-
The Truth of Ourselves
Read more: The Truth of OurselvesAbba Poemen believed that the only time you could observe a person’s true character was when that person was tempted. From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers There is obvious wisdom in the saying about Abba Poemen: it is not our strengths that best define us, but our weaknesses. In our culture, where virtual reality […]
-
Nothing but the Whole Truth
Read more: Nothing but the Whole TruthBecause Christ Himself is the Truth, we cannot have any such thing as “partial” Truth. Something or someone can be close to the Truth or moving towards the Truth – but in a proper Christian sense – only Christ is the Truth and Christ is one. And thus within Orthodoxy it becomes problematic to speak […]
-
Humility
Read more: HumilityWhen someone asked a hermit to define humility, he answered, “Humility is when you forgive someone who has wronged you before he expresses regret.” I cannot think of how many times in my experience the subject of apologies has come up along with the subject of forgiveness. Of course when someone asks forgiveness we should […]
-
Is a Relationship with God What We Want?
Read more: Is a Relationship with God What We Want?An excellent question was raised in the comments of my previous post – the question being about the nature of relationship. It is commonplace in our modern parlance to speak of a “personal relationship” which is either redundant, or a way of weakening the true meaning of “personal.” I suspect that the modern meaning of […]
-
The Depths of the Personal
Read more: The Depths of the PersonalI have written on modern distortions of “personal relationship” in which “private” relationship is one of its corrupted meanings. I have also noted that, properly understood, “personal” always carries a meaning of “corporate” as well. To be in personal relationship with Christ necessarily means that I am in relationship with His Body, the Church. There […]
Conversion, Culture, Fathers, Knowledge of God, Orthodox Christianity, The Church, The Journey of Faith
-
The Orthodox Church and Personal Salvation
Read more: The Orthodox Church and Personal SalvationA priest friend sent me an article from Franklin Graham’s website, describing a revival in the Ukraine. Like others who have gone to Eastern Europe to preach the gospel, there is frequently a mistaken assessment of the Orthodox Church. Graham’s article recognized a holiness present in the Church’s there, but described it as “Old Testament,” […]
-
For More on the Way of Humility
Read more: For More on the Way of HumilityFor those interested in reading more on the Way of Humility described by Archimandrite Zacharias, read the pages on the Ecclesiology of the Cross published on this blog.
-
Grace and “the Inverted Pyramid”
Read more: Grace and “the Inverted Pyramid”Fr. Sophrony [Sakharov], in his book on St. Silouan, presents this theory of the “inverted pyramid.” He says that the empirical cosmic being is like a pyramid: at the top sit the powerful of the earth, who exercise dominion over the nations (cf. Matt. 20:25), and at the bottom stand the masses. But the spirit […]
Dostoevsky, Fathers, Knowledge of God, Orthodox Christianity, Saints, Scripture, The Church, The Journey of Faith, Tradition
-
Silent Sentinels and the Saints among Us
Read more: Silent Sentinels and the Saints among UsI originally ran this post last December. I have watched the film mentioned in it many times. The thoughts in the post came back to me again today. Like many, I recall my highschool years somewhat vividly. Our school was of moderate size with a personal history for most students that increased its impact. It […]
-
Living With A Brain
Read more: Living With A BrainFor the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Anyone who spends time listening to the spiritual struggles of other people – or spends time struggling with […]
Subscribe to blog via email
Support the work
Your generous support for Glory to God for All Things will help maintain and expand the work of Fr. Stephen. This ministry continues to grow and your help is important. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
Latest Comments
Amen! Thank you, Fr. Stephen, for these encouraging words.
Matthew, “finding those firm foundations of goodness of which you speak can, sometimes, be difficult especially when we read something…
Just want to add that I believe that Father has said many times (please feel free to correct me) that…
Janine said: “How do you know God is not looking at you the same way you see your son?” Man…
Read my books
Listen to my podcast
Please Read
Categories
Archives
Janine, You write: “How do you know God is not looking at you the same way you see your son?”…