Orthodox Wisdom

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

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

St. Luke teaches: "With this deep and fiery repentance the force that prevented her from entering the church receded and she finally entered. There she fell before the life-giving Cross of the Lord and did not get up until the end of the service. Tears flowed from her eyes, from the eyes that once seduced men and are now cleansed with wholehearted and fervent repentance." -READ the Life of St. Mary of Egypt by St. Sophronius of Jerusalem: https://www.orthodox.net/saints/mary-of-egypt.html -READ St. Luke's homily here: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2021/04/homily-for-fifth-sunday-of-great-lent.html -WATCH Trisagion Films video on the Life of St. Mary of Egypt: https://youtu.be/BBXvDuNElB8?si=Uk16Pa18mAXX9BMq -READ about St. Luke’s life here: http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2008/10/st-luke-archbishop-of-simferopol.html?m=1 -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ St. Luke teaches: On the fifth Sunday of Great Lent, our Holy Church honors the memory of Saint Mary of Egypt. Her truly wonderful life is known to you because every year on this day it is narrated in the churches. But I will describe her again in a few words to remember the unusual and unique life of this Saint. Let us stand with Saint Mary at the gate of the church. We now see her heart overwhelmed by the fear of God, when she realizes that she cannot, in God's judgment, enter the church with the others. She alone is unworthy to enter, while everyone else enters freely. Her entrance is prevented by an invisible force. When she realizes her tragic situation, a strong flame of the fear of God lights up in her soul. She is shaken by the fear she feels in front of All-Holy, All-Wise, Almighty and Just God. It was not a fear of punishment, it was a shame that burned like fire, a shame for the impurity of her soul and body. It was a shame and pain for her that God, because of her impurity, did not allow her to enter the church and appear before Him. Then she prayed fervently. She fell before the icon of the Panagia which was placed above the entrance of the church and with tears begged the Mother of God to pray for her to her Son. With this deep and fiery repentance the force that prevented her from entering the church receded and she finally entered. There she fell before the life-giving Cross of the Lord and did not get up until the end of the service. Tears flowed from her eyes, from the eyes that once seduced men and are now cleansed with wholehearted and fervent repentance. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

In this letter, Fr. Seraphim expresses his reaction to unhealthy approaches to Blessed Augustine, the great bishop and Church father of Africa, and shares a more personal side of his own experience with Augustine and his works: "I feel in Augustine the love of Christ." In Fr. Seraphim Rose’s time, as well as today in 2024, many diverse and strongly held opinions exist when it comes to how we should regard Blessed Augustine of Hippo. In one extreme, some treat him as either the greatest father of the first millennium, as one can see in some western confessions and even by some Orthodox. In another extreme, some see him as the root source of a multitude of heresies, even explicitly or implicitly condemning him as a heretic. The text of this recording is his full letter to Fr. Michael Azkoul written on June 13/26, 1981. -BUY “The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church” by Fr. Seraphim Rose: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=blaug -LISTEN to a fuller treatment of the Orthodox Church's understanding of Blessed Augustine according to Fr. Seraphim Rose: https://youtu.be/1KT4APf8GFM -READ this letter and others from Fr. Seraphim Rose: https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose-1961-1982/ _______ Fr. Seraphim writes: If your attempt is to find our Augustine’s real place in the Orthodox Church, I think your approach is all wrong. It assumes that “we moderns” are the ones who can do this—that we can “know better” than anyone in the Orthodox past. I don’t think so. I have a deep distrust of all of us who are writing on theological subjects today—we are more under “Western influence” than anyone before, and the less we are aware of it, the more obnoxious our “Westernism” becomes. Our whole cold, academic, and often disdainful approach to theology is so remote from the Fathers, so foreign to them. Let us admit this and try not to be so presumptuous (I speak for myself also). I myself am no great admirer of Augustine’s doctrines. He does indeed have that Western “super-logicalness” which the Eastern Fathers don’t have (the same “super-logicalness” which the critics of Augustine today display so abundantly!). The one main lovable and Orthodox thing about him is his Orthodox feeling, piety, love for Christ, which comes out so strongly in his non-dogmatic works like the Confessions (the Russian Fathers also love the Soliloquies). I myself fear the cold hearts of the 'intellectually correct' much more than any errors you might find in Augustine. I sense in these cold hearts a preparation for the work of Antichrist (whose imitation of Christ must also extend to 'correct theology'); I feel in Augustine the love of Christ. _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

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

Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos (+1989) was a celibate priest who lived his whole life in the world. “He didn’t retreat to Mt. Athos which he loved dearly, but lived in the city of Athens...." Absorb the wisdom of this faithful priest of our times. 0:00 Beginning 0:07 Fasting and Dieting 2:21 Fasting and Name Days 3:02 Fasting and Hospitality -READ the text here: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2013/11/elder-epiphanios-faces-challenging.html -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ Elder Epiphanios teaches: Fasting has two objectives: the ascetic pursuit of abstinence for the body by limiting nutrient-rich foods, and conformity to the commands of the Church, which is an ascetic pursuit for the soul. The Elder said that to take care of people is a great virtue, the practice of which cannot be suspended during fasting periods. However, at the table there will necessarily be offered fasting foods. With certain limits they can be better prepared or more delicious if we want to honor someone, but they must of necessity be for fasting. Nowhere in the Gerontikon does it praise an ascetic or display them as an example because they abolished the fast for the sake of hospitality. What it does mention is that certain holy hermits abolished their personal ascetic fasting, which was much more austere than what the Church required. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

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

Elder Ephraim encourages a brother struggling with lust and self-abuse (masturbation), inspiring him never to despair and always to repent and trust in God’s infinite mercy. Such temptations are allowed by God to humble and strengthen our will, and such patient endurance wins divine crowns. A letter from Athos, June 30, 1958 from "Counsels from the Holy Mountain: Selected from the Letters and Homilies of Geronda Ephraim of Arizona", p. 167-168. -BUY "Counsels from the Holy Mountain": https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/counsels-from-the-holy-mountain -LISTEN to many audiobooks from St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/pages/audiobooks -PRAY the Jesus Prayer with Elder Ephraim: https://youtu.be/pmFA4LTADQE?si=ig5DyyyQgX-WEgOA -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ This excerpt is from "Carnal Warfare - Elder Ephraim & Saint Joseph" https://youtu.be/h9YxyYssNRo _______ Elder Ephraim writes: When one struggles against sin with humility and the fear of God, with fervent spiritual work and with the guidance of an experienced spiritual father, God will never let him be lost. Only one must keep in mind not to despair. Even if one slips and sins ten thousand times a day, it is not justifiable in God's eyes for him to despair, but rather he should be hopeful and prepare for a fight, until God's mercy comes and delivers him. “…let's see who will win: you or Christ!" When the demon heard this unexpected reply, he said: "I won't fight you any more, because if I do, I'll make you win crowns." _______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

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

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

The towering figure of St. Nektarios offers a speech at the opening of a gymnasium in 1893, showing forth the purpose of a fit physique and the relationship between soul and body. St. Nektarios published this speech in 1894. Reading from "For Mind and Heart: St. Nektarios as Teacher" by Newrome Press, pp. 45-52. -BUY "For Mind and Heart: St. Nektarios as Teacher": https://newromepress.com/for-mind-and-heart-st.-nektarios-as-teacher/ -READ the entire speech here: https://www.orthodoxethos.com/post/on-exercise-by-st-nektarios-of-aegina -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ St. Nektarios teaches: Wherefore, as all know well, the training and exercise of both body and soul are inborn duties set upon man by both his very nature and his calling since a healthy body serves the soul willingly and readily, while a soul which has cultivated its faculties is sound, healthy, and governs the body prudently. Although great care and concern is required in order is to cultivate these two, one should not fall into extremes, and the care for the body of he who exercises ought to be especially measured. On the one hand, according to Aristotle, the extreme cultivation of the soul undermines the body through excessive strain, while on the other hand, the extreme cultivation of the body undermines the soul through unceasing exertion — the second is the greater evil, on account of it amounting to the corruption of what is more excellent. Very rightly, then, it is said that prudence is found in the mean: "Everything in moderation," and, "Nothing in excess." Immoderate concern for the body, excessive exercise, doubly damages the soul: it damages it indirectly through subsequent illness, and directly through the body's gaining excessive strength. The excessive strength of the body arising out of unceasing concern for it renders it wild, difficult to manage, independently-minded, bold, and unyielding in the face of the soul's dictates. The soul, having become weak, deprived of power, compromised by inactivity, gives the body boldness to rebel against the spirit and prompts it to try and completely subjugate it, to bring it under the dominion of its strength. It renders the enslaved soul an instrument by means of which the body's irrational impulses are fulfilled, corrupting it and causing whatever may be found in it that is noble to vanish. Therefore, neither the attainment of athleticism nor unrivaled muscular strength should be the aim of exercise, but rather the building of bodily strength for the sake of ready satisfaction of the demands of the spirit and the fulfillment of those duties set upon it. The aim of exercise is not to produce athletes for the games, but, rather, perfectly formed men capable of any undertaking, for it is well-known that exercise by means of habit renders one more ready for struggles, and more industrious through a familiarity with hard work. Our ancient ancestors became noble and good men through measured bodily exercise and the parallel development of the soul's powers; they became great, all-beautiful, and glorious; they proved themselves most beneficial to the nation and humanity through the degree of civility they attained, and the memory they left behind is holy and unforgettable. Gentlemen, bodily exercise and spiritual development are the axes around which perfect education and perfect formation revolve, and from these follow happiness, glory, and greatness. The man who is cultivated on both planes will be happy, a man who stands out, who thinks big, who accomplishes big things, who is strong and capable of every undertaking, who is beneficial in all situations. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

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

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

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

Archbishop Theophan of Poltava (+1940) whom we commemorate today (February 6/19) was a spiritual son of St. Theophan the Recluse, spiritual father of Archbishop Averky of Jordanville, and confessor for the Russian Royal Family before their martyric deaths in 1918. In these letters we are given general advice on fighting the passions, prayer, and answers to various specific questions many people have today. 0:11 Letter 23: Fighting the Passions 1:32 Letter 24: The Inner Struggle With Vain Thoughts and the Meaning of Humility 3:52 Letter 27: Exhaustion During Prayer and the Concept of Penance 5:28 Letter 8: Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov's Essays and the Proper Attitude Toward the Temptations Which Befall Us 8:00 Letter 21: Fighting the Passions and Dispassion 10:02 Letter 22: Preserving Inner Contemplation and Remembrance of God 11:25 Letter 26: Self-Reliance vs. Social Life; Fasting and Prayer 12:35 Letter 31: How Often Should One Receive Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ? 13:59 Letter 36: How to Prevent Sorrows From Disturbing One's Peace of Mind and Confession 14:57 Letter 54: The Proper Way to Conduct Spiritual Warfare These letters come from the book: “Selected Letters of Archbishop Theophan of Poltava” -BUY books from St. Theophan and Archbishop Averky here: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ Archbishop Theophan writes: Until a man achieves dispassion he abides in the passions. The passions are, however, strongly manifest only in some people, in others they are inactive. But inactivity of the passions is not dispassion. In this case the passions are merely latent. When a man enters into battle with them, they assert their existence. "Many are the Saints," said St. Symeon the New Theologian, "but few are the dispassionate (those of perfect dispassion), and there is a great difference between the two" (Homily 84, para. 1; v. 2, p. 398). -Letter 21 When we forget about God, passions and evil thoughts arise. -Letter 22 One must compel oneself to remember God. -Letter 22 Until we reach the harbor of dispassion we must fight the passions and vain thoughts. There will be both victories and defeats, but we must conduct this battle until the end of our life. The battle will be successful only if it is conducted properly, and it will be conducted properly only if we depend not on our own might to conquer our passions and vain thoughts, but on God's might. In order to accomplish this we must constantly call upon God to help us by incessant appeal in God's name. -Letter 23 Penance is not, in the legal sense of the word, a punishment for a crime, but rather a spiritual remedy, the aim of which is to rid the person who uses it of a certain spiritual infirmity. The number of prostrations depends on the nature of the transgression or sin. -Letter 27 ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

Anyone inquiring into Orthodoxy will find clarity from Elder Cleopa's detailed exposition of the Scriptures, especially if the ever-virginity of the Virgin Mary is currently a stumbling block to Orthodoxy. Elder Cleopa is one of the most beloved Romanian elders of the 20th century. A confessor of the faith under the Romanian communists, Elder Cleopa was a truly heavenly man whom thousands of people from all over travelled to receive his counsel and sit in his presence. He was not only a friend of God, the most blessed a man can be, but of his contemporary saints as well, including Elder Thaddeus, Elder Arsenie, St. Justin Popovic, St. Paisios the Athonite, and more. This podcast is a reading from "The Truth of Our Faith: Discourses from Holy Scripture on the Tenets of Christian Orthodoxy" by Elder Cleopa of Romania, pp. 82-88. -BUY "The Truth of Our Faith" by Elder Cleopa of Romania, published by Uncut Mountain Press: https://uncutmountainpress.com/shop/product/the-truth-of-our-faith/ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ In 2021, the Romanian Orthodox Church officially decided to canonize Elder Cleopa and add his commemoration to the Church calendar. His canonization is set for 2025. https://orthochristian.com/137894.html ______ Elder Cleopa teaches: You also heard that although she was a virgin, as she had never known a man, the angel did not say to her “blessed art thou among virgins” but “blessed art thou among women,” without this word expressing disdain for the Most Holy Theotokos... God, as much as Adam, called Eve “woman” when she was a virgin because she had a female, and not male, nature, showing thus the feminine sex. In no way is it understood that God and Adam called her who was received from the side of Adam (and was still a virgin) a woman with the meaning of married woman. For just as Eve was a virgin when he called her woman, so too the mystical and spiritual Eve, the most holy Virgin Mary—she who gave birth to Christ the New Adam—is virgin unto the ages of ages, even though Holy Scripture refers to her as woman. At that time, Adam, by the will of God and in virginity, gave birth from his body to a woman, yet not by sexual intercourse with a woman. When the fullness of time had come, the female nature in synergy with the Holy Spirit gave birth to a man, yet not by relations with a man. In virginity, the Virgin Mary gave birth and remained virgin—just as in the beginning, in virginity, Adam gave birth without the co-operation of a woman, remaining virgin. Thus, God deigned through the Virgin Mary to cure the fallen nature of the old Adam with the New Adam born of the Virgin.... Thus, pay close attention: Holy Scripture does not call the Mother of God woman and thereby mean married woman, as some believe, but with the word woman reveals only the sex, the given female nature of the Ever-Virgin Mary, while simultaneously (in a hidden or concealed manner) saying that she is the woman whose Seed (Christ) will bruise the head of the serpent and through whom shall come the salvation of mankind. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

St. Dorotheos of Gaza (+565), disciple of Sts. Barsanuphius and John, is one of the most revered teachers on spiritual life, speaking from his direct experience with Christ through his ascetic struggle. Here he addresses the fear of God, the three stages of divine fear, and the meaning of the Apostle John's famous words.This is an excerpt from the full recording:On Divine Fear - Abba Dorotheos of Gaza https://youtu.be/7CHHNtUv2YQ -READ "Our Holy Father Dorotheos of Gaza: Various Soul-Profiting Instructions to His Disciples" here: https://www.ctosonline.org/patristic/OH.html -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ St. Dorotheos writes: “If, now, even the Saints, who so love the Lord, fear Him, why does St. John say that ‘love casteth out fear?’ The Saint wishes to indicate to us that there are two kinds of fear, one initial and the other perfect, and that, while one is characteristic of neophytes, as we say, in the spiritual life, the other is characteristic of the holy, of those who have been made perfect spiritually and have attained to a measure of holy love. Heed what I am saying. One does the Will of God out of fear of punishment. He, as we have said, is a total neophyte. He does not strive on account of goodness itself, but because he fears chastisements. The other does the Will of God because he loves God and since he especially rejoices when his life is pleasing to God. He knows the essence of goodness; he has tasted of what it means for one to be united to God. This is the one who has the true love that St. John calls ‘perfect.’ And this love leads him to perfect fear. For he fears and does the Will of God, not out of fear of chastisements, not out of fear of perhaps going to Hell, but, just as we have said, because he has tasted of the sweetness experienced by those who are united to God and fears that he might be deprived of it. Thus, this perfect fear, which comes forth from love, distances us from initial fear. And for this reason, it is said that: ‘Perfect love casteth out fear.’ Nonetheless, it is impossible for one to arrive otherwise at perfect fear, save by initial fear.” ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

Drawing upon the witness of Christ and many saints, St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite sets forth the standard (akrevia) for the Orthodox Church's weekly fasts on Wednesday and Friday. Even if the ideal is beyond our abilities or beyond what our spiritual father has blessed, we must know the standard and humbly be aware of how we measure up, repenting and striving to offer more and more of ourselves to our gracious King, Jesus Christ. This podcast is a reading from "Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession" by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, pp. 209-212 -BUY "Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession" by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, published by Uncut Mountain Press: https://uncutmountainpress.com/shop/product/exomologetarion-a-manual-of-confession/ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ Not sure what all this fasting is about? First, talk with your spiritual father or parish priest and ask for guidance. Additionally, read the wealth of resources on the meaning of fasting from a variety of authors here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pr_fasting.aspx A helpful word from Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou regarding penances, canons, and not "throwing the baby out with the bath water": “Here in the West [versus Greece], though, because of the circumstances of life, and the difficulty of the conditions in which people live and the world that surrounds them, we have to be more indulgent and patient. But it is good to know the rules of the Church, for example, that a certain sin is punished by a two-year exclusion from Holy Communion. Nobody can apply these rules literally anymore, but it is very important that we know them, because they reflect the magnitude of the soul's deadening when certain kinds of sin have been committed. The time can, of course, be shortened in any case, depending on the repentance of the person, and on the disposition and willingness of the priest to co-operate with that person. Everything can be accelerated if the priest works together with the penitent and prays for him. I now realize that when we priests pray for ourselves, God does not listen to us, He can be as deaf as I am, but when we pray for other people He responds very quickly, which shows that this is the true nature of our ministry.” -The Hidden Man of the Heart, p. 58 _______ St. Nikodemos teaches: Canon 69 of the Holy Apostles designates that any hierarch or priest or deacon or subdeacon or reader or chanter who does not fast during Great Lent and Wednesday and Friday is to be deposed. If a layperson does not fast during these times (unless he cannot fast on account of bodily illness), he is to be excommunicated. Do you see how the Apostles numbered the Wednesday and Friday fast together with the fast of Great Lent? Therefore, just as the fast of Great Lent consists in the eating of dry foods, namely, to eat but once a day, at the ninth hour, without consuming oil or wine, likewise, the fast of Wednesday and Friday is to be conducted in the exact same manner. ...the Apostles in their Canons number this fast together with that of Great Lent, and in the Apostolic Constitutions they number it together with the fast of Holy Week, saying: "One must fast during Holy Week and Wednesday and Friday."279 But why should I say that this regulation is only of the Apostles? It is a regulation of Christ Himself, for this is what the Apostles say in Book V, ch. 14 of the Constitutions: "He (that is, Christ) commanded us to fast on Wednesday and Friday." We must also note the following, that just as there must be a fast from food on Wednesday, Friday, and Great Lent, there must also be a fast from pleasures of the flesh. For this reason weddings cannot take place on these days, because the divine Paul commands that married couples are not to come together during a time of prayer and fasting: "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer" (1 Cor. 7:5). --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message

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

St. Maximus the Confessor explains one of the more difficult verses in sacred Scripture: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21). This is a reading of Question 42 from "On Difficulties in Sacred Scripture: The Responses to Thalassios". -BUY "On Difficulties in Sacred Scripture: The Responses to Thalassios" here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0813235715/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= -BUY an excellent 8-lecture course by Fr. Maximos Constas on St. Maximus the Confessor's Life and Teachings: https://patristicnectar.org/bookstore_160419_1 -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ _______ St. Maximus taught: Because Adam’s natural power of free choice was corrupted first, it corrupted nature together with itself, losing the grace of impassibility. And thus the fall of free choice from the good toward evil became the first and blameworthy sin. The second sin, which came about as a result of the first, was the blameless alteration of nature from incorruptibility to corruption. Thus two sins came about in the forefather through his transgression of the divine commandment: the first was blameworthy, but the second was blameless, having been caused by the first. And for our sakes, through the passibility of nature, He became sin, but He did not commit voluntary sin, thanks to the immutability of His free choice—to the contrary, He corrected the passibility of nature through the incorruptibility of His faculty of free choice, making the end of nature’s passibility, by which I mean death, into the beginning of the transformation of our nature into incorruptibility. The Lord, then, did not know my sin, that is, the turning away of my free will: He did not assume my sin, neither did He become my sin, but [He became] sin because of me; that is, He assumed the corruption of nature which came about through the turning away of my free choice, and He became, for our sake, man passible by nature, abolishing my sin through the sin that came about because of me. The condemnation of my freely chosen sin—I mean, of human nature’s passible, corruptible, and mortal elements—was assumed by the Lord, who for my sake became “sin” in terms of passibility, corruption, and mortality, voluntarily by nature assuming my condemnation—though He is without condemnation in His free choice—so that He might condemn the sin of my free choice and nature as well as my condemnation, simultaneously expelling sin, passibility, corruption, and death from nature, bringing about a new mystery concerning me, who had fallen through disobedience: the dispensation of Him, who for my sake and out of His love for mankind, voluntarily appropriated my condemnation through His death, through which He granted that I be called back and restored to immortality. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orthodox-wisdom/message