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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The Way of Spiritual Transformation – #4
4. The Renewal of the Mind Be transformed by the renewal of your mind. What does St. Paul mean by renewing the mind? According to St. John Chrysostom, he means repentance. We are told to be transformed, but, as we look at ourselves, we see that we sin every day. This could lead us to despair,
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The Way of Spiritual Transformation – #3
3. Not Conformity but Transformation Now we are ready to look at today-s theme in its full context. First comes sacrifice, then comes transformation. That is why, in Romans chapter 12, the first precedes the other in direct sequence: Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God—and be not conformed to this world,
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The Way of Spiritual Transformation – #2
2. Living Sacrifices With this in mind, let us look more closely at St. Paul’s exhortation: Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. This is part of an entire chapter of Scripture that discusses spiritual transformation. In examining this chapter, I will rely first of all on
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The Way of Spiritual Transformation – #1
1. Transformation, Salvation, Deification The theme of this Conference—”Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”—is a rather daunting theme to talk about, because it is so vast and all-encompassing. It touches on the whole purpose of our lives as Orthodox Christians. Our Lord Jesus Christ said: I
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FORGIVENESS AND THE HEALING OF THE SOUL
Sometimes the truth has to come to us in an unusual way in order to get our attention. That is because most of us are really good at hearing only what we want to hear and seeing only what we want to see. Unfortunately, that means we are skilled in ig noring uncomfortable truths, including
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What Is The Orthodox Meaning Of Theosis or Union with God?
Saint Theophan the Recluse says, that the aim of an Orthodox Christian is “a living unity with God.” This is referred to as “theosis.” What is this union or unity? This does not mean an identity with God, where we lose our human identity and become one in essence with God. Many Protestants reject this Orthodox understanding because
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