In their struggles, Christians can’t employ means that are alien to love. If you want to combat evil with evil, in reality you’re doubling it. According to the saying of the Fathers: ‘If good be not done well, it is not good’. Elder Georgios Kapsanis
Knowledge is power and love is the aim; when they go hand in hand we have a wonderful result. ‘Knowledge puffs up whereas love builds up’ (1 Cor. 8, 1) and Saint Maximos the Confessor urges us to: ‘yoke together knowledge and love and you’ll become humble in outlook, a spiritual constructor, building up both yourself and all those you are in touch with’ (ΕΠΕ 14, Thessaloniki 2006). The holy Father analyzes the issue with great clarity: ‘Love builds up because it isn’t envious, it doesn’t embitter those who do display envy, nor does it deliberately make a public show of the person being envied. People who love don’t think they’ve arrived at perfect knowledge (Phil. 3, 12) and they ...
Often when we go to sad events, we all say, with the best will in the world- and we’re partially right- that it’s God’s will. And, of course, if we can understand properly, those are, indeed, words of comfort, words that give us strength. Since it’s what God wants, since God decided this was to happen, we trust in his providence. But to be precise, these words aren’t strictly true. God doesn’t want these things to happen. God doesn’t bless them. He knows about them, but doesn’t want them. They can’t be identified with God, with his will or his knowledge. God knows everything. What we have to know is that God isn’t the cause of our evils. The cause of ...
From the moment you have two gods, you should know that one of them is the devil. And you can’t serve both God and the devil. Saint Nikolaj Velimirović, Bishop of Ochrid
We live among people who are imperfect, with lots of passions and faults which are likely to irritate us enormously and make us upset. But we can’t change the way they behave, particularly their negative attitude towards us. Nobody changes their own disposition unless they want to. We can see this from ourselves. We might not express our anger, our discontent, our ill-will, our rejection and any other negativity we feel towards another person, and this can be effective, even if it involves repression of these feelings. But no-one can say that we can’t have them in our heart, nobody can forbid it, and no-one can make us any different, unless we wish to be so. The notion that other people are ...
The great martyr for Christ Eustace (Eustathios) was a solider of renown in Rome at the time of the Emperor Trajan in about the year 100, and was known as the most acclaimed of all for his virtue, courtesy, disposition, charity and sympathy towards the poor. He had previously been called Placidas and his wife was Tatiana. When he was still enslaved to the delusion of the idols, because of his great devotion and nobility, he was deemed worthy of being called to the faith by God, as Saint Paul had been. This happened because once, when he was hunting a stag and had drawn quite close to it, he saw, between its antlers, the precious Cross, which was shining more ...
In our narration of the miracles of our glorious Lady, full of grace, the Mother of God, we shall draw some drops from the boundless sea, to the honor of the all-praised Mother of God. 1. No woman had ever entered the Monastery of Choziba. This is the reason why they were later allowed to do so. There was a certain noblewoman in Byzantium, who suffered from an incurable internal illness and, though she spent a great deal of money, she suffered worse than before. She therefore decided to go from Byzantium to the holy city, in order to pray. She reached Jerusalem and, having venerated the holy sites, she then went down to the River Jordan. She continued to pray ...
‘Let those who desire to come after me deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow me’ (Mark 8, 34). A few days ago, our Church celebrated the universal elevation of the honorable and life-giving Cross; and today, the Sunday after the Elevation, the Gospel reading reminds us of the importance of the Cross in our lives. Because, although Christ ascended the Cross for our salvation and although his Cross is a symbol of strength and hope for all those who believe in him, theoretical faith isn’t enough; practical proof of this faith is also required. This is achieved in the manner indicated by Christ in today’s Gospel reading, when he says: ‘Let those who desire to come after me ...
Judging other people has more snares than people can even imagine. Idle talk, derision, ridicule, complaint, lies, and so much else besides. All the great evils and mortal sins start with judging others. Abbess Makrina, Holy Monastery of the Guide, Portaria
God takes care of humble people who have learned the great lesson of leaving everything in God’s hands. But they’ve also learned that, if you do leave everything up to God, he doesn’t remain inactive: he undertakes the responsibility for everything. And the works of God are much more significant and important than our own. Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol
Christians fight against the evil which flows from within themselves, their passions, their wicked desires, and habits, the secular evil which is dominant in a society which has made sinfulness a way of life. All this as well as the devil, the very source of evil. In this warfare, the tactics we have to employ aren’t always the same. Not for people in general, nor for each individual. They may differ depending on the spiritual maturity of the person and the spiritual state they’re in. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos
For God to answer our request and for him to give us what we ask for, we must first have humility, but we don’t. All of us, young and old, are very full of ourselves and won’t accept advice or chastisement. We know everything, we’re all so wise. Saint Païsios the Athonite
Even though it’s been answered a thousand times, the question is often posed as to why Saint Paul is so ‘provocative’ in his letter to the Ephesians, which is read at the marriage service. He says: ‘and let the wife fear her husband’ and that she should regard him as her ‘head’. Is it really possible, in this day and age, that relations between a married couple should be understood in terms of fear and subservience? The answer, of course, is simple and is one which we believe no well-intentioned person would doubt, especially when the same epistle reading promotes the relationship between the couple as being equal and reciprocal. In the first place, ‘fear’, which is what we’re talking about, ...
Death is a camera lens, and, depending on the state in which it’ll immortalize you, you’ll have the concomitant fate after death. If death finds you in repentance, you’ll be saved; if not, you’ll be punished. This is why we must always be repentant and prepared, because we don’t know when the last day of our life will be. Dimitrios Panagopoulos
Within us there’s part of the soul that’s called ‘moralist’. When this moralist part of us sees someone going astray, it bridles, even though we ourselves have often done precisely the same. We don’t have an issue with ourselves, though, only with others. And God doesn’t want that. Saint Porfyrios Kavsokalyvitis
If only everyone were humble, there wouldn’t be any evil in the world: no lies, no cunning, no condemnation, no slander, no envy, no murder, no outrageous actions, no injustice, no wars, earthquakes, floods, disasters and so on. All the ploys, methods, snares and machinations of the unscrupulous devil would be in vain. Saint Iakovos (Tsalikis)
The Elevation of the Precious Cross belongs to the feasts of the Lord. It centers on the person of Christ, because the Cross became ‘the sign of the Son of Man’. Once Christ had determined that the means of his voluntary Passion would be death on the cross, the tree of dishonor, which until then had been held in disdain, was transformed into the most glorious trophy and his honored symbol. At the Second Coming, when Christ will come again, ‘on the clouds of heaven and in great power and glory’, his Cross will be the first thing that shows in the sky (Matth, 24, 30). And even afterwards, it will accompany him, inseparable, in endless eternity. From the time of his ...
At the sacrament of the bloodless sacrifice, we interact with the Cross of the Savior, since the Cross is the glory of Christ and the glory of the Church. But the Lord says that those who wish to follow him must first deny themselves and take up their Cross; then they can follow him. Denial of ourselves In order to follow Christ, we have to recognize that our human nature is in thrall to death and corruption and is also confounded by a variety of passions. Let’s just look at this horrible reality which is the bane of our life; the reality of the passions, which, unfortunately we mostly ignore. What are the passions? ‘Passion’ is derived from a word meaning ‘suffering’ ...
The most effective means of illumining the mind and the best generator of prayer is to keep vigil. The numbing effect of sleepiness immediately lowers the clarity of the mind. It reduces the intellectual capacity of rational nature to compare, distinguish, select and apply what legitimate ascetic practice demands. As a vehicle for the industry so beloved by the Fathers, keeping vigil always preceded their ascetic labors. The vast efforts of the Fathers regarding the vigil is well known. They insisted on the many and varied benefits of this virtue, since it contributed most excellently to the working of the nous, on which everything depends. Elder Iosif Vatopaidinos
Don’t be afraid to be alone. People are alone if they don’t know God, even if they have dealings with a large number of other people. Even in a densely-populated society, people like this would say- and, in fact, some actually do say- ‘I’m bored. I don’t know what to do with myself, everything’s a burden’. Those are souls empty of God, husks without a pit, ash without charcoal. But you’re not alone, because you’re close to the Lord and the Lord’s close to you. Saint Paul was apostle to the whole world. Listen to what he says when, at one time he’d been abandoned by everybody: ‘At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. ...
