May I perceive the glory from which I have fallen, and hasten with lamentations to regain what I have lost. (Ninth Ode, Matins, Sunday of Forgiveness) Given the social fragmentation, the moral disorder and economic insecurity of our times, it is not difficult to explain the popularity of Edward Hicks’ painting, “The Peaceable Kingdom.” Appropriated by more…
“Always remember that you were born into this world so that you may do good to all insofar as possible on every occasion.”St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven Our Life is short. When we are young, it seems to stretch out endlessly before us, and we think we have lots of time to do all…
EditorialHieromonk German Ciuba Why are we here on earth? To show our love for God, to learn to love God more than sin, and to respond with our small love to the great love of God. Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich In the midst of our world cares and all the problems that trouble us even in…
Why so Strict?Priest Dimitri Dudko, Our HopeWe’re afraid of strictness. We’re afraid of life’s difficulties. We consider an easy life to be the height of blessedness. But let’s be critical of ourselves. We’ve already been indulgent with ourselves. We’ve broken with the Church. But the result is crime, corruption, disappearance of the family, dissatisfaction with life…
Priest Andrew Phillips With the doors in the former Soviet Union now open to religious freedom, many people there are searching through a maze of different confessions for the path to God. They are not alone. Scores of disaffected Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Protestant Evangelicals, dismayed by the modernist drifts and shallow theologies of their respective faiths,…
You seem to regard attention as an excessive austerity, whereas in fact it is the root of all our inner spiritual life. This is why the enemy so particularly takes up arms against it, and uses every means to build up attractive images before the eyes of the soul, and suggests thoughts about special favors…
by Hieromonk German The greatest desire of every Christian should be to draw nearer to our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Many are the means provided for us to do so; among them are the sacraments, the Holy Gospel, and prayer. A special means of drawing closer to Christ is through devotion to His…
From an Orthodox perspective there is much in the world – particularly in our American society – to justify a sense of apocalyptic foreboding. There is the spectre of legalized abortion, the growing acceptance of homosexuality, the expanding commerce in fetal tissues, the chilling advances of computer control, genetic engineering, the imminence of “virtual reality”…
Man is, for the most part, an adaptable creature. It is a trait which generally works to advantage, especially in today’s mobile society. In spiritual life, however, this same adaptability has wrought great harm. We have become accustomed to behavior and morals which wouldn’t have been tolerated just decades ago. Sins become scarcely noticeable habits,…
Our Lord came that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Sadly, the contemporary Orthodox experience more often weighs in on the dull side. For too many of us spiritual life is simply another facet of a mundane existence: our daily prayers are a routine task, church attendance-a weekly obligation…
