If someone dies without repentance, is it possible for such a person to repent after death? Fr. John Whiteford answers this question through the writings of the holy fathers of the Church. by Fr. John Whiteford Scripture, as explained by the Fathers of the Church, states that this is not possible. Psalm 6:5 says: “For […]
The Morality of Gehenna
January 31, 2016 By
by Fr. Lawrence Farley In a previous article I attempted to examine the Scriptural, patristic, and canonical evidence for a belief in Universalism, the belief that eventually all will be saved (including, according to many universalists, Satan and the demons). I concluded that the evidence all went the other way, and I reaffirmed the traditional […]
Will Unbaptized Children Go To Hell if they Die?
September 27, 2015 By
by Fr. John Hainsworth Often on the heart and mind – will unbaptized children go to hell? No. The Orthodox Church does not believe that children are born guilty of Adam’s sin and that unless freed of that guilt through baptism and communion they will die without God’s mercy. Such a notion is pernicious both […]
The Real Hell: A Lesson In Ontology
February 22, 2014 By
by Fr. Stephen Freeman Originally entitled “The Real Hell – Is There Such a Thing?” Because sometimes the people of God need a basic lesson in the nature of existence… On one of the roads leading into my small city a billboard has recently appeared. It is part of a larger campaign by a nationally […]
St. John of Damascus On Hell
December 4, 2013 By
by John Sanidopoulos Below are some very characteristic and very important passages from Saint John of Damascus on the subject of Hell: 1. Hell is not God’s punishment, but it is a state of receptivity. It appears that Hell and Paradise as “places” do not exist. There is only God, who is present in all […]
Gehenna – the Torment of God’s Love
October 9, 2013 By
by St. Isaac the Syrian From Ascetical Homilies 27: “In love did God bring the world into existence; in love is God going to bring it to that wondrous transformed state, and in love will the world be swallowed up in the great mystery of the One who has performed all these things; in love […]
Is Hell Real?
July 11, 2013 By
by Fr. Stephen Freeman Because sometimes the people of God need a basic lesson in the nature of existence… On one of the roads leading into my small city a billboard has recently appeared. It is part of a larger campaign by a nationally known evangelist who is to have a revival in Knoxville. The […]
The Gates of Hell are Locked from the Inside
February 4, 2013 By
by Dn Joseph Gleason C.S. Lewis said the gates of hell are locked from the inside. It is real, and people actually go there. But they are there by their own consent. Hell is a place of self-exile. This position avoids the extremes of both the Universalists and the Calvinists. Universalists say, “Everybody goes to heaven.” […]
