Category: Orthodox Christianity
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St. Silouan on Humility
The Staretz [St. Silouan] used to say that there was no end to the pretensions of pride. In his notes I found [this is written by Elder Sophrony] the following fable: A certain huntsman liked stalking the woods and fields for game. One day after he had been climbing up a steep hill for hours…
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Concentration in Prayer
Brother John Kilmakos said, “When you pray, forget how you may appear to others. Concentrate entirely on your prayer, withdrawing into your heart. Demons fear spiritual concentration more than thieves fear dogs.”
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A Single Moment and Paradise
During Holy Week, one of my favorite hymns in the Church is the Wise Thief (the Exapostelarion of Holy Friday). It recalls the thief, crucified on Christ’s right hand, who repents and finds paradise “in a single moment.” It demonstrates the fullness of God’s love who would take the repentance of a single moment and…
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I Don’t Know Anything About That
A Hermit advised, “If someone speaks to you about a controversy, do not argue with him. If what he says makes sense, say, ‘Yes.’ If his comments are misguided, say, ‘I don’t know anything about that.’ If you refuse to dispute with his ideas, your mind will be at peace. For years I knew a…
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St. Nikolai Velimirovich – Prayers By the Lake
This video contains text from Prayers by the Lake by St. Nikolai of Zicha, a contemporary Serbian saint. May God grant our hearts to hear them.
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The Unexplored Landscape
Like the Kingdom of God itself, the landscape of the human heart (considered spiritually) remains largely unchartered territory and beyond the easy access of most people. Our culture uses the language of “heart” quite easily, but means by it something emotional, something psychological and not at all in the sense it is used in either…
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The Praying Mind
The praying mind does not think – does not reason – but lives. Its activity consists, not in the manipulation of abstract concepts but in participation in being. The truly praying mind has to do with categories different in quality from those of rational reflection. It is concerned, not with intellectual categories but with actual…
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Spiritual Fatherhood
I am the father of five children, four who are living and one who has gone to his rest. The oldest of my children is now 27, soon to be 28, and, by God’s grace, soon to give birth to my first grandchild. God is truly gracious. Closely related to this is the notion of…
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Orthodox Serbian Monasteries in Kosovo
This is a beautiful sharing from the heart of the earliest Serbian Orthodox homeland.
Couldn’t You save us without being crucified ? I could, but I would show my power. I want to show…