Orthodox Wisdom

This is bitter medicine that heals deep, often unseen, wounds. St. Dorotheos of Gaza (+565), disciple of Sts. Barsanuphius and John, plainly teaches us the necessity to cease from judging our neighbor, for we may only know the actions, but not the inner heart. He uses many examples, including the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, by saying, “Because of this he was not condemned, as I...

How did catechumens live in the ancient Church? How do they live today? Metropolitan Augoustinos (Kantiotis) of Florina (+2010) gives us the answers and instructs us in how the faithful can better assist the catechumens in their preparation to enter the Body of Christ and how catechumens can recognize what the catechumenate truly is and why the ancient Church has much to teach them today.  We...

Spradznikom! Joyous Feast!   SIGN THE PETITION FOR CANONIZATION of Vladyka Philaret! We are asking the ROCOR Hierarchs to officially glorify Vladyka Philaret and confirm on earth what has been shown forth from heaven. Learn more and sign the petition here: https://www.saint-philaret.com/   “So, beloved brethren, as we have said above, the descent of the Holy Spirit is unbreakably linked...

Prayer for all of America, for peace, justice, and unity, with one end in mind: the salvation of our souls and eternal joy in the Holy Trinity. #Orthodox   This prayer can be used for any nation, not just the United States, just substitute the name of the country. Come Lord Jesus!   I encourage you all to join your prayer with action, whatever God directs you to do to help others who are...

It is fitting not only to read about God's saints but also to sing to them and lift our hearts to God. This beautiful akathist hymn to St. Cuthbert is chanted with this is mind. Let us seek to emulate God's chosen saints in chanting to Him and His holy ones.   For the Akathist text: http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/oe4...   To listen to the Audiobook of the life of St. Cuthbert: https:/...

The fourth of twenty-two sermons specifically on the subject of the Divine Liturgy, preached by New Martyr St. Seraphim (Zvezdinski). Learn more about yet another inspiring martyr under the Soviet antichrists here: https://orthochristian.com/7426.html   “At this time in Antioch, it happened that persecutors seized the priest Lucian together with his flock. He was condemned (and while in priso...

The account of St. Cuthbert's life by his contemporary, the Venerable Bede, translated in the 19th century by J. A. Giles, and adapted in 2019 by Timothy Honeycutt. St. Cuthbert is a man of universal importance and the most venerated saint of Lindisfarne and Northern England. Through his many miracles and faithful witness, he has inspired, and continues to inspire, countless people to live for Chr...

The account of St. Cuthbert's life by his contemporary, the Venerable Bede, translated in the 19th century by J. A. Giles, and adapted in 2019 by Timothy Honeycutt.   St. Cuthbert is a man of universal importance and the most venerated saint of Lindisfarne and Northern England. Through his many miracles and faithful witness, he has inspired, and continues to inspire, countless people to live...

The account of St. Cuthbert's life by his contemporary, the Venerable Bede, translated in the 19th century by J. A. Giles, and adapted in 2019 by Timothy Honeycutt.   St. Cuthbert is a man of universal importance and the most venerated saint of Lindisfarne and Northern England. Through his many miracles and faithful witness, he has inspired, and continues to inspire, countless people to live...

The account of St. Cuthbert's life by his contemporary, the Venerable Bede, translated in the 19th century by J. A. Giles, and adapted in 2019 by Timothy Honeycutt.   St. Cuthbert is a man of universal importance and the most venerated saint of Lindisfarne and Northern England. Through his many miracles and faithful witness, he has inspired, and continues to inspire, countless people to live...

A collection of some of the most clear and direct teachings of the Holy Fathers on Heaven, Hell, and Universalism: the belief that in the end all will be saved, even those in hell. Sometimes simply referred to "Apokotastisis," which in Greek means "restoration," is often referred to as the restoration of all things in Christ, in this world and in all of creation. Origen and his modern companions d...

The joyful service of Bright Week done solo in singing and chant for the Paschal joy and salvation of us all. There are many wonderful recordings of choirs singing this service, but I wanted to offer a simpler version of this service. Blessed Pascha to all! Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Христосъ воскресе!  Воистину воскресе! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!  Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!   Apart from the Pa...

Many today say that universalism (i.e. that all souls will be saved and enjoy heavenly bliss) has never been condemned by a Council, that some Saints taught this doctrine, and that therefore it is an acceptable view for Orthodox Christians to hold, even if it is a minority view. While some Saints appear to have held this view in some way, the vast majority of Saints rejected such ideas, and some e...

St. Symeon writes, "Brothers and fathers, already Pascha, that joyous day, that day of all gladness and delight, the day of Christ’s Resurrection, has arrived in the annual cycle. Rather, it occurs daily and eternally in those who know its mystery, and so has filled our hearts with ineffable joy and exultation. At the same time, it has brought to an end the toil of the all-venerable Fast; or, bett...

Eugene wrote this letter to Thomas Merton in 1962, the same year he was received into the Orthodox Church after an arduous and painful journey in search of the truth, which he ultimately realized is a person: the Lord Jesus Christ, whose Body is the Holy Orthodox Church. He had been previously inspired by Thomas Merton and his pursuit of the other world, and with pain of heart wrote a letter expre...

St. Nikodemos writes, “Reflect, my beloved, that we have a duty to rejoice with the Virgin Panagia, who upon seeing her Son and God risen, was filled immediately with such great joy which was as great as her grief experienced during His Passion.” Every true Christian heart is eager to rejoice in the Theotokos, and to share in the pure joy she has in her Son. Let us rejoice with her, now that we ha...

"Let us ask Him who is the Christ, who was immolated for us as our Paschal Lamb, to grant us to bring to worthy contemplation the solemnity of Paschal joy which we have entered upon, and through this to attain eternal joys." -Venerable Bede   This reading of St. Bede's homily at the Paschal (Easter) Vigil illumines the mind and brings joy to the heart. St. Bede lived in the 7th and 8th centur...

A first-hand account of Pascha celebrated by prisoners of the Solovki concentration-camp, a formerly active monastery. CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED, HE IS RISEN!   "The white night of Solovki was nearing its end. The delicate, rose-colored morning of Solovki, the sun playing for joy, greeted the monastery-concentration camp, converting it into the invisible city of Kitezh and filling out free soul...

“We have arrived, my beloved, at the saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, at Great Week. This week is called Great, because in its 168 hours from today until the night of the Resurrection, we give honor to great events, unique and world historic, which shocked the earth, the heavens, and that which is below the earth. This is why this week is called Great, and it is why it should not pass us b...

An excerpt from Lesson 7 on the Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Apostle & Evangelist John the Theologian by Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios. Elder Athanasios looks at two keys in the spiritual life and guards us against the common deceptions of our day.    You can read the full excerpt at Orthodox Ethos: https://orthodoxethos.com/post/the-in...   ____________________________ &nbs...

St. Maximos the Confessor answers the following question:   What is the meaning of: “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast in the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him”? And how are we to understand the words: “and does not doubt”?   An excerpt from his answer: “Since the human...

St. Justin Popovic writes, “Our Church's mission is to infuse these God-human virtues and ascetic exertions into the people's way of living; to have their life and soul knit firm with the Christ-like God-human virtues. For therein lies salvation from the world and from all those soul-destroying, death-dealing, and Godless organizations of the world. In response to the "erudite" atheism and refined...

Fr. Seraphim Rose writes, "Yet we must go to the Holy Fathers not merely to "learn about them"; if we do no more than this we are in no better state than the idle disputants of The dead academies of this perishing modern civilization, even when these academies are "Orthodox" and the learned theologians in them neatly define and explain all about "sanctity" and "spirituality" and "theosis," but hav...

Let us sit at the feet of the great Confessor as he teaches on patriotism and war: “Christian patriotism is, of course, alien to those extremes and errors into which "super-patriots" fall. A Christian patriot, while loving his nation, does not close his eyes to its inadequacies, but soberly looks at its properties and characteristics. He will never agree with those "patriots" who are inclined to e...

Consider Archbishop Averky’s words in the context of the previous two years, and even to this day. Does fear of sickness and avoidance of the holy things have any place in this “earthly heaven,” as St. John of Krondstadt calls the holy temple? Do face masks (as well as immodest attire) conform to the mind of Archbishop Averky when he says, “All those who come into church - this “earthly heaven,” -...