One of the brethren was troubled and went to see the Elder. He begged him: ‘Elder, say a prayer for me to be rid of my sadness’. He put his hands on the man’s head and prayed as he usually did. Then he said to him:

‘Listen, son. In the past few days, when I was praying, God revealed to me the “bridal chamber” of my soul. As we say in the tropario in Great Week “I see your bridal chamber adorned, my Savior. And I have no garment in which to enter…’ And then He revealed to me the garment of my soul’.

While he was recounting this, his face was full of grace.

‘Son, entreat God to show you the “bridal chamber” of your soul, as well’. On another occasion, he revealed that Christ had appeared to him and had shown him the imprints of the nails. Saint Efraim approached with great reverence and venerated them.

The Elder would often tell of his experiences of Grace in order to give succor and consolation to the brethren.

Source: pemptousia.com

 


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Pemptousia Partnership

Pemptousia and OCN have entered a strategic partnership to bring Orthodoxy Worldwide. Greek philosophers from Ionia considered held that there were four elements or essences (ousies) in nature: earth, water, fire and air. Aristotle added ether to this foursome, which would make it the fifth (pempto) essence, pemptousia, or quintessence. The incarnation of God the Word found fertile ground in man’s proclivity to beauty, to goodness, to truth and to the eternal. Orthodoxy has not functioned as some religion or sect. It was not the movement of the human spirit towards God but the revelation of the true God, Jesus Christ, to man. A basic precept of Orthodoxy is that of the person ­– the personhood of God and of man. Orthodoxy is not a religious philosophy or way of thinking but revelation and life standing on the foundations of divine experience; it is the transcendence of the created and the intimacy of the Uncreated. Orthodox theology is drawn to genuine beauty; it is the theology of the One “fairer than the sons of men”. So in "Pemptousia", we just want to declare this "fifth essence", the divine beaut in our life. Please note, not all Pemptousia articles have bylines. If the author is known, he or she is listed in the article above.

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