodoxy is what Christ is welcome in taught, the person of apostles preached, and the hungry and thirsty strangerFathers kept.” —St. John ChrysostomAthanasius the Great
“Who “He is the greedy man? One for whom plenty does not suffice‘the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8). Who defrauds others? One who keeps for himself what belongs Orthodox Christians are committed to everyone. Aren’t you greedy, don’t you defraud, when you keep for yourself what was given to give away? When someone steals a man’s clothes, we call him a thief. Shouldn’t we give the same name to one who could clothe truth claim of the naked and does Christian Faith not?as ideology but as an expression of holiness.” —St—Rev. Basil the GreatDr. George C. Papademetriou, An Orthodox Reflection on Truth & Tolerance
“You “Men are converted to God not making a gift of what is yours because someone was able to the poor mangive brilliant explanations, but you are giving because they saw in him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for light, joy, depth, seriousness, and love which alone reveal the common use presence and power of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone, not to God in the richworld.” —St—Fr. Ambrose of MilanAlexander Schmemann
“Do not consider your riches as belonging “When conversion does take place, the process of revelation occurs in a very simple way: a person is in need, he suffers, and then somehow the other world opens up. The more you are in suffering and difficulties and are desperate for God, the more He is going to come to yourselves alone; open wide your hand aid, reveal Who He is, and show you the way to those who are in needget out.” —St—Fr. Cyril Seraphim Rose of AlexandriaPlatina, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works by Hieromonk Damascene, p. 98
“The man “We think we know a lot, but what we know is very little. Even all those who loves his neighbor as himself possesses no more than his neighbor…thus, as much as your wealth increases, so much does your love decreasehave striven all their life to bring progress to mankind – learned scientists and highly educated people – all realize in the end that all their knowledge is but a grain of sand on the seashore. All our achievements are insufficient.” —St. Basil the Great—Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives
“If you cannot find Christ “Men are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent men are not those who are erudite in the beggar at sayings and books of the church doorwise men of old, you will not find Him in but those who have an intelligent soul and can discriminate between good and evil. They avoid what is sinful and harms the soul; and with deep gratitude to God they resolutely adhere by dint of practice to what is good and benefits the chalicesoul. These men alone should truly be called intelligent.” —St. John ChrysostomAnthony the Great, On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: One Hundred and Seventy Texts, Text 1, The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Vol. 1
“No one in creation “It is rich but he that fears God; no impossible to replace the spiritual with the emotional. If anyone tries to forcibly replace one is truly poor but with the other, then he that lacks the will assimilate lies instead of truth, falsehood masquerading as truth.” —St. Ephrem the SyrianIgnatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of Caucasus, The Refuge, Chapter 9, p. 119
“In all your undertakings and in every way of life“Not knowledge that you learn, whether but knowledge that you are living in obedience, or are not submitting your work to anyone, whether in outward or in spiritual matters, let it be your rule and practice to ask yourselfsuffer: Am I really doing this in accordance with God’s will?that is Orthodox spirituality.” —St. John Climacus—Gerontissa Gabrielia, Sayings of Gerontissa Gabrielia
“Those who submit to the Lord with simple heart will run the good race“Our religion is founded on spiritual experience, seen and heard as sure as any physical fact in this world. If they keep their minds on a leashNot theory, not philosophy, they will not draw the wickedness of the demons onto themselveshuman emotions, but experience.” —St. John ClimacusNikolai Velimirovich
“A hypocrite “Only the Religion of Christ unites and all of us must pray that they come to this. Thus union will occur, not by believing that all of us are the same thing and that all religions are the same. They are not the same… our Orthodoxy is someone who teaches his neighbor something he makes no effort not related to do himselfother religions.” —St. PoemenPorphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
“I prefer a man who sins and repents to “Orthodoxy is life, one who does must not sin and does not repent. The first has good thoughtstalk about it, for he admits that he is sinfulone must live it. But the second has false, soul-destroying thoughts, for he imagines himself to be righteous” —St.” —Abba Poemen the GreatNektary of Optina
“At meals don“Orthodoxy can't speak about food: that's vulgar and unworthy of you. Speak about something noble -- of the soul or of the mind -- and you will have dignified this dutybe comfortable unless it is fake.” —St—Fr. Josemaria EscrivaSeraphim Rose of Platina
“When someone learns “As for all those who pretend to acknowledge every man as being better than himselfconfess sound Orthodox Faith, then he has attained humilitybut are in communion with people who hold different opinion, if they are forewarned and still remain stubborn, you must not only be in communion with them, but you must NOT even call them brothers.” —St. Sisoes Basil the Great
“The man “At the present time of universal wavering, disturbance of minds and corruption, it is especially demanded of us that we should confess the true teaching of the Church no matter what might be the person of those who is deemed worthy listen and despite the unbelief which surrounds us. If for the sake of adaptation to the errors of this age we shall be silent about the truth or give a corrupt teaching in the name of pleasing this world, then we would actually be giving to see himself those who seek the truth a stone in place of bread. The higher is the standing of one who acts in this way, the greater than he who the scandal that is deemed worthy to see angelsproduced by him, and the more serious can be the consequences.” —St. Isaac the Syrian—Metropolitan Philaret of New York
“The truly blessed “Today, while the overall teachings of the Fathers is under attack and the shipwrecks of Faith are not numerous, the mouths of the ones faithful are silent. Anyone who can work miracles or see angels; is capable of speaking the truth but remains silent, will be heavily judged by God, especially in this case, where the truly blessed are faith and the very foundation of the entire Church of the Orthodox is in danger. To remain silent under these circumstances is to betray these, and the appropriate witness belongs to those that reproach (stand up for the ones who can see their own sinsfaith).” —St. Anthony Basil the Great, ep. 92
“The nearer a man draws “I beseech you to do and to carry out good to all men with care and assiduity, becoming all things to Godall men, as the more he sees himself need of each is shown to you; I want and pray you to be wholly harsh and implacable with the heretics only in regard to cooperating with them or in any way whatever supporting their deranged belief. For I reckon it hatred towards man and a sinner. It was when Isaiah the prophet saw Goddeparture from Divine love to lend support to error, so that he declared himself ‘a man of unclean lipsthose previously seized by it might be even more greatly corrupted.’” ” —St. MateosMaximus the Confessor, Patrologia Graeca, Vol. 91
“The condition “Be aware not to be corrupted from love of peace among men is that each should keep a consciousness the heretics; for this reason do not accept any false belief (dogma) in the name of his own wrongdoinglove.” —St. Silouan the AthoniteJohn Chrysostom
“The way to perfection “If anyone prays with heretics, he is through the realization that we are blind, naked and poora heretic.” —St— Pope St. Theophan the RecluseAgatho I
“The perfect person does not only try to avoid evil. Nor does he do good for fear of punishment“Genuine love is displayed, still less in order to qualify for the hope of a promised reward. The perfect person does good through love. His actions are not motivated by desire for personal benefit, so he does not have personal advantage as his aim. But as soon as he has realized the beauty of doing good, he does it with all his energies and in all that he does. He is not interested in famecommon table, nor by lofty addresses or a good reputationflattering words, or a human or divine reward. The rule but by the correcting and the seeking of life for a perfect person is to be in the image benefit of one's neighbour and likeness the lifting up of Godthe one who has fallen.” —St. Clement of AlexandriaJohn Chrysostom
“Every day “It is not the case that there is one church at nightfallRome and another in all the world beside. Gaul and Britain, Africa and Persia, before sleep comes upon India and the East worship one Christ and observe one rule of truth. If youask for authority, excite the judgment of your conscienceworld outweighs its capital. Wherever there is a bishop, demand an account from whether itbe at Rome or at Engubium, and whatever evil counsels you may have taken during the day … pierce themwhether it be at Constantinople or at Rhegium, tear them to pieceswhether it be at Alexandria or at Zoan, his dignity is one and do penance for themhis priesthood is one. Neither the command of wealth nor the lowliness of poverty makes him more a bishop or less a bishop. All alike are successors of the apostles.” —St. John ChrysostomJerome, Letter CXLVI to Evangelus
“As I became more wretched “Never, never, never let anyone tell you drew nearer that, in order to mebe Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies.” —St. AugustineJohn (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco
“Sin “Where the bishop is , there let the fruit multitude of free will. There was a time when sin did not existbelievers be; even as where Jesus is, and there will be a time when it will not existis the Catholic Church.” —St. Isaac the SyrianIgnatius of Antioch
“Prove your love “Take care to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and zeal for wisdom with the presbyters in actual deedsthe place of the council of the apostles, and with the deacons, who are most dear to me, entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father from the beginning and is at last made manifest.” —St. Callistus XanthopoulosIgnatius of Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians 2, 6:1
“Without love“Moreover, deedsin the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, even by all. For that is truly and in the most brilliantstrictest sense ‘Catholic,’ which, count as nothingthe name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all priests and doctors.” —St. Thérèse de LisieuxVincent of Lérins, Commonitory, For the Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith Against the Profane Novelties of All Heresies., Chapter II (circa 434 AD)
“Do “‘Shun profane novelties of words,’ which to receive and follow was never the part of Catholics; of heretics always was. In truth, what heresy ever burst forth save under a definite name, at a definite place, at a definite time? Who ever originated a heresy that did not leave unobliterated any faultfirst dissever himself from the consentient agreement of the universality and antiquity of the Catholic Church? That this is so is demonstrated in the clearest way by examples. For who ever before that profane Pelagius attributed so much antecedent strength to Free-will, however small, for as to deny the necessity of God's grace to aid it may lead you on to greater sins.towards good in every single act? Who ever before his monstrous disciple Cœlestius denied that the whole human race is involved in the guilt of Adam's sin?” —St. Mark the AsceticVincent of Lérins, Commonitory, 62
“Everyday I lay a foundation for building my repentance"But if neither injunctions nor ecclesiastical decrees may be violated, by which, in accordance with the sacred consent of universality and antiquity, all heretics always, and, last of all, Pelagius, Cœlestius, and again with my own hands I demolish Nestorius have been rightly and deservedly condemned, then assuredly it is incumbent on all Catholics who are anxious to approve themselves genuine sons of Mother Church, to adhere henceforward to the holy faith of the holy Fathers, to be wedded to it, to die in it; but as to the profane novelties of profane men— to detest them, abhor them, oppose them, give them no quarter.” —St. Ephrem the SyrianVincent of Lérins, Commonitory, 86
“Having fulfilled “Roman Catholics teach that original sin robbed Adam of the original righteousness, grace-filled perfection, but did not harm his very nature. And the original righteousness, according to their teachings, was not an organic part of the spiritual and moral nature of man, but an external gift of grace, a commandmentspecial addition to the natural forces of man. Hence the sin of the first man, which consists in rejecting this purely external, supernatural grace, separating man from God, expect temptations; because love toward Christ is tested by difficultiesnothing more than depriving a person of this grace, depriving a person of primitive righteousness and returning man to a purely natural state, a state of grace.” —StThe very same human nature remained after the fall as it was before the fall. Mark Before sin, Adam was like a royal courtier, from whom external glory was taken away because of a crime, and he returned to the Asceticoriginal state in which he had been before.
“Do The decrees of the Council of Trent concerning original sin state that the progenitor sin consisted in the loss of the holiness and righteousness granted to them, but it did not define exactly what kind of holiness and righteousness they were. There it is stated that there is absolutely no trace of sin or anything in a regenerated person that would be surprised that when you draw near unpleasant to God. Only lust remains, which, due to its motivation of a person to virtuefight, grievous and intense tribulations come is more useful than harmful to you on all sides: for virtue people. In any case, it is not considered virtuesin, if although it does not involve hard workitself from sin and entails sin.” —St. Isaac The fifth decree says: ‘The Holy Council confesses and knows that lust remains among baptized persons; but she, as left to fight, cannot bring harm to those who disagree with her, and those who bravely fight by the Syriangrace of Jesus Christ, but, Directions on Spiritual Trainingthe contrary, crowns the one who will gloriously struggle. The PhilokaliaHoly Council declares that this lust, which the Apostle sometimes calls sin, the Universal Church never called sin in the sense that it is true and proper to the regenerated, but that it is from sin and entails sin.’
“Do This Roman Catholic teaching is unfounded, since it represents the original righteousness and perfection of Adam as an external gift, as an advantage, which is added to nature from the outside and from nature separable. Meanwhile, it is clear from the ancient apostolic-church doctrine that this primitive righteousness of Adam was not be surprised an external gift and advantage, but an integral part of his divinely-created nature. The Holy Scripture claims that sin has shaken and upset human nature so deeply that you fall every day; a person is weak for good and when he wants, he cannot do not give upgood ( Romans 7: 18-19 ), but stand your ground courageouslyhe cannot commit it just because sin has a strong influence on the nature of man. And assuredlyIn addition, if sin did not damage human nature so much, there would be no need for the angel who guards you will honor your patienceOnly Begotten Son of God to incarnate, come into the world as the Savior and demand from us a complete bodily and spiritual rebirth ( John 3: 3, 3: 5-6 ).” —St. John ClimacusIn addition, Roman Catholics can not give the correct answer to the question: how can the intact nature carry lust in itself? What is the relation between this lust and the healthy nature?
“The life In the same way, there is an inaccurate Roman Catholic statement that in a regenerated person nothing remains sinful and unpleasant to God and that all this gives way to that which is immaculate, holy and pleasing to God. For we know from Holy Revelation and the teachings of the righteous was radiantancient Church that the grace given to a fallen man through Jesus Christ does not act mechanically, does not give sanctification and salvation immediately, in the blink of an eye, but gradually penetrates all the psychophysical powers of man, in proportion to his personal feat in the new thus he simultaneously heals from all sinful ailments, and sanctifies in all thoughts, feelings, desires and deeds. How did It is an unreasonable exaggeration to think and argue that the regenerated have absolutely no remnants of sinful ailments when the mystery beloved by Christ clearly teaches: ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us’ ( 1 John 1: 8 ); and the great Apostle of the Nations writes: ‘I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil that I do not want. But if I do what I do not want, it become radiant if is no longer I who do it wasn’t by patience? Love patience, O monkbut the sin that lives in me’ ( Romans 7: 19-20, as the mother of courageRomans 8: 23-24 ).” —St. Ephrem Justin Popovich, Orthodox philosophy of truth (Dogma of the SyrianOrthodox Church)
“Seek “In all the Eastern Churches, candles are lit even in everything the deep meaning. All daytime when one is to read the Gospels, in truth not to dispel the events darkness, but as a sign of joy…in order under that factual light to feel that take place around us Light of which we read in the Psalms (119:105): Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and with us have their meaninga light to my path. Nothing happens without a cause…” ” —St. Nektary of OptinaJerome, Works, part IV, 2nd ed., Kiev, 1900, pp.301-302
“…should we fall“The candles lit before icons of saints reflect their ardent love for God for Whose sake they gave up everything that man prizes in life, including their very lives, we should not despair and so estrange ourselves from as did the Lord's love. For if He so choosesholy apostles, He can deal mercifully with our weaknessmartyrs and others. Only we should not cut ourselves off from Him or feel oppressed when constrained These candles also mean that these saints are lamps burning for us and providing light for us by His commandmentstheir own saintly living, nor should their virtues and their ardent intercession for us before God through their constant prayers by day and night. The burning candles also stand for our ardent zeal and the sincere sacrifice we lose heart when we fall short make out of our goal…let us always be ready reverence and gratitude to make a new start. If you fall, rise up. If you fall again, rise up again. Only do not abandon your Physician, lest you be condemned as worse than a suicide because of your despair. Wait them for their solicitude on Him, and He will be merciful, either reforming you, or sending you trials, or through some other provision of which you are ignorantour behalf before God.” —St. Peter John of DamascusKronstadt
“Faintness “The saints of God live even after their death. Thus, I often hear in church the Mother of God singing her wonderful, heart is a sign -penetrating song which she said in the house of despondencyher cousin Elizabeth, and negligence is after the mother Annunciation of boththe Archangel. A cowardly man shows that he suffers from two diseases: love At times, I hear the song of Moses; the song of his flesh and lack Zacharias--the father of faiththe Forerunner; for love that of one’s flesh is a sign of unbelief. But he who despises Hannah, the love mother of the flesh proves prophet Samuel; that he believes in God with his whole heart and awaits of the age to come … A courageous heart three children; and scorn that of perils comes from one Miriam. And how many holy singers of two causes: either from hardness the New Testament delight until now the ear of heart or from great faith in God. Pride accompanies hardness the whole Church of heart, but humility accompanies faith. A man cannot acquire hope in God unless he first does His will with exactness. For hope in God and manliness of heart are born of ! And the Divine service itself--the testimony of sacraments, the consciencerites? Whose spirit is there, moving and by the truthful testimony touching our hearts? That of the mind we possess confidence towards Godand of His saints.” —St. Isaac the SyrianJohn of Kronstadt, Homily 40My Life in Christ
“I think it needs to be pointed out with utmost charity that the religion “Each person is an icon of God, of compromise is self-deception God in heaven and that there exist today only two absolutely irreconcilable alternatives for man: faith in of God on the world and cross. Yet, each person is also an icon of the religion Mother of selfGod, who bears Christ through the Holy Spirit. Our soul, whose fruit is deaththerefore, unites itself in two images; and the faith participating in Christ the Son principles and realities of Godboth Christ and his Mother. These are age old archetypes, in Whom alone is eternal lifesymbols by which the soul orients itself on the journey.” —Fr—St. Seraphim Rose Maria Skobtsova, On The Imitation of Platinathe Mother of God
“Keep your mind in hell and do “The Christian who does not despairfeel that the Virgin Mary is his or her mother is an orphan.” —St. Silouan the Athonite—Jorge Mario Bergoglio ("Pope Francis")
“Stand at “Creating man according to his image, God diffused into man's very being the brink longing for the divine infinitude of the abyss life, of despairknowledge, and when you see of perfection. It is precisely for this reason that you cannot bear it anymorethe immeasurable longing and thirst of humanity is not able to be completely satisfied by anything or anyone except God. Declaring divine perfection as the main purpose for humanity's existence in the world – ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father who is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matth. 5: 48) – Christ, draw back a littlethe Savior, answered the most elemental demand and have a cup need of teaour God-like and God-longing humanity.” —Elder Sophrony of Essex—St. Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ, Highest Value and Last Criterion in Orthodoxy
“So “He who refuses to give in every test, let us say: "Thank you, my God, because this was needed for my salvationto his passions does the same as he who refuses to bow down and worship idols."” —Elder Paisios of Mount Athos—St. Theophan the Recluse
“Only “Concerning the benumbed soul doesn't praycharge of idolatry: Icons are not idols but symbols. Therefore, when an Orthodox venerates an icon, he is not guilty of idolatry. He is not worshiping the symbol, but merely venerating it. Preserve in yourselves Such veneration is not directed toward wood, or paint or stone, but towards the feeling of needperson depicted. Therefore relative honor is shown to material objects, and you will always have stimulation for prayerbut worship is due to God alone.” —St. Theophan the RecluseJohn of Damascus
“Make sure that you “We do not limit your prayer merely to a particular part bow before the nature of wood, but we revere and bow before the day. Turn to prayer at anytimeone who is depicted.” —St . John Chrysostomof Damascus
“The Lord knows that “We do not make obeisance to the nature of wood, but we revere and do obeisance to Him who was crucified on the Cross… When the two beams of the Cross are joined together I love you alladore the figure because of Christ who was crucified on the Cross, but if the beams are separated, I cannot speak with God throw them away and people at the same timeburn them.” —St. Arsanius the GreatJohn of Damascus
“A Christian…is “We do not his own master; he puts his time at God's disposalworship the relics of the martyrs, but honor them in our worship of Him Whose martyrs they are. We honor the servants in order that the respect paid to them may be reflected back to the Lord.” —St. Ignatius of AntiochJerome
“Do “The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God. … I do not seek worship matter, but the perfection Creator of the Law in human virtues … Its perfection is hidden matter, who for my sake became material and deigned to dwell in matter, who through matter effected my salvation. Never will I cease honoring the Cross matter which wrought my salvation! I honor it, but not as God. Because of Christthis I salute all remaining matter with reverence, because God has filled it with his grace and power. Through it my salvation has come to me.” —St. Mark the AsceticJohn of Damascus
“The knowledge of “That which the Cross is concealed in word communicates by sound, the sufferings of the Crosspainting shows silently by representation.” —St. Isaac Basil the SyrianGreat, On the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste
“God had one son on earth without sin“We depict Christ as our King and Lord, but never one without sufferingand do not deprive Him of His army. The saints constitute the Lord's army. Let the earthly king dismiss his army before he gives up his King and Lord. Let him put off the purple before he takes honour away from his most valiant men who have conquered their passions. For if the saints are heirs of God, and co-heirs of Christ, (Rom. 8.17) they will be also partakers of the divine glory of sovereignty.” —St. AugustineJohn of Damascus
“Man is“We define that the holy icons should be exhibited in the holy churches of God… and in houses and along the roads, by naturenamely the icons of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, afraid that of both death and our Lady the dissolution Theotokos, those of the body; but there is this most startling fact: venerable angels and those of all saintly people… We define also that they should be kissed and that he they are an object of veneration and honor… He who has put on venerates the faith of icon, venerates in it the Cross despises even what is naturally fearful, and reality for Christ's sake is not afraid even of deathwhich it stands.” —St. Athanasius the Great—The Seventh Ecumenical Council
“Only struggle “In the radiance of His light the world is not commonplace. The very floor we stand on is a little moremiracle of atoms whizzing about in space. Carry your cross without complainingThe darkness of sin is clarified, and its burden shouldered. DonDeath is robbed of its finality, trampled down by Christ't think you are anything specials death. Don't justify your sins and weaknessesIn a world where everything that seems to be present is immediately past, but see yourself as you really are. And, especially, love one anothereverything in Christ is able to participate in the eternal present of God.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of PlatinaAlexander Schmemann
“Remember that each “Christ surpasses both ends of us has his own crossthe world, where the drama ends and where it began. The Golgotha of this cross Of all the mysteries, the greatest mystery is our heart: it is being lifted or implanted through a zealous determination to live according He. From His Nativity to His Crucifixion on the Spirit of God. Just as salvation of Cross, From His Crucifixion on the world Cross to His Resurrection, He is by the Cross true measure of all God, so our salvation is by our crucifixion on our own cross's creation.” —St. Theophan the RecluseNikolai Velimirovich
“Everyone carries their own cross, both Christians and non-Christians, believers and pagans. The difference “Let no one think that there is that for some, their crosses serve as a means of attaining anything interpretive in the Kingdom works of Heaven, while for the others they bring no such valuesix days. For the Christian, the cross gradually becomes lighter and more joyful, while for the nonbeliever it becomes heavier and more burdensome” —St. Why is this so? Because where Ephrem the one carries their cross with faith and devotion to God, the other carries it with grumbling and anger.Syrian
Therefore“It is [the Lord] that sitteth upon the orb (חוּג, Christianγῦρον, do not shun your lifelong crossgyrum) of the earth, but, on and the contrary, thank Jesus Christ inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that He honored you stretcheth out the heavens as nothing and spreadeth them out as a tent to follow and imitate Himdwell in.” —St. Innocent of Alaska, Indication Of The Way Into The Kingdom Of Heaven—Isaiah 40:22
“Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since “For if the world, being made spherical, is confined within the circles of heaven, and the leader Creator of our faith endured the crossworld is above the things created, managing that by His providential care of these, we will also endure it. On one handwhat place is there for the second god, or for the cross other gods? … Beautiful without doubt is sweet and lightthe world, excelling, butas well in its magnitude as in the arrangement of its parts, on both those in the otheroblique circle and those about the north, it can and also be bitter and heavyin its spherical form. It depends on our will” —St. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitudeAthenagoras of Athens, A Plea for the Christians, it becomes heavy; too heavy to liftCh.” —Elder Ephraim 8 and 16 (Father of Katounakiathe Church, Ante-Nicene Christian apologist, 20th Century staretz on Mtc. Athos175, Suffering; TrialsE)
“When “Let's start with the earth: you see how big it is and how many every creature is on it – living and soulless. Looking at the earth in all directions, you meet with sufferingnotice that it seems to be flat; in fact, contemptit is round like a ball: land surveyors have found this out as surely as possible, and we ourselves can be sure of this. You are often by the sea – look into the distance for departing ships or steam ships. At first you see the whole ship, but the Crossfarther it goes, your thought should be: what the more the bottom of the ship is hidden from you, so that at last you see only the sails or one smoke from the steam ship, and finally this also disappears, as if the ship had sunk into a hole. Why does this compared happen? Because the earth is spherical. If at first glance it seems flat to us, it is because we are very small in comparison with what I deserve?the earth, and the earth is too large and, with its size, its sloping is imperceptible to us, insignificant ones. So, brethren, the earth is round.” —St. Josemaria EscrivaJohn of Kronstadt, Diaries of Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt, 1857–1858
“Behold“You often see, for years brethren, that the Lord Almighty is mostly written on icons with a ball, on top of which is a cross. This ball means the globe of the earth and generationsis called the power – from the fact that in ancient times the Roman kings had the custom, on solemn occasions, to hold it in their hands. Our Lord Jesus Christ holds in his hand the way globe of God has been leveled by the cross earth, as the king of heaven and by deathearth, as the Almighty. How is We say this with thee, in order to show you that thou seest our earth is round like a ball. But how is the afflictions sphericity of the way as earth proved by the phenomena at the rising and setting of the sun? As follows: if they the earth were not spherical, but flat; then the sun would now hide under the earth, or come out from under it, and immediately leave us either in the full shadow of the way? Doest not thou wish to follow earth, or illuminate us with full light. Now, since the earth is round, we use the remnants of light from the sun even when it illuminates the steps sloping side of the saints? Or doest thou wish earth, when the sun, so to go speak, is under the mountain and produces a way which is especially dawn for theeus, without suffering? The way unto God as if the glow of a huge fire. This dawn happens because the rays of the setting or rising sun, illuminating the sloping side of the earth, at the same time illuminate the air that is a daily crossnear the earth and surrounds it like water, and thus makes the light of dawn. No one can ascend unto heaven with comfortWatching the dawn, we know where see from the gradual decrease in light – from the way of comfort leadsit gradually becomes paler and paler from light pink - that the earth is exactly round, and the sun, as it were, glides, step by step, evenly, in a circle.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Mystic TreatisesJohn of Kronstadt, Homily LIXCatechetical Talks
“Understand two thoughts“How does the sun rule by day? Because carrying everywhere light with it, it is no sooner risen above the horizon than it drives away darkness and fear thembrings us day. Thus we might, without self deception, define day as air lighted by the sun, or as the space of time that the sun passes in our hemisphere… Those who have written about the nature of the universe have discussed at length the shape of the earth. One saysIf it be spherical or cylindrical, 'You are if it resemble a saintdisc and is equally rounded in all parts,' or if it has the forth of a winnowing basket and is hollow in the othermiddle; all these conjectures have been suggested by cosmographers, 'You won't be savedeach one upsetting that of his predecessor.' Both It will not lead me to give less importance to the creation of these thoughts are from the enemyuniverse, that the servant of God, Moses, is silent as to shapes; he has not said that the earth is a hundred and there is no truth eighty thousand furlongs in them. But think circumference; he has not measured into what extent of air its shadow projects itself while the sun revolves around it, nor stated how this way: I am a great sinnershadow, but casting itself upon the Lord is mercifulmoon, produces eclipses. He loves people very muchhas passed over in silence, as useless, and He will forgive my sinsall that is unimportant for us.” —St. Silouan Basil the AthoniteGreat, Hexaemeron, Homily 6:8; 9:1
“He made Him “Verily, it is most true what one of heathen culture is recorded to have said, that it is the mind that sees and the mind that hears. Else, if you will not allow this to be true, you must tell me why, when you look at the sun, as you have been trained by your instructor to look at him, you assert that he is not in the breadth of his disc of the size he appears to the many, but that he exceeds by many times the measure of the entire earth. Do you not confidently maintain that it is so, because you have arrived by reasoning through phenomena at the conception of such and such a movement, of such distances of time and space, of such causes of eclipse? And when you look at the waning and waxing moon you are taught other truths by the visible figure of that heavenly body, viz. that it is in itself devoid of light, and that it revolves in the circle nearest to the earth, and that it is lit by light from the sun; just as is the case with mirrors, which, receiving the sun upon them, do not reflect rays of their own, but those of the sun, whose light is given back from their smooth flashing surface. Those who see this, but do not examine it, think that the light comes from the moon herself. But that this is not the case is proved by this; that when she is diametrically facing the sun she has the whole of the disc that looks our way illuminated; but, as she traverses her own circle of revolution quicker from moving in a narrower space, she herself has completed this more than twelve times before the sun has once travelled round his; whence it happens that her substance is not always covered with light. For her position facing him is not maintained in the frequency of her revolutions; but, while this position causes the whole side of the moon which looks to us to be illumined, directly she moves sideways her hemisphere which is turned to us necessarily becomes partially shadowed and only that which is turned to him meets his embracing rays; the brightness, in fact, keeps on retiring from that which can no longer see the sun to that which still sees him, until she passes right across the sun's disc and receives his rays upon her hinder part; and then the fact of her being in herself totally devoid of light and splendour causes the side turned to us to be invisible while the further hemisphere is all in light; and this is called the completion of her waning. But when again, in her own revolution, she has passed the sun and she is transverse to his rays, the side which was righteous dark just before begins to be shine a sinnerlittle, for the rays move from the illumined part to that so lately invisible. You see what the eye does teach; and yet it would never of itself have afforded this insight, without something that He might make sinners righteouslooks through the eyes and uses the data of the senses as mere guides to penetrate from the apparent to the unseen. It is needless to add the methods of geometry that lead us step by step through visible delineations to truths that lie out of sight, and countless other instances which all prove that apprehension is the work of an intellectual essence deeply seated in our nature, acting through the operation of our bodily senses.” —St. John ChrysostomGregory of Nyssa, On the Soul and the Resurrection
“Love sinners“As, but hate their deedswhen the sun shines above the earth, the shadow is spread over its lower part, and do not disdain sinners because its spherical shape makes it impossible for their failings, so that you yourself do not fall into the temptation in which they abide… Do not it to be angry clasped all round at anyone one and do not hate anyonethe same time by the rays, neither for their faithand necessarily, nor for their shameful deeds… Do not foster hatred for on whatever side the sun's rays may fall on some particular point of the sinnerglobe, if we follow a straight diameter, for we are all guilty… Hate his sinsshall find shadow upon the opposite point, and pray for himso, continuously, so at the opposite end of the direct line of the rays shadow moves round that you may be made like unto Christglobe, who had no dislike for sinnerskeeping pace with the sun, but prayed for themso that equally in their turn both the upper half and the under half of the earth are in light and darkness.” —St. Isaac Gregory of Nyssa, On the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies 57,90Soul and the Resurrection
“Love every man “Further, some hold that the Earth is in the form of a sphere, others that it is in spite that of his falling into sina cone. Never mind At all events it is much smaller than the sinsheaven, but remember that the foundation of and suspended almost like a point in its midst. And it will pass away and be changed. But blessed is the man is who inherits the same - Earth promised to the image of Godmeek.” —St. John of KronstadtDamascus, Orthodox Faith, Book 2, Ch 10
“Never confuse “Thus, by His transcendent might He established the personheavens, formed in and by His incomprehensible understanding He ordered them: the image of Godearth He separated from the water now encircling it, with and firmly grounded it on the evil that is in himunshakable foundation of His own will … about antipodes: because evil is but a chance misfortune‘The ocean, an illnessimpassable for men, a devilish reverie. But and the worlds beyond it are governed by the very essence same decrees of the person is the image of God, and this remains in him despite every disfigurement.” Master’…” —St. John Clement of KronstadtRome, Epistle to the Corinthians
“For this reason“Clement indeed, a disciple of the man who lives by God's standards and not by man'sapostles, must need be a lover mentions those whom the Greeks call ‘people of the goodopposite earth’, and it follows that he must hate what is evil. Further, since no one is evil by nature, but anyone who is evil is evil because speaks of other parts of a perversion the world which none of natureour people can reach, the man who lives by God's standards has a duty nor can any of "perfect hatred" (Psalm 139:22) towards those who are evillive there cross over to us; that and these parts themselves he called ‘worlds’, when he says, ‘The ocean is impassable to saymen, he should not hate and the person because of worlds beyond it are governed by the fault, nor should he love the fault because same ordinances of God the person. He should hate the faultRuler’…” —Origen, but love the man. And when the fault has been cured there will remain only what he ought to love, nothing that he should hate.” —St. Augustine of Hippo, The City of GodOn First Principles
“As Jesus Christ is my Witness“But if the light first created enveloped the earth on all sides, I profess that I hate heresywhether it was motionless or travelling round, it could not the heretic; but as is properbe followed anywhere by night, because it did not vacate any place to make room for night. But was it made on one side, so that as it travelled it would permit the present I shun night to follow after from the heretics because of other? Although water still covered all the heresyearth, since I have both convicted and rebuked him. Let him renounce his heresy and condemn it there was nothing to prevent the massive watery sphere from having day on one side by word as well as by deedthe presence of light, and he will cling to all men on the other side, night by the bond absence of brotherhoodlight. Thus, because in the evening, darkness would pass to that side from which light would be turning to the other … These writers are then asked why Saturn is cold. Its temperature should be higher in proportion to the rapid movement it has by reason of its height in the heavens. For surely when a round mass is writtenrotating, the parts near the center move more slowly, ‘Bear ye one another's burden and those near the edge more rapidly, so fulfill that the law of Christ’ (Gal. 6:2)greater and lesser distances may be covered simultaneously in the same circular motion…” —St.” —Orosius Augustine of BragaHippo, Book in Defense Against On the PelagiansLiteral Interpretation of Genesis
“Our life “The prophet David, our Saints, Basil the Great, who wrote about creation, all of them, with the Grace of God knew everything about the creation by God. The Holy Spirit took them to the depths of the waters, He showed them and they saw the earth revolving around the sun, and our death many other things. The Saints, however, spoke to people according to the knowledge of their age. This is so that they wouldn't look like fools by revealing everything to their age that they saw with our neighborthe Grace of God. Since simple people were not able to see all those things and understand them, they would not have believed them!” —St. Paisios of Mt. Athos, «ΣΚΕΥΟΣ ΕΚΛΟΓΗΣ: ΓΕΡΩΝ ΠΑΙΣΙΟΣ», 1924-1994, p.142
If we gain our brother“Truly, is this necessary? No, not at all, for we have gained Godknow that many and great scientists were at the same time great believers. For example, such was the Polish astronomer Copernicus who laid the foundation of all contemporary astronomy. Copernicus was not only a believer but if we scandalize our brotherwas also a cleric. Another great scientist, Newton, whenever he mentioned the word God, we he removed his hat. He was a great believer… Would Haeckel therefore dare say that these men did not have sinned against Christenlightened minds because they believed in God?” —St.Luke the Surgeon, On Science and Religion
This “The faithful have little need for scientists now, the world is full of them! They are in need of holy men, of those who live the great work holy life; of a man: always to take those who can attract the blame for his own sins before Grace of God and to expect temptation to his last breaththem.” —St. Anthony the Great—Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania
“Unless we look “Once, when standing before a window at night, St. Barsanuphius (of Optina) pointed to the moon and said to his spiritual children:"Look – what a person and see the beauty there picture! This is in this person, we can contribute nothing left to himus as a consolation. One does not help a person by discerning what It is wrongno wonder the Prophet David said, what is ugly‘Thou hast gladdened me’, what is distorted. Christ looked at everyone he metsays, at the prostitutealthough this is only a hint of that wondrous beauty, at the thiefincomprehensible to human thought, and saw the beauty hidden which was originally created. We don't know what kind of moon there. Perhaps it was distortedthen, perhaps damaged, but it was beauty none the lesswhat kind of sun, and what he did was to call out kind of light… All of this beautychanged after the fall."” —Metropolitan Anthony —Fr. Seraphim Rose of SourozhPlatina, Genesis, Creation, and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision, p. 44
“He who busies himself with “As for the ‘scientific’ information given in the book of Genesis – and since it talks about the formation of the sins world we know, there cannot but be some scientific information there – contrary to popular belief, there is nothing ‘out-of others-date’ about it. Its observations, it is true, are all made as seen from earth and as affecting mankind; but they do not put forth any particular teaching, for example, on the nature of the heavenly bodies or judges his brother on suspiciontheir relative motions, and so the book can be read by each generation and understood in the light of its own scientific knowledge. The discovery in recent centuries of the vastness of space and the immensity of many of its heavenly bodies does nothing but add grandeur in our minds to the simple account of Genesis. When the Holy Fathers talk about Genesis, of course, has not yet even begun they try to repent or illustrate it with examples taken from the natural science of their time; we do the same thing today. All this illustrative material is open to examine himself so as scientific criticism, and some of it, in fact, has become out-of-date. But the text of Genesis itself is unaffected by such criticism, and we can only wonder at how fresh and timely it is to discover his own sinseach new generation. And the theological commentary of the Holy Fathers on the text partakes of this same quality.” —St—Fr. Maximus the ConfessorSeraphim Rose of Platina, Genesis, Creation and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision, p. 87
“As long as we pay attention to “One who has the negative sides judgment of various people we meetChrist before his eyes, we will not find peace and repentance. As long as we keep in ourselves who has seen the great danger that threatens those who dare to subtract from or add to those things which have been handed down by the thought of offenseSpirit, caused must not be ambitious to us innovate, but must content himself with those things which have been proclaimed by enemiesthe saints.” —St. Basil the Great, friendsAgainst Eunomius 2, family and neighbours, we will not find peace and quiet and we will live in a hellish statePG 29.” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica573-652
“If you “Our afflictions are offended by anythingwell known without my telling; the sound of them has now gone forth over all Christendom. The doctrines of the fathers are despised; apostolical traditions are set at nought; the speculations of innovators hold sway in the churches. Men have learned to be theorists instead of theologians. The wisdom of the world has the place of honour, having dispossessed the boasting of the cross. The pastors are driven away, whether intended or unintendedgrievous wolves are brought in instead, you do not know and plunder the flock of Christ, Houses of prayer are destitute of preachers; the way deserts are full of peacemourners: the old bewail, which through love brings comparing what is with what was; more pitiable are the lovers young, as not knowing what they are deprived of divine knowledge . What has been said is sufficient to kindle the sympathy of those who are taught in the knowledge love of GodChrist, yet compared with the facts, it is far from reaching their seriousness.” —St. Maximus Basil the ConfessorGreat, ep. 90
“In hell there “I urge you not to faint in your afflictions, but to be risen by the love of God and to increase every day to your zeal, knowing that it is democracy necessary to preserve in you this relic of the true religion that the Lord will find when He comes to the earth. Even if the bishops are trained out of their churches, don't be dismayed. If traitors have appeared among the clergy, do not betray your trust in God. We are saved not by names, but by our mind and by our purpose, and by a true love to our Creator. Think that in Heaven there the attack of our Lord, the great priests and the scribes and the elders have designed the conspiracy, and that few people have been found getting the Word. Remember that it is not the multitude that is being saved, but the elected ones of God. So don't be scared by the multitude of people who are swept away by the winds like the waters of the sea. If one is saved, as a Lot in Sodom, he must remain in a Kingdomfair judgment, keeping his hope in Christ steadfast, for the Lord will not abandon His saints. Say hello to all the brothers in Christ from me. Pray with fervor for my miserable soul.” —St. John of KronstadtBasil the Great
“We shall not care what people think of us“So, or how they treat us. We shall cease to be afraid of falling out of favour. We shall love our fellow men without thought of whether they love us. Christ gave us the commandment to love others but did not make it a condition of salvation that they should love us. Indeedquestion, ‘Do we may positively be disliked for independence of spirit. It is essential in these days to be able to protect ourselves from the influence of those with whom we come believe in contact. Otherwise we risk losing both faith and prayer. Let the whole world dismiss us as unworthy of attentionconspiracy theories?’, trust or respect – it will not matter provided that the Lord accept us. And vice versa: it will profit us nothing if the whole world thinks well of us and sings our praises, if the Lord declines to abide with us. This answer is only a fragment of the freedom Christ meant when Hial practices such as Transcendental Meditation I am but repeating the age-old message of the Church … The way of the Fathers requires firm faith and long patience, whereas our contemporaries want to seize every spiritual gift‘We don't believe in them, including even direct contemplation of the Absolute God, by force and speedily, and will often draw a parallel between prayer in the Name we have long experience of Jesus and yoga or Transcendental Meditation ande said, ‘Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8them.32)’” —Fr. Our sole care will be to continue in the word of ChristPeter Heers, to become His disciples and cease to be servants of sin.” —Archimandrite Sophrony of EssexOn Demonic Methodology, His Life is MinePart II: Q & A, Chapter May 6; pg. 55, 2020
“The Church is a hospital“Let us be firm, and not a courtroommy brothers, for souls. She does not condemn on behalf the rock of sinsfaith, but grants remission of sins. Nothing is so joyous in our life as the thanksgiving that we experience in tradition of the Church, and not remove or change the boundaries established by our Holy Fathers. In Let us close the Church, road to innovators and not permit them to demolish the joyful sustain their joy. In structure of the Churchholy, those worried acquire merrimentcatholic, and those saddenedapostolic Church of God. If we allow, however, joy. In the Churchintroduction of any innovation, we unconsciously support the troubled find relief, and collapse of the heavy-laden, restChurch. ‘ComeNo,’ says the Lordmy brothers, ‘near me, all of you who labor and are heavy-laden (with trials and sins)love Christ, no, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). What could be more desirable than to meet this voice? What is sweeter than this invitation? The Lord is calling you to children of the Church for a rich banquet. He transfers , you from struggles will never want to rest, and from tortures to relief. He relieves you from the burden of surround your sins. He heals worries Mother Church with thanksgiving, and sadness with joy. No one is truly free or joyful besides he who lives for Christconfusion. Such a person overcomes all evil and does not fear anything!” —St. John Chrysostomof Damascus, Homily XVConcerning Images, II CorIII. VII VIII, paragraph 6, Themes of Life II, Life Issues II, Holy Monastery of the Paraclete41
“The goal “Therefore, brethren, let us stand on the rock of human freedom faith and on the tradition of the Church, and not remove the boundaries which our Holy Fathers have set. Thus, we will not give the opportunity to those who wish to innovate and destroy the edifice of the holy, catholic and apostolic Church of God. For if permission is granted to everyone who wants it, little by little the whole body of the Church will be destroyed. Do not , brethren, do not, oh Christ-loving children of the Church of God …” —Jeremiah II (Jeremias II) Tranos, Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Constantinople, letter to the Most Wise Theologians, Residents of the Famous City of Tübingen, in freedom itselfthe month of May, nor it is in man1579, Indiction 7, but in Godpp.” —St. Theophan 197-8 (prophetic warning of to the RecluseLutheran scholars)
“When you are depressed“For to err is human, bear in mind but the Lord’s command to Peter to forgive a sinner seventy times sevencorrection is angelic and salvific. And you may be sure that He Who gave this command ” —Jeremiah II (Jeremias II) Tranos, Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Constantinople, letter to another will Himself do very much more.” —Stthe Most Wise Theologians, Residents of the Famous City of Tübingen, in the month of May, 1579, Indiction 7, p. John Climacus210
“The time “Unbelief is an evil offspring of this present life is a time an evil heart; for harvesting, the guileless and each person gathers spiritual food - as pure as possible - and stores it up for the other life. It is not the cleverof heart discovers God everywhere, the noble, the polished speakers, or the rich who wineverywhere discerns Him, but whoever is insulted and forbears, whoever is wronged and forgives, whoever is slandered and endures, whoever becomes a sponge and mops up whatever they might say to himalways unhesitatingly believes in His existence. Such a person is cleansed and polished even more” —St. He reaches great heights. He delights in the theoria Nectarios of mysteries. And finally, it is he who is already inside paradise, while still in this life.” —Elder Joseph the Hesychast and Cave-dwellerAegina
“When you are ready to stand “He who learns must sufferAnd even in our sleep pain that cannot forgetFalls drop by drop upon the presence of the Lordheart, let your soul wear a garment woven from the cloth of your forgiveness of others. OtherwiseAnd in our own despite, your prayer against our will be ,Comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of no value whatsoeverGod.” —St. John Climacus—Aeschylus
“Forgiveness is better than revenge“The greatest wisdom often emerges from the deepest wounds.” —St. Tikhon of Zadonsk—Jane Lee Logan
“When God forgave you“Monarchy can easily be debunked, but watch the faces, mark well the debunkers. These are the men whose taproot in Eden has been cut: whom no rumour of the polyphony, the dance, can reach - men to whom pebbles laid in a row are more beautiful than an arch. … Where men are forbidden to honour a king they honour millionaires, athletes or film stars instead: … For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it means He forgave you for eternityfood and it will gobble poison.” —Elder Arsenios Papacioc—C. S. Lewis
“Love alone harmoniously joins all created things with “There is nothing impossible unto those who believe; lively and unshaken faith can accomplish great miracles in the twinkling of an eye. Besides, even without our sincere and firm faith, miracles are accomplished, such as the miracles of the sacraments; for God 's Mystery is always accomplished, even though we were incredulous or unbelieving at the time of its celebration. 'Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?' (Rom. 3:3). Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and with each othermercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God's wisdom, nor our infirmity God's omnipotence.” —St. Thalassios the LibyanJohn of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
“A monk “The quality of mercy is he who withdrawing not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from all menheavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice blest:It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomesThe thronèd monarch better than his crown.His scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majestyWherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;But mercy is united with all mankindabove this sceptered sway. … A monk It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings;It is he who regards himself as existing with an attribute to God Himself;And earthly power doth then show likest God'sWhen mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,Though justice be thy plea, consider this:That in the course of justice none of usShould see salvation. We do pray for mercy,And that same prayer doth teach us all men and sees himself in each manto renderThe deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus muchTo mitigate the justice of thy plea,Which, if thou follow, this strict court of VeniceMust needs give sentence 'gainst the merchantthere.” —St. Nilus —William Shakespeare, Portia, The Merchant of SinaiVenice, Act 4, Scene 1
“Love towards Christ is without limits, and the same is true of love towards our neighbour. It should radiate everywhere, to “The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the ends hand of the earth, to every person. I wanted to go and live with the hippies at …… in order to show them the love of Christ and how great it is and how it could transfigure them. Love is above everythingman.” —Wounded by Love, Elder Porphyrios, pg 188—unknown
“So God “People were created man in His own image; to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in the image of God He created him; male chaos is because things are being loved and female He created thempeople are being used.” —Genesis 1:27—unknown
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil“No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.” —Genesis 3:5—unknown
“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself “If we could look into an angel each others hearts, and understand the unique challenges each of lightus faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.” —2 Corinthians 11:14—Marvin J. Ashton
“You shall not murder“Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see; that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me.” —Exodus 20:13—Alexander Pope
“Cursed “Tolerance is the one who takes last virtue of a bribe to slay depraved society. When you have an innocent personimmoral society that has blatantly, proudly, violated all of the commandments of God, there is one last virtue they insist upon: tolerance for their immorality.” —Deuteronomy 27:25—Dennis James Kennedy
“He shall judge between the nations,And rebuke many people;They shall beat their swords into plowshares,And their spears into pruning hooks;Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,Neither shall they learn war anymore“The greatest thing a man can do to a woman is to lead her closer to God than to himself.” —Isaiah 2:4—unknown
“But Jesus said to him“A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’” —Matthew 26:52but look what they can do when they stick together!” —unknown
“You know the commandments: ‘Do “God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself because it is not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your motherthere. There is no such thing.” —C. S.’” —Luke 18:20Lewis
“So when they continued asking Him“The supreme happiness of life is the conviction of being loved for yourself, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among youor more correctly, let him throw a stone at her firstbeing loved in spite of yourself.’” —John 8:7” —Victor Hugo
“Whoever hates his brother “It is a murderer, and you know hardly complimentary to God that no murderer has eternal life abiding in we should choose himas an alternative to hell.” —1 John 3:15—C. S. Lewis
“And “Hell can't be made attractive, so the second commandment of devil makes attractive the Teaching; Thou shalt not commit murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not commit paederasty, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not practise magic, thou shalt not practise witchcraft, thou shalt not murder a child by abortion nor kill road that which is begottenleads there.” —Didache 2:2—St. Basil the Great
“The mold in “What is hell? I maintain that it is the womb may not be destroyedsuffering of being unable to love.” —Tertullian—Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“The woman who purposely destroys her unborn child is guilty of murder“If you die before you die, than when you die, you will not die. The hair-splitting difference between formed and unformed makes no difference to us” —written on a cell wall, St.” —StPaul's Monastery, Mt. Basil the GreatAthos
“Those who use abortifacients commit homicide“War in the name of religion is war against religion.” —St. Clement of Alexandria—His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
“For every argument there is a counter-argument“Believe me, but who can argue against life?if God revealed to us the disasters to which we were exposed and from which He protected us, our whole lives would not suffice to offer Him thanks.” —St—H.H. Gregory Palamas, Triads in Defence of the Holy HesychastsPope Shenouda
“O “In heaven, God, grant us a deeper sense of fellowship with all living things, our little brothers and sisters to whom in common with will not ask us you have given this earth as home. We recall with regret that in the past why we have acted high-handedly and cruelly in exercising our domain over them. Thus, the voice of the earth which should have risen to you in song has turned into a groan of travail. May sinned; He will ask us why we realize that all these creatures also live for themselves and for you - did not for us alonerepent. They too love the goodness of life, as we do, and serve you better in their way than we do in ours” —H. Amen.” —StH. Basil the GreatPope Shenouda III
“We follow the ways of wolves“Even if all spiritual fathers, the habits of tigers: orpatriarchs, rather we are worse than they. To them nature has assigned that they should be thus fedhierarchs, while God has honoured us with rational speech and a sense of equity. And yet we all the people forgive you, you are become worse than the wild beastunforgiven if you don’t repent in action.” —St. John ChrysostomKosmas Aitolos
“Concepts create idols“Nobody is as gracious and merciful, as the Lord is, but even He does not forgive the sins of the man who does not repent; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall … we are being condemned not because of the multitude of our evils, but because we do not want to our kneesrepent.” —St. Gregory of NyssaMark the Ascetic
“The unspeakable and prodigious fire hidden in the essence “As a handful of things, as in sand thrown into the bushocean, is so are the fire sins of divine love and all flesh as compared with the dazzling brilliance mercy of His beauty inside every thingGod.” —St. Maximus Isaac the ConfessorSyrian
“Blessed “Just as a strongly flowing fountain is not blocked up by a handful of earth, so the compassion of the one who observes with spiritual understanding Creator is not overcome by the choirs wickedness of stars shining with glory his creatures.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “God is loving to man, and loving in no small measure. For say not, I have committed fornication and adultery: I have done dreadful things, and not once only, but often: will He forgive? Will He grant pardon? Hear what the Psalmist says: ‘How great is the multitude of Your goodness, O Lord!’ Your accumulated offenses surpass not the beauty multitude of God's mercies: your wounds surpass not the great Physician's skill. Only give yourself up in faith: tell the Physician your ailment: say thou also, like David: ‘I said, I will confess me my sin unto the heavens Lord’: and longs to contemplate the Maker same shall be done in your case, which he says immediately: ‘And you forgave the wickedness of all thingsmy heart.” ’” —St. Ephrem Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2, On Repentance and Remission of Sins and Concerning the SyrianAdversary, Ezekiel xviii. 20-23
“Look at the world around you. It supplies “The Lord calls to Him all your bodily needs. It feasts your eyes with its beauty. And its glory reflects the glory of Godsinners; He opens His arms wide, so it feasts your soul also. Look at even to the plants and the treesworst among them. Can you count all the different species? Can you describe all the different shapes of the leaves, the color and fragrances of the flowers? Look, too, at the animals and the insects. Are you not enthralled by their different sizes and shapes, by the different colors and textures of their skin and furGladly He takes them in His arms, by the different ways in which if only they move about and gather food? And the wonder why God has created all this. Has he created the marvelous universe just to supply our needs and to feast our eyes and souls? or is there some other purpose in it all? The answer is that he has created all things--for their own sake. Each creature has its own purpose and destiny, which God in his infinite wisdom and love has planned. Do not try will come to understand God’s plans; the human mind is hardly better than that of an ant in discerning the ways of God. Simply accept all his plans and rejoice in themHim.” —St. John Chrysostom, On Living Simply, pg 54Macarius of Optina
“Some people see “Repentance is the houses in which they live as their kingdom; and although in their minds they know that death will one day force them to leave, in their hearts they feel they will stay forever. They take pride in the size daughter of their houses and the fine material with which they are built. They take pleasure in decorating their houses with bright colors, and in obtaining the best hope and most solid furniture to fill the rooms. They imagine that they can find peace and security by owning a house whose walls and roof will last for many generations. We, by contrast, know that we are only temporary guests on earth. We recognize that the houses in which we live serve only as hostels on the road to eternal life. We do not seek peace or security from the material walls around us or the roof above our heads. Rather we want to surround ourselves with a wall of divine grace; and we look upward refusal to heaven as our roof. And the furniture of our lives should be good works, performed in a spirit of lovedespair.” —St. John ChrysostomClimacus, On Living Simply, pg 11The Ladder of Divine Ascent
“What hinders you from fulfilling Christ’s commandments?“Years are not needed for true repentance, and not days, but only an instant.” —St. Ambrose of Optina
The flesh and the world: “There is no sin which cannot be pardoned except that isone which lacks repentance, pleasant food and drink there is no gift which men like, in is not augmented save that which they delight both in thought and in fact, which make remains without acknowledgement. For the heart gross and hard—a partiality for elegant dress and adornment, or for distinctions and rewards; if the dress or adornments are made portion of very beautiful coloured and delicate materials, then care and anxiety arise how to avoid staining or soiling them, or getting them dusty or wet, whilst care and anxiety how to please God in thought, word, and deed vanish and the heart lives for dress and adornment, and becomes entirely engrossed fool is small in these things, ceasing to care about God and being united to Him; if such is the case with a priest, then he neglects praying for his people, and becomes not soul-loving, but money-loving and ambitious, seeking not eyes.” —St. Isaac the men themselves, but that which appertains to them, that is, money, food, drink, their favour, their good opinion and good word, and flattering them.Syrian
Therefore fight against every worldly enticement, against every material enticement that hinders you from fulfilling Christ’s commandments, love “When a man abandons his sins and returns to God with all your heart, his repentance regenerates him and care with all your strength for the salvation of your own soul, and the souls of others, be soul-lovingrenews him entirely.” —St. John of KronstadtIsaiah the Solitary
“Worldly glory does “Through repentance the filth of our foul actions is washed away. After this, we participate in the Holy Spirit, not lead God's children automatically, but according to the faith, humility and inner disposition of the repentance in which our soul is engaged. For this reason it is good to heavenrepent each day as the act of repentance is unending.” —St. RaphaelSymeon the New Theologian, the Newly-revealed Martyr of LesvosThe Philokalia
“Satan has no need “There is nothing higher than what is called repentance and confession. The sacrament is the offering of God's love to tempt those who tempt themselves, mankind. In this perfect way a person is free of evil. We go and are continually dragged down by worldly affairsconfess and we sense our reconciliation with God; Joy enters us and guilt departs. In the Orthodox Church there is no impasse.” —St. John Porphyrios of KarpathosKavsokalyvia
“The devil does not hunt after those who are lost; he hunts after those who are aware“…confession is such a potent treatment that it immediately neutralizes every poison of pardonable and mortal sin, which is an infinite evil, those who are close to God. He takes from them trust in God and begins causes every invisible illness to afflict them with self-assurancedisappear, logic, thinking, criticismrestoring to the soul its initial health and grace. Therefore we should not trust our logical mindsIt is such a wondrous treatment that it instantly changes the sinner into a beautiful angel from that which it was before…” —St.” —Elder Paisios Nikodemos the Hagiorite, Exomologetarion: A Manual of MtConfession, p. Athos234
“Only He “And so it is worth struggling towards. We have a choice: incumbent upon us to follow the way of this worldstrive, of the society that surrounds usrather, to correct our faults and thereby find ourselves outside of God; or the choose the way of life, to choose God Who calls us and for Whom improve our heart is searchingbehavior.” —Fr—St. Seraphim Rose of PlatinaJohn Cassian
“Let “If the hearing grace of worldly tales God doesn't enlighten man, though you say many words, they won't be beneficial. The person listens to you as for a bitter taste in moment, but soon after returns to that which holds him captive. If, however, grace works immediately, together with your mouthwords, then a change is effected at that moment, but corresponding to the discourse of holy men as a honeycombperson's predisposition. And from that moment on, his life is changed. This happens with those who haven't hardened their hearing and conscience.” —St. Basil —Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Precious Vessels of the GreatHoly Spirit
“All “Let us strive to purify ourselves through repentance and humility, and to unite all our senses as one to the God who is good, and transcends the things of this world are no more than earthgood. Place them Then, truly, everything which I have not quite been able to say or to demonstrate with my many words, you will be taught in a heap under an instant, all at once. You will hear with your feet sight, and you see with your hearing. You will be so much nearer to heaventaught while seeing and, again, hear what is unveiled.” —St. Josemaria EscrivaSymeon the New Theologian
“A man who has dedicated himself once “Where there is God, there is no evil. Everything coming from God is peaceful, healthy and for all leads a person to God goes through life with a restful mindthe judgment of his own imperfections and humility.” —St. Isaac the Syrian
“Do you seek any further reward beyond that of having pleased God? In truthWhen a person accepts anything Godly, you know not how great a good it is to please Him.” —Stthen he rejoices in his heart, but when he has accepted anything devilish, then he becomes tormented. John Chrysostom
“Faith The devil is to believe what you do not see; the reward like a lion, hiding in ambush (Ps 10:19, 1Pe 5:8). He secretly sets out nets of this faith unclean and unholy thoughts. So, it is necessary to see what you believe.” —Stbreak them off as soon as we notice them, by means of pious reflection and prayer. Augustine
“‘You shall love It is necessary that the Lord your God with all your Holy Spirit enter our heart. Everything good that we do, with all your soulthat we do for Christ, and with all your mind.’ This is given to us by the first and great commandment. And the second Holy Spirit, but prayer most of all, which is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophetsalways available to us.” —Matthew 22:37-40
“And Thomas answered A sign of spiritual life is the immersion of a person within himself and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"the hidden workings within his heart.” —John 20:28—St. Seraphim of Sarov
“For the Father judges no one“There is nothing better than peace in Christ, but has committed for it brings victory over all judgment the evil spirits on earth and in the air. When peace dwells in a man's heart it enables him to contemplate the Son, that all should honor grace of the Son just as they honor the FatherHoly Spirit from within. He who does not honor dwells in peace collects spiritual gifts as it were with a scoop, and he sheds the Son does not honor light of knowledge on others. All our thoughts, all our desires, all our efforts, and all our actions should make us say constantly with the Father who sent HimChurch: ‘O Lord, give us peace!’ When a man lives in peace, God reveals mysteries to him.” —John 5:22-23—St. Seraphim of Sarov
“But I say “The Spirit offers its own light to youevery mind, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray help it in its search for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” —Matthew 5:44truth.” —St. Basil the Great
“The fool has said in his heart,‘There “Sometimes a man's happiness is no God.’They are corrupt,They have done abominable worksso deep inside him that he may forget it's there and start looking elsewhere hunting a fantasy,There is none who does goodan illusion.” —Psalm 14:1—Mr. Roarke (Fantasy Island, s2e14)
“Trust “If he seeks answers to questions related to his faith, his purpose in the Lord with all your heartlife,And lean not on your own understanding;he will find happiness.” —Proverbs 3:5—Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania
“Hatred stirs up strife“The person who loves God values knowledge of God more than anything created by God,But love covers all sinsand pursues such knowledge ardently and ceaselessly.” —Proverbs 10:12—St. Maximus the Confessor
“When pride comes“Adorn yourself with truth, then comes shametry to speak truth in all things;and do not support a lie, no matter who asks you.But with If you speak the truth and someone gets mad at you, don’t be upset, but take comfort in the words of the Lord:Blessed are those who are persecuted for the humble sake of truth, for theirs is wisdomthe Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:10).” —Proverbs 11:—St. Gennadios (II) Scholarios, Patriarch of Constantinople, The Golden Chain, 26,2
“The way “You that are strong with all might in the inner man ought by rights to carry on the struggle against the enemies of the truth, and not to shrink from the task, that we fathers may be gladdened by the noble toil of a fool our sons; for this is right in his own eyesthe prompting of the law of nature: but as you turn your ranks, and send against us the assaults of those darts which are hurled by the opponents of the truth,But he who heeds counsel is wiseand demand that their hot burning coals and their shafts sharpened by knowledge falsely so called should be quenched with the shield of faith by us old men.” —Proverbs 12:15—St. Gregory of Nyssa
“There is a way that seems right to a man“Be the bee and not the fly… The fly only knows where the unclean things are,But its end is while the way honeybee knows where the beautiful flowers are!” —St. Paisios of deathMt.” —Proverbs 14:12Athos
“Pride goes before destruction“I shall set forth the best contributions of the philosophers of the Greeks,And because whatever there is of good has been given to men from above by God, since ‘every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights’ (Js. 1.17). If, however, there is anything that is contrary to the truth, then it is a dark invention of the deceit of Satan and a haughty fiction of the mind of an evil spirit before , as that eminent theologian Gregory once said (Homily 39.3). In imitation of the method of the bee, I shall make my composition from those things which are conformable with the truth and from our enemies themselves gather the fruit of salvation. But all that is worthless and falsely labeled as knowledge I shall reject. Then, next, after this, I shall set forth in order the absurdities of the heresies hated of God, so that by recognizing the lie we may more closely follow the truth. Then, with God's help and by His grace I shall expose the truth–that truth which destroys deceit and puts falsehood to flight and which, as with golden fringes, has been embellished and adorned by the sayings of the divinely inspired prophets, the divinely taught fishermen, and the God-bearing shepherds and teachers–that truth, the glory of which flashes out from within to brighten with its radiance, when they encounter it, them that are duly purified and rid of troublesome speculations. However, as I have said, I shall add nothing of my own, but shall gather together into one those things which have been worked out by the most eminent of teachers and make a fallcompendium of them, being in all things obedient to your command.” —Proverbs 16:18—St. John of Damascus, The Fount of Knowledge
“Let another man praise you“If we have obtained the grace of God, and not your own mouth;A strangernone shall prevail against us, and not your own lipsbut we shall be stronger than all who oppose us.” —Proverbs 27:2—St. John Chrysostom
“Open rebuke “But our opinion is betterThan love carefully concealedin accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion.” —St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, 4:18:5
Faithful “The Eucharist is the Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, in his loving-kindess, raised from the dead.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Smyrnians, 7:1 “If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the wounds spotless Flesh of a friendChrist will make you pure and chaste.” —St. Cyril of Alexandria “Don't be anxious about what you have,but about what you are.” —St. Gregory the Great But “Teach your child this lesson: the kisses rewards of an enemy evil are deceitfultemporary; the rewards of Godliness (good character) are eternal.” —St. Cyprian of Carthage “Let everything take second place to our care of our children, our bringing them up to the discipline and instruction of the Lord. If from the beginning we teach them to love true wisdom, they will have greater wealth and glory than riches can provide. If a child learns a trade, or is highly educated for a lucrative profession, all this is nothing compared to the art of detachment from riches; if you want to make your child rich, teach him this. He is truly rich who does not desire great possessions, or surrounds himself with wealth, but who requires nothing…Don’t think that only monks need to learn the Bible; Children about to go out into the world stand in greater need of Scriptural knowledge.” —Proverbs 27:5-6—St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians, Homily 21
“Vanity “Learn from small children: if a child is attacked by someone in the presence of vanitieshis parent, he does not respond to the attacker himself, all is vanitybut looks at the parent and cries. … I have seen all He knows that the works that are done under parent will protect him. And how can you not know what the sun; and indeedlittle child knows? Your heavenly Parent is continually beside you. Therefore do not revenge, all is vanity and grasping do not repay evil for evil, but look at the windParent and cry. Only in this way will you secure your victory in a clash with evil people.” Ecclesiastes 1:2,14—St. Nikolai Velimirovich
“For “The soul that is in all things devoted to the will of God rests quiet in Him, for she knows of experience and from the Holy Scriptures that the Lord loves us much wisdom and watches over our souls, quickening all things by His grace in peace and love. Nothing troubles the man who is much griefgiven over to the will of God, be it illness, poverty or persecution. He knows that the Lord in His mercy is solicitous for us. The Holy Spirit, whom the soul knows, is witness therefore. But the proud and the self-willed do not want to surrender to God's will because they like their own way,And he who increases knowledge increases sorrowand that is harmful for the soul.” —Ecclesiastes 1:18—St. Silouan the Athonite (From the Life and Teachings of Elder Siluan by Bishop Alexander and Natalia Bufius translated by Anatoly Shmelev)
“Reflect on “Begin to pray with those whom you love most, for example, for your children. Then pray for the rest of the family. Then for the people around you, then bless the statutes city in which you live…bless the residents of other cities… Then ask God to calm the Lordhearts of other countries so that there is no war. Then,and meditate at all times on his commandmentswhen you have already prayed for the whole world, you only have to pray for enemies.It is he who will give insight And to not miss them, ask God to your fill their hearts with kindness, and the mindwith wisdom. You see,and your desire it turns out that you can pray for wisdom will be grantedenemies too.” —Sirach 6:37—St. Gabriel Urgebadze of Georgia, Confessor and Fool for Christ
“Childless with virtue “True faith is better than thisfound in one's heart,For immortality is not mind. People who have faith in its memory;Because their mind will follow the antichrist. But the ones who have it is known both by God and by manin their heart will recognize him.” —Wisdom —St. Gabriel Urgebadze of Solomon 4:1Georgia, Confessor and Fool for Christ
“Jesus wept“When people are so steeped in evil that they do not yield to any admonishment and continue doing evil, a Christian cannot and should not take refuge in this teaching of the forgiveness of all, sit indifferently with his arms crossed, and apathetically watch evil abuse good, as it increases and destroys people, his close ones. To indifferently watch the ruin of a close one by one who has lost his senses and become a bearer of evil is nothing other than the breaking of the commandment of love for one's neighbor.” —John 11:35—Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are those who mourn,For they shall be comforted.Blessed are the meek,For they shall inherit the earth.Blessed are those “Those who hunger dislike and thirst for righteousness,For they shall be filled.Blessed reject their fellow-man are the merciful,For they shall obtain mercyimpoverished in their being.Blessed are They do not know the pure in heart,For they shall see true God.Blessed are the peacemakers,For they shall be called sons of God.Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,For theirs is the kingdom of heavenall-embracing love.” —Matthew 5:3-10—St. Silouan the Athonite
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee “If we detect hatred in our hearts against any man whatsoever for committing any fault, we are utterly estranged from you. Draw near to love for God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-mindedsince love for God absolutely precludes us from hating any man. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom” —St. Humble yourselves in Maximus the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” —James 4:7-10Confessor
“But he who did “One must not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with fewharbour anger nor hatred towards a person that is hostile towards us. On the contrary. For everyone to whom much is given, from You must love him much will be required; and to whom do as much has been committed, of good as possible towards him they will ask . Following the moreteaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.” —Luke 12:48—St. Seraphim of Sarov
“Then Abraham answered and said“As fire is not extinguished by fire, ‘Indeed nowso anger is not conquered by anger, I who am but dust is made even more inflamed. But meekness often subdues even the most beastly enemies, softens them and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lordpacifies them.” —St.’” —Genesis 18:27Tikhon of Zadonsk
“The centurion answered and said“For wherever love disappears, ‘Lordhatred immediately appears in its place. And if God is love, I am not worthy that You should come under my roofthen hatred is the devil. But only speak a wordTherefore, and my servant will be healedat one who has love has God within himself, so he who has hatred within himself nurtures the devil within him.” —St.’” —Matthew 8:8Basil the Great
“And the tax collector“Do not ask for love from your neighbor, standing afar off, would for if you ask and he does not so much as raise his eyes to heavenrespond, but beat his breastyou will be troubled. Instead show your love for your neighbour and you will be at rest, saying, ‘God, be merciful and so will bring your neighbour to me a sinner!’” —Luke 18:13love.” —St. Dorotheos of Gaza
“Pray without ceasing“Love should never be sacrificed for the sake of some dogmatic difference.” —1 Thessalonians 5:17—St. Nektarios of Aegina
“This “No term is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into used–and misused–among the Orthodox people in America more often than the world to save sinnersterm canonical.” —Fr. Alexander Schmemann, The Problems of whom I am chief.” —1 Timothy 1:15Orthodoxy in America, The Canonical Problem
“for all have sinned and fall short of “Even the glory of God…” —Romans 3:23slightest thought that is not founded on love destroys peace.” —Archimandrite Thaddeus Strabulovich
“And I also say “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to you that you are Peter, hasten to the poor and on this rock I will build My church, needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the gates sighs and sorrows of Hades shall not prevail against itmen. That is what love looks like.” —Matthew 16:18—St. Augustine of Hippo
“Go therefore “Your Lord is love: love Him and make disciples of in Him all the nationsmen, baptizing them as His Children in Christ. Your Lord is fire: do not let your heart be cold, but burn with faith and love. Your Lord is light: do not walk in the name darkness of mind, without reasoning or understanding, or without faith. Your Lord is a God of the Father mercy and bountifulness: be also a source of the Son mercy and bountifulness to your neighbors. If you will be such, you will find salvation yourself with everlasting glory.” —St. John of the Holy Spirit…” —Matthew 28:19Kronstadt
“Then Peter said “To love our brothers is a need that is endemic to themour nature. Contemporary man does not recognize this need, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; because it is suppressed and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spiritsuffocated by egoism."” —Acts 2—Archbishop Averky (Taushev), The Struggle for Virtue:38Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society, p.54
“Jesus said to them“Many think that love is a feeling, ‘Most assuredlybut this is not the case. It is a state of the will. If love were a feeling it would not be a commandment. Naturally, I say to youlove is accompanied by certain feelings, before Abraham wasbut in essence it is a state of the will.” —Fr. Daniel Sysoev, How Can I AM.’” —John 8:58Learn God's Will?
“But when “Love is – the Helper comesbond of life, whom I shall send to you from the Fathermother of the poor and the teacher of the rich. It is the nurse of orphans, the Spirit attendant of truth who proceeds from the Fatherelderly, He will testify the treasure of the indigent and the common port of Meall the afflicted.” —John 15:26—St. Gregory of Nyssa
“that they all may be one“I guard you in advance against beasts in the form of men, as Youwhom you must not only not receive, Fatherbut if it is possible not even meet, are in Mebut only pray for them, and I in You; that if perchance they also may be one in Usrepent…” —St. Ignatius of Antioch, that Letter to the world may believe that You sent MeSmyrnaeans, A.D.” —John 17:21117
“I “If the Christian recognizes and My Father understands under what condition, under what law he has believed, he will know that he must labor more in the world than others, as he must carry on a greater struggle against the assault of the devil. Divine Scripture teaches and forewarns, saying: ‘Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice, and in fear, and prepare thyself for temptation’ (Sirach 2:1), and again: ‘in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience, for gold and silver are onetried in the fire’ (Sirach 2:4,5).” —John 10:30—St. Cyprian of Carthage, Mortality
“Then“The person who has surrendered himself entirely to sin indulges with enjoyment and pleasure in unnatural and shameful passions – licentiousness, the same day at eveningunchastity, greed, hatred, being the first day guile and other forms of vice – as though they were natural. The genuine and perfected Christian, on the weekother hand, when with great enjoyment and spiritual pleasure participates effortlessly and without impediment in all the doors were shut where virtues and all the disciples were assembled, for fear supranatural fruits of the JewsSpirit – love, Jesus came and stood in the midstpeace, and said to thempatient endurance, "Peace be with you." When He had said thisfaith, He showed them His hands humility and His side. Then the disciples entire truly golden galaxy of virtue – as though they were glad when they saw the Lordnatural.” —St.Symeon Metaphrastis
“So Jesus said “When a man is given over to the passions, he does not see them in himself and does not fight against them, because he lives in them and by them again. But when the grace of God becomes active in him, "Peace he begins to you! As discern the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said thispassionate and sinful in himself, He breathed on acknowledge them, and said to repent and decide to guard against them. A struggle begins. At first, "Receive the Holy Spiritstruggle begins with deeds, but when released from shameful deeds, then the struggle begins with shameful thoughts and feelings. If you forgive And here the sins struggle encounters many steps … The struggle continues. The passions increasingly are torn out of any, the heart. It even happens that they are forgiven them; if you retain entirely torn out … The sign that the sins passions are torn out of any, they are retainedthe heart is that the soul begins to feel repulsion and hatred for the passions."” —John 20:19-23—St. Theophan the Recluse, Unseen Warfare, How the Spiritual Life Proceeds
“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go“Until you have eradicated evil, do not obey your heart; for it will seek more of what it already contains within itself.” —Luke 10:1—St. Mark the Ascetic
“Then the twelve summoned the multitude “Whatever of that which is best has flowed into the disciples and saidheart, "It is we should not desirable pour out without need; for that we should leave the word which has been gathered can be free of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out danger from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit visible and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to invisible enemies only when it is guarded in the ministry interior of the wordheart."” —Acts 6:2-4—St. Seraphim of Sarov
“Obey “No one professing faith sins, nor does anyone possessing love hate. The tree is known by its fruit; thus those who rule over you, and profess to be Christ's will be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give accountrecognized by their actions. Let them do so with joy and For the work is a matter not with griefof what one promises now, for that would be unprofitable for youbut of persevering to the end in the power of faith.” —Hebrews 13:17—St. Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians
“Now on the first day of the week“Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when the disciples came together he so lives as to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnightmake happiness impossible.” —Acts 20:7—St. Augustine of Hippo
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh “The confession of evil works is the Son first beginning of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yougood works. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” —St. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.“ —John 6:53-56Augustine of Hippo
“Do you look at things according “There is no benefit to be gained from a pure life when one possesses heretical dogma. And likewise the outward appearance? If anyone opposite is convinced in himself that he true. Correct dogma is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’sof no benefit when one leads a corrupt life. For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave Let us for edification and not think that holding faith alone is alone sufficient for your destruction, I shall salvation if we do not be ashamed…” —2 Corinthians 10:7-8also show forth a pure life.” —St. John Chrysostom
“And have no fellowship “The one who has not yet obtained divine knowledge activated by love makes a lot of the religious works he performs. But the one who has been deemed worthy to obtain this says with conviction the words which the patriarch Abraham spoke when he was graced with the unfruitful works of darknessdivine appearance, ‘I am but rather expose themearth and ashes.” —Ephesians 5:11’” —St. Maximus the Confessor
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does “Do not have works? Can say that ‘mere faith in our Lord Jesus Christ can save him? If a brother or sister me’, for this is naked impossible unless you acquire love for Him through works. For in what concerns mere believing, ‘even the demons believe and destitute tremble’ (James 2:19). The action of daily foodlove consists in heartfelt good deeds towards one's neighbor, and one of you says to themmagnanimity, “Depart in peacepatience, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the sober use of things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” —James 2:14-17—St. Maximus the Confessor
“Either make “Our faith then must be different from the faith of devils. For our faith purifies the tree good heart; but their faith makes them guilty. For they do wickedly, and its fruit goodtherefore say they to the Lord, ‘What have we to do with You?’ When you hear the devils say this, do you think that they do not acknowledge Him? ‘We know,’ they say, or else make ‘who You are: You are the tree bad Son of God.’ This Peter says, and its fruit badis commended; for the devil says it, and is condemned. Whence comes this, but that though the words be the same, the heart is different? Let us then make a tree distinction in our faith, and not be content to believe. This is no such faith as purifies the heart. ‘Purifying their hearts,’ it is known said, ‘by faith.’ But by its fruitwhat, and what kind of faith, save that which the Apostle Paul defines when he says, ‘Faith which works by love. Brood ’ That faith distinguishes us from the faith of vipers! How can youdevils, and from the infamous and abandoned conduct of men. ‘Faith, being evil’ he says. What faith? ‘That which works by love, speak good ’ and which hopes for what God does promise. Nothing is more exact or perfect than this definition. There are then in faith these three things. He in whom that faith is which works by love, must necessarily hope for that which God does promise. Hope therefore is the associate of faith. For hope is necessary as long as we see not what we believe, lest perhaps through not seeing, and by despairing to see, we fail. That we see not, does make us sad; but that we hope we shall see, comforts us. Hope then is here, and she is the associate of faith. And then charity also, by which we long, and strive to attain, and glow with desire, and hunger and thirst. This then is taken in also; and so there will be faith, hope, and charity. For how shall there not be charity there, since charity is nothing else but love? And this faith is itself defined as that ‘which works by love.’ Take away faith, and all you believe perishes; take away charity, and all that you do perishes. For out it is the province of the abundance faith to believe, of the heart the mouth speakscharity to do. A For if you believe without love, you do not apply yourself to good man out works; or if you do, it is as a servant, not as a son, through fear of punishment, not through love of righteousness. Therefore I say, that faith purifies the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out which works by love.” —St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon III on the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” —Matthew 12:33-35New Testament, Section XI
“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit“Refuse to listen to the Devil when he whispers to you: ‘Give me now, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruitand you will give tomorrow to God. For men do not gather figs from thorns’ No, nor do they gather grapes from no! Spend all the hours of your life in a bramble bushway pleasing to God. A good man out of Keep in your mind the thought that after the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; present hour, you will not be given another, and an evil man out that you will have to render a strict account for every minute of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evilthis present hour.” —St. For out of the abundance of Theophan the heart his mouth speaks.” —Luke 6:43-45Recluse
“Out “Human life is but of brief duration. ‘All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursingfield. My brethrenThe grass withers, these things ought not the flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand forever’ (Isa. 40:6). Let us hold fast to be sothe commandment that abides, and despise the unreality that passes away.” —James 3:10—St. Basil the Great
“But above “We see the water of a river flowing uninterruptedly and passing away, and allthat floats on its surface, my brethrenrubbish or beams of trees, do not swearall pass by. So does our life. I was an infant, and that time has gone. I was an adolescent, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oathand that too has passed. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘YesI was a young man,’ and your ‘Nothat too is far behind me. The strong and mature man that I was is no more. My hair turns white,’ ‘NoI succumb to age,’ lest you fall into judgmentbut that too passes; I approach the end and will go the way of all flesh. I was born in order to die. I die that I may live.Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom!” —James 5:12—St. Tikhon of Voronezh
“Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we “You should look downward. Remember: you are absent, such we earth and you will also be in deed when we are presentreturn to the earth.” —2 Corinthians 10:11—St. Ambrose of Optina
“…but if I am delayed“Just as a pauper, I write seeing the royal treasures, all the more acknowledges his own poverty; so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in also the spirit, reading the house accounts of God, which is the church great deeds of the living GodHoly Fathers, involuntarily is all the pillar and ground more humbled in its way of the truththought.” —1 Timothy 3:15—St. John Climacus
“Before I formed you in “Do not shun poverty and affliction, the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet fuel that gives wings to the nationsprayer.” —Jeremiah 1:5—Evagrios the Solitary
“Let no one despise your youth“Prayer is a refuge for those who are shaken, but be an example to anchor for those tossed by waves, a walking stick for the believers in wordinfirm, in conducta treasure house for the poor, in lovea stronghold for the rich, in spirita destroyer of sicknesses, in faitha preserver of health. He who can sincerely pray is richer than everyone else, in purityeven though he is the poorest of all. On the contrary, he who does not have recourse to prayer, even though he sit on a king's throne, is the poorest of all…” —St.” —1 Timothy 4:12John Chrysostom
“But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And “What is the eye cannot say to meaning of the handexclamation so often sung in church: ‘Lord, "I have no need mercy upon us’? It is the lament of you"; nor again the head to the feetguilty, condemned sinner, "I have no need imploring forgiveness of youan irritated justice." NoWe are all under the eternal curse and doomed to eternal fire for our innumerable sins, much ratherand it is only the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, those members of interceding for us before the body which seem to be weaker are necessaryHeavenly Father, that saves us from eternal punishment. And those members It is the lament of the body which we think repentant sinner, expressing his firm intention to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; amend and our unpresentable parts have greater modestybegin a new life, but our presentable parts have no needbecoming for a Christian. But God composed It is the lament of the bodyrepentant sinner, having given greater honor ready to that part which lacks itforgive others, that there should be no schism in the bodyas he himself was and is immeasurably forgiven by God, but that the members should have the same care for one anotherJudge of his deeds.” —St. And if one member suffersJohn of Kronstadt, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honoredMy Life in Christ, all the members rejoice with itpg.406
“Now you “It seems that we do not understand one thing: it is not good when we return the love of those who love us, yet hate those who hate us. We are not on the right path if we do this. We are the sons of light and love – the body sons of ChristGod, his children. As such, we must have His qualities and members individuallyHis attributes of love, peace, and kindness towards all. And God has appointed these in the church…” —1 Corinthians 12:20-28” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
“Do not remove “Pride is trying to imagine a world and live in it. Humility receives the ancient landmarkWhich your fathers have setworld as God created it.” —Proverbs 22:28—St. Sophrony of Essex
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, “We suffer because we have no humility and we do not sparing love our brother. From love of our brother comes the flocklove of God. Also from among yourselves men will rise upPeople do not learn humility, speaking perverse thingsand because of their pride cannot receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, to draw away and therefor the disciples after themselveswhole world suffers.” —Acts 20:29-30—St. Silouan the Athonite
“Reject a divisive man after the first “Some suffer much from poverty and second admonitionsickness, knowing that such a person but are not humbled, and so they suffer without profit. But one who is warped humbled will be happy in all circumstances, because the Lord is his riches and sinningjoy, being self-condemnedand all people will wonder at the beauty of his soul.” —Titus 3:10-11—St. Silouan the Athonite
“And whoever will not receive “My joy, I beg you nor hear your words, when you depart from acquire the Spirit of Peace. That means to bring oneself to such a state that house or city, shake off our spirit will not be disturbed by anything. For one must go through many sorrows to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the way all righteous men were saved and inherited the dust from your feetHeavenly Kingdom…” —St.” —Matthew 10:14Seraphim of Sarov
“And in vain they worship Me“My will, therefore, He took to Himself, my grief. In confidence I call it grief, because I preach His Cross. Mine is the will which He called His Own, for as Man He bore my grief, as Man He spake, and therefore said, ‘Not as I will,Teaching but as doctrines Thou wilt.’ Mine was the commandments of mengrief, and mine the heaviness with which He bore it, for no man exults when at the point to die. With me and for me He Suffers, for me He is sad, for me He is heavy. In my stead therefore, and in me He grieved Who had no cause to grieve for Himself.” —Matthew 15:9
“ThereforeNot Thy Wound, brethrenbut mine, stand fast hurt Thee, Lord Jesus; not Thy Death, but our weakness, even as the Prophet saith: ‘For He is afflicted for our sakes’--and hold the traditions which you were taughtwe, Lord, esteemed Thee afflicted, when Thou grievedst not for Thyself, whether by word or our epistlebut for me.” —2 Thessalonians 2:15
“For And what wonder if He grieved for all, Who wept for one? What wonder if, in the Son hour of Man death, He is Lord heavy for all, Who wept when at the point to raise Lazarus from the dead? Then, indeed, He was moved by a loving sister's tears, for they touched His human heart,--here by secret grief He brought it to pass that, even as His Death made an end of the Sabbathdeath, and His Stripes healed our scars, so also His Sorrow took away our sorrow.” —Matthew 12:8—St. Ambrose of Milan, (+397), Ch. 7, Book II, Exposition on the Christian Faith
“Having wiped out the handwriting “Peace is not absence of requirements that was against usstruggle, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out but absence of the way, having nailed it to the crossuncertainty and confusion.” —Colossians 2:14 “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is —Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Christ.” —Colossians 2:16-17Sourozh
“…where there “Humility is neither Greek nor Jewperfect quietness of heart, circumcised nor uncircumcisedit is to expect nothing, barbarianto wonder at nothing that is done to me, Scythianto feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, slave nor freeand when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, but Christ is all and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when allaround and above is trouble.” —Colossians 3:11—Andrew Murray
“For sin shall not have dominion over you“However great the afflictions we suffer, for you what are not under law but under gracethey compared with the promised future reward.” —Romans 6:14—St. Macarius the Great
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes “Shun the day, observes it to the Lord; praise of men and he who does not observe love the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He one who eats, eats to in the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to fear of the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanksreprimands you.” —Romans 14:5-6—St. Pachomius
“…and “When people begin to the Jews I became as a Jewpraise us, that I might win Jews; let us hurry to those who are under remember the law, as under the lawmultitude of ours transgressions, and we will see that I might win those who we are under the lawtruly unworthy of that which they say and do in our honor.” —1 Corinthians 9:20 “For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God—St.” —2 Corinthians 9:12John Climacus
“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily “…Don't be frightened at your burden; our Lord will help you to find out whether these things were socarry it.” —Acts 17:11—St. John Vianney
“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading “Every tribulation reveals the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"state of our will.” —Acts 8:30—St. Mark the Ascetic
“So they read distinctly from the book“Every affliction tests our will, in the Law of God; and they gave the senseshowing whether it is inclined to good or evil. That is why an unforeseen affliction is called a test, and helped them because it enables a man to understand the readingtest his hidden desires.” —Nehemiah 8:8—St. Mark the Ascetic
“And when he had found him“Many are the wiles of the enemy to despoil us of inner peace, he brought him to Antiochso watch!” —St. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with Theophan the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” —Acts 11:26Recluse
“Beloved, do not believe “In every spirit, but test situation confusion is from the spiritsdevil, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into from whom may the worldLord shield and protect us.” —1 John 4:1—St. Leo of Optina
“They went out from us“It should be noted that when the fallen spirit wants to get dominion over Christ's ascetics, he does not act imperiously or domineeringly, but they were not tries to draw a man to consent to the proposed delusion, and after getting his consent he takes possession of us; for if they had been of usthe person who has given his consent. Holy David, in describing his the fallen angel attacks man, has very rightly said: "He lurketh in secret as a lion in his den, they would have continued with usthat he may ravish the poor; but they went out that they might be made manifestto ravish the poor, that none of them were of uswhen he getteth him into his net."” —1 John 2:19—St. Ignaty Bryanchaninov, The Arena, chapter 11, On the Solitary Life
“…for you are still carnal. For where there are envy“The devil presents minor sins as insignificant in our eyes, strife, and divisions among you, are you because otherwise he would not carnal and behaving like mere men?be able lead us into major ones.” —1 Corinthians 3:3—St. Mark the Ascetic
“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified “Do not leave unobliterated any fault, however small, for it may lead you? Or were you baptized in on to greater sins.” —St. Mark the name of Paul?” —1 Corinthians 1:13Ascetic
“Every kingdom divided against itself “Obedience is brought necessary not only for monks, but for all people. Even the Lord was obedient. The proud and self-regarding do not allow grace to desolationlive in them, and therefore they never have spiritual peace, while in the obedient soul the grace of the Holy Spirit enters easily and gives joy and every city or house divided against itself will not standpeace. Whoever bears even a little grace in himself joyfully submits himself to all direction. He knows that God directs even the heavens and the netherworld, and himself, and his business, and everything in the world, and therefore he is always at peace.” —Matthew 12:25—St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, XV.2
“Do you not know “The fact that I am a monk and you are a layman is of no importance. The Lord listens equally to the monk and to the temple man of God and that the world provided both are true believer. He looks for a heart full of true faith into which to send his Spirit . For the heart of a man is capable of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles containing the temple Kingdom of God, God will destroy him. For The Holy Spirit and the temple Kingdom of God is holy, which temple you areone.” —1 Corinthians 3:16-17—St. Seraphim of Sarov
“Now I plead with “He who honours the Lord does what the Lord bids. When he sins or is disobedient, he patiently accepts what comes as something he deserves.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “It is a great error to think that youmust undertake important and great labors, brethrenwhether for heaven, by or, as the name of our Lord Jesus Christ'progressives' think, that you in order to make one's contribution to humanity. That is not necessary at all speak . It is necessary only to do everything in accordance with the same thingLord's commandments.” —St. Theophan the Recluse “When we are immersed in sins, and that there be no divisions among youour mind is occupied solely with worldly cares, but that you be perfectly joined together in we do not notice the same mind state of our soul. We are indifferent to who we are inwardly, and in the same judgmentwe persist along a false path without being aware of it.” —1 Corinthians 1:10—St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco
“Seeing then “We have to be aware that we have what is being pounded in upon us is all of one piece; it has a certain rhythm, a great High Priest who has passed through the heavenscertain message to give us, this message of self-worship, of relaxing, Jesus the Son of Godletting go, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknessesof enjoying yourself, but was of giving up any thought of the other world … It is actually an education in all points tempted as we are, yet without sinatheism. Let us therefore come boldly We have to fight back by knowing just what the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace world is trying to do to help in time us…” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of need.” —Hebrews 4:14-16Platina
“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all “I saw the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: snares that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, enemy spreads out over the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom world and revelation in the knowledge of HimI said groaning, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according ‘What can get through from such snares?’ Then I heard a voice saying to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly placesme, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come‘Humility.’” —St.Anthony the Great
And He put all things under His feet“Learn to love humility, and gave Him to be head over for it will cover all things to your sins. All sins are repugnant before God but the church, which most repugnant of all is His body, pride of the fullness of Him who fills all in allheart.” —Ephesians 1:15-23
“…endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body Do not consider yourself learned and one Spiritwise; otherwise, just as you were called in one hope of all your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;” —Ephesians 4:3-5effort will be destroyed and your boat will reach the harbor empty.
“For no other foundation can If you have great authority, do not threaten anyone lay than with death. Know, that which is laidaccording to nature, which is Jesus Christyou too are susceptible to death and that every soul sheds its body from itself as the final garment.” —1 Corinthians 3:11
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; In Byzantium there existed an unusual and instructive custom during the life which I now live in crowning of the flesh I live by faith emperors in the Son Church of Godthe Divine Wisdom [St. Sophia]. The custom was that when the patriarch placed the crown on the emperor's head, at the same time, who loved me and gave Himself for mehe handed him a silk purse filled with dirt from the grave.” —Galatians 2:20
“If then you were raised with ChristThen, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at even the right hand of Godemperor would recall death and to avoid all pride and become humble.” —St. Set your mind on things aboveAnthony the Great, not on things on the earth.” —Colossians 3:1-2The Prologue of Ochrid
“If “What made our Lord Jesus Christ lay aside His garments, gird Himself with a towel, and, pouring water into a basin, begin to wash the world hates youfeet of those who were below Him, you know that if not to teach us humility? For it hated Me before it hated youwas humility He showed us by the example of what He then did. If you were of And indeed those who want to be accepted into the foremost rank cannot achieve this otherwise than through humility; for in the worldbeginning, the world would love its ownthing that caused downfall from heaven was a movement of pride. Yet because you are So, if a man lacks extreme humility, if he is not humble with all his heart, all his mind, all his spirit, all his soul and body – he will not inherit the kingdom of God.” —St. Anthony the worldGreat, but I chose you out of Early Fathers from the worldPhilokalia, E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, therefore the world hates youFaber and Faber, London, 1954, pp.” —John 15:1845-1946
“Thus says “People who are filled with egoism and pride because of their education, resemble satellites that orbit in the Lord:sky, giving one the impression that they are stars. If, however, you observe them carefully you will see their crooked steps and see that it is all a human sham… Internally-oriented people, on account of their humility, are the true stars that move at dizzying speeds, but noiselessly and humbly, without anyone understanding how they move even though they are immense planets. They hide in the depths of heaven and give men the impression that they are little oil lamps aflame with a humble light.” —St. Paisios of Mt. Athos
"Stand in “Wouldst thou comprehend the ways and seeheight of God? First comprehend the lowliness of God. Condescend to be humble for thine own sake,And ask seeing that God condescended to be humble for the old pathsthy sake too, where the good way is,And walk in for it;Then you will find rest was not for your soulshis own.But they said, ‘We will not walk in it” —St.’"” —Jeremiah 6:16Augustine of Hippo
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me“The greatness of a man consisteth of humility, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the worldproportion as a man descendeth to humility, and I come he becometh exalted to Yougreatness. ” —Paradise of the Holy FatherFathers, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We areVol. ” —John 17:9-112
“The Lord “It is my shepherd;I shall not want.He makes me easier to measure the entire sea with a tiny cup than to lie down in green pastures;He leads me beside grasp God's ineffable greatness with the still watershuman mind.” —St.Basil the Great He restores my “You don't have a soul;He leads me in the paths of righteousnessFor His name’s sake.You are a Soul. You have a body.” —C. S. Lewis
Yea, though I walk through “This is the valley wisdom and power of the shadow of deathGod: to be victorious through weakness,I will fear no evil;For You are with me;Your rod and Your staffexalted through humility, they comfort merich through poverty.” —St.Gregory Palamas
You prepare a table before me in “You will lose nothing of what you have renounced for the presence of my enemies;You anoint my head with oil;My cup runs overLord’s sake.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow meAll the days of my life;And I For in its own time it will dwell in the house of the LordForeverreturn to you greatly multiplied.” —Psalm 23—St. Mark the Ascetic
“The Lord is near to “God often isolates those who whom He chooses, so that we have a broken heartnowhere to turn except to Him,And saves such as have a contrite spiritthen He reveals Himself to us.” —Psalm 34:18—Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina
“Be still, and know that “Where can I am God;I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth!flee? A place cannot save you because there is no place you can flee from yourself.” —Psalm 46:10—St. Nikon of Optina
“Truly my soul finds rest in God“No one and nothing can harm a man if he does not harm himself;my on the contrary, if one does not avoid sin, a thousand means of salvation comes from will not help him.Truly he Consequently, the only evil is my rock and my salvation;he is my fortresssin: Judas fell while in the presence of the Savior, I will never be shakenbut the righteous Lot was saved while living in Sodom.” —St.One thing God has spokenNikon of Optina, November 15-16/28-29,two things I have heard:"Power belongs to you1922, GodOptina Monastery,and with youThe Orthodox Word, Lord1980, is unfailing love";andvol. 16, "You reward everyoneaccording to what they have doneno."” —Psalm 62:1-2(91),11,12March-April
“Love suffers long “If our purpose is to fight the spiritual fight and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itselfto defeat, with God's help, the demons of malice, we should take every care to guard our heart from the demon of dejection, just as a moth devours clothing and a worm devours wood, so dejection devours a man’s soul. It persuades him to shun every helpful encounter and stops him accepting advice from his true friends or giving them a courteous and peaceful reply. Seizing the entire soul, is not puffed up; does not behave rudelyit fills it with bitterness and listlessness. Then it suggests to the soul that we should go away from other people, since they are the cause of its agitation. It does not seek allow the soul to understand that its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; sickness does not rejoice in iniquitycome from without, but rejoices in lies hidden within, only manifesting itself when temptations attack the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never failssoul because of our ascetic efforts.” —1 Corinthians 13:4-8
“Greater love A man can be harmed by another only through the causes of the passions which lie within himself. It is for this reason that God, the Creator of all and the Doctor of men’s souls, who alone has no one than thisaccurate knowledge of the soul’s wounds, than does not tell us to forsake the company of men; He tells us to root out the causes of evil within us and to lay down one’s recognize that the soul’s health is achieved not by a man’s separating himself from his fellows, but by his living the ascetic life in the company of holy men. When we abandon our brothers for some apparently good reason, we do not eradicate the motives for his friendsdejection but merely exchange them, since the sickness which lies hidden within us will show itself again in other circumstances.” —John 15:13—St. John Cassian
“By this “A life lived in the world can be as good, in the eyes of God, as one spent in a monastery. It is indeed only the keeping of God's commandments, love of all will know , and a true sense of humility that you matter, wherever we are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” —John 13:35—Elder Macarius of Optina
“But of that day and hour no one knows“Those who, not even the angels because of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days rigor of Noah weretheir own ascetic practice, so also will despise the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the floodless zealous, think that they were eating are made righteous by physical works. But we are even more foolish if we rely on theoretical knowledge and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until disparage the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man beignorant.” —Matthew 24:36-39—St. Mark the Ascetic
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand“When you get bitter and annoyed, ‘Comeeven if only in thought, you blessed of My Father, inherit ruin the spiritual atmosphere. You stop the kingdom prepared for you Holy Spirit from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry working and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came allow the devil to Meincrease evil.’ And the King will answer You should always pray, love and say to themforgive, ‘Assuredly, I say to rejecting each and every bad thought within you, inasmuch as you did it to one .” —St. Porphyrios of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” —Matthew 25:34-36,40Kavsokalyvia
“…that “When you may be sons of are praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by your Father in heavenloneliness, remember then, as always, that God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; for He makes His sun rise on also all the evil and on the goodangels, your own Guardian Angel, and sends rain on all the just and on the unjustSaints of God.” —Matthew 5:45—St. John of Kronstadt
“Every good gift and every perfect gift “A remedy against straying thoughts is from abovemental attention, and comes down from attention to the fact that the Father of lights, with whom there Lord is no variation or shadow of turningbefore us and we are before Him.” —James 1:17—St. Theophan the Recluse
“Most assuredly“The roots of evil thoughts are the obvious vices, I say which we keep trying to you, he who believes justify in Me has everlasting lifeour words and actions.” —John 6:47—St. Mark the Ascetic
“Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am “Guard your speech from boasting and your thoughts from presumption; otherwise you may be abandoned by God and fall into sin. For man cannot do anything good without the light help of the world. He God, who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of lifesees everything.'” —John 8:12—St. Mark the Ascetic
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is "The higher a person’s position in society the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but more he who does the will should help others without ever reminding them of God abides foreverhis position.” —1 John 2:15-17—Tsar St. Nicholas II
“I beseech “If you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present want your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable sins to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed absolved by the renewing of your mindChrist, then don't speak to others about any virtue that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect have, because God will of Godtreat our sins the same way we treat our virtues.” —Romans 12:1-2—St. Mark the Ascetic
“They are “If any man is able in power to continue in purity, to the honour of the world. Therefore they speak as flesh of our Lord, let him continue so without boasting; if he boasts, he is undone; if he become known apart from the worldbishop, and the world hears themhe has destroyed himself.” —1 John 4:5—St. Ignatius of Antioch
“For what will “Guarding the mouth wakes up the conscience to God, if it profit is with knowledge that a man if he gains keeps silence.” —St. Isaac the whole world, and loses his own soul?” —Mark 8:36Syrian
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son“Silence is more profitable than speech, for as it has been said, that whoever believes ‘The words of wise men are heard even in Him should not perish but have everlasting lifequiet.’” —St. For God did not send His Son into Basil the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” —John 3:16-17Great
“For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For 'He has put all things under His feet.' But when He says 'all things “Never give your opinion if you are put under Himnot asked for it,' it is evident even if you think that He who put all things under Him your view is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in allbest.” —1 Corinthians 15:25-28—Josemaria Escriva
“For our citizenship is in heaven“Not only for every idle word must man give an account, from which we also eagerly wait but for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himselfevery idle silence.” —Philippians 3:20-21—St. Ambrose of Milan
“Therefore it was not one man“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, but rather the One Universal Churchthat without listening speaking no longer heals, that received these 'keys' and the right 'to bind and loosenwithout distance closeness cannot cure.'” —St. Augustine—Henri Nouwen
“The Lord calls “Let your mouth continually administer blessing; then the Holy Spirit the 'voice scorn of a gentle breeze'. For God is breath, and the breath of the wind is shared by allanyone will never hurt you.” —St. Maximus Isaac the ConfessorSyrian
“Nothing is so characteristically Christian “Just as being swine run to a peacemakerplace where there is mire, and bees dwell where there are fragrances and incense, likewise demons gather where there are carnal songs and the grace of the Holy Spirit settles where there are spiritual melodies, sanctifying both mouth and soul.” —St. Basil the GreatJohn Chrysostom
“Now there “A psalm implies serenity of soul; it is no more chaosthe author of peace, no more death, no more slaying, no more Hellwhich calms bewildering and seething thoughts. Now everything is joyFor, thanks to it softens the resurrection wrath of our Christ. Human nature the soul, and what is resurrected with Himunbridled it chastens. Now we too can rise again that we might live with Him eternally … What bliss is contained in the Resurrection! In every sorrowA psalm forms friendships, with every failureunites those separated, in anything that causes you painconciliates those at enmity. Who, collect yourself for half a minute and slowly say this hymn. Thenindeed, you will see that the most important thing in your life and in the life of the entire universe can still consider as an enemy him with whom he has already been accomplished with uttered the resurrection of Christ. It is our salvation. And then, you realize that all our setbacks are so insignificant, that you don’t need to allow them same prayer to spoil your mood.” —Elder PorphryiosGod?
“Let no So that psalmody, bringing about choral singing, a bond, as it were, toward unity, and joining the people into a harmonious union of one fear death; choir, produces also the greatest of blessings, charity. A psalm is a city of refuge from the demons, a means of inducing help from the angels, a weapon in fears by night, a rest from toils by day, a safeguard for infants, an adornment for those at the death height of their vigor, a consolation for the Savior has set us free.” —Stelders, a most fitting ornament for women. John Chrysostom
“He who It peoples the solitudes; it rids the market place of excesses; it is initiated into the mystery elementary exposition of beginners, the improvement of those advancing, the solid support of the Resurrectionperfect, learns the end for voice of the Church. It brightens the feast days; it creates a sorrow which is in accordance with God created all things.” —St. Maximus the Confessor
“Since Christ Himself has saidFor, "This a psalm is My Body" who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?the work of angels, a heavenly institution, the spiritual incense.” —St. Cyril of JerusalemBasil the Great
“You freed me from slavery“Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, gave me Your Name our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all ‘fullness of blessing,’ both in this world and marked me with Your Bloodin the world to come, so of all the good gifts that I would always keep You are in my heartstore for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment.” —St. AugustineBasil the Great
“When someone opens your heart“Humility consists, Inot in condemning our conscience, but in recognizing God'd like him to find nothing there but Christs grace and compassion.” —Elder Amphilochios of Patmos—St. Mark the Ascetic
“To fall in love with God “The source of self-delusion and demonic deception is the greatest romance; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest achievement.” false thought…” —St. AugustineIgnatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of Caucasus
“Love bestows prophecy; love yields miracles; love “Spiritual deception is an abyss the state of illumination; love is a fountain of fire, in the measure that it wells upall men without exception, and it inflames has been made possible by the thirsty soulfall of our original parents. Love All of us are subject to spiritual deception. Awareness of this fact is the state of angelsgreatest protection against it. Love is Likewise, the progress greatest spiritual deception of eternityall is to consider oneself free from it.” —St. John ClimacusIgnatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of Caucasus
“The end of each discovery becomes the starting point for “Knowing the discovery perpetual impurity of something higher, and the ascent continues. Thus our ascent is unending. We go from beginning to beginning by way spiritual state must bring us humility of beginnings without endheart.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa—Tonia Howell
“He “Where there is with mepride and at the same time one has a vision – it can not be from God, He who left but by all means – from the world behind. He is present in me, He who left His nature. He dwells in me, He who denied Himself. He is wholly for me, He who lost His life for meevil one.” —St. Ambrose of Milan—Archimandrite Seraphim Alexiev
“You brought us into being out “If you are silent in a good way, desiring to be with God, never accept any physical or spiritual appearances, either outside or inside yourself, even if it might be an image of nothingChrist, or an angel, or some Saint, or if light should appear, or imprint itself in the mind...Be attentive, that you may not come to believe something, even if it is something good, and when we fellbe not captivated by it before consulting those who are experienced and are able to analyze the matter, You raised us up againso that you do not suffer harm..” — St. John ChrysostomGod is not displeased with the person who is attentive to himself, even if he, out of fear of deception, does not accept even that which is from Him, without consulting and testing…” —St. Gregory of Sinai
“You did not cease doing everything until You led “Children, I beseech you to correct your hearts and thoughts, so that you may be pleasing to God. Consider that although we may reckon ourselves to be righteous and frequently succeed in deceiving men, we can conceal nothing from God. Let us therefore strive to heaven preserve the holiness of our souls and granted us Your kingdom to comeguard the purity of our bodies with all fervor. Ye are the temple of God, says the divine Apostle Paul; If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” —St. John ChrysostomNicholas of Myra
“For You are “Those who suffer for the sake of true devotion receive help. This must be learnt through obeying God ineffable, beyond comprehension, invisible, beyond understanding, existing forever 's law and always the sameour own conscience.” —St. John ChrysostomMark the Ascetic
“Brethren“When you are wronged and your heart and feelings are hardened, do not be distressed, for this has happened providentially; but be glad and reject the thoughts that arise within you, knowing that if they are destroyed at the stage when they are only provocations, their evil consequences will be cut off, whereas if the thoughts persist the evil may be expected to develop.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “Struggle to become immortal from now, by dying here on the earth to your bad self. In this way, you won't be sad, but you'll be very glad, living together with Christ.” —Elder Porphyrios “On the one hand He is near each one Being, eternally Being of usthe Eternal Being, even if unseen. That above every cause and word…And on the other hand for our sake he is why also Becoming, so that He said to who gives us our being might also give us our well-being.” —St. Gregory the apostles when Theologian, Oration 38 “For this He ascendedassumed my body, ‘Lothat I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His Spirit; and so He bestowing and I am with you alwayreceiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit that He may save me.” —St. John Chrysostom “Come, then, even unto let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the end whole chronicle of the world’ (Matt 28:20)Nativity. Every For this day we should stand in awe the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of Himdeath is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, as He sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been inplanted on the earth, angels communicate with usmen without fear, and men now hold speech with angels. Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and do what man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive.” —St. John Chrysostom, Homily on the Nativity “This Christmas night bestowed peace on the whole world;So let no one threaten.This is the night of the Most Gentle One;Let no one be cruel.This is the night of the Humble One;Let no one be proud.Now is the day of joy;Let us not revenge.Now is pleasing before Himthe day of good will;Let us not be mean.In this day of peace --Let us not be conquered by anger.Today the Bountiful impoverished Himself for our sake;So, rich one, invite the poor to your table. If Today we receive a Gift for which we are unable now did not ask;So let us give alms to those who implore and beg us.This present day throws open the doors of heaven to our prayers; Let us open our doors to perceive Him with those who ask our forgiveness.Today the Divinity took upon himself the seal of our physical eyeshumanity,In order for humanity to be decorated by the seal of Divinity.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, we canHomily on the Nativity “This being He placed in Paradise, whatever the Paradise may have been, if we are watchfulhaving honoured him with the gift of Free Will (in order that God might belong to him as the result of his choice, see no less than to Him continuously with who had implanted the seeds of it), to till the immortal plants, by which is meant perhaps the Divine Conceptions, both the simpler and the more perfect; naked in his simplicity and inartificial life, and without any covering or screen; for it was fitting that he who was from the eyes beginning should be such. Also He gave him a Law, as a material for his Free Will to act upon. This Law was a Commandment as to what plants he might partake of our understanding, and which one he might not touch. This latter was the Tree of Knowledge; not, however, because it was evil from the beginning when planted; nor was it forbidden because God grudged it to us…Let not the enemies of God wag their tongues in that direction, or imitate the Serpent…But it would have been good if partaken of at the proper time, for the tree was, according to my theory, Contemplation, upon which it is only safe for those who have reached maturity of habit to enter; but which is not good for those who are still somewhat simple and greedy in their habit; just see Himas solid food is not good for those who are yet tender, and have need of milk. (Hebrews 5:12) But when through the Devil's malice and the woman's caprice, to which she succumbed as the more tender, and which she brought to bear upon the man, as she was the more apt to persuade, alas for my weakness! (for that of my first father was mine), he forgot the Commandment which had been given to him; (Genesis 3:5) he yielded to the baleful fruit; and for his sin he was banished, at once from the Tree of Life, and from Paradise, but reap great benefits and from HimGod; and put on the coats of skins…that is, perhaps, the coarser flesh, both mortal and contradictory. This vision destroys all was the first thing that he learned – his own shame; (Romans 1:22-31) and he hid himself from God. Yet here too he makes a gain, namely death, and the cutting off of sin, demolishes all in order that evilmay not be immortal. Thus his punishment is changed into a mercy; for it is in mercy, and drives away everything badI am persuaded, that God inflicts punishment.” —St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration 38, XII, On Theophany, On the Birth of our Saviour (On the Nativity of Christ) “It is no wonder that the shepherds were able to know of the world's redemption before rulers, for the Angels made their announcement not to kings or judges but to countryfolk. It yields every virtueis not to be wondered at, then, gives birth if innocence merited to know the Grace of Christ before power did and simple country manners merited to recognize the Truth before proud dominion. For what the Shepherds recognized the rulers were unable to purity recognize; hence the Blessed Apostle says: 'What none of the rulers of this age recognized,' and dispassionso forth. At the Birth of Christ, therefore, the Angels rejoiced together with the Shepherds, giving God high glory, for in close and bestows even joined choruses, so to speak, they preached the glory of God.” —St. Maximus of Turin, Homily on the Nativity, sec. 2 “The Angel-Messenger of the pre-eternal life and Counsel of the Holy Trinity comes to the earth. This is not an ordinary messenger; it is the kingdom without endOnly-begotten Son of God Himself. As we attend He brings peace to this joyful sightmen. ‘Peace be unto you’, gazing he said more than once to His disciples. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you’, He says to the apostles at the Mystical Supper, ‘not as the world giveth, give I unto you’. And appearing after His Resurrection, again He says: ‘Peace be unto you’. ‘For he is our mind's eye on Christ as though peace’, the holy Apostle Paul says concerning Him: ‘He came to the earth to reconcile man unto God by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. And having come, He were presentpreached peace to those afar off and to those near, because through Him we both have access unto the Father’. The wall that separated heaven and earth is destroyed; the sword that barred the way to the tree of life disappears. Unto man that had sinned comes his Creator, each calling him into His embrace! By the mouths of us will say with Davidthe apostles, ‘Though a host should encamp against methe Holy Spirit cries out: ‘In Christ, my heart shall be ye reconciled to God’. You that had sinned came not fearto God, but the Son of God, before Whom you sinned, came to you! He calls everyone to Himself; He gives forgiveness to everyone who merely thirsts for this. For without the desire of man himself, without at least his little effort, God's peace cannot settle in him. The Lord forces no one to come to Him, but calls everyone: though war should rise against ‘Come unto me, in this all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’. Come all ye who are heavy laden with sins, who are exhausted from your labours and who do not find rest! You shall find that inner peace, which you will I be confident’ (Psfind nothing on earth more desirable than. 27:3)The soul will feel unearthly peace and joy.” —St. Gregory John (Maximovitch) of PalamasShanghai and San Francisco, Homily 23Epistle on the Nativity, 1962 “I saw that there was no tragedy in God. Tragedy is to be found solely in the fortunes of the man whose gaze has not gone beyond the confines of this earth.” —Archimandrite Sophrony “The Christian world nowadays presents a terrifying and cheerless picture of profound religious and moral decay. The Appearance servants of JesusAntichrist do their utmost to completely displace God from people’s lives, in order that mankind, content with its material well-being, would not feel any need to turn to God in prayer, would not think of God at all, but would live as though God did not exist. Thus the entire structure of contemporary life in the so-called ‘free’ world, where there is no open and bloody persecution of faith, where everyone has the right to believe as he wishes, represents a far greater danger to a Christian’s soul by drawing the Christian wholly down to earth and making him forget heaven.
“If there The entire modern culture, which is any rest for us in this worldaimed at purely worldly achievements, and the resultant whirlwind of everyday life, then it consists only keep a person in purity such a state of the conscience constant bustle and patience. This is a harbor absent-mindedness that he has no opportunity for us who sail upon the sea of life…” —Stany soul-searching, and spiritual life within him gradually becomes extinguished. Tikhon ” —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of ZadonskSyracuse
“As “In advising against being carried away by artificial practices such as Transcendental Meditation I am but repeating the age-old message of the Church … The way of the Fathers requires firm faith and long patience, whereas our contemporaries want to seize every spiritual gift, including even direct contemplation of the fatalism Absolute God, by force and speedily, and will often draw a parallel between prayer in the Name of those Jesus and yoga or Transcendental Meditation and the like. I must stress the danger of such errors … He is deluded who believe endeavors to divest himself mentally of all that man must be a slave is transitory and relative in order to cross some invisible threshold, to realize his eternal origin, his identity with the spirit Source of all that exists, in order to return and merge with him, the agenameless transpersonal Absolute. Such exercises have enabled many to rise to suprarational contemplation of being, to experience a certain mystical trepidation, it is disproved by to know the experience state of every Christian worthy silence of mind, when mind goes beyond the name, for boundaries of time and space. In such like states man may feel the Christian life is nothing if it is not a struggle against peacefulness of being withdrawn from the spirit continually changing phenomena of every age for the sake visible world, may even have a certain experience of eternity.” —FrBut the God of Truth, the Living God, is not in all this. Seraphim Rose of Platina
“There are farIt is man's own beauty, far better things ahead than anything created in the image of God, that is contemplated and seen as divinity, whereas he himself still continues within the confines of his creatureliness. This is a vastly important concern. The tragedy of the matter lies in the fact that man sees a mirage which, in his longing for eternal life, he mistakes for a genuine oasis. This impersonal form of ascetics leads finally to an assertion of the divine principle in the very nature of man. Man is then drawn to the idea of self-deification—the cause of the original Fall. The man who is blinded by the imaginary majesty of what he contemplates has in fact set his foot on the path to self-destruction. He has discarded the revelation of a personal God … The movement into the depths of his own being is nothing else but attraction towards the non-being from which we leave behindwere called by the will of the Creator.” —C—Archimandrite Sophrony of Mt. S. LewisAthos, His Life is Mine, 115-116
“What“Blessed is the mind that prays, worships God without imagination, for Christ had no imagination, being God. Adam lost his paradise after falling into imagination, because he imagined, at the instigation of Lucifer, that if he tasted from the forbidden tree, he would never die. The Holy Fathers say that the greatest disease and temptation during prayer is the imagination of the mind, thenwhich they called the ‘soul cuttlefish with eight tentacles’ or ‘octopus’. Imagination is also called the ‘bridge for demons’. During the prayer offered from the heart, it is greater most difficult to preserve the imagination; it is even harder than keeping the mind away from thoughts. Let's not forget that everything limited, represented is not God. In the Father of meantime, if we stop at the only-begotten Son Himself recognizes in us His members images, we are being deceived and finds we can neither pass through the very form of narrow gate to the Son in our faces?heart nor reach God.” —St. Nicholas Cabasilas—Archimandrite Cleopas (Ilie) of Romania
“The Son of God became man“Yes, one must disregard doubts, just like lustful and blasphemous thoughts; pay no attention to them. Disregard them, and your enemy, the devil, will not be able to withstand it; he'll leave you, since he's proud and cannot bear the disdain. But if you enter into conversation with them – since the lustful thoughts, blasphemies and doubts are not yours – he'll bombard you, swamp you, that we might become godkill you.” —St. Athanasius —Elder Barsanuphius of AlexandriaOptina
“becoming by grace what “Christ said, 'I came not to send peace, but a sword' and 'division'. Christ summoned us to war on the plane of the spirit, and our weapon is 'the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God .' Our battle is by naturewaged in extraordinarily unequal conditions. We are tied hand and foot. We dare not strike with fire or sword: our sole armament is love, even for enemies. This unique war in which we are engaged is indeed a holy war. We wrestle with the last and only enemy of mankind death. Our fight is the fight for universal resurrection.” —St—Archimandrite Sophrony of Mt. Athanasius of AlexandriaAthos, His Life is Mine
“Thine own “But since our discourse has now turned to the subject of Thine own we Offer unto Theeblasphemy, I desire to ask one favour of you all, in return for this my address, and speaking with you; which is, that you will correct on my behalf the blasphemers of this city. And should you hear anyone in the public thoroughfare, or in the midst of all the forum, blaspheming God; go up to him and rebuke him; and should it be necessary to inflict blows, spare not to do so. Smite him on the face; strike his mouth; sanctify your hand with the blow; and if they are accused, and be brought to court, go. And if a judge before the court demands an answer, boldly say that he blasphemed the King of angels, for all!” —Anaphora offering if those who blaspheme the earthly king are to be punished, how much more insulting is it to Him (OCAthe King)…” —St. John Chrysostom, Conversations on Statues, Divine Liturgy address to the people of StAntioch, Conversation 1, pt. John Chrysostom1 12
“Precious “I ask you to try something. If someone grieves you, or dishonors you, or takes something of yours, then pray like this: ‘Lord, we are all your creatures. Pity your servants, and turn them to repentance,’ and then you will perceptibly bear grace in the sight of your soul. Induce your heart to love your enemies, and the LordIs the death , seeing your good will, shall help you in all things, and will Himself show you experience. But whoever thinks evil of His saintshis enemies does not have love for God and has not known God.” —Psalm 116:15—St. Silouan the Athonite, Writing, IX.21
“…nor can they die anymore“Where there is pride there cannot be grace, for they are equal to the angels and are sons if we lose grace we also lose both love of God, being sons of the resurrection. But even Moses showed and assurance in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacobprayer.’ For He The soul is then tormented by evil thoughts and does not the God of the dead but of the livingunderstand that she must humble herself and love her enemies, for all live there is no other way to Himplease God.” —Luke 20:36-38—St. Silouan the Athonite
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Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner. ☦ welcome… me… just the sinner… a listener, an observer, a thinker, an admirer… I am an Orthodox Catholic Christian interested in computers, electronics, automation, soccer, music, freedom, life, love, Truth, Holy Tradition, the Holy Trinity, the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, the Holy Bible/Holy Scripture, ethics, morality, philosophy, religion, spirituality, asceticism, Creation, and pro-life. The Orthodox Church in America - Archdiocese of Canada received me into membership by Holy Chrismation by priest/monk Fr. Rev. E.A. (Simeon) Weare, memory eternalMemory Eternal, in the parish St. Nicholas the Wonder-Maker in 1992. —the unworthy servant and chief of sinners, th ☦
Orthodoxy [one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church] is the true faith believed by all the Saints, everywhere, at all times.
We are Orthodox… but not Jewish… We are Evangelical… but not Protestant… We are Catholic… but not Papist… We are Pre-Denominational… but not Divided… We are the Christian Church… but not a Church… We have believed, taught, preserved, defended, and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost… Saints… We are the HOLY ORTHODOX CATHOLIC CHURCH… Est. 33 AD ☦
Favorite Quotations:
“The finest trick of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist.” —Charles Baudelaire, Paris Spleen (Le Spleen de Paris)
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” —Edmund Burke
“The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present.” —Bill Watterson
“The future is not what it once was.” —Yogi Berra
“I keep six honest serving-men
“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” —Albert Einstein
“The hardest job kids urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face today is learning good manners without seeing anyfor the urge to rule it.” —Fred Astaire—H. L. Mencken
“The two most important days in your care of human life are and happiness, and not their destruction, is the day you are born first and the day you find out whyonly object of good government.” —Mark Twain—Thomas Jefferson
“The sins ye do by two most important days in your life are the day you are born and two, ye must pay for one by one!the day you find out why.” —Rudyard Kipling—Mark Twain
“If all you want to make God laughhave is a hammer, tell Him your planseverything looks like a nail.” —Woody Allen—English Proverb
The devil is like a lion, hiding in ambush (Ps 10:19, 1Pe 5:8)three persons of the Holy Trinity constitute the eternal Church.” —St. He secretly sets out nets Porphyrios of unclean and unholy thoughts. So, it is necessary to break them off as soon as we notice themKavsokalyvia, Wounded by means of pious reflection and prayer.Love
“If you want Christians don't begin to overcome witness their faith, to resist evil, then the destroyers will become even more insolent. But today's Christians are no warriors. If the Church keeps silent, to avoid conflict with the spirit of slandergovernment, blame not if the person who fallsMetropolitans are silent, but if the demon that prompted them to sin.monks hold their peace, then who will speak up?” —St—Elder Paisios of Mt. John ClimacusAthos
“In them [those days the Lives remnant of the Saints] it is clearly and obviously demonstrated: There is no spiritual death from faithful are to experience in themselves something like that which one cannot be resurrected was experienced once by the Divine power of the risen and ascended Lord Christ; there is no tormentHimself when He, there is no misfortunehanging on a cross, there is no miseryfelt Himself so forsaken by His Divinity, there is no suffering which that He cried out ‘My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’ The last Christians will experience in themselves a similar abandonment of humanity by the Lord will not change either gradually or all at once into quiteGrace of God, compunctionate joy because of faith in Himbut only for a short time.” —St. Justin PopovichSeraphim of Sarov
“The goodness Lord of all gave to His apostles the power of the gospel, and by them we also have learned the truth, that is, the teaching of the Son of God—as the Lord said to them, ‘He who hears you hears Me, and he who despises you despises Me, and Him Who sent Me’ [Lk.10:16]. For we learned the plan of our salvation from no other than from those through whom the gospel came to us. The first preached it abroad, and then later by the will of God is so rich handed it down to us in gracesScriptures, to be the foundation and pillar of our faith. For it is not right to say that it seeks a cause they preached before they had come to perfect knowledge, as some dare to have mercy say, boasting that they are the correctors of the apostles. For after our Lord had risen from the dead, and they were clothed with the power from on a personhigh when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were filled with all things and had perfect knowledge. They went out to the ends of the earth, preaching the good things that come to us from God, and proclaiming peace from heaven to all men, all and each of them equally being in possession of the gospel of God.” —St. Anthimus Irenaeus of ChiosLyons, Against Heresies, III
“The pure heart sees God as in a mirrorteachers of Judaism refuse to admit that the Septuagint is correct. They attempt to frame another translation of the Scriptures. Observe that they have taken away many Old Testament Scriptures, by which the proof of Christ's crucifixion is set forth.” —Abba Philemon—St. Justin the Martyr
“The blessedness of seeing God is justly promised to the pure of heart. For the eye that is unclean would not be able to see the brightness of the true lightJews are wise only in doing evil, and what would be happiness are thus unable to clear minds would be a torment to those that are defiled. Therefore, let the mists of worldly vanities be dispelled, and the inner eye be cleansed of all the filth of wickedness, so that the soul's gaze may feast serenely upon know the great vision hidden plan of God.” —St. Leo Justin the GreatMartyr
“The sun shines on all alike, and vainglory beams on all activitieshumility of Jesus is not a superfluous detail in the gospel narrative. The humility of Jesus is essential to the gospel. For instanceIf Jesus lacked humility, I am vainglorious when I fast; and when I relax the fast in order to there would be unnoticedno incarnation, I am again vainglorious over my prudence. When well-dressed I am quite overcome by vainglory, and when I put on poor clothes I am vainglorious again. When I talk I am defeatedno crucifixion, and when I am silent I am again defeated by it. However I throw this prickly-pear, a spike stands uprightno redemption.” —St. John Climacus—Jack Wisdom
“The bread you do not use is the bread beginning of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe theology is not the garment of card catalogue, but doing battle against the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are passions; and the shoes end of one who theology is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commitbecoming a professor, but becoming a saint.” —St—Dr. Basil the GreatDavid Fagerberg
“It is a spiritual gift from God for commandment of the Lord that we should not be silent when the Faith is in peril. So, when it is a matter of the Faith, one cannot say, ‘Who am I? A priest, a ruler, a soldier, a farmer, a poor man to perceive his sins? I have no say or concern in this matter.’ Alas! The stones shall cry out, and you remain silent and unconcerned?” —St. Isaac Theodore the SyrianStudite
“If a wise man contends with really sets his heart upon the will of God, God will enlighten a foolish little child to tell that manwhat is His will. But if a man does not truly desire the will of God, even if he goes in search of a prophet,Whether God will put into the heart of the fool rages or laughs, there is no peaceprophet a reply like the deception in his own heart.” —Proverbs 29:9—Abba Dorotheos of Gaza
“The work of righteousness man who cries out against evil men, but does not pray for them will be peace,And never know the effect grace of righteousness, quietness and assurance foreverGod.” —Isaiah 32:17—St. Silouan the Athonite
“The cup of blessing which we blessevil powers love the darkness and tremble at every light, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread especially at that which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread belongs to God and one body; for we all partake of that one breadto those who please Him.” —St.“ —1 Corinthians 10:16-17Nikolai Velimirovich
“The whole therapeutic method of the Orthodox Church is not aimed simply at making human beings morally and socially balanced, but at re-establishing their relationship with God and one another. This comes about through the healing of the soul's wounds and the cure of the passions through the Sacraments and the Church's ascetic practice.” —Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, The Science of Spiritual Medicine: Orthodox Psychotherapy in Action “The acquisition of of holiness is not the exclusive business of monks, as certain people think. People with families are also called to holiness, as are those in all kinds of professions, who live in the world, since the commandment about perfection and holiness is given not only to monks, but to all people.” —Hieromartyr Onuphry Gagaluk “Many passions are hidden in our souls; they can be brought to light only when the objects that rouse them are present.” —St. Maximus the Confessor, Four Hundred Texts on Love “What is holiness? Freedom from every sin and the fullness of every virtue. This freedom from sin and this virtuous life are only attained by a few zealous persons, and that not suddenly, but gradually, by prolonged and manifold sorrows, sicknesses, and labors, by fasting, vigilance, prayer, and that not by their own strength, but by the grace of Christ…” —St. John of Kronstadt “A wise heart can transfer an affliction into a blessing, even sin!! He benefits from it: contrition, humility, keenness and sympathy for sinners.” —H.H. Pope Shenouda III “Humility and suffering free a man from all sin; for the first cuts out spiritual passions, and the latter bodily.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” —C. S. Lewis “Christ did not come into the world to eliminate suffering, Christ has not even come into the world to explain it. Rather, He came to fill human suffering with His presence.” —Fr. George Calciu “The soul of man is not impure at birth, but pure.” —Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos “By nature the soul is passionless… so you must believe that the passions do not belong to the soul by nature.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “Just as in legal marriage, the pleasure derived from procreation cannot exactly be called a gift of God, because it is carnal and constitutes a gift of nature and not of grace (even though that nature has been created by God); even so the knowledge that comes from profane education, even if well used, is a gift of nature, and not of grace-a gift which God accords to all without exception through nature, and which one can develop by exercise. This last point-that no one acquires it without effort and exercise-is an evident proof that it is a question of a natural, not a spiritual, gift. It is our sacred wisdom that should legitimately be called a gift of God and not a natural gift, since even simple fishermen who receive it from on high become, as Gregory the Theologian says, sons of Thunder, whose word has encompassed the very bounds of the universe. By this grace, even publicans are made merchants of souls; and even the burning zeal of persecutors is transformed, making them Pauls instead of Sauls, turning away the earth to attain ‘the third heaven’ and ‘hear ineffable things’. By this true wisdom we too can become conformed to the image of God and continue to be such after death.” —St. Gregory Palamas, Triads in Defence of the Holy Hesychasts, Philosophy does not save, pages 29-30 “We know that even the facts that a marriage means relations between a man and a woman and that a choice of gender is not an intellectual and volitional one, but a Divine choice, are now being disputed. Children are already being taught this. They are told: ‘You should choose yourself whether you are a boy or a girl’; that is, what was founded by God is being destroyed by people, ostensibly for the sake of freedom. But then, what is freedom like? If freedom ruins the Divine plan of the world and of mankind, then it is not freedom, but slavery. And we know that the devil enslaves a man, because the most dangerous captivity is to be not free from sin, when a person cannot live in accordance with his or her calling.” —His Holiness Patriarch Kirill “Fiery lust, the desire for marriage, sexual union … and all the other things that, as most people think, the body seeks for - it is not the body as such … but the soul, which through the body seeks pleasure by their means… Let no one think he is being driven towards these things and compelled by his own body… the body cannot be moved to anything apart from the soul.” —St. Symeon the New Theologian “Often this demon [of lust] goes away altogether for a while, and one can have a false sense of security that one is ‘above’ this passion; but all the Holy Fathers warn that one cannot consider this passion conquered before the grave. Continue your struggle and take refuge in humility, seeing what base sins you are capable of and how you are lost without the constant help of God Who calls you to a life above these sins.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works by Hieromonk Damascene, p. 803 “Pornography is the devil's iconography.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “Just as the virtues are begotten in the soul, so are the passions. But the virtues are begotten in accordance with nature, the passions in a mode contrary to nature. For what produces good or evil in the soul is the will's bias… For our inner disposition is capable of operating in one way or another, since it bears within itself both virtue and vice, the first as its natural birthright, the second as the result of the self-incurred proclivity of our moral will.” —St. Gregory of Sinai “Afflictions, illness, ill health and the pains that our bodies experience are counted for the remission of our trespasses. They are the furnace in which we are purified…” —St. John Chrysostom “The heart of a perfectly healthy man becomes weakened for faith and love to God and his neighbor, and easily gives itself up to carnal desires: to slothfulness, negligence, coldness, gluttony, avarice, fornication, pride. Whilst the heart of a sick man, or a wounded, oppressed, weary heart, is strengthened in faith, hope, and love, and is far removed from carnal passions. This is why the Heavenly Father, Who careth for our salvation, chastises us by various sicknesses. The oppression and afflictions of sickness make us turn again to God.” —St. John of Kronstadt “Gluttony says that her child is war against chastity.” —St. John Climacus “You can't stop smoking tobacco? What is impossible for man is possible with God's help. Just firmly decide to quit, realizing how harmful it is for the soul and the body, since tobacco weakens the soul, and increases and strengthens the passions, darkens the mind, and destroys physical health with a slow death.” —St. Ambrose of Optina, Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina, pg. 70 “If you wish to live long on the earth, do not hurry to live in a carnal manner, to satiate yourself, to get drunk, to smoke, to commit fornication, to live in luxury, to indulge yourself. The carnal way of life constitutes death, and therefore, in the Holy Scripture, our flesh is called mortal, or, ‘the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.’ If you wish to live long, live through the spirit; for life consists in the spirit: ‘If ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live,’ both here on earth and there in heaven. One cannot eat and drink and smoke continually. One cannot turn human life into constant eating, drinking, and smoking, although there are men who do eat, drink, and smoke almost uninterruptedly; and thus the spirit of evil has turned life into smoking, and made the mouth, which ought to be employed in thanking and praising the Lord, into a smoking furnace. The less and lighter the food and drink you take, the lighter and more refined your spirit will become. Smoking is a whim. From this comes foot pain and depression. That the devil is the father of the cigarette I especially figured out today: something impacted negatively upon me from head to toe. I felt that the enemy nested in my sides and in my heart and he opposed me strongly, preventing me from saying the prayer, scaring me, paralyzing me and saddening me to the point of sin. By smoking an unclean spirit enters a person. Last night after smoking the devil made his presence felt through continuous hiccups which pestered me from the time of the Cherubic Hymn until a little before Holy Communion. My nerves were stretched, my voice was ‘escaping’ me, I was shivering and I was exhausted. That's why smoking is futile. It is a silly whim, a desecration of the lips, a large and unnecessary irritation, a fog that covers voluntarily. The taste of a cigarette I cannot compare to anything but something diabolical. And how do I know this smoking? How do I allow myself to do something like this? I came to church, falling on my knees with a contrite heart before the Holy Altar. How could I serve my enemy every day and not the Lord with zeal? Lord, help me to be free from all evil, because I am an evil man, dirty, full of sins. The Lord knows our weaknesses. He is ready to forgive us everything, as long as we repent and seek forgiveness. The essential thing is that our hearts not become petrified, that is to stop hesitating to think of our committed sin, to immediately repent, and to leave ourselves to the mercy of God.” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ “Suffering is an indication of another Kingdom which we look to. If being a Christian meant being ‘happy’ in this life, we wouldn't need the Kingdom of Heaven.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “Suffering reminds the wise man of God, but crushes those who forget Him.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “God permits tribulations and adversities to befall people – even the saintly – so that they may persist in humility. But if we harden our hearts against adversities and tribulations, He also hardens these tribulations against us. On the other hand if we accept them in humility and with a contrite heart, God will mingle tribulation with mercy.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “But do not be troubled or sad. The Lord sometimes allows people who are devoted to Him to fall into such dreadful vices; and this is in order to prevent them from falling into a still greater sin – pride. Your temptation will pass and you will spend the remaining days of your life in humility. Only do not forget your sin.” —St. Seraphim of Sarov “We must be prepared to accept the will of God. The Lord permits all sorts of things to happen to us contrary to our will, for if we always have it our way, we will not be prepared for the Kingdom of Heaven.” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, "Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives" “Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, Who created and arranged all things for your benefit--to have you know, love, and praise their Creator.” —St. Basil the Great “The Lord gives Himself freely, for His mercy's sake alone. I did not know this before but now every day and every hour every minute, I see clearly the mercy of God. The Lord gives peace even in sleep, but without God there is no peace in the soul.” —St. Silouan the Athonite “What should not be heard by little ears, should not be said by big mouths.” —unknown “I am incurably convinced that the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” —G. K. Chesterton “What is slander? It is every sort of wicked word we would dare not speak in front of the person whom we are complaining about.” —St. Anthony the Great “If you want to overcome the spirit of slander, blame not the person who falls, but the demon that prompted them to sin.” —St. John Climacus “You cannot be too gentle, too kind. Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other. Joy, radiant joy, streams from the face of him who gives and kindles joy in the heart of him who receives. All condemnation is from the devil. Never condemn each other. We condemn others only because we shun knowing ourselves. When we gaze at our own failings, we see such a swamp that nothing in another can equal it. That is why we turn away, and make much of the faults of others. Instead of condemning others, strive to reach inner peace. Keep silent, refrain from judgment. This will raise you above the deadly arrows of slander, insult and outrage and will shield your glowing hearts against all evil.” —St. Seraphim of Sarov “A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others, he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent, that is, he says nothing that is not profitable.” —Abba Poemen “If your tongue is used to chattering, your heart will remain dim and foreign to the luminous intuitions of the Holy Spirit.” —St. John of Dalyatha “He who does not control his tongue when he is angry, will not control his passions either.” —Abba Hyperchius “Are you angry? Be angry at your sins, beat your soul, afflict your conscience, be strict in judgement and a terrible punisher of your own sins. This is the benefit of anger, wherefore God placed it in us.” —St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians 2 “These eight passions should be destroyed as follows: gluttony by self-control; unchastity by desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store; avarice by compassion for the poor; anger by goodwill and love for all men; worldly dejection by spiritual joy; listlessness by patience, perseverance and offering thanks to God; self-esteem by doing good in secret and by praying constantly with a contrite heart; and pride by not judging or despising anyone in the manner of the boastful Pharisee (cf. Luke 18 : 11–12), and by considering oneself the least of all men. When the intellect has been freed in this way from the passions we have described and been raised up to God, it will henceforth live the life of blessedness, receiving the pledge of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 1 : 22). And when it departs this life, dispassionate and full of true knowledge, it will stand before the light of the Holy Trinity and with the divine angels will shine in glory through all eternity.” —St. John of Damascus, On the Virtues and the Vices, from The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Vol. 2 “We must consider all evil things, even the passions which war against us, to be not our own, but of our enemy the devil. This is very important. You can only conquer a passion when you do not consider it as part of you.” —St. Nikon of Optina “To reach satisfaction in alldesire its possession in nothing.To come to possession in alldesire the possession of nothing.To arrive at being alldesire to be nothing.To come to the knowledge of alldesire the knowledge of nothing.To come to the pleasure you have notyou must go by the way in which you enjoy not.To come to the knowledge you have notyou must go by the way in which you know not.To come to the possession you have notyou must go by the way in which you possess not.To come by the what you are notyou must go by a way in which you are not.When you turn toward somethingyou cease to cast yourself upon the all.For to go from all to the allyou must deny yourself of all in all.And when you come to the possession of the allyou must possess it without wanting anything.Because if you desire to have something in allyour treasure in God is not purely your all.” —St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel “How we debase our God-like immortal soul by attaching ourselves to the perishable, tarnishable, fleeting glitter of gold and silver, and by averting our gaze from the higher eternal, all-rejoicing light, or by attaching ourselves to corruptible sweetness that soon passes away, and is harmful and weakening both to soul and body, and turning away our gaze from the eternal, spiritual sweetness; from the sweetness of the intuition of God, or to vain earthly glory, turning away our eyes from the glory of the higher heavenly calling: from the glory of God's children, the heirs of the eternal Kingdom of God. O, earthly vanity! O, attachment to worldly things! Look upwards, Christian!” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ “As in the theater, when the audience departs, and the kings remove their costumes, they are revealed to be what they are; so also when death arrives and the theater of this life is dissolved, everyone puts off their masks of wealth or poverty and departs. Some are revealed as truly wealthy, others poor.” —St. John Chrysostom “A sinful soul, full of passions, cannot have peace and rejoice in the Lord, even if it had charge over all earthly riches, even if it ruled over the whole world. If it was suddenly said to such a king, happily feasting and sitting on his throne, 'King, now you will die,' his soul would be troubled and he would tremble with fear, and he would see his powerlessness. But how many beggars there are, whose only wealth is love for God, and who, if you said to them, 'You will die now,' would answer peacefully, 'Let God's will be done. Glory to the Lord, that He has remembered me and wants to take me to Himself.'” —St. Silouan the Athonite “Sometimes in the affliction of your soul you wish to die. It is easy to die, and does not take long; but are you prepared for death? Remember that after death the Judgment of your whole life will follow. You are not prepared for death, and if it were to come to you, you would shudder all over. Therefore do not waste words in vain. Do not say: ‘It is better for me to die,’ but say rather, ‘How can I prepare for death in a Christian manner?’ By means of faith, by means of good works, and by bravely bearing the miseries and sorrows that happen to you, so as to be able to meet death fearlessly, peacefully, and without shame, not as a rigorous law of nature, but as a fatherly call of the eternal, heavenly, holy, and blessed Father unto the everlasting kingdom.” —St. John of Kronstadt “Nevertheless one who regards only the dissolution of the body is greatly disturbed, and makes it a hardship that this life of ours should be dissolved by death; it is, he says, the extremity of evil that our being should be quenched by this condition of mortality. Let him, then, observe through this gloomy prospect the excess of the Divine benevolence.”” —St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Great Catechism, §VIII “Man is, by nature, afraid of both death and the dissolution of the body; but there is this most startling fact: that he who has put on the faith of the Cross despises even what is naturally fearful, and for Christ's sake is not afraid even of death.” —St. Athanasius the Great “Limitless and without consolation would have been our sorrow for close ones who are dying, if the Lord had not given us eternal life. Our life would be pointless if it ended with death. What benefit would there then be from virtue and good deed? Then they would be correct who say: ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!’ But man was created for immortality, and by His resurrection Christ opened the gates of the Heavenly Kingdom, of eternal blessedness for those who have believed in Him and have lived righteously. Our earthly life is a preparation for the future life, and this preparation ends with our death. ‘It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment’ (Heb 9:27). Then a man leaves all his earthly cares; the body disintegrates, in order to rise anew at the General Resurrection. Often this spiritual vision begins in the dying even before death, and while still seeing those around them and even speaking with them, they see what others do not see.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, Homily on Life After Death “Let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings, breakings, and dislocations of bones; let cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the dreadful torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch “Man’s will, out of cowardice, tends away from suffering, and man, against his own will, remains utterly dominated by the fear of death, and, in his desire to live, clings to his slavery to pleasure.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “Sin makes man a coward; but a life in the Truth of Christ makes Him bold.” —St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Statues, VIII. 2 “Of all the good things in the world, life is dearest to men, and men love life better than truth, although there is no life in truth. The highest good, then, is life, but truth is the foundation of life. He who loves life must also love truth. But what is the way to truth? 'I am the way', says the Lord. 'I am the way', that none should think that there is some other way to the truth besides the Lord Jesus. It was for that He was born as a man: to show men the way. And for this that He was crucified, to make the way plain by His blood.” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich “See how many and great the evils it has brought on us – this self-justification, this holding fast to our own will, this obstinacy in being our own guide. All this was the product of that hateful arrogance towards God. Whereas the products of humility are self-accusation, distrust in our own sentiments, hatred of our own will. By these one is made worthy of being redeemed, of having his human nature restored to its proper state, through the cleansing operation of Christ's holy precepts. Without humility it is impossible to obey the Commandments or at any time to go towards anything good. As Abba Mark says: without a contrite heart it is impossible to be free from wickedness or to acquire virtue.” —St. Dorotheos of Gaza, Discourses and Sayings “Begin gradually, do not trust yourself. Do not depend on your own understanding, reject your will, and the Lord will give you true understanding.” —St. Macarius of Optina, Living Without Hypocrisy “If you deny yourself and constantly renounce your own opinions, your own will, your own righteousness-or what amounts to the same thing: the knowledge, understanding, will, and righteousness of fallen nature-in order to plant within you the knowledge of God, the will of God, and the righteousness of God taught us in the holy Gospel by God Himself, then fallen nature will open fire within you and declare a savage war against the Gospel and against God. Fallen spirits will come to the help of fallen nature. Do not fall into despondency on this account. By your firmness in the struggle, show the tenacity of your purpose and the stability of your free will. When thrown down, get up. When duped and disarmed, rearm yourself afresh. When defeated, again rush to the fight. It is extremely good for you to see within yourself both your own fall and the fall of the whole of mankind. It is essential for you to recognize and study this fall in your own experience, in your heart and mind. It is essential for you to see the infirmity of your knowledge and intellect, and the weakness of your will.” —St. Ignatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of Caucasus, The Arena, chapter 8 “Do not fall into despair because of stumbling. I do not mean that you should not feel contrition for them, but that you should not think them incurable. For it is more expedient to be bruised than dead. There is, indeed, a Healer for the man who has stumbled, even He Who on the Cross asked that mercy be shown to His crucifiers, He Who pardoned His murders while He hung on the Cross. ‘All manner of sin’, He said, ‘and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men’, that is, through repentance.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “Do not say: ‘I have sinned much, and therefore I am not bold enough to fall down before God.’ Do not despair. Simply do not increase your sins in despair and, with the help of the All-merciful One, you will not be put to shame. For He said, ‘he who comes to Me I will not cast out.’ (John. 6:37) And so, be bold and believe that He is pure and cleanses those who draw near to Him. If you want to accomplish true repentance, show it with your deeds. If you have fallen into pride, show humility; if into drunkenness, show sobriety; if into defilement, show purity of life. For it is said, ‘Turn away from evil and do good.’ (I Pet. 3:11)” —St. Gennadios (II) Scholarios, Patriarch of Constantinople, The Golden Chain, The Golden Chain, 87-89 “The natural passions become good in those who struggle when, wisely unfastening them from the things of the flesh, use them to gain heavenly things. For example they can change appetite into the movement of a spiritual longing for divine things; pleasure into pure joy for the cooperation of the mind with divine gifts; fear into care to evade future misfortune due to sin and sadness into corrective repentance for present evil.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “How good it is to conquer the passions! After the victory one feels such lightness of heart, such peace and greatness of spirit!” —St. John of Kronstadt “He who believes, fears; he who fears is humble; he who is humble becomes gentle.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “For every humble person is gentle, and every gentle person is invariably humble. A person is humble when he knows that his very being is on loan to him.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “A humble person lives on earth as if in the Kingdom of Heaven - always happy, peaceful and satisfied with everything.” —St. Anthony of Optina “Not every quiet man is humble, but every humble man is quiet.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “If you wish to be truly humble, then consider yourself lower than all, worthy of being trampled on by all; for you yourself daily, hourly trample upon the law of the Lord, and therefore upon the Lord Himself.” —St. John of Kronstadt “You wish to be great, begin from the least. You are thinking to construct some mighty fabric in height; first think of the foundation of humility. And how great soever a mass of building one may wish and design to place above it, the greater the building is to be, the deeper does he dig his foundation.” —St. Augustine of Hippo “In them [the Lives of the Saints] it is clearly and obviously demonstrated: There is no spiritual death from which one cannot be resurrected by the Divine power of the risen and ascended Lord Christ; there is no torment, there is no misfortune, there is no misery, there is no suffering which the Lord will not change either gradually or all at once into quite, compunctionate joy because of faith in Him.” —St. Justin Popovich “A servant of the Lord is he who in body stands before men, but in mind knocks at Heaven with prayer.” —St. John Climacus “In the Christian East – in fact, in the East in general – we love old age because we think that it is made for praying. When one is old, and feels the nearness of God across the increasingly transparent surface of biological life, one becomes in consciousness a child, returned to the Father, made light in spirit by the proximity of death, transparent to another kind of light. A civilization in which one no longer prays is a civilization in which old age has no meaning. One walks backward towards death, pretending to be young; it’s an agonizing spectacle, because a wonderful possibility is offered, a journey towards ultimate relinquishment, and it is not taken advantage of. We need old people who pray, who smile, who live with a disinterested love, who marvel; they alone can show young people that that living is worth the effort, and that oblivion is not the last word. Every monk whose spiritual practice has born fruit is called in the East, whatever his age, 'a beautiful old man.' He is beautiful with the beauty that rises from the heart. In him all the periods of his life have come into harmony, as with a symphony, one might say. And especially the original child is found again: shining with a transfigured shining, the beautiful old man has the eyes of a child.” —Olivier Clément “It is of great significance if there is a person who truly prays in a family. Prayer attracts God's grace and all the members of the family feel it, even those whose hearts have grown cold. Pray always.” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica “A Christian should never and for no reason worry, for God's Providence carries him in its arms. Our only care should be that we would ever remain faithful to the Lord.” —St. Ignatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of Caucasus “Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.” —St. John Chrysostom “He who angers you, controls you!” —Bishop Melchisedek Pleska “[The desire for] equality is from the Devil, because it comes entirely from envy.” —Fr. Alexander Schmemann “In your prayer seek only righteousness and the kingdom of God, that is, virtue and spiritual knowledge; and everything else 'will be given to you' (Matt. 6:33).” —St. Evagrius of Ponticus “Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian “Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.” —St. John Chrysostom “The goodness of God is so rich in graces, that it seeks a cause to have mercy on a person.” —St. Anthimus of Chios “The Holy Spirit has accomplishing in each believer the work of Christ. Each Christian is a communicant of the spirit. This is something so necessary, that in fact whoever does not have the Spirit is not of Christ.” —St. Theophan the Recluse “The Church is nothing but the world on the way to deification; for the Church, the world is no longer a tomb but a womb.” —Olivier Clément “The church is an earthly heaven in which the super-celestial God dwells and walks about. ” —St. Germanus of Constantinople “Nothing is more abiding than the Church: she is your salvation; she is your refuge.” —St. John Chrysostom “There is no need to weep much over the destruction of a church; after all, each of us, according to God's mercy, has or should have his own church - the heart - go in there and pray, as much as you have strength and time. If this church is not well made and is abandoned (without inward prayer), then the visible church will be of little benefit.” —Archbishop Barlaam “Our prayer reflects our attitude towards God. He who is careless of salvation has a different attitude toward God from him who has abandoned sin and is zealous for virtue but has not yet entered within himself and works for the Lord only outwardly. Finally, he who has entered within and carries the Lord within himself, standing before Him, has yet another attitude. The first man is negligent in prayer, just as he is negligent in life, and he prays in church and at home merely according to the established custom, without attention or feeling. The second man reads many prayers and goes often to church, trying at the same time to keep his attention from wandering and to experience feelings in accordance with the prayers which are read, although he is seldom successful. The third man, wholly concentrated within, stands with his mind before God, and prays to Him in his heart without distraction, without long verbal prayers, even when standing for a long time at prayer in his home or in church. … Every prayer must come from the heart and any other prayer is no prayer at all. Prayer-book prayers, your own prayers and very short prayers, all must issue forth from the heart to God, seen before you.” —St. Theophan the Recluse “It is very important to know how to pray. Many times even we, the monks in the monasteries, pray, but we only think we pray. It is not enough to attend the church services and just be there like that would be enough. We have to work the prayer from the inside out. No matter how many prayers we say with our mouth, it is nothing if the prayer is not coming from the heart and if we don't apply the teachings of Orthodoxy in our everyday life. Now more than ever, lay people have to pray from the heart, because this will be our only salvation. In the heart is the root of all passions and that is where we need to direct our struggles. If in the later years Christianity became lukewarm and superficial, we have to end all that now, this is not going to be enough anymore. If we will not pray from the heart, we will not be able to sustain the psychological attacks, because the evil one has hidden brainwashing methods that are unknown to us. The greatest sin today is carelessness. We pray carelessly, we repent carelessly, even if we do it. Times will come when only the ones that have the Spirit of God will be able to know good from evil. The human mind itself on its own will not be able to tell the difference. There will be great deceptions and only the Holy Spirit will give us the discernment we need so we can save ourselves. Pray that you will not be deceived! Only through prayer can we receive the Holy Spirit. If we don't pray and just persevere in our laziness and unrepentant ways, we will completely lose the Holy Spirit and His guidance. May it not be that we lose the guidance of the Holy Spirit!” —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania, The truth about the times–Spirituality of the end of times, 2010 “It is sometimes well during prayer to say a few words of your own, breathing fervent faith and love to the Lord. Yes, let us not always converse with God in the words of others, not always remain children in faith and hope; we must also show our own mind, indite a good matter from our own heart also. Moreover, we grow too accustomed to the words of others and grow cold in prayer. And how pleasing this lipsing of our own is, coming from a believing, loving, and thankful heart. It is impossible to explain this; it is only needful to say that when you are praying to God with your own words the soul trembles with joy, it becomes wholly inflamed, vivified, and beatified. You will utter few words, but you will experience such blessedness as you would not have obtained saying the longest most touching prayers of others, pronounced out of habit and insincerely.” —St. John of Kronstadt “This is how you pray continually – not by offering prayer in words, but by joining yourself to God through your whole way of life, so that your life becomes one continuous and uninterrupted prayer.” —St. Basil the Great “Chastisement through the trials imposed on us is a spiritual rod, teaching us humility when in our foolishness we think too much of ourselves.” —St. Thalassios the Libyan “Goodness is not confirmed without trial. Every Christian is tested by something: one by poverty, another by illness, a third by various thoughts, a fourth by some calamity or humiliation, while another by various doubts. And, through this, firmness of faith, hope and love of God are tested.” —St. Ambrose of Optina “Sometimes men are tested by pleasure, sometimes by distress or by physical suffering. By means of His prescriptions the Physician of souls administers the remedy according to the cause of the passions lying hidden in the soul.” —St. Maximus the Confessor, Philokalia “If you want, or rather intend, to take a splinter out of another person, then do not hack at it with a stick instead of a lancet, for you will only drive it in deeper.” —St. John Climacus “To exalt oneself is one thing, not to do so another, and to humble oneself is something less entirely. A man may always be passing judgement on others, while another man passes judgement neither on others nor on himself. A third, however, though actually guiltless, may always be passing judgement on himself.” —St. John Climacus “If a man accuses himself, he is protected on all sides.” —St. Poemen “It is not then wealth that is the foundation of pleasure, nor poverty of sadness, but our own judgment and the fact that the eyes of our mind neither see clearly nor remain fixed in one place, but flutter abroad.” —St. John Chrysostom “One who knows oneself, knows God: and one who knows God is worthy to worship Him as is right. Therefore, my beloveds in the Lord, know yourselves.” —St. Anthony the Great “God is truth and light, God's judgement is nothing else than our coming into contact with truth and light. In the day of the Great Judgement all men will appear naked before this penetrating light of truth. The ‘books’ will be opened. What are these ‘books’? They are our hearts. Our hearts will be opened by the penetrating light of God, and what is in these hearts will be revealed. If in those hearts there is love for God, those hearts will rejoice in seeing God's light. If, on the contrary, there is hatred for God in those hearts, these men will suffer by receiving on their opened hearts this penetrating light of truth which they detested all their life. So that which will differentiate between one man and another will not be a decision of God, a reward or a punishment from Him, but that which was in each one's heart; what was there during all our life will be revealed in the Day of Judgement. If there is a reward and a punishment during this revelation – and there really is – it does not come from God but from the love or hate which reigns in our heart. Love has bliss in it, hatred has despair, bitterness, grief, affliction, wickedness, agitation, confusion, darkness, and all the other interior conditions which compose hell.” —St. Symeon the New Theologian “In whatever state a person is, he sometimes finds himself making pure and intense prayers. For even from that first and lowest sort, which has to do with recalling the future judgment, the one who is still subject to the punishment of terror and the fear of judgment is occasionally so struck with compunction that he is filled with no less joy of spirit from the richness of his supplication than the one who, examining the kindnesses of God and going over them in the purity of his heart, dissolves into unspeakable gladness and delight. For, according to the words of the Lord, the one who realizes that more has been forgiven him begins to love more.” —St. John Cassian “If a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred.” —C. S. Lewis “The pure heart sees God as in a mirror.” —Abba Philemon “The blessedness of seeing God is justly promised to the pure of heart. For the eye that is unclean would not be able to see the brightness of the true light, and what would be happiness to clear minds would be a torment to those that are defiled. Therefore, let the mists of worldly vanities be dispelled, and the inner eye be cleansed of all the filth of wickedness, so that the soul's gaze may feast serenely upon the great vision of God.” —St. Leo the Great “God rests within gentle hearts. The gentle and merciful shall sit fearless in His regions, and will inherit Heavenly glory.” —St. John Climacus “That which the word communicates by sound, the painting shows silently by representation.” —St. Basil the Great, on the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste “Do not call God just, for His justice is not manifest in the things concerning you. And if David calls Him just and upright (cf. Ps. 24:8, 144:17), His Son revealed to us that He is good and kind. ‘He is good,’ He says, ‘to the evil and to the impious’ (cf. Luke 6:35). How can you call God just when you come across the Scriptural passage on the wage given to the workers? ‘Friend, I do thee no wrong I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Is thine eye evil because I am good?’ (Matt. 20:12-15). How can a man call God just when he comes across the passage on the prodigal son who wasted his wealth with riotous living, how for the compunction alone which he showed, the father ran and fell upon his neck and gave him authority over all his wealth? (Luke 15:11 ff.). None other but His very Son said these things concerning Him, lest we doubt it; and thus He bare witness concerning Him. Where, then, is God's justice, for whilst we are sinners Christ died for us! (cf. Rom. 5:8). But if here He is merciful, we may believe that He will not change.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily LX “God chastises with love, not for the sake of revenge---far be it!---but in seeking to make whole his image. And he does not harbour wrath until such time as correction is no longer possible, for he does not seek vengeance for himself. This is the aim of love. Love's chastisement is for correction, but does not aim at retribution. … The man who chooses to consider God as avenger, presuming that in this manner he bears witness to His justice, the same accuses Him of being bereft of goodness. Far be it that vengeance could ever be found in that Fountain of love and Ocean brimming with goodness!” —St. Isaac the Syrian “Among all God's actions there is none which is not entirely a matter of mercy, love and compassion: this constitutes the beginning and end of His dealings with us.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “We must hate avarice, self-esteem and sensual pleasure, as mothers of the vices and stepmothers of the virtues. Because of them we are commanded not to love ‘the world’ and ‘the things that are in the world’ (1 John 2:15); not so that we should hate God's creation through lack of discernment, but so that we should eliminate the occasions for these three passions.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “‘The world’ is the general name for all the passions. When we wish to call the passions by a common name, we call them the world. But when we wish to distinguish them by their special names, we call them the passions. The passions are the following: love of riches, desire for possessions, bodily pleasure from which comes sexual passion, love of honour which gives rise to envy, lust for power, arrogance and pride of position, the craving to adorn oneself with luxurious clothes and vain ornaments, the itch for human glory which is a source of rancour and resentment, and physical fear. Where these passions cease to be active, there the world is dead… Someone has said of the Saints that while alive they were dead; for though living in the flesh, they did not live for the flesh. See for which of these passions you are alive. Then you will know how far you are alive to the world and how far you are dead to it.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “Always have the fear of God before your eyes. Remember Him who gives death and lives. Hate the world and all that is in it. Hate the peace that comes from the flesh. Renounce this life, so that you may be alive to God.” —St. Anthony the Great “Thus let us live to Him Who while He dies for us is Life; and let us die to ourselves that we may live to Christ; for we cannot live to Him unless first we die to ourselves, that is, to our wills. Let us be Christ's and not our own; ‘for we are not our own, for we are bought at a Great Price’ (1 Cor. 6. 19-20), and truly a Great One, when the Lord is given for a slave, the King for a servant, and God for man. What ought we to render ourselves, if the Creator of the universe for us ungodly men, yet His creation, is unjustly put to death? Do you think you ought not to die to sin? Certainly you ought. Therefore let us die, let us die for the sake of life, since Life dies for the dead, so that we may be able to say with Paul, ‘I live, yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me’ (Gal. 2. 20), He Who for me has died; for that is the cry of the elect. But none can die to himself, unless Christ lives in him; but if Christ be in him, he cannot live to himself. Live in Christ, that Christ may live in you.” —St. Columbanus of Bobbio, Sermons of Columbanus of Bobbio, Sermon X:2 “Just as a man whose head is under water cannot inhale pure air, so a man whose thoughts are plunged into the cares of this world cannot absorb the sensation of the world to come.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “We don't understand that happiness is in eternity and not in vanity.” —St. Paisios of Mt. Athos “Why do you beat the air and run in vain? Every occupation has a purpose, obviously. Tell me then, what is the purpose of all the activity of the world? Answer, I challenge you! It is vanity of vanity: all is vanity.” —St. John Chrysostom “Many times we call ourselves sinners, not in truth, but for showing off and vainglory, so that others will praise us for being humble, for if someone calls us a sinner, we become upset.” —St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite “An evident sinner will turn towards good more easily than a secret sinner hiding under the cloak of visible virtues.” —St. Theophan the Recluse “The sun shines on all alike, and vanity springs out in front of each virtue. When, for example, I keep a fast – I am given over to vanity, and when I in concealing the fasting from others permit myself food, I am again given over to vanity – by my prudence. Dressing up in bright clothing, I am vanquished by love of honour and, having changed over into drab clothing – I am overcome by vanity. If I stand up to speak – I fall under the power of vanity. If I wish to keep silence, I am again given over to it. Wherever this thorn comes up, it everywhere stands with its points upwards. It is vainglorious…, on the surface to honour God, and in deed to strive to please people rather than God… People of lofty spirit bear insult placidly and willingly, but to hear praise and feel nothing of pleasure is possible only for the saints and for the unblameworthy… When thou hearest, that thy neighbour or friend either afront the eyes or behind the eyes slandereth thee, praise and love him… Does this not shew humility, and who can reproach himself, and be intolerant with himself? But who, having been discredited by another, would not diminish in his love for him… Whoever is exalted by natural gifts – a felicitous mind, a fine education, reading, pleasant elocution and other similar qualities, which are readily enough acquired, that person might yet never obtain to supernatural gifts. Wherefore whoever is not faithful in the small things, that one also is not faithful in the large, and is vainglorous. It often happens, that God Himself humbles the vainglorious, sending a sudden misfortune… If prayer does not destroy a proud thought, we bring to mind the leaving of the soul from this life. And if this does not help, we threaten it with the shame of the Last Judgement. ‘Rising up to humble oneself’ even here, before the future age. When praisers, or better – flatterers, start to praise us, immediately we betake ourselves to recollection of all our iniquities and we find, that we are not at all worth that which they impute to us.” —St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 22 “The whole year will be fortunate for you, not if you are drunk on the new-moon [New Year' Day], but if both on [that day] and each day, you do those things approved by God. For days come wicked and good, not from their own nature; for a day differs nothing from another day, but from our zeal and sluggishness. If you perform righteousness, then the day becomes good to you; if you perform sin, then it will be evil and full of retribution. If you contemplate these things, and are so disposed, you will consider the whole year favourable, performing prayers and charity every day; but if you are careless of virtue for yourself, and you entrust the contentment of your soul to beginnings of months and numbers of days, you will be desolate of everything good unto yourself.” —St. John Chrysostom “Let your demeanour, your dress, your walking, your sitting down, the nature of your food, the quality of your being, your house and what it contains, aim at simplicity. And let your speech, your singing, your manner with your neighbour, let these things also be in accord with humility rather than with vanity. In your words let there be no empty pretense, in your singing no excess sweetness, in conversation be not ponderous or overbearing. In everything refrain from seeking to appear important. Be a help to your friends, kind to the ones with whom you live, gentle to your servant, patient with those who are troublesome, loving towards the lowly, comforting those in trouble, visiting those in affliction, never despising anyone, gracious in friendship, cheerful in answering others, courteous, approachable to everyone, never speaking your own praises, nor getting others to speak of them, never taking part in unbecoming conversations, and concealing where you may whatever gifts you possess.” —St. Basil the Great “For what purpose does the Lord add day after day, year after year, to our existence? In order that we may gradually put away, cast aside, evil from our souls, each one his own, and acquire blessed simplicity; in order that we may become, for instance, gentle as lambs, simple as infants; in order that we may learn not to have the least attachment to earthly things, but like loving, simple children, may cling with all our hearts to God alone, and love Him with all our hearts, all our souls, all our strength, and all our thoughts, and our neighbor as ourselves. Let us hasten, therefore, to pray to the Lord, fervently and tearfully, to grant us simplicity of heart, and let us strive by every means to cast out the evil from our souls - for instance, evil suspiciousness, malevolence, malignity, malice, pride, arrogance, boastfulness, scornfulness, impatience, despondency, despair, irascibility and irritability, fearfulness and faint-heartedness, envy, avarice, gluttony, and satiety; fornication, mental and of the heart, and actual fornication; the love of money, and in general the passion for acquisition; slothfulness, disobedience, and all the dark horde of sins. Lord, without Thee we can do nothing! Bless us Thyself in this work, and give us the victory over our enemies and our passions. So be it!” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ “If you are a scholar, a student in any educational establishment, or an official in some ministry, an officer in any of the branches of the military service, or a technologist, a painter, a sculptor, a manufacturer, a mechanic – remember that the first science for each one of you is to be a true Christian, to believe sincerely in the Holy Trinity, to converse daily with God in prayer, to take part in the Divine service, to observe the rules and regulations of the Church, and to bear in your heart, before your work, during your work, and after your work, the name of Jesus, for He is our light, our strength, our holiness, and our help.” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ: Part II, Holy Trinity Monastery, pg. 286 “Watch your heart during all your life – examine it, listen to it, and see what prevents its union with the most blessed Lord. Let this be for you the science of all sciences, and with God’s help, you will easily observe what estranges you from God, and what draws you towards Him and unites you to Him. It is the evil spirit more than anything that stands between our hearts and God; he estranges God from us by various passions, or by the desire of the flesh, by the desires of the eyes, and by worldly pride.” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ “Have you ever observed the life of the heart? Try it even for a short time and see what you find. Something unpleasant happens, and you get irritated; some misfortune occurs, and you pity yourself; you see someone whom you dislike, and animosity wells up within you; you meet one of your equals who has now outdistanced you on the social scale, and you begin to envy him; you think of your talents and capabilities, and you begin to grow proud… All this is rottenness: vainglory, carnal desire, gluttony, laziness, malice – one on top of the other, they destroy the heart.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco “Always to want your own way, becoming accustomed to having it, always to seek the easy path – all this leads straight to depression. But love, quietness, and contemplation of the inner life cleanse our hearts.” —Sayings of the Egyptian Fathers “As water and fire oppose one another when combined, so are self-justification and humility opposed to one another.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “Fire and water do not mix, neither can you mix judgment of others with the desire to repent. If a man commits a sin before you at the very moment of his death, pass no judgment, because the judgment of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open but have done greater deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke instead of sunlight in their eyes.” —St. John Climacus “Christians, above all men, are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force… it is necessary to make a man better not by force but by persuasion. God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice.” —St. John Chrysostom “I have seen pride lead to humility. And I remembered him who said: Who hath known the mind of the Lord? The pit and offspring of conceit is a fall; but a fall is often an occasion of humility for those who are willing to use it to their advantage.” —St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 15, Section 38 “Humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate.” —St. John Climacus “It was pride that changed angels into devils.” —St. Augustine of Hippo “An angel fell from Heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues.” —St. John Climacus “Run from pride, for it is a passion more treacherous than any other.” —St. John Chrysostom “Pride more than anything else, deprives people of both their good deeds and help from God. Where there is no humility, pride takes its place.” —St. Macarius of Optina “‘Exile is separation from everything in order to keep the mind inseparable from God. An exile loves and produces continual weeping.’ From Paradise, we must become exiled from the world if we hope to return.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “Prayer is superior to all good works. It begets tears of repentance, greatly contributes to peace in one’s thoughts, leads one to think only of God Who is the ultimate Peace, and brings forth the love of God. Prayer alone purifies the rational part of the soul through the vision of God, Who causes the purification of the angels; it also preserves the desiring part of the soul in purity before God.” —St. Kallistos Telikoudes, On the Practice of Hesychasm, The Philokalia, Vol. 5 “Time is continually passing; it is decreasing more and more. Every day that passes is another step toward death. We should know that even one tear of repentance is equivalent to a spiritual bath. Just as the body feels refreshed when it bathes, and just as clothes become clean when they are washed, similarly, the tears of a repentant soul purify the heart, purify the mind, purify the body, purify life, purify speech, and purify a person’s every action. Let us kneel and pray with extreme humility! Every repentant soul is given words: it is granted enlightened prayer.” —Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona “Day and night I pray the Lord for love, and the Lord gives me tears to weep for the whole world. But if I find fault with any man, or look on him with an unkind eye, my tears will dry up, and my soul sink into despondency. Yet do I begin again to entreat forgiveness of the Lord, and the Lord in His mercy forgives me, a sinner. Brethren, before the face of my God I write: Humble your hearts, and while yet on this earth you will see the mercy of the Lord, and know your Heavenly Creator, and your souls will never have their fill of love.” —St. Silouan the Athonite “Here are those of whom I speak and who are called heretics by me. They are the ones who say that in our present age there is no one in our midst who is able to observe the commandments and be like the holy fathers…. Those who declare this is impossible have fallen not into one particular heresy but into all of them, so to speak – a heresy surpassing all others in its impiety and greatest blasphemy. They are buried underneath it…. The one who speaks in such a manner turns all of Scripture upside down…. These antichrists affirm, ‘It is impossible, impossible’. Why then is it impossible? Tell me. In what other way did the saints shine on earth and did they become lamps of the world? If it were impossible, they would never have succeeded in it. For they were men like us, and possessed no more than we do except a will directed toward the good. They had zeal, patience, humility, and love for God. Therefore, acquire all this and your soul which today is as hard as rock shall become a fountain of tears inside you. However, if you refuse to suffer such anguish and affliction, at least do not say that all this is impossible.” —St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Discourses, Discourse XXIX: The Heresy of Pusillanimity “There is yet another special, most terrible and destructive type of sin. This is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Even the prayers of the Church cannot help one who is found in this condition. The Apostle John the Theologian speaks of this directly when he entreats us to pray for a brother who has sinned, but points out the uselessness of prayer for the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says that this sin – the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit – is not forgiven and will not be forgiven either in this age or in the future. He pronounced these terrible words against the Pharisees who, though they clearly saw that he worked everything according to the will of God and by God's power, nevertheless distorted the truth. They perished in their own blasphemy and their example is instructive and urgent for all those who would sin mortal sin: by an obdurate and conscious adversity to the undoubted Truth and thereby blaspheming the Spirit of truth – God's Holy Spirit. We must note that even blasphemy against the Lord Jesus Christ can be forgiven man (according to His own words) since it can be committed in ignorance or temporary blindness. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit could be forgiven, says St Athanasios the Great, only if a man ceased from it and became repentant. But the very nature of the sin is such that it makes it virtually impossible for a man to return to the truth. One who is blind can regain his sight and love the one who revealed the truth to him and one who is soiled with vices and passions can be cleansed by repentance and become a confessor of the Truth, but who and what can change a blasphemer who has seen and known the Truth and who has stubbornly refused and hated it? This horrible condition is similar to the condition of the devil himself who believes in God and trembles but who nevertheless hates Him, blasphemes Him and is in adversity to Him.” —Metropolitan Philaret of New York “…The ambition of men, who have no fear of God, rushes into high posts, and exalted office is now publicly known as the prize of impiety. The result is, that the worse a man blasphemes, the fitter the people think him to be a bishop. Clerical dignity is a thing of the past. There is a complete lack of men shepherding the Lord’s flock with knowledge. Ambitious men are constantly throwing away the provision for the poor on their own enjoyment and the distribution of gifts. There is no precise knowledge of canons. There is complete immunity in sinning; for when men have been placed in office by the favour of men, they are obliged to return the favour by continually showing indulgence to offenders. Just judgment is a thing of the past; and everyone walks according to his heart’s desire. Vice knows no bounds; the people know no restraint. Men in authority are afraid to speak, for those who have reached power by human interest are the slaves of those to whom they owe their advancement. And now the very vindication of Orthodoxy is looked upon in some quarters as an opportunity for mutual attack; and men conceal their private ill-will and pretend that their hostility is all for the sake of the truth. Others, afraid of being convicted of disgraceful crimes, madden the people into fratricidal quarrels, that their own doings may be unnoticed in the general distress. Hence the war admits of no truce, for the doers of ill deeds are afraid of a peace, as being likely to lift the veil from their secret infamy. All the while unbelievers laugh; men of weak faith are shaken; faith is uncertain; souls are drenched in ignorance, because adulterators of the word imitate the truth. The mouths of true believers are dumb, while every blasphemous tongue wags free; holy things are trodden under foot; the better laity shun the churches as schools of impiety; and lift their hands in the deserts with sighs and tears to their Lord in heaven. Even you must have heard what is going on in most of our cities, how our people with wives and children and even our old men stream out before the walls, and offer their prayers in the open air, putting up with all the inconvenience of the weather with great patience, and waiting for help from the Lord.” —St. Basil the Great, Letter 92, To the Italians and Gaul “He who in his heart is proud of his tears and secretly condemns those who do not weep is like a man who asks the king for a weapon against his enemy and then commits suicide with it.” —St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 7 “Do not grow conceited if you shed tears when you pray. For it is Christ who has touched your eyes.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “And here also we have diligently to consider, that it is far more secure and safe that every man should do that for himself whiles he is yet alive, which he desireth that others should do for him after his death. For far more blessed it is, to depart free out of this world, than being in prison to seek for release: and therefore reason teacheth us, that we should with our whole soul contemn this present world, at least because we see that it is now gone and past: and to offer unto God the daily sacrifice of tears, and the daily Sacrifice of His Body and Blood. For this Sacrifice doth especially save our souls from everlasting damnation, which in mystery doth renew unto us the death of the Son of God: who although being risen from death, doth not now die any more, nor death shall not any further prevail against him: yet living in himself immortally, and without all corruption, he is again sacrificed for us in this mystery of the holy oblation: for there his body is received, there his flesh is distributed for the salvation of the people: there His Blood is not now shed betwixt the hands of infidels, but poured into the mouths of the faithful. Wherefore let us hereby meditate what manner of sacrifice this is, ordained for us, which for our absolution doth always represent the passion of the only Son of God: for what right believing Christian can doubt, that in the very hour of the sacrifice, at the words of the Priest, the heavens be opened, and the quires of Angels are present in that mystery of Jesus Christ; that high things are accompanied with low, and earthly joined to heavenly, and that one thing is made of visible and invisible?” —St. Gregory the Great, Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great, Book 4, ch. 58 “Reflect, O brother: For this sacred food and drink, which are the Body and Blood of Christ, all our forefathers from the first-created Adam, and all the prophets hungered and thirsted, but did not receive them; but you, so distant from them by your unworthiness, partake of this Divine meal. Thank God for His unspeakable mercy, that He makes you worthy of this. And at the same time understand this also: that even if you had or shall have the purity of angels or the holiness and sanctity of St. John the Baptist– even then, without the special mercy of God, you could not be worthy of this Divine Mystery.” —Abbot Nazarius, Little Russian Philokalia Vol. II, p. 65 “… One must clean the royal house from every impurity and adorn it with every beauty, then the king may enter into it. In a similar way one must first cleanse the earth of the heart and uproot the weeds of sin and the passionate deeds and soften it with sorrows and the narrow way of life, sow in it the seed of virtue, water it with lamentation and tears, and only then does the fruit of dispassion and eternal life grow. For the Holy Spirit does not dwell in a man until he has been cleansed from passions of the soul and body.” —St. Paisius Velichkovsky, ‘Field Flowers’ “God, Who is by nature good and dispassionate, loves all men equally as His handiwork. But He glorifies the virtuous man because in his will he is united to God. At the same time, in His goodness he is merciful to the sinner and by chastising him in this life brings him back to the path of virtue. Similarly, a man of good and dispassionate judgment also loves all men equally. He loves the virtuous man because of his nature and the probity of his intention; and he loves the sinner, too, because of his nature and because in his compassion he pities him for foolishly stumbling in darkness.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “I do not know how I came into the world; Nor what the things here in it are. What my sight is, O my God, And what the objects that I see, I cannot tell. How all we men are vain, And have no proper judgement of reality! Yesterday at least I came and tomorrow I shall go, And I think to be immortal yonder. That Thee are my God I confess to everyone, and yet deny Thee daily in my deeds. I teach that Thee have made each living thing; And yet without Thee struggle to have all. Thy rule extends above, below And yet I am not feared to strive against Thee. Let me the needy one, me most miserable; Disburden all the sickness of my soul Crushed, alas and broken into bits. By vanity, by foolish arrogance. Grant me to be humble, grant me a hand of help; And cleanse my soul’s pollution. And give me tears of repentance; Love’s tears, tears of liberty; Tears cleansing my mind’s darkness. And filling me with heavenly radiance! For Thee it is, the world’s Light; The Light of my poor eyes, I wish to see – I who fill my heart with life’s evils, Suffering much of affliction and of envy. From those who have worked my exiles: From those, rather, who are my benefactors; Who are my masters, my true friends: To whom, O Christ, instead of ill give blessing: Eternal, rich, divine; Prepared by Thee for all the ages; For those who deeply long for Thee, love Thee.” —St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the right attitude to Life “Ask with tears, seek with obedience, knock with patience. For thus he who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” —St. John Climacus “The passions of the flesh may be described as belonging to the left hand, self-conceit as belonging to the right hand.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “When the soul leaves the body, the enemy advances to attack it, fiercely reviling it and accusing it of its sins in a harsh and terrifying manner. The devout soul, however, even though in the past it has often been wounded by sin, is not frightened by the enemy’s attacks and threats. Strengthened by the Lord, winged by joy, filled with courage by the holy angels that guide it, and encircled and protected by the light of faith, it answers the enemy with great boldness: ‘Fugitive from heaven, wicked slave, what have I to do with you? You have no authority over me; Christ the Son of God has authority over me and over all things. Against Him have I sinned, before Him shall I stand on trial, having His Precious Cross as a sure pledge of His saving love towards me. Flee from me, destroyer! You have nothing to do with the servants of Christ.’ When the soul says all this fearlessly, the devil turns his back, howling aloud and unable to withstand the name of Christ. Then the soul swoops down on the devil from above, attacking him like a hawk attacking a crow. After this it is brought rejoicing by the holy angels to the place appointed for it in accordance with its inward state.” —St. Theognostos, On the Practice of the Virtues, Philokalia, Vol. 2 “If you wish to be saved, O my soul, to go first on the most sorrowful path which has been indicated here, to enter into the Heavenly Kingdom and receive eternal life – then refine your flesh, taste voluntary bitterness, and endure difficult sorrows, as all the Saints tasted and endured. And when a man is preparing himself and gives himself the command to endure for the sake of God all sorrows and pain which come upon him, then light and painless seem for him all sorrows, unpleasantnesses and attacks of devils and men. He does not fear death, and nothing can separate such a one from the love of Christ. Have you heard, my beloved soul, how the Holy Fathers spent their lives? O my soul! Imitate them at least a little.” —St. Paisius Velichkovsky “If you rebuke yourself, accuse yourself, and judge yourself before God for your sins, with a sensitive conscience, even for this you will be justified.If you are sorrowful for your sins, or you weep, or sigh, your sigh will not be hidden from Him and, as St. John Chrysostom says, ‘If you only lament for your sins, then He will receive this for your salvation.’” —St. Moses of Optina “A good heart produces good thoughts: its thoughts correspond to what it stores up in itself.” —St. Thalassios the Libyan “Fasting is for the purification of the soul and body.” —St. John Chrysostom “It is a wonderful thing that, no matter how much we trouble about our health, however much care we take of ourselves, whatever wholesome and pleasant food we eat, whatever wholesome drinks we drink, however much we walk in the fresh air, still, notwithstanding all this, in the end we are subjected to maladies and corruption; whilst the saints, who despised their flesh, and mortified it by continual abstinence and fasting, by lying bare on the earth, by watchfulness, labours, unceasing prayer, have made both their souls and bodies immortal.” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ, p. 286 “Fasting is wonderful, because it tramples our sins like a dirty weed, while it cultivates and raises truth like a flower.” —St. Basil the Great “Fasting is the mother of health; the friend of chastity; the partner of humility.” —St. Symeon the New theologian “True fasting lies in rejecting evil, holding one's tongue, suppressing one's hatred, and banishing one's lust, evil words, lying, and betrayal of vows.” —St. Basil the Great “Many fast with body, but do not fast with soul: many fast from food and drink, but do not fast from evil thoughts, actions and words, and what is the benefit of it?! Many fast a day and two more, but from anger, resentment and vengeance will not fast; many refrain from wine, meat and fish, but with their tongue they eat people similar to themselves, and what is the benefit of it?! There are those who do not reach for food with their hands, but provide them for bribery, embezzlement and robbery, and what is the benefit of it?! True and true fasting is abstaining from every evil. If you want, Christian, to benefit from your fasting, fast carnally, fast mentally, and fast always! When you instruct fasting to your stomach, impose it on your evil thoughts and lusts. Let your mind fast from vain thoughts and memory from resentment, and your will from evil wanting, and your eyes from evil looking. Turn away your eyes from beholding vanity, let your ears fast from shameful songs and whispers of slander, let your tongue fast from defamation, condemnation, blasphemy, lies, flattery, filth and every empty and rotten word. Let your hands fast from the robbery of another's goods, and your feet from the clothing of evil work. Repent and, abstaining from every evil word, deed and thought, learn every virtue and you will always fast before God.” —St. Tikhon of Zadonsk “As salt is needed for all kinds of food, so humility is needed for all kinds of virtues.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “Virtue is not the manifestation of many and various works performed by the body, but a heart that is most wise in its hope and unites a right aim to godly works. Often, the mind can accomplish that which is good without bodily works, but the body without wisdom of the heart can gain no profit for all it may do.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 40 “Let it be known to you that if in your life you have mastered every virtue and every good deed such as mercy, prayer, fast, and other virtues but have no humility in you, your toil will be in vain. For humility in all these virtues is the solid foundation. Without it, we cannot master any of the virtues and all these virtues will become impure, filthy, and discarded before God because they were not sown with humility and love.” —St. John Chrysostom “What can sin do where there is penitence? And of what use is love where there is pride?” —Abba Elias “Pride is poverty of the soul, which imagines itself to be rich, and being in darkness, thinks it has light.” —St. John Climacus “Modern society calls the beggar bum and panhandler and gives him the bum's rush. But the Greeks used to say that people in need are the ambassadors of the gods.” —Peter Maurin “Be like gods to the poor, imitating God's mercy. Humanity has nothing so much in common with God as the ability to do good.” —St. Gregory the Theologian “Every family should have a room where Christ is welcome in the person of the hungry and thirsty stranger.” —St. John Chrysostom “Who is the greedy man? One for whom plenty does not suffice. Who defrauds others? One who keeps for himself what belongs to everyone. Aren't you greedy, don't you defraud, when you keep for yourself what was given to give away? When someone steals a man's clothes, we call him a thief. Shouldn't we give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not?” —St. Basil the Great “The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit.” —St. Basil the Great “You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich.” —St. Ambrose of Milan “Do not consider your riches as belonging to yourselves alone; open wide your hand to those who are in need.” —St. Cyril of Alexandria “The man who loves his neighbor as himself possesses no more than his neighbor…thus, as much as your wealth increases, so much does your love decrease.” —St. Basil the Great “When you are weary of praying and do not receive, consider how often you have heard a poor man calling, and have not listened to him.” —St. John Chrysostom “Do not ever say: ‘These beggars annoy me!’ So many millions of men live on earth and all are beggars before the Lord; emperors as well as laborers, the wealthy as well as servants, all are beggars before the Lord and the Lord never said: ‘These beggars annoy me!’” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.” —St. John Chrysostom “A rich man is not one who has much, but one who gives much. For what he gives away remains his forever.” —St. John Chrysostom “A poor man when he reaches out to you does not beg, but offers you the kingdom of God.” —Elder Arsenie (Papacioc) of Romania “No one in creation is rich but he that fears God; no one is truly poor but he that lacks the truth.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian “Be careful not to despise one of the least of these who are scorned and sick in this world. For this contempt and affront of yours doesn’t stop at those unfortunate fellows, but ascends through them to the presence of the Creator and Fashioner, whose image they bear. You will be greatly astonished in that day, if you see the Holy Spirit of God resting in them more than in your heart.” —Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Monastic Wisdom, Seventh Letter, p. 67 “Do you fast? Then feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not forget the imprisoned, have pity on the tortured, comfort those who grieve and who weep, be merciful, humble, kind, calm, patient, sympathetic, forgiving, reverent, truthful and pious, so that God might accept your fasting and might plentifully grant you the fruits of repentance.” —St. John Chrysostom “The Lord Himself said in the Gospel: ‘The last shall be first and the first, last’ (Matt 20:16). Thus, may Divine mercy shine forth with His love upon the poor, so that it may make great ones from the little, and that from the weak it may make co-inheritors with His Only Begotten Son. For it exhalts the poverty of this world to Heaven, to which the earthly kingdom cannot rise, so that the rustic comes to the place where he who wears the purple does not merit to come.” —St Gregory of Tours, Via Patrum “In all your undertakings and in every way of life, whether you are living in obedience, or are not submitting your work to anyone, whether in outward or in spiritual matters, let it be your rule and practice to ask yourself: Am I really doing this in accordance with God's will?” —St. John Climacus “Those who submit to the Lord with simple heart will run the good race. If they keep their minds on a leash, they will not draw the wickedness of the demons onto themselves.” —St. John Climacus “A hypocrite is someone who teaches his neighbor something he makes no effort to do himself.” —St. Poemen “I prefer a man who sins and repents to one who does not sin and does not repent. The first has good thoughts, for he admits that he is sinful. But the second has false, soul-destroying thoughts, for he imagines himself to be righteous.” —Abba Poemen the Great “At meals don't speak about food: that's vulgar and unworthy of you. Speak about something noble -- of the soul or of the mind -- and you will have dignified this duty.” —Josemaria Escriva “When someone learns to acknowledge every man as being better than himself, then he has attained humility.” —St. Sisoes the Great “It is a spiritual gift from God for a man to perceive his sins.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “The man who is deemed worthy to see himself is greater than he who is deemed worthy to see angels.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “The truly blessed are not the ones who can work miracles or see angels; the truly blessed are the ones who can see their own sins.” —St. Anthony the Great “The nearer a man draws to God, the more he sees himself a sinner. It was when Isaiah the prophet saw God, that he declared himself ‘a man of unclean lips.’” —St. Mateos “The condition of peace among men is that each should keep a consciousness of his own wrongdoing.” —St. Silouan the Athonite “The way to perfection is through the realization that we are blind, naked and poor.” —St. Theophan the Recluse “Blessed is the man who knows his own weakness, because this knowledge becomes to him the foundation, root, and beginning of all goodness.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “The perfect person does not only try to avoid evil. Nor does he do good for fear of punishment, still less in order to qualify for the hope of a promised reward. The perfect person does good through love. His actions are not motivated by desire for personal benefit, so he does not have personal advantage as his aim. But as soon as he has realized the beauty of doing good, he does it with all his energies and in all that he does. He is not interested in fame, or a good reputation, or a human or divine reward. The rule of life for a perfect person is to be in the image and likeness of God.” —St. Clement of Alexandria “Every day at nightfall, before sleep comes upon you, excite the judgment of your conscience, demand an account from it, and whatever evil counsels you may have taken during the day … pierce them, tear them to pieces, and do penance for them.” —St. John Chrysostom “As I became more wretched you drew nearer to me.” —St. Augustine of Hippo “Sin is the fruit of free will. There was a time when sin did not exist, and there will be a time when it will not exist.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “Prove your love and zeal for wisdom in actual deeds.” —St. Callistus Xanthopoulos “Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” —Thérèse de Lisieux “Do not leave unobliterated any fault, however small, for it may lead you on to greater sins.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “Every day I lay a foundation for building my repentance, and again with my own hands I demolish it.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian “The Lord is hidden in His commandments, and He is to be found there in the measure that He is sought.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “Having fulfilled a commandment, expect temptations; because love toward Christ is tested by difficulties.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “Do not be surprised that when you draw near to virtue, grievous and intense tribulations come to you on all sides: for virtue is not considered virtue, if it does not involve hard work.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Directions on Spiritual Training, The Philokalia “The purpose of temptations is to reveal hidden passions … so that you can battle against them in order to heal the soul. They are examples of divine mercy.” —St. Anatoly of Optina “In one day, brethren, you can gain all eternity. And in one day, brethren, you can lose all eternity. You are given thousands of days on earth to determine your own personal, eternal salvation or your own personal, eternal damnation. But blessed a hundredfold be the day in which you repent of all your unclean deeds, words and thoughts, and return to God crying out for mercy! That day will be worth more to you than a thousand other days.” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich “A certain brother had succumbed to the sin of lust, repeating this sin every day, but every day he would also beseech the Lord's mercy, with tears and prayers. By acting this way, his bad habit always fooled him and he would repeat the sin again; but again, after sinning, he would go to the Church and, upon seeing the holy and venerable icon of our Lord Jesus Christ, would fall to his knees and with bitter tears would say: ‘Spare me, Lord, and rid of me this tortuous temptation, because it plagues me terribly and harms me with its bitter pleasures. My face is not worthy to look upon Your holy icon, so that my heart might be consoled.’ That was the sort of thing he would say, but whenever he left the Church, he would again fall in the mire. Yet he never lost his hopes for salvation, and immediately after sinning, he would again return to the Church and say the same things, praying to the benevolent Lord God: ‘Lord, be my warrantor that from now on I won't sin again; but please, Lord, forgive all of my sins, from the beginning, up to now.’ And after making these grandiose promises, he would again return to the same, terrible sin. And one could discern the sweet benevolence and infinite goodness of the Lord, in tolerating and enduring this incorrigible and grave violation and the ingratitude of this man, and how, in His great compassion, the Lord desired the repentance of this man and his definitive return; because this sin was being repeated, not for one, two or three years, but for ten and more. Brothers, can you see the immeasurable tolerance and infinite benevolence of the Lord? How He shows forbearance and kindness every time, by enduring our gross iniquities and sins? What is more staggering and provokes our wonder with regard to God's wealth of compassion, is that although our brother kept promising and would agree to desist from that sin, he proved himself a liar. One day, after our brother had fallen into that sin again, he went running to the Church, mourning and moaning and in tears, beseeching the compassion of the merciful God to spare him and save him from the mire of incontinence. While this brother was begging the benevolent God, the wicked devil, the destruction of our souls, realized that he had achieved nothing, because while he was sewing with sin, the man was fraying it with his repentance. So the devil impudently appeared before him visibly, and, turning his face towards the venerable icon of our Lord Jesus Christ, started to cry out, saying: ‘What ‘s it going to be with us two, Jesus Christ? Your infinite sympathy defeats me and degrades me, whenever you accept this lecher, this wanton, who lies to you every day and disregards your authority. Why then don't you burn him? Why are You so forbearing and tolerant towards him? You are supposed to be the one who will judge the adulterous and the licentious and will eliminate all sinners. In fact, You are not a fair judge, because, wherever Your authority considers it befitting, You judge unfairly and You overlook things. With me, because of the small infraction of pride, you cast me down from heaven, whereas with him, who is a liar, a lecher and a prodigal, because he merely knelt before You, You imperturbably grant him Your favor. So, why do they call You a fair judge? From what I can see, You simply give Yourself to people out of Your great goodness, and You overlook justice.’ As the devil was saying these, all choked up by his bitterness, flames and smoke came out of his nostrils. After the devil had finished speaking, he became silent, and immediately, a voice was heard coming out of the altar saying: ‘You wicked and pestilent dragon, your wickedness wasn't satiated by swallowing the whole world, and now you are trying to grab and swallow this man who found refuge in the infinite mercy of My compassion? Can you present any sins that are heavier than the precious blood which I shed for this man, on the Cross? Mark well, that My crucifixion and My death forgave his sins. Besides, you didn't send him away when he headed towards sin, but you accepted him with joy and you neither abhorred him nor hindered him, because you hoped to win him. Well then, I, Who am so merciful and benevolent, who had instructed my high Apostle Peter to forgive any man who sins daily up to seventy times seven, will I not forgive and spare this man? Yes, I say to you, and because he sought refuge in Me, I will not turn away from him, until I have made him mine. Because I was crucified for the sinners and it was for them that I extended my immaculate arms, so that everyone who wants to be saved, will seek refuge in me and be saved. I do not avoid anyone, nor do I send anyone away, not even if someone sins a thousand times in one day and then comes to Me a thousand times; he won't leave dismayed. Because I did not come to call the righteous to repent, but the sinners.’ As soon as these words were heard, the devil stood fixed in place, trembling, unable to escape. And the voice spoke again: ‘Listen, impostor, with regard to what you said about me being unfair : because I am fair to everyone, and in whichever condition I might find them, I will judge them accordingly. Look at this man, I found him in repentance and returning back, fallen on his knees in front of Me, and your conqueror. I will therefore accept him and save his soul, because he did not despair about his salvation. And you, when seeing the honor that I grant him, will impale yourself out of envy and be put to shame.’ And just as the brother lay there, prone and weeping, he gave up his soul; instantly, a fury as great as a fire fell upon the devil, and it consumed him. Therefore my brothers let us learn from this incident of God's immeasurable compassion and philanthropy, what a kind God we have, and that we must never despair or not tend to our salvation.” —St. Amphilochios, On Masturbation and the Futility of Despair “Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honor your patience. While a wound is still fresh and warm it is easy to heal, but old, neglected and festering ones are hard to cure, and require for their care much treatment, cutting, plastering and cauterization. Many from long neglect become incurable. But with God all things are possible.” —St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 5, Section 30 “The life of the righteous was radiant. How did it become radiant if it wasn’t by patience? Love patience, O monk, as the mother of courage.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian “Seek in everything the deep meaning. All the events that take place around us and with us have their meaning. Nothing happens without a cause…” —St. Nektary of Optina “…should we fall, we should not despair and so estrange ourselves from the Lord's love. For if He so chooses, He can deal mercifully with our weakness. Only we should not cut ourselves off from Him or feel oppressed when constrained by His commandments, nor should we lose heart when we fall short of our goal…let us always be ready to make a new start. If you fall, rise up. If you fall again, rise up again. Only do not abandon your Physician, lest you be condemned as worse than a suicide because of your despair. Wait on Him, and He will be merciful, either reforming you, or sending you trials, or through some other provision of which you are ignorant.” —St. Peter of Damascus “Faintness of heart is a sign of despondency, and negligence is the mother of both. A cowardly man shows that he suffers from two diseases: love of his flesh and lack of faith; for love of one's flesh is a sign of unbelief. But he who despises the love of the flesh proves that he believes in God with his whole heart and awaits the age to come … A courageous heart and scorn of perils comes from one of two causes: either from hardness of heart or from great faith in God. Pride accompanies hardness of heart, but humility accompanies faith. A man cannot acquire hope in God unless he first does His will with exactness. For hope in God and manliness of heart are born of the testimony of the conscience, and by the truthful testimony of the mind we possess confidence towards God.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 40 “Within the heart are unfathomable depths. The heart is a small vessel, and yet dragons and lions are there. And there also are poisonous creatures and all the treasures of wickedness; rough and uneven paths are there and gaping chasms. Likewise, God is there; there are angels, there is life and the Kingdom, there is light and the apostles and the heavenly cities and the treasures of grace. All things lie within that little space.” —St. Macarius the Great “Just as the Lord is solicitous about our salvation, so too the murder of men, the devil, strives to lead a man into despair. A lofty and sound soul does not despair over misfortunes, of whatever sort they may be. Our life is as it were a house of temptations and trials; but we will not renounce the Lord for as long as He allows the tempter to remain with us and for as long as we must wait to be revived through patience and secure passionless! Judas the betrayer was fainthearted and unskilled in battle, and so the enemy, seeing his despair, attacked him and forced him to hang himself, but Peter, a firm rock, when he fell into great sin, like one skilled in battle did not despair nor lose heart, but shed bitter tears from a burning heart, and the enemy, seeing these tears, his eyes scorched as by fire, fled far form him wailing in pain. And so brothers, St. Antioch teaches, when despair attacks us let us not yield to it, but being strengthened and protected by the light of faith, with great courage let us say to the evil spirit: ‘What are you to us, estranged from God, a fugitive from heaven and evil servant? You dare do nothing to us. Christ, the Son of God, has authority both over us and over everything. It is against Him that we have sinned, and before Him that we will be justified. And you, destroyer, leave us. Strengthen by His venerable Cross, we trample under foot your serpent's head’ (St. Antioch Discourse 27).” —St. Seraphim of Sarov, Little Russian Philokalia “Modern men have faith in machines, in material well-being, in the substantiality of all that seems obvious to common sense; this is a petty faith, the faith of petty men. The Christian has faith in God and the world to come, in the insubstantiality of all that is obvious, in the passing of this world and the coming of the new, transfigured world; if there is a faith worthy of men, it is surely this.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina, The Orthodox Word, No. 128, 1986 “I think it needs to be pointed out with utmost charity that the religion of compromise is self-deception and that there exist today only two absolutely irreconcilable alternatives for man: faith in the world and the religion of self, whose fruit is death; and the faith in Christ the Son of God, in Whom alone is eternal life.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “Keep your mind in hell and do not despair.” —St. Silouan the Athonite “Stand at the brink of the abyss of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little, and have a cup of tea.” —Elder Sophrony of Essex “So in every test, let us say: "Thank you, my God, because this was needed for my salvation."” —St. Paisios of Mt. Athos “Only the benumbed soul doesn't pray. Preserve in yourselves the feeling of need, and you will always have stimulation for prayer.” —St. Theophan the Recluse “Make sure that you do not limit your prayer merely to a particular part of the day. Turn to prayer at anytime.” —St John Chrysostom “The Lord knows that I love you all, but I cannot speak with God and people at the same time.” —St. Arsanius the Great “A Christian…is not his own master; he puts his time at God's disposal.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch “Do not seek the perfection of the Law in human virtues, for it is not found perfect in them. Its perfection is hidden in the Cross of Christ.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “The knowledge of the Cross is concealed in the sufferings of the Cross.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “It is impossible to believe that Christ is Risen, while we are afraid of death…” —St. Gregory Palamas “God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.” —St. Augustine of Hippo “Let us understand that God is a physician, and that suffering is a medicine for salvation, not a punishment for damnation.” —St. Augustine of Hippo “Everything will happen suddenly. It may even happen tonight. Maybe it has begun already? Today you are deprived of one thing, tomorrow of another. God is giving it to us a little at a time, and we stupid people don’t understand. I say this to you and I counsel you, even if the sky were to fall down, even if the earth would rise up, even if the whole world were destroyed, as it is due to do so, today, tomorrow, don’t be concerned with what God is going to do. Let them burn your body, let them fry it, let them take your possessions – don’t concern yourself. Give them away – they are not yours. You need your soul and Christ. Even if the whole world were to fall apart, no one can take these two things away from you against your will. Guard these two, and don’t loose them.” —St. Kosmas Aitolos “Certainly in times of tranquility the cross should give you joy. But maintain the same faith in times of persecution. Otherwise you will be a friend of Jesus in times of peace and his enemy during war.” —St. Cyril of Jerusalem “Only struggle a little more. Carry your cross without complaining. Don't think you are anything special. Don't justify your sins and weaknesses, but see yourself as you really are. And, especially, love one another.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “Remember that each of us has his own cross. The Golgotha of this cross is our heart: it is being lifted or implanted through a zealous determination to live according to the Spirit of God. Just as salvation of the world is by the Cross of God, so our salvation is by our crucifixion on our own cross.” —St. Theophan the Recluse “Everyone carries their own cross, both Christians and non-Christians, believers and pagans. The difference is that for some, their crosses serve as a means of attaining the Kingdom of Heaven, while for the others they bring no such value. For the Christian, the cross gradually becomes lighter and more joyful, while for the nonbeliever it becomes heavier and more burdensome. Why is this so? Because where the one carries their cross with faith and devotion to God, the other carries it with grumbling and anger. Therefore, Christian, do not shun your lifelong cross, but, on the contrary, thank Jesus Christ that He honored you to follow and imitate Him.” —St. Innocent of Alaska, Indication Of The Way Into The Kingdom Of Heaven “Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since the leader of our faith endured the cross, we will also endure it. On one hand, the cross is sweet and light, but, on the other, it can also be bitter and heavy. It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift.” —Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos, Suffering; Trials “When you meet with suffering, contempt, the Cross, your thought should be: what is this compared with what I deserve?” —Josemaria Escriva “A Christian without a cross is no Christian at all.” —St. John of Kronstadt “Many people, finding daily life unsatisfying, try to live in a fantasy world of their own. Underlying the whole of modern culture is the common denominator of the worship of oneself and one's own comfort, which is deadly to any idea of spiritual life.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “A Christian should avoid unhealthy religiosity: both the feeling of superiority due to virtue, and the feeling of inferiority due to sinfulness.” —St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia “Understand two thoughts, and fear them. One says, 'You are a saint,' the other, 'You won't be saved.' Both of these thoughts are from the enemy, and there is no truth in them. But think this way: I am a great sinner, but the Lord is merciful. He loves people very much, and He will forgive my sins. Believe in this way, and you will see, the Lord will forgive you. But put no faith in feats of your own, however much you may have striven… Thus God has mercy on us, not for our achievements but gracious, because of His goodness.” —St. Silouan the Athonite “He made Him who was righteous to be a sinner, that He might make sinners righteous.” —St. John Chrysostom “Love sinners, but hate their deeds, and do not disdain sinners for their failings, so that you yourself do not fall into the temptation in which they abide… Do not be angry at anyone and do not hate anyone, neither for their faith, nor for their shameful deeds… Do not foster hatred for the sinner, for we are all guilty… Hate his sins, and pray for him, so that you may be made like unto Christ, who had no dislike for sinners, but prayed for them.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies 57,90 “Love every man in spite of his falling into sin. Never mind the sins, but remember that the foundation of the man is the same - the image of God.” —St. John of Kronstadt “Never confuse the person, formed in the image of God, with the evil that is in him: because evil is but a chance misfortune, an illness, a devilish reverie. But the very essence of the person is the image of God, and this remains in him despite every disfigurement.” —St. John of Kronstadt “Firmly purpose in your soul to hate every sin of thought, word, and deed, and when you are tempted to sin resist it valiantly and with a feeling of hatred for it; only beware lest your hatred should turn against the person of your brother who gave occasion for the sin. Hate the sin with all your heart, but pity your brother; instruct him, and pray for him to the Almighty, Who sees all of us and tries our hearts and innermost parts.” —St. John of Kronstadt “For this reason, the man who lives by God's standards and not by man's, must needs be a lover of the good, and it follows that he must hate what is evil. Further, since no one is evil by nature, but anyone who is evil is evil because of a perversion of nature, the man who lives by God's standards has a duty of ‘perfect hatred’ (Psalm 139:22) towards those who are evil; that is to say, he should not hate the person because of the fault, nor should he love the fault because of the person. He should hate the fault, but love the man. And when the fault has been cured there will remain only what he ought to love, nothing that he should hate.” —St. Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, 14:6, Penguin ed., transl. Bettenson “As Jesus Christ is my Witness, I profess that I hate heresy, not the heretic; but as is proper, for the present I shun the heretics because of the heresy, since I have both convicted and rebuked him. Let him renounce his heresy and condemn it by word as well as by deed, and he will cling to all men by the bond of brotherhood, because it is written, ‘Bear ye one another's burden and so fulfill the law of Christ’ (Gal. 6:2).” —Orosius of Braga, Book in Defense Against the Pelagians “Our life and our death is with our neighbor. If we gain our brother, we have gained God, but if we scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ. This is the great work of a man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God and to expect temptation to his last breath.” —St. Anthony the Great “Unless we look at a person and see the beauty there is in this person, we can contribute nothing to him. One does not help a person by discerning what is wrong, what is ugly, what is distorted. Christ looked at everyone he met, at the prostitute, at the thief, and saw the beauty hidden there. Perhaps it was distorted, perhaps damaged, but it was beauty none the less, and what he did was to call out this beauty.” —Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh “He who busies himself with the sins of others, or judges his brother on suspicion, has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “As long as we pay attention to the negative sides of various people we meet, we will not find peace and repentance. As long as we keep in ourselves the thought of offense, caused to us by enemies, friends, family and neighbours, we will not find peace and quiet and we will live in a hellish state.” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica “The genuineness of a friend is shown at a time of trial, if he shares the distress you suffer.” —St. Thalassios the Libyan “If you are offended by anything, whether intended or unintended, you do not know the way of peace, which through love brings the lovers of divine knowledge to the knowledge of God.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “Especially, do not be disturbed by blasphemous thoughts, which clearly come from the envy of the Enemy. They occur in a person either because of proud self-opinion or the condemnation of others.” —St. Ambrose of Optina “In hell there is democracy and in Heaven there is a Kingdom.” —St. John of Kronstadt “We shall not care what people think of us, or how they treat us. We shall cease to be afraid of falling out of favour. We shall love our fellow men without thought of whether they love us. Christ gave us the commandment to love others but did not make it a condition of salvation that they should love us. Indeed, we may positively be disliked for independence of spirit. It is essential in these days to be able to protect ourselves from the influence of those with whom we come in contact. Otherwise we risk losing both faith and prayer. Let the whole world dismiss us as unworthy of attention, trust or respect – it will not matter provided that the Lord accept us. And vice versa: it will profit us nothing if the whole world thinks well of us and sings our praises, if the Lord declines to abide with us. This is only a fragment of the freedom Christ meant when He said, ‘Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8.32). Our sole care will be to continue in the word of Christ, to become His disciples and cease to be servants of sin.” —Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex, His Life is Mine, Chapter 6; pg. 55 “Do not do anything without signing yourself with the sign of the Cross! When you depart on a journey, when you begin your work, when you go to study, when you are alone, and when you are with other people, seal yourself with the Holy Cross on your forehead, your body, your chest, your heart, your lips, your eyes, your ears. All of you should be sealed with the sign of Christ's victory over hell. Then you will no longer be afraid of charms, evil spirits, or sorcery, because these are dissolved by the power of the Cross like wax before fire and like dust before the wind.” —Archimandrite Cleopas (Ilie) of Romania “The Church is a hospital, and not a courtroom, for souls. She does not condemn on behalf of sins, but grants remission of sins. Nothing is so joyous in our life as the thanksgiving that we experience in the Church. In the Church, the joyful sustain their joy. In the Church, those worried acquire merriment, and those saddened, joy. In the Church, the troubled find relief, and the heavy-laden, rest. ‘Come,’ says the Lord, ‘near me, all of you who labor and are heavy-laden (with trials and sins), and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). What could be more desirable than to meet this voice? What is sweeter than this invitation? The Lord is calling you to the Church for a rich banquet. He transfers you from struggles to rest, and from tortures to relief. He relieves you from the burden of your sins. He heals worries with thanksgiving, and sadness with joy. No one is truly free or joyful besides he who lives for Christ. Such a person overcomes all evil and does not fear anything!” —St. John Chrysostom, Homily XV, II Cor. VII VIII, paragraph 6, Themes of Life II, Life Issues II, Holy Monastery of the Paraclete “The goal of human freedom is not in freedom itself, nor is it in man, but in God. By giving man freedom God has yielded to man a piece of His divine authority, but with the intention that man himself would voluntarily bring it as a sacrifice to God, as a most perfect offering.” —St. Theophan the Recluse, The Path to Salvation “When you are depressed, bear in mind the Lord’s command to Peter to forgive a sinner seventy times seven. And you may be sure that He Who gave this command to another will Himself do very much more.” —St. John Climacus “A person who suffers bitterly when slighted or insulted should recognize from this that he still harbours the ancient serpent in his breast. If he quietly endures the insult or responds with great humility, he weakens the serpent and lessens its hold. But if he replies acrimoniously or brazenly, he gives it strength to pour its venom into his heart and to feed mercilessly on his guts. In this way the serpent becomes increasingly powerful; it destroys his soul's strength and his attempts to set himself right, compelling him to live for sin and to be completely dead to righteousness.” —St. Symeon the New Theologian “The time of this present life is a time for harvesting, and each person gathers spiritual food - as pure as possible - and stores it up for the other life. It is not the clever, the noble, the polished speakers, or the rich who win, but whoever is insulted and forbears, whoever is wronged and forgives, whoever is slandered and endures, whoever becomes a sponge and mops up whatever they might say to him. Such a person is cleansed and polished even more. He reaches great heights. He delights in the theoria of mysteries. And finally, it is he who is already inside paradise, while still in this life.” —Elder Joseph the Hesychast and Cave-dweller “Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbours, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness or unforgiveness of your sins, then, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself. For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation. You can see for yourself how serious it is.” —St. Tikhon of Zadonsk “When you are ready to stand in the presence of the Lord, let your soul wear a garment woven from the cloth of your forgiveness of others. Otherwise, your prayer will be of no value whatsoever.” —St. John Climacus “Forgiveness is better than revenge.” —St. Tikhon of Zadonsk “When God forgave you, it means He forgave you for eternity.” —Elder Arsenie (Papacioc) of Romania “Love alone harmoniously joins all created things with God and with each other.” —St. Thalassios the Libyan “A monk is he who withdrawing from all men, is united with all mankind. … A monk is he who regards himself as existing with all men and sees himself in each man.” —St. Nilus of Sinai “Love towards Christ is without limits, and the same is true of love towards our neighbour. It should radiate everywhere, to the ends of the earth, to every person. I wanted to go and live with the hippies at …… in order to show them the love of Christ and how great it is and how it could transfigure them. Love is above everything.” —Wounded by Love, Elder Porphyrios, pg 188 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” —Genesis 1:27 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” —Genesis 3:5 “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” —2 Corinthians 11:14 “You shall not murder.” —Exodus 20:13 “Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.” —Deuteronomy 27:25 “He shall judge between the nations,And rebuke many people;They shall beat their swords into plowshares,And their spears into pruning hooks;Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,Neither shall they learn war anymore.” —Isaiah 2:4 “But Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’” —Matthew 26:52 “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” —Luke 18:20 “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’” —John 8:7 “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” —1 John 3:15 “And the second commandment of the Teaching; Thou shalt not commit murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not commit paederasty, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not practise magic, thou shalt not practise witchcraft, thou shalt not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is begotten.” —Didache 2:2 “You shall not take the life of the child by obtaining an abortion. Nor, again, shall you destroy him after he is born.” —St. Barnabas, Epistle of St. Barnabas “The mold in the womb may not be destroyed.” —Tertullian “There is no question about that which is bred in the uterus, both growing, and moving from place to place. It remains, therefore, that we must think that the point of commencement of existence is one and the same for body and soul.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa “We acknowledge, therefore, that life begins with conception, because we contend that the soul begins at conception. Life begins when the soul begins. For us, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter when you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to birth. That is a man which is going to be one: you have the fruit already in the seed.” —Tertullian, Apology 9:6 “Now the entire process of sowing, forming, and completing the human embryo in the womb is no doubt regulated by some power, which ministers herein to the will of God, whatever may be the method which it is appointed to employ. Even the superstition of Rome, by carefully attending to these points, imagined the goddess Alemona to nourish the foetus in the womb; as well as [the goddesses] Nona and Decima, called after the most critical months of gestation; and Partula, to manage and direct parturition; and Lucina, to bring the child to the birth and light of day. We, on our part, believe the angels to officiate herein for God. The embryo therefore becomes a human being in the womb from the moment that its form is completed (conception). The law of Moses, indeed, punishes with due penalties the man who shall cause abortion, inasmuch as there exists already the rudiment of a human being, which has imputed to it even now the condition of life and death, since it is already liable to the issues of both, although, by living still in the mother, it for the most part shares its own state with the mother.” —Tertullian, Treatise on the Soul, Ch. XXXVII, On the Formation and State of the Embryo, Its Relation with the Subject of this Treatise “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” —Tertullian “…if we would not kill off the human race born and developing according to God's plan, then our whole lives would be lived according to nature. Women who make use of some sort of deadly abortion drug kill not only the embryo but, together with it, all human kindness.” —St. Clement of Alexandria, Christ the Educator, Volume II, page 10 “Those who use abortifacients commit homicide.” —St. Clement of Alexandria “The woman who aborts her child to hide her immorality, aborts at the same time her own humanity.” —St. Clement of Alexandria “Women who were reputed believers began to resort to drugs for producing sterility. They also girded themselves around, so as to expel what was being gestated. For they did not wish to have a child by either slave or by any common fellow - out of concern for their family and their excessive wealth. See what a great impiety the lawless one has advanced! He teaches adultery and murder at the same time!” —St. Hipploytus, Refutation Of All Heresies “He [Novatian] struck the womb of his wife with his heel and produced a hurried an abortion, thereby causing parricide.” —St. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 52 To Cornelius “The wealthy, in order that their inheritance may not be divided among several, deny in the very womb their own progeny. By use of' parricidal mixtures they snuff out the fruit of their wombs in the genital organs themselves. In this way life is taken away before it is born… Who except man himself has taught us ways of repudiating children?” —St. Ambrose of Milan “Sometimes their sadistic licentiousness goes so far that they procure poison to produce infertility, and when this is of no avail, they find one means or another to destroy the unborn and flush it from the mother's womb. For they desire to see their offspring perish before it is alive or, if it has already been granted life, they seek to kill it within the mother's body before it is born.” —St. Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, Book One, Ch. 16 “A woman who has deliberately destroyed a fetus must pay the penalty for murder… those also who give drugs causing abortions are murderers themselves, as well as those who receive the poison which kills the fetus.” —St. Basil the Great, First Canonical Letter, 188:2 and 188:8 “Women also who administer drugs to cause abortion, as well as those who take poisons to destroy unborn children, are murderesses.” —St. Basil the Great, Letter CLXXXVIII: Canonica Prima, to Amphilochius, concerning the Canons, VII “The woman who purposely destroys her unborn child is guilty of murder. The hair-splitting difference between formed and unformed makes no difference to us.” —St. Basil the Great “Why do you sow where the field is eager to destroy the fruit? Where there are medicines of sterility? Where there is murder before birth? You do not even let a harlot remain only a harlot, but you make her a murderess as well. Indeed, it is something worse than murder and I do not know what to call it; for she does not kill what is formed but prevents its formation. What then? Do you condemn the gifts of God, and fight with His laws? What is a curse you seek as though it were a blessing. Do you make the anteroom of slaughter? Do you teach the women who are given to you for a procreation of offspring to perpetuate killing? Yet such turpitude … the matter still seems indifferent to many men–even to many men having wives. In this indifference of the married men there is greater evil filth; for then poisons are prepared, not against the womb of a prostitute, but against your injured wife. Against her are these innumerable tricks…” —St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, XXIV “Some virgins [unmarried women] go so far as to take potions, that they may insure barrenness, and thus murder human beings almost before their conception. Some, when they find themselves with child through their sin, use drugs to procure abortion, and when (as often happens) they die with their offspring, they enter the lower world laden with the guilt not only of adultery against Christ but also of suicide and child murder.” —St. Jerome, Letter to Eustochium, 22:13 “The rich women, to avoid dividing the inheritance among many, kill their own unborn in the womb and with lethal extracts terminate their own offspring while yet in the womb.” —St. Ambrose, On the Hexaemeron “For every argument there is a counter-argument, but who can argue against life?” —St. Gregory Palamas, Triads in Defence of the Holy Hesychasts “If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one.”“I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.”“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”“If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.”“It is a poverty that a child must die, so that you may live as you wish.”“How can you say there are too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers.”“The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.”“Any Country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants.”“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”“Do not look for big things, just do small things with great love… The smaller the thing the greater must be our love. “God did not call us to be successful, but to be faithful.”“Go out into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people.”“There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those.”“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”—Teresa of Calcutta “No one heals himself by wounding another.” —St. Ambrose of Milan “Abortion is the anti-Christ's demonic parody of the Eucharist. That's why it uses the same holy words ‘This is my body’ with the blasphemous opposite meaning.” —Dr. Peter Kreeft “An Irish pro-abortion leader described their vote as a decision to enter the ‘modern’ world. That was extremely well-said. Modernity suggests to us that we are the masters of history, the arbiters of life and death. Our compassion for the suffering is always expressed, ultimately, in our willingness to kill them, without remorse. For many, abortion has become the sacrament of modernity, in which we learn to say in blasphemous irony: ‘This is my body.’” —Fr. Stephen Freeman “Each child with special needs such as this does not come into the world in order to make our lives difficult and make us suffer. They each come into this world for a reason and have their secret inner voice. It remains to us to offer love; to ‘bear one another's burdens’; to experience a collective humbling – to realize, that is, that we are not as powerful and important as we think; and to try to lighten that person's burden and understand their language… These children are better at speaking the language of God.” —Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Labreotiki, When God is Not There, pg. 48 “O God, grant us a deeper sense of fellowship with all living things, our little brothers and sisters to whom in common with us you have given this earth as home. We recall with regret that in the past we have acted high-handedly and cruelly in exercising our domain over them. Thus, the voice of the earth which should have risen to you in song has turned into a groan of travail. May we realize that all these creatures also live for themselves and for you - not for us alone. They too love the goodness of life, as we do, and serve you better in their way than we do in ours. Amen.” —St. Basil the Great “We follow the ways of wolves, the habits of tigers: or, rather we are worse than they. To them nature has assigned that they should be thus fed, while God has honoured us with rational speech and a sense of equity. And yet we are become worse than the wild beast.” —St. John Chrysostom “Drink water from the spring where horses drink. The horse will never drink bad water. Lay your bed where the cat sleeps. Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm. Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit. Plant the tree where the mole digs. Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself. Dig your fountain where the birds hide from the heat. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time with the birds – you will reap all of the days' golden grains. Eat more green – you will have strong legs and a resistant heart, like the beings of the forest. Swim often and you will feel on earth like the fish in the water. Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear. Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace.” —St. Seraphim of Sarov (Nature is talking to you, are you listening?) “Nothing is without order and purpose in the animal kingdom; each animal bears the wisdom of the Creator and testifies of Him. God granted man and animals many natural attributes, such as compassion, love, feelings… for even animals bewail the loss of one of their own.” —St. John Climacus “…surely we ought to show kindness and gentleness to animals for many reasons, and chiefly because they are of the same origin as ourselves.” —St. John Chrysostom “For animals, man is like God. Just as we ask God for help, they ask man for help.” —St. Paisios of Mt. Athos “Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa “…it is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder.” —Kallistos Ware “Why not learn to enjoy the little things! There are so many of them.” —St. John Chrysostom “The unspeakable and prodigious fire hidden in the essence of things, as in the bush, is the fire of divine love and the dazzling brilliance of His beauty inside every thing.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “Blessed the one who observes with spiritual understanding the choirs of stars shining with glory and the beauty of the heavens and longs to contemplate the Maker of all things.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian “Leave behind the senses and the operations of the intellect, and all things sensible and intellectual, and all things in the world of being and non-being, that thou mayest arise by unknowing towards the union, as far as is attainable, with Him who transcends all knowledge.” —St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Mystical Theology “Supernal Triad, Deity above all essence, knowledge and goodness, Guide of Christians to Divine Wisdom: direct our path to the ultimate summit of Thy mystical Lore, most incomprehensible, most luminous and most exalted, where the pure, absolute and immutable mysteries of theology are veiled in the dazzling obscurity of the secret Silence, outshining all brilliance with the intensity of their Darkness, and surcharging our blinded intellects with the utterly impalpable and invisible fairness of glories surpassing all beauty.” —St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Mystical Theology “We, therefore, so long as we are beset by the corruptions of the flesh, in no wise behold the brightness of the Divine Power, as it abides unchangeable in itself, in that the eye of our weakness cannot endure that which shines above us with intolerable lustre from the ray of His Eternal Being. And so when the Almighty shews Himself to us by the chinks of contemplation, He does not speak to us, but whispers, in that though He does not fully develope Himself, yet something of Himself He does reveal to the mind of man. But then He no longer whispers at all, but speaks, when His appearance is manifested to us in certainty. It is hence that Truth saith in the Gospel, ‘I shall shew you plainly of the Father’ (John 16, 25). Hence John saith, ‘For we shall see Him as He is’ (1 John 3, 2). Hence Paul saith, ‘Then shall I know even as also I am known’ (1 Cor. 13, 12). Now in this present time, the Divine whispering has as many veins for our ears as the works of creation, which the Divine Being Himself is Lord of; for while we view all things that are created, we are lifted up in admiration of the Creator. For as water that flows in a slender stream is sought by being bored for through veins, with a view to increase it, and as it pours forth the more copiously, in proportion as it finds the veins more open, so we, whilst we heedfully gather the knowledge of the Divine Being from the contemplation of His creation, as it were open to ourselves the ‘veins of His whispering’, in that by the things that we see have been made, we are led to marvel at the excellency of the Maker, and by the objects that are in public view, that issues forth to us, which is hidden in concealment. For He bursts out to us in a kind of sound as it were, whilst He displays His works to be considered by us, wherein He betokens Himself in a measure, in that He shews how Incomprehensible He is. Therefore, because we cannot take thought of Him as He deserves, we hear not His voice, yea, scarcely His whispering. For because we are not equal to form a full and perfect estimate of the very things that are created, it is rightly said, Mine ear as it were by stealth received the veins of whispering; in that being cast forth from the delights of paradise, and visited with the punishment of blindness, we scarcely take in ‘the veins of whispering’; since His very marvellous works themselves we consider but hastily and slightly. But we must bear in mind, that in proportion as the soul being lifted up contemplates His Excellency, so being held back it shrinks from His Righteous Perfectness.” —St. Gregory the Great (Gregory the Dialogist), Book V, Sec. 52, Morals on the Book of Job “Look at the world around you. It supplies all your bodily needs. It feasts your eyes with its beauty. And its glory reflects the glory of God, so it feasts your soul also. Look at the plants and the trees. Can you count all the different species? Can you describe all the different shapes of the leaves, the color and fragrances of the flowers? Look, too, at the animals and the insects. Are you not enthralled by their different sizes and shapes, by the different colors and textures of their skin and fur, by the different ways in which they move about and gather food? And the wonder why God has created all this. Has he created the marvelous universe just to supply our needs and to feast our eyes and souls? or is there some other purpose in it all? The answer is that he has created all things--for their own sake. Each creature has its own purpose and destiny, which God in his infinite wisdom and love has planned. Do not try to understand God's plans; the human mind is hardly better than that of an ant in discerning the ways of God. Simply accept all his plans and rejoice in them.” —St. John Chrysostom, On Living Simply, pg 54 “When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God's feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator.” —St. Basil the Great “For as long as you are on earth, consider yourself a guest in the Household of Christ. If you are at the table, it is He who treats you. If you breathe air, it is His air you breathe. If you bathe, it is in His water you are bathing. If you are traveling, it is over His land that you are traveling. If you are amassing goods, it is His goods you are amassing. If you are squandering, it is His goods that you are squandering. If you are powerful, it is by His permission that you are strong. If you are in the company of men, you and the others are His guests. If you are out in nature, you are in His garden. If you are alone, He is present.” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich “Some people see the houses in which they live as their kingdom; and although in their minds they know that death will one day force them to leave, in their hearts they feel they will stay forever. They take pride in the size of their houses and the fine material with which they are built. They take pleasure in decorating their houses with bright colors, and in obtaining the best and most solid furniture to fill the rooms. They imagine that they can find peace and security by owning a house whose walls and roof will last for many generations. We, by contrast, know that we are only temporary guests on earth. We recognize that the houses in which we live serve only as hostels on the road to eternal life. We do not seek peace or security from the material walls around us or the roof above our heads. Rather we want to surround ourselves with a wall of divine grace; and we look upward to heaven as our roof. And the furniture of our lives should be good works, performed in a spirit of love.” —St. John Chrysostom, On Living Simply, pg 11 “What hinders you from fulfilling Christ’s commandments? The flesh and the world: that is, pleasant food and drink which men like, in which they delight both in thought and in fact, which make the heart gross and hard—a partiality for elegant dress and adornment, or for distinctions and rewards; if the dress or adornments are made of very beautiful coloured and delicate materials, then care and anxiety arise how to avoid staining or soiling them, or getting them dusty or wet, whilst care and anxiety how to please God in thought, word, and deed vanish and the heart lives for dress and adornment, and becomes entirely engrossed in these things, ceasing to care about God and being united to Him; if such is the case with a priest, then he neglects praying for his people, and becomes not soul-loving, but money-loving and ambitious, seeking not the men themselves, but that which appertains to them, that is, money, food, drink, their favour, their good opinion and good word, and flattering them. Therefore fight against every worldly enticement, against every material enticement that hinders you from fulfilling Christ’s commandments, love God with all your heart, and care with all your strength for the salvation of your own soul, and the souls of others, be soul-loving.” —St. John of Kronstadt “Let us be satisfied simply with what sustains our present life, not with what pampers it. Let us pray to God for this, as we have been taught, so that we may keep our souls unenslaved and absolutely free from domination by any of the visible things loved for the sake of the body. Let us show that we eat for the sake of living, and not be guilty of living for the sake of eating. The first is a sign of intelligence, the second proof of its absence.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “[R]eal Orthodox can never be chauvinists. I recall once, in a conversation with me in 1926, the blessedly reposed metropolitan [A. Khrapovitsky] related to me the following: "On Athos there is a custom that a monk who does not forgive offences is punished by being made to omit the words ‘and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,’ at the reading of the Lord’s Prayer, until such a time when he has forgiven the offence committed against him. And I myself have suggested," added the great saint, "that the chauvinist-nationalists not read the ninth article of the Symbol of Faith." If we were to crystallize this principle of Vladyka, it would read as follows: the Russian, Serbian, and Bulgarian nations can be great only if the goal of their existence be the collective realization of the commandments of the Gospel. Otherwise, "Serbianism", "Russianism", and "Bulgarianism", are reduced to senseless and pernicious chauvinism. If "Serbianism" flourishes not by the power of evangelical podvigs and not to Orthodox catholicity, then it will choke in its own egoistic chauvinism. What is profitable for Serbdom is profitable for other nationalities as well. Nations pass, the Gospel is eternal. Only in so far as a nation is filled with the eternal evangelical truth and righteousness, does it exist, and itself becomes and remains eternal. Only such patriotism can be justified from an evangelical point of view. This is the patriotism of the holy apostles, the holy martyrs, the holy fathers. When the emperor-tormentor asked the holy martyrs Acindynus, Pegasius, and Anempodistus where they were from, they answered: "Are you asking us, O Emperor, about our homeland? Our homeland and our life is the most holy, consubstantial and undivided Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the one God." (On Met. Anthony Khrapovitsky) The blessed Metropolitan Anthony is the most gifted contemporary representative of Russian Orthodox nationalism, a nationalism consecrated and enlightened by Christ; a nationalism by which all men are brothers in Christ; a nationalism by which the mighty must serve the weak, the wise the unwise, the humble the proud, the first the last. Growing out of patristic Orthodox universal patriotism, the blessed Vladyka can only be appreciated from the same apostolic patristic perspective. We can apply to him what St. Gregory of Nyssa said about his own brother, St. Basil, after his death: "Wherein lies Basil's noble origin? Where is his homeland? His origin is his affinity to divinity, and his homeland is virtue."” —St. Justin Popovich “Worldly glory does not lead God's children to heaven.” —St. Raphael, the Newly-revealed Martyr of Lesvos “Satan has no need to tempt those who tempt themselves, and are continually dragged down by worldly affairs.” —St. John of Karpathos “The devil does not hunt after those who are lost; he hunts after those who are aware, those who are close to God. He takes from them trust in God and begins to afflict them with self-assurance, logic, thinking, criticism. Therefore we should not trust our logical minds.” —St. Paisios of Mt. Athos “The fundamental Christian eschatology has been destroyed by either the optimism leading to the Utopia, or by the pessimism leading to the Escape. If there are two heretical words in the Christian vocabulary, they would be "optimism" and "pessimism." These two things are utterly anti-biblical and anti-Christian.” —Fr. Alexander Schmemann “Christ is the only exit from this world; all other exits – sexual rapture, political utopia, economic independence – are but blind alleys in which rot the corpses of the many that have tried them.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “Everything in this life passes away – only God remains, only He is worth struggling towards. We have a choice: to follow the way of this world, of the society that surrounds us, and thereby find ourselves outside of God; or to choose the way of life, to choose God Who calls us and for Whom our heart is searching.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “Let the hearing of worldly tales be to you as a bitter taste in your mouth, but the discourse of holy men as a honeycomb.” —St. Basil the Great “All the things of this world are no more than earth. Place them in a heap under your feet and you will be so much nearer to heaven.” —Josemaria Escriva “A man who has dedicated himself once and for all to God goes through life with a restful mind.” —St. Isaac the Syrian “Do you seek any further reward beyond that of having pleased God? In truth, you know not how great a good it is to please Him.” —St. John Chrysostom “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” —St. Augustine of Hippo “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” —Matthew 22:37-40 “And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"” —John 20:28 “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” —John 5:22-23 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” —Matthew 5:44 “The fool has said in his heart,‘There is no God.’They are corrupt,They have done abominable works,There is none who does good.” —Psalm 14:1 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart,And lean not on your own understanding;” —Proverbs 3:5 “Hatred stirs up strife,But love covers all sins.” —Proverbs 10:12 “When pride comes, then comes shame;But with the humble is wisdom.” —Proverbs 11:2 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,But he who heeds counsel is wise.” —Proverbs 12:15 “There is a way that seems right to a man,But its end is the way of death.” —Proverbs 14:12 “Pride goes before destruction,And a haughty spirit before a fall.” —Proverbs 16:18 “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth;A stranger, and not your own lips.” —Proverbs 27:2 “Open rebuke is betterThan love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend,But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” —Proverbs 27:5-6 “If a wise man contends with a foolish man,Whether the fool rages or laughs, there is no peace.” —Proverbs 29:9 “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. … I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.” —Ecclesiastes 1:2,14 “For in much wisdom is much grief,And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” —Ecclesiastes 1:18 “The work of righteousness will be peace,And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” —Isaiah 32:17 “Children’s children are the crown of old men,And the glory of children is their father.” —Proverbs 17:6 “The righteous man walks in his integrity;His children are blessed after him.” —Proverbs 20:7 “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.” —Proverbs 23:24 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,So are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;They shall not be ashamed,But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.” —Psalm 127:3-5 “The sons of wisdom are the church of the just: and their generation, obedience and love. Children, hear the judgment of your father, and so do that you may be saved. For God hath made the father honourable to the children: and seeking the judgment of the mothers, hath confirmed it upon the children. He that loves God, shall obtain pardon for his sins by prayer, and shall refrain himself from them, and shall be heard in the prayer of days. And he that honours his mother is as one that lays up a treasure. He that honours his father shall have joy in his own children, and in the day of his prayer he shall be heard. He that honours his father shall enjoy a long life: and he that obeys the father, shall be a comfort to his mother. He that fears the Lord, honours his parents, and will serve them as his masters that brought him into the world.” —Sirach 3:1-8 “But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’” —Matthew 19:14 “Reflect on the statutes of the Lord,and meditate at all times on his commandments.It is he who will give insight to your mind,and your desire for wisdom will be granted.” —Sirach 6:37 “Childless with virtue is better than this,For immortality is in its memory;Because it is known both by God and by man.” —Wisdom of Solomon 4:1 “Jesus wept.” —John 11:35 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are those who mourn,For they shall be comforted.Blessed are the meek,For they shall inherit the earth.Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,For they shall be filled.Blessed are the merciful,For they shall obtain mercy.Blessed are the pure in heart,For they shall see God.Blessed are the peacemakers,For they shall be called sons of God.Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” —Matthew 5:3-10 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” —James 4:7-10 “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” —Luke 12:48 “Then Abraham answered and said, ‘Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord.’” —Genesis 18:27 “The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.’” —Matthew 8:8 “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’” —Luke 18:13 “Pray without ceasing.” —1 Thessalonians 5:17 “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” —1 Timothy 1:15 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” —Romans 3:23 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” —Matthew 16:18 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” —Matthew 28:19 “Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."” —Acts 2:38 “Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’” —John 8:58 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” —John 15:26 “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” —John 17:21 “I and My Father are one.” —John 10:30 “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. “So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."” —John 20:19-23 “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” —Luke 10:1 “Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word."” —Acts 6:2-4 “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” —Acts 20:7 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.“ —John 6:53-56 “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.“ —1 Corinthians 10:16-17 “Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s. For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed…” —2 Corinthians 10:7-8 “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” —Ephesians 5:11 “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” —James 2:14-17 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” —Matthew 12:33-35 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” —Luke 6:43-45 “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” —James 3:10 “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment.” —James 5:12 “Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.” —2 Corinthians 10:11 “So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.” —Acts 8:30-31 “…but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” —1 Timothy 3:15 “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” —John 21:25 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” —Jeremiah 1:5 “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” —1 Timothy 4:12 “But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church…” —1 Corinthians 12:20-28 “Do not remove the ancient landmarkWhich your fathers have set.” —Proverbs 22:28 “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” —Acts 20:29-30 “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.” —Titus 3:10-11 “And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.” —Matthew 10:14 “And in vain they worship Me,Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” —Matthew 15:9 “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” —Hebrews 13:17 “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” —2 Thessalonians 2:15 “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” —Matthew 12:8 “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” —Colossians 2:14 “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” —Colossians 2:16-17 “…where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” —Colossians 3:11 “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” —Romans 6:14 “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.” —Romans 14:5-6 “…and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law.” —1 Corinthians 9:20 “For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God.” —2 Corinthians 9:12 “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” —Acts 17:11 “So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"” —Acts 8:30 “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.” —Nehemiah 8:8 “And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” —Acts 11:26 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” —1 John 4:1 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” —1 John 2:19 “…for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” —1 Corinthians 3:3 “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” —1 Corinthians 1:13 “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” —Matthew 12:25 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” —1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” —1 Corinthians 1:10 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” —Hebrews 4:14-16 “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” —Ephesians 1:15-23 “…endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;” —Ephesians 4:3-5 “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” —1 Corinthians 3:11 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” —Galatians 2:20 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” —Colossians 3:1-2 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” —John 15:18-19 “Thus says the Lord: "Stand in the ways and see,And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,And walk in it;Then you will find rest for your souls.But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’"” —Jeremiah 6:16 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. ” —John 17:9-11 “The Lord is my shepherd;I shall not want.He makes me to lie down in green pastures;He leads me beside the still waters.He restores my soul;He leads me in the paths of righteousnessFor His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil;For You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;You anoint my head with oil;My cup runs over.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow meAll the days of my life;And I will dwell in the house of the LordForever.” —Psalm 23 “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” —Psalm 34:18 “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!For Your arrows pierce me deeply,And Your hand presses me down.For my iniquities have gone over my head;My wounds are foul and festeringBecause of my foolishness.Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.Do not forsake me, O Lord;O my God, be not far from me!Make haste to help me,O Lord, my salvation!” —Psalm 38:1,2,4,5,21,22 “Be still, and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth!” —Psalm 46:10 “Truly my soul finds rest in God;my salvation comes from him.Truly he is my rock and my salvation;he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.One thing God has spoken,two things I have heard:"Power belongs to you, God,and with you, Lord, is unfailing love";and, "You reward everyoneaccording to what they have done."” —Psalm 62:1-2,11,12 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” —1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” —John 15:13 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” —John 13:35 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” —Matthew 24:36-39 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” —Matthew 25:34-36,40 “…that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” —Matthew 5:45 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” —James 1:17 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” —John 6:47 “Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'” —John 8:12 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” —1 John 2:15-17 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” —Romans 12:1-2 “They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.” —1 John 4:5 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” —Mark 8:36 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” —John 3:16-17 “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For 'He has put all things under His feet.' But when He says 'all things are put under Him,' it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” —1 Corinthians 15:25-28 “To have faith in Christ means more than simply despising the delights of this life. It means we should bear all our daily trials that may bring us sorrow, distress, or unhappiness, and bear them patiently for as long as God wishes and until He comes to visit us. For it is said, ‘I waited on the Lord and He came to me.’” —St. Symeon the New Theologian “Anyone who truly wants to follow God must be free from the bonds of attachment to this life. To do this we must make a complete break with our old way of life. Indeed, unless we avoid all obsession with the body and with the concerns of this world, we shall never succeed in pleasing God. We must depart as it were to another world in our way of thinking, as the Apostle said: ‘Our citizenship is in heaven’.” —St. Basil the Great, Gateway to Paradise “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” —Philippians 3:20-21 “Therefore it was not one man, but rather the One Universal Church, that received these 'keys' and the right 'to bind and loosen.'” —St. Augustine of Hippo “The Lord calls the Holy Spirit the 'voice of a gentle breeze'. For God is breath, and the breath of the wind is shared by all.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “Nothing is so characteristically Christian as being a peacemaker.” —St. Basil the Great “Behold, for years and generations, the way of God has been leveled by the cross and by death. How is this with thee, that thou seest the afflictions of the way as if they were out of the way? Doest not thou wish to follow the steps of the saints? Or doest thou wish to go a way which is especially for thee, without suffering? The way unto God is a daily cross. No one can ascend unto heaven with comfort, we know where the way of comfort leads.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Mystic Treatises, Homily LIX “I know of my spiritual poverty, my own nothingness without faith. I am so weak, that it is only by Christ's name that I live and obtain peace, that I rejoice and my heart expands, whilst without Him I am spiritually dead, I am troubled, and my heart is oppressed; without the Lord's Cross I should have been long since the victim of the most cruel distress and despair. Only Christ keeps me alive: and the Cross is my peace and my consolation.” —St. John of Kronstadt “Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him; yesterday I died with Him; today I am quickened with Him; yesterday I was buried with Him; today I rise with Him.” —St. Gregory the Theologian “Now there is no more chaos, no more death, no more slaying, no more Hell. Now everything is joy, thanks to the resurrection of our Christ. Human nature is resurrected with Him. Now we too can rise again that we might live with Him eternally … What bliss is contained in the Resurrection! In every sorrow, with every failure, in anything that causes you pain, collect yourself for half a minute and slowly say this hymn. Then, you will see that the most important thing in your life and in the life of the entire universe has already been accomplished with the resurrection of Christ. It is our salvation. And then, you realize that all our setbacks are so insignificant, that you don’t need to allow them to spoil your mood.” —Elder Porphryios “With the Resurrection of the God-Man, the nature of man is irreversibly led toward the road of immortality and man's nature becomes destructive to death itself. For until the Resurrection of Christ, death was destructive for man; from the Resurrection of Christ, man's nature becomes destructive in death. If man lives in the faith of the Resurrected God Man, he lives above death, he is unreachable for her; death is under man's feet. Death where is thy sting? Hell, where is thy victory? And when a man who believes in Christ dies, he only leaves his body as his clothes, in which he will be dressed again on the Day of Last Judgement.” —St. Justin Popovich “Man sentenced God to death; by this Resurrection, He sentenced man to immortality. In return for a beating, He gives an embrace; for abuse, a blessing; for death, immortality. Man never showed so much hate for God as when he crucified Him; and God never showed more love for a man when He arose. Man even wanted to reduce God to a mortal, but God by His Resurrection made man immortal. The crucified God is Risen and has killed death. Death is no more. Immortality has surrounded man and all the world.” —St. Justin Popovich “Let no one fear death; for the death of the Savior has set us free.” —St. John Chrysostom “He who is initiated into the mystery of the Resurrection, learns the end for which God created all things.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “This bread is at first common bread; but when the Mystery sancifies it, It is called, and actually becomes the Body of Christ.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa “Since Christ Himself has said, ‘This is My Body’ who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?” —St. Cyril of Jerusalem “You freed me from slavery, gave me Your Name and marked me with Your Blood, so that I would always keep You in my heart.” —St. Augustine of Hippo “When someone opens your heart, I'd like him to find nothing there but Christ.” —Elder Amphilochios of Patmos “Think nothing and do nothing without a purpose directed to God. For to journey without direction is wasted effort.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest achievement.” —St. Augustine of Hippo “Love bestows prophecy; love yields miracles; love is an abyss of illumination; love is a fountain of fire, in the measure that it wells up, it inflames the thirsty soul. Love is the state of angels. Love is the progress of eternity.” —St. John Climacus “The end of each discovery becomes the starting point for the discovery of something higher, and the ascent continues. Thus our ascent is unending. We go from beginning to beginning by way of beginnings without end.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa “He who forsakes all worldly desires sets himself above all worldly distress.” —St. Maximus the Confessor “He is with me, He who left the world behind. He is present in me, He who left His nature. He dwells in me, He who denied Himself. He is wholly for me, He who lost His life for me.” —St. Ambrose of Milan “You brought us into being out of nothing, and when we fell, You raised us up again.” — St. John Chrysostom “You did not cease doing everything until You led us to heaven and granted us Your kingdom to come.” —St. John Chrysostom “For You are God ineffable, beyond comprehension, invisible, beyond understanding, existing forever and always the same.” —St. John Chrysostom “Brethren, He is near each one of us, even if unseen. That is why He said to the apostles when He ascended, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’ (Matt 28:20). Every day we should stand in awe of Him, as He is with us, and do what is pleasing before Him. If we are unable now to perceive Him with our physical eyes, we can, if we are watchful, see Him continuously with the eyes of our understanding, and not just see Him, but reap great benefits from Him. This vision destroys all sin, demolishes all evil, and drives away everything bad. It yields every virtue, gives birth to purity and dispassion, and bestows eternal life and the kingdom without end. As we attend to this joyful sight, gazing with our mind's eye on Christ as though He were present, each of us will say with David, ‘Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident’ (Ps. 27:3).” —St. Gregory of Palamas, Homily 23, The Appearance of Jesus “Why do men learn through pain and suffering, not pleasure and happiness? Very simply, pleasure and happiness accustom one to satisfaction with things in this world, whereas pain and suffering drive one to seek more profound happiness beyond limitations of this world.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.Bless my enemies, O Lord, Even I bless them and do not curse them.Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me:so that my fleeing to You may have no return;so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins, arrogance and anger;so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and enemies.A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands.For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life.Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich, Prayers by the Lake, For Enemies, Prayer LXXV “For all the sins of men I repent before You, Most Merciful Lord. Indeed, the seed of all sins flows in my blood! With my effort and Your mercy I choke this wicked crop of weeds day and night, so that no tare may sprout in the field of the Lord, but only pure wheat. (Matt. 13:24-30.)I repent for all those who are worried, who stagger under a burden of worries and do not know that they should put all their worries on You. For feeble man even the most minor worry is unbearable, but for You a mountain of worries is like a snowball thrown into a fiery furnace.I repent for all the sick, for sickness is the fruit of sin. When the soul is cleansed with repentance, sickness disappears with sin, and You, my Eternal Health, take up Your abode in the soul.I repent for unbelievers, who through their unbelief amass worries and sicknesses both on themselves and on their friends.I repent for all those who blaspheme God, who blaspheme against You without knowing that they are blaspheming against the Master, who clothes them and feeds them.I repent for all the slayers of men, who take the life of another to preserve their own. Forgive them, Most Merciful Lord, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34) For they do not know that there are not two lives in the universe, but one, and that there are not two men in the universe, but one. Ah, how dead are those who cut the heart in half!I repent for all those who bear false witness, for in reality they are homicides and suicides.For all my brothers who are thieves and who are hoarders of unneeded wealth I weep and sigh, for they have buried their soul and have nothing with which to go forth before You.For all the arrogant and the boastful I weep and sigh, for before You they are like beggars with empty pockets.For all drunkards and gluttons I weep and sigh, for they have become servants of their servants.For all adulterers I repent, for they have betrayed the trust. of the Holy Spirit, who chose them to form new life through them. Instead, they turned serving life into destroying life.For all gossipers I repent, for they have turned Your most precious gift, the gift of speech, into cheap sand.For all those who destroy their neighbor’s hearth and home and their neighbor’s peace I repent and sigh, for they bring a curse on themselves and their people.For all lying tongues, for all suspicious eyes, for all raging hearts, for all insatiable stomachs, for all darkened minds, for all ill will, for all unseemly thoughts, for all murderous emotions–I repent, weep and sigh.For all the history of mankind from Adam to me, a sinner, I repent; for all history is in my blood. For I am in Adam and Adam is in me.For all the worlds, large and small, that do not tremble before Your awesome presence, I weep and cry out: O Master Most Merciful, have mercy on me and save me!” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich, Prayers by the Lake, Repentance for the World, Prayer XXIX “O Lord,Grant me to greet the coming day in peace.Help me in all thingsto rely upon Thy Holy Will.In every hour of the day,reveal Thy will to me.Bless my dealings with all who surround me.Teach me to treat all that comes to methroughout the day with peace of soul,and with firm convictionthat Thy will governs all.In all my deeds and words,guide my thoughts and feelings.In unforeseen events, let me not forgetthat all are sent by Thee.Teach me to act firmly and wisely,without embittering and embarrassing others.Give me strength to bear the fatigueof the coming day with all that it shall bring.Direct my will.Teach me to pray.Pray Thou Thyself in me.Amen.” —St. Philaret (Drozdov), Metropolitan of Moscow, The Morning Prayer of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow “In that anxious and dreadful hour when the heavenly powers are roused, when all the angels, archangels, seraphim and cherubim will stand with fear and trembling before Thy glory, when the foundations of the earth will be shaken, and when all that breathes will be terrified by the incomparable greatness of Thy glory – in that hour mayest Thou take me under Thy wing and may my soul be delivered from the terrible fire and from the gnashing of teeth, from outer darkness and eternal lamentation, that I may bless Thee and say: Glory to Him Who has desired to save a sinner according to the great compassion of His mercy!” —St. Ephrem the Syrian “If there is any rest for us in this world, then it consists only in purity of the conscience and patience. This is a harbor for us who sail upon the sea of life…” —St. Tikhon of Zadonsk “I would like to address all believers of our church of Christ. Don't be afraid of anything. Be steadfast in your love for God. Keep the purity of the Holy Orthodox Faith, it is the way that leads man to God! Love one another, tolerate one another, help one another. Evil will pass – and good will live forever. If we endure everything, live in love for all and among ourselves, then no evil will defeat us. God is a God of strength, and evil has no power. We will live with God – and we will be joyful, happy and blessed. I know that Our church of Christ will be till the end of the world because the Lord said the gates of hell will not prevail against Her. Don't be afraid because We are in a church founded by Christ, not by men.” —Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and all Ukraine “As to the fatalism of those who believe that man must be a slave to the spirit of the age, it is disproved by the experience of every Christian worthy of the name, for the Christian life is nothing if it is not a struggle against the spirit of every age for the sake of eternity.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina “There are far, far better things ahead than anything we leave behind.” —C. S. Lewis “God and our conscience know our secrets. Let them correct us.” —St. Mark the Ascetic “The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.” —St. Jerome “What, then, is greater than that the Father of the only-begotten Son Himself recognizes in us His members and finds the very form of the Son in our faces?” —St. Nicholas Cabasilas “This, then, is the way in which we interpret the Eighth Day…namely that when the time that is measured in weeks comes to an end, an Eighth Day will come into being…It will remain one day continually, never to be divided by the darkness of night. Another Sun will bring it into being, radiating the true light; embracing all things in it's luminous power, it will produce light continually and will make those who share in that Light into other suns.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on the Psalms “He made Him who was righteous to be a sinner, that He might make sinners righteous.” —St. John Chrysostom “The Word of God became man, that man might become god… becoming by grace what God is by nature.” —St. Athanasius the Great, On the Incarnation “Thine own of Thine own we Offer unto Thee, in behalf of all and for all!” —Anaphora offering (OCA), Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom “Precious in the sight of the LordIs the death of His saints.” —Psalm 116:15 “…nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.” —Luke 20:36-38 “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” —2 Maccabees 12:46 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” —Philippians 4:13 “And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.” —Romans 8:28
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” —Matthew 19:26
“Glory be to God for everything! Glory be to God for having created me to His image and likeness. Glory be to God for having redeemed me, the fallen. Glory be to God for having extended His solicitude to me, the unworthy. Glory be to God for having led me, the sinner, to repentance. Glory be to God for having offered me His holy words, like a lamp in a dark place, thus setting me on the path of righteousness. Glory be to God for having illumined the eyes of my heart. Glory be to God for having made known to me His holy name. Glory be to God for having washed away my sins through the bath of baptism. Glory be to God for having shown me the way to eternal bliss. The way is Jesus Christ, Son of God, Who says of Himself, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’
Glory be to God, that He has not brought me to perdition through my sins, but suffered them because of His kindness. Glory be to God for showing me the vanity and emptiness of the world. Glory be to God for helping me in various temptations, misfortunes, and calamities. Glory be to God for protecting me in accidents and mortal dangers. Glory be to God for defending me against the Devil, who is the enemy. Glory be to God for raising me when I was prostrate. Glory be to God for comforting me in my sorrow. Glory be to God for converting me when I was erring. Glory be to God for punishing me as a father. Glory be to God for announcing to me His last Judgment, that I might fear it and repent of my sins. Glory be to God for revealing to me eternal torment and eternal bliss, that I might flee the one and seek the other. Glory be to God for offering to me, the unworthy one, food, clothing, and shelter.” —St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, from St. Tikhon of Zadonsk's Will, B#26, p. 240
“When I am dead, come to me at my grave, and the more often the better. Whatever is in your soul, whatever may have happened to you, come to me as when I was alive and kneeling on the ground, cast all your bitterness upon my grave. Tell me everything and I shall listen to you, and all the bitterness will fly away from you. And as you spoke to me when I was alive, do so now. For I am living and I shall be forever.” —St. Seraphim of Sarov
“Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man takest thy crown (Revelation 3:11).” —Metropolitan Philaret of New York, the last words of
“«δόξα τῷ θεῷ πάντων ἕνεκεν» (Glory be to God for all things!)” —St. John Chrysostom, the last words of