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Elder Sophrony and Appalachia
Read more: Elder Sophrony and AppalachiaWhy are the consequences of Adam’s disobedience so disastrous? Why does spiritual life in Christ take, in this world, the tragic form of a hand-to-hand battle against death? Why is God’s creation linked to this negation, to death, to this struggle full of pain? Why must I struggle against things which kill me without having […]
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Archbishop Dmitri and the Dignity of Man
Read more: Archbishop Dmitri and the Dignity of ManThe attacks come from two different directions – and the object is the destruction of man. This, for me is a short summary of a consistent prophetic word I have heard from Archbishop DMITRI of Dallas for the past 15 years. The Archbishop is set to retire on March 31 of this year. With his […]
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Archbishop DMITRI of Dallas Announces Retirement
Read more: Archbishop DMITRI of Dallas Announces RetirementThe first Orthodox bishop I ever met was Vladyko DMITRI of Dallas and the South. He was everything I had ever thought a bishop should be – faithful, dynamic, mission-minded, and with a heart of gold. He has been the Apostle to the South here in the United States, leading many men and women into […]
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Personhood and Love
Read more: Personhood and LoveI have written several times recently about the understanding of personhood – particularly as found in the writings of St. Silouan and the Elder Sophrony. They push the envelope of our understanding to the edge and then beyond. For many their work is difficult to understand – both because of vocabularly and because what they […]
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May God Grant Us To Weep
Read more: May God Grant Us To WeepFrom the writings of the Elder Sophrony: Spirtual weeping is an abundance of life springing vigorously from potent love, whereas ordinary weeping prostrates mortal man…. The ascetic Fathers did not weep because they were deprived of temporal goods but they do insist on the necessity for spiritual weeping without which man’s stony heart is incapable […]
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Fr. Sophrony on Personhood
Read more: Fr. Sophrony on PersonhoodThe incarnation of the Logos of the Father – Jesus Christ – furnishes a solid foundation for our knowledge of God. Actuated by love for Him, we undergo a profound transformation of our whole being. Christ’s infinite life is transmitted to us. Our spirit finds itself on opposite poles – in both the black depths […]
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It's Nothing Personal
Read more: It's Nothing PersonalOne of the most frightening phrases in the English language is: “It’s nothing personal.” It almost always precedes something bad. For someone to tell me that what they are about to do is not personal is already a confession of sin. But why should the word personal carry such weight? In the life of the […]
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Why Does God Sing?
Read more: Why Does God Sing?Why would God sing? The question may sound strange and yet it is said in Zephaniah (3:17), “He will rejoice over thee with singing.” I first noticed this verse when I was a very young Christian and have puzzled about it for nearly forty years. Equally puzzling to our modern way of thought is the […]
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Another Word from St. Isaac of Syria
Read more: Another Word from St. Isaac of SyriaI prostrate myself, Lord, at the footstool of your feet and at your holy right hand which has fashioned and made me a human being capable of becoming aware of you. But I have sinned and done wrong, both in myself and before you, for I have abandoned holy converse with you and have given […]
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Yes, We Can
Read more: Yes, We CanAbba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba as far as I can, I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?” then the old man stood up […]
Janine, Scripture tells us that He is gathering together in one, all things in Christ Jesus. That is the reality…