We honor the memory of the Optina Monastery holy confessor Nikon. St. Nikon (in the world, Nicholai Mitrofanovich Belyaev) was a great example of patience and obedience—from his youth to the end of his life, he good-heartedly endured everything sent to him by God. Even in his childhood, there were events that were like signs
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THE THIRD INSTRUCTION – ON THE CONSCIENCE – ABBA DOROTHEOS
When God created man He sowed in him something divine, a certain thought which has in itself, like a spark, both light and warmth; a thought which enlightens the mind and indicates to it what is good and what is evil—this is called conscience, and it is a natural law. This is that well
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THEOSIS – THE TRUE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE – Part 5 of 10 – The Church: The Place of Man’s Theosis
Those who wish to unite with Jesus Christ, and, through Christ, with God the Father, recognize that this union is realized in the body of Christ, which is our Holy Orthodox Church. Of course, this Union is not with the Divine essence, * but with the deified human nature of Christ. But this union with
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Russian Film ‘Ostrov’ (‘The Island’) Now Available Free Online – Youtube and Amazon Prime
Ostrov (The Island) is a 2006 Russian film about a fictional 20th century Eastern Orthodox monk. The film closed the 2006 Venice Film Festival, proved to be a moderate box-office success and won both the Nika Award and the Golden Eagle Award as the Best Russian film of 2006. The film is focused on Father
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Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love, and Their Mother, Sophia
During the reign of the impious Roman Emperor Hadrian, a widow of Italian ancestry called Sophia, whose name means wisdom, lived in Rome. She was a Christian, and in accordance with her name, she lived wisely, showing that wisdom praised by the Apostle James, who says, The wisdom that is from above is first pure,
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WHY DO WE ADDRESS THE CROSS IN PRAYER DIRECTLY AS IF TO A PERSON?
For many Orthodox Christians, beginning to explore the treasury of Christian prayer and trying to delve into the meaning of the prayers, upon reading the prayers to the Cross the question may arise: “Why do we address the Cross, the Wood, in prayer directly as if to a person?” Indeed, in the Orthodox liturgical tradition
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The Way of Spiritual Transformation – #5
5. Self Aware and Prayer The healing of our sick nous begins with what we have just been discussing: the sacrifice of our “old man,” the cutting off of the passions, repentance. In speaking of the healing of the nous, the Holy Fathers place much emphasis on the practice of watchfulness. We must at all times
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The Way of Spiritual Transformation – #8
8. On Not Measuring One’s Progress In conclusion, I would like to make one more point concerning the theme of transformation. The Holy Fathers counsel us that we are not to try to measure our spiritual progress. Trying to measure our progress can lead to pride on the one hand, and to despair on the
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The Way of Spiritual Transformation – #7
7. On Getting Out of Ruts How can Fr. Isaaky’s words not inspire us toward spiritual transformation? What hinders us from growing unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, as St. Paul says (Eph. 4:13)? It is our egos, our passions, that hinder us. Many of us get stuck in a
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The Way of Spiritual Transformation – #6
6. The Primary Mark of Spiritual Transformation Now, having looked at the nature of spiritual transformation and the way to that transformation, let us examine more closely the marks of transformation in a Christian. We have already discussed in some detail the first two verses of Romans, chapter 12. St. Paul devotes the remainder of
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