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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, 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 eternal~~Memory 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 Saints… We are the HOLY ORTHODOX CATHOLIC CHURCH…

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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

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” —Albert Einstein

~~“People will never come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” —Aldous Huxley~~

“When two men [in business] always agree, one of them is unnecessary.” —William Wrigley Jr., The American Magazine, 1931

“Assume the person you're listening to knows something you don't.” —Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

“I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.” —George Bernard Shaw “Inequality is the price of civilization.” —George Orwell “When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king, the palace becomes a circus.” —Turkish Proverb “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” —George Orwell “The ~~only thing we learn~~ further a society drifts from ~~history is~~ the truth, the more it will hate those that ~~we learn nothing from history~~speak it.” ~~—Friedrich Hegel~~—George Orwell

“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 Party is always right.” —George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

“The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.” —George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

“We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” —George Orwell

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” —George Orwell

“People will never come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” —Aldous Huxley

“The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison.” —Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself.” — Potter Stewart

“Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.” —Mark Twain

“Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings.” —Heinrich Heine

“The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” —Friedrich Hegel

“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” —Edmund Burke

“Those who forget the past, they lose an eye. Those who dwell on the past, they lose both eyes.” —Hungarian Proverb

“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.” —E. M. Cioran “Hard men make good times, good times make soft men, soft men make bad times.” —Alex Jones, Tucker on X, Ep. 46 “[Behold] I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” —J. Robert Oppenheimer (, the Bhagavad Gita, chapter 11 verse 32 ~~of the Bhagavad Gita)~~

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” —John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

“The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.” —H. L. Mencken

“An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.” —Mahatma Gandhi

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.” —Mark Twain

“There's nothing that divides nations like a common language.” —George Bernard Shaw

“Democracy is the dictatorship of the ignorant masses.” —Plato

“Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.” —G. K. Chesterton

“That the dead are as much a part of the present as the unborn is a fundamental conservative idea.” —Armin Mohler

“Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.” —William Wilberforce

“He who strikes terror in others is himself continually in fear.” —Claudius Claudianus

“Ignorance is the cause of fear.” —Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“Who feareth to suffer suffereth already, because he feareth.” —Michel de Montaigne

“…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's 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 woman to establish 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.” —William Samuel Sadler (1875-1969), M.D., F.A.C.S. Director of the Chicago Institute of Research and Diagnosis

“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.” —Thomas Jefferson

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” —Albert Einstein

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” —Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

“Time is a violent torrent; no sooner is a thing brought to sight then it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” —Marcus Aurelius

“The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.” —Marcus Aurelius

“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.” —Lao Tzu

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else. It is about your outlook towards life. You can either regret or rejoice.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Men are, unfortunately generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children.” —William Penn

“The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.” —Fred Astaire

“Political correctness is tyranny with manners.” —Charlton Heston

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.” —C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology (Making of Modern Theology)

“All tyrannies rule through fraud and force, but once the fraud is exposed they must rely exclusively on force.” —George Orwell

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” —William Pitt the Younger

“In the time of heroes and tyrants, the true heroes are the small men.” —unknown

“Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.” —unknown

“Don't try to do two things at once and expect to do justice to both.” —Traditional Proverb

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years.” —Abraham Lincoln

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

“Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.” —John Wooden

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” —Nelson Henderson

“Birds of a feather flock together.” —English Proverb

“Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” —William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 2, Scene 2

“You can want a women for her body, but you can only love her for her character.” —Spanish Proverb

“Silence speaks volumes.” —Traditional Proverb

“Silence is golden.” —Traditional Proverb

“Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together; that at length they may emerge, full-formed and majestic, into the daylight of Life, which they are thenceforth to rule.” —Thomas Carlyle

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” —Mark Twain

“It's easier to fool people then to convince them they have been fooled.” —Mark Twain

“The wise speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something.” —Plato

“We must always takes sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” —Elie Wiesel

“The reason it is difficult is that we have been conditioned to laugh at conspiracy theories, and few people will risk public ridicule by advocating them. On the other hand, to endorse the accidental view is absurd. Almost all of history is an unbroken trail of one conspiracy after another. Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception.” —G. Edward Griffin

“Facts don't care about feelings.” —Ben Shapiro

“Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” —Edward Snowden

“[The best solution to offensive speech is] more speech, not enforced silence.” —Louis Brandeis, US Supreme Court Justice

“I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.” —Voltaire

“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, 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.” —Dr. Randolph Braham, Holocaust Survivor

“Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat.” —Scottish Proverb

“Don't talk to me of female beauty, rather virtues of her soul. A beautiful woman who has not decorated herself with virtue is like a painted coffin.” —St. John Chrysostom

“A wife is appealing not in the beauty of her body, rather for the virtues of her soul, neither in creams and cosmetics, nor gold and expensive clothes, rather chastity, meekness, and abiding awe before God.” —St. John Chrysostom

“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 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 to heaven!” —St. John Chrysostom, Homily 15 on the Statues, 10

“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” —Margaret Mead

“Better to be slapped with the truth than kissed with a lie.” —Russian Proverb

~~“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act~~“Lies written in ink can never disguise facts written in blood.” ~~—George Orwell~~ ~~“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” —George Orwell~~—Lu Xun

“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“The root of all wisdom is knowing what an asshole you are.” —Tucker Carlson, Tucker on X, Ep. 46

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” —Alexander Pope

“It is through error that man tries and rises. It is through tragedy he learns. All the roads of learning begin in darkness and go out into the light.” —Hippocrates of Kos

“When the solution is simple, God is answering.” —Albert Einstein

“There's no mask for a treacherous heart like an honest face.” —Captain Kidd (1945)

“[S]he has an honest face even if it is the result of triumph of plastic surgery.” —The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), s2e13

“Sometimes when you're troubled and hurt, you pour yourself into things that can't hurt back.” —Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

Man never is, but always to be blest:

The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.” —Alexander Pope (, An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733)

“Patriotism is as fierce as a fever, pitiless as the grave, blind as a stone, and irrational as a headless hen.” —Ambrose Bierce

“They knew that the tree is known by its fruit and that injustice corrupts a tree, that its fruit withers and shrivels and falls at last to that dark ground of history where other great hopes have rotted and died, where equality and freedom remains still the only choice for wholeness and soundness in a man or in a nation.” —Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

“Freedom – truthful free speech, open discourse, and debate – is the soil for real science to emerge from which we may uncover truth to identify real problems so as to innovate real solutions for the health of our body, community and world.” —Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” —Abraham Lincoln

“Only the courteous can love, but it is love that makes them courteous.” —C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love

“How long is love blind? Love has eyes and sees. And if love can see, and seeing, you love anyway, that's love.” —Gertrude Berg (, The Goldbergs, s1e10, 1955)

“You never receive love until you learn how to accept it.” —Mr. Roarke (, Fantasy Island, s4e7)

“You never deny love until you learn how to reject it.” —th

“Truth can never be told so as to be understood and not be believed.” —William Blake

“The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of… We know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart.” —Blaise Pascal

“The human heart can see what is hidden to the eyes, and the heart knows things that the mind does not begin to understand.” —They Might Be Giants (1971)

“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 disposal, from which God disposes our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us… It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, 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 seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere.” —Thomas Merton

“I myself am nothing; all that is good in me is accomplished by the grace of God.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“Humility collects the soul into a single point by the power of silence. A truly humble man has no desire to be known or admired by others, but wishes to plunge from himself into himself, to become nothing, as if he had never been born. When he is completely hidden to himself in himself, he is completely with God.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots.” —Frank A. Clark

“And she [Athens] has brought it about that the name "Hellenes" suggests no longer a race but an intelligence, and that the title "Hellenes" is applied rather to those who share our culture then to those who share a common blood.” —Isocrates

“Those who are able to see beyond the shadows and lies of their culture will never be understood, let alone believed by the masses.” —Plato

“He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare; and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What a lot of things there are a man can do without.” —Socrates

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” —Aristotle

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” —Aristotle

“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned,

Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” —William Congreve (, The Mourning Bride, spoken by Zara in Act III, Scene VIII)

“Control thy passions lest they take vengeance on thee.” —Epictetus

That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him

In my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart,

As I do thee.” —William Shakespeare (, Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2, Page 3)

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” —C. S. Lewis

“There are more things in heaven and earth, …

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” —William Shakespeare (, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5, Page 8)

“A philosophical vogue is as irresistible as a gastronomic one: an idea is no better refuted than a sauce.” —E. M. Cioran

“Mankind is made of two kinds of people: wise people who know they're fools, and fools who think they are wise.” —Socrates

“I am indeed amazed when I consider how weak my mind is and how prone to error.” ~~—Descartes~~—René Descartes

“…a…transparent mind, …in no way implies clear thinking.” —Columbo (1971)

“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 allow us to exclude data which lead to the conclusion that the universe, life and man are based on design. To be forced to believe only one conclusion--that everything in the universe happened by chance would violate the very objectivity of science itself.” —Werner Von Braun, Ph.D., the father of the NASA space program

“With me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man's mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy.” —Charles Darwin

“Evolutionary naturalism implies that we should not take any of our convictions seriously, including the scientific world picture on which evolutionary naturalism depends.

That is, naturalism, and therefore atheism, undermines the foundations of the very rationality that is needed to construct or understand or believe in any kind of argument whatsoever, let alone a scientific one.” —Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos

“Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms 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 like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can't trust my own thinking, of course I can't trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.” —C. S. Lewis

“Do not say, ‘this happened by chance, while this came to be of itself.’ In all that exists there is nothing disorderly, nothing indefinite, nothing without purpose, nothing by chance… … How many hairs are on your head? God will not forget one of them. Do you see how nothing, even the smallest thing, escapes the gaze of God?” —St. Basil the Great

“There are no coincidences in life. All things are providential. They are allowed for our salvation, in correspondence with our inner state and needs.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina

“Relativity applies to physics, not ethics.” —Albert Einstein

“When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing – they believe in anything.” —G. K. Chesterton

“Those who stand for nothing, fall for everything.” —Alexander Hamilton

“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” —Rick Warren

“Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good.” —Charles J. Chaput “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, we should respect ~~everyone’s~~ 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.” —Archbishop Stephan (Kalaidjishvili) of Tsageri and Lentekhi, Georgia “Tolerance of falsehood is intolerance to Truth.” —th “Orthodox Christianity is not true because I believe It, I believe It because It is Truth.” —th

“Faithful copies of a counterfeit original yield only more counterfeits.” —unknown

“Seeing, contrary to popular wisdom, isn't believing. It's where belief stops, because it isn't needed any more.” —Terry Pratchett

“To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust Him in the dark – that is faith.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Faith is not the clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart.” —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.” —Malachi 1:11

“God tends the pagans too, but the Christian knows the donor.” —St. Tikhon of Voronezh

“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 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 worship Him. But knowing that ‘the Word was made flesh,’ we recognise the Word existing in the flesh as God.” —St. Athanasius the Great, Ep. ad Adelph., par. 3

“Take, in the next place, the subjection by which you subject the Son to the Father. What, you say, is He not now 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. But look at it in this manner: that as for my sake He was called a curse, who destroyed my curse; and sin, who taketh away the sin of the world; and became a new Adam to take the place of the old, just so He makes my disobedience His own as Head of the whole body.

“The Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, 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 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 to the element water: ‘He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his 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 canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.’” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

“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 the Will in the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. The Father Unbegotten, the Son Begotten, and the Holy Ghost from the Father Proceeding, Co-Eternal to the Father and Son; but That One [i.e. the 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 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 Father Proceeds.” —St. Mochta of Ireland, "Profession of Faith" of St. Mochta ~~[+535AD]~~

“For when we mention the Omnipotent Father, the appelation of this Fatherly Name is directed to the Person of the Son, and when we mention the Eternal Son, He is referred to the Person of the Eternal Father; and when we name the Holy Ghost we demonstrate Him to Proceed from the Person of the Eternal Father.” —St. Mansuetus, Letter of St. Mansuetus (Archbishop of Milan) at 679 Synod of Milan to Emperor Constantine IV ~~[+685AD]~~

“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 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 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, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part 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 light.” —St. Gregory the Theologian, Orations 40.41, as quoted by Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity, 378

“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 in each being particularly, without 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. Maximus the Confessor

“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 conceived of as existing in him and with him, but in these last times of the age since he became flesh, that 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 in a short time by certain ineffable workings of God, increases and is 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 to have given birth to just a part. To take an example, surely no one would say that Elizabeth was only the mother of the flesh, but not the mother of the soul, since she gave birth to the Baptist who was already endowed with a soul? Surely she is 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 the birth of Emmanuel.” —St. Cyril of Alexandria, the chief opponent of Nestorianism, Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy

“The power to bear Mysteries, which the humble man 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 leave Jerusalem until they should receive power from on high, that 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. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 77

“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

“‘And my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’ (John 14:23). My friends, consider the greatness of this solemn feast that commemorates God's coming as a guest into our hearts! If some rich and influential friend were to 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 wrongdoing has brought into them.” —St. Gregory the Great, on Pentecost in Be Friends of God

The three persons of the Holy Trinity constitute the eternal Church.” —St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia, Wounded by Love

~~“In~~ “Christ, invisible to the ~~history of~~ bodily eye, manifests Himself on earth clearly through His Church … The Church is the ~~human race there have been three principal falls: that~~ Body of ~~Adam, that of Judas,~~ Christ both because its parts are united to Christ through His divine mysteries and ~~that of~~ because through her Christ works in the ~~pope~~world.” —St. ~~Justin Popovich~~John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco

~~“But~~ “How does the ~~Church~~ Liturgy begin? ‘Blessed is the kingdom of ~~God is not subject to a wicked pope; nor even absolutely~~the Father, and ~~on all occasions~~of the Son, ~~to a good one~~and of the Holy Spirit.~~” —Archbishop Arnulf~~ Amen.’ …What is this kingdom, which is blessed, glorified, honored…? It is the kingdom of ~~Orléans~~heaven, ~~Synod~~ the kingdom of ~~Verzy~~God. It is paradise, ~~991~~in which Christ has placed us; it is our holy Church. Its king is the God of three suns: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

~~“They [Rome] do not know~~ The servants of the king are the angels and archangels, along with the thrones, principalities, authorities, dominions, powers, the many-eyed cherubim, and ~~do not wish~~ 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 ~~know~~ follow Christ, whatever the ~~truth~~cost; ~~they argue with~~ all those who ~~proclaim the truth~~ are ready to ~~them~~bear His honorable Name, ~~and assert their heresy~~all those who make up His Church.~~” —St. Basil~~ All of them… are with us during the ~~Great, letter to Eusebius~~ celebration of ~~Samosata~~the Liturgy…

~~“When we Greeks find fault~~ During the celebration of the Liturgy, Christ is with us exactly as he was when he was teaching, when he made the lame leap and walk, the ~~filioque~~blind see, ~~they shake Peter's keys at us… … Nevertheless differences of custom~~ and ~~usage are no sufficient ground for schism~~the dead return to life. ~~Experience shows that arguing about azyma~~ And this is not simply having the memory of Christ within our thoughts, but having Christ Himself truly and ~~Lenten fasts gets nowhere~~concretely present before us. ~~The Greeks should be accommodating and make concessions to~~ He is present – He, the teacher, the ~~ignorant western barbarians~~prophet, ~~hoping that in time they will correct their errors to conform to~~ the ~~apostolic tradition stemming from Jerusalem~~miracle-worker.~~” —Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid~~Christ Who was crucified, ~~The Errors of~~ Who was raised from the ~~Latins in Ecclesiastical Matters~~dead, Who ascended into heaven, is now before us! …

~~“Even if~~ The priest turns his eyes to heaven, and calls the ~~whole universe holds communion with~~ things of heaven down to earth. He commands the ~~[heretical] patriarch~~cherubim, ~~I will not communicate with him. For I know from~~ the ~~writings of~~ seraphim, even the ~~holy Apostle Paul:~~ Holy Trinity, because God gives the ~~Holy Spirit declares that even~~ priest the ~~angels would be anathema if they should begin~~ power to ~~preach another Gospel~~have rights over Jesus Christ. Because He is not visibly present, ~~introducing some new teaching~~Christ delegates His work to His priests.~~” —St. Maximus~~ And when the priest is in the ~~Confessor~~sanctuary, ~~The Life~~ he is beyond every earthly ruler, for he does not govern men, but rather the choirs of ~~St. Maximus~~ saints and the ~~Confessor~~armies of angels…

~~“Those~~ …Saint Gregory Palamas said that the church ‘resides on high, being an angelic and transcendent place’ which ‘raises man to heaven and presents him to the God who ~~do not belong to~~ is above all’ …When we enter church… we are traversing the ~~Truth do not belong~~ distance from earth to heaven. We pass beyond the ~~Church of Christ either; and all~~ stars, we leave the ~~more so, if they speak falsely of themselves by calling themselves, or calling each other~~angels below us, ~~holy pastors~~ and ~~hierarchs; [for it has been instilled in us that] Christianity is characterized not by persons, but by~~ we rise up to the ~~truth and exactitude~~ heights of ~~Faith~~the Holy Trinity.~~” —St. Gregory Palamas~~

~~“Chrysostomos loudly declares not only heretics~~Don't think that when we go to church, we are simply entering and exiting an ordinary building. Instead, we go up 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 we enter into the Liturgy, ~~but also those who~~ we go up to the heavenly Jerusalem… So we have ~~communion with them,~~ come to ~~be enemies~~ the church… Let nothing disturb the tranquility of your soul. Godis present.Wherever we look, God is before us!” ~~—St~~—Archimandrite Aimilianos, The Church at Prayer, pp. ~~Theodore the Studite~~54, 56-57, 69, ~~Epistle of Abbot Theophilus~~71-72.

~~“Some have suffered final shipwreck with regard~~ “Whosoever should ever call himself a bishop over all bishops or a universal bishop shall be the forerunner to the ~~faith. Others, though they have not drowned in their thoughts, are nevertheless perishing through communion with heresy~~Antichrist.” ~~—St~~—Pope St. ~~Theodore~~ Gregory (I) the ~~Studite~~Great (Gregory the Dialogist), Forty Gospel Homilies

~~“Guard yourselves from soul-destroying heresy~~“And so I, ~~communion with which is alienation from~~ by the will of God Allmighty the Bishop of Rome, am the Universal Bishop, the Bishop over Bishops, the only Vicar of Christon Earth.” ~~—St. Theodore the Studite~~—Pope Gregory VII, Dictatus Papae

~~“It~~ “We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is ~~better to have discord~~ absolutely necessary for ~~piety’s sake, than harmony full~~ the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the ~~passions~~Roman Pontiff.” ~~—St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration 6, PG 35~~—Pope Boniface VIII, ~~736~~Bull Unam Sanctam

~~“All~~ “Even if the ~~teachers of the Church~~Pope were Satan incarnate, ~~and all the Councils~~we ought not to raise up our heads against him, ~~and all the Divine Scriptures advise us~~ but calmly lie down to ~~flee from the heterodox and separate from their communion.” —St~~rest on his bosom. ~~Mark of Ephesus~~

~~“‘But if~~He who rebels against our Father is condemned to death,~~’ they say, ‘we had devised some middle ground between the dogmas (of the Papists and the Orthodox), then thanks~~ for that which we do to ~~this~~ him we ~~would have united with them and accomplished our business superbly, without at all having been forced~~ do to ~~say anything except what corresponds to custom and has been handed down (by~~ Christ: we honor Christ if we honor the ~~Fathers).’ This is precisely the means by which many, from of old, have been deceived and persuaded to follow those who have led them off the steep precipice of impiety~~Pope; ~~believing that there is some middle ground between~~ we dishonor Christ if we dishonor the ~~two teachings that can reconcile obvious contradictions, they have been exposed to peril.” —St~~Pope. ~~Mark of Ephesus, Encyclical Letter, Orthodox Word, March-April-May, 1967~~

~~“Whoever preserves himself from them (~~I know very well that many defend themselves by boasting: ‘They are so corrupt, and work all manner of evil!’ But God has commanded that, even if the priests, the ~~Latins)~~ pastors, and Christ-on-earth were incarnate devils, we be obedient and ~~keeps his faith pure will stand rejoicing at~~ subject to them, not for their sakes, but for the ~~right hand~~ sake of God, ~~but whoever willfully draws close~~ and out of obedience to ~~them will stand weeping bitterly with them on the left~~Him.” —Catherine of Siena, ‘St. ~~For there is no eternal life for those living in the faith~~ Catherine of Siena’, SCS, pp. 201-202, p. 222 (‘Canonized’ by the ~~Latins or the Saracens…~~RC ‘Church’ in 1461)

~~If someone says to you~~“In the history of the human race there have been three principal falls: ~~‘Both your and our faith are from God’~~that of Adam, ~~you child, must reply to him as follows: ‘Who are you, you heretic? Do you think~~ that ~~God has two faiths? Have you not heard~~of Judas, ~~accursed~~ and ~~perverted as you are by an evil faith~~ that ~~which is written: Thus saith~~ of the ~~Lord: one Lord, one faith, one baptism…’~~pope.” —St. Justin Popovich

~~Thus they~~ “But the Church of ~~evil faith, after holding~~ God is not subject to ~~the Orthodox faith for so many years~~a wicked pope; nor even absolutely, ~~have turned away to an evil faith~~ and on all occasions, to ~~Satan's teaching…~~a good one.” —Archbishop Arnulf of Orléans, Synod of Verzy, 991

~~They have renounced the preaching of the apostles~~ “They [Rome] do not know and do not wish to know the ~~edification of~~ truth; they argue with those who proclaim the ~~holy fathers~~truth to them, and ~~have accepted a faith based on error and a perverted dogma leading to perdition~~assert their heresy. ~~Therefore, they have been torn away from us and set apart…”~~ ” —St. ~~Theodosius~~ Basil the Great, letter to Eusebius of ~~Kiev, 11th century~~Samosata

“That only the canonical Scriptures have infallibility is testified by Blessed Augustine in the words which he writes to Jerome: ‘It is fitting to bestow such honour and veneration only to the books of Scripture which are called 'canonical,' for I absolutely believe that none of the authors who wrote them erred in anything. … As for other writings, no matter how great was the excellence of their authors in sanctity and learning, in reading them I do not accept their teaching as true solely on the basis that they thus wrote and thought.’ Then, in a letter to Fortunatus “The Greeks [~~St. Mark continues in his citations of Augustine~~Orthodox] ~~he writes the following: ‘We should~~ … are not ~~hold~~ heretics or schismatics but the ~~judgment of a man, even though this man might have been orthodox~~ most Christian people and ~~had an high reputation, as~~ the ~~same kind~~ best followers of ~~authority as~~ the ~~canonical Scriptures~~gospel on earth.” —Martin Luther, ~~to the extent of considering it inadmissible for us~~Luther, ~~out of the reverence we owe such men~~Martin (1999), ~~to disapprove and reject something in their writing if we should happen to discover that they taught other than the truth which, with God~~Luther's ~~help~~Works, ~~has been attained by others or by ourselves~~Vol. ~~This is how I am with regard to the writings~~ 32: Career of ~~other men; and I desire that~~ the ~~reader will act thus with regard to my writings also~~Reformer II, J.~~’” —St~~J. ~~Mark of Ephesus~~Pelikan, ~~Second Homily on Purgatorial Fire~~H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, ~~chs~~Ed. ~~15-16; Pogodin~~, ~~pp. 127-132~~59, Philadelphia: Fortress Press

~~“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~~ “When we Greeks find fault with the ~~world~~filioque, they ~~would not disown the truth~~ shake Peter's keys at us… … Nevertheless differences of ~~the value~~ custom and ~~the spiritual richness of Church Tradition and of the Holy Fathers~~usage are no sufficient ground for schism. 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 world, we give the bread, we give the happiness on this earth. Jesus must be arrested again not to disturb our march. Eliminating God from the world Experience shows that arguing about azyma and ~~of the soul in any way – this is the goal of the Ecumenism also repelled by Saint Justin Popovich~~Lenten fasts gets nowhere. The ~~Ecumenism~~ Greeks should be accommodating and ~~the globalization are at the forefront of the apocalyptic times. They want~~ make concessions to ~~accustom the eye and the spirit of the Orthodox with~~ the ~~habit to serve together with these heretics~~ignorant western barbarians, ~~until~~ hoping that in time they ~~get to have Communion from the same chalice. Because this could give them the right to build~~ will correct their ~~own churches. But no, they want strategically~~ errors to ~~compromise the shrines and the faint hearted priests who are quick~~ conform 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~~ apostolic tradition stemming from ~~Christ Who is the Path, the Truth and the Life~~Jerusalem. The Ecumenists will not fulfill anything. You can not change the reality according to the human interests. The divine reality remains the same in every age. The Holy Spirit speaks through the mouths of the bearers ” —Blessed Theophylact of ~~God~~Ochrid, ~~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 nation. Questions are not posed and answers are not given, and people take for granted everything that has been written at the official level. But, by not solving these dogmatic problems the untruth slowly settles in our Orthodox Christian Church. All the Ecumenical attempts Errors of ~~unifying the other Christian communities found in heresy,~~ the ~~dialogues which have developed~~ Latins 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 JustinEcclesiastical Matters

~~“In our evil time~~“For Petra (Rock) is not derived from Peter, ~~when the servants of the coming Antichrist are putting forth all their efforts so~~ but Peter from Petra; just as ~~to undermine and replace authentic Orthodoxy with a false ‘Orthodoxy’ - an Orthodoxy only in name, there have appeared~~ Christ is not ~~a few ‘pastors’ also who bear only~~ called so from the ~~name of Orthodox~~ Christian, but ~~deny~~ the ~~authentic power and spirit of true Orthodoxy~~Christian from Christ. ~~Precisely such false pastors filled up~~ For on this very account the ~~ranks~~ 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 Rock (~~Soviet~~Petra) ~~‘Living Church’~~ was Christ; and ~~the ‘Renovationist Church’ clergy in our Russia~~on this Foundation was Peter himself also built. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus.” —St.Augustine of Hippo, Tractate, CXXIV

~~But~~ “There is nothing more serious than 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 Russian soil, ceasing their official existence. However, the spirit of the ‘Living Church’ and ‘Renovationalism’ has not died, but has continued and up until now continues to live among us also in the Russian homeland, which has been enslaved by the godless, and also abroad among all the Orthodox Local Churches who have become infected with this~~pestilential spirit, not without,~~ sacrilege of ~~course,~~ schism because there is no just cause for severing the ~~most strenuous cooperation of those same servants~~ unity of the ~~coming Antichrist~~Church.” —St. Augustine of Hippo

~~These pseudo-pastors~~“Do not fear sorrows, ~~modernists and ecumenists, in place~~ but fear the stubbornness of ~~true Orthodoxy, preach and insistently propagandize~~ heretics who try to separate a ~~false Orthodoxy~~man from Christ, ~~flattering all the sinful passions and vices of fallen man - striving in everything~~ which is why Christ commanded us to ~~go in step with the times~~ consider them as pagans and ~~to adapt the Christian to the ‘world which lies in evil,’ under all possible cunning and well sounding pretexts~~pharisees. ~~Everywhere now they are seizing the reigns of government in the contemporary Orthodox Local Churches~~” —St. ~~They are striving to play everywhere the leading guiding role, and often they have success, for they skillfully and cunningly make themselves seem to be zealots~~ Anatoly of ~~Orthodoxy.~~Optina

~~But their actual aim~~ “This is ~~to undermine true Orthodoxy by a false ‘Orthodoxy,’ in order to make it come about, in~~ how you have union with the ~~expression of Christ the Savior, ‘that the salt has lost its savor’ (Matthew 5~~Roman Catholics and Protestants:~~13), that it might lose its saltiness - that it might lose its spirit and power~~you baptize them. ~~This is a special kind~~ ” —Bishop Luke of ~~battle against the Church!~~Syracuse

~~Behold of what a frightful undertaking (of which) we are~~ “…anyone joining the Church ought to become renewed [by baptism], in order that within, through the ~~living~~ holy elements, he become sanctified… There being but one baptism, and ~~immediate witnesses! By all means~~ there being but one Holy Spirit, there is also but one Church, founded by Christ our Lord… And for this reason whatever they [heterodox] do is false and empty and vain, everything being ~~conducted in~~ counterfeit and unauthorized… And to those who from error and crookedness come for knowledge of the ~~world a frightful battle against~~ true and ecclesiastic faith we ought to give freely the ~~Faith~~ mystery of ~~Christ~~divine power, ~~by a path~~ of ~~falsification~~ unity as well as of faith, and ~~imitations!~~of truth.” —St. Cyprian of Carthage, Third Holy Council held under St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Reception of the Heterodox, p. 81

…“Holy priests, you must have large baptismal fonts in your churches so that the 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 from there (~~this~~the dry area) ~~truly most frightful~~ that the devil advances, and ~~nightmarish phenomenon (~~this is~~) something more frightful than open atheism and warfare against God~~why your children become epileptics, are possessed by demons, have fear, suffer misfortune; they haven't been baptized properly.” —St. Kosmas Aitolos, ~~(for it) threatens to destroy our holy Orthodoxy from~~ On the Reception of the ~~root~~Heterodox, ~~having corrupted it from within…” —Vladyka Averky of Jordanville~~p. 49

~~“Being born, then, of~~ “One Baptism has been handed down to us Orthodox Christians (Ephesians 4:4) by our Lord as well as by the divine Apostles and the holy Fathers; because the ~~light of truth, shun division~~ Cross and ~~bad doctrines. Where~~ the ~~shepherd is, there you, being sheep, must follow. For many wolves there are, apparently worthy~~ Death of ~~confidence~~the Lord, ~~who with~~ in the ~~bait~~ type or similitude of ~~baneful pleasure seek to capture the runners in God's race;~~ which baptism is celebrated, were but ~~if you stand united they will have no success…” —St~~one. ~~Ignatius of Antioch~~

~~“We~~ For this reason the present Apostolic Canon prescribes that any Bishop or Priest will be deposed should he baptize a second time anew and beginning all ~~want God to give unity of faith to the world. But you are confusing things~~over again someone who has been truly baptize as though he were dealing with one utterly unbaptized.

~~The reconciliation~~ This is in accordance with the order given by the Lord and which was spoken of ~~people~~ by the Apostles and divine Fathers. He shall be deposed if he rebaptizes someone who has been baptized in the very same manner as Orthodox Christians, because with this second baptism he is ~~one thing, while~~ re-crucifying and publicly ridiculing the ~~reconciliation~~ Son of ~~religions~~ God, which St. Paul says is impossible, and he is ~~another. Christianity requires all of us~~ offering a second death to ~~love everyone with all our hearts~~the Lord, over whom death no longer has dominion (Hebrews 6:4; Romans 6:5), ~~whatever faith they may have~~according to the same St. Paul.

At Likewise in the ~~same time we are ordered~~ event that any Bishop or Priest should refuse to ~~keep our faith and doctrines intact~~baptize with the regular Orthodox baptism of the Catholic Church one who has been polluted, that is a person who has been baptized by the impious, or in plain language, baptized by heretics. ~~As Christians you must~~ Such a Bishop is to be ~~merciful to~~ deposed, since he is mocking the Cross and death of the ~~whole world, to all people~~Lord. ~~Even your life you should give on their behalf~~” —St.Nikodemos the Hagiorite

~~But you have~~ “This food is called among us the Eucharist, of which no ~~right~~ one is allowed to ~~touch~~ partake but the ~~truths of Christ. Because they~~ one who believes that the things we teach are ~~not yours. The faith~~ true, and who has been washed with baptism for the forgiveness of ~~Christ~~ sins, and who is ~~not our property to do with it~~ living his life as ~~we wish~~Christ has commanded.” —St. ~~Nikolai Velimirovich~~Justin the Martyr

~~“We do not change~~ “Even if the ~~boundaries marked out by our Fathers. We keep~~ whole universe holds communion with the ~~Tradition we have received~~[heretical] patriarch, I will not communicate with him. ~~If we begin to lay down~~ For I know from the ~~Law~~ writings of the ~~Church~~ holy Apostle Paul: the Holy Spirit declares that even in the ~~smallest things~~angels would be anathema if they should begin to preach another Gospel, ~~the whole edifice will fall to the ground in no short time~~introducing some new teaching.” —St. ~~John~~ Maximus the Confessor, The Life of ~~Damascus~~St. Maximus the Confessor

~~“Finally, in~~ “Those who do not belong to the ~~twilight of history,~~ Truth do not belong to the ~~dictator~~ Church of Christ either; and all the ~~world will come~~more so, ~~the son~~ if they speak falsely of ~~perdition… whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth (2 Thess. 2:8). And~~ themselves by calling themselves, or calling each other, holy pastors and hierarchs; [for it has been instilled in ~~all~~ us that ~~time of peace~~] Christianity is characterized not by persons, ~~happiness~~ but by the truth 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~~ exactitude of ~~these troubles, many will repent and turn to God the Saviour~~Faith. ~~And in them the Lord will have His last harvest~~” —St.Gregory Palamas

~~The countries~~ “Faith is the unreserved acceptance of divine revelation and the ~~world will lead~~ full conviction that all things preached by the ~~fight against Christ and His Church… The Church~~ grace of ~~Christ will be put outside~~ God constitute the ~~law, and public commemoration of Christ's name will be proscribed with severe penalties~~only truth. ~~But only those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved~~” —St. ~~And~~ Basil the ~~Son of Man~~Great, On Faith, ~~when He suddenly comes and destroys the ‘son of perdition’ [i~~PG 31.e677D-680A. ~~Antichrist], that last tyrant, will He find faith on the earth?~~

~~It will be found, but~~ “Chrysostomos loudly declares not ~~in public. It will be found~~only heretics, but ~~not in magnificent temples, such as are present, but in the caves and deserts. It will be found, but not as approved and protected~~also those who have communion with them, ~~but as something tossed~~ to ~~and fro. It will~~ be ~~found, but not in lavish liturgies and psalmody but in the temples~~ enemies of ~~the human heart and in whispered speakings. For the Church began in Martyrdom, and in the end there She will find Martyrdom, O holy brethren~~God.” —St. ~~Nikolai Velimirovich~~Theodore the Studite, ~~The Orthodox Church in the "twilight~~ Epistle of ~~history"~~Abbot Theophilus

~~“So mine is a little flock? But it is not being carried over a precipice~~“Some have suffered final shipwreck with regard to the faith. ~~So mine is a narrow fold? But it is unapproachable by wolves; it cannot be entered by a robber, nor overcome by thieves and strangers. I shall yet see it, I know well~~Others, ~~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~~ though they ~~that know God and are known of God. My sheep hear from my voice that which I~~ have ~~heard from the oracles of God, which I have been taught 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;~~ drowned in ~~which I was born~~their thoughts, ~~and in which I will depart~~are nevertheless perishing through communion with heresy.” —St. ~~Gregory~~ Theodore the ~~Theologian~~Studite

“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 “Guard yourselves 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 desiresoul-destroying heresy, ~~in any manner and absolutely, and do not accept~~ communion with ~~him or with those who are with him, 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 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 is alienation 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 ChurchChrist.” —St. ~~Mark of Ephesus, The Example of, [as quoted in The Orthodox Word, June-July, 1967, pp. 103ff.]~~Theodore the Studite

~~“With all our strength let us beware lest we receive Communion from or give it to heretics. ‘Give not what~~ “It is ~~holy~~ better to ~~the dogs~~have discord for piety’s sake,~~’ says~~ than harmony full of the ~~Lord. ‘Neither cast ye your pearls before swine’, lest we become partakers in their dishonour and condemnation~~passions.” —St. ~~John of Damascus~~Gregory the Theologian, ~~Exposition of the Orthodox Faith~~Oration 6, IVPG 35, 13736

~~“In sum,~~ “All the ~~Ecumenical Patriarchate, in theory embracing almost~~ teachers of the ~~whole universe and in fact extending its authority only over several dioceses~~Church, and ~~in other places having only a higher superficial supervision and receiving certain revenues for this, persecuted by~~ all the ~~government at 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 division~~Councils, and at all the ~~same time being possessed by an exorbitant love of power--represents a pitiful spectacle which recalls~~ Divine Scriptures advise us to flee from the ~~worst periods in the history of the See of Constantinople~~heterodox and separate from their communion.” —St. ~~John (Maximovitch)~~ Mark of ~~Shanghai and San Francisco, from Orthodox Word, vol. 8, no. 4 (45), July-August 1972, pp. 166-168, 174-175.~~Ephesus

~~“The Lord of all gave to His apostles the power of the gospel~~“Therefore, ~~and~~ in so far as this is what has been commanded you by ~~them we also have learned~~ the ~~truth~~Holy Apostles, ~~that is~~stand aright, hold firmly to the ~~teaching of the Son of God—as the Lord said to them, ‘He who hears~~ traditions which you ~~hears Me~~have received, both written 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~~ word of ~~God handed it down to us in Scriptures~~mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:15), to that you be ~~the foundation and pillar~~ not deprived of ~~our faith. For it is not right to say that they preached before they had come to perfect knowledge, as some dare to say, boasting that they~~ your firmness if you are led away by the ~~correctors~~ delusions of the ~~apostles~~lawless. 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 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. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, III

“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 apostlesMay God, 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 secretWho is all-powerful, ~~they would rather have committed~~ make them also to ~~those to whom they entrusted the churches. For they wished those men to be perfect~~ know their delusion; and ~~unbelievable whom they laughed~~ having delivered us from them as ~~their successors~~ from evil tares, may He gather us into His granaries like pure and ~~to whom they handed over their own office of authority. But as it would be very tedious~~useful wheat, in ~~a book of this sort~~Jesus Christ our Lord, to ~~enumerate the successions in~~ Whom belongs all ~~the churches~~glory, ~~we can found all those who in any way~~honor, ~~whether for self-pleasing~~and worship, ~~or vainglory, or blindness, or evil mindedness, hold on authorized meetings. This we do by pointing to the apostolic tradition and the faith that~~ with His Father Who is ~~preached to men~~without beginning, ~~which has come down to us through the successions of bishops; the tradition~~ and ~~creed of the greatest,~~ His All-holy and ~~most ancient church, the church known to all men, which was founded~~ Good and ~~set up at Rome by the two men most glorious apostles~~Life-giving Spirit, ~~Peter~~ now and ~~Paul. For with this church, because of its position of leadership~~ ever and ~~authority, must needs agree every church, that is,~~ unto the ~~faithful everywhere; for in her the apostolic tradition has always been preserved by the faithful from all parts~~ages of ages. Amen.” —St. ~~Irenaeus~~ Mark of ~~Lyons, Against Heresies, III~~Ephesus

~~"True Christianity is glorifying God~~ “‘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 united with them and accomplished our ~~own lives~~business superbly, without at all having been forced to say anything except what corresponds to custom and has been handed down (by the Fathers). ~~To glorify God with our own life~~ ’ This is ~~possible only when we~~ precisely the means by which many, from of old, have ~~true faith~~ been deceived and ~~when~~ persuaded to follow those who have led them off the steep precipice of impiety; believing that ~~faith indeed exists~~there is some middle ground between the two teachings that can reconcile obvious contradictions, ~~we express it in words and in deeds~~they have been exposed to peril.” —St. ~~John (Maximovitch)~~ Mark of ~~Shanghai and San Francisco~~Ephesus, Encyclical Letter, Orthodox Word, March-April-May, 1967

~~“I will tell you my opinion briefly and without reserve. We ought to remain in that Church which was founded by~~ “Whoever preserves himself from them (the ~~Apostles~~ Latins) and ~~continues to this day. If ever you hear of any that are called Christians taking their name not from~~ keeps his faith pure will stand rejoicing at the ~~Lord Jesus Christ, but from some other, for instance, Marcionites, Valentinians, Men~~ right hand of ~~the mountain or the plain, you may be sure that you have there not the Church of Christ~~God, but whoever willfully draws close to them will stand weeping bitterly with them on the ~~synagogue of Antichrist~~left. For there is no eternal life for those living in the ~~fact that they took their rise after the foundation~~ faith of the ~~Church is proof that they are those whose coming~~ Latins or the ~~Apostle foretold.~~Saracens…

~~And let them not flatter themselves if they think they have Scripture authority for their assertions~~My son, ~~since the devil himself quoted Scripture, and the essence of the Scriptures~~ it is not ~~the letter, but the meaning~~appropriate to praise another's faith. Whoever praises an alien faith is like a detractor of his own Orthodox faith. ~~Otherwise~~If anyone should praise his own and another's faith, ~~if we follow the letter, we too can concoct~~ then he is a ~~new dogma~~ man of dual faith and ~~assert that such persons as wear shoes~~ is close to heresy. If anyone should say to you: ‘Your faith and ~~have~~ our faith is from God,’ you, my son, should reply: ‘Who are you, you heretic? Do you consider God to be of two ~~coats must~~ faiths? Have you not ~~be received into~~ heard, accursed and perverted as you are by an evil faith that which is written: Thus saith the ~~Church.” —St. Jerome~~Lord: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism’ (Ephesians 4:5)?…

~~“Sometimes Japanese protestants come~~ Thus they of evil faith, after holding to me the Orthodox faith for so many years, have turned away to an evil faith and ~~ask me~~ to ~~clarify some place in the Holy Scriptures.~~Satan's teaching…

~~"You~~ They have ~~your own missionary teachers~~renounced the preaching of the apostles and the edification of the holy fathers,~~" I tell them~~and have accepted a faith based on error and a perverted dogma leading to perdition. Therefore, ~~"Go ask them. What do~~ they ~~say?" "We~~ have ~~asked them~~been torn away from us and set apart…” —St. ~~They say: understand as you know how. But I need~~ Theodosius of Kiev Caves, Testament to ~~know~~ the ~~real thought~~ Great Prince Izyaslav of ~~God, not my own personal opinion."~~Kiev

~~…It's not like that with us. Everything~~ “It is ~~clear, trustworthy and simple, since we accept Holy Tradition in addition~~ impossible to recall peace without dissolving the ~~Holy Scriptures. And Holy Tradition is a living, unbroken voice~~ cause of ~~our Church from~~ the ~~time of Christ and His Apostles until now, and which will exist until~~ schism – the ~~end~~ primacy of the ~~world. In it all the meaning of the Holy Scriptures are preserved~~Pope exalting himself equal to God.” —St. ~~Nicholas~~ Mark of ~~Japan~~Ephesus

~~“It~~ “The Holy Spirit is ~~Christ Himself, not~~ nowhere to be found among them (the ~~Bible~~Papists), ~~Who is the true word of God~~because their mysteries are graceless. ~~The Bible, read in the right spirit and with the guidance~~ ” —Dositheos of ~~good teachers, will bring us to Him. We must not use the Bible as a sort of encyclopedia out of which texts can be taken for use as weapons.” —C. S. Lewis~~Jerusalem

~~“The humility of Jesus is not a superfluous detail in the gospel narrative. The humility of Jesus is essential to the gospel. If Jesus lacked humility, there would be no incarnation, no crucifixion,~~ “Holy Orthodoxy has two eternal enemies: Mecca and ~~no redemption~~Rome.” ~~—Jack Wisdom~~—St. Kosmas Aitolos

~~“A false interpretation of Scripture causes that~~ “You should curse the ~~gospel of the Lord becomes the gospel of man, or, which is worse~~Pope, of because he will be the ~~devil~~cause.” —St. ~~Jerome~~Kosmas Aitolos

~~“How long shall we continue in this manner~~“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’, ~~our intellect reduced to futility~~as some erroneously contend, ~~failing to make~~ but the ~~spirit~~ totality of the ~~Gospel~~ Saints of our ~~own,~~ Church who dealt with this issue unanimously conclude that Papism is heresy. There is not ~~knowing what it means to live according to~~ one Saint of our ~~conscience~~Church – no, ~~making no serious effort to keep it pure?~~not one – who contends that Papism is not a heresy.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Mark~~ Anastasios Gotsopoulos, On Common Prayer with the ~~Ascetic~~Heterodox

~~“It is self evident~~“The Anglican Communion ignores the Orthodox Church's dogmas and teachings, ~~however, that sincere Christians who are Roman Catholics, or Lutherans, or members~~ such as the invocation of ~~other non-Orthodox confessions~~Saints, ~~cannot be termed renegades or heretics—i.e. those who knowingly pervert~~ prayers for the ~~truth… They have been born and raised and are living according~~ dead, special honor to the ~~creed which they have inherited, just as do~~ Blessed Virgin Mary the ~~majority~~ Mother of ~~you who are Orthodox; in their lives there has not been a moment~~ God, and reverence for sacred relics, holy pictures and icons. They say of ~~personal~~ such teaching that it is ‘a foul thing, vainly invented, and ~~conscious renunciation~~ grounded upon no warranty of ~~Orthodoxy. The Lord~~Scripture, ~~‘Who will have all men~~ but rather repugnant to ~~be saved’ (I Tim. 2:4) and ‘Who enlightens every man born into~~ the ~~world’~~ word of God’ (~~Jn. 1.43~~Article of Religion, XXII)~~, undoubtedly is leading them also towards salvation in His own way~~.~~” —Metropolitan Philaret of New York~~

~~“You ask, will the heterodox be saved… Why do you worry about them? They have~~ There is a ~~Saviour Who desires~~ striking variance between their wording of the ~~salvation~~ Nicene Creed and that of ~~every human being. He will take care~~ the Holy Orthodox Church; but sadder still, it contains the heresy 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 forever~~‘filioque.~~” —St. Theophan the Recluse~~’

~~“The~~ I do not deem it necessary to mention all the striking differences between the Holy Orthodox ~~confess~~ Church and the Anglican Communion in reference to the authority of Holy Tradition, the number of the General Councils, etc. Sufficient has already been said and pointed out to show that ~~SHE IS~~ the ~~One~~Anglican Communion differs but little from all other Protestant bodies, and, therefore, there cannot be any intercommunion until she returns to the ancient HolyOrthodox Faith and practices, ~~Universal (katholikos)~~ and ~~Apostolic Ecclesia! Any other model is gnostic~~rejects Protestant omissions and commissions.~~” —St. Irenaeus of Lyons~~

~~“Orthodoxy is what Christ taught~~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 I have fed the ‘flock of God’ (I St. Peter 5:2), as I have been commissioned by the Holy Orthodox Church, and inasmuch as the Anglican Communion (Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States) does not differ in things vital to the well being of the Holy Orthodox Church from some of the most errant Protestant sects, I direct all Orthodox people residing in any community not to seek or to accept the ministrations of the Sacraments and rites from any clergy excepting those of the Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, for the Apostolic command, that the ~~apostles preached~~Orthodox should not commune in ecclesiastical matters with those who are not of ‘the same household of Faith’ (Galatians 6:10), is clear: ‘Any Bishop; or presbyter or deacon who will pray with heretics, let him be anathematized; and if he allows them as clergymen to perform any service, let him be deposed’ (Apostolic Canon 45). ‘Any bishop, or presbyter, who accepts baptism or the ~~Fathers kept~~Holy Sacrifice from heretics, we order such to be deposed, for ‘what concord hath Christ with Belial, or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?’’ (Apostolic Canon 46).~~” —St~~”—St. ~~Athanasius~~ Raphael of ~~Alexandria~~Brooklyn, On the Anglican Communion

~~“He~~ “If a Bishop or Priest baptize anew anyone that has had a true baptism, or fail to baptize anyone that has been polluted by the impious, let him be deposed, on the ground that he is ~~‘the same yesterday~~ mocking the Cross and ~~today~~ Death of the Lord and ~~forever’ (Hebrews 13:8). Orthodox Christians are committed~~ for failing to ~~the truth claim of the Christian Faith not as ideology but as an expression of holiness~~distinguish priests from pseudo-priests.” ~~—Rev. Dr. George C. Papademetriou, An Orthodox Reflection on Truth & Tolerance~~—Apostolic Canon 47

~~“The beginning of theology is not~~ “Whosoever has fallen from the ~~card catalogue, but doing battle against the passions; and the end of theology is not becoming a professor, but becoming~~ True Faith cannot be called a ~~saint~~Christian.” ~~—Dr~~—St. ~~David Fagerberg~~Athanasius the Great

~~“Only~~ “The heretics obey the ~~Religion of Christ unites and all of us must pray that~~ demons; they ~~come to this. Thus union will occur~~honor falsehood, ~~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 not related~~ at every moment they provoke God to ~~other religions~~anger.” —St. ~~Porphyrios~~ Symeon the ~~Kapsokalyvite~~New Theologian

~~“Orthodoxy~~ “Ecumenism is ~~life~~the common name for the pseudo-Christianity of the pseudo-churches of Western Europe. Within it is the heart of European humanism, with Papism as its head. All of pseudo-Christianity, all of those pseudo-churches, are nothing more than one ~~must not talk about it~~heresy after another. Their common evangelical name is: ‘pan-heresy.’ Why? This is because through the course of history various heresies denied or deformed certain aspects of the God-Man and Lord Jesus 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, ~~one must live it~~whose name is ‘Legion’.” —St. ~~Nektary of Optina~~Justin Popovich

~~“Orthodoxy can't~~ “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 dwell within the saving enclosure of His True Church. It is here, in faithful and fervent following of the unchanging Orthodox path – and not in the dazzling ‘Ecumenical’ union with the new unbelievers that is pursued by Orthodox modernists – that our salvation is to be ~~comfortable unless it is fake~~found.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina

~~“As for all those who pretend~~ “Orthodoxy has one thing to ~~confess sound Orthodox Faith~~say to the ecumenical movement: here is the truth, ~~but are in communion with people who hold different opinion, if they are forewarned and still~~ join yourself to it; to remain ~~stubborn, you must~~ to ‘discuss’ this truth not ~~only be in communion with them~~merely weakens the Orthodox witness, ~~but you must NOT even call them brothers~~it destroys it.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Basil the Great~~Seraphim Rose of Platina

~~“Today~~“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, ~~while~~ they would not disown the truth of the value and the ~~overall teachings~~ 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 ~~under attack~~ only their ego. No, we don’t need You. We lead the world, we rule the world, we give the bread, we give the happiness on this earth. Jesus must be arrested again not to disturb our march. Eliminating God from the world and of the soul in any way – this is the ~~shipwrecks~~ goal of ~~Faith~~ the Ecumenism also repelled by Saint Justin Popovich. The Ecumenism and the globalization are ~~numerous,~~ at the ~~mouths~~ forefront of the ~~faithful are silent~~apocalyptic times. ~~Anyone who is capable~~ They want to accustom the eye and the spirit of ~~speaking~~ the ~~truth but remains silent~~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 ~~be heavily judged by God, especially~~ bring something new in ~~this case~~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, ~~where~~ the ~~faith~~ Truth and the ~~very foundation~~ Life. The Ecumenists will not fulfill anything. You can not change the reality according to the human interests. The divine reality remains the same in every age. The Holy Spirit speaks through the mouths of the bearers of God, not of the ~~entire~~ 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 ~~Orthodox is in danger~~Holy Spirit. ~~To remain silent~~ We do work only under ~~these circumstances is to betray these~~this Father’s truth, the Gospel of our Lord and the ~~appropriate witness belongs~~ Orthodox Church Tradition. All this falsehood which has appeared in our world has no other purpose than to ~~those~~ embarrass and undermine the whole tradition and the beliefs of a nation. Questions are not posed and answers are not given, and people take for granted everything that ~~reproach (stand up for~~ has been written at the ~~faith)~~official level.~~” —St~~But, by not solving these dogmatic problems the untruth slowly settles in our Orthodox Christian Church. ~~Basil~~ All the Ecumenical attempts of unifying the other Christian communities found in heresy, the ~~Great~~dialogues which have developed in our Orthodox Christian Church, since I know, haven’t got any result because they have false basis, epthey are untrue and do nothing but disturb the authentic Christian life. 92” —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania, Din învățăturile și minunile Părintelui Justin

~~“I beseech you~~ “We must prepare for martyrdom and beyond this, I would not have to do speak if people were not powerless in spirit and mind to ~~carry out good~~ understand. It's not easy to ~~all men~~ live these days. But if the Lord has so pleased that we should suffer these times, then we must obey and receive with ~~care and assiduity, becoming~~ joy all ~~things to all men~~that comes upon us, as from the ~~need~~ hand of ~~each is shown to you; I want and pray you to be wholly harsh~~ God, 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 departure~~ not from ~~Divine love to lend support to error, so that those previously seized by it might be even more greatly corrupted.” —St. Maximus~~ the ~~Confessor, Patrologia Graeca, Vol. 91~~enemy…

~~“Be aware~~ Therefore, please stop looking for solutions. Human solutions are not existent, my dears! The solution is to ~~be corrupted from love of the heretics;~~ die for ~~this reason do not accept any false belief (dogma) in~~ Christ. Fathers will give up their sons, mothers, their daughters, unto death. Behold, we witness the ~~name~~ fulfillment of ~~love~~this prophecy.~~” —St. John Chrysostom~~If the mother will let the child be vaccinated, it's as if giving him over to die…

~~“Genuine love is displayed~~Therefore I say to you, ~~not by~~ trust that the ~~common table, nor by lofty addresses or flattering words~~Lord will give you power to confess Him. We live in an anarchic world, ~~but by~~ the ~~correcting~~ entire political class is an enemy of Christ and ~~the seeking~~ a servant of ~~the benefit of one's neighbour~~ evil, that is why even living our simple life without abdicating our Christian principles is a daily confession and ~~the lifting up of the one who has fallen.” —St~~martyrdom. ~~John Chrysostom~~

~~“Never, never, never let anyone tell~~ 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 no shyness. Everything is in sight and they are aware thatthey have no opponent to fear and they fight to depopulate the world, ~~in order~~ with the few who will remain to ~~be Orthodox~~worship them. Now they're studying and sorting, and the way they're going to distinguish people from each other is the chips. Do you ~~must also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for~~ or do you not have a ~~thousand years, and her venerable liturgy~~ chip? For what is ~~far older than any of her heresies~~the chip after all? A weapon against Man.~~” —St~~And 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. ~~John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco~~

~~“Where~~ 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 ~~bishop~~ truth, what sacrifice do we have? Or if we do not care about our neighbor who isunaware and we do not inform him and we let him fall prey to this system, ~~there let~~ what love do we have? Those who still struggle today to awaken their brother, who have not remained indifferent to the ~~multitude~~ future of ~~believers be; even as where Jesus is~~a nation and a church, ~~there is~~ those are the children of the ~~Catholic Church.” —St. Ignatius~~ love of ~~Antioch~~God, who lay their lives down for their brethren…

~~“Take care~~ It is important to do oppose 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,~~ antichrists and die with ~~the deacons, who are most dear~~ dignity; not to ~~me, entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father from the beginning and is at last made manifest~~have a cowardly position.” ~~—St. Ignatius~~ —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of ~~Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians 2, 6:1~~Romania

~~“Moreover~~“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 ~~the Catholic Church itself~~modern ideas like ‘equality’, ~~all possible care must be taken~~‘brotherhood’, ~~that we hold that faith~~ ‘charity.’ … And Christian messianism - the coming Kingdom which is not of this world (Jon 18:36) - has been ~~believed everywhere, always, by all. For~~ perverted into the coming Kingdom in this world that ~~is truly and~~ practically everyone believes in today. Even those who see through the delusion of idealism… fall prey to the ~~strictest sense ‘Catholic~~second idea,~~’ which~~the idea that Truth can somehow be realized in this world, as in the ~~name itself and the reason~~ coming age of the ~~thing declare~~‘spirit, ~~comprehends all universally~~’ or in the relation of ‘man with man. ~~This rule we shall observe if we follow universality~~’ But this world cannot hold the Truth in its fullness, ~~antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith~~ any more than it could tolerate the presence in it of the God-Man; for man is called upon to be ~~true~~more than man, ~~which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity~~he is called to deification, ~~if we~~ and this can only happen fully in ~~no wise depart from those interpretations~~ the ‘other world’ - which , though it ~~is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent~~constantly impinges on this world, ~~in like manner~~never does so more than partially, ~~if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions~~ giving us warnings and ~~determinations~~ indications of ~~all~~what is to come. This world must end, man as we know him must die, ~~or at the least of almost all priests and doctors~~must be crucified before that ‘other’ world can come into being.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Vincent of Lérins, Commonitory, For the Antiquity and Universality~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~the Catholic Faith Against the Profane Novelties of All Heresies., Chapter II (circa 434 AD)~~Platina

~~“The candles lit before icons of saints reflect their ardent love~~ “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 ~~God for Whose sake they gave up everything that man prizes in~~ the first time. His lifeis the example – and warning – to us all. We must be crucified personally, ~~including their very lives~~mystically; for through crucifixion is the only path to resurrection. If we would rise with Christ, ~~as did~~ we must first be humbled with Him – even to the ~~holy apostles~~ultimate humiliation, ~~martyrs~~ being devoured and ~~others~~spit forth by the uncomprehending world. ~~These candles also mean that these saints are lamps burning~~ And we must be crucified outwardly, in the eyes of the world; for us Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world, and ~~providing light for us by their own saintly living~~the world cannot bear it, even a single representative of it, ~~their virtues and their ardent intercession~~ even for ~~us before God through their constant prayers by day and night~~a single moment. The ~~burning candles also stand for our ardent zeal and~~ world can only accept Antichrist, now or at any time. No wonder then, that 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 more truly it is lived, lead the ~~sincere sacrifice~~ more surely to one’s own destruction. And that is why we constantly rebel, try to make ~~out~~ life easier, try to be half-Christian, try to make the best of ~~reverence and gratitude to them for their solicitude on~~ both worlds. We must ultimately choose – our ~~behalf before~~ felicity lies in one world or the other, not in both. Godgive us the strength to pursue the path to crucifixion; there is no other way to be Christian.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~John~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Kronstadt~~Platina, from his journal as printed in the biography Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works by Hieromonk Damascene

~~“The saints of God live even after their death. Thus, I often hear~~ “One who merely knows these truths in ~~church~~ the ~~Mother of God singing her wonderful, heart-penetrating song which she said in~~ mind will be helpless to resist the ~~house~~ temptations of ~~her cousin Elizabeth, after the Annunciation of the Archangel. At~~ those times, ~~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 how~~ many ~~holy singers of~~ who recognize the ~~New Testament delight until now~~ Antichrist when he comes will nonetheless worship him – only the ~~ear~~ power of Christ given to the ~~whole Church of God! And the Divine service itself--the sacraments, the rites? Whose spirit is there, moving and touching our hearts? That of God and of His saints~~heart will have strength to resist him.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~John~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Kronstadt, My Life in Christ~~Platina

~~“Each person is an icon of God~~“A lukewarm clergy lulls the people to sleep, ~~of God~~ leaves them in ~~heaven and of God on the cross~~their former condition so they won't be upset. ~~Yet, each person is also an icon of the Mother of God~~‘Look’, ~~who bears Christ through the Holy Spirit~~they say. ~~Our soul~~‘By all means don't say that there'll be a war, ~~therefore, unites itself in two images; participating in~~ or the ~~principles and realities of both Christ and his Mother. These are age old archetypes~~Second Coming, ~~symbols by which the soul orients itself on the journey~~that one must prepare oneself for death.~~” —St. Maria Skobtsova, On The Imitation of the Mother of God~~We must not make people alarmed!’

~~“The Christian who does not feel that the Virgin Mary is his or her mother is an orphan~~And others speak with a false kindness, saying: ‘We mustn't expose heretics and their delusions, so as to show our love for them.’ Today's people are water-soluble. There's no leaven in them.~~” —Pope Francis~~

~~“Creating man according~~ If I avoid upsetting myself to ~~his image, God diffused into man~~protect my fleshly comfort then I'~~s very being the longing for the divine infinitude of life, of knowledge~~m indifferent to holiness! Spiritual meekness is one thing, and ~~of perfection~~softness and indifference are quite another. ~~It is precisely for this reason that the immeasurable longing~~ Some say: ‘I'm a Christian and ~~thirst of humanity is not able~~ therefore I have to be ~~completely satisfied by anything or anyone except God~~joyful and calm. ~~Declaring divine perfection as the main purpose for humanity~~’ But they'~~s existence in the world – ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father who is in heaven is perfect~~re not Christian.~~’ (Matth~~They're simply indifferent. ~~5: 48) – Christ, the Savior, answered the most elemental demand and need of our God-like and God-longing humanity.” —St~~And their joy is only a worldly joy. ~~Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ, Highest Value and Last Criterion in Orthodoxy~~

~~“Concerning the charge of idolatry: Icons~~ He in whom these worldly seeds are ~~not idols but symbols~~present is no spiritual person. ~~Therefore, when an Orthodox venerates an icon, he is not guilty~~ A spiritual person consists of ~~idolatry. He is not worshiping the symbol,~~ nothing but ~~merely venerating it~~pain. ~~Such veneration is not directed toward wood~~In other words, ~~or paint or stone~~he's in pain at what's going on, ~~but towards the person depicted~~he's in pain for people's condition. ~~Therefore relative honor~~ And divine comfort is ~~shown to material objects, but worship is due to God alone~~bestowed upon him for his pain.” —St. ~~John~~ Paisios of ~~Damascus~~Mt. Athos

~~“We do not bow before~~ “You have grown soft. So the worthless have risen up against the honourable, the disreputable against the renowned, the ~~nature of wood~~foolish against the wise, ~~but we revere~~ the young against the aged. Righteousness and ~~bow before~~ peace are far from you, inasmuch as you have abandoned the ~~one who is depicted~~fear of God and become blind in faith.” —St. ~~John~~ Clement of ~~Damascus~~Rome

~~“We do not make obeisance to~~ “In our evil time, when the ~~nature~~ servants of ~~wood~~the coming Antichrist are putting forth all their efforts so as to undermine and replace authentic Orthodoxy with a false ‘Orthodoxy’ - an Orthodoxy only in name, ~~but we revere and do obeisance to Him~~ there have appeared not a few ‘pastors’ also who ~~was crucified on~~ bear only the ~~Cross… When~~ name of Orthodox but deny the ~~two beams~~ authentic power and spirit of true Orthodoxy. Precisely such false pastors filled up the ~~Cross are joined together I adore the figure because~~ ranks of ~~Christ who was crucified on~~ the ~~Cross, but if~~ (Soviet) ‘Living Church’ and the ~~beams are separated, I throw them away and burn them~~‘Renovationist Church’ clergy in our Russia.~~” —St. John of Damascus~~

~~“The~~ But the ‘Living Church’ and ‘Renovationalism’ were not recognized by the believing Russian people, who felt in their hearts their whole ~~earth is a living icon of~~ falsity; and they brilliantly collapsed on the ~~face of God~~Russian soil, ceasing their official existence. ~~… I do not worship matter~~However, ~~but~~ the ~~Creator~~ spirit of ~~matter~~the ‘Living Church’ and ‘Renovationalism’ has not died, ~~who for my sake became material~~ but has continued and ~~deigned~~ up until now continues to ~~dwell~~ live among us also in ~~matter~~the Russian homeland, which has been enslaved by the godless, and also abroad among all the Orthodox Local Churches who ~~through matter effected my salvation. Never will I cease honoring the matter which wrought my salvation! I honor it~~have become infected with this pestilential spirit, ~~but~~ not ~~as God. Because~~ without, of ~~this I salute all remaining matter with reverence~~course, ~~because God has filled it with his grace and power. Through it my salvation has come to me~~the most strenuous cooperation of those same servants of the coming Antichrist.~~” —St. John of Damascus~~

~~“That~~ These pseudo-pastors, modernists and ecumenists, in place of true Orthodoxy, preach and insistently propagandize a false Orthodoxy, flattering all the sinful passions and vices of fallen man - striving in everything to go in step with the times and to adapt the Christian to the ‘world which lies in evil,’ under all possible cunning and well sounding pretexts. Everywhere now they are seizing the ~~word communicates by sound,~~ reigns of government in the ~~painting shows silently by representation~~contemporary Orthodox Local Churches.~~” —St. Basil~~ They are striving to play everywhere the ~~Great~~leading guiding role, and often they have success, ~~On the 40 Martyrs~~ for they skillfully and cunningly make themselves seem to be zealots of ~~Sebaste~~Orthodoxy.

~~“We depict Christ as our King and Lord~~But their actual aim is to undermine true Orthodoxy by a false ‘Orthodoxy,’ in order to make it come about, ~~and do not deprive Him~~ in the expression of ~~His army. The saints constitute~~ Christ the ~~Lord's army. Let~~ Savior, ‘that 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 Godsalt has lost its savor’ (Matthew 5:13), that it might lose its saltiness - that it might lose its spirit and ~~co-heirs of Christ, (Rom. 8~~power.~~17) they will be also partakers~~ This is a special kind of battle against the ~~divine glory of sovereignty.” —St. John of Damascus~~Church!

~~“Our afflictions are well known without my telling; the sound~~ Behold of ~~them has now gone forth over all Christendom. The doctrines~~ what a frightful undertaking (of ~~the fathers~~ which) we are ~~despised; apostolical traditions are set at nought;~~ the ~~speculations of innovators hold sway~~ living and immediate witnesses! By all means there is being conducted in ~~the churches. Men have learned to be theorists instead of theologians. The wisdom of~~ the world ~~has~~ a frightful battle against the ~~place~~ Faith of ~~honour~~Christ, ~~having dispossessed the boasting~~ by a path of ~~the cross. The pastors are driven away, grievous wolves are brought in instead,~~ falsification and plunder the flock of Christ, Houses of prayer are destitute of preachers; the deserts are full of mourners: the old bewail, comparing what is with what was; more pitiable are the young, as not knowing what they are deprived of. What has been said is sufficient to kindle the sympathy of those who are taught in the love of Christ, yet compared with the facts, it is far from reaching their seriousness.” —St. Basil the Great, ep. 90imitations!

~~“Let us be firm, my brothers, on the rock of faith, in the tradition of the Church,~~ …(this) truly most frightful and ~~not remove or change the boundaries established by our Holy Fathers. Let us close the road to innovators~~ nightmarish phenomenon (is) something more frightful than open atheism and ~~not permit them~~ warfare against God, (for it) threatens to ~~demolish the structure of the~~ destroy our holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of God. If we allow, 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 Orthodoxy from the ~~Church~~root, ~~you will never want to surround your Mother Church with confusion.” —St. John~~ having corrupted it from within…” —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of ~~Damascus, Concerning Images, III.41~~Syracuse

~~“Therefore, brethren, let us stand on the rock~~ “The fundamental task of ~~faith and on~~ the ~~tradition~~ servants of the ~~Church, and not remove the boundaries which our Holy Fathers have set. Thus, we will not give the opportunity~~ coming Antichrist is to ~~those who wish to innovate and~~ destroy the ~~edifice of the holy, catholic~~ old world with all its former concepts and ~~apostolic Church of God. For if permission is granted~~ ‘prejudices’ in order to ~~everyone~~ build in its place a new world suitable for receiving its approaching ‘new owner’ who ~~wants it, little by little~~ will take the ~~whole body~~ place of ~~the Church will be destroyed. Do~~ Christ for people and give them on earth that which Christ did not~~, brethren, do not, oh Christ-loving children of the Church of God …” —Patriarch Jeremias II, prophetic warning of to the Lutheran scholars~~give them…

~~“Unbelief is an evil offspring of an evil heart; for the guileless and pure of heart discovers God everywhere, everywhere discerns Him~~One must be completely blind spiritually, ~~and always unhesitatingly believes in His existence.~~completely alien to true Christianity not to understand all this!” ~~—St. Nectarios~~ —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of ~~Aegina~~Syracuse

~~“He who learns must sufferAnd even in our sleep pain~~ “Those forces that ~~cannot forgetFalls drop by drop upon~~ are preparing the ~~heart,And~~ appearance of Antichrist will have a leading significance in ~~our own despite, against our~~ public life. Antichrist willbe a man and not the devil incarnate. … That man wants to be in place of Christ,~~Comes wisdom~~ to ~~us by~~ occupy His place and possess that which Christ ought to possess. He wants to possess the same attraction and authority over the ~~awful grace of God~~whole world.~~” —Aeschylus~~

~~“The greatest wisdom often emerges from~~ And he will receive that authority before his own destruction and that of the ~~deepest wounds~~whole world. He will have a helper, a Magus, who, by the power of false miracles, will fulfill his will and kill those that do not recognize the authority of Antichrist.” ~~—Jane Lee Logan~~—St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, The Antichrist and the Signs of the End of the World, Homily on the Last Judgement

~~“Monarchy can easily~~ “The miracles of Antichrist will be ~~debunked, but watch~~ chiefly manifested in the ~~faces~~aerial realm, ~~mark well the debunkers. These are the men whose taproot in Eden~~ where Satan chiefly 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 food and it will gobble poisondominion.” —C—Fr. ~~S. Lewis~~Seraphim Rose of Platina

~~“There~~ “Without sanctification and illumination from above, our love – if it indeed is ~~nothing impossible unto those who believe; lively~~ within us – lacks Gospel purity and ~~unshaken faith can accomplish great miracles in the twinkling of an eye~~holiness. ~~Besides, even without~~ It is poisoned by our ~~sincere~~ self-love and ~~firm faith~~egoism, ~~miracles are accomplished, such as the miracles of the sacraments; for God's Mystery~~ which is ~~always accomplished,~~ so subtle and hard to grasp that we do not even ~~though~~ notice it. We think that we ~~were incredulous or unbelieving at the time of its celebration. 'Shall their unbelief make the faith of~~ truly love God ~~without effect?' (Rom. 3:3). Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness~~ and ~~mercy of God;~~ our ~~dullness shall~~ neighbor, but in reality this is self-love, not ~~overpower~~ love for God~~'s wisdom, nor our infirmity God's omnipotence~~and neighbor.” ~~—St. John~~ —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of ~~Kronstadt, My Life in Christ~~Syracuse

“The ~~human spirit needs places where nature~~ faithful remnant of Christians in the last days, as our Lord has told us, will be very small; the vast majority of those who call themselves Christians will welcome Antichrist as the Messiah … those who are not ~~been rearranged by~~ true Orthodox Christians belong the ‘new Christianity’, the ~~hand~~ ‘Christianity’ of ~~man~~Antichrist.~~” —unknown~~

~~“People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used.~~ The ~~reason why~~ Pope of Rome and practically everyone else today speaks of ‘transforming the ~~world is~~ world’ by Christianity: priests and nuns take part in ~~chaos~~ 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 ~~because things are being loved and people are being used~~the Kingdom of Heaven.~~” —unknown~~

~~“No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child~~The coming age of ‘peace’, ‘unity’, and ‘brotherhood’, if it comes, will be the reign of Antichrist: it will be Christian in name, but Satanic in spirit.~~” —unknown~~

~~“If we could look into each others hearts~~Εveryone today seeks happiness on earth, and ~~understand~~ they think this is ‘Christianity’; true Orthodox Christians know that the ~~unique challenges each~~ age of ~~us faces~~persecutions, ~~I think we would treat each other much more gently~~which began again under the Bolsheviks, is still with ~~more love, patience, tolerance~~us, and ~~care~~that only by much sorrow and tribulation are we made fit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” ~~—Marvin J~~—Fr. ~~Ashton~~Seraphim Rose of Platina

~~“Teach me~~ “It may be, brethren, that soon you will again experience a time of turmoil, and some of you will be called to take the path of denying those sacred laws and to submit to ~~feel another's woe~~laws established by mere human authority. Beware of such a path! Beware of the path taken by the thief on the left, for by the weight of blasphemy, by the weight of reviling Christ he went to ~~hide~~ his eternal perdition. Those who revile the laws of the Church revile Christ Himself, Who is the Head of the Church, for the laws of the Church were given by the Holy Spirit through the ~~fault I see~~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 saints and hierarchs who established the rules of the Church; ~~that mercy I~~ let us not imagine ourselves to ~~others show~~be great sages. Rather, ~~that mercy show to~~ let us humbly call out together with the wise thief: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom!” —St.~~” —Alexander Pope~~John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, Homily on the Sunday of Orthodoxy

~~“The human heart can see what~~ “Brothers and sisters! Let us aspire towards ascetic labor, in which is ~~hidden to~~ expressed precisely the ~~eyes~~essence of our Orthodox Christian faith, which is the labor of imitating Christ in bearing the cross and self-crucifixion – a faith of labor and, laboring lawfully as the ~~heart knows~~ Word of God teaches, let us suffer all things ~~that~~ for the ~~mind does~~ Truth, not ~~begin to understand~~moving away from it, as do many because of their poverty of spirit or self-interest. And let us remember well: where there is no labor, where there is no steadfastness in the faith – there is neither Orthodoxy nor true faith in God and in His Christ. Amen.” ~~—They Might Be Giants~~ —Archbishop Averky (~~1971~~Taushev)of Syracuse

~~“The greatest thing a man can do to a woman~~ “Being born, then, of the light of truth, shun division and bad doctrines. Where the shepherd is , there you, being sheep, must follow. For many wolves there are, apparently worthy of confidence, who with the bait of baneful pleasure seek to ~~lead her closer to~~ capture the runners in God ~~than to himself~~'s race; but if you stand united they will have no success…” —St.~~” —unknown~~Ignatius of Antioch

~~“A snowflake is one of~~ “We must not mind insulting men, if by respecting them we offend God~~'s most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together!~~.” ~~—unknown~~—St. John Chrysostom

~~“God cannot give us happiness~~ “A time is coming when men will go mad, and ~~peace apart from Himself because it~~ when they see someone who is not ~~there. There is no such thing.” —C~~mad, they will attack him, saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us. S’” —St. ~~Lewis~~Anthony the Great

~~“The supreme happiness~~ “There will come a time when corruption and lewdness among the youth will reach the utmost point. There will hardly be any virgin youth left. They will see their lack of ~~life~~ punishment and will think that everything is ~~the conviction of being loved~~ allowable for ~~yourself~~them to satisfy their desires. God will call them, ~~or more correctly~~however, ~~being loved in spite of yourself~~and they will realize that it will not be possible for them to continue such a life.~~” —Victor Hugo~~

~~“It is hardly complimentary~~ Then in various ways they will be led to ~~God~~ God… that ~~we should choose him as an alternative~~ time will be beautiful. That today they are sinning greatly, will lead them to ~~hell.” —C~~a deeper repentance. SJust like the candle before it goes out, it shines strongly and throws sparks; with its light, it enlightens the surrounding darkness; thus, it will be the Church’s life in the last age. ~~Lewis~~

~~“Hell can't be made attractive, so the devil makes attractive the road~~ And that ~~leads there~~time is near.” —St. ~~Basil the Great~~Seraphim of Vyritsa

~~“If you die before you die~~“When I remember the evil sins from which the Lord has delivered me, ~~than when you die, you will not die~~I have imperishable food for salvation.” ~~—written on a cell wall, St. Paul's Monastery, Mt~~—St. ~~Athos~~Mary of Egypt

~~“War in~~ “We all want God to give unity of faith to the ~~name of religion is war against religion~~world. But you are confusing things.~~” —His All Holyness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew~~

~~“Believe me~~The reconciliation of people is one thing, ~~if God revealed to~~ while the reconciliation of religions is another. Christianity requires all of us ~~the disasters~~ to ~~which we were exposed and from which He protected us~~love everyone with all our hearts, ~~our whole lives would not suffice to offer Him thanks.” —H.H~~whatever faith they may have. ~~Pope Shenouda~~

~~“In heaven, God will not ask us why~~ At the same time we ~~have sinned; He will ask us why we did not repent~~are ordered to keep our faith and doctrines intact.~~” —H~~As Christians you must be merciful to the whole world, to all people.HEven your life you should give on their behalf. ~~Pope Shenouda III~~

~~“Even if all spiritual fathers, patriarchs, hierarchs, and all~~ But you have no right to touch the ~~people forgive you, you~~ truths of Christ. Because they are ~~unforgiven if you don’t repent in action~~not yours. The faith of Christ is not our property to do with it as we wish.” —St. ~~Kosmas Aitolos~~Nikolai Velimirovich

~~“Nobody is as gracious and merciful, as the Lord is, but even He does~~ “We do not ~~forgive~~ change the ~~sins of~~ boundaries marked out by our Fathers. We keep the ~~man who does not repent; …~~ Tradition we have received. If we ~~are being condemned not because~~ begin to lay down the Law of the ~~multitude of our evils~~Church even in the smallest things, ~~but because we do not want~~ the whole edifice will fall to ~~repent~~the ground in no short time.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~John of Damascus

~~“As a handful~~ “At this dawn of ~~sand thrown into~~ modern history, the ~~ocean~~thirteenth century, ~~so are the sins of~~ all ~~flesh as compared with~~ the ~~mercy~~ seeds of ~~God~~modern mentality are present.~~” —St~~And modern history follows logically from these seeds. ~~Isaac~~ Essentially, it is one thing – the search for a new Christianity which is better than Orthodoxy, better than the ~~Syrian~~Christianity of the Holy Fathers, which Christ gave to us.

~~“Just as a strongly flowing fountain is not blocked up by a handful~~ Later on, this will take forms which go through atheism and all kinds of ~~earth~~wild beliefs, so but essentially the ~~compassion of~~ search remains the same, and in the end the ~~Creator~~ world will be Christian, because it's Antichrist who gives them a new religion, which is not ~~overcome by the wickedness~~ something foreign to Christianity. It will not be some kind of ~~his creatures~~paganism.~~” —St~~It will be something which everyone will accept as Christianity, but will be anti-christian. ~~Isaac~~ A substitute for Christianity which denies the ~~Syrian~~very essence of Christianity.

~~“God~~ And that is why the main history of the rebellion against Christ is ~~loving to man, and loving in~~ no ~~small measure~~less than the apostasy which St. Paul talks about. ~~For say~~ It is notby means of persecution as it was in the beginning, ~~I have committed fornication~~ but by means of taking Christianity and ~~adultery: I have done dreadful things, and not once only, but often:~~ changing it so that it will ~~He forgive? Will He grant pardon? Hear~~ no longer be Christian. And this is what we can call the ~~Psalmist says: ‘How great is the multitude~~ Unfolding of ~~Your goodness, O Lord!’ Your accumulated offenses surpass not~~ the ~~multitude~~ Mystery 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 Lord’: and the same shall be done Iniquity in ~~your case, which he says immediately: ‘And you forgave the wickedness of my heart~~preparation for Antichrist.~~’” —St~~” —Fr. ~~Cyril~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Jerusalem~~Platina, ~~Catechetical Lecture 2, On Repentance and Remission of Sins and Concerning the Adversary, Ezekiel xviii. 20-23~~excerpt from Orthodox Survival Course

~~“Years are not needed for~~ “We who wish to remain in the true ~~repentance~~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 ~~not days~~politics even of the Church, ~~but only an instant~~nourishing ourselves on the otherworldly food the Church gives us in such abundance.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Ambrose~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Optina~~Platina

~~“There is no sin which cannot be pardoned except that~~ “Test your bishops in only one ~~which lacks repentance~~respect: try and find out whether they are Orthodox, whether they teach dogmas contrary to the true Faith, and ~~there is no gift which is not augmented save that which remains without acknowledgement~~whether they concelebrate with heretics, or schismatics. ~~For the portion~~ As far as other things, they act out of ignorance or because the ~~fool is small in his eyes~~days are evil and they will give an account to God only.” —St. ~~Isaac the Syrian~~Gennadios (II) Scholarios, Patriarch of Constantinople

~~“When a~~ “Regarding the 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 ~~abandons his sins~~ 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 ~~returns~~ second admonition reject, knowing that he that is such is subverted, being condemned of himself’ (Titus 3.10-11). Moreover, you may be subject to God’s judgement if you are indifferent to ~~God~~deviation from the truth: ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, ~~his repentance regenerates him~~ and ~~renews him entirely~~neither cold not hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth’ (Rev. 3.16).” ~~—St. Isaiah the Solitary~~—Archbishop Theophan of Poltava

~~“And so it is incumbent upon us~~ “The bishops of the end times will be subservient [obedient and compliant] to ~~strive~~the powerful of the world, ~~rather~~and they will make decisions according to the gifts they receive from everywhere, ~~to correct our faults~~ and ~~to improve our behavior~~consulting the rational logic of the academics.” —St. ~~John Cassian~~Pambo

~~“Let us strive~~ “Do not show obedience to bishops who exhort you to ~~purify ourselves through repentance~~ do and ~~humility,~~ to say and to ~~unite all our senses as one to the God who is good, and transcends the good. Then, truly, everything~~ believe in things which ~~I have~~ are not ~~quite been able to say or~~ to ~~demonstrate with my many words, you will be taught in an instant, all at once. You will hear with your sight, and see with~~ your ~~hearing~~benefit. ~~You will be taught while seeing and~~What pious man would hold his tongue? Who would remain completely calm? In fact, ~~again, hear what is unveiled~~silence equates to consent.” —St. ~~Symeon the New Theologian~~Meletios of Antioch

~~“Where there is God~~“Geronda, ~~there~~ is the silence of the Church an indication of approval?Yes. Someone wrote some blasphemous things about Panaghia and no ~~evil~~one spoke up. ~~Everything coming from God is peaceful~~Then I told someone, ~~healthy~~ ‘Did you see what so-and ~~leads a person~~ -so has written?’ And he told me, ‘Well, what can you do with those people? You'll get soiled if you try to deal with them.’ They're afraid to ~~the judgment of his own imperfections and humility~~speak up.

~~When~~ What did he have to fear, Geronda?That people might write something about him and ridicule him in the press. And so he tolerates blasphemous things about Panaghia! We want others to pull the chestnuts out of the fire so that we can have our peace of mind. This indicates a ~~person accepts anything Godly~~lack of love. Then man begins to act out of self-interest.”—Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos, ~~then he rejoices in his heart~~Spiritual Counsels II, ~~but when he has accepted anything devilish~~Spiritual Awakening, ~~then he becomes tormented~~p.40

~~The devil is like a lion~~“If Christians don't begin to witness their faith, ~~hiding in ambush (Ps 10:19~~to resist evil, ~~1Pe 5:8)~~then the destroyers will become even more insolent. ~~He secretly sets out nets of unclean and unholy thoughts~~But today's Christians are no warriors. SoIf the Church keeps silent, ~~it is necessary~~ to ~~break them off as soon as we notice them~~avoid conflict with the government, if the Metropolitans are silent, if the monks hold their peace, ~~by means~~ then who will speak up?” —Elder Paisios of ~~pious reflection and prayer~~Mt.Athos

~~It is necessary~~ “When they are blaspheming your faith, and you stay silent, you become worse than that ~~the Holy Spirit enter our heart~~blasphemer.” —St. ~~Everything good that we do~~Gabriel Urgebadze of Georgia, ~~that we do~~ Confessor and Fool for Christ~~, is given to us by the Holy Spirit, but prayer most of all, which is always available to us.~~

“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 ~~sign~~ satanic obedience, which will require from the believer ‘ignorance’ and contempt for the teachings of ~~spiritual life is~~ the ~~immersion of a person within himself~~ Saints and indifference to the ~~hidden workings within his heart~~truth and superficial piety.” —St. ~~Seraphim~~ Niphon of ~~Sarov~~Constantia (Cyprus)

~~“The Spirit offers its own light~~ “Christian shepherds, that is, bishops and priests, are going to ~~every mind~~be filled with vainglory (with some exceptions), utterly failing to ~~help it in its search for truth~~distinguish the right way from the left… The Churches of God are going to be deprived of godly and pious shepherds.” —St. ~~Basil~~ Nilus the ~~Great~~Myrrhgusher of Mt. Athos

~~“Sometimes a man's happiness is so deep inside him that he may forget it's there~~ “Just as the unskilled doctor sends many people to the gates of Hades [physical death], similarly, the incompetent and ~~start looking elsewhere hunting~~ irresponsible spiritual father sends many souls to Hades. O, what a ~~fantasy, an illusion~~terrible evil for someone to find [spiritual] death while seeking treatment.” ~~—Mr~~—St. ~~Roarke (Fantasy Island, s2e14)~~Nektarios of Aegina

~~“If he seeks answers~~ “The time will come when you will be sold by your shepherds. They will watch you being ripped apart by the wild beasts and they will not come to ~~questions related to his faith, his purpose in life, he will find happiness~~your help.” —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania

~~“The person who loves God values knowledge~~ “In the last days, evil and heresy will have spread so widely that the faithful will not be able to find a priest or shepherd to protect them from delusion and guide them to salvation. At that time, the faithful will not receive safe guidance from men; but their guide will be the writings of the Holy Fathers. Especially at this time, every believer will be responsible for the whole fulness of the Church. Brethren, it is time for us all to undertake our responsibility to God and to history. Do not tolerate any more ~~than anything created by God, and pursues such knowledge ardently and ceaselessly~~foolishness or misguidance from priests or archpriests. Do not turn a blind eye for you will be co-responsible. The Saints are forewarning you.” —St. ~~Maximus the Confessor~~John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco

~~“A time is coming when men~~ “The last days are starting. Soon, there will be an ecumenical council called ‘holy’. But that will be the very ‘eighth council’ which will be the assembly of the godless. All religions will ~~go mad~~unite into one at that council. Then, ~~and when they see someone who is not mad~~all fasts will be canceled, ~~they~~ monasticism will ~~attack him~~be completely destroyed, ~~saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us~~bishops will be married.~~’” —St~~The new calendar will be implimented in the Universal Church. ~~Anthony the Great~~

~~“Adorn yourself with truth, try~~ Be vigilant. Try to go to ~~speak truth in all things; and do not support a lie~~God's church while they are still ours. Soon, ~~no matter who asks~~ youwon't be able to go there. Everything will change.~~If you speak~~ Only the ~~truth and someone gets mad at you, don’t~~ chosen will see this. They will be ~~upset~~forcing people to go to church, but ~~take comfort~~ we should not go there under any circumstances. Stand in the ~~words of~~ Orthodox Faith until the ~~Lord:Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of truth, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:10).~~end and you will be saved!” —St. ~~Gennadius~~ Kuksha (Velichko) of ~~Constantinople, The Golden Chain, 26,2~~Odessa

~~“You that are strong with all might in~~ “When the ~~inner man ought by rights to carry on the struggle against the enemies~~ traces of the ~~truth~~past historical order have become extinguished, and ~~not to shrink from~~ the ~~task~~new order has taken ground, ~~that we fathers may~~ the Holy Mount will have no peace. Monastic dignity will be ~~gladdened by the noble toil~~ destroyed or disposed of ~~our sons;~~ for ~~this is~~ the ~~prompting~~ freedom of the ~~law of nature: but as you turn your ranks,~~ state and ~~send against us~~ the ~~assaults of those darts which are hurled by the opponents of~~ bishops to squander its priceless treasures and relics.” —Elder Costas the ~~truth,~~ Caveot and ~~demand that their hot burning coals and their shafts sharpened by knowledge falsely so called should be quenched with the shield~~ Fool for Christ of ~~faith by us old men.” —St~~Mt. ~~Gregory of Nyssa~~Athos

~~“I shall set forth~~ “But woe to the ~~best contributions of the philosophers of the Greeks~~monks in those days who will be bound with possessions and riches, who because ~~whatever there is~~ of ~~good has been given~~ love of peace will be ready to submit 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)~~heretics. ~~If, however, there is anything that is contrary~~ They will lull to ~~the truth~~sleep their conscience, ~~then it is a dark invention of the deceit of Satan and a fiction of the mind of an evil spirit~~saying, ~~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~~ ‘We are ~~conformable with~~ preserving and saving the ~~truth~~ monastery and ~~from our enemies themselves gather~~ the ~~fruit of salvation~~Lord will forgive us. ~~But~~ ’ The unfortunate and blind ones do not at all consider 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~~ through heresy the ~~lie we may more closely follow~~ demons will enter the ~~truth. Then, with God's help~~ monastery 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 then it~~, them that are duly purified and rid of troublesome speculations. However, as I have said, I shall add nothing of my own~~will no longer be a holy monastery, but ~~shall gather together into one those things~~ merely walls from which ~~have been worked out by the most eminent of teachers and make a compendium of them, being in all things obedient to your command~~grace will depart.” —St. ~~John of Damascus, The Fount~~ Anatoly the Younger of ~~Knowledge~~Optina

~~“If~~ “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 literal sense of the passage, they reject its godly meaning. We should run away from them more than we ~~have obtained~~ would from a snake, for when a snake bites it kills the body temporarily, separating it from the ~~grace of~~ immortal soul, but when these evil men get their teeth into a soul, they separate it from God, ~~none shall prevail against~~ which is eternal death for that soul. Let usescape as far as we can from such people, ~~but we shall be stronger than all~~ and take refuge with those who ~~oppose us~~teach piety and salvation in accordance with the traditions of the Fathers.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Gregory Palamas, Homily 34, On the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus

~~“But our opinion is~~ “Brother Christians! Raise your voices in defense of the Church's Apostolic Faith, the holy things of the Church, the Church's heritage. Defend your right to believe and confess your faith as you learned it in ~~accordance with~~ days of old, as you were taught it by the holy apostles, the holy martyrs, the God-wise fathers of the ~~Eucharist~~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 pray and save yourselves in the churches, that the holy things of the Church are dearer to you than life itself, that without them salvation is impossible. No power can demand from you that which is against your faith, your religious conscience: ‘We must obey God rather than men’, said the ~~Eucharist~~ holy apostles. That is what we, too, must say. The apostles joyfully suffered for the faith. Be you also ready for sacrifice, for podvig, and remember that physical arms are powerless against those who arm themselves with powerful faith in ~~turn establishes~~ Christ. Faith moves mountains, ‘the faith of the 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 ~~opinion~~Church.” Believe - and the enemy will flee from before your face. Stand in defense of your faith and with firm hope say: ‘Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered!’” —St. ~~Irenaeus~~ Hermogenes, Hieromartyr and Bishop of ~~Lyons~~Tobolsk, ~~Against Heresies, 4:18:5~~response to the Bolshevik tyranny in 1918

~~“If~~ “The times ahead, more perhaps than ever before in the ~~poison~~ Church's history, are a time of ~~pride~~ what St. Gregory the Theologian called ‘suffering Orthodoxy.’ We truly live in apocalyptic times: atheism is ~~swelling up~~ conquering the public sphere in ~~you, turn to~~ the ~~Eucharist; and that Bread~~whole world, ~~Which is your God humbling~~ false religion increases as never before and ~~disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If~~ captures many of those who awaken from the ~~fever~~ sleep of ~~selfish greed rages in you~~unbelief, ~~feed on this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If~~ the ~~cold wind~~ ecumenical movement draws nearer its goal of ~~coveting withers you, hasten to~~ a false world church (the ~~Bread~~ harlot of ~~Angels;~~ the Apocalypse), and ~~charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel~~ the ~~itch~~ spirit of ~~intemperance, nourish yourself with~~ the ~~Flesh and Blood of~~ coming Antichrist begins to place its seal on everywhere. Those who would be faithful to Christ~~, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life;~~ in these terrible times must be prepared for sufferings and ~~you~~ trials which will ~~become temperate~~truly test the faithfulness of our hearts to Him. ~~If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things~~And yet, ~~strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food;~~ greater than these sufferings and ~~you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched by~~ the ~~fever~~ prince of ~~impurity, go~~ this world who will inflict them upon us is He Who has promised to be with us even to the ~~banquet~~ end of the ~~Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste~~age (Matt. 28:20).” ~~—St~~—Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse, The Apocalypse, translated by Fr. ~~Cyril~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Alexandria~~Platina

~~“Don't~~ “Satan has spread 666 traps. His seal will be ~~anxious about what you have~~made not only invisibly but also visibly, on the forehead and arm. If the seal impression is made by force, ~~but about what you are~~in God’s sight it will be considered like a virgin disgraced. The hardest trial for Christians will be their relatives who accepted the seal. The seal won’t affect if made against someone's will.~~” —St~~But imagine the trap set by the antichrist for a mother having left with five children. ~~Gregory~~ How to feed them if she does not accept the ~~Great~~seal?

~~“The soul that is in all things devoted~~ At 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 ~~God rests quiet in Him~~about ten-fifteen, ~~for she knows of experience and~~ as the demons might try to nudge single people from the cliffs. The believers will be protected by the Holy ~~Scriptures that the Lord loves us much and watches over our souls~~Spirit. Whatever happens, ~~quickening all things by His grace in peace~~ never lose your hope. Help each other. God will clear your mind and ~~love~~you will know how to react. ~~Nothing troubles the man~~ The one who ~~is given over to the~~ endures will ~~of God,~~ be ~~it illness~~saved. No true believer will feel either hunger, ~~poverty~~ or ~~persecution~~thirst. ~~He knows that~~ The believers won't wither in the time of disasters. The Lord ~~in His mercy is solicitous~~ will work miracles for usthem. ~~The Holy Spirit, whom the soul knows, is witness therefore~~One leaf of a plant will be enough food for a month. ~~But~~ Even the ~~proud and~~ lump of the ~~self-willed do not want to surrender to God's~~ earth will ~~because they like their own way, and that is harmful for~~ be changed into the bread by making a sign of the ~~soul~~cross over it.” —St. ~~Silouan the Athonite (From the Life and Teachings~~ Gabriel Urgebadze of ~~Elder Siluan by Bishop Alexander~~ Georgia, Confessor and ~~Natalia Bufius translated by Anatoly Shmelev)~~Fool for Christ

~~“The man who cries out against evil men~~“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 spirit of delusion, of deception, ~~but does~~ because they did not ~~pray for them~~ accept the love of the truth’. Something dark and scary is coming over the world. The human will ~~never know~~ stay more or less under his mastery, and the more the ~~grace~~ power of ~~God~~that cunning one has on the human under his mastery, the less the human will be aware of what he is doing.” —St. ~~Silouan the Athonite~~Barsanuphius

~~“Those who dislike and reject~~ “The servants of Antichrist more than anything else strive to force God out of the life of men, so that men, satisfied with their ~~fellow-man are impoverished~~ material comfort, might not feel any need to turn to God in ~~their being~~prayer, might not remember God, but might live as though He did not exist. ~~They do not know~~ 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 ~~true God~~right to believe as he wishes, ~~who~~ is ~~all-embracing love~~an 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’, directed to purely earthly attainments and the frantic whirlpool of life bound up with it, keeps a man in 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. Silouan~~ —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse, True Orthodoxy and the ~~Athonite~~Contemporary World

~~“If we detect hatred in our hearts against any man whatsoever~~ “They have built a church career for ~~committing any fault~~themselves on a false but attractive premise: that the chief danger to the Church today is lack of strictness. No – the chief danger is something much deeper – the loss of the savor of Orthodoxy, we a movement in which they themselves are ~~utterly estranged from love for God~~participating, ~~since love for God absolutely precludes~~ even in their ‘strictness.’… ‘Strictness’ will not save us ~~from hating~~ if we don't have any ~~man~~more the feeling and taste of Orthodoxy.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Maximus the Confessor~~Seraphim Rose of Platina

~~“One must not harbour anger nor hatred towards~~ “We ourselves have a ~~person that is hostile towards us. On~~ feeling–based on nothing very definite as yet–that the best hope for preserving true Orthodoxy in the ~~contrary. You must love him and do~~ years ahead will lie in such small gatherings of believers, as much ~~good~~ as possible ~~towards him~~‘one in mind and soul. ~~Following~~ ’ 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 ~~teaching~~ spirit of the world has become very strong. Archbishop Averky, and our ~~Lord Jesus Christ~~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. Seraphim Rose of ~~Sarov~~Platina, Hope, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works by Hieromonk Damascene

~~“Do not ask for love from your neighbor~~“In those days the remnant of the faithful are to experience in themselves something like that which was experienced once by the Lord Himself when He, hanging on a cross, felt Himself so forsaken by His Divinity, ~~for if you ask and he does not respond~~that He cried out ‘My God, ~~you~~ why hast Thou forsaken me?’ The last Christians will ~~be troubled. Instead show your love~~ experience in themselves a similar abandonment of humanity by the Grace of God, but only for ~~your neighbour and you will be at rest, and so will bring your neighbour to love~~a short time.” —St. ~~Dorotheos~~ Seraphim of ~~Gaza~~Sarov

~~“Love should never~~ “Finally, in the twilight of history, the dictator of the world will come, the son of perdition… whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth (2 Thess. 2:8). And in all that time of peace, happiness and prosperity, there ‘will be ~~sacrificed for~~ great tribulation such as was not from the ~~sake~~ beginning of ~~some dogmatic difference~~the world, nor will ever be after’ (Mat.~~” —St~~24:21). ~~Nektarios~~ Because of ~~Aegina~~these troubles, many will repent and turn to God the Saviour. And in them the Lord will have His last harvest.

~~“No term is used–and misused–among~~ The countries of the ~~Orthodox people in America more often than~~ world will lead the fight against Christ and His Church… The Church of Christ will be put outside the ~~term canonical~~law, and public commemoration of Christ's name will be proscribed with severe penalties.~~” —Fr~~But only those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. ~~Alexander Schmemann~~And the Son of Man, ~~The Problems~~ when He suddenly comes and destroys the ‘son of ~~Orthodoxy in America~~perdition’ [i.e. Antichrist], that last tyrant, ~~The Canonical Problem~~will He find faith on the earth?

~~“Men are converted to God~~ It will be found, but not ~~because someone was able to give brilliant explanations~~in public. It will be found, but ~~because they saw~~ not in ~~him that light~~magnificent temples, ~~joy~~such as are present, ~~depth~~but in the caves and deserts. It will be found, ~~seriousness~~but not as approved and protected, but as something tossed to and ~~love which alone reveal~~ fro. It will be found, but not in lavish liturgies and psalmody but in the temples of the human heart and in whispered speakings. For the ~~presence~~ Church began in Martyrdom, and ~~power of God~~ in the ~~world~~end there She will find Martyrdom, O holy brethren.” ~~—Fr~~—St. ~~Alexander Schmemann~~Nikolai Velimirovich, The Orthodox Church in the "twilight of history"

~~“Even~~ “During the ~~slightest thought that~~ days of Antichrist, the strongest temptation will be the anticipation of salvation coming from the cosmos, from humanoids–that is ~~not founded on love destroys peace~~from extraterrestrials, who are actually demons. One should rarely look up to search the skies with the naked eye, since the signs might be deceptive and one might be deceived.” ~~—Archimandrite Thaddeus Strabulovich~~—St. Gabriel Urgebadze of Georgia, Confessor and Fool for Christ

~~“What does love look like~~“So mine is a little flock? But it is not being carried over a precipice. So mine is a narrow fold? ~~It has~~ But it is unapproachable by wolves; it cannot be entered by a robber, nor overcome by thieves and strangers. I shall yet see it, I know well, grow wider… I fear not for the ~~hands to help others~~little flock; for it is seen at a glance. ~~It has the feet to hasten to the poor~~ I know my sheep and ~~needy~~am known of mine. ~~It has eyes to see misery~~ Such are they that know God and ~~want~~are known of God. ~~It has ears to~~ My sheep hear from my voice that which I have heard from the ~~sighs and sorrows~~ oracles of ~~men. That is what love looks~~ God, which I have been taught by the Holy Fathers, which I have taught in likemanner 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 depart.” —St. ~~Augustine of Hippo~~Gregory the Theologian

~~“Your Lord is love: love Him and in Him all men~~“If it should happen that a patriarch, ~~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 or understanding~~metropolitan, or ~~without faith. Your Lord~~ bishop is a ~~God of mercy~~ heretic, and ~~bountifulness: be also~~ such a ~~source of mercy~~ heretic publicly professes heresy and ~~bountifulness to your neighbors. If you~~ disseminates heretical opinions boldly and confidently among the people, whoever separates from him will not only not be ~~such~~punished, but rather honored, ~~you will find salvation yourself~~ for they deserve recognition for separating from an association with ~~everlasting glory~~a certain faith.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~John of Kronstadt~~Joannes Zonaras (9th century Byzantine canonist and historian on Canon 15)

~~“I guard you in advance against beasts in~~ “If every Orthodox Christian is commanded by the ~~form~~ canons to depart from a heretical bishop even before he is officially condemned, or be guilty also of ~~men~~his heresy, ~~whom you~~ how much more must ~~not only not receive, but if it is possible not even meet~~we depart from those who are worse (and more unfortunate) than heretics, ~~but only pray for them, if perchance~~ because they ~~may repent…” —St~~openly serve the cause of Antichrist?” —Fr. ~~Ignatius~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Antioch~~Platina, Letter ~~to the Smyrnaeans~~40, ~~A.D. 117~~1970

~~“Until you have eradicated evil~~“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 ~~obey your heart~~accept communion with him or with those who are with him, 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 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 ~~it will seek more~~ 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 ~~already contains within itself~~befits them to be absolutely separated from us until such time as God shall grant correction and peace to His Church.” —St. Mark ~~the Ascetic~~of Ephesus, The Example of, [as quoted in The Orthodox Word, June-July, 1967, pp. 103ff.]

~~“Whatever of that which is best has flowed into the heart~~“With all our strength, therefore, let us beware lest we ~~should not pour out without need; for that which has been gathered can be free of danger~~ receive Communion from ~~visible and invisible enemies only when~~ or give it to heretics. ‘Give not what is ~~guarded in~~ holy to the ~~interior of~~ dogs,’ saith the ~~heart~~Lord. ‘Neither cast ye your pearls before swine’, lest we become partakers in their dishonour and condemnation.” —St. ~~Seraphim~~ John of ~~Sarov~~Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, IV, 13

~~“No one professing faith sins~~“And, ~~nor does does anyone possessing love hate. The tree~~ you see, people are not at all aware that we are living during the signs of the times, that the sealing is ~~known by its fruit; thus those who profess to be Christ's will be recognized by their actions~~already advancing. ~~For the work~~ This is ~~a matter not of what one promises now, but of persevering to~~ why the ~~end in~~ Sacred Scripture says that even the ~~power of faith~~elect will be deceived.” —St. ~~Ignatius~~ Paisios of ~~Antioch (to the Ephesians)~~Mt. Athos, Spiritual Counsels, Vol. II, Spiritual Awakening, p. 198

~~“Indeed~~“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 aroused, and then, ~~man wishes~~ the devil comes and thrashes about. That is why people who are governed by their passions should not seek to ~~be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible~~govern others.” —St. ~~Augustine~~Paisios of Mt. Athos

~~“The confession~~ “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 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 division, and at the same time being possessed by an exorbitant love of power--represents a pitiful spectacle which recalls the worst periods in the history of ~~evil works is~~ the ~~first beginning~~ See of ~~good works~~Constantinople.” —St. ~~Augustine~~John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, from Orthodox Word, vol. 8, no. 4 (45), July-August 1972, pp. 166-168, 174-175.

“The ~~evil powers love~~ 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 handed it down to us in Scriptures, 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 knowledge, 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 ~~darkness~~ Holy Spirit came upon them, they were filled with all things and ~~tremble at every light~~had perfect knowledge. They went out to the ends of the earth, ~~especially at~~ preaching the good things that ~~which belongs~~ come to us from God , and proclaiming peace from heaven to ~~those who please Him~~all men, all and each of them equally being in possession of the gospel of God.” —St. ~~Nikolai Velimirovich~~Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, III

~~“The one~~ “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 ~~has not yet obtained divine knowledge activated~~ were appointed bishops in the churches by ~~love makes~~ 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 secret, they would rather have committed them to those to whom they entrusted the 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 authority. But as it would be very tedious, in a ~~lot~~ book of this sort, to enumerate the successions in all the ~~religious works he performs~~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. ~~But~~ This we do by pointing to the apostolic tradition and the ~~one who~~ faith that is preached to men, which has ~~been deemed worthy~~ come down to ~~obtain this says with conviction~~ us through the successions of bishops; the tradition and creed of the greatest, and most ancient church, the ~~words~~ church known to all men, which was founded and set up at Rome by the ~~patriarch Abraham spoke when he was graced~~ two men most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul. For with ~~the divine appearance~~this church, ~~‘I am but earth~~ because of its position of leadership and ~~ashes~~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 parts.’” ” —St. ~~Maximus the Confessor~~Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, III

~~“Do not say that ‘mere faith in our Lord Jesus Christ can save me.’ For this is impossible unless~~ “If you ~~acquire love~~ wait for ~~him through works. For in what concerns mere believing~~the perfect conditions to work out your salvation, ~~‘even the devils believe and tremble~~then you will never begin a God-pleasing life.’” ” —St. ~~Maximus the Confessor~~Nikon of Optina

~~“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~~"True Christianity is glorifying God with our own lives. ~~So does~~ To glorify God with our own 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~~ possible only when we have true faith and ~~mature man~~ when that ~~I was is no more. My hair turns white~~faith indeed exists, ~~I succumb to age, but that too passes; I approach the end~~ we express it in words and ~~will go the way of all flesh. I was born~~ in ~~order to die~~deeds. ~~I die that I may live. Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom!~~” —St. ~~Tikhon~~ John (Maximovitch) of ~~Voronezh~~Shanghai and San Francisco

~~“You should look downward. Remember: you are earth~~ “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 ~~you will return to~~ even molebens in front of the ~~earth~~Soviet consulate, I became quite alarmed and regretted that I was not here, since I would have decisively opposed much of what took place.~~” —St~~In particular, holding a moleben in such a place. ~~Ambrose~~ Did 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 ~~Optina~~the frenzied servants of Antichrist? Was it really not possible to pray in church?

~~“Just as a pauper~~I must say frankly that I am always seized by dismay when I hear of protests, demonstrations, ~~seeing~~ and the like. In the ~~royal treasures~~USSR, ~~all~~ life is governed by him (the ~~more acknowledges his own poverty~~one with horns) who fears only Christ and His Cross; ~~so also~~ 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 heed to the ~~spirit~~commotion that was raised. They wanted to invade Afghanistan and they invaded it, ~~reading~~ again paying no attention to the ~~accounts~~ protests and threats of the ~~great deeds~~ various Carters & Co. All attempts to shape public opinion in the so-called Free World in favor of those suffering from Communism are powerless and fruitless, since the Free World stubbornly closes its eyes and imitates the ~~Holy Fathers~~ostrich, ~~involuntarily is all the more humbled in~~ which hides its head under its ~~way~~ wing and imagines that it cannot be seen…” —Metropolitan Philaret of ~~thought.” —St. John Climacus~~New York, A letter from Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky) to ROCOR Priest Victor Potapov concerning Father Dimitry Dudko and the Moscow Patriarchate

~~“Do~~ “That only the canonical Scriptures have infallibility is testified by Blessed Augustine in the words which he writes to Jerome: ‘It is fitting to bestow such honour and veneration only to the books of Scripture which are called 'canonical,' for I absolutely believe that none of the authors who wrote them erred in anything. … As for other writings, no matter how great was the excellence of their authors in sanctity and learning, in reading them I do not ~~shun poverty~~ accept their teaching as true solely on the basis that they thus wrote and thought.’ Then, in a letter to Fortunatus [St. Mark continues in his citations of Augustine] he writes the following: ‘We should not hold the judgment of a man, even though this man might have been orthodox and ~~affliction~~had an high reputation, as the same kind of authority as the canonical Scriptures, to the extent of considering it inadmissible for us, out of the reverence we owe such men, to disapprove and reject something in their writing if we should happen to discover that they taught other than the truth which, with God's help, has been attained by others or by ourselves. This is how I am with regard to the ~~fuel~~ writings of other men; and I desire that ~~gives wings~~ the reader will act thus with regard to ~~prayer~~my writings also.~~” —Evagrios the Solitary~~’” —St. Mark of Ephesus, Second Homily on Purgatorial Fire, chs. 15-16; Pogodin, pp. 127-132

~~“What is the meaning of the exclamation so often sung in church: ‘Lord, have mercy upon us’? It is the lament of~~ “All who foolishly and proudly reject the ~~guilty~~Holy Fathers, ~~condemned sinner, imploring forgiveness of an irritated justice. We are all under~~ who approach the ~~eternal curse~~ Gospels directly with foolish brazenness and ~~doomed to eternal fire for our innumerable sins,~~ unclean mind and ~~it is only the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ~~heart, ~~interceding for us before the Heavenly Father, that saves us from eternal punishment~~fall into lethal self-deception. ~~It is the lament of the repentant sinner, expressing his firm intention to amend and begin a new life~~The Gospel has rejected them, ~~becoming~~ for ~~a Christian. It is the lament of the repentant sinner, ready to forgive others, as he himself was and is immeasurably forgiven by God, the Judge of his deeds~~it only accepts those who are humble.” —St. ~~John~~ Ignatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of ~~Kronstadt~~Caucasus, ~~My Life in Christ~~The Field, ~~pg. 406~~Chapter 3

~~“It seems that we do not understand one thing: it is~~ “The holy scriptures were not ~~good when we return the love of those who love~~ given to us~~, yet hate those who hate us. We are not on the right path if~~ that we ~~do this. We are the sons of light and love – the sons of God, his children. As such~~should enclose them in books, but that we ~~must have His qualities and His attributes of love, peace, and kindness towards all~~should engrave them in our hearts.” ~~—Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica~~—St. John Chrysostom

~~“We suffer because we have no humility~~ “I will tell you my opinion briefly and without reserve. We ought to remain in that Church which was founded by the Apostles and ~~we do not love our brother~~continues to this day. ~~From love~~ If ever you hear of ~~our brother comes~~ any that are called Christians taking their name not from the ~~love~~ Lord Jesus Christ, but from some other, for instance, Marcionites, Valentinians, Men of ~~God. People do~~ the mountain or the plain, you may be sure that you have there not ~~learn humility~~the Church of Christ, ~~and because~~ but the synagogue of Antichrist. For the fact that they took their ~~pride cannot receive~~ rise after the ~~grace~~ foundation of the ~~Holy Spirit, and therefor~~ Church is proof that they are those whose coming the ~~whole world suffers~~Apostle foretold.~~” —St. Silouan the Athonite~~

~~“Some suffer much from poverty~~ And let them not flatter themselves if they think they have Scripture authority for their assertions, since the devil himself quoted Scripture, and ~~sickness~~the essence of the Scriptures is not the letter, but ~~are not humbled, and so they suffer without profit~~the meaning. ~~But one who is humbled will be happy in all circumstances~~Otherwise, ~~because~~ if we follow the ~~Lord is his riches~~ letter, we too can concoct a new dogma and ~~joy,~~ assert that such persons as wear shoes and ~~all people will wonder at~~ have two coats must not be received into the ~~beauty of his soul~~Church.” —St. ~~Silouan the Athonite~~Jerome

~~“My joy~~“The key [to interpreting Holy Scripture]… is the Tradition of the Church… Now if you want to interpret the way you want, ~~I beg~~ due to your satanic pride, then youwill most certainly fail. You will become a heretic, ~~acquire~~ and heresy is nothing other than the ~~Spirit~~ logical interpretation of ~~Peace~~dogma. ~~That means~~ When I attempt to ~~bring oneself~~ interpret things that cannot be interpreted with logic and intellect, when I attempt to ~~such~~ interpret a ~~state that our spirit will not be disturbed by anything~~deep mystery using my mere mind and my intellect, then I go astray. ~~For one must go through many sorrows to enter~~ ” —Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios, Homiles on the ~~Kingdom~~ Book of ~~Heaven~~the Revelation, Vol. ~~This is the way all righteous men were saved and inherited the Heavenly Kingdom…” —St~~I, p. ~~Seraphim of Sarov~~46

~~“My will~~“Christianity did not come from Judaism: rather, ~~therefore, He took to Himself, my grief. In confidence I call it grief, because I preach His Cross. Mine~~ Judaism 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, but as Thou wilt~~a perversion of Christianity.’ Mine was the grief, 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” —St.Ignatius of Antioch

~~Not Thy Wound, but mine, hurt Thee, Lord Jesus; not Thy Death, but our weakness, even as~~ “Jesus Christ is King of Israel. Christians are the ~~Prophet saith: ‘For He is afflicted for our sakes’--and we, Lord, esteemed Thee afflicted, when Thou grievedst not for Thyself, but for me~~Israelite race.” —St.Justin the Martyr

~~And what wonder if He grieved~~ “The synagogue is a refuge for ~~all~~demons, ~~Who wept for one? What wonder if, in the hour of death, He~~ and it is ~~heavy for all, Who wept when at the point~~ more correct to ~~raise Lazarus from~~ say not only the ~~dead? Then, indeed, He was moved by~~ synagogue but also Jewish souls; if you consider yourself a ~~loving sister's tears~~true Jew, ~~for they touched His human heart,--here by secret grief He brought it to pass that, even as His Death made an end of death, and His Stripes healed our scars, so also His Sorrow took away our sorrow~~then why are you burdening the Church.” —St. ~~Ambrose of Milan~~John Chrysostom, Against the Jews (~~+397~~Adversus Judeos), ~~Ch. 7, Book II, Exposition on the Christian Faith~~Homily 1 IV:2

~~“Peace~~ “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 worship 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 ~~absence~~ his conscience, being weak, be 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 participate in the festival of ~~struggle~~the Trumpets, shall not his conscience, being weak, be emboldened to admire what the Jews do? He who falls not only pays the penalty for his own fall, but ~~absence~~ he is also punished because he trips others as well. But the man who has stood firm is rewarded not only because of ~~uncertainty and confusion~~his own virtue but people admire him for leading others to desire the same things.” ~~—Metropolitan Anthony~~ —St. John Chrysostom, Against the Jews (~~Bloom~~Adversus Judeos) ~~of Sourozh~~, Homily 1 V:7

~~“Humility is perfect quietness of heart, it is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing~~ “But do not be surprised that ~~is done to me, to feel nothing done against me~~I called the Jews pitiable. ~~It is to be at rest when nobody praises me,~~ They really are pitiable and ~~when I am blamed or despised~~miserable. ~~It is to have a blessed home in the Lord~~When so many blessings from heaven came into their hands, ~~where I can go in~~ they thrust them aside and ~~shut the door, and kneel~~ were at great pains to ~~my Father in secret~~reject them. The morning Sun of Justice arose for them, but they thrust aside its rays and ~~am at peace as~~ still sit in ~~a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble~~darkness.” ~~—Andrew Murray~~—St. John Chrysostom, Against the Jews (Adversus Judeos)

~~“However great~~ “Certainly it is the ~~afflictions we suffer~~time for me to show that demons dwell in the synagogue, not 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, ~~what~~ and 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 that man is made worse than the first. So shall it be also to this generation.’ Do you see that demons dwell in their souls and that these demons are ~~they compared with~~ more dangerous than the ~~promised future reward~~ones of old? And this is very reasonable.” —St. ~~Macarius~~ John Chrysostom, Against the ~~Great~~Jews (Adversus Judeos)

~~“Shun~~ “The teachers of Judaism refuse to admit that the ~~praise~~ Septuagint is correct. They attempt to frame another translation of ~~men and love~~ the ~~one who~~Scriptures. Observe that they have taken away many Old Testament Scriptures, in by which the ~~fear~~ proof of ~~the Lord, reprimands you~~Christ's crucifixion is set forth.” —St. ~~Pachomius~~Justin the Martyr

~~“When people begin to praise us~~“The Jews are wise only in doing evil, ~~let us hurry~~ and are thus unable to ~~remember~~ know the ~~multitude of ours transgressions, and we will see that we are truly unworthy~~ hidden plan of ~~that which they say and do in our honor~~God.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Justin the Martyr

~~“…Don't~~ “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 ~~frightened at your burden; our Lord will help you~~ Judaism. For Christ is one, in whom every nation that believes, and every 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 in his seed all those have been blessed who were ordained to ~~carry it~~eternal life in Christ.” —St. ~~John Vianney~~Ignatius of Antioch, On the Delusion of Being a ‘Jewish’ Christian, Epistle to the Magnesians, Chapter X

~~“Every tribulation reveals~~ “Jews are slayers of the Lord, murderers of the prophets, 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 ~~state~~ leaven of Pharisees, a congregation of demons, sinners, wicked men, haters of ~~our will.~~Goodness!” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Gregory of Nyssa

~~“Every affliction tests our will~~“It is true that Muhammad started from the east and came to the west, ~~showing whether it is inclined~~ as the sun travels from east to west. Nevertheless he came with war, knives, pillaging, forced enslavement, murders, and acts that are not from the good ~~or evil. That is why an unforeseen affliction is called a test~~God but instigated by the chief manslayer, ~~because it enables a man to test his hidden desires~~the devil.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Gregory Palamas

~~“Many are~~ “They furthermore accuse us of being idolaters, because we venerate the ~~wiles~~ 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 them say that Abraham had relations with Agar upon it, but others say that he tied the ~~enemy~~ camel to it, when he was going to ~~despoil~~ sacrifice 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 left the asses behind with the two young men, why talk nonsense? For in that place neither is it thick with trees nor is there passage for asses.’ And they are embarrassed, but they still assert that the stone is Abraham's. Then we say: ‘Let it be Abraham's, as you so foolishly say. Then, just because Abraham had relations with a woman on it or tied a camel to it, you are not ashamed to kiss it, yet you blame us for venerating the cross of ~~inner peace~~Christ by which the power of the demons and the deceit of the Devil was destroyed.’ This stone that they talk about is a head of that Aphrodite whom they used to worship and whom they called Khabár. Even to the present day, ~~so watch!” —St~~traces of the carving are visible on it to careful observers. ~~Theophan the Recluse~~

~~“In every situation confusion~~ As has been related, this Mohammed wrote many ridiculous books, to each one of which he set a title. For example, there is the book On Woman, in which he plainly makes legal provision for taking four wives and, if it be possible, a thousand 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 take my wife.’ Rather—to tell the story over from the ~~devil~~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 law: ‘Let him who will put away his wife. And if, after having put her away, he should return to her, ~~from whom may~~ 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 ~~Lord shield~~ land which God hath given thee and ~~protect us~~beautify it. And do this, and do it in such a manner’ –not to repeat all the obscene things that he did.” —St. ~~Leo~~ John of ~~Optina~~Damascus, Fount of Knowledge, Heresies in Epitome: How They Began and Whence They Drew Their Origin

~~“It should be noted that when~~ “Sometimes Japanese protestants come to me and ask me to clarify some place in the ~~fallen spirit wants~~ Holy Scriptures. ‘You have your own missionary teachers,’ 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 ~~get dominion over Christ~~know the real thought of God, not my own personal opinion.’ … It's ~~ascetics~~not like that with us [Orthodox]. Everything is clear, ~~he does not act imperiously or domineeringly~~trustworthy and simple, ~~but tries~~ since we accept Holy Tradition in addition to ~~draw~~ the Holy Scriptures. And Holy Tradition is a ~~man to consent to~~ living, unbroken voice of our Church from the ~~proposed delusion~~time of Christ and His Apostles until now, and ~~after getting his consent he takes possession~~ which will exist until the end of the ~~person who has given his consent~~world. ~~Holy David, in describing his~~ In it all the ~~fallen angel attacks man, has very rightly said: "He lurketh in secret as a lion in his den, that he may ravish~~ meaning of the ~~poor; to ravish the poor, when he getteth him into his net~~Holy Scriptures are preserved."” —St. ~~Ignaty Bryanchaninov~~Nicholas of Japan, ~~The Arena~~Diary, ~~chapter 11~~January 15, ~~On the Solitary Life~~1897

~~“The devil presents minor sins as insignificant~~ “It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, Who is the true word of God. The Bible, read in ~~our eyes~~the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, ~~because otherwise he would~~ will bring us to Him. We must not use the Bible as a sort of encyclopedia out of which texts can be ~~able lead us into major ones~~taken for use as weapons.” ~~—St~~—C. S. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Lewis

~~“Do not leave unobliterated any fault~~“If Scripture is perfect and sufficient for everything, why is the Church's interpretation necessary? Because, ~~however small~~quite plainly, ~~for it may lead you on to greater sins~~Scripture is not accepted by everyone as having the same meaning.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Vincent of Lérins

~~“He who honours~~ “The humility of Jesus is not a superfluous detail in the ~~Lord does what~~ gospel narrative. The humility of Jesus is essential to the ~~Lord bids~~gospel. ~~When he sins or is disobedient~~If Jesus lacked humility, there would be no incarnation, no crucifixion, ~~he patiently accepts what comes as something he deserves~~and no redemption.” ~~—St. Mark the Ascetic~~—Jack Wisdom

~~“It is a great error~~ “When they are refuted by the Scriptures, they take to maligning the Scriptures themselves. … But when we refer them to ~~think~~ that ~~you must undertake important~~ tradition which originates with the apostles and ~~great labors~~which is preserved in the churches through the succession of the presbyters, ~~whether for heaven, or~~they attack the tradition, claiming that they themselves are wiser not merely than the presbyters but even than the apostles. [However] anyone who wants to see the truth can look to the tradition of the Apostles which is clearly manifested throughout the whole world; and we can list those who were set up as bishops in the ~~'progressives' think~~different churches as well as their successors right down to our own time, 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 ~~order~~ the habit of teaching to ~~make one's contribution~~ the “perfect” clandestinely and apart from the rest, they would most certainly have communicated these things to ~~humanity. That is not necessary at all. It is necessary only~~ those to ~~do everything in accordance with~~ whom they were entrusting the ~~Lord's commandments~~churches themselves.~~” —St. Theophan the Recluse~~

~~“When~~ And if a dispute should arise over some point or other, should we ~~are immersed~~ not have recourse to the most ancient churches, in ~~sins~~which the apostles were actively interested, and ~~our mind~~ find out from them what is ~~occupied solely~~ certain and clear with ~~worldly cares~~regard to the point at issue? What if, in fact, ~~we do~~ the apostles had left us no Writings? Would it not ~~notice~~ be necessary to follow the line indicated by the tradition which they handed down to those to whom they entrusted the ~~state of our soul.~~churches?” —St. ~~John Maximovitch~~Irenaeus of Lyons

~~“We have to~~ “[Heretics] should not be ~~aware that what is being pounded in upon us is all of one piece; it has a certain rhythm, a certain message~~ admitted to ~~give us, this message of self-worship, of relaxing, of letting go, of enjoying yourself, of giving up~~ any ~~thought~~ discussion of the ~~other world … It is actually an education in atheism. We have to fight back by knowing just what the world is trying to do to us…” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina~~Scriptures…

~~“I saw~~ The Lord Jesus sent the ~~snares~~ apostles to preach. … Now what they actually preached can, as I must here likewise prescribe, be proved only by those very same churches which the apostles themselves founded by preaching to them both viva voce, as they say, and later by letters. Such being the case, it is consequently certain that any doctrine which agrees with [what is held by] these apostolic churches, moulds and original sources of the ~~enemy spreads out over~~ faith, must be considered the ~~world~~ truth, undoubtedly containing that which these churches received from the apostles, the apostles from Christ, and ~~I said groaning~~Christ from God; but any other doctrine must be presumed false, ~~"What can get through from such snares?" Then I heard a voice saying~~ since it smacks of opposition to methe truth of the churches, ~~‘Humility.’” —St~~of the apostles, of Christ, of God. ~~Anthony the Great~~

~~“Learn to love humility, for it will cover~~ Come now! Would they all ~~your sins. All sins are repulsive before~~ have fallen into error? Would the steward of God, ~~but~~ the ~~most repulsive of all is pride~~ Vicar of Christ [the Holy Spirit] have neglected His duty by allowing the ~~heart. Do not consider yourself learned~~ churches to understand and ~~wise;~~ believe otherwise, than what He Himself taught the apostles? Is it likely that so many and such outstanding churches would all ~~your efforts will be destroyed, and your boat will reach~~ have strayed into the one [false] faith? No chance happening ever has the same outcome in the ~~harbor empty~~case of many different individuals. ~~If you~~ A doctrinal error in so many different churches would of necessity have ~~great authority, do not threaten anyone with death~~taken different forms. ~~Know that~~But when unity exists amid diversity, ~~according to nature~~this can be the result, ~~you too are susceptible to death~~not of error, ~~and that every soul sheds its body as its final garment~~but only of Tradition.~~” —St. Anthony the Great~~

~~“Wouldst thou comprehend~~ 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 cases of other practices which we justify without any written document, but solely on the ~~height~~ grounds of tradition and because of ~~God? First comprehend~~ the ~~lowliness~~ approval of ~~God~~subsequent custom… If you demand scriptural justification for these and other such practices, you will find none. ~~Condescend~~ Tradition will be held out to ~~be humble for thine own sake~~you as their author, ~~seeing that God condescended to be humble for thy sake too~~custom as their consolidator, ~~for it was not for his own~~and faith as their observer.” ~~—St. Augustine~~—Tertullian

~~“The greatness~~ “Since there are many who think they share the mind of ~~a man consisteth~~ Christ and yet some of ~~humility~~them think differently from their predecessors, let the preaching of the Church be held fast, ~~for~~ that preaching which has been handed down from the apostles through the ranks of succession and perdures in ~~proportion as a man descendeth~~ the churches to ~~humility, he becometh exalted~~ the present day. That alone is to ~~greatness~~be believed as the truth which varies in no wise from ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition.” ~~—Paradise of the Holy Fathers, Vol. 2~~—Origen

“It ~~is easier~~ suffices as proof of our thesis that we have a tradition coming to ~~measure~~ us from the ~~entire sea with~~ fathers, like a ~~tiny cup than to grasp God's ineffable greatness with~~ legacy handed down from the apostles through the ~~human mind~~saints who followed them in succession.” —St. ~~Basil the Great~~Gregory of Nyssa

~~“You don't~~ “Of the beliefs and practices [disciplinary regulations] preserved in the Church, some we possess from teaching handed down in written form; others we have received as delivered to us in a ~~soul. You are a Soul. You~~ mystery from the tradition of the Apostles, and both of these have ~~a body~~the same force as far as religion is concerned.” ~~—C. S~~—St. ~~Lewis~~Basil the Great

~~“Learn to love humility,~~ “There is need of tradition also; for ~~it will cover all your sins~~not everything can be found in Scripture. ~~All sins are repugnant before God but~~ That is why the most ~~repugnant of all~~ holy apostles left some things in writing and others in tradition. Paul affirms this very fact as follows: ‘as I handed it on to you.’ Likewise in another passage: ‘This is ~~pride of~~ my teaching and thus have I handed it on to the ~~heart~~churches.’ Similarly: ‘If you continue to cling firmly to it, as I preached it to you—unless your faith has all been for nothing.’” —St.Epiphanius

~~Do not consider yourself learned~~ “Baptize first the children, and ~~wise; otherwise~~if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, ~~all your effort will be destroyed and your boat will reach the harbor empty~~let their parents or other relatives speak for them.” —St.Hippolytus of Rome, The Apostolic Tradition, 21:16

~~If you have great authority~~“We baptize even infants, do though they are not ~~threaten anyone~~ defiled by sins, so they too may be given holiness, righteousness, adoption, inheritance, brotherhood with ~~death. Know, that according to nature~~Christ, ~~you too are susceptible to death~~ and ~~that every soul sheds its body from itself as the final garment~~membership in Him.” —St.John Chrysostom

~~In Byzantium there existed an unusual~~ “We believe the first man created by God to have fallen in Paradise, when, disregarding the Divine commandment, he yielded to the deceitful counsel of the serpent. And as a result hereditary sin flowed to his posterity; so that everyone who is born after the flesh bears this burden, and ~~instructive custom during~~ experiences the ~~crowning~~ 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 by our depraved choice committed contrarily to the ~~emperors in~~ Divine Will, not from nature. For many both of the Forefathers and of the Prophets, and vast numbers of others, as well of those under the ~~Church~~ shadow [of the ~~Divine Wisdom~~ Law], as well as under the truth [~~St. Sophia~~of the Gospel]~~. The custom was that when~~ , such as the ~~patriarch placed~~ divine Precursor, and especially the ~~crown on~~ Mother of God the ~~emperor's head~~Word, at the ~~same time~~ever-virgin Mary, ~~he handed him~~ did not experience these [sins], or such like faults. But only what the Divine Justice inflicted upon man as a ~~silk purse filled with dirt from~~ punishment for the ~~grave~~[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

~~Then~~“We believe Holy Baptism, which was instituted by the Lord, and is conferred in the name of the Holy Trinity, to be of the highest necessity. For without it none is able to be saved, as the Lord says, ‘Whoever is not born of water and of the Spirit, shall in no way enter into the Kingdom of the Heavens.’ {John 3:5} And, therefore, baptism is necessary even for infants, since they also are subject to original sin, and without Baptism are not able to obtain its remission. Which the Lord showed when he said, not of some only, but simply and absolutely, ‘Whoever is not born [again],’ which is the same as saying, ‘All that after the ~~emperor~~ coming of Christ the Savior would ~~recall death~~ enter into the Kingdom of the Heavens must be regenerated.’ And since infants are men, and as such need salvation, needing salvation they need also Baptism. And those that are not regenerated, since they have not received the remission of hereditary sin, are, of necessity, subject to ~~avoid all pride~~ eternal punishment, and ~~become humble~~consequently cannot without Baptism be saved. So that even infants should, of necessity, be baptized. Moreover, infants are saved, as is said in Matthew; {Matthew 19:12} but he that is not baptized is not saved.~~” —St~~And consequently even infants must of necessity be baptized. ~~Anthony~~ And in the ~~Great~~Acts {Acts 8:12; 16:33} it is said that the whole houses were baptized, and consequently the infants. To this the ancient Fathers also witness explicitly, and among them Dionysius in his Treatise concerning the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy; and Justin in his fifty-sixth Question, who says expressly, ‘And they are guaranteed the benefits of Baptism by the faith of those 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 feet of others, that they may come; and the hearts of others, that they may believe; and the tongues of others, that they may promise;’ and in another place, ‘Our mother, the Church, furnishes them with a particular heart.’

~~“Pride more than anything else~~Now the matter of Baptism is pure water, ~~deprives people~~ and no other liquid. And it is performed by the Priest only, or in a case of ~~both their good deeds~~ unavoidable necessity, by another man, provided he is Orthodox, and ~~help from God~~has the proper intention to Divine Baptism. ~~Where there is no humility~~And the effects of Baptism are, to speak concisely, firstly, the remission of the hereditary transgression, ~~pride takes its place~~and of any sins of any kind that the baptized may have committed.~~” —St~~Secondly, it delivers him from the eternal punishment, to which he was liable, as well for original sin and for mortal sins he may have individually committed. ~~Macarius~~ Thirdly, it gives to the person immortality; for in justifying them from past sins, it makes them temples of ~~Optina~~God.

~~“This~~ 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 ~~wisdom~~ height of impiety, and ~~power~~ 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 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 Godis 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 ~~victorious~~ in the same [person]. If Christ truly died, then remission of sin through ~~weakness~~the Spirit is true also. Hence it is evident that all who are baptized and fall asleep while babes are undoubtedly saved, ~~exalted~~ being predestinated through ~~humility~~the death of Christ. Forasmuch as they are without any sin; – without that common [to all], because delivered from it by the Divine 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, as does also the Priesthood. For as it is impossible for any one to receive twice the same 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, ~~rich~~ he receives again through ~~poverty~~the Mystery of Penance the adoption of a son, which he had lost.” ~~—St. Gregory Palamas~~—Confession of Dositheus, Synod of Jerusalem, 1672, Decree 16

~~“You~~ “A dangerous lie is preached by sectarians when they say that children should not be baptized, but when children grow up and know what faith is, then they should be baptized. Man and son of man, shut your ears from such crazy words. Because if your child dies unbaptized, he will enter the other world as unclean and undone by God. With whom, then, will ~~lose nothing of~~ he be in eternity, and whose 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 bread and medicine are, and only then can you give him all that. But you give it to him even though he doesn't know it. You know what's good and life saving for her, does she have ~~renounced~~ to know that in the cradle? And if your child has cough, will you treat it, or will you wait until it grows up and find out what cough is? And hereditary sin is an unequally heavier pain than gout. So when you are treating your child from gout, treat him also from that more serious illness, for which the ~~Lord’s sake~~cure is baptism. ~~For~~ Don't let your unbaptized child die, because otherwise you will never and anywhere in ~~its own time it will return to you greatly multiplied~~eternity meet his soul.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Nikolai Velimirovich

~~“Where can I flee? A place cannot save you because~~ “…[T]here were no New Testamental writings for the earliest Christians and yet they possessed the fullness of the truth and faith of Christianity. On the day of Pentecost the Church was born and yet there is were no ~~place you can flee from yourself~~Gospels as we know them today. It would not be a theological exaggeration to assert that the Church would be the Church in Her fullness even if She did not possess the New Testament. For many raised on the Reformational principle of ‘sola scriptura’ this may seem a radical – even heretical – statement. …[T]here was a time when the Church did not possess this corpus of inspired writing and yet the Church existed in Her fullness, Christians experienced the truth of the faith in all its fullness.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Nikon~~ Georges Florovsky, The Byzantine Fathers of ~~Optina~~the Fifth Century

~~“If our purpose is to fight the spiritual fight~~ “… Word and ~~to defeat,~~ sacrament long ago lost touch with ~~God's help, the demons~~ each other and became subjects of ~~malice, we should take every care to guard our heart from~~ independent study and definition … I daresay that the ~~demon~~ gradual ‘decomposition’ of ~~dejection~~scripture, ~~just as a moth devours clothing~~ its dissolution in more and more specialized and ~~a worm devours wood~~negative criticism, ~~so dejection devours~~ is a ~~man’s soul. It persuades him to shun every helpful encounter and stops him accepting advice~~ result of its alienation from ~~his true friends or giving them a courteous and peaceful reply. Seizing~~ the ~~entire soul, it fills it with bitterness~~ Eucharist - and ~~listlessness. Then it suggests to the soul that we should go away~~ practically from ~~other people, since they are~~ the ~~cause~~ Church herself - as an experience of ~~its agitation~~a spiritual reality.” —Fr. ~~It does not allow the soul to understand that its sickness does not come from without~~Alexander Schmemann, ~~but lies hidden within~~The Eucharist, ~~only manifesting itself when temptations attack the soul because of our ascetic efforts~~p.66

“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 ~~man can be harmed by another only through~~ live-in relationship, without benefit of the ~~causes~~ rites and legalities of ~~the passions which lie within himself~~marriage, is a pure relationship. Evangelicalism tends to encourage a live-in relationship with Jesus. It This is ~~for this reason that God~~wrong, a departure from Christian tradition, and unbiblical. It also places unbearable burdens on the ~~Creator of all and~~ soul. Tempted by the ~~Doctor of men’s souls~~devil, ~~who alone has accurate knowledge~~ Luther slapped his forehead to remind himself of ~~the soul’s wounds~~his baptism. His standing before God was anchored in Christ, ~~does not tell us~~ to ~~forsake~~ whom he had been joined by baptism. For evangelicals, assurance cannot be grounded in anything so external and objective. Spontaneous enthusiasm is the ~~company~~ test of ~~men; He tells us to root out~~ sincerity, and the ~~causes~~ source of ~~evil within us and~~ assurance. But eternal, self-scrutinizing vigilance is necessary to ~~recognize~~ ensure that the ~~soul’s health~~ enthusiasm is ~~achieved not by a man’s separating himself~~ really spontaneous. Enthusiasm was supposed to liberate the soul from ~~his fellows~~all the dead forms, but ~~by his living the ascetic life in the company~~ it comes with its own set of ~~holy men~~chains.” —Rev. 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 circumstancesDr.~~” —St~~Peter J. ~~John Cassian~~Leithard

~~“A life lived in~~ “In the ~~world can be as good~~Orthodox approach to Scripture, in it is the ~~eyes~~ job of ~~God~~the individual not to strive for originality in interpretation, ~~as one spent~~ but rather to understand what is already present in ~~a monastery~~the traditions of the Church. ~~It is indeed only~~ We are obliged not to go beyond the boundary set by the ~~keeping~~ Fathers and Creeds of ~~God's commandments~~the Church, ~~love~~ but to faithfully pass on the Tradition just as we have received it. To do this requires a great deal of ~~all,~~ study and ~~a true sense of humility that matter~~thought–but even more, ~~wherever~~ if we areto truly understand the Scriptures, we must enter deeply into the mystical life of the Church.” ~~—Elder Macarius of Optina~~—ibid., p. 44

~~“Those who~~“The scriptures and the Church are reduced here to the category of two formal authorities, ~~because~~ two ‘sources of faith’ – as they are called in the ~~rigor of their own ascetic practice~~scholastic treatises, ~~despise~~ for which the ~~less zealous, think that they are made righteous by physical works. But we are even more foolish if we rely on theoretical knowledge and disparage~~ only question is which authority is the ~~ignorant~~higher: which ‘interprets’ which…” —Ibid.~~” —St~~, p. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~66

~~“A remedy against straying thoughts is mental attention, attention~~ “For if we proclaim holy scripture to be the supreme authority for teaching the ~~fact that~~ faith in the ~~Lord~~ Church, then what is ~~before us and we are before Him~~the ‘criterion’ of scripture? Sooner or later it becomes ‘biblical science’ – i.~~” —St~~e. ~~Theophan~~ , in the ~~Recluse~~final analysis, naked reason…” —Ibid., p. 66-67

~~“The roots of evil thoughts are~~ “It is therefore clear that [the ~~obvious vices~~apostles] did not teach everything in epistolary form, ~~which we keep trying to justify~~ but that they taught many things besides in ~~our words~~ unwritten form, and ~~actions~~these things, too, are worthy of acceptance. Wherefore we should consider the tradition of the Church also as worthy of belief. If there is a tradition, look no further.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~John Chrysostom

~~“Guard your speech from boasting~~ “Certain men who hold different opinions (i.e. heretics) misuse these passages. They essentially destroy free will by introducing ruined natures incapable of salvation and ~~your thoughts from presumption; otherwise you may be abandoned~~ by ~~God and fall into sin. For man~~ introducing others as being saved in such a way that they cannot ~~do anything good without the help of God, who sees everything~~be lost.” ~~—St. Mark the Ascetic~~—Origen

~~"The higher a person’s position in society~~ “A false interpretation of Scripture causes that the gospel of the Lord becomes the ~~more he should help others without ever reminding them~~ gospel of ~~his position~~man, or, which is worse, of the devil.” ~~—Tsar St~~—St. ~~Nicholas II~~Jerome

~~“If you want your sins to~~ “Truth cannot be ~~absolved by~~ acquired, the flesh with its passions and lusts cannot be crucified, the heart cannot be filled with the Light of Christand united with Him, ~~then don't speak to others about any virtue that you may have~~through salvation, ~~because God will treat our sins the same way we treat our virtues~~unless these are preceded by frequent prayer.” ~~—St. Mark the Ascetic~~—The Way of a Pilgrim

~~“If any man is able~~ “How long shall we continue in ~~power~~ this manner, our intellect reduced to ~~continue in purity~~futility, failing to make the ~~honour~~ spirit of the ~~flesh of~~ Gospel our ~~Lord~~own, ~~let him continue so without boasting; if he boasts~~not knowing what it means to live according to our conscience, ~~he is undone; if he become known apart from the bishop, he has destroyed himself.~~making no serious effort to keep it pure?” —St. ~~Ignatius of Antioch~~Mark the Ascetic

~~“Guarding~~ “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 ~~mouth wakes up~~ creed which they have inherited, just as do the ~~conscience~~ majority of you who are Orthodox; in their lives there has not been a moment of personal and conscious renunciation of Orthodoxy. The Lord, ‘Who will have all men to ~~God~~be saved’ (I Tim. 2:4) and ‘Who enlightens every man born into the world’ (Jn. 1.43), ~~if it~~ undoubtedly is ~~with knowledge that a man keeps silence~~leading them also towards salvation in His own way.” ~~—St. Isaac the Syrian~~—Metropolitan Philaret of New York

~~“Silence is more profitable than speech~~“You ask, ~~for as it has been said~~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, ~~"The words of wise men are heard even~~ however: should you, being Orthodox and possessing the Truth in ~~quiet~~its fullness, betray Orthodoxy, and enter a different faith, you will lose your soul forever."” —St. ~~Basil~~ Theophan the ~~Great~~Recluse

~~“Never give your opinion if you are not asked for it~~“The Orthodox confess that SHE IS the One, ~~even if you think that your view~~ Holy, Universal (katholikos) and Apostolic Ecclesia! Any other model is ~~the best~~gnostic.” —St. ~~Josemaria Escriva~~Irenaeus of Lyons

~~“Not only for every idle word must man give an account~~“Orthodoxy is what Christ taught, ~~but for every idle silence~~the apostles preached, and the Fathers kept.” —St. ~~Ambrose of Milan~~Athanasius the Great

~~“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure~~“He is ‘the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8). Orthodox Christians are committed to the truth claim of the Christian Faith not as ideology but as an expression of holiness.” ~~—Henri Nouwen~~—Rev. Dr. George C. Papademetriou, An Orthodox Reflection on Truth & Tolerance

~~“Let your mouth continually administer blessing~~“The beginning of theology is not the card catalogue, but doing battle against the passions; ~~then~~ and the ~~scorn~~ end of ~~anyone will never hurt you~~theology is not becoming a professor, but becoming a saint.” ~~—St~~—Dr. ~~Isaac the Syrian~~David Fagerberg

~~“Just as swine run~~ “Men are converted to God not because someone was able to ~~a place where there is mire~~give brilliant explanations, but because they saw in him that light, ~~and bees dwell where there are fragrances and incense~~joy, depth, seriousness, ~~likewise demons gather where there are carnal songs~~ and love which alone reveal the ~~grace~~ presence and power of God in the ~~Holy Spirit settles where there are spiritual melodies, sanctifying both mouth and soul~~world.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~John Chrysostom~~Alexander Schmemann

~~“A psalm implies serenity~~ “When conversion does take place, the process of ~~soul; it~~ revelation occurs in a very simple way: a person is ~~the author of peace~~in need, he suffers, ~~which calms bewildering~~ and ~~seething thoughts~~then somehow the other world opens up. ~~For~~The more you are in suffering and difficulties and are desperate for God, ~~it softens~~ the ~~wrath of the soul~~more He is going to come to your aid, reveal Who He is, and ~~what is unbridled it chastens~~show you the way to get out.” —Fr. ~~A psalm forms friendships~~Seraphim Rose of Platina, ~~unites those separated~~Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works by Hieromonk Damascene, ~~conciliates those at enmity~~p. ~~Who, indeed, can still consider as an enemy him with whom he has uttered the same prayer to God?~~98

~~So that psalmody, bringing about choral singing,~~ “We think we know a ~~bond, as it were, toward unity~~lot, but what we know is very little. Even all those who have striven all their life to bring progress to mankind – learned scientists and ~~joining the~~ highly educated people ~~into a harmonious union of one choir, produces also~~ – all realize in the ~~greatest of blessings, charity. A psalm~~ end that all their knowledge is but a ~~city~~ grain of ~~refuge from~~ sand on 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 height~~ seashore. All our achievements are insufficient.” —Elder Thaddeus of ~~their vigor~~Vitovnica, ~~a consolation for the elders, a most fitting ornament for women.~~Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives

~~It peoples the solitudes; it rids~~ “Men are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent men are not those who are erudite in the ~~market place~~ sayings and books of ~~excesses; it is~~ the ~~elementary exposition~~ wise men of ~~beginners~~old, but those who have an intelligent soul and can discriminate between good and evil. They avoid what is sinful and harms the ~~improvement~~ soul; and with deep gratitude to God they resolutely adhere by dint of ~~those advancing,~~ practice to what is good and benefits the ~~solid support of~~ soul. These men alone should truly be called intelligent.” —St. Anthony the ~~perfect~~Great, On the ~~voice~~ Character of Men and on the ~~Church. It brightens the feast days; it creates a sorrow which is in accordance with God~~Virtuous Life: One Hundred and Seventy Texts, Text 1, The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Vol.1

~~For, a psalm~~ “It is impossible to replace the spiritual with the emotional. If anyone tries to forcibly replace one with the ~~work~~ other, then he will assimilate lies instead of ~~angels, a heavenly institution~~truth, ~~the spiritual incense~~falsehood masquerading as truth.” —St. ~~Basil the Great~~Ignatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of Caucasus, The Refuge, Chapter 9, p. 119

~~“Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise~~“Not knowledge that you learn, 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 but knowledge that you suffer: that ~~are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith~~is Orthodox spirituality.” —Gerontissa Gabrielia, ~~beholding the reflection~~ Sayings of ~~their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment.” —St. Basil the Great~~Gerontissa Gabrielia

~~“Humility consists~~“Our religion is founded on spiritual experience, seen and heard as sure as any physical fact in this world. Not theory, not ~~in condemning our conscience~~philosophy, not human emotions, but ~~in recognizing God's grace and compassion~~experience.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Nikolai Velimirovich

~~“Children, I beseech you to correct your hearts~~ “Only the Religion of Christ unites and ~~thoughts, so~~ all of us must pray that ~~you may be pleasing~~ they come to ~~God~~this. ~~Consider~~ Thus union will occur, not by believing that ~~although we may reckon ourselves to be righteous and frequently succeed in deceiving men, we can conceal nothing from God. Let~~ all of us ~~therefore strive to preserve~~ are the ~~holiness of our souls~~ same thing and ~~to guard~~ that all religions are the ~~purity of our bodies with all fervor~~same. Ye They are not the ~~temple of God, says the divine Apostle Paul; If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy~~same… our Orthodoxy is not related to other religions.” —St. ~~Nicholas~~ Porphyrios of ~~Myra~~Kavsokalyvia

~~“Those who suffer for the sake of true devotion receive help. This~~ “Orthodoxy is life, one must not talk about it, one must ~~be learnt through obeying God's law and our own conscience~~live it.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Nektary of Optina

~~“When you are wronged and your heart and feelings are hardened, do not~~ “Orthodoxy can't 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 developcomfortable unless it is fake.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Seraphim Rose of Platina

~~“Struggle~~ “As for all those who pretend to ~~become immortal from now~~confess sound Orthodox Faith, ~~by dying here on the earth to your bad self. In this way~~but are in communion with people who hold different opinion, if they are forewarned and still remain stubborn, you ~~won't~~ must not only be ~~sad~~in communion with them, but you~~'ll be very glad, living together with Christ~~must NOT even call them brothers.” ~~—Elder Porphyrios~~—St. Basil the Great

~~“This being He placed in Paradise, whatever~~ “It is a commandment of the ~~Paradise may have been, having honoured him with the gift of Free Will (in order~~ Lord that ~~God might belong to him as the result of his choice, no less than to Him who had implanted the seeds of it), to till~~ we should not be silent when the ~~immortal plants, by which~~ Faith is ~~meant perhaps the Divine Conceptions, both the simpler and the more perfect; naked~~ in ~~his simplicity and inartificial life~~peril. So, ~~and without any covering or screen; for~~ when it ~~was fitting that he who was from the beginning should be such. Also He gave him a Law, as~~ is a ~~material for his Free Will to act upon. This Law was a Commandment as to what plants he might partake~~ matter ofthe Faith, ~~and which~~ one ~~he might not touch. This latter was the Tree of Knowledge; not~~cannot say, ~~however~~‘Who am I? A priest, ~~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~~a ruler, ~~or imitate the Serpent…But it would have been good if partaken of at the proper time~~a soldier, ~~for the tree was~~a farmer, ~~according to my theory, Contemplation, upon which it is only safe for those who~~ a poor man? I have ~~reached maturity of habit to enter; but which is not good for those who are still somewhat simple and greedy~~ no say or concern in ~~their habit; just as solid food is not good for those who are yet tender, and have need of milk~~this matter. (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’ Alas! (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 ParadiseThe stones shall cry out, and ~~from God;~~ you remain silent and put on the coats of skins…that is, perhaps, the coarser flesh, both mortal and contradictory. This 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, in order that evil may not be immortal. Thus his punishment is changed into a mercy; for it is in mercy, I am persuaded, that God inflicts punishment.unconcerned?” —St. ~~Gregory~~ Theodore the ~~Theologian, Oration 38, XII, On Theophany, On the Birth of our Saviour (On the Nativity of Christ)~~Studite

~~“I saw~~ “At the present time of universal wavering, disturbance of minds and corruption, it is especially demanded of us that ~~there was~~ we should confess the true teaching of the Church no ~~tragedy in God~~matter what might be the person of those who listen and despite the unbelief which surrounds us. ~~Tragedy is~~ If for the sake of adaptation to the errors of this age we shall be ~~found solely~~ silent about the truth or give a corrupt teaching in the ~~fortunes~~ name of pleasing this world, then we would actually be giving to those who seek the ~~man whose gaze has not gone beyond~~ truth a stone in place of bread. The higher is the ~~confines~~ standing of one who acts in this ~~earth~~way, the greater the scandal that is produced by him, and the more serious can be the consequences.” ~~—Archimandrite Sophrony~~—Metropolitan Philaret of New York

~~“The Christian world nowadays presents a terrifying~~ “Today, while the overall teachings of the Fathers is under attack and ~~cheerless picture~~ the shipwrecks of ~~profound religious and moral decay~~Faith are numerous, the mouths of the faithful are silent. ~~The servants~~ Anyone who is capable of ~~Antichrist do their utmost to completely displace~~ speaking the truth but remains silent, will be heavily judged by God ~~from people’s lives~~, especially in ~~order that mankind~~this case, ~~content with its material well-being, would not feel any need to turn to God in prayer, would not think~~ where the faith and the very foundation of ~~God at all, but would live as though God did not exist. Thus~~ the entire ~~structure~~ Church of ~~contemporary life~~ the Orthodox is in ~~the so-called ‘free’ world~~danger. To remain silent under these circumstances is to betray these, ~~where there is no open~~ and ~~bloody persecution of~~ the appropriate witness belongs to those that reproach (stand up for the faith~~, where everyone has~~ ).” —St. Basil the ~~right to believe as he wishes~~Great, ~~represents a far greater danger to a Christian’s soul by drawing the Christian wholly down to earth and making him forget heaven~~ep.92

~~The entire modern culture~~“I beseech you to do and to carry out good to all men with care and assiduity, becoming all things to all men, ~~which~~ as the need of each is ~~aimed at purely worldly achievements,~~ shown to you; I want and pray you to be wholly harsh and implacable with the ~~resultant whirlwind of everyday life, keep a person~~ heretics only in regard to cooperating with them or in ~~such~~ any way whatever supporting their deranged belief. For I reckon it hatred towards man and a ~~state of constant bustle and absent-mindedness~~ departure from Divine love to lend support to error, so that ~~he has no opportunity for any soul-searching~~those previously seized by it might be even more greatly corrupted.” —St. Maximus the Confessor, Patrologia Graeca, ~~and spiritual life within him gradually becomes extinguished~~Vol.~~” —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse~~91

“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 “Be aware not to ~~seize every spiritual gift, including even direct contemplation~~ be corrupted from love of the Absolute God, by force and speedily, and will often draw a parallel between prayer in the Name of Jesus and yoga or Transcendental Meditation and the like. I must stress the danger of such errors … He is deluded who endeavors 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 with the Source of all that exists, heretics; for this reason do not accept any false belief (dogma) 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 may feel the peacefulness of being withdrawn from the continually changing phenomena of the ~~visible world, may even have a certain experience~~ name of ~~eternity~~love. ~~But the God of Truth, the Living God, is not in all this~~” —St.John Chrysostom

~~It is man’s own beauty, created in the image of God, that is contemplated and seen as divinity~~“If anyone prays with heretics, ~~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 were called by the will of the Creatorheretic.” ~~—Archimandrite Sophrony of Mt~~— Pope St. ~~Athos, His Life is Mine, 115-116~~Agatho I

~~“Christ said~~“Genuine love is displayed, ~~'I came~~ not ~~to send peace~~by the common table, nor by lofty addresses or flattering words, but ~~a sword' and 'division'. Christ summoned us to war on~~ by the ~~plane of the spirit,~~ correcting and ~~our weapon is '~~the ~~sword~~ seeking of the ~~Spirit, which is the word~~ benefit of ~~God.~~one' ~~Our battle is waged in extraordinarily unequal conditions. We are tied hand~~ s neighbour 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~~ lifting up of ~~mankind death. Our fight is~~ the ~~fight for universal resurrection~~one who has fallen.” ~~—Archimandrite Sophrony of Mt~~—St. ~~Athos, His Life is Mine~~John Chrysostom

~~“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~~ “It is not the case that there is one church at Rome and another in all ~~your creatures~~the world beside. ~~Pity your servants~~Gaul and Britain, Africa and ~~turn them to repentance~~Persia,’ India and the East worship one Christ and ~~then~~ observe one rule of truth. If you ~~will perceptibly bear grace in your soul~~ask for authority, the world outweighs its capital. ~~Induce your heart to love your enemies~~Wherever there is a bishop, ~~and the Lord~~whether it be at Rome or at Engubium, ~~seeing your good will~~whether it be at Constantinople or at Rhegium, ~~shall help you in all things~~whether it be at Alexandria or at Zoan, his dignity is one and ~~will Himself show you experience~~his priesthood is one. Neither the command of wealth nor the lowliness of poverty makes him more a bishop or less a bishop. ~~But whoever thinks evil~~ All alike are successors of ~~his enemies does not have love for God and has not known God~~the apostles.” —St. ~~Silouan the Athonite~~Jerome, ~~Writing, IX.21~~Letter CXLVI to Evangelus

~~“When I~~“Never, ~~while still in Australia~~never, ~~began to receive information from America already post factum~~ never let anyone tell you that ~~here [in New York City] there had been protests~~, ~~demonstrations, and even molebens~~ in ~~front of the Soviet consulate~~order to be Orthodox, ~~I became quite alarmed and regretted that I~~ you must also be eastern. The West was ~~not here~~Orthodox for a thousand years, ~~since I would have decisively opposed much~~ and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of ~~what took place~~her heresies. ~~In particular, holding a moleben in such a place~~” —St. ~~Did they not sing the Lord's song in a strange land? What cause was there to display the holy things~~ John (Maximovitch) of ~~the Church's services before the gaze of the frenzied servants of Antichrist? Was it really not possible to pray in church?~~Shanghai and San Francisco

~~I must say frankly that I am always seized by dismay when I hear of protests, demonstrations, and~~ “Where the ~~like. In the USSR~~bishop is, ~~life is governed by him (~~there let the ~~one with horns) who fears only Christ and His Cross~~multitude of believers be; ~~and who fears nothing else in the world. And he merely chortles over protests and demonstrations. Public opinion? Why~~even as where Jesus is, there is the ~~antichrist regime has nothing but the uttermost contempt for it! They wanted to seize Czechoslovakia and they seized it, paying no heed to the commotion that was raised~~Catholic Church. ~~They wanted to invade Afghanistan and they invaded it, again paying no attention to the protests and threats of the various Carters & Co~~” —St. ~~All attempts to shape public opinion in the so-called Free World in favor~~ Ignatius of those suffering from Communism are powerless and fruitless, since the Free World stubbornly closes its eyes and imitates the ostrich, which hides its head under its wing and imagines that it cannot be seen…” —Metropolitan Philaret of New York, A letter from Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky) to ROCOR Priest Victor Potapov concerning Father Dimitry Dudko and the Moscow PatriarchateAntioch

~~“The whole therapeutic method of the Orthodox Church is not aimed simply at making human beings morally and socially balanced~~“Take care to do all things in harmony with God, ~~but at re-establishing their relationship~~ with the bishop presiding in the place of God , and ~~one another. This comes about through~~ with the presbyters in the place of the ~~healing~~ council of the ~~soul's wounds~~ apostles, and with the ~~cure~~ deacons, who are most dear to me, entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the ~~passions through~~ Father from the ~~Sacraments~~ beginning and ~~the Church's ascetic practice~~is at last made manifest.” ~~—Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos~~—St. Ignatius of Antioch, ~~The Science of Spiritual Medicine~~Letter to the Magnesians 2, 6: ~~Orthodox Psychotherapy in Action~~1

“A “Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that 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 to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise ~~heart can transfer an affliction into a blessing, even sin!! He benefits~~ depart from those interpretations which it~~: contrition~~is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, ~~humility~~if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, ~~keenness~~ or at the least of almost all priests and ~~sympathy for sinners~~doctors.” —H—St.HVincent of Lérins, Commonitory, For the Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith Against the Profane Novelties of All Heresies. ~~Pope Shenouda III~~, Chapter II (circa 434 AD)

~~“Humility~~ “‘Shun profane novelties of words,’ which to receive and ~~suffering free~~ follow was never the part of Catholics; of heretics always was. In truth, what heresy ever burst forth save under a ~~man~~ definite name, at a definite place, at a definite time? Who ever originated a heresy that did not first dissever himself from ~~all sin; for~~ the ~~first cuts out spiritual passions,~~ consentient agreement of the universality and antiquity of the Catholic Church? That this is so is demonstrated in the ~~latter bodily~~clearest way by examples.For who ever before that profane Pelagius attributed so much antecedent strength to Free-will, as to deny the necessity of God's grace to aid it 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. ~~Maximus the Confessor~~Vincent of Lérins, Commonitory, 62

~~“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny~~"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 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.” —C—St. ~~S. Lewis~~Vincent of Lérins, Commonitory, 86

~~“The soul~~ “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 special 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, is ~~not impure at birth~~nothing 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. The very same human nature remained after the fall as it was before the fall. Before sin, Adam was like a royal courtier, from whom external glory was taken away because of a crime, ~~but pure~~and he returned to the original state in which he had been before.~~” —Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos~~

~~“By nature~~ The decrees of the ~~soul~~ 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 ~~passionless… so you must believe~~ absolutely no trace of sin or anything in a regenerated person that ~~the passions do~~ would be unpleasant to God. Only lust remains, which, due to its motivation of a person to fight, is more useful than harmful to people. In any case, it is not ~~belong~~ sin, although it itself from sin and entails sin. 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 ~~soul by nature~~grace of Jesus Christ, but, on the contrary, crowns the one who will gloriously struggle.~~” —St~~The Holy 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. ~~Isaac the Syrian~~’

~~“Just~~ This Roman Catholic teaching is unfounded, since it represents the original righteousness and perfection of Adam as ~~in legal marriage~~an external gift, as an advantage, which is added to nature from the ~~pleasure derived~~ outside and from ~~procreation cannot exactly be called a gift of God~~nature separable. Meanwhile, ~~because~~ it is ~~carnal~~ clear from the ancient apostolic-church doctrine that this primitive righteousness of Adam was not an external gift and ~~constitutes a gift~~ advantage, but an integral part of his divinely-created nature . The Holy Scripture claims that sin has shaken and ~~not of grace (even though that~~ upset human nature ~~has been created by God); even~~ so ~~the knowledge~~ deeply that ~~comes from profane education~~a person is weak for good and when he wants, ~~even if well used~~he cannot do good ( Romans 7: 18-19 ), is but he cannot commit it just because sin has a ~~gift~~ strong influence on the nature of man. In addition, if sin did not damage human natureso much, ~~and not~~ there would be no need for the Only Begotten Son of ~~grace-a gift which~~ God ~~accords~~ to ~~all without exception through nature~~incarnate, come into the world as the Savior and ~~which one can develop by exercise. This last point-that no one acquires it without effort~~ demand from us a complete bodily and ~~exercise~~spiritual rebirth ( John 3: 3, 3: 5-~~is an evident proof that it is a question of a natural~~6 ). In addition, Roman Catholics can not ~~a spiritual, gift.~~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?

It In the same way, there is ~~our sacred wisdom~~ an inaccurate Roman Catholic statement that ~~should legitimately be called~~ in a ~~gift of~~ regenerated person nothing remains sinful and unpleasant to God and ~~not a natural gift~~that all this gives way to that which is immaculate, ~~since even simple fishermen who receive it~~ holy and pleasing to God. For we know from ~~on high become, as Gregory~~ Holy Revelation and the ~~Theologian says, sons~~ teachings of ~~Thunder, whose word has encompassed~~ the ~~very bounds of~~ ancient Church that the ~~universe. By this~~ gracegiven to a fallen man through Jesus Christ does not act mechanically, ~~even publicans are made merchants of souls;~~ does not give sanctification and ~~even~~ salvation immediately, in the ~~burning zeal~~ blink of ~~persecutors is transformed~~an eye, ~~making them Pauls instead~~ but gradually penetrates all the psychophysical powers of ~~Sauls~~man, ~~turning away~~ in proportion to his personal feat in the ~~earth to attain ‘the third heaven’~~ new thus he simultaneously heals from all sinful ailments, and sanctifies in all thoughts, feelings, desires and ~~‘hear ineffable things’~~deeds. ~~By this true wisdom we too can become conformed~~ It is an unreasonable exaggeration to think and argue that the ~~image~~ regenerated have absolutely no remnants of ~~God~~ 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 ~~continue to be such after death~~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 is no longer I who do it, but the sin that lives in me’ ( Romans 7: 19-20, Romans 8: 23-24 ).” —St. ~~Gregory Palamas~~Justin Popovich, ~~Triads in Defence~~ Orthodox philosophy of truth (Dogma of the ~~Holy Hesychasts, Philosophy does not save, pages 29-30~~Orthodox Church)

~~“Fiery lust, the desire for marriage, sexual union … and~~ “In all the ~~other things that, as most people think~~Eastern Churches, candles are lit even in the ~~body seeks for - it~~ daytime when one is to read the Gospels, in truth not to dispel the ~~body~~ darkness, but as ~~such … but the soul,~~ a sign of joy…in order under that factual light to feel that Light of which ~~through~~ we read in the ~~body seeks pleasure by their means… Let no one think he~~ Psalms (119:105): Thy word is ~~being driven towards these things~~ a lamp to my feet, and ~~compelled by his own body… the body cannot be moved~~ a light to ~~anything apart from the soul~~my path.” —St. ~~Symeon the New Theologian~~Jerome, Works, part IV, 2nd ed., Kiev, 1900, pp.301-302

~~“Just~~ “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, as did the ~~virtues are begotten in the soul~~holy apostles, ~~so are the passions~~martyrs and others. ~~But the virtues~~ These candles also mean that these saints are ~~begotten in accordance with nature~~lamps burning for us and providing light for us by their own saintly living, ~~the passions in a mode contrary to nature~~their virtues and their ardent intercession for us before God through their constant prayers by day and night. ~~For what produces good or evil in the soul is the will's bias… For~~ The burning candles also stand for our ~~inner disposition is capable of operating in one way or another, since it bears within itself both virtue~~ ardent zeal and ~~vice,~~ the ~~first as its natural birthright, the second as the result of the self-incurred proclivity~~ sincere sacrifice we make out of reverence and gratitude to them for their solicitude on our ~~moral will~~behalf before God.” —St. ~~Gregory~~ John of ~~Sinai~~Kronstadt

“The ~~heart~~ saints of ~~a perfectly healthy man becomes weakened for faith and love to~~ God ~~and his neighbor~~live even after their death. Thus, ~~and easily gives itself up to carnal desires: to slothfulness, negligence, coldness, gluttony, avarice, fornication, pride. Whilst~~ I often hear in church the ~~heart~~ Mother of ~~a sick man~~God singing her wonderful, ~~or a wounded, oppressed, weary~~ heart~~, is strengthened~~ -penetrating song which she said in ~~faith~~the house of her cousin Elizabeth, ~~hope~~after the Annunciation of the Archangel. At times, ~~and love~~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 ~~is far removed from carnal passions~~that of Miriam. ~~This is why~~ And 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 ~~Heavenly Father~~sacraments, ~~Who careth for our salvation~~the rites? Whose spirit is there, ~~chastises us by various sicknesses. The oppression~~ moving and ~~afflictions~~ touching our hearts? That of ~~sickness make us turn again to~~ Godand of His saints.” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

~~“If you wish to live long~~ “Each person is an icon of God, of God in heaven and of God on the ~~earth~~cross. Yet, ~~do not hurry to live in a carnal manner~~each person is also an icon of the Mother of God, ~~to satiate yourself, to get drunk, to smoke, to commit fornication, to live in luxury, to indulge yourself~~who bears Christ through the Holy Spirit. ~~The carnal way of life constitutes death~~Our soul, ~~and~~ therefore, unites itself in two images; participating in the ~~Holy Scripture, our flesh is called mortal, or, ‘the~~ principles and realities of both Christ and his Mother. These are age old ~~man~~archetypes, symbols by which ~~is corrupt according to~~ the ~~deceitful lusts~~soul orients itself on the journey.” —St.~~’ If you wish to live long~~Maria Skobtsova, ~~live through the spirit; for life consists in the spirit: ‘If ye through the spirit do mortify~~ On The Imitation of the ~~deeds~~ Mother of God “The Christian who does not feel that the ~~body, ye shall live,’ both here on earth and there in heaven~~Virgin Mary is his or her mother is an orphan.” —Jorge Mario Bergoglio ("Pope Francis")

~~One cannot eat and drink and smoke continually. One cannot turn human life~~ “Creating man according to his image, God diffused into ~~constant eating, drinking, and smoking, although there are men who do eat, drink, and smoke almost uninterruptedly; and thus~~ man's very being the longing for the ~~spirit~~ divine infinitude of ~~evil has turned~~ life ~~into smoking~~, of knowledge, and ~~made~~ of perfection. It is precisely for this reason that the ~~mouth, which ought~~ immeasurable longing and thirst of humanity is not able to be ~~employed~~ completely satisfied by anything or anyone except God. Declaring divine perfection as the main purpose for humanity's existence in ~~thanking and praising~~ the ~~Lord~~world – ‘Be ye therefore perfect, ~~into a smoking furnace~~even as your father who is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matth. ~~The less and lighter~~ 5: 48) – Christ, the ~~food and drink you take~~Savior, answered the ~~lighter~~ most elemental demand and need of our God-like and ~~more refined your spirit will become~~God-longing humanity.” —St.Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ, Highest Value and Last Criterion in Orthodoxy

~~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~~ “He who refuses to give in to ~~toe. I felt that~~ his passions does the ~~enemy nested in my sides and in my heart and~~ same as he ~~opposed me strongly, preventing me from saying the prayer, scaring me, paralyzing me~~ who refuses to bow down and ~~saddening me to~~ worship idols.” —St. Theophan the ~~point of sin.~~Recluse

~~By smoking an unclean spirit enters a person. Last night after smoking~~ “Concerning the ~~devil made his presence felt through continuous hiccups which pestered me from the time~~ charge of ~~the Cherubic Hymn until a little before Holy Communion~~idolatry: Icons are not idols but symbols. ~~My nerves were stretched~~Therefore, ~~my voice was ‘escaping’ me~~when an Orthodox venerates an icon, ~~I was shivering and I was exhausted~~he is not guilty of idolatry. ~~That's why smoking~~ He is ~~futile~~not worshiping the symbol, but merely venerating it. It Such veneration is ~~a silly whim~~not directed toward wood, ~~a desecration of~~ or paint or stone, but towards the ~~lips~~person depicted. Therefore relative honor is shown to material objects, ~~a large and unnecessary irritation, a fog that covers voluntarily~~but worship is due to God alone.” —St.John of Damascus

~~The taste~~ “We do not bow before the nature of ~~a cigarette I cannot compare to anything~~ wood, but ~~something diabolical~~we revere and bow before the one who is depicted. ~~And how do I know this smoking? How do I allow myself to do something like this?~~” —St. John of Damascus

~~I came~~ “We do not make obeisance to ~~church~~the nature of wood, ~~falling~~ but we revere and do obeisance to Him who was crucified on ~~my knees with a contrite heart before~~ the ~~Holy Altar. How could~~ Cross… When the two beams of the Cross are joined together I ~~serve my enemy every day and not~~ adore the figure because of Christ who was crucified on the ~~Lord with zeal? Lord~~Cross, ~~help me to be free from all evil~~but if the beams are separated, ~~because~~ I ~~am an evil man, dirty, full~~ throw them away and burn them.” —St. John of ~~sins.~~Damascus

~~The Lord knows~~ “We do not worship the relics of the martyrs, but honor them in our ~~weaknesses~~worship of Him Whose martyrs they are. ~~He is ready to forgive us everything, as long as we repent and seek forgiveness. The essential thing is~~ We honor the servants in order that ~~our hearts not become petrified, that is~~ the respect paid to ~~stop hesitating to think of our committed sin, to immediately repent, and to leave ourselves~~ them may be reflected back to the ~~mercy of God~~Lord.” —St. ~~John of Kronstadt~~Jerome

~~“Suffering reminds~~ “The whole earth is a living icon of the ~~wise man~~ face of God. … I do not worship matter, but ~~crushes those~~ the Creator of matter, who for my sake became material and deigned to dwell in matter, who ~~forget Him~~through matter effected my salvation. Never will I cease honoring the matter which wrought my salvation! I honor it, but not as God. Because of this 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 Ascetic~~John of Damascus

~~“God permits tribulations and adversities to befall people – even~~ “That which the ~~saintly – so that they may persist in humility. But if we harden our hearts against adversities and tribulations~~word communicates by sound, ~~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~~painting shows silently by representation.” —St. ~~Isaac~~ Basil the Great, On the ~~Syrian~~40 Martyrs of Sebaste

~~“But~~ “We depict Christ as our King and Lord, and do not ~~be troubled or sad~~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 ~~sometimes allows people~~ . 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 ~~devoted to Him to fall into such dreadful vices;~~ heirs of God, and ~~this is in order to prevent them from falling into a still greater sin – pride~~co-heirs of Christ, (Rom. 8. ~~Your temptation~~ 17) they will ~~pass and you will spend~~ be also partakers of the ~~remaining days~~ divine glory of ~~your life in humility. Only do not forget your sin~~sovereignty.” —St. ~~Seraphim~~ John of ~~Sarov~~Damascus

“We ~~must~~ define that the holy icons should be ~~prepared to accept~~ exhibited in the ~~will~~ holy churches of ~~God. The Lord permits all sorts~~ God… and in houses and along the roads, namely the icons of ~~things to happen to us contrary to~~ our ~~will~~Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, ~~for if we always have it~~ that of our ~~way~~Lady the Theotokos, ~~we will not~~ those of the venerable angels and those of all saintly people… We define also that they should be ~~prepared~~ kissed and that they are an object of veneration and honor… He who venerates the icon, venerates in it the reality for ~~the Kingdom of Heaven~~which it stands.” ~~—Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, "Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives"~~—The Seventh Ecumenical Council

~~“What should~~ “In the radiance of His light the world is not commonplace. The very floor we stand on is a miracle of atoms whizzing about in space. The darkness of sin is clarified, and its burden shouldered. Death is robbed of its finality, trampled down by Christ's death. In a world where everything that seems to be ~~heard by little ears~~present is immediately past, ~~should not be said by big mouths~~everything in Christ is able to participate in the eternal present of God.” ~~—unknown~~—Fr. Alexander Schmemann

~~“I am incurably convinced that the object~~ “Christ surpasses both ends of ~~opening~~ the ~~mind~~world, ~~as of opening~~ where the drama ends and where it began. Of all the ~~mouth~~mysteries, the greatest mystery is He. From His Nativity to ~~shut it again~~ His Crucifixion on the Cross, From His Crucifixion on ~~something solid~~the Cross to His Resurrection, He is the true measure of all God's creation.” ~~—G. K~~—St. ~~Chesterton~~Nikolai Velimirovich

~~“What~~ “Let no one think that there is ~~slander? It is every sort of wicked word we would dare not speak~~ anything interpretive in ~~front~~ the works of the ~~person whom we are complaining about~~six days.” —St. ~~Anthony~~ Ephrem the ~~Great~~Syrian

~~“If you want to overcome~~ “It is [the Lord] that sitteth upon the ~~spirit~~ orb (חוּג, γῦρον, gyrum) of ~~slander, blame not~~ the ~~person who falls~~earth, ~~but~~ and the ~~demon~~ inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that ~~prompted~~ stretcheth out the heavens as nothing and spreadeth them out as a tent to ~~sin~~dwell in.” ~~—St. John Climacus~~—Isaiah 40:22

~~“You cannot be too gentle~~“For if the world, ~~too kind. Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other. Joy~~being made spherical, ~~radiant joy, streams from~~ is confined within the ~~face~~ circles of ~~him who gives~~ heaven, and ~~kindles joy in~~ the ~~heart~~ Creator of ~~him who receives. All condemnation~~ the world is ~~from~~ above the ~~devil. Never condemn each other. We condemn others only because we shun knowing ourselves. When we gaze at our own failings~~things created, ~~we see such a swamp~~ managing that ~~nothing in another can equal it. That~~ by His providential care of these, what place is ~~why we turn away~~there for the second god, ~~and make much of~~ or for the other gods? … Beautiful without doubt is the ~~faults of others. Instead of condemning others~~world, ~~strive to reach inner peace. Keep silent~~excelling, ~~refrain from judgment. This will raise you above~~ as well in its magnitude as in the ~~deadly arrows~~ arrangement of ~~slander~~its parts, ~~insult~~ both those in the oblique circle and ~~outrage~~ those about the north, and ~~will shield your glowing hearts against all evil~~also in its spherical form.” —St. ~~Seraphim~~ Athenagoras of Athens, A Plea for the Christians, Ch. 8 and 16 (Father of ~~Sarov~~the Church, Ante-Nicene Christian apologist, c. 175, E)

~~“A man may seem~~ “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 notice that it seems to be ~~silent~~flat; in fact, it 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 farther it goes, 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 ~~his heart~~ the ship had sunk into a hole. Why does this happen? Because the earth is ~~condemning others~~spherical. If at first glance it seems flat to us, he it is ~~babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night~~ because we are very small in comparison with the earth, and ~~yet he~~ the earth is ~~truly silent~~too large and, with its size, ~~that~~ its sloping isimperceptible to us, insignificant ones. So, brethren, ~~he says nothing that~~ the earth is ~~not profitable~~round.” ~~—Abba Poemen~~—St. John of Kronstadt, Diaries of Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt, 1857–1858

~~“If your tongue~~ “You often see, brethren, that the Lord Almighty is ~~used~~ mostly written on icons with a ball, on top of which is a cross. This ball means the globe of the earth and is called the power – from the fact that in ancient times the Roman kings had the custom, on solemn occasions, to ~~chattering~~hold it in their hands. Our Lord Jesus Christ holds in his hand the globe of the earth, ~~your heart will remain dim~~ as the king of heaven and ~~foreign~~ earth, as the Almighty. We say this in order to show you that our earth is round like a ball. But how is the sphericity of the earth proved by the phenomena at the rising and setting of the sun? As follows: if the earth were not spherical, but flat; then the sun would now hide under the ~~luminous intuitions~~ earth, or come out from under it, and immediately leave us either in the full shadow of the ~~Holy Spirit~~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 sloping side of the earth, when the sun, so to speak, is under the mountain and produces a dawn for us, 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 near the earth and surrounds it like water, and thus makes the light of dawn. Watching the dawn, we see from the gradual decrease in light – from the way it 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. John of ~~Dalyatha~~Kronstadt, Catechetical Talks

~~“He~~ “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 brings 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 ~~does~~ have written about the nature of the universe have discussed at length the shape of the earth. If it be spherical or cylindrical, if it resemble a disc and is equally rounded in all parts, or if it has the forth of a winnowing basket and is hollow in the middle; all these conjectures have been suggested by cosmographers, each one upsetting that of his predecessor. It will not ~~control his tongue when~~ lead me to give less importance to the creation of the universe, that the servant of God, Moses, is silent as to shapes; he has not said that the earth is ~~angry~~a hundred and eighty thousand furlongs in circumference; he has not measured into what extent of air its shadow projects itself while the sun revolves around it, nor stated how this shadow, casting itself upon the moon, produces eclipses. He has passed over in silence, ~~will not control his passions either~~as useless, all that is unimportant for us.” ~~—Abba Hyperchius~~—St. Basil the Great, Hexaemeron, Homily 6:8; 9:1

~~“Are~~ “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 ~~angry? Be angry~~ 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 ~~sins~~instructor to look at him, ~~beat your soul~~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, ~~afflict your conscience~~viz. that it is in itself devoid of light, ~~be strict~~ and that it revolves in ~~judgement~~ the circle nearest to the earth, and ~~a terrible punisher~~ 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 ~~your~~ their own ~~sins~~, 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. ~~This~~ But that this is not the case is proved by this; that when she is diametrically facing the sun she has the ~~benefit~~ whole of ~~anger~~the disc that looks our way illuminated; but, ~~wherefore God placed~~ 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 usnecessarily 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 dark just before begins to shine a little, 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 looks 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 Chrysostom~~Gregory of Nyssa, ~~Homilies on Ephesians 2~~On the Soul and the Resurrection

~~“Firmly purpose in your soul~~ “As, when the sun shines above the earth, the shadow is spread over its lower part, because its spherical shape makes it impossible for it to ~~hate every sin~~ be clasped all round at one and the same time by the rays, and necessarily, on whatever side the sun's rays may fall on some particular point of ~~thought~~the globe, if we follow a straight diameter, ~~word~~we shall find shadow upon the opposite point, and ~~deed~~so, continuously, ~~and when you are tempted to sin resist it valiantly and with a feeling~~ at the opposite end of ~~hatred for it; only beware lest your hatred should turn against~~ the ~~person~~ direct line of ~~your brother who gave occasion for~~ the ~~sin. Hate~~ rays shadow moves round that globe, keeping pace with the ~~sin with all your heart, but pity your brother; instruct him~~sun, so that equally in their turn both the upper half and ~~pray for him to~~ the ~~Almighty, Who sees all~~ under half of ~~us and tries our hearts~~ the earth are in light and ~~innermost parts~~darkness.” —St. ~~John~~ Gregory of ~~Kronstadt~~Nyssa, On the Soul and the Resurrection

~~“These eight passions should be destroyed as follows: gluttony by self-control; unchastity by desire for God and longing for~~ “Further, some hold that the ~~blessings held~~ Earth is in ~~store; avarice by compassion for~~ the ~~poor; anger by goodwill and love for all men; worldly dejection by spiritual joy; listlessness by patience~~form of a sphere, ~~perseverance and offering thanks to God; self-esteem by doing good~~ others that it is in ~~secret and by praying constantly with~~ that of a ~~contrite heart; and pride by not judging or despising anyone in the manner of the boastful Pharisee (cf~~cone. ~~Luke 18 : 11–12), and by considering oneself the least of~~ At all ~~men. When the intellect has been freed in this way from the passions we have described and been raised up to God,~~ events it ~~will henceforth live~~ is much smaller than the ~~life of blessedness~~heaven, ~~receiving the pledge of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 1 : 22)~~and suspended almost like a point in its midst. And ~~when~~ it ~~departs this life, dispassionate~~ will pass away and ~~full of true knowledge, it will stand before~~ be changed. But blessed is the ~~light of~~ man who inherits the ~~Holy Trinity and with~~ Earth promised to the ~~divine angels will shine in glory through all eternity~~meek.” —St. John of Damascus, ~~On the Virtues and the Vices~~Orthodox Faith, ~~from The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol.~~ Book 2), Ch 10

~~“We must consider all evil things~~“Thus, ~~even~~ by His transcendent might He established the ~~passions which war against us~~heavens, ~~to be not our~~ and by His incomprehensible understanding He ordered them: the earth He separated from the water now encircling it, and firmly grounded it on the unshakable foundation of His ownwill … about antipodes: ‘The ocean, impassable for men, ~~but of our enemy~~ and the ~~devil. This is very important. You can only conquer a passion when you do not consider~~ worlds beyond it ~~as part~~ are governed by the same decrees of ~~you.”~~ the Master’…” —St. ~~Nikon~~ Clement of ~~Optina~~Rome, Epistle to the Corinthians

~~“A sinful soul~~“Clement indeed, ~~full~~ a disciple of the apostles, mentions those whom the Greeks call ‘people of ~~passions~~the opposite earth’, ~~cannot have peace~~ and ~~rejoice in~~ speaks of other parts of the ~~Lord~~world which none of our people can reach, ~~even if it had charge over all earthly riches, even if it ruled~~ nor can any of those who live there cross 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~~ us; and these parts themselves he ~~would tremble with fear~~called ‘worlds’, ~~and~~ when he ~~would see his powerlessness. But how many beggars there are~~says, ~~whose only wealth~~ ‘The ocean is ~~love for God~~impassable to men, and ~~who, if you said to them, 'You will die now,' would answer peacefully, 'Let~~ the worlds beyond it are governed by the same ordinances of God~~'s will be done. Glory to~~ the ~~Lord~~Ruler’…” —Origen, ~~that He has remembered me and wants to take me to Himself.'” —St. Silouan the Athonite~~On First Principles

~~“To reach satisfaction in alldesire its possession in nothing.To come to possession in alldesire~~ “But if the light first created enveloped the ~~possession of nothing.To arrive at being~~ earth on all~~desire~~ sides, whether it was motionless or travelling round, it could not be followed anywhere by night, because it did not vacate any place to ~~be nothing~~make room for night.~~To come~~ But was it made on one side, so that as it travelled it would permit the night to follow after from the ~~knowledge of~~ other? Although water still covered all~~desire~~ the ~~knowledge of~~ earth, there was nothing.~~To come~~ to prevent the ~~pleasure you have notyou must go~~ massive watery sphere from having day on one side by the ~~way in which you enjoy not.To come to~~ presence of light, and on the ~~knowledge you have notyou must go~~ other side, night by the ~~way in which you know not~~absence of light.~~To come to the possession you have notyou must go by the way~~ Thus, in ~~which you possess not.To come by~~ the ~~what you are notyou must go by a way in~~ evening, darkness would pass to that side from which ~~you are not.When you turn toward somethingyou cease~~ light would be turning to ~~cast yourself upon~~ the ~~all~~other … These writers are then asked why Saturn is cold.~~For to go from all~~ Its temperature should be higher in proportion to the ~~allyou must deny yourself~~ rapid movement it has by reason of ~~all~~ its height in ~~all~~the heavens.~~And~~ For surely when ~~you come to~~ a round mass is rotating, the parts near the center move more slowly, and those near the ~~possession of~~ edge more rapidly, so that the ~~allyou must possess it without wanting anything.Because if you desire to have something~~ greater and lesser distances may be covered simultaneously in ~~allyour treasure in God is not purely your all.”~~ the same circular motion…” —St. ~~John~~ Augustine of Hippo, On the ~~Cross, Ascent~~ Literal Interpretation of ~~Mount Carmel~~Genesis

~~“Man’s will~~“The prophet David, ~~out of cowardice~~our Saints, ~~tends away from suffering~~Basil the Great, ~~and man~~who wrote about creation, ~~against his own will~~all of them, ~~remains utterly dominated~~ with the Grace of God knew everything about the creation by God. The Holy Spirit took them to the ~~fear~~ depths of ~~death~~the waters, He showed them and they saw the earth revolving around the sun, andmany other things. The Saints, ~~in his desire to live~~however, ~~clings~~ spoke to ~~his slavery~~ people according to ~~pleasure~~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 the Grace of God.Since simple people were not able to see all those things and understand them, they would not have believed them!” —St. ~~Maximus the Confessor~~Paisios of Mt. Athos, «ΣΚΕΥΟΣ ΕΚΛΟΓΗΣ: ΓΕΡΩΝ ΠΑΙΣΙΟΣ», 1924-1994, p. 142

~~“Sin makes man~~ “Truly, is this necessary? No, not at all, for we know 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 ~~coward;~~ believer but was also a ~~life in~~ cleric. Another great scientist, Newton, whenever he mentioned the ~~Truth of Christ makes Him bold~~word God, he removed his hat.He was a great believer… Would Haeckel therefore dare say that these men did not have enlightened minds because they believed in God?” —St. ~~John Chrysostom, Homilies on~~ Luke the ~~Statues~~Surgeon, ~~VIII. 2~~On Science and Religion

~~“Of all the good things in~~ “The faithful have little need for scientists now, the world~~, life~~ is ~~dearest to~~ full of them! They are in need of holy men, ~~and men love~~ of those who live the holy 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~~ those who ~~loves life must also love truth. But what is~~ can attract the ~~way~~ Grace of God 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 bloodthem.” ~~—St. Nikolai Velimirovich~~—Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania

~~“The natural passions become good in those who struggle~~ “Once, whenstanding before a window at night, ~~wisely unfastening them from~~ St. Barsanuphius (of Optina) pointed to the ~~things~~ moon and said to his spiritual children:"Look – what a picture! This is left to us as a consolation. It is no wonder the Prophet David said, ‘Thou hast gladdened me’, he says, although this is only a hint of ~~the flesh~~that wondrous beauty, ~~use them~~ incomprehensible to ~~gain heavenly things~~human thought, which was originally created. ~~For example they can change appetite into the movement~~ We don't know what kind of moon there was then, what kind of sun, what kind of ~~a spiritual longing for divine things; pleasure into pure joy for the cooperation~~ light… All of this changed after the ~~mind with divine gifts; fear into care to evade future misfortune due to sin and sadness into corrective repentance for present evil~~fall."” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Maximus the Confessor~~Seraphim Rose of Platina, Genesis, Creation, and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision, p. 44

~~“How good~~ “As for the ‘scientific’ information given in the book of Genesis – and since it talks about the formation of the world we know, there cannot but be some scientific information there – contrary to popular belief, there is nothing ‘out-of-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 their 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, they try to ~~conquer~~ illustrate it with examples taken from the ~~passions! After~~ natural science of their time; we do the ~~victory one feels such lightness~~ same thing today. All this illustrative material is open to scientific criticism, and some of ~~heart~~it, in fact, has become out-of-date. But the text of Genesis itself is unaffected by such ~~peace~~ criticism, and we can only wonder at how fresh and ~~greatness~~ timely it is to each new generation. And the theological commentary of ~~spirit!~~the Holy Fathers on the text partakes of this same quality.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~John~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Kronstadt~~Platina, Genesis, Creation and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision, p. 87

~~“He~~ “One who ~~believes~~has the judgment of Christ before his eyes, ~~fears; he~~ who ~~fears is humble; he~~ has seen the great danger that threatens those who ~~is humble becomes gentle~~dare to subtract from or add to those things which have been handed down by the Spirit, must not be ambitious to innovate, but must content himself with those things which have been proclaimed by the saints.” —St. ~~Maximus~~ Basil the ~~Confessor~~Great, Against Eunomius 2, PG 29.573-652

~~“For every humble person is gentle~~“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 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, grievous wolves are brought in instead, and ~~every gentle person~~ plunder the flock of Christ, Houses of prayer are destitute of preachers; the deserts are full of mourners: the old bewail, comparing what is ~~invariably humble~~with what was; more pitiable are the young, as not knowing what they are deprived of. ~~A person~~ What has been said is ~~humble when he knows that his very being~~ sufficient to kindle the sympathy of those who are taught in the love of Christ, yet compared with the facts, it is ~~on loan to him~~far from reaching their seriousness.” —St. ~~Maximus~~ Basil the ~~Confessor~~Great, ep. 90

~~“A humble person lives on~~ “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 necessary to preserve in you this relic of the true religion that the Lord will find when He comes to the earth as . 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 the ~~Kingdom~~ attack of ~~Heaven - always happy~~our Lord, the great priests and the scribes and the elders have designed the conspiracy, ~~peaceful~~ and ~~satisfied~~ 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 fair 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 ~~everything~~fervor for my miserable soul.” —St. ~~Anthony of Optina~~Basil the Great

~~“Not every quiet man~~ “So, to the question, ‘Do we believe in conspiracy theories?’, the answer is ~~humble~~, ~~but every humble man is quiet~~‘We don't believe in them, we have long experience of them.~~” —St~~’” —Fr. ~~Isaac the Syrian~~Peter Heers, On Demonic Methodology, Part II: Q & A, May 6, 2020

~~“If you wish to~~ “Let us be ~~truly humble~~firm, ~~then consider yourself lower than all~~my brothers, ~~worthy~~ on the rock of ~~being trampled on~~ faith, in the tradition of the Church, and not remove or change the boundaries established by ~~all; for you yourself daily~~our Holy Fathers. Let us close the road to innovators and not permit them to demolish the structure of the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of God. If we allow, however, the introduction of any innovation, ~~hourly trample upon~~ we unconsciously support the ~~law~~ collapse of the ~~Lord~~Church. No, my brothers, you who love Christ, ~~and therefore upon~~ no, you children of the ~~Lord Himself~~Church, you will never want to surround your Mother Church with confusion.” —St. John of ~~Kronstadt~~Damascus, Concerning Images, III.41

~~“You wish to be great~~“Therefore, brethren, let us stand on the rock of faith and on the tradition of the Church, ~~begin from~~ and not remove the ~~least~~boundaries which our Holy Fathers have set. ~~You are thinking~~ Thus, we will not give the opportunity to ~~construct some mighty fabric in height; first think~~ those who wish to innovate and destroy the edifice of the ~~foundation~~ holy, catholic and apostolic Church of ~~humility~~God. ~~And how great soever a mass of building one may wish and design~~ For if permission is granted to ~~place above~~ everyone who wants it, little by little the whole body of the ~~greater~~ Church will be destroyed. Do not, brethren, do not, oh Christ-loving children of the ~~building is~~ Church of God …” —Jeremiah II (Jeremias II) Tranos, Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Constantinople, letter to bethe Most Wise Theologians, Residents of the Famous City of Tübingen, in the ~~deeper does he dig his foundation~~month of May, 1579, Indiction 7, pp.~~” —St. Augustine~~197-8 (prophetic warning of to the Lutheran scholars)

~~“A humble person lives on earth as if~~ “For to err is human, but the correction is angelic and salvific.” —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 the ~~Kingdom~~ month of ~~Heaven - always happy~~May, 1579, Indiction 7, ~~peaceful and satisfied with everything~~p.~~” —St. Anthony of Optina~~210

~~“In them [the Lives~~ “Unbelief is an evil offspring of an evil heart; for the ~~Saints] it is clearly~~ guileless and ~~obviously demonstrated: There is no spiritual death from which one cannot be resurrected by the Divine power~~ pure of ~~the risen and ascended Lord Christ; there is no torment~~heart discovers God everywhere, ~~there is no misfortune~~everywhere discerns Him, ~~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~~ and always unhesitatingly believes in ~~Him~~His existence.” —St. ~~Justin Popovich~~Nectarios of Aegina

~~“A servant of the Lord is he~~ “He who learns must sufferAnd even in ~~body stands before men~~our sleep pain that cannot forgetFalls drop by drop upon the heart, ~~but~~ And in ~~mind knocks at Heaven with prayer~~our own despite, against our will,Comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.” ~~—St. John Climacus~~—Aeschylus

~~“In~~ “The greatest wisdom often emerges from 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 lightdeepest wounds.” —Jane Lee Logan

~~A civilization~~ “Monarchy can easily be debunked, but watch the faces, mark well the debunkers. These are the men whose taproot in ~~which one no longer prays is a civilization in which old age~~ Eden has been cut: whom no ~~meaning. One walks backward towards death~~rumour of the polyphony, the dance, ~~pretending~~ can reach - men to ~~be young; it’s~~ whom pebbles laid in a row are more beautiful than an ~~agonizing spectacle~~arch. … Where men are forbidden to honour a king they honour millionaires, ~~because a wonderful possibility is offered~~athletes or film stars instead: … For spiritual nature, ~~a journey towards ultimate relinquishment~~like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it ~~is not taken advantage of~~will gobble poison.” —C. S.Lewis

~~We need old people~~ “There is nothing impossible unto those who ~~pray~~believe; lively and unshaken faith can accomplish great miracles in the twinkling of an eye. Besides, ~~who smile~~even without our sincere and firm faith, ~~who live with a disinterested love~~miracles are accomplished, ~~who marvel~~such as the miracles of the sacraments; ~~they alone can show young people that that living~~ for God's Mystery is ~~worth~~ always accomplished, even though we were incredulous or unbelieving at the ~~effort,~~ 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 ~~that oblivion is~~ mercy of God; our dullness shall not ~~the last word~~overpower God's wisdom, nor our infirmity God's omnipotence.” —St.John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

~~Every monk whose spiritual practice has born fruit~~ “The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is ~~called~~ twice blest:It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.'Tis mightiest in the ~~East, whatever~~ mightiest; it becomesThe thronèd monarch better than his ~~age~~crown.His scepter shows the force of temporal power, ~~'a beautiful old man~~The attribute to awe and majestyWherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;But mercy is above this sceptered sway.~~' He~~ It is ~~beautiful with~~ enthronèd in the ~~beauty that rises from~~ hearts of kings;It is 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 ~~heart~~course of justice none of usShould see salvation. ~~In him~~ We do pray for mercy,And that same prayer doth teach us all to renderThe deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus muchTo mitigate the ~~periods~~ justice of ~~his life have come into harmony~~thy plea, ~~as with a symphony~~Which, ~~one might say. And especially the original child is found again: shining with a transfigured shining~~if thou follow, this strict court of VeniceMust needs give sentence 'gainst the ~~beautiful old man has the eyes of a child~~merchantthere.” ~~—Olivier Clément~~—William Shakespeare, Portia, The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1

~~“It is of great significance if there is a person who truly prays in a family. Prayer attracts God's grace and all~~ “The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the ~~members~~ hand of ~~the family feel it, even those whose hearts have grown cold. Pray always~~man.” ~~—Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica~~—unknown

~~“Prayer~~ “People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is ~~the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness~~because things are being loved and people are being used.” ~~—St. John Chrysostom~~—unknown

~~“He who angers you, controls you!~~“No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.” ~~—Bishop Melchisedek Pleska~~—unknown

~~“[The desire for] equality is from~~ “If we could look into each others hearts, and understand the ~~Devil~~unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, ~~because it comes entirely from envy~~and care.” ~~—Fr~~—Marvin J. ~~Alexander Schmemann~~Ashton

~~“In your prayer seek only righteousness and~~ “Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the ~~kingdom of God~~fault I see; that mercy I to others show, that ~~is, virtue and spiritual knowledge; and everything else 'will be given~~ mercy show to ~~you' (Matt. 6:33)~~me.” ~~—St. Evagrius of Ponticus~~—Alexander Pope

~~“Virtues are formed by prayer~~“Tolerance is the last virtue of a depraved society. ~~Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions~~ When you have an immoral society that has blatantly, proudly, violated all of ~~pride and envy. Prayer draws into~~ the ~~soul the Holy Spirit~~commandments of God, ~~and raises man to Heaven~~there is one last virtue they insist upon: tolerance for their immorality.” ~~—St. Ephrem the Syrian~~—Dennis James Kennedy

~~“Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it~~ “The greatest thing a man can do to a woman is ~~by mercy that we shall be saved~~to lead her closer to God than to himself.” ~~—St. John Chrysostom~~—unknown

~~“The goodness~~ “A snowflake is one of God ~~is so rich in graces~~'s most fragile creations, ~~that it seeks a cause to have mercy on a person.~~but look what they can do when they stick together!” ~~—St. Anthimus of Chios~~—unknown

~~“The Holy Spirit has accomplishing in each believer the work of Christ. Each Christian~~ “God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself because it is ~~a communicant of the spirit~~not there. ~~This is something so necessary, that in fact whoever does not have the Spirit~~ There is ~~not of Christ~~no such thing.” ~~—St~~—C. S. ~~Theophan the Recluse~~Lewis

“The ~~Church~~ supreme happiness of life is ~~nothing but~~ the ~~world on the way to deification;~~ conviction of being loved for ~~the Church~~yourself, or more correctly, ~~the world is no longer a tomb but a womb~~being loved in spite of yourself.” ~~—Olivier Clément~~—Victor Hugo

~~“The church~~ “It is hardly complimentary to God that we should choose him as an ~~earthly heaven in which the super-celestial God dwells and walks about~~alternative to hell. ” ~~—St~~—C. S. ~~Germanus of Constantinople~~Lewis

~~“Nothing is more abiding than~~ “Hell can't be made attractive, so the ~~Church: she is your salvation; she is your refuge~~devil makes attractive the road that leads there.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Basil the Great

~~“There~~ “What is hell? I maintain that it is ~~no need to weep much over~~ the ~~destruction~~ suffering of ~~a church; after all, each of us, according~~ being unable 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 benefitlove.” ~~—Archbishop Barlaam~~—Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“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 “If you die before ~~Him~~you die, ~~has yet another attitude. The first man is negligent in prayer~~than when you die, ~~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~~you will not die. ~~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~~” —written on a cell wall, ~~although he is seldom successful~~St. ~~The third man~~Paul's Monastery, 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.” —StMt. ~~Theophan the Recluse~~Athos

~~“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~~ “War in the ~~words~~ name 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 religion 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 insincerelywar against religion.” ~~—St. John of Kronstadt~~—His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

~~“Chastisement through~~ “Believe me, if God revealed to us the ~~trials imposed on~~ disasters to which we were exposed and from which He protected us ~~is a spiritual rod~~, ~~teaching us humility when in~~ our ~~foolishness we think too much of ourselves~~whole lives would not suffice to offer Him thanks.” ~~—St~~—H. ~~Thalassios the Libyan~~H. Pope Shenouda

“Goodness is not confirmed without trial. Every Christian is tested by something: one by poverty, another by illness, a third by various thoughts, a forth by some calamity or humiliation, while another by various doubts. And, through this, firmness of faith“In heaven, ~~hope and love of~~ God ~~are tested~~will not ask us why we have sinned; He will ask us why we did not repent.” ~~—St~~—H.H. ~~Ambrose of Optina~~Pope Shenouda III

~~“Sometimes men are tested by pleasure~~“Even if all spiritual fathers, patriarchs, hierarchs, ~~sometimes by distress or by physical suffering. By means of His prescriptions~~ and all the ~~Physician of souls administers the remedy according to the cause of the passions lying hidden~~ people forgive you, you are unforgiven if you don’t repent in ~~the soul~~action.” —St. ~~Maximus the Confessor, Philokalia~~Kosmas Aitolos

~~“If you want~~“Nobody is as gracious and merciful, ~~or rather intend~~as the Lord is, ~~to take a splinter out~~ but even He does not forgive the sins of the man who does not repent; … we are being condemned not because of the multitude of ~~another person~~our evils, ~~then~~ but because we do not ~~hack at it with a stick instead of a lancet, for you will only drive it in deeper~~want to repent.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Mark the Ascetic

~~“To exalt oneself is one thing~~“As a handful of sand thrown into the ocean, ~~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 himselfare the sins of all flesh as compared with the mercy of God.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Isaac the Syrian

~~“If~~ “Just as a ~~man accuses himself~~strongly flowing fountain is not blocked up by a handful of earth, he so the compassion of the Creator is ~~protected on all sides~~not overcome by the wickedness of his creatures.” —St. ~~Poemen~~Isaac the Syrian

~~“It~~ “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 ~~then wealth that~~ once only, but often: will He forgive? Will He grant pardon? Hear what the Psalmist says: ‘How great is the ~~foundation~~ multitude of ~~pleasure~~Your goodness, ~~nor poverty~~ O Lord!’ Your accumulated offenses surpass not the multitude of ~~sadness~~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, ~~but our own judgment~~ like David: ‘I said, I will confess me my sin unto the Lord’: and the ~~fact that~~ same shall be done in your case, which he says immediately: ‘And you forgave the ~~eyes~~ wickedness of ~~our mind neither see clearly nor remain fixed in one place, but flutter abroad~~my heart.” ’” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2, On Repentance and Remission of Sins and Concerning the Adversary, Ezekiel xviii. 20-23

~~“One who knows oneself~~“The Lord calls to Him all sinners; He opens His arms wide, ~~knows God: and one who knows God is worthy~~ even to ~~worship Him as is right~~the worst among them. ~~Therefore, my beloveds~~ Gladly He takes them in ~~the Lord~~His arms, ~~know yourselves~~if only they will come to Him.” —St. ~~Anthony the Great~~Macarius of Optina

~~“In whatever state a person~~ “Repentance 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~~ daughter 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~~ hope and ~~delight. For, according to~~ the ~~words of the Lord, the one who realizes that more has been forgiven him begins~~ refusal to ~~love more~~despair.” —St. John ~~Cassian~~Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent

~~“If a man's self is~~ “Years are not ~~kept clean~~ needed for true repentance, and ~~bright~~not days, ~~his glimpse of God will be blurred~~but only an instant.” —C—St. ~~S. Lewis~~Ambrose of Optina

~~“The pure heart sees God as~~ “There is no sin which cannot be pardoned except that one which lacks repentance, and there is no gift which is not augmented save that which remains without acknowledgement. For the portion of the fool is small in ~~a mirror~~his eyes.” ~~—Abba Philemon~~—St. Isaac the Syrian

~~“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,~~ “When a man abandons his sins and ~~what would be happiness~~ returns to ~~clear minds would be a torment to those that are defiled. Therefore, let the mists of worldly vanities be dispelled~~God, his repentance regenerates him 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~~renews him entirely.” —St. ~~Leo~~ Isaiah the ~~Great~~Solitary

~~“God rests within gentle hearts~~“Through repentance the filth of our foul actions is washed away. ~~The gentle and merciful shall sit fearless~~ After this, we participate in ~~His regions~~the Holy Spirit, not automatically, but according to the faith, humility and ~~will inherit Heavenly glory~~inner disposition of the repentance in which our soul is engaged. For this reason it is good to repent each day as the act of repentance is unending.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Symeon the New Theologian, The Philokalia

~~“That which~~ “There is nothing higher than what is called repentance and confession. The sacrament is the ~~word communicates by sound,~~ offering of God's love to mankind. In this perfect way a person is free of evil. We go and confess and we sense our reconciliation with God; Joy enters us and guilt departs. In the ~~painting shows silently by representation~~Orthodox Church there is no impasse.” —St. ~~Basil the Great, on the 40 Martyrs~~ Porphyrios of ~~Sebaste~~Kavsokalyvia

~~“Do not call God just, for His justice~~ “…confession is ~~not manifest in the things concerning you. And if David calls Him just~~ such a potent treatment that it immediately neutralizes every poison of pardonable and ~~upright (cf. Ps. 24:8~~mortal sin, ~~144:17), His Son revealed to us that He~~ which is ~~good and kind. ‘He is good,’ He says~~an infinite evil, ~~‘to the evil~~ and causes every invisible illness to ~~the impious’ (cf. Luke 6:35). How can you call God just when you come across the Scriptural passage on the wage given~~ disappear, restoring to the ~~workers? ‘Friend, I do thee no wrong I will give unto this last even as unto thee~~soul its initial health and grace. ~~Is thine eye evil because I am good?’ (Matt. 20:12-15). How can~~ It is such a ~~man call God just when he comes across~~ wondrous treatment that it instantly changes the ~~passage on the prodigal son who wasted his wealth with riotous living, how for the compunction alone~~ sinner into a beautiful angel from that 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~~was before…” —St. ~~Where, then, is God's justice~~Nikodemos the Hagiorite, ~~for whilst we are sinners Christ died for us! (cf. Rom. 5~~Exomologetarion:~~8). But if here He is merciful~~A Manual of Confession, ~~we may believe that He will not change.” —St~~p. ~~Isaac the Syrian, Homily LX~~234

~~“God chastises with love, not for the sake of revenge---far be~~ “And so it~~!---but in seeking~~ is incumbent upon us to ~~make whole his image. And he does not harbour wrath until such time as correction is no longer possible~~strive, ~~for he does not seek vengeance for himself. This is the aim of love. Love's chastisement is for correction~~rather, ~~but does not aim at retribution. … The man who chooses~~ to ~~consider God as avenger, presuming that in this manner he bears witness~~ correct our faults and to ~~His justice, the same accuses Him of being bereft of goodness~~improve our behavior. ~~Far be it that vengeance could ever be found in that Fountain of love and Ocean brimming with goodness!~~” —St. ~~Isaac the Syrian~~John Cassian

~~“Among all~~ “If the grace of Goddoesn'~~s actions there is none~~ t enlighten man, though you say many words, they won't be beneficial. The person listens to you for a moment, but soon after returns to that which holds him captive. If, however, grace works immediately, together with your words, then a change is ~~not entirely a matter of mercy~~effected at that moment, ~~love and compassion: this constitutes~~ corresponding to the ~~beginning~~ person's predisposition. And from that moment on, his life is changed. This happens with those who haven't hardened their hearing and ~~end of His dealings with us~~conscience.” ~~—St. Isaac~~ —Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Precious Vessels of the ~~Syrian~~Holy Spirit

~~“‘The world’ is the general name for~~ “Let us strive to purify ourselves through repentance and humility, and to unite all ~~the passions. When we wish~~ our senses as one to ~~call~~ the ~~passions by a common name~~God who is good, ~~we call them~~ and transcends the ~~world~~good. ~~But when we wish to distinguish them by their special names~~Then, ~~we call them the passions. The passions are the following: love of riches~~truly, ~~desire for possessions, bodily pleasure from~~ everything which ~~comes sexual passion, love of honour which gives rise~~ I have not quite been able to ~~envy, lust for power, arrogance and pride of position, the craving~~ say or to ~~adorn oneself~~ demonstrate with ~~luxurious clothes and vain ornaments~~my many words, ~~the itch for human glory which is a source of rancour and resentment, and physical fear. Where these passions cease to~~ you will be ~~active, there the world is dead; for though living~~ taught in ~~the flesh~~an instant, ~~they did not live for the flesh~~all at once. ~~See for which of these passions you are alive~~You will hear with your sight, and see with your hearing. ~~Then you~~ You will ~~know how far you are alive to the world~~ be taught while seeing and ~~how far you are dead to it~~, again, hear what is unveiled.” —St. ~~Isaac~~ Symeon the ~~Syrian~~New Theologian

~~“We don't understand that happiness~~ “Where there is ~~in eternity~~ God, there is no evil. Everything coming from God is peaceful, healthy and ~~not in vanity.” —Elder Paisios~~ leads a person to the judgment of Mthis own imperfections and humility. ~~Athos~~

~~“Why do you beat the air and run in vain? Every occupation has~~ When a ~~purpose~~person accepts anything Godly, ~~obviously. Tell me~~ thenhe rejoices in his heart, ~~what is the purpose of all the activity of the world? Answer~~but when he has accepted anything devilish, ~~I challenge you! It is vanity of vanity: all is vanity.” —St~~then he becomes tormented. ~~John Chrysostom~~

~~“The sun shines on all alike, and vainglory beams on all activities. For instance~~The devil is like a lion, ~~I am vainglorious when I fast; and when I relax the fast~~ hiding in ~~order to be unnoticed~~ambush (Ps 10:19, ~~I am again vainglorious over my prudence~~1Pe 5:8). ~~When well-dressed I am quite overcome by vainglory,~~ He secretly sets out nets of unclean and ~~when I put on poor clothes I am vainglorious again~~unholy thoughts. ~~When I talk I am defeated~~So, ~~and when I am silent I am again defeated by~~ it~~. However I throw this prickly-pear~~is necessary to break them off as soon as we notice them, ~~a spike stands upright.” —St~~by means of pious reflection and prayer. ~~John Climacus~~

~~“Watch your~~ It is necessary that the Holy Spirit enter our heart ~~during all your life — examine it~~. Everything good that we do, ~~listen to it, and see what prevents its union with the most blessed Lord. Let this be~~ that we do for ~~you the science of all sciences~~Christ, ~~and with God’s help, you will easily observe what estranges you from God, and what draws you towards Him and unites you~~ is given 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~~Holy Spirit, ~~by the desires~~ but prayer most of ~~the eyes~~all, ~~and by worldly pride~~which is always available to us.~~” —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ~~

~~"Have you ever observed~~ A sign of spiritual life is the ~~life~~ immersion 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~~ person 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,~~ himself 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 hidden workings within his heart.” —St. ~~John (Maximovitch)~~ Seraphim of ~~Shanghai and San Francisco~~Sarov

~~“As water~~ “There is nothing better than peace in Christ, for it brings victory over all the evil spirits on earth and in the air. When peace dwells in a man's heart it enables him to contemplate the grace of the Holy Spirit from within. He who dwells in peace collects spiritual gifts as it were with a scoop, and ~~fire oppose one another when combined~~he sheds the light of knowledge on others. All our thoughts, all our desires, all our efforts, ~~so are self-justification~~ and ~~humility opposed~~ all our actions should make us say constantly with the Church: ‘O Lord, give us peace!’ When a man lives in peace, God reveals mysteries to ~~one another~~him.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Seraphim of Sarov

~~“Fire and water do not mix~~“The Spirit offers its own light to every mind, ~~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 help it in ~~secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke instead of sunlight in their eyes~~its search for truth.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Basil the Great

~~“Christians, above all men, are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force…~~ “Sometimes a man's happiness is so deep inside him that he may forget it ~~is necessary to make~~ 's there and start looking elsewhere hunting a ~~man better not by force but by persuasion. God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil~~fantasy, ~~not by force, but by choice~~an illusion.” ~~—St~~—Mr. ~~John Chrysostom~~Roarke (Fantasy Island, s2e14)

~~“I have seen pride lead~~ “If he seeks answers 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~~ questions related to ~~use it to their advantage~~his faith, his purpose in life, he will find happiness.” ~~—St. John Climacus, The Ladder~~ —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of ~~Divine Ascent, Step 15, Section 38~~Romania

~~“Humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate~~“The person who loves God values knowledge of God more than anything created by God, and pursues such knowledge ardently and ceaselessly.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Maximus the Confessor

~~“An angel fell from Heaven without any other passion except pride~~“Adorn yourself with truth, try to speak truth in all things; and ~~so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone~~do not support a lie, no matter who asks you.If you speak the truth and someone gets mad at you, don’t be upset, ~~without any other~~ but take comfort in the words of the ~~virtues~~Lord:Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of truth, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:10).” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Gennadios (II) Scholarios, Patriarch of Constantinople, The Golden Chain, 26,2

~~“Run~~ “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 ~~pride~~the task, that we fathers may be gladdened by the noble toil of our sons; for it this is ~~a passion more treacherous than any other~~the 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, and 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.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Gregory of Nyssa

~~“Pride more than anything else, deprives people of both their good deeds~~ “Be the bee and ~~help from God. Where there is no humility~~not the fly… The fly only knows where the unclean things are, ~~pride takes its place.~~while the honeybee knows where the beautiful flowers are!” —St. ~~Macarius~~ Paisios of ~~Optina~~Mt. Athos

~~“‘Exile~~ “I shall set forth the best contributions of the philosophers of the Greeks, because whatever there is of good has been given to men from above by God, since ‘every best gift and every perfect gift is ~~separation~~ from ~~everything in order~~ above, coming down from the Father of lights’ (Js. 1.17). If, however, there is anything that is contrary to ~~keep~~ the truth, then it is a dark invention of the deceit of Satan and a fiction of the mind ~~inseparable~~ 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 ~~God~~those things which are conformable with the truth and from our enemies themselves gather the fruit of salvation. ~~An exile loves~~ But all that is worthless and ~~produces continual weeping~~falsely labeled as knowledge I shall reject.~~’ From Paradise~~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 ~~must become exiled~~ 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 ~~world if we hope~~ most eminent of teachers and make a compendium of them, being in all things obedient to ~~return~~your command.” ~~—Fr~~—St. ~~Seraphim Rose~~ John of Damascus, The Fount of ~~Platina~~Knowledge

~~“Day and night I pray~~ “If we have obtained the ~~Lord for love, and the Lord gives me tears to weep for the whole world. But if I find fault with any man~~grace of God, ~~or look on him with an unkind eye~~none shall prevail against us, ~~my tears will dry up, and my soul sink into despondency~~but we shall be stronger than all who oppose us. ~~Yet do I begin again to entreat forgiveness of the Lord, and the Lord in His mercy forgives me, a sinner~~” —St.John Chrysostom

~~Brethren, before~~ “But our opinion is in accordance with the ~~face of my God I write: Humble your hearts~~Eucharist, 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~~Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion.” —St. ~~Silouan the Athonite~~Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, 4:18:5

~~“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~~ “The Eucharist 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~~ Flesh of ~~them~~our Lord Jesus Christ, 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 affirmwhich suffered for our sins, ~~‘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~~ which the ~~world? If it were impossible~~Father, ~~they would never have succeeded~~ in ~~it. For they were men like us~~his loving-kindess, ~~and possessed no more than we do except a will directed toward~~ raised from the ~~good~~dead. ~~They had zeal, patience, humility, and love for God~~” —St. ~~Therefore, acquire all this and your soul which today is as hard as rock shall become a fountain~~ Ignatius of ~~tears inside you. However~~Antioch, ~~if you refuse~~ Epistle to ~~suffer such anguish and affliction, at least do not say that all this is impossible.” —St. Symeon~~ the ~~New Theologian~~Smyrnians, ~~The Discourses, Discourse XXIX~~7: ~~The Heresy of Pusillanimity~~1

~~“He who~~ “If the poison of pride is swelling up in ~~his heart~~ you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, Which is ~~proud~~ 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 ~~his tears~~ Angels; and ~~secretly condemns those who do not weep is like a man who asks~~ charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the ~~king for a weapon against his enemy~~ Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and ~~then commits suicide~~ sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself with itthis 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 spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Cyril of Alexandria

~~“Do not grow conceited if~~ “Don't be anxious about what you ~~shed tears when~~ have, but about what you ~~pray. For it is Christ who has touched your eyes~~are.” —St. ~~Mark~~ Gregory the ~~Ascetic~~Great

“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 “Teach your child this ~~present world, at least because we see that it is now gone and past~~lesson: ~~and to offer unto God~~ the ~~daily sacrifice~~ rewards of ~~tears, and~~ evil are temporary; the ~~daily Sacrifice~~ rewards of ~~His Body and Blood~~Godliness (good character) are eternal. 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~~ Cyprian of ~~St. Gregory the Great, Book 4, ch. 58~~Carthage

~~“… One must clean~~ “Let everything take second place to our care of our children, our bringing them up to the ~~royal house from every impurity~~ discipline and ~~adorn it with every beauty, then~~ instruction of the ~~king may enter into it~~Lord. ~~In a similar way one must first cleanse~~ If from the ~~earth of the heart~~ beginning we teach them to love true wisdom, they will have greater wealth and ~~uproot~~ 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 ~~weeds~~ art of ~~sin and the passionate deeds and soften it with sorrows and the narrow way of life~~detachment from riches; if you want to make your child rich, ~~sow in it the seed of virtue~~teach him this. He is truly rich who does not desire great possessions, ~~water it~~ or surrounds himself with ~~lamentation and tears~~wealth, ~~and~~ but who requires nothing…Don’t think that only ~~then does~~ monks need to learn the ~~fruit of dispassion and eternal life grow. For~~ Bible; Children about to go out into the ~~Holy Spirit does not dwell~~ world stand in ~~a man until he has been cleansed from passions~~ greater need of ~~the soul and body~~Scriptural knowledge.” —St. ~~Paisius Velichkovsky~~John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians, ~~‘Field Flowers’~~Homily 21

~~“I do not know how I came into~~ “If a man really sets his heart upon the ~~world; Nor what the things here in it are. What my sight is, O my~~ will of 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~~ will enlighten a little child to ~~everyone, and yet deny Thee daily in my deeds. I teach~~ tell that ~~Thee have made each living thing; And yet without Thee struggle to have all~~man what is His will. ~~Thy rule extends above, below And yet I am~~ But if a man does not ~~feared to strive against Thee. Let me~~ truly desire the ~~needy one~~will of God, ~~me most miserable; Disburden all the sickness~~ even if he goes in search of ~~my soul Crushed~~a prophet, ~~alas and broken~~ God will put 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~~prophet a reply like the deception in his own heart.” ~~—St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the right attitude to Life~~—Abba Dorotheos of Gaza

~~“Ask with tears~~“Learn from small children: if a child is attacked by someone in the presence of his parent, ~~seek with obedience~~he does not respond to the attacker himself, ~~knock with patience~~but looks at the parent and cries. He knows that the parent will protect him. And how can you not know what the little child knows? Your heavenly Parent is continually beside you. ~~For thus he who asks receives~~Therefore do not revenge, ~~and he who seeks finds~~do not repay evil for evil, but look at the Parent and ~~to him that knocketh it shall be opened~~cry. Only in this way will you secure your victory in a clash with evil people.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Nikolai Velimirovich

“The ~~passions~~ soul that is in all things devoted to the will of God rests quiet in Him, for she knows of experience and from the ~~flesh may~~ Holy Scriptures that the Lord loves us much and watches over our souls, quickening all things by His grace in peace and love. Nothing troubles the man who is given over to the will of God, be ~~described as belonging to~~ it illness, poverty or persecution. He knows that the Lord in His mercy is solicitous for us. The Holy Spirit, whom the ~~left hand~~soul knows, is witness therefore. But the proud and the self-~~conceit as belonging~~ willed do not want to surrender to God's will because they like their own way, and that is harmful for the ~~right hand~~soul.” —St. ~~Maximus~~ Silouan the ~~Confessor~~Athonite (From the Life and Teachings of Elder Siluan by Bishop Alexander and Natalia Bufius translated by Anatoly Shmelev)

“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“The man who cries out against evil men, is but does not ~~frightened by~~ pray for them will never know 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 grace 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~~ Silouan the ~~Virtues, Philokalia, Vol. 2~~Athonite

~~“If~~ “Begin to pray with those whom you ~~wish to be saved~~love most, ~~O my soul~~for example, ~~to go first on~~ for your children. Then pray for the rest of the family. Then for the ~~most sorrowful path which has been indicated here~~people around you, ~~to enter into the Heavenly Kingdom and receive eternal life –~~ then ~~refine your flesh, taste voluntary bitterness, and endure difficult sorrows, as all~~ bless the ~~Saints tasted and endured. And when a man is preparing himself and gives himself~~ city in which you live…bless the ~~command~~ residents of other cities… Then ask God to ~~endure for~~ calm the ~~sake~~ hearts of ~~God all sorrows and pain which come upon him~~other countries so that there is no war. Then, ~~then light and painless seem~~ when you have already prayed for ~~him all sorrows~~the whole world, ~~unpleasantnesses and attacks of devils and men~~you only have to pray for enemies. ~~He does~~ And to not ~~fear death~~miss them, ask God to fill their hearts with kindness, and ~~nothing can separate such a one from~~ the ~~love of Christ~~mind with wisdom. ~~Have~~ You see, it turns out that you ~~heard, my beloved soul, how the Holy Fathers spent their lives? O my soul! Imitate them at least a little~~can pray for enemies too.” —St. ~~Paisius Velichkovsky~~Gabriel Urgebadze of Georgia, Confessor and Fool for Christ

~~“If you rebuke yourself~~“True faith is found in one's heart, ~~accuse yourself, and judge yourself before God for your sins, with a sensitive conscience, even for this you will be justified~~not mind.~~If you are sorrowful for your sins, or you weep, or sigh, your sigh~~ People who have faith in their mind will ~~not be hidden from Him and, as St~~follow the antichrist. ~~John Chrysostom says, ‘If you only lament for your sins, then He~~ But the ones who have it in their heart will ~~receive this for your salvation~~recognize him.’” ” —St. ~~Moses~~ Gabriel Urgebadze of ~~Optina~~Georgia, Confessor and Fool for Christ

~~“Where there is pride there~~ “When people are so steeped in evil that they do not yield to any admonishment and continue doing evil, a Christian cannot ~~be grace~~and should not take refuge in this teaching of the forgiveness of all, sit indifferently with his arms crossed, and ~~if we lose grace we also lose both love of God~~ apathetically watch evil abuse good, as it increases and ~~assurance in prayer~~destroys people, his close ones. ~~The soul is then tormented~~ To indifferently watch the ruin of a close one by one who has lost his senses and become a bearer of evil ~~thoughts and does not understand that she must humble herself and~~ is nothing other than the breaking of the commandment of love ~~her enemies,~~ for ~~there is no other way to please God~~one's neighbor.” ~~—St. Silouan the Athonite~~—Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of Syracuse

~~“A good heart produces good thoughts: its thoughts correspond to what it stores up~~ “Those who dislike and reject their fellow-man are impoverished in ~~itself~~their being. They do not know the true God, who is all-embracing love.” —St. ~~Thalassios~~ Silouan the ~~Libyan~~Athonite

~~“Fasting is~~ “If we detect hatred in our hearts against any man whatsoever for ~~the purification of the soul and body~~committing any fault, we are utterly estranged from love for God, since love for God absolutely precludes us from hating any man.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Maximus the Confessor

~~“Fasting~~ “One must not harbour anger nor hatred towards a person that is ~~wonderful, because it tramples~~ hostile towards us. On the contrary. You must love him and do as much good as possible towards him. Following the teaching of our ~~sins like a dirty weed, while it cultivates and raises truth like a flower~~Lord Jesus Christ.” —St. ~~Basil the Great~~Seraphim of Sarov

~~“Fasting~~ “As fire is not extinguished by fire, so anger is not conquered by anger, but is made even more inflamed. But meekness often subdues even the ~~mother of health; the friend of chastity; the partner of humility~~most beastly enemies, softens them and pacifies them.” —St. ~~Symeon the New theologian~~Tikhon of Zadonsk

~~“As salt~~ “For wherever love disappears, hatred immediately appears in its place. And if God is ~~needed for all kinds of food~~love, then hatred is the devil. Therefore, at one who has love has God within himself, so ~~humility is needed for all kinds of virtues~~he who has hatred within himself nurtures the devil within him.” —St. ~~Isaac~~ Basil the ~~Syrian~~Great

~~“Virtue is~~ “Do not ~~the manifestation of many~~ ask 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 ~~various works performed by the body~~you will be at rest, ~~but a heart that is most wise in its hope~~ and ~~unites a right aim~~ so will bring your neighbour 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~~love.” —St. ~~Isaac the Syrian, Homily 40~~Dorotheos of Gaza

~~“Let it~~ “Love should never 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 sacrificed for the ~~solid foundation. Without it, we cannot master any~~ sake of ~~the virtues and all these virtues will become impure, filthy, and discarded before God because they were not sown with humility and love~~some dogmatic difference.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Nektarios of Aegina

~~“Fasting~~ “No term is used–and misused–among the ~~mother of health; the friend of chastity;~~ Orthodox people in America more often than the ~~partner of humility~~term canonical.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Symeon the New theologian~~Alexander Schmemann, The Problems of Orthodoxy in America, The Canonical Problem

~~“What can sin do where there is penitence? And of what use~~ “Even the slightest thought that is not founded on love ~~where there is pride?~~destroys peace.” ~~—Abba Elias~~—Archimandrite Thaddeus Strabulovich

~~“Pride is poverty of~~ “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the ~~soul, which imagines itself~~ feet to ~~be rich,~~ hasten to the poor and ~~being in darkness, thinks it~~ needy. It has ~~light~~eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Augustine of Hippo

~~“Modern society calls the beggar bum~~ “Your Lord is love: love Him and ~~panhandler~~ 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 ~~gives him the bum's rush~~love. ~~But the Greeks used to say that people~~ Your Lord is light: do not walk in ~~need are the ambassadors~~ darkness of ~~the gods~~mind, without reasoning or understanding, or without faith. Your Lord is a God of mercy and bountifulness: be also a source of mercy and bountifulness to your neighbors. If you will be such, you will find salvation yourself with everlasting glory.” ~~—Peter Maurin~~—St. John of Kronstadt

~~“Every family should have~~ “To love our brothers is a ~~room where Christ~~ need that is endemic to our nature. Contemporary man does not recognize this need, because it is ~~welcome in the person of the hungry~~ suppressed and ~~thirsty stranger~~suffocated by egoism.” ~~—St~~—Archbishop Averky (Taushev), The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society, p. ~~John Chrysostom~~54

~~“Who~~ “Many think that love is a feeling, but this is not the case. It is a state of the ~~greedy man? One for whom plenty does~~ will. If love were a feeling it would not ~~suffice~~be a commandment. ~~Who defrauds others? One who keeps for himself what belongs to everyone. Aren’t you greedy~~Naturally, ~~don’t you defraud~~love is accompanied by certain feelings, ~~when you keep for yourself what was given to give away? When someone steals~~ but in essence it is a ~~man’s clothes, we call him a thief~~state of the will. ~~Shouldn’t we give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not?~~” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~Basil the Great~~Daniel Sysoev, How Can I Learn God's Will?

~~“The bread you do not use~~ “Love is – the ~~bread~~ bond of life, the ~~hungry~~mother of the poor and the teacher of the rich. ~~The garment hanging in your wardrobe~~ It is the ~~garment~~ nurse of orphans, the attendant of the ~~person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are~~ elderly, the ~~shoes~~ treasure of ~~one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is~~ the ~~money of~~ indigent and the ~~poor. The acts~~ common port of ~~charity you do not perform are~~ all the ~~injustices you commit~~afflicted.” —St. ~~Basil the Great~~Gregory of Nyssa

~~“You are~~ “I guard you in advance against beasts in the form of men, whom you must not ~~making a gift of what~~ only not receive, but if it is ~~yours to the poor man~~possible not even meet, but ~~you are giving him back what is his~~only pray for them, if perchance they may repent…” —St. ~~You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for the common use~~ Ignatius of ~~everyone. The earth belongs to everyone~~Antioch, ~~not~~ Letter to the ~~rich~~Smyrnaeans, A.~~” —St~~D. ~~Ambrose of Milan~~117

~~“Do not consider your riches~~ “If the Christian recognizes and understands under what condition, under what law he has believed, he will know that he must labor more in the world than others, as ~~belonging~~ he must carry on a greater struggle against the assault of the devil. Divine Scripture teaches and forewarns, saying: ‘Son, when thou comest to ~~yourselves alone; open wide your hand to those who~~ 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 tried in ~~need~~the fire’ (Sirach 2:4,5).” —St. ~~Cyril~~ Cyprian of ~~Alexandria~~Carthage, Mortality

“The ~~man~~ person who ~~loves his neighbor as~~ has surrendered himself ~~possesses no more than his neighbor…thus~~entirely to sin indulges with enjoyment and pleasure in unnatural and shameful passions – licentiousness, unchastity, greed, hatred, guile and other forms of vice – as ~~much as your wealth increases~~though they were natural. The genuine and perfected Christian, on the other hand, ~~so much does your~~ with great enjoyment and spiritual pleasure participates effortlessly and without impediment in all the virtues and all the supranatural fruits of the Spirit – love ~~decrease~~, peace, patient endurance, faith, humility and the entire truly golden galaxy of virtue – as though they were natural.” —St. ~~Basil the Great~~Symeon Metaphrastis

~~“If you cannot find Christ~~ “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. But when the grace of God becomes active in him, he begins to discern the ~~beggar at~~ passionate and sinful in himself, acknowledge them, and to repent and decide to guard against them. A struggle begins. At first, the ~~church door~~struggle begins with deeds, but when released from shameful deeds, ~~you will not find Him in~~ then the struggle begins with shameful thoughts and feelings. And here the struggle encounters many steps … The struggle continues. The passions increasingly are torn out of the heart. It even happens that they are entirely torn out … The sign that the passions are torn out of the heart is that the soul begins to feel repulsion and hatred for the ~~chalice~~passions.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Theophan the Recluse, Unseen Warfare, How the Spiritual Life Proceeds

~~“A rich man is~~ “Until you have eradicated evil, do not ~~one who has much, but one who gives much. For~~ obey your heart; for it will seek more of what ~~he gives away remains his forever~~it already contains within itself.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Mark the Ascetic

~~“No one in creation~~ “Whatever of that which is ~~rich but he~~ best has flowed into the heart, we should not pour out without need; for that ~~fears God; no one~~ which has been gathered can be free of danger from visible and invisible enemies only when it is ~~truly poor but he that lacks~~ guarded in the interior of the ~~truth~~heart.” —St. ~~Ephrem the Syrian~~Seraphim of Sarov

~~“Do you fast? Then feed the hungry~~“No one professing faith sins, ~~give drink~~ nor does anyone possessing love hate. The tree is known by its fruit; thus those who profess to be Christ's will be recognized by their actions. For the ~~thirsty, visit the sick, do~~ work is a matter not ~~forget the imprisoned~~of what one promises now, ~~have pity on~~ but of persevering to 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 end in the ~~fruits~~ power of ~~repentance~~faith.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians

“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“Indeed, man wishes to ~~which the earthly kingdom cannot rise,~~ be happy even when he so ~~that the rustic comes~~ lives as to ~~the place where he who wears the purple does not merit to come~~make happiness impossible.” —St ~~Gregory~~ . Augustine of ~~Tours, Via Patrum~~Hippo

~~“In all your undertakings and in every way~~ “The confession 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?evil works is the first beginning of good works.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Augustine of Hippo

~~“Those who submit to~~ “The evil powers love the ~~Lord with simple heart will run the good race. If they keep their minds on a leash~~darkness and tremble at every light, ~~they will not draw the wickedness of the demons onto themselves~~especially at that which belongs to God and to those who please Him.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Nikolai Velimirovich

~~“A hypocrite~~ “There is ~~someone who teaches his neighbor something he makes~~ no ~~effort~~ benefit to be gained from a pure life when one possesses heretical dogma. And likewise the opposite is true. Correct dogma is of no benefit when one leads a corrupt life. Let us not think that holding faith alone is alone sufficient for salvation if we do ~~himself~~not also show forth a pure life.” —St. ~~Poemen~~John Chrysostom

~~“I prefer a man who sins and repents to~~ “The one who ~~does~~ has not ~~sin and does not repent. The first has good thoughts, for~~ yet obtained divine knowledge activated by love makes a lot of the religious works he ~~admits that he is sinful~~performs. But the ~~second~~ one who has ~~false~~been deemed worthy to obtain this says with conviction the words which the patriarch Abraham spoke when he was graced with the divine appearance, ~~soul-destroying thoughts, for he imagines himself to be righteous~~‘I am but earth and ashes.’” —St.~~” —Abba Poemen~~ Maximus the ~~Great~~Confessor

~~“At meals don't speak about food:~~ “Do not say that~~'s vulgar and unworthy of~~ ‘mere faith in our Lord Jesus Christ can save me’, for this is impossible unless youacquire love for Him through works. ~~Speak about something noble -- of~~ For in what concerns mere believing, ‘even the ~~soul or~~ demons believe and tremble’ (James 2:19). The action of ~~the mind --~~ love consists in heartfelt good deeds towards one's neighbor, magnanimity, patience, and ~~you will have dignified this duty~~sober use of things.” —St. ~~Josemaria Escriva~~Maximus the Confessor

~~“When someone learns~~ “Our faith then must be different from the faith of devils. For our faith purifies the heart; but their faith makes them guilty. For they do wickedly, and therefore 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 ~~every man~~ Him? ‘We know,’ they say, ‘who You are: You are the Son of God.’ This Peter says, and is commended; 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 distinction in our faith, and not be content to believe. This is no such faith as ~~being better~~ purifies the heart. ‘Purifying their hearts,’ it is said, ‘by faith.’ But by what, and what kind of faith, save that which the Apostle Paul defines when he says, ‘Faith which works by love.’ That faith distinguishes us from the faith of devils, and from the infamous and abandoned conduct of men. ‘Faith,’ he says. What faith? ‘That which works by love,’ and which hopes for what God does promise. Nothing is more exact or perfect than ~~himself~~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 ~~he has attained humility~~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 it is the province of faith to believe, of charity to do. For if you believe without love, you do not apply yourself to good 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 heart, which works by love.” —St. ~~Sisoes~~ Augustine of Hippo, Sermon III on the ~~Great~~New Testament, Section XI

~~“It is~~ “Refuse to listen to the Devil when he whispers to you: ‘Give me now, and you will give tomorrow to God.’ No, no! Spend all the hours of your life in a ~~spiritual gift from~~ way pleasing to God . Keep in your mind the thought that after the present hour, you will not be given another, and that you will have to render a strict account for ~~a man to perceive his sins~~every minute of this present hour.” —St. ~~Isaac~~ Theophan the ~~Syrian~~Recluse

~~“The man who~~ “Human life is ~~deemed worthy to see himself~~ but of brief duration. ‘All flesh is ~~greater than he who~~ grass, and all the goodliness thereof is ~~deemed worthy~~ as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand forever’ (Isa. 40:6). Let us hold fast to ~~see angels~~the commandment that abides, and despise the unreality that passes away.” —St. ~~Isaac~~ Basil the ~~Syrian~~Great

~~“The truly blessed are not~~ “We see the ~~ones who can work miracles~~ water of a river flowing uninterruptedly and passing away, and all that floats on its surface, rubbish or ~~see angels~~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 is no more. My hair turns white, I succumb to age, but that too passes; I approach the ~~truly blessed are~~ end and will go the ~~ones who can see their own sins~~way of all flesh. I was born in order to die. I die that I may live.Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom!” —St. ~~Anthony the Great~~Tikhon of Voronezh

~~“The nearer a man draws~~ “You should look downward. Remember: you are earth and you will return to ~~God,~~ the ~~more he sees himself a sinner~~earth. ~~It was when Isaiah the prophet saw God, that he declared himself ‘a man of unclean lips.’”~~ ” —St. ~~Mateos~~Ambrose of Optina

~~“The condition~~ “Just as a pauper, seeing the royal treasures, all the more acknowledges his own poverty; so also the spirit, reading the accounts of ~~peace among men~~ the great deeds of the Holy Fathers, involuntarily is ~~that each should keep a consciousness~~ all the more humbled in its way of ~~his own wrongdoing~~thought.” —St. ~~Silouan the Athonite~~John Climacus

~~“The way to perfection is through~~ “Do not shun poverty and affliction, the ~~realization~~ fuel that ~~we are blind, naked and poor~~gives wings to prayer.” ~~—St. Theophan~~ —Evagrios the ~~Recluse~~Solitary

~~“The perfect person does not only try to avoid evil. Nor does he do good~~ “Prayer is a refuge for those who are shaken, an anchor for those tossed by waves, a walking stick for the infirm, a treasure house for ~~fear of punishment~~the poor, ~~still less in order to qualify~~ a stronghold for the ~~hope~~ rich, a destroyer of sicknesses, a ~~promised reward~~preserver of health. ~~The perfect person does good through love. His actions are not motivated by desire for personal benefit~~He who can sincerely pray is richer than everyone else, so even though he ~~does not have personal advantage as his aim~~is the poorest of all. ~~But as soon as he has realized~~ On the ~~beauty of doing good~~contrary, he who does ~~it with all his energies and in all that he does. He is~~ not ~~interested in fame~~have recourse to prayer, or even though he sit on a ~~good reputation~~king's throne, ~~or a human or divine reward. The rule of life for a perfect person~~ is ~~to be in~~ the ~~image and likeness~~ poorest of ~~God.”~~ all…” —St. ~~Clement of Alexandria~~John Chrysostom

~~“Every day at nightfall~~“What is the meaning of the exclamation so often sung in church: ‘Lord, ~~before sleep comes~~ have mercy upon ~~you~~us’? It is the lament of the guilty, condemned sinner, imploring forgiveness of an irritated justice. We are all under the eternal curse and doomed to eternal fire for our innumerable sins, ~~excite~~ and it is only the ~~judgment~~ Grace of ~~your conscience~~Our Lord Jesus Christ, interceding for us before the Heavenly Father, ~~demand an account~~ that saves us from iteternal punishment. It is the lament of the repentant sinner, expressing his firm intention to amend and ~~whatever evil counsels you may have taken during~~ begin a new life, becoming for a Christian. It is the lament of the ~~day … pierce them~~repentant sinner, ~~tear them~~ ready to ~~pieces~~forgive others, as he himself was and ~~do penance for them~~is immeasurably forgiven by God, the Judge of his deeds.” —St. John ~~Chrysostom~~of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ, pg. 406

~~“As I became more wretched you drew nearer to me~~“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 sons of God, his children. As such, we must have His qualities and His attributes of love, peace, and kindness towards all.” ~~—St. Augustine~~—Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

~~“Sin~~ “Pride is ~~the fruit of free will. There was~~ trying to imagine a ~~time when sin did not exist,~~ world and ~~there will be a time when~~ live in it. Humility receives the world as God created it ~~will not exist~~.” —St. ~~Isaac the Syrian~~Sophrony of Essex

~~“Prove your~~ “We suffer because we have no humility and we do not love our brother. From love of our brother comes the love of God. People do not learn humility, and because of their pride cannot receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, and ~~zeal for wisdom in actual deeds~~therefor the whole world suffers.” —St. ~~Callistus Xanthopoulos~~Silouan the Athonite

~~“Without love~~“Some suffer much from poverty and sickness, ~~deeds~~but are not humbled, ~~even~~ and so they suffer without profit. But one who is humbled will be happy in all circumstances, because the ~~most brilliant~~Lord is his riches and joy, ~~count as nothing~~and all people will wonder at the beauty of his soul.” —St. ~~Thérèse de Lisieux~~Silouan the Athonite

~~“Do not leave unobliterated any fault~~“My joy, ~~however small~~I beg you, ~~for it may lead you on~~ acquire the Spirit of Peace. That means to bring oneself to such a state that our spirit will not be disturbed by anything. For one must go through many sorrows to ~~greater sins~~enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” This is the way all righteous men were saved and inherited the Heavenly Kingdom…” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~Seraphim of Sarov

~~“Everyday~~ “My will, therefore, He took to Himself, my grief. In confidence I ~~lay a foundation~~ call it grief, because I preach His Cross. Mine is the will which He called His Own, for ~~building~~ as Man He bore my ~~repentance~~grief, as Man He spake, and ~~again~~ therefore said, ‘Not as I will, but as Thou wilt.’ Mine was the grief, and mine the heaviness with ~~my own hands I demolish~~ 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.~~” —St~~In my stead therefore, and in me He grieved Who had no cause to grieve for Himself. ~~Ephrem the Syrian~~

~~“Having fulfilled a commandment~~Not Thy Wound, ~~expect temptations~~but mine, hurt Thee, Lord Jesus; ~~because love toward Christ~~ not Thy Death, but our weakness, even as the Prophet saith: ‘For He is ~~tested by difficulties~~afflicted for our sakes’--and we, Lord, esteemed Thee afflicted, when Thou grievedst not for Thyself, but for me.~~” —St. Mark the Ascetic~~

~~“Do not be surprised that~~ And what wonder if He grieved for all, Who wept for one? What wonder if, in the hour of death, He is heavy for all, Who wept when ~~you draw near~~ at the point to ~~virtue~~raise Lazarus from the dead? Then, indeed, He was moved by a loving sister's tears, ~~grievous and intense tribulations come to you on all sides:~~ for ~~virtue is not considered virtue~~they touched His human heart, if --here by secret grief He brought it ~~does not involve hard work~~to pass that, even as His Death made an end of death, and His Stripes healed our scars, so also His Sorrow took away our sorrow.” —St. ~~Isaac the Syrian~~Ambrose of Milan, (+397), Ch. 7, Book II, ~~Directions~~ Exposition on ~~Spiritual Training, The Philokalia~~the Christian Faith

~~“Do~~ “Peace is not ~~be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up~~absence of struggle, 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 absence of uncertainty and ~~cauterization. Many from long neglect become incurable. But with God all things are possible~~confusion.” ~~—St. John Climacus, The Ladder~~ —Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of ~~Divine Ascent, Step 5, Section 30~~Sourozh

~~“The life~~ “Humility is perfect quietness 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 me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the ~~righteous was radiant. How did it become radiant if it wasn’t by patience? Love patience~~door, ~~O monk~~and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as ~~the mother~~ in a deep sea of ~~courage~~calmness, when all around and above is trouble.” ~~—St. Ephrem the Syrian~~—Andrew Murray

~~“Seek in everything~~ “However great the ~~deep meaning. All~~ afflictions we suffer, what are they compared with the ~~events that take place around us and with us have their meaning~~promised future reward. ~~Nothing happens without a cause…”~~ ” —St. ~~Nektary of Optina~~Macarius the Great

~~“…should we fall, we should not despair~~ “Shun the praise of men and ~~so estrange ourselves from~~ love the ~~Lord's love. For if He so chooses~~one who, ~~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~~ in the fear of ~~our goal…let us always be ready to make a new start. If you fall~~the Lord, ~~rise up. If~~ reprimands 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~~Pachomius

~~“Faintness~~ “When people begin to praise us, let us hurry to remember the multitude of ~~heart is a sign of despondency~~ours transgressions, and ~~negligence is the mother of both. A cowardly man shows~~ we will see that ~~he suffers from two diseases: love~~ we are truly unworthy 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~~ which they say and ~~scorn of perils comes from one of two causes: either from hardness of heart or from great faith~~ do 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 Godour honor.” —St. ~~Isaac the Syrian, Homily 40~~John Climacus

~~“Just as the~~ “…Don't be frightened at your burden; our Lord ~~is solicitous about our salvation, so too the murder of men, the devil, strives~~ will help you to ~~lead a man into despair~~carry it.” —St.John Vianney

~~A lofty and sound soul does not despair over misfortunes,~~ “Every tribulation reveals the state of ~~whatever sort they may be~~our will.” —St. ~~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~~ Mark the ~~tempter to remain with us and for as long as we must wait to be revived through patience and secure passionless!~~Ascetic

~~Judas the betrayer was fainthearted and unskilled in battle~~“Every affliction tests our will, ~~and so the enemy, seeing his despair, attacked him and forced him~~ showing whether it is inclined to ~~hang himself, but Peter,~~ good or evil. That is why an unforeseen affliction is called a ~~firm rock, when he fell into great sin, like one skilled in battle did not despair nor lose heart~~test, ~~but shed bitter tears from~~ because it enables a ~~burning heart, and the enemy, seeing these tears,~~ man to test his ~~eyes scorched as by fire, fled far form him wailing in pain~~hidden desires.” —St.Mark the Ascetic

~~And so brothers, St. Antioch teaches, when despair attacks us let us not yield to it, but being strengthened and protected by~~ “Many are the ~~light~~ wiles of ~~faith, with great courage let us say to~~ the ~~evil spirit: ‘What are you~~ enemy to despoil us~~, estranged from God, a fugitive from heaven and evil servant? You dare do nothing to us. Christ, the Son~~ of ~~God~~inner peace, 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).so watch!” —St. ~~Seraphim of Sarov, Little Russian Philokalia~~Theophan the Recluse

~~“I think it needs to be pointed out with utmost charity that the religion of compromise~~ “In every situation confusion is ~~self-deception and that there exist today only two absolutely irreconcilable alternatives for man: faith in~~ from the ~~world and~~ devil, from whom may the ~~religion of self, whose fruit is death;~~ Lord shield and ~~the faith in Christ the Son of God, in Whom alone is eternal life~~protect us.” ~~—Fr~~—St. ~~Seraphim Rose~~ Leo of ~~Platina~~Optina

~~“Keep your mind~~ “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 tries to draw a man to consent to the proposed delusion, and after getting his consent he takes possession of the person who has given his consent. Holy David, in ~~hell and do not despair~~describing his the fallen angel attacks man, has very rightly said: "He lurketh in secret as a lion in his den, that he may ravish the poor; to ravish the poor, when he getteth him into his net."” —St. ~~Silouan~~ Ignaty Bryanchaninov, The Arena, chapter 11, On the ~~Athonite~~Solitary Life

~~“Stand at the brink of the abyss of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little~~“The devil presents minor sins as insignificant in our eyes, ~~and have a cup of tea~~because otherwise he would not be able lead us into major ones.” ~~—Elder Sophrony of Essex~~—St. Mark the Ascetic

~~“So in every test~~“Do not leave unobliterated any fault, ~~let us say: "Thank you~~however small, ~~my God, because this was needed~~ for ~~my salvation~~it may lead you on to greater sins."” ~~—Elder Paisios of Mt~~—St. ~~Athos~~Mark the Ascetic

~~“Only~~ “Obedience is necessary not only for monks, but for all people. Even the Lord was obedient. The proud and self-regarding do not allow grace to live in them, and therefore they never have spiritual peace, while in the ~~benumbed~~ obedient soul ~~doesn't pray~~the grace of the Holy Spirit enters easily and gives joy and peace. ~~Preserve~~ Whoever bears even a little grace in ~~yourselves~~ himself joyfully submits himself to all direction. He knows that God directs even the ~~feeling of need~~heavens and the netherworld, and himself, and his business, and everything in the world, and ~~you will~~ therefore he is always ~~have stimulation for prayer~~at peace.” —St. ~~Theophan~~ Silouan the ~~Recluse~~Athonite, Writings, XV.2

~~“Make sure~~ “The fact that I am a monk and you ~~do not limit your prayer merely~~ are a layman is of no importance. The Lord listens equally to the monk and to the man of 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 ~~particular part~~ man is capable of containing the ~~day~~Kingdom of God. ~~Turn to prayer at anytime~~The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God are one.” —St ~~John Chrysostom~~. Seraphim of Sarov

~~“The~~ “He who honours the Lord ~~knows that I love you all~~does what the Lord bids. When he sins or is disobedient, ~~but I cannot speak with God and people at the same time~~he patiently accepts what comes as something he deserves.” —St. ~~Arsanius~~ Mark the ~~Great~~Ascetic

~~“A Christian…is~~ “It is a great error to think that you must undertake important and great labors, whether for heaven, or, as the 'progressives' think, in order to make one's contribution to humanity. That is not ~~his own master; he puts his time~~ necessary at ~~God~~all. It is necessary only to do everything in accordance with the Lord's ~~disposal~~commandments.” —St. ~~Ignatius of Antioch~~Theophan the Recluse

~~“Do not seek the perfection of the Law~~ “When we are immersed in ~~human virtues~~sins, ~~for it~~ and our mind is occupied solely with worldly cares, we do not ~~found perfect in them~~notice the state of our soul. ~~Its perfection is hidden in the Cross~~ We are indifferent to who we are inwardly, and we persist along a false path without being aware of ~~Christ~~it.” —St. ~~Mark the Ascetic~~John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco

~~“The knowledge~~ “We have to be aware that what is being pounded in upon us is all of one piece; it has a certain rhythm, a certain message to give us, this message of self-worship, of relaxing, of letting go, of enjoying yourself, of giving up any thought of the ~~Cross~~ other world … It is ~~concealed~~ actually an education in atheism. We have to fight back by knowing just what the ~~sufferings~~ world is trying to do to us…” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of ~~the Cross.” —St. Isaac the Syrian~~Platina

~~“God had one son on earth without sin~~“I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, ~~but never one without suffering~~‘What can get through from such snares?’ Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Humility.” ’” —St. ~~Augustine~~Anthony the Great

~~“Nevertheless one who regards only the dissolution of the body is greatly disturbed~~“Learn to love humility, ~~and makes~~ for it ~~a hardship that this life~~ will cover all your sins. All sins are repugnant before God but the most repugnant of ~~ours should be dissolved by death; it~~ all 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~~ pride of the ~~Divine benevolence~~heart.~~”” —St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Great Catechism, §VIII~~

~~“Man is, by nature, afraid of both death~~ Do not consider yourself learned and ~~the dissolution of the body~~wise; ~~but there is this most startling fact: that he who has put on the faith of the Cross despises even what is naturally fearful~~otherwise, all your effort will be destroyed and ~~for Christ's sake is not afraid even of death~~your boat will reach the harbor empty.~~” —St. Athanasius the Great~~

~~“Only struggle a little more~~If you have great authority, do not threaten anyone with death. ~~Carry your cross without complaining. Don't think~~ Know, that according to nature, you too are ~~anything special. Don't justify your sins~~ susceptible to death and ~~weaknesses, but see yourself~~ that every soul sheds its body from itself as ~~you really are. And, especially, love one another.” —Fr~~the final garment. ~~Seraphim Rose of Platina~~

~~“Remember that each~~ In Byzantium there existed an unusual and instructive custom during the crowning of the emperors in the Church of ~~us has his own cross~~the Divine Wisdom [St. Sophia]. The ~~Golgotha of this cross is our heart: it is being lifted or implanted through a zealous determination to live according to~~ custom was that when the patriarch placed the ~~Spirit of God. Just as salvation of~~ crown on the ~~world is by~~ emperor's head, at the ~~Cross of God~~same time, ~~so our salvation is by our crucifixion on our own cross~~he handed him a silk purse filled with dirt from the grave.~~” —St. Theophan the Recluse~~

~~“Everyone carries their own cross~~Then, ~~both Christians~~ even the emperor would recall death and ~~non-Christians, believers~~ to avoid all pride and ~~pagans~~become humble. ~~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~~” —St. ~~For~~ Anthony the ~~Christian~~Great, 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.The Prologue of Ochrid

~~Therefore~~“What made our Lord Jesus Christ lay aside His garments, ~~Christian~~gird Himself with a towel, ~~do not shun your lifelong cross~~and, ~~but~~pouring water into a basin, on begin to wash the ~~contrary~~feet of those who were below Him, ~~thank Jesus Christ that~~ if not to teach us humility? For it was humility He showed us by the example of what He ~~honored you~~ then did. And indeed those who want to ~~follow~~ be accepted into the foremost rank cannot achieve this otherwise than through humility; for in the beginning, the thing that caused downfall from heaven was a movement of pride. 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 ~~imitate Him~~body – he will not inherit the kingdom of God.” —St. ~~Innocent of Alaska~~Anthony the Great, Early Fathers from the Philokalia, E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, Faber and Faber, London, 1954, ~~Indication Of The Way Into The Kingdom Of Heaven~~pp. 45-46

~~“Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since~~ “People who are filled with egoism and pride because of their education, resemble satellites that orbit in the ~~leader of our faith endured~~ sky, giving one the ~~cross~~impression that they are stars. If, we however, you observe them carefully you will ~~also endure~~ see their crooked steps and see that it~~. On one hand~~is all a human sham… Internally-oriented people, on account of their humility, are the ~~cross is sweet and light~~true stars that move at dizzying speeds, butnoiselessly and humbly, on without anyone understanding how they move even though they are immense planets. They hide in the ~~other, it can also be bitter~~ depths of heaven and ~~heavy. It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross~~ give men the impression that they are little oil lamps aflame with ~~love then it will be very~~ a humble light~~; like a sponge or a cork~~. ~~But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift~~” —St.~~” —Elder Ephraim~~ Paisios of ~~Katounakia, 20th Century staretz on~~ Mt. Athos~~, Suffering; Trials~~

~~“When you meet with suffering, contempt,~~ “Wouldst thou comprehend the height of God? First comprehend the ~~Cross~~lowliness of God. Condescend to be humble for thine own sake, ~~your thought should~~ seeing that God condescended to be~~: what is this compared with what I deserve?~~humble for thy sake too, for it was not for his own.” —St. ~~Josemaria Escriva~~Augustine of Hippo

~~“Behold~~“The greatness of a man consisteth of humility, 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~~ in proportion as ~~if they were out of the way? Doest not thou wish~~ a man descendeth to ~~follow the steps of the saints? Or doest thou wish~~ humility, he becometh exalted to ~~go a way which is especially for thee, without suffering? The way unto God is a daily cross~~greatness. ~~No one can ascend unto heaven with comfort, we know where the way~~ ” —Paradise of ~~comfort leads.” —St. Isaac~~ the ~~Syrian~~Holy Fathers, ~~Mystic Treatises, Homily LIX~~Vol. 2

~~“Understand two thoughts, and fear them. One says, 'You are~~ “It is easier to measure the entire sea with a ~~saint,' the other, 'You won't be saved.~~tiny cup than to grasp God' 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, s ineffable greatness with 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~~human mind.” —St. ~~Silouan~~ Basil the ~~Athonite~~Great

~~“He made Him who was righteous to be~~ “You don't have a ~~sinner, that He might make sinners righteous~~soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” ~~—St~~—C. S. ~~John Chrysostom~~Lewis

~~“Love sinners, but hate their deeds, and do not disdain sinners for their failings, so that you yourself do not fall into~~ “This is the ~~temptation in which they abide… Do not be angry at anyone~~ wisdom 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~~ power of God: to be ~~made like unto Christ~~victorious through weakness, ~~who had no dislike for sinners~~exalted through humility, ~~but prayed for them~~rich through poverty.” —St. ~~Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies 57,90~~Gregory Palamas

~~“Love every man in spite~~ “You will lose nothing of ~~his falling into sin~~what you have renounced for the Lord’s sake. ~~Never mind the sins, but remember that the foundation of the man is the same - the image of God~~For in its own time it will return to you greatly multiplied.” —St. ~~John of Kronstadt~~Mark the Ascetic

~~“Never confuse the person~~“God often isolates those whom He chooses, ~~formed in the image of God, with the evil~~ so 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~~we have nowhere to turn except to Him, ~~and this remains in him despite every disfigurement~~then He reveals Himself to us.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~John~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Kronstadt~~Platina

~~“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~~ “Where can I flee? A place cannot save you because there 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 hateplace you can flee from yourself.” —St. ~~Augustine~~ Nikon of ~~Hippo, The City of God, 14:6, Penguin ed., transl. Bettenson~~Optina

~~“As Jesus Christ is my Witness~~“No one and nothing can harm a man if he does not harm himself; on the contrary, ~~I profess that I hate heresy~~if one does not avoid sin, a thousand means of salvation will not help him. Consequently, the ~~heretic; but as~~ only evil is ~~proper, for~~ sin: Judas fell while in the ~~present I shun the heretics because~~ presence of the ~~heresy~~Savior, ~~since I have both convicted and rebuked him~~but the righteous Lot was saved while living in Sodom.” —St. ~~Let him renounce his heresy and condemn it by word as well as by deed~~Nikon of Optina, November 15-16/28-29, 1922, Optina Monastery, The Orthodox Word, ~~and he will cling to all men by the bond of brotherhood~~1980, ~~because it is written~~vol. 16, ~~‘Bear ye one another's burden and so fulfill the law of Christ’ (Gal~~no. 6:2(91)~~.” —Orosius of Braga~~, ~~Book in Defense Against the Pelagians~~March-April

~~“Our life~~ “If our purpose is to fight the spiritual fight and to defeat, with God's help, the demons of malice, we should take every care to guard our ~~death is~~ 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, it 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 allow the soul to understand that its sickness does not come from without, but lies hidden within, only manifesting itself when temptations attack the soul because of our ~~neighbor~~ascetic efforts.

~~If we gain our brother~~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 accurate knowledge of the soul’s wounds, ~~we have gained God~~does not tell us to forsake the company of men; He tells us to root out the causes of evil within us and to recognize that the soul’s health is achieved not by a man’s separating himself from his fellows, but if by his living the ascetic life in the company of holy men. When we ~~scandalize~~ abandon our ~~brother~~brothers for some apparently good reason, we ~~have sinned against Christ~~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.” —St.John Cassian

~~This is~~ “A life lived in the world can be as good, in the ~~great work~~ eyes of God, as one spent in a ~~man: always to take~~ monastery. It is indeed only the ~~blame for his own sins before~~ keeping of God 's commandments, love of all, and ~~to expect temptation to his last breath~~a true sense of humility that matter, wherever we are.” ~~—St. Anthony the Great~~—Elder Macarius of Optina

~~“Unless we look at a person and see the beauty there is in this person~~“Those who, ~~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~~ because of the ~~prostitute~~rigor of their own ascetic practice, at despise the ~~thief~~less zealous, think that they are made righteous by physical works. But we are even more foolish if we rely on theoretical knowledge and ~~saw~~ disparage the ~~beauty hidden there~~ignorant. ~~Perhaps it was distorted, perhaps damaged, but it was beauty none~~ ” —St. Mark the ~~less, and what he did was to call out this beauty.” —Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh~~Ascetic

~~“He who busies himself with~~ “When you get bitter and annoyed, even if only in thought, you ruin the spiritual atmosphere. You stop the Holy Spirit from working and you allow the ~~sins of others~~devil to increase evil. You should always pray, ~~or judges his brother on suspicion~~love and forgive, ~~has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins~~rejecting each and every bad thought within you.” —St. ~~Maximus the Confessor~~Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia

~~“As long as we pay~~ “A remedy against straying thoughts is mental attention, attention to the ~~negative sides of various people we meet, we will not find peace and repentance. As long as we keep in ourselves~~ fact that the ~~thought of offense, caused to~~ Lord is before us ~~by enemies, friends, family~~ and ~~neighbours,~~ we ~~will not find peace and quiet and we will live in a hellish state~~are before Him.” ~~—Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica~~—St. Theophan the Recluse

~~“If you~~ “The roots of evil thoughts are ~~offended by anything, whether intended or unintended, you do not know~~ the ~~way of peace~~obvious vices, which ~~through love brings the lovers of divine knowledge~~ we keep trying to ~~the knowledge of God~~justify in our words and actions.” —St. ~~Maximus~~ Mark the ~~Confessor~~Ascetic

~~“Especially, do not~~ “Guard your speech from boasting and your thoughts from presumption; otherwise you may be ~~disturbed~~ abandoned by ~~blasphemous thoughts, which clearly come from the envy of the Enemy~~God and fall into sin. ~~They occur in a person either because of proud self-opinion or~~ For man cannot do anything good without the ~~condemnation~~ help of ~~others~~God, who sees everything.” —St. ~~Ambrose of Optina~~Mark the Ascetic

~~“In hell there is democracy and~~ "The higher a person’s position in ~~Heaven there is a Kingdom~~society the more he should help others without ever reminding them of his position.” ~~—St~~—Tsar St. ~~John of Kronstadt~~Nicholas II

~~“We shall not care what people think of us, or how they treat us. We shall cease~~ “If you want your sins to be ~~afraid of falling out of favour. We shall love our fellow men without thought of whether they love us.~~ absolved by Christ ~~gave us the commandment~~ , then don't speak to ~~love~~ others ~~but did not make it a condition of salvation~~ about any virtue that ~~they should love us. Indeed, we~~ you 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 attentionhave, ~~trust or respect – it~~ because God 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~~ treat our ~~praises, if the Lord declines to abide with us. This is only a fragment of~~ sins the ~~freedom Christ meant when Hial practices such as Transcendental Meditation I am but repeating the age-old message of the Church … The~~ same way ~~of the Fathers requires firm faith and long patience, whereas~~ we treat 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 the Name of Jesus and yoga or Transcendental Meditation ande said, ‘Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8virtues.~~32)~~” —St. ~~Our sole care will be to continue in~~ Mark 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~~Ascetic

~~“The Church~~ “If any man 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~~ able in ~~our life as the thanksgiving that we experience~~ power to continue in ~~the Church. In the Church~~purity, to 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~~ honour of the flesh of our Lord, ~~‘near me~~let him continue so without boasting; if he boasts, ~~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~~ he 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~~ undone; if he become known apart from the ~~burden of your sins. He heals worries with thanksgiving~~bishop, ~~and sadness with joy. No one is truly free or joyful besides~~ he ~~who lives for Christ~~has destroyed himself. ~~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~~ Ignatius of ~~the Paraclete~~Antioch

~~“The goal of human freedom is not in freedom itself~~“Guarding the mouth wakes up the conscience to God, ~~nor~~ if it 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~~ knowledge that a man ~~himself would voluntarily bring it as a sacrifice to God, as a most perfect offering~~keeps silence.” —St. ~~Theophan~~ Isaac the ~~Recluse, The Path to Salvation~~Syrian

~~“When you~~ “Silence is more profitable than speech, for as it has been said, ‘The words of wise men are ~~depressed, bear~~ heard even 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~~quiet.” ’” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Basil the Great

~~“The time of this present life is a time~~ “Never give your opinion if you are not asked 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~~ even if you think that your view 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~~best.” ~~—Elder Joseph the Hesychast and Cave-dweller~~—Josemaria Escriva

~~“When you are ready to stand in the presence of the Lord~~“Not only for every idle word must man give an account, ~~let your soul wear a garment woven from the cloth of your forgiveness of others. Otherwise, your prayer will be of no value whatsoever~~but for every idle silence.” —St. ~~John Climacus~~Ambrose of Milan

~~“Forgiveness is better than revenge~~“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.” ~~—St. Tikhon of Zadonsk~~—Henri Nouwen

~~“When God forgave~~ “Let your mouth continually administer blessing; then the scorn of anyone will never hurt you~~, it means He forgave you for eternity~~.” ~~—Elder Arsenios Papacioc~~—St. Isaac the Syrian

~~“Love alone harmoniously joins all created things with God~~ “Just as swine run to a place where there is mire, and ~~with each other~~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. ~~Thalassios the Libyan~~John Chrysostom

“A ~~monk~~ psalm implies serenity of soul; it is ~~he who withdrawing from all men~~the author of peace, which calms bewildering and seething thoughts. For, it softens the wrath of the soul, and what is ~~united with all mankind~~unbridled it chastens. … A ~~monk is he who regards himself~~ psalm forms friendships, unites those separated, conciliates those at enmity. Who, indeed, can still consider as ~~existing~~ an enemy him with ~~all men and sees himself in each man.” —St. Nilus of Sinai~~whom he has uttered the same prayer to God?

~~“Love towards Christ is without limits~~So that psalmody, bringing about choral singing, a bond, as it were, toward unity, and joining the ~~same is true~~ people into a harmonious union of ~~love towards our neighbour. It should radiate everywhere~~one choir, to produces also the ~~ends~~ greatest of blessings, charity. A psalm is a city of refuge from the ~~earth~~demons, ~~to every person. I wanted to go and live with~~ a means of inducing help from the ~~hippies~~ angels, a weapon in fears by night, a rest from toils by day, a safeguard for infants, an adornment for those at ~~…… in order to show them~~ the ~~love~~ height of ~~Christ and how great it is and how it could transfigure them. Love is above everything.” —Wounded by Love~~their vigor, ~~Elder Porphyrios~~a consolation for the elders, ~~pg 188~~a most fitting ornament for women.

~~“So God created man in His own image~~It peoples the solitudes; it rids the market place of excesses; in it is the elementary exposition of beginners, the improvement of those advancing, the solid support of the perfect, the ~~image~~ voice of the Church. It brightens the feast days; it creates a sorrow which is in accordance with God ~~He created him; male and female He created them~~.~~” —Genesis 1:27~~

~~“For God knows that in~~ For, a psalm is the ~~day you eat~~ work of ~~it your eyes will be opened~~angels, ~~and you will be like God~~a heavenly institution, ~~knowing good and evil~~the spiritual incense.” ~~—Genesis 3:5~~—St. Basil the Great

~~“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself~~ “Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into ~~an angel~~ 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 in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment.” ~~—2 Corinthians 11:14~~—St. Basil the Great

~~“You shall~~ “Humility consists, not ~~murder~~in condemning our conscience, but in recognizing God's grace and compassion.” ~~—Exodus 20:13~~—St. Mark the Ascetic

~~“Cursed~~ “The source of self-delusion and demonic deception is the ~~one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person~~false thought…” —St.~~” —Deuteronomy 27:25~~Ignatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of Caucasus

~~“He shall judge between~~ “Spiritual deception is the ~~nations~~state of all men without exception,~~And rebuke many people;They shall beat their swords into plowshares,And their spears into pruning hooks;Nation shall not lift up sword~~ and it has been made possible by the fall of our original parents. All of us are subject to spiritual deception. Awareness of this fact is the greatest protection against ~~nation~~it. Likewise,~~Neither shall they learn war anymore~~the greatest spiritual deception of all is to consider oneself free from it.” ~~—Isaiah 2:4~~—St. Ignatius Brianchaninov (Bryanchaninov) of Caucasus

~~“But Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take~~ “Knowing the ~~sword will perish by the sword~~perpetual impurity of our spiritual state must bring us humility of heart.~~’” —Matthew 26:52~~” —Tonia Howell

~~“You know~~ “Where there is pride and at the ~~commandments: ‘Do~~ same time one has a vision – it can not ~~commit adultery~~be from God,~~’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother~~but by all means – from the evil one.~~’” —Luke 18:20~~” —Archimandrite Seraphim Alexiev

~~“So when they continued asking Him~~“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 Christ, 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, ~~He raised Himself up~~ and ~~said~~ be not captivated by it before consulting those who are experienced and are able to ~~them~~analyze the matter, ~~‘He~~ so that you do not suffer harm...God 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 ~~sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first~~consulting and testing…” —St.~~’” —John 8:7~~Gregory of Sinai

~~“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer~~“Children, I beseech you to correct your hearts and thoughts, so that you ~~know~~ may be pleasing to God. Consider that ~~no murderer has eternal life abiding~~ 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 preserve the holiness of our souls and to guard 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, himshall God destroy.” ~~—1 John 3:15~~—St. Nicholas of Myra

~~“And~~ “Those who suffer for the ~~second commandment~~ sake 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 begottentrue devotion receive help. This must be learnt through obeying God's law and our own conscience.” ~~—Didache 2:2~~—St. Mark the Ascetic

~~“You shall~~ “When you are wronged and your heart and feelings are hardened, do not ~~take~~ be distressed, for this has happened providentially; but be glad and reject the ~~life of~~ thoughts that arise within you, knowing that if they are destroyed at the ~~child by obtaining an abortion. Nor~~stage when they are only provocations, ~~again~~their evil consequences will be cut off, ~~shall you destroy him after he is born~~whereas if the thoughts persist the evil may be expected to develop.” —St. ~~Barnabas, Epistle of St. Barnabas~~Mark the Ascetic

~~“The mold in~~ “Struggle to become immortal from now, by dying here on the ~~womb may not~~ earth to your bad self. In this way, you won't be ~~destroyed~~sad, but you'll be very glad, living together with Christ.” ~~—Tertullian~~—Elder Porphyrios “On the one hand He is Being, eternally Being of the Eternal Being, above every cause and word…And on the other hand for our sake he is also Becoming, so that He who gives us our being might also give us our well-being.” —St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration 38

~~“We acknowledge~~“For this He assumed my body, ~~therefore~~that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, ~~that life begins with conception~~He gives me His Spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, ~~because we contend~~ to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit that ~~the soul begins at conception~~He may save me. ~~Life begins when the soul begins~~” —St.John Chrysostom

“Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For usthis day the ancient slavery is ended, ~~we may not destroy even~~ the ~~fetus in~~ devil confounded, the ~~womb~~demons take to flight, ~~while as yet~~ the ~~human being derives blood from other parts~~ power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the ~~body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth~~ curse is ~~merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter when you take~~ taken away , 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 ~~that is born~~has been inplanted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, ~~or destroy one that~~ and men now hold speech with angels. Why is ~~coming to birth. That~~ this? Because God is a now on earth, and man ~~which is going to be one: you have the fruit already~~ in ~~the seed~~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.” ~~—Tertullian~~—St. John Chrysostom, ~~Apology 9:6~~Homily on the Nativity

~~“Now~~ “This Christmas night bestowed peace on the whole world;So let no one threaten.This is the ~~entire process~~ night of ~~sowing, forming, and completing~~ the ~~human embryo in the womb is~~ Most Gentle One;Let no ~~doubt regulated by some power, which ministers herein to the will of God, whatever may~~ one be ~~the method which it~~ cruel.This is ~~appointed to employ. Even~~ the ~~superstition~~ night of ~~Rome, by carefully attending to these points, imagined~~ the ~~goddess Alemona to nourish the foetus in the womb~~Humble One; ~~as well as [~~Let no one be proud.Now is the ~~goddesses] Nona and Decima, called after the most critical months~~ day of ~~gestation~~joy; ~~and Partula, to manage and direct parturition; and Lucina, to bring~~ Let us not revenge.Now is the ~~child to the birth and light~~ day of good will;Let us not be mean.In this dayof peace --Let us not be conquered by anger. WeToday the Bountiful impoverished Himself for our sake;So, ~~on our part~~rich one, ~~believe~~ invite the ~~angels~~ poor to ~~officiate herein~~ your table.Today we receive a Gift for ~~God~~which we did not ask;So let us give alms to those who implore and beg us. ~~The embryo therefore becomes a human being in the womb from~~ This present day throws open the ~~moment that its form is completed (conception). The law~~ doors of ~~Moses, indeed, punishes with due penalties the man~~ heaven to our prayers; Let us open our doors to those who ~~shall cause abortion, inasmuch as there exists already~~ ask our forgiveness.Today the ~~rudiment of a human being, which has imputed to it even now~~ Divinity took upon himself the ~~condition~~ seal of ~~life and death~~our humanity, ~~since it is already liable~~ In order for humanity to be decorated by the ~~issues~~ seal of ~~both, although, by living still in the mother, it for the most part shares its own state with the mother~~Divinity.” ~~—Tertullian, Treatise on the Soul, Ch~~—St. ~~XXXVII, On the Formation and State of~~ Isaac the ~~Embryo~~Syrian, ~~Its Relation with~~ Homily on the ~~Subject of this Treatise~~Nativity

~~“The blood~~ “This being He placed in Paradise, whatever the Paradise may have been, having honoured him with the gift of Free Will (in order that God might belong to him as the result of ~~martyrs~~ his choice, no less than to Him 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 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, and which one he might not touch. This latter was the Tree of Knowledge; not, however, because it was evil from the ~~seed~~ 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 ~~Church~~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 as 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, and from God; and put on the coats of skins…that is, perhaps, the coarser flesh, both mortal and contradictory. This 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, in order that evil may not be immortal. Thus his punishment is changed into a mercy; for it is in mercy, I am persuaded, that God inflicts punishment.” ~~—Tertullian~~—St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration 38, XII, On Theophany, On the Birth of our Saviour (On the Nativity of Christ)

~~“…if we would not kill off~~ “It is no wonder that the ~~human race born and developing according~~ shepherds were able to ~~God~~know of the world's ~~plan~~redemption before rulers, for the Angels made their announcement not to kings or judges but to countryfolk. It is not to be wondered at, then ~~our whole lives would be lived according~~ , if innocence merited to know the Grace of Christ before power did and simple country manners merited to ~~nature~~recognize the Truth before proud dominion. ~~Women who make use~~ For what the Shepherds recognized the rulers were unable to recognize; hence the Blessed Apostle says: 'What none of ~~some sort~~ the rulers of ~~deadly abortion drug kill not only~~ this age recognized,' and so forth. At the ~~embryo but~~Birth of Christ, therefore, the Angels rejoiced together with itthe Shepherds, giving God high glory, ~~all human kindness~~for in close and even joined choruses, so to speak, they preached the glory of God.” —St. ~~Clement~~ Maximus of ~~Alexandria~~Turin, ~~Christ~~ Homily on the ~~Educator~~Nativity, ~~Volume II, page 10~~sec. 2

~~“Those who use abortifacients commit homicide~~“The Angel-Messenger of the pre-eternal Counsel of the Holy Trinity comes to the earth. This is not an ordinary messenger; it is the Only-begotten Son of God Himself. He brings peace to men. ‘Peace be unto you’, he said more than once to His disciples.~~” —St~~‘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 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 preached peace to those afar off and to those near, because through Him we both have access unto the Father’. ~~Clement of Alexandria~~

~~“Women who were reputed believers began~~ The wall that separated heaven and earth is destroyed; the sword that barred the way to ~~resort to drugs for producing sterility~~the tree of life disappears. ~~They also girded themselves around~~Unto man that had sinned comes his Creator, calling him into His embrace! By the mouths of the apostles, the Holy Spirit cries out: ‘In Christ, ~~so as~~ be ye reconciled to ~~expel what was being gestated~~God’. ~~For they did~~ You that had sinned came not ~~wish~~ to ~~have a child by either slave or by any common fellow - out~~ God, but the Son of ~~concern~~ God, before Whom you sinned, came to you! He calls everyone to Himself; He gives forgiveness to everyone who merely thirsts for ~~their family and their excessive wealth~~this. ~~See what a great impiety~~ For without the ~~lawless~~ desire of man himself, without at least his little effort, God's peace cannot settle in him. The Lord forces no one ~~has advanced~~to come to Him, but calls everyone: ‘Come unto me, 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! ~~He teaches adultery~~ You shall find that inner peace, which you will find nothing on earth more desirable than. The soul will feel unearthly peace and ~~murder at the same time!~~joy.” —St. ~~Hipploytus~~John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, Epistle on the Nativity, ~~Refutation Of All Heresies~~1962

~~“He [Novatian] struck~~ “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 ~~womb~~ confines of ~~his wife with his heel and produced a hurried an abortion, thereby causing parricide~~this earth.” ~~—St. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 52 To Cornelius~~—Archimandrite Sophrony

“The ~~wealthy~~Christian world nowadays presents a terrifying and cheerless picture of profound religious and moral decay. The servants of Antichrist do their utmost to completely displace God from people’s lives, in order that ~~their inheritance may~~ mankind, content with its material well-being, would not feel any need to turn to God in prayer, would not ~~be divided among several~~think of God at all, ~~deny in the very womb their own progeny~~but would live as though God did not exist. ~~By use of' parricidal mixtures they snuff out~~ Thus the ~~fruit~~ entire structure of ~~their wombs~~ contemporary life in the ~~genital organs themselves. In this way life~~ so-called ‘free’ world, where there is ~~taken away before it is born… Who except man himself~~ no open and bloody persecution of faith, where everyone has ~~taught us ways of repudiating children?” —St~~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. ~~Ambrose of Milan~~

~~“Sometimes their sadistic licentiousness goes so far that they procure poison to produce infertility~~The entire modern culture, ~~and when this~~ which is ~~of no avail~~aimed at purely worldly achievements, ~~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~~resultant whirlwind of everyday life, ~~if it~~ keep a person in such a state of constant bustle and absent-mindedness that he has ~~already been granted~~ no opportunity for any soul-searching, and spiritual life~~, they seek to kill it~~ within ~~the mother's body before it is born~~him gradually becomes extinguished.” ~~—St. Augustine~~ —Archbishop Averky (Taushev) of ~~Hippo, The City of God, Book One, Ch. 16~~Syracuse

~~“A woman who has deliberately destroyed~~ “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 Absolute God, by force and speedily, and will often draw a ~~fetus~~ parallel between prayer in the Name of Jesus and yoga or Transcendental Meditation and the like. I must ~~pay~~ stress the ~~penalty for murder… those also~~ danger of such errors … He is deluded who ~~give drugs causing abortions are murderers themselves~~endeavors 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 with the Source of all that exists, in order to return and merge with him, ~~as well as those who receive~~ the ~~poison which kills~~ nameless transpersonal Absolute. Such exercises have enabled many to rise to suprarational contemplation of being, to experience a certain mystical trepidation, to know the ~~fetus~~state of silence of mind, when mind goes beyond the boundaries of time and space.~~” —St~~In such like states man may feel the peacefulness of being withdrawn from the continually changing phenomena of the visible world, may even have a certain experience of eternity. ~~Basil~~ But the ~~Great~~God of Truth, ~~First Canonical Letter~~the Living God, ~~188:2 and 188:8~~is not in all this.

~~“Women also who administer drugs to cause abortion~~It is man's own beauty, created in the image of God, that is contemplated and seen as ~~well as those who take poisons to destroy unborn children~~divinity, ~~are murderesses~~whereas he himself still continues within the confines of his creatureliness.~~” —St~~This is a vastly important concern. ~~Basil~~ The tragedy of the matter lies in the ~~Great~~fact that man sees a mirage which, ~~Letter CLXXXVIII: Canonica Prima~~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 ~~Amphilochius~~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 were called by the will of the Creator.” —Archimandrite Sophrony of Mt. Athos, ~~concerning the Canons~~His Life is Mine, ~~VII~~115-116

~~“The woman who purposely destroys her unborn child~~ “Blessed is ~~guilty~~ 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 ~~murder~~Lucifer, that if he tasted from the forbidden tree, he would never die. The ~~hair-splitting difference between formed~~ Holy Fathers say that the greatest disease and ~~unformed makes no difference~~ temptation during prayer is the imagination of the mind, which 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 most difficult to uspreserve the imagination; it is even harder than keeping the mind away from thoughts.~~” —St~~Let's not forget that everything limited, represented is not God. ~~Basil~~ In the meantime, if we stop at the images, we are being deceived and we can neither pass through the narrow gate to the ~~Great~~heart nor reach God.” —Archimandrite Cleopas (Ilie) of Romania

~~“Why do you sow where the field is eager~~ “Yes, one must disregard doubts, just like lustful and blasphemous thoughts; pay no attention 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~~them. ~~Indeed~~Disregard them, ~~it is something worse than murder~~ and ~~I do~~ your enemy, the devil, will not ~~know what~~ be able to ~~call~~ withstand it; ~~for she does not kill what is formed but prevents its formation~~he'll leave you, since he's proud and cannot bear the disdain. ~~What then? Do~~ But if you ~~condemn~~ enter into conversation with them – since the ~~gifts of God~~lustful thoughts, blasphemies and ~~fight with His laws? What is a curse~~ doubts are not yours – he'll bombard you ~~seek as though it were a blessing. Do~~ , swamp you ~~make the anteroom of slaughter? Do~~ , kill you ~~teach the women who are given to you for a procreation~~ .” —Elder Barsanuphius of ~~offspring to perpetuate killing?” —St. John Chrysostom~~Optina

~~“You see how drunkenness leads to whoredom~~“Christ said, ~~whoredom~~ 'I came not to ~~adultery~~send peace, ~~adultery to murder; or rather to~~ but a ~~something even worse than murder~~sword' and 'division'. ~~For I have no name~~ Christ summoned us to ~~give it~~war on the plane of the spirit, ~~since it does not take off~~ and our weapon is 'the sword of the ~~thing born~~Spirit, ~~but prevent its being born. Why then dost thou abuse~~ which is the ~~gift~~ word of God, .' Our battle is waged in extraordinarily unequal conditions. We are tied hand and ~~fight~~ foot. We dare not strike with ~~His laws~~fire or sword: our sole armament is love, ~~and follow after what~~ even for enemies. This unique war in which we are engaged is indeed a ~~curse as if a blessing,~~ holy war. We wrestle with the last and ~~make the chamber~~ only enemy of ~~procreation a chamber for murder, and arm~~ mankind death. Our fight is the ~~woman that was given~~ fight for ~~childbearing unto slaughter?~~universal resurrection.” ~~—St~~—Archimandrite Sophrony of Mt. ~~John Chrysostom~~Athos, ~~Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, XXIV~~His Life is Mine

~~“Some virgins [unmarried women] go so far as~~ “But since our discourse has now turned to the subject of blasphemy, I desire to ~~take potions~~ask one favour of you all, ~~that they may insure barrenness~~in return for this my address, and ~~thus murder human beings almost before their conception~~speaking with you; which is, that you will correct on my behalf the blasphemers of this city. ~~Some~~And should you hear anyone in the public thoroughfare, ~~when they find themselves with child through their sin~~or in the midst of the forum, ~~use drugs~~ blaspheming God; go up to ~~procure abortion~~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 ~~when (as often happens)~~ if they ~~die with their offspring~~are accused, and be brought to court, ~~they enter~~ go. And if a judge before the ~~lower world laden with~~ court demands an answer, boldly say that he blasphemed the ~~guilt not only~~ King of ~~adultery against Christ but also of suicide and child murder.”~~ angels, for if those who blaspheme the earthly king are to be punished, how much more insulting is it to Him (the King)…” —St. ~~Jerome~~John Chrysostom, Conversations on Statues, ~~Letter~~ address to ~~Eustochium~~the people of Antioch, ~~22:13~~Conversation 1, pt. 1 12

~~“The rich women~~“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 your soul. Induce your heart to ~~avoid dividing~~ love your enemies, and the ~~inheritance among many~~Lord, seeing your good will, ~~kill their own unborn~~ shall help you in ~~the womb~~ all things, and will Himself show you experience. But whoever thinks evil of his enemies does not have love for God and ~~with lethal extracts terminate their own offspring while yet in the womb~~has not known God.” —St. ~~Ambrose~~Silouan the Athonite, Writing, ~~On the Hexaemeron~~IX.21

~~“For every argument~~ “Where there is ~~a counter-argument~~pride there cannot be grace, and if we lose grace we also lose both love of God and assurance in prayer. The soul is then tormented by evil thoughts and does not understand that she must humble herself and love her enemies, ~~but who can argue against life?~~for there is no other way to please God.” —St. ~~Gregory Palamas, Triads in Defence of~~ Silouan the ~~Holy Hesychasts~~Athonite

~~“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~~ “The whole therapeutic method 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~~ Orthodox Church is not aimed simply at making human beings morally and ~~it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see~~socially balanced, ~~in the end, it is between you and~~ but at re-establishing their relationship with God~~. It was never between you~~ and ~~them anyway~~one another.”~~“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~~ This comes about through the healing of ~~peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you~~ the soul's wounds 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~~ cure of the ~~greater must be our love.~~ ~~“God did not call us to be successful, but to be faithful.”“Go out into~~ passions through the ~~world today~~ Sacraments and ~~love~~ the ~~people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people~~Church's ascetic practice.”~~“There are no great things~~—Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, ~~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~~ The Science of ~~love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”—Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta~~Spiritual Medicine: Orthodox Psychotherapy in Action

~~“No one heals himself by wounding another~~“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.” ~~—St. Ambrose of Milan~~—Hieromartyr Onuphry Gagaluk

~~“Abortion is~~ “Many passions are hidden in our souls; they can be brought to light only when 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~~objects that rouse them are present.” ~~—Dr~~—St. ~~Peter Kreeft~~Maximus the Confessor, Four Hundred Texts on Love

~~“An Irish pro-abortion leader described their vote as a decision to enter~~ “What is holiness? Freedom from every sin and the ~~"modern" world~~fullness of every virtue. ~~That was extremely well-said. Modernity suggests to us~~ This freedom from sin and this virtuous life are only attained by a few zealous persons, and that ~~we are the masters of history~~not suddenly, but gradually, by prolonged and manifold sorrows, sicknesses, ~~the arbiters of life~~ and ~~death. Our compassion for the suffering is always expressed~~labors, by fasting, vigilance, ~~ultimately~~prayer, ~~in our willingness to kill them~~and that not by their own strength, ~~without remorse~~but by the grace of Christ…” —St.John of Kronstadt

~~For many~~“A wise heart can transfer an affliction into a blessing, ~~abortion has become the sacrament of modernity~~even sin!! He benefits from it: contrition, humility, ~~in which we learn to say in blasphemous irony: ‘This is my body~~keenness and sympathy for sinners.” —H.~~’” —Fr~~H. ~~Stephen Freeman~~Pope Shenouda III

“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 “Humility 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~~ suffering free a ~~groan of travail. May we realize that~~ man from all ~~these creatures also live~~ sin; for ~~themselves and for you - not for us alone. They too love~~ the ~~goodness of life, as we do~~first cuts out spiritual passions, and ~~serve you better in their way than we do in ours. Amen~~the latter bodily.” —St. ~~Basil~~ Maximus the ~~Great~~Confessor

~~“We follow the ways of wolves, the habits of tigers: or, rather we are worse than they~~“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny. ~~To them nature has assigned that they should be thus fed, while God has honoured us with rational speech and a sense of equity~~” —C. ~~And yet we are become worse than the wild beast.” —St~~S. ~~John Chrysostom~~Lewis

~~“…surely we ought~~ “Christ did not come into the world to ~~show kindness and gentleness~~ eliminate suffering, Christ has not even come into the world to ~~animals for many reasons~~explain it. Rather, ~~and chiefly because they are of the same origin as ourselves~~He came to fill human suffering with His presence.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~John Chrysostom~~George Calciu

~~“Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees~~“The soul of man is not impure at birth, but pure.” ~~—St. Gregory of Nyssa~~—Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos

~~“The unspeakable and prodigious fire hidden in~~ “By nature the ~~essence of things, as in the bush,~~ soul is passionless… so you must believe that the ~~fire of divine love and~~ passions do not belong to the ~~dazzling brilliance of His beauty inside every thing~~soul by nature.” —St. ~~Maximus~~ Isaac the ~~Confessor~~Syrian

~~“Blessed~~ “Just as in legal marriage, the ~~one who observes with spiritual understanding the choirs~~ pleasure derived from procreation cannot exactly be called a gift of God, because it is carnal and constitutes a gift of ~~stars shining with glory~~ nature and not of grace (even though that nature has been created by God); even so the ~~beauty~~ knowledge that comes from profane education, even if well used, is a gift of ~~the heavens~~ nature, and ~~longs~~ not of grace-a gift which God accords to ~~contemplate the Maker of~~ all ~~things~~without exception through nature, and which one can develop by exercise.~~” —St~~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. ~~Ephrem the Syrian~~

~~“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~~ is our sacred wisdom that should legitimately be called a gift of Godand not a natural gift, so since even simple fishermen who receive it ~~feasts your soul also. Look at~~ from on high become, as Gregory the ~~plants and the trees. Can you count all the different species? Can you describe all the different shapes~~ Theologian says, sons of ~~the leaves~~Thunder, whose word has encompassed the ~~color and fragrances~~ very bounds of the ~~flowers? Look~~universe. By this grace, ~~too, at the animals~~ even publicans are made merchants of souls; and even the ~~insects. Are you not enthralled by their different sizes and shapes~~burning zeal of persecutors is transformed, ~~by the different colors and textures~~ making them Pauls instead of ~~their skin and fur~~Sauls, by turning away 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~~ earth to ~~feast our eyes~~ attain ‘the third heaven’ and ~~souls? or is there some other purpose in it all? The answer is that he has created all things--for their own sake~~‘hear ineffable things’. ~~Each creature has its own purpose and destiny, which God in his infinite~~ By this true wisdom ~~and love has planned. Do not try~~ we too can become conformed to ~~understand God's plans; the human mind is hardly better than that of an ant in discerning~~ the ~~ways~~ image of God~~. Simply accept all his plans~~ and ~~rejoice in them~~continue to be such after death.” —St. ~~John Chrysostom~~Gregory Palamas, ~~On Living Simply~~Triads in Defence of the Holy Hesychasts, ~~pg 54~~Philosophy does not save, pages 29-30

~~“For as long as you are on earth, consider yourself~~ “We know that even the facts that a marriage means relations between a man and a woman and that a ~~guest in the Household~~ choice of ~~Christ. If you are at the table, it~~ gender is ~~He who treats you. If you breathe air~~not an intellectual and volitional one, ~~it is His air you breathe. If you bathe~~but a Divine choice, ~~it is in His water you~~ are ~~bathing~~now being disputed. ~~If you~~ Children are ~~traveling, it is over His land that you are traveling~~already being taught this. ~~If you~~ They are ~~amassing goods, it is His goods~~ told: ‘You should choose yourself whether you are ~~amassing. If you are squandering, it~~ a boy or a girl’; that is ~~His goods that you are squandering. If you are powerful~~, it what was founded by God is being destroyed by ~~His permission that you are strong. If you are in~~ people, ostensibly for the ~~company~~ sake 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~~freedom. ~~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~~But then, ~~in their hearts they feel they will stay forever. They take pride in~~ what is freedom like? If freedom ruins the ~~size~~ Divine plan of ~~their houses and~~ the ~~fine material with which they are built. They take pleasure in decorating their houses with bright colors,~~ world 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~~of mankind, ~~by contrast~~then it is not freedom, but slavery. And we know ~~that we are only temporary guests on earth. We recognize~~ that the ~~houses in which we live serve only as hostels on~~ devil enslaves a man, because the ~~road~~ most dangerous captivity is to ~~eternal life. We do~~ be not ~~seek peace or security~~ free from ~~the material walls around us or the roof above our heads. Rather we want to surround ourselves with~~ sin, when 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~~ person cannot live in ~~a spirit of love~~accordance with his or her calling.” ~~—St. John Chrysostom, On Living Simply, pg 11~~—His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

~~“What hinders you~~ “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 ~~fulfilling Christ’s commandments?~~the soul.” —St. Symeon the New Theologian

~~The flesh~~ “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 ~~world:~~ Holy Fathers warn that ~~is, pleasant food and drink which men like, in which they delight both in thought~~ one cannot consider this passion conquered before the grave. Continue your struggle and take refuge in ~~fact~~humility, ~~which make the heart gross and hard—a partiality for elegant dress and adornment, or for distinctions and rewards; if the dress or adornments~~ seeing what base sins you are ~~made~~ capable 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~~ you are lost without the ~~heart lives for dress and adornment, and becomes entirely engrossed in these things, ceasing to care about~~ constant help of God ~~and being united~~ Who calls you to ~~Him; if such is the case with~~ a ~~priest~~life above these sins.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina, 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 Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and ~~good word~~Works by Hieromonk Damascene, ~~and flattering them~~p.803

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 “Pornography is the ~~salvation of your own soul, and the souls of others, be soul-loving~~devil's iconography.” ~~—St~~—Fr. ~~John~~ Seraphim Rose of ~~Kronstadt~~Platina

~~“[R]eal Orthodox can never be chauvinists~~“Just as the virtues are begotten in the soul, so are the passions. ~~I recall once,~~ But the virtues are begotten in ~~a conversation~~ accordance with ~~me in 1926~~nature, the ~~blessedly reposed metropolitan [A~~passions in a mode contrary to nature. ~~Khrapovitsky] related to me~~ For what produces good or evil in the ~~following: "On Athos there~~ soul is ~~a custom that a monk who does not forgive offences is punished by being made to omit~~ the ~~words ‘and forgive us~~ will's bias… For our ~~debts, as we forgive our debtors,’ at the reading~~ inner disposition is capable of ~~the Lord’s Prayer~~operating in one way or another, ~~until such a time when he has forgiven the offence committed against him. And I myself have suggested~~since it bears within itself both virtue and vice,~~" added~~ the ~~great saint~~first as its natural birthright, ~~"that~~ the ~~chauvinist-nationalists not read~~ second as the ~~ninth article~~ result of the ~~Symbol~~ self-incurred proclivity of ~~Faith~~our moral will.” —St."Gregory of Sinai

~~If we were to crystallize this principle of Vladyka~~“Afflictions, ~~it would read as follows: the Russian, Serbian~~illness, ill health and ~~Bulgarian nations can be great only if~~ the ~~goal of their existence be~~ pains that our bodies experience are counted for the ~~collective realization~~ remission of ~~the commandments of the Gospel~~our trespasses. ~~Otherwise, "Serbianism", "Russianism", and "Bulgarianism",~~ They 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~~ furnace 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 Metwhich we are purified…” —St. ~~Anthony Khrapovitsky)~~John Chrysostom

~~The blessed Metropolitan Anthony is the most gifted contemporary representative~~ “The heart of ~~Russian Orthodox nationalism~~a perfectly healthy man becomes weakened for faith and love to God and his neighbor, ~~a nationalism consecrated~~ and ~~enlightened by Christ;~~ easily gives itself up to carnal desires: to slothfulness, negligence, coldness, gluttony, avarice, fornication, pride. Whilst the heart of a ~~nationalism by which all men are brothers in Christ;~~ sick man, or a ~~nationalism by which the mighty must serve the weak~~wounded, ~~the wise the unwise~~oppressed, ~~the humble the proud~~weary heart, ~~the first the last. Growing out of patristic Orthodox universal patriotism~~is strengthened in faith, ~~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~~hope, ~~St. Basil~~and love, ~~after his death: "Wherein lies Basil's noble origin? Where~~ and is ~~his homeland? His origin~~ far removed from carnal passions. This is ~~his affinity to divinity~~why the Heavenly Father, Who careth for our salvation, chastises us by various sicknesses. The oppression and ~~his homeland is virtue~~afflictions of sickness make us turn again to God."” —St. ~~Justin Popovich~~John of Kronstadt

~~“Worldly glory does not lead God's children to heaven~~“Gluttony says that her child is war against chastity.” —St. ~~Raphael, the Newly-revealed Martyr of Lesvos~~John Climacus

~~“Satan has no need~~ “You can't stop smoking tobacco? What is impossible for man is possible with God's help. Just firmly decide to ~~tempt those who tempt themselves~~quit, realizing how harmful it is for the soul and the body, since tobacco weakens the soul, and ~~are continually dragged down by worldly affairs~~increases and strengthens the passions, darkens the mind, and destroys physical health with a slow death.” —St. ~~John~~ Ambrose of Optina, Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of ~~Karpathos~~Optina, pg. 70

~~“The devil does~~ “If you wish to live long on the earth, do not ~~hunt after those who are lost; he hunts after those who are aware~~hurry to live in a carnal manner, to satiate yourself, to get drunk, to smoke, to commit fornication, ~~those who are close~~ to ~~God. He takes from them trust~~ live in ~~God and begins~~ luxury, to ~~afflict them with self-assurance~~indulge yourself. The carnal way of life constitutes death, ~~logic~~and therefore, ~~thinking~~in the Holy Scripture, ~~criticism. Therefore we should not trust~~ our ~~logical minds~~flesh is called mortal, or, ‘the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.~~” —Elder Paisios~~ ’ 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 Mtthe body, ye shall live,’ both here on earth and there in heaven. ~~Athos~~

~~“Only He is worth struggling towards~~One cannot eat and drink and smoke continually. ~~We have a choice: to follow the way of this world~~One cannot turn human life into constant eating, drinking, and smoking, although there are men who do eat, ~~of the society that surrounds us~~drink, and ~~thereby find ourselves outside of God~~smoke almost uninterruptedly; ~~or to choose~~ and thus the ~~way~~ spirit of evil has turned lifeinto smoking, and made the mouth, which ought to ~~choose God Who calls us~~ be employed in thanking and ~~for Whom our heart is searching~~praising the Lord, into a smoking furnace.~~” —Fr~~The less and lighter the food and drink you take, the lighter and more refined your spirit will become. ~~Seraphim Rose of Platina~~

~~“Let~~ Smoking is a whim. From this comes foot pain and depression. That the devil is the ~~hearing~~ father of ~~worldly tales be~~ the cigarette I especially figured out today: something impacted negatively upon me from head to ~~you as a bitter taste~~ toe. I felt that the enemy nested in my sides and in ~~your mouth~~my heart and he opposed me strongly, preventing me from saying the prayer, scaring me, ~~but~~ paralyzing me and saddening me to the ~~discourse~~ point of ~~holy men as a honeycomb.” —St~~sin. ~~Basil the Great~~

~~“All~~ 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 ~~things~~ time of ~~this world are no more than earth~~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. ~~Place them in~~ It is a silly whim, a ~~heap under your feet~~ desecration of the lips, a large and ~~you will be so much nearer to heaven.” —St~~unnecessary irritation, a fog that covers voluntarily. ~~Josemaria Escriva~~

~~“A man who has dedicated himself once and for all~~ The taste of a cigarette I cannot compare to ~~God goes through life with a restful mind~~anything but something diabolical.~~” —St. Isaac the Syrian~~And how do I know this smoking? How do I allow myself to do something like this?

~~“Do you seek any further reward beyond that of having pleased God~~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? ~~In truth~~Lord, ~~you know not how great a good it is~~ help me to ~~please Him.” —St~~be free from all evil, because I am an evil man, dirty, full of sins. ~~John Chrysostom~~

~~“Faith~~ The Lord knows our weaknesses. He is ready to ~~believe what you do~~ forgive us everything, as long as we repent and seek forgiveness. The essential thing is that our hearts not ~~see;~~ become petrified, that is to stop hesitating to think of our committed sin, to immediately repent, and to leave ourselves to the ~~reward~~ mercy of ~~this faith is to see what you believe~~God.” —St. ~~Augustine~~John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

~~“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This~~ “Suffering is ~~the first and great commandment~~an indication of another Kingdom which we look to. ~~And~~ If being a Christian meant being ‘happy’ in this life, we wouldn't need the ~~second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself~~Kingdom of Heaven.~~’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets~~” —Fr.~~” —Matthew 22:37-40~~Seraphim Rose of Platina

~~“And Thomas answered and said to~~ “Suffering reminds the wise man of God, but crushes those who forget Him~~, "My Lord and my God!"~~.” ~~—John 20:28~~—St. Mark the Ascetic

~~“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment~~ “God permits tribulations and adversities to befall people – even the ~~Son,~~ saintly – so that ~~all should honor the Son just as~~ they ~~honor the Father~~may persist in humility. But if we harden our hearts against adversities and tribulations, He ~~who does not honor~~ also hardens these tribulations against us. On the ~~Son does not honor the Father who sent Him~~other hand if we accept them in humility and with a contrite heart, God will mingle tribulation with mercy.” ~~—John 5:22-23~~—St. Isaac the Syrian

“But ~~I say~~ 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~~, love~~ will spend the remaining days of your ~~enemies, bless those who curse you,~~ life in humility. Only do ~~good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” —Matthew 5:44~~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 “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 “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

~~“Trust in~~ “The sons of wisdom are the ~~Lord with all your heart~~church of the just: and their generation,~~And lean not on your own understanding;” —Proverbs 3:5~~obedience and love.

~~“Hatred stirs up strife~~Children,~~But love covers all sins~~hear the judgment of your father, and so do that you may be saved.~~” —Proverbs 10:12~~

~~“When pride comes~~For God hath made the father honourable to the children: and seeking the judgment of the mothers, ~~then comes shame;But with~~ hath confirmed it upon the ~~humble is wisdom~~children.~~” —Proverbs 11:2~~

~~“The way of a fool is right in~~ He that loves God, shall obtain pardon for his ~~own eyes~~sins by prayer, and shall refrain himself from them,~~But he who heeds counsel is wise~~and shall be heard in the prayer of days.~~” —Proverbs 12:15~~

~~“There~~ And he that honours his mother is ~~a way~~ as one that ~~seems right to~~ lays up a ~~man,But its end is the way of death~~treasure.~~” —Proverbs 14:12~~

~~“Pride goes before destruction~~He that honours his father shall have joy in his own children,~~And a haughty spirit before a fall~~and in the day of his prayer he shall be heard.~~” —Proverbs 16:18~~

~~“Let another man praise you,~~ He that honours his father shall enjoy a long life: and ~~not your own mouth;A stranger~~he that obeys the father, ~~and not your own lips~~shall be a comfort to his mother.~~” —Proverbs 27:2~~

~~“Open rebuke is betterThan love carefully concealed~~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

~~Faithful are~~ “But Jesus said, ‘Let the ~~wounds~~ little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of ~~a friend,But~~ such is the ~~kisses~~ kingdom of ~~an enemy are deceitful~~heaven.~~” —Proverbs 27~~’” —Matthew 19:~~5-6~~14

~~“If a wise man contends with a foolish man~~“Reflect on the statutes of the Lord,~~Whether the fool rages or laughs~~and meditate at all times on his commandments.It is he who will give insight to your mind, ~~there is no peace~~and your desire for wisdom will be granted.” ~~—Proverbs 29~~—Sirach 6:937

~~“Vanity of vanities~~“Childless with virtue is better than this, ~~all~~ For immortality is ~~vanity. … I have seen all the works that are done under the sun~~in its memory; ~~and indeed, all~~ Because it is ~~vanity~~ known both by God and ~~grasping for the wind~~by man.” ~~Ecclesiastes~~ —Wisdom of Solomon 4:1~~:2,14~~

~~“For in much wisdom is much grief,And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow~~“Jesus wept.” ~~—Ecclesiastes 1~~—John 11:1835

~~“The work~~ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,For theirs is the kingdom of ~~righteousness will~~ heaven.Blessed are those who mourn,For they shall be ~~peace~~comforted.Blessed are the meek,~~And~~ For they shall inherit the ~~effect of~~ earth.Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, ~~quietness and assurance forever~~For they shall be filled.Blessed are the merciful,For they shall obtain mercy.~~” —Isaiah 32:17~~Blessed are the pure in heart,For they shall see God.~~“Children’s children~~ Blessed are the ~~crown~~ peacemakers,For they shall be called sons of ~~old men~~God.Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,~~And~~ For theirs is the ~~glory~~ kingdom of ~~children is their father~~heaven.” ~~—Proverbs 17~~—Matthew 5:63-10

~~“The righteous man walks~~ “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 ~~his integrity;His children are blessed after him~~the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” ~~—Proverbs 20~~—James 4:7-10

~~“The father~~ “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of ~~the righteous~~ stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will ~~greatly rejoice~~be required; and to whom much has been committed,~~And he who begets a wise child~~ of him they will ~~delight in him~~ask the more.” ~~—Proverbs 23~~—Luke 12:2448

~~“Behold~~“Then Abraham answered and said, ~~children are a heritage from the Lord,The fruit of the womb is a reward.~~ ~~Like arrows in the hand of a warrior~~‘Indeed now,~~So are the children of one’s youth.~~ ~~Happy is the man~~ I who ~~has his quiver full of them;They shall not be ashamed,But shall~~ am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak ~~with their enemies in~~ to the ~~gate~~Lord.~~” —Psalm 127~~’” —Genesis 18:~~3-5~~27

“The ~~sons of wisdom are the church of the just:~~ centurion answered and ~~their generation~~said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, ~~obedience~~ and ~~love~~my servant will be healed.’” —Matthew 8:8

~~Children~~“And the tax collector, ~~hear the judgment of your father~~standing afar off, ~~and~~ would not so ~~do that you may~~ much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be ~~saved~~merciful to me a sinner!’” —Luke 18:13 “Pray without ceasing.” —1 Thessalonians 5:17

~~For God hath made the father honourable to the children:~~ “This is a faithful saying and ~~seeking the judgment~~ worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the ~~mothers~~world to save sinners, ~~hath confirmed it upon the children~~of whom I am chief.” —1 Timothy 1:15

~~He that loves God, shall obtain pardon for his sins by prayer,~~ “for all have sinned and ~~shall refrain himself from them, and shall be heard in~~ fall short of the ~~prayer~~ glory of ~~days.~~God…” —Romans 3:23

~~And he~~ “And I also say to you that ~~honours his mother is as one that lays up a treasure~~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

~~He that honours his father shall have joy~~ “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in ~~his own children,~~ the name of the Father and in of the ~~day~~ Son and of ~~his prayer he shall be heard.~~the Holy Spirit…” —Matthew 28:19

~~He that honours his father shall enjoy a long life:~~ “Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and ~~he that obeys~~ let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the ~~father,~~ remission of sins; and you shall ~~be a comfort to his mother~~receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."” —Acts 2:38

~~He that fears the Lord~~“Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, ~~honours his parents~~before Abraham was, ~~and will serve them as his masters that brought him into the world~~I AM.~~” —Sirach 3~~’” —John 8:~~1-8~~58

“But ~~Jesus said~~when the Helper comes, ~~‘Let~~ whom I shall send to you from the ~~little children come to Me~~Father, ~~and do not forbid them; for~~ the Spirit of ~~such is~~ truth who proceeds from the ~~kingdom~~ Father, He will testify of ~~heaven~~Me.~~’” —Matthew 19~~” —John 15:1426

~~“Reflect on the statutes of the Lord~~“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me,and ~~meditate at all times on his commandments.~~I in You; that they also may be one in ~~It is he who will give insight to your mind~~Us,~~and your desire for wisdom will be granted~~that the world may believe that You sent Me.” ~~—Sirach 6~~—John 17:3721

~~“Childless with virtue is better than this,For immortality is in its memory;Because it is known both by God~~ “I and ~~by man~~My Father are one.” ~~—Wisdom of Solomon 4~~—John 10:130

~~“Jesus wept~~“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.~~” —John 11:35~~

~~“Blessed are~~ “So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the ~~poor in spirit~~Father has sent Me,~~For theirs is the kingdom of heaven~~I also send you.~~Blessed are those who mourn~~" And when He had said this,~~For they shall be comforted.Blessed are the meek~~He breathed on them,~~For they shall inherit the earth.Blessed are those who hunger~~ and ~~thirst for righteousness~~said to them,~~For they shall be filled.Blessed are~~ "Receive the ~~merciful,For they shall obtain mercy~~Holy Spirit.~~Blessed are~~ If you forgive the ~~pure in heart~~sins of any,~~For~~ they ~~shall see God.Blessed~~ are forgiven them; if you retain the ~~peacemakers~~sins of any,~~For~~ they ~~shall be called sons of God.Blessed~~ are ~~those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,For theirs is the kingdom of heaven~~retained."” ~~—Matthew 5~~—John 20:319-1023

~~“Therefore submit to God. Resist~~ “After these things the ~~devil~~ Lord appointed seventy others also and ~~he will flee from you. Draw near to God~~ sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He ~~will draw near~~ Himself was about 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 upgo.” ~~—James 4~~—Luke 10:~~7-10~~1

~~“But he who did~~ “Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not ~~know~~desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, ~~yet committed things deserving~~ brethren, seek out from among you seven men of ~~stripes~~good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, ~~shall be beaten with few. For everyone to~~ whom ~~much is given, from him much~~ we may appoint over this business; but we will ~~be required;~~ give ourselves continually to prayer and to ~~whom much has been committed,~~ the ministry of ~~him they will ask~~ the ~~more~~word."” ~~—Luke 12~~—Acts 6:482-4

~~“Then Abraham answered and said~~“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, ~~‘Indeed now~~Paul, ~~I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself~~ ready to ~~speak~~ depart the next day, spoke to ~~the Lord~~them and continued his message until midnight.~~’” —Genesis 18~~” —Acts 20:277

~~“The centurion answered~~ “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and ~~said~~drink His blood, ~~‘Lord~~you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I ~~am not worthy that You should come under my roof~~will raise him up at the last day. ~~But only speak a word~~For My flesh is food indeed, and ~~my servant will be healed~~My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.~~’” —Matthew 8~~“ —John 6:853-56

~~“And~~ “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the ~~tax collector, standing afar off~~blood of Christ? The bread which we break, ~~would~~ is it not ~~so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying~~the communion of the body of Christ? For we, ~~‘God~~though many, ~~be merciful to me a sinner!’” —Luke 18~~are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.“ —1 Corinthians 10:1316-17

~~“Pray without ceasing~~“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.~~” —1 Thessalonians 5~~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 10:177-8

~~“This is a faithful saying and worthy~~ “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of ~~all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners~~darkness, ~~of whom I am chief~~but rather expose them.” ~~—1 Timothy 1~~—Ephesians 5:1511

~~“for all~~ “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have ~~sinned~~ works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and ~~fall short~~ 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 ~~glory of God…” —Romans 3~~body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” —James 2:2314-17

~~“And I also say to~~ “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 ~~that you are Peter~~, ~~and on this rock I will build My church~~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 ~~gates of Hades shall not prevail against it~~evil treasure brings forth evil things.” —Matthew 1612:1833-35

~~“Go therefore~~ “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 ~~make disciples~~ an evil man out of ~~all the nations, baptizing them in~~ the ~~name~~ evil treasure of ~~the Father and~~ his heart brings forth evil. For out of the ~~Son and~~ abundance of the ~~Holy Spirit…” —Matthew 28~~heart his mouth speaks.” —Luke 6:1943-45

~~“Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name~~ “Out of ~~Jesus Christ for~~ the ~~remission of sins;~~ same mouth proceed blessing and ~~you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit~~cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so."” ~~—Acts 2~~—James 3:3810

~~“Jesus said to them~~“But above all, ~~‘Most assuredly~~my brethren, ~~I say to you~~do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No, ~~before Abraham was~~’ ‘No, ~~I AM~~’ lest you fall into judgment.~~’” —John 8~~” —James 5:5812

~~“But~~ “Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when ~~the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father~~we are absent, He such we will ~~testify of Me~~also be in deed when we are present.” ~~—John 15~~—2 Corinthians 10:2611

~~“that they all may be one~~“So Philip ran to him, ~~as You~~and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, ~~Father~~and said, "Do you understand what you are ~~in Me~~reading?" And he said, ~~and~~ "How can I ~~in You; that they also may be one in~~ Us, ~~that the world may believe that You sent Me~~unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.” ~~—John 17~~—Acts 8:2130-31

“I “…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 ~~My Father are one~~ground of the truth.” ~~—John 10~~—1 Timothy 3:3015

~~“Then~~“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, ~~the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples~~ which if they were ~~assembled~~written one by one, ~~for fear of~~ I suppose that even the ~~Jews, Jesus came and stood in~~ world itself could not contain the ~~midst, and said to them, "Peace~~ books that would be ~~with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side~~written. ~~Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord~~Amen.” —John 21:25

~~“So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to~~ “Before I formed you~~! As~~ in the ~~Father has sent Me,~~ womb I ~~also send~~ knew you~~." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If~~ ; Before you were born I sanctified you ~~forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them~~; if I ordained you ~~retain~~ a prophet to the ~~sins of any, they are retained~~nations."” ~~—John 20~~—Jeremiah 1:~~19-23~~5

~~“After these things~~ “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to 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~~believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” ~~—Luke 10~~—1 Timothy 4:112

~~“Then~~ “But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the ~~twelve summoned~~ eye cannot say to the ~~multitude~~ hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the ~~disciples and said~~feet, "~~It is not desirable that we should leave the word~~ I have no need of ~~God and serve tables~~you. ~~Therefore~~" No, ~~brethren~~much rather, ~~seek out from among you seven men~~ those members of ~~good reputation, full~~ the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the ~~Holy Spirit and wisdom~~body which we think to be less honorable, ~~whom~~ on these we ~~may appoint over this business~~bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but ~~we will give ourselves continually to prayer and~~ 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 ~~ministry of~~ members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the ~~word~~members rejoice with it.~~"” —Acts 6:2-4~~

~~“Obey those who rule over~~ “Now youare the body of Christ, 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~~members individually.~~” —Hebrews 13~~And God has appointed these in the church…” —1 Corinthians 12:1720-28

~~“Now on~~ “Do not remove 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~~ancient landmarkWhich your fathers have set.” ~~—Acts 20~~—Proverbs 22:728

“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~~ “…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 ~~“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 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

“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 festering

Because 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;

“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. Augustineof 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

“He who is initiated into the mystery of the Resurrection, learns the end for which God created all things.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

~~“Since Christ Himself has said~~“This bread is at first common bread; but when the Mystery sancifies it, ~~"This is My Body" who shall dare to doubt that~~ It is ~~His~~ called, and actually becomes the Body?of Christ.” —St. ~~Cyril~~ Gregory of ~~Jerusalem~~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. Augustineof 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. Augustineof 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

“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 things

to 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 me

throughout the day with peace of soul,

and with firm conviction

that Thy will governs all.

In all my deeds and words,

guide my thoughts and feelings.

In unforeseen events, let me not forget

that all are sent by Thee.

Teach me to act firmly and wisely,

without embittering and embarrassing others.

Give me strength to bear the fatigue

of 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

~~“The Son~~ “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 ~~God became man~~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 we 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 ~~become god~~make sinners righteous.” —St. ~~Athanasius of Alexandria~~John Chrysostom

~~“becoming~~ “The Word of God became man, that man might become god… becoming by grace what God is by nature.” —St. Athanasius ~~of Alexandria~~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

“…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~~ “And we know that to them that love God, all things work together ~~for~~ unto good , to ~~those who love God~~such as, according to ~~those who~~ his purpose, are ~~the~~ called ~~according~~ to ~~His purpose~~be saints." ” —Romans 8:28

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” —Matthew 19:26

“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

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