Saint Paisios the Athonite ‘Elder, sometimes temptations come one on top of the other and I can’t resist’. ‘The only way to avoid temptations is to make a pact with the devil. Why are you laughing? You don’t like that solution? Let me explain. When we strive, we’re going Read more…
Hieromonk Chrysostomos Koutloumousianos ‘Right’ and ‘Left’ don’t only have to do with political alignments. The terms were also used to define two categories of temptation in the spiritual life. Indeed, because it’s less perceptible, the temptation ‘from the right’ was considered the more dangerous. When does a temptation come Read more…
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis ‘Humility is an anonymous grace of the soul, which can be named only by those who know it from experience. It’s inexpressible riches, it’s an appellation of God, a gift of God’ (Saint John the Sinaite, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, discourse 25, 3). We need to Read more…
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis The path of wickedness is easy; the path of goodness is difficult. ‘As easy as it is for the upright to change and fall away, it’s just as difficult for the others, the wicked, to alter’ (Saint John the Sinaite, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, discourse 24, Read more…
Elder Iosif Vatopaidinos In the name of prayer, the Fathers defined the notion of introversion and particularly that of ‘private’ conversation with God. This is where people throw themselves on God’s mercy and goodness and with tenacious confession, supplication, pleading and thanksgiving reveal their pain and desire to Christ Read more…
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis How often do we do something considered spiritual- prayer, church attendance, fasting, some alms-giving- and think we’ve become ‘Saint Anthony’. Because we compare ourselves… to ourselves. We ourselves are the criterion. It’s like somebody going on a run and thinking they’re running quickly. Then a proper Read more…
Fr. Andreas Agathokleous The ‘forgive me’ which comes from a heart in pain over a mistake breaks down the hard wall of remoteness, of animosity, and unites that which was divided. This is why it’s neither easy nor painless. Because the easy and painless ‘forgive me’, expressed as a Read more…
Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘When our conscience tells us to do something and we ignore it, and when it then tells us to do something else and we don’t do it, we steadily and relentlessly stamp upon it; we bury it and it can’t shout aloud within us any more, Read more…
Elder Iosif Vatopaidinos Every human character is considered to be ailing if divine grace is absent from it, because this grace perfects and maintains everything, since ‘it cures sicknesses and supplies what is missing’. The Lord stresses this when he says: ‘without me, you can do nothing’ (Jn. 15, Read more…
Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis ‘Whoever falls is pitiable. But more wretched is someone who entices another into falling because that person then bears the burden of both, as well as the burden of pleasure tasted by the other’ (Saint John of Sinai, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, discourse 15). The saint Read more…