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by St. Simeon the New Theologian Brethren and fathers, How great is the condescension and the love of God toward men! Before the unutterable goodness of God I am struck with amazement, I am filled with wonder. So I cry out, “O wondrous miracle, power of God’s commandments, how they change those who practice and observe them!” Once I had started out on the way and had in slight measure returned to my senses from the abyss of evil … [Read more...]
By Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos As one studies the texts of the Holy Bible and the Fathers, one realizes that the basis of Orthodox theology is God's revelation - as given to the Prophets, the Apostles and the Fathers - throughout the ages. Characteristic of this is the beginning of the Epistle to the Hebrews: "Having spoken in many aspects and many ways in the past to the fathers and the prophets, in these last days God spoke to us … [Read more...]
by St. Symeon the New Theologian Our venerable and God-bearing father Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) is one of three saints of the Orthodox church to have been given the title of Theologian (the others are St. John the Apostle and St. Gregory Nazianzen). Born in Galatia and educated at Constantinople, he became abbot of the monastery of St. Mamas. His feast day is celebrated on March 12, the date of his repose. 1. You have asked our … [Read more...]
by Eric Simpson From the Huffington Post (!) Common depictions of the Christian doctrine of hell, perhaps borrowing images from classic literature and Dante, portray it as a place of literal fire, where tortured souls repose in anguish, a vision much used by itinerant evangelists and manipulative preachers. A further degradation of this cartoon vision finds human souls not only suffering extreme torture, but prodded by red devils … [Read more...]
by St. Symeon the New Theologian If you ignore these things, my beloved one, don’t put yourself in despair, saying: "I have not seen these things, nor can I ever know them; I will never have the power to reach and rise up to the height of this knowledge, contemplation and cleanness." Don’t you say, furthermore: "If someone won’t become like this, that is, to put on Christ and see Him as God in this life, and take Him to dwell in … [Read more...]
by Fr. John Romanides Some people are convinced that sacred tradition is guarded by episcopal synods. But contemporary synods in the Orthodox Church are not like the local or ecumenical councils of bishops in the age of the early Christians, because the early councils were composed of bishops who had mastered the Church’s therapeutic method. Their aim in coming together as a council was not merely to safeguard the Church’s doctrine and … [Read more...]
by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos serves the Metropolis of Nafpaktos in the Church of Greece. His study of the patristic texts and particularly those of the hesychast Fathers of the Philokalia, many years of studying St. Gregory Palamas, association with the monks of the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos), and many years of pastoral experience, all brought him to the … [Read more...]
by St. Symeon the New Theologian Our venerable and God-bearing father Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) is one of three saints of the Orthodox church to have been given the title of Theologian (the others are St. John the Apostle and St. Gregory Nazianzen). Born in Galatia and educated at Constantinople, he became abbot of the monastery of St. Mamas. His feast day is celebrated by some on March 12, the date of his repose, while others … [Read more...]
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