February 4, 2012

Why Jesus Had To Be Virgin Born: St. Maximus the Confessor Explains

  
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by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos Pleasure and Pain According to St. Maximus the Confessor In his Centuries on Theology St. Maximus the Confessor refers to the nexus of the dualism of pleasure and pain, which, by any standard, is an important subject. This means that we cannot discuss Orthodox Theology if we fail to face this crucial point, because the transcendence of pleasure and pain is, precisely, a prerequisite for correct Orthodox … [Read more...]

On Forgiveness

  
St. Maximus the Confessor

by St. Maximus the Confessor If you bear a grudge against anyone, pray for him and you will stop the passion in its tracks. By prayer you separate the hurt from the memory of the evil which he did you and in becoming loving and kind you completely obliterate passion from the soul. On the other hand, if someone else bears you a grudge, be generous... and humble with him, treat him fairly, and you will deliver him from the passion. … [Read more...]

On Overcoming Grudges

  
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by St. Maximus the Confessor Our venerable and God-bearing Father Maximus the Confessor (ca. 580-662) was an Orthodox Christian monk and ascetical writer known especially for his courageous fight against the heresy of Monothelitism. His feast days in the Church are celebrated on January 21 and, for the translation of his relics, on August 13. "If you bear a grudge against anyone, pray for him and you will stop the passion in its tracks. By … [Read more...]

St. Maximus the Confessor

  
maximus_the_confessor

St. Maximus the Confessor was a monk and teacher, well versed in rhetoric and the classical arts. He wrote against false teachings about Christ when few would do so. His enemies had little defense against his logic, and so rather than answer his arguments, they cut off his right hand and tore out his tongue, so that he would be able to neither preach nor write about the Truth. Now that's great preaching. … [Read more...]