At times, people come to our monastery with concerns about close friends and relatives who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disease, or some other such disorder. Often they ask, “Is this really mental illness or is it demonic possession?” So, from the practical need to give a helpful response to such heart-breaking questions, we
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Overcoming Anger
..for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. (James 1:20) Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:31-32) St. Paul warns that those who act in anger
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CAN YOU REPENT AFTER YOU DIE?
CAN THE DEAD REPENT? Fr. John Whiteford If someone dies without repentance, is it possible for such a person to repent after death? Fr. John Whiteford answers this question through the writings of the holy fathers of the Church. Scripture, as explained by the Fathers of the Church, states that this is not possible. Psalm
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BOOK CLUB QUOTE: LOVE YOUR ENEMIES – HAVE VICTORY OVER HATRED
“You hate your enemy? You are foolish. Why? Because if your enemy persecutes you, you also inwardly persecute yourself; for say, is it not persecution, and the most cruel persecution, to torture yourself by your hatred towards your enemy? Love your enemy, and you will be wise. O, if only you knew what a triumph,
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A CHRISTIAN CANNOT BE A COWARD
Is it true when they say that Christians shouldn’t be brave? How can we combine courage with humility? What does it mean to “turn the other cheek”? When is particular courage required of a Christian? What should a Christian really fear? These are the questions we asked Archimandrite Melchisedek (Artiukhin). Our discussion is about boldness
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HOW TO BECOME HUMBLE
A humble man is never rash, hasty or perturbed, never has any hot and volatile thoughts, but at all times remains calm. Even if heaven were to fall and cleave to the earth, the humble man would not be dismayed. Not every quiet man is humble, but every humble man is quiet. There is no
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MEET THE CHRISTIANS WHO LOVE THEIR ENEMIES, EVEN WHEN IT’S ISIS
On the outskirts of Fallujah, just weeks after Islamic State had been driven out of the city by the Iraqi army following two years of jihadist rule, a team of Sunni and Shia Muslims visited a compound where hundreds of people who had fled the city were being held. They brought supplies – food and
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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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DO WE SEEK JUSTICE OR MERCY?
Each and every time we hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ we are blessed beyond belief. There have been many teachers and philosophers and even prophets but with the Lord we hear words full of power and beauty. Words that offer us life and resurrection. Each time we enter the Church we should
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I Must Point The Finger At Myself…- Vice 5: On Dejection – St. John Cassian
On Dejection Our fifth struggle is against the demon of dejection, who obscures the soul’s capacity for spiritual contemplation and keeps it from all good works. When this malicious demon seizes our soul and darkens it completely, he prevents us from praying gladly, from reading Holy Scripture with profit and perseverance, and from being gentle
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