41. Give Thanks. Beware of Despair.

Saying of St. Syncletica of Alexandria, one of the Desert Mothers:

“She also said, ‘If illness weighs us down, let us not be sorrowful as though, because of illness and the prostration of our bodies we could not sing, for all these things are for our good, for the purification of our desires.  Truly fasting and sleeping on the ground are set before us because of our sensuality.  If illness then weakens this sensuality the reason for these practices is superfluous.  For this is the great asceticism: to control oneself in illness and to sing hymns of thanksgiving to God.'”

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, trans. by Benedicta Ward (Trappist, KY: Cistercian Publications, 1984), 232.

 

Note: The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (Thess. 5.16-18).  As Orthodox Christians we are indeed called to always give thanks to God through prayer in all situations, even in difficult situations.  We are not near-sighted, but see our present position in terms of our future destination.  With this attitude, St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8.18).

 

Selection from St. John Chrysostom (on giving thanks in all situations), “Homily X” on St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians:

“I know a certain holy man who prayeth thus. He used to say nothing before these words, but thus,

We give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits bestowed upon us the unworthy, from the first day until the present, for what we know, and what we know not, for the seen, for the unseen, for those in deed, those in word, those with our wills, those against our wills, for all that have been bestowed upon the unworthy, even us; for tribulations, for refreshments, for hell, for punishment, for the kingdom of heaven. We beseech Thee to keep our soul holy, having a pure conscience; an end worthy of thy lovingkindness. Thou that lovest us so as to give Thy Only-Begotten for us, grant us to become worthy of Thy love; give us wisdom in Thy word, and in Thy fear. Only-Begotten Christ, inspire the strength that is from Thee. Thou that gavest The Only-Begotten for us, and hast sent Thy Holy Spirit for the remission of our sins, if in aught we have wilfully or unwillingly transgressed, pardon, and impute it not. Remember all that call upon Thy Name in truth; remember all that wish us well, or the contrary, for we are all men.

Then having added the Prayer of the Faithful, he there ended; having made that prayer, as a certain crowning part, and a binding together for all. For many benefits doth God bestow upon us even against our wills; many also, yea more, without our knowledge even. For when we pray for one thing, and He doeth to us the reverse, it is plain that He doeth us good even when we know it not.”

* Note: The prayer of the faithful mentioned above is presumably the Lord’s Prayer.

St. John Chrysostom, Homily beginning with Colossians 3.18-25 (Homily X), Homilies on Galatians, Ephesians,Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon NPNF, Vol. 13.  Online here: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf113.txt

Selection from St. John Chrysostom (on giving thanks in the midst of suffering), “Third Sermon on Lazarus and the Rich Man”:

“Some people, if they stumble at all, or are slandered by anyone, or fall ill with a chronic disease, gout or headache or any such ailment, at once begin to blaspheme.  They submit to the pain of the disease, but deprive themselves of the benefit.  What are you doing, man, blaspheming your benefactor, savior, protector, and guardian?  Or do you not see that you are falling down a cliff and casting yourself into the pit of final destruction?  You do not make your suffering lighter, do you, if you blaspheme?  Indeed, you aggravate it, and make your distress more grievous.  For the devil brings a multitude of misfortunes for this purpose, to lead you down into that pit.  If he sees you blaspheming he will readily increase the suffering and make it greater, so that when you are pricked you may give up once again; but is he sees you enduring bravely, and giving thanks the more to God, the more the suffering grows worse, he raises the siege at once, knowing that it will be useless to besiege you any more.  A dog sitting by the table, if it sees the person who is eating continually throwing it scraps of food from the table, stays persistently; but if stopping at the table once or twice it goes away without getting anything, it stays away thereafter, thinking that the siege is useless.  In the same way the devil continually gapes at us; if you throw to him, as to a dog, some blasphemous word, he will take it and attack you again; but if you persevere in thanksgiving, you have choked him with hunger, you have chased him away and thrown him back from you.  But, you say, you cannot keep silent when you are pricked by distress.  I certainly do not forbid you to make a sound, but give thanks instead of blasphemy, worship instead of despair.  Confess to the Lord, cry out loudly in prayer, cry out loudly glorifying God.  In this way your suffering will be lightened, because the devil will pull back from your thanksgiving and God’s help will be at your side.  If you blaspheme, you have driven away God’s assistance, made the devil more vehement against you, and involved yourself even more in suffering; but if you give thanks, you have driven away the plots of the evil demon, and you have drown the care of God your protector to yourself.”

St. John Chrysostom, “Third Sermon on Lazarus and the Rich Man,” On Wealth and Poverty, trans. by Catharine P. Roth (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984), 69-70.

42. Perseverance with Patience

Note: St. Paul the Apostle wrote that “we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5.3-5, NKJV)

 

Selection from St. John Chrysostom (on learning patience through facing difficulty), “Homily XI” on St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans:

“And what he says is not ‘you should glory,’ but we glory, giving them encouragement in his own person. Next since what he had said had an appearance of being strange and paradoxical, if a person who is struggling in famine, and is in chains and torments, and insulted, and abused, ought to glory, he next goes on to confirm it. And (what is more), he says they are worthy of being gloried in, not only for the sake of those things to come, but for the things present in themselves. For tribulations are in their own selves a goodly thing. 

How so? It is because they anoint us unto patient abiding. Wherefore after saying we glory in tribulations, he has added the reason, in these words, ‘Knowing that tribulation worketh patience.’ Notice again the argumentative spirit of Paul, how he gives their argument an opposite turn. For since it was tribulations above all that made them give up the hopes of things to come, and which cast them into despondency, he says that these are the very reasons for confidingness, and for not desponding about the things to come, for ‘tribulation,’ he says, ‘worketh patience.’”

St. John Chrysostom, Homily beginning with Romans 4.23 (Homily XI), Homilies on the Epistle to the Romans, NPNF, First Series, Vol. 11.

 

43. The Orthodox Temple

Find the notes for this lesson on the Orthodox Worship Notes page.

44. Holy Icons

God forbids the Israelites from making certain kinds of images:

“You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth” (Exodus 20.4-5, LXX, SAAS).

 

God commands the Israelites to make certain heavenly images:

“Then you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.  Make one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat.  And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat” (Exodus 25.18-20, LXX, SAAS).

See also these passages:  Exodus 26.1, Numbers 21.4-9, 1 Kings 6.18, 25-28

 

Selections from St. John Damascene, “Three Treatises on the Divine Images”:

“To speak theologically, however, we, to whom it has been granted, fleeing superstitious error, to come to be purely with God, and having recognized the truth, to worship God alone and be greatly enriched with the perfection of the knowledge of God, and who, passing beyond childhood to reach maturity, and no longer under a custodian, have received the habit of discrimination from God and know what can be depicted and what cannot be delineated in an image.  ‘For,’ it says, ‘you have not seen his form.’  What wisdom the legislator has!  How could the invisible be depicted?  How could the unimaginable be portrayed?  How could one without measure or size or limit be drawn?  How could the formless be made?  How could the bodiless be depicted in color?  What therefore is this that is revealed in riddles?  For it is clear that when you see the bodiless become human for your sake, then you may accomplish the figure of a human form; when the invisible becomes visible in the flesh, then you may depict the likeness of something seen; when one who, by transcending his own nature, is bodiless, formless, incommensurable, without magnitude or size, that is, one who is in the form of God, taking the form of a slave, by this reduction to quantity and magnitude puts on characteristics of a body, then depict him on a board and set up to view the One who has accepted to be seen” (Treatise 1.8, p. 24). 

“For neither by us are the icons and types of holy figures venerated as gods.  For if we venerated as God the wood of the icon, then we would certainly be ready to venerated any other wood, and not, as often happens, burn in the fire the icon of a figure that has worn away.  And again, so long as the pieces of wood are bound together in the form of a cross, I venerate the form because of Christ who was crucified on it; but if they are separated from each other, then I throw them away and burn them.  just as one who receives the sealed command of the emperor and kisses the seal does not honor the wax, or the papyrus, or the lead, but assigns the reverence and veneration to the emperor, so also the children of Christians, when they venerate the form of the cross, do not venerate the nature of the wood but, seeing the seal and ring and figure of Christ himself, through him embrace and venerate the one who was crucified on it” (Treatise 3.86, p. 132).

St. John of Damascus, Three Treatises on the Divine Images, trans. by Andrew Louth, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003), 24-132.

 

Synodikon of the Sunday of Orthodoxy:

“As the prophets beheld, as the Apostles have taught, as the Church has received, as the Teachers have dogmatised, as the Universe has agreed, as Grace has shown forth, as Truth has revealed, as falsehood has been dissolved, as Wisdom has presented, as Christ awarded, thus we declare; thus we assert, thus we preach Christ our true God, and honour His Saints in words, in writings, in thoughts, in sacrifices, in Churches, in Holy Icons; on the one hand worshiping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord; and on the other hand honouring as true servants of the same Lord of all and accordingly offering them veneration.

This is the Faith of the Apostles, this is the Faith of the Fathers, this is the Faith of the Orthodox, this is the Faith which has established the Universe!”

“Synodikon of the Sunday of Orthodoxy (1^st Sunday of Great Lent),” Lives of the Saints, Great Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/lives.htm

 

Selections by St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ:

“You gaze upon the icon of the Saviour and see that He looks at you from it with brightest eyes; this look is the image of how He actually looks upon you with His eyes, that are brighter than the sun, and sees all your thoughts, hears all your heartfelt distress and sighs. The image is an image, and represents in lines and signs that which cannot be delineated, cannot be given in signs, and can be comprehended by faith alone. Believe, then, that the Saviour always protects you and sees each one of you–with all your thoughts, sorrows and sighing, in all your circumstances, as upon the palm of the hand. ‘Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me,’ says the Lord God. How much consolation and life are contained in these gracious words of the Almighty and Provident God! Therefore pray before the icon of the Saviour as before Himself. The Lover of men is present in it by His grace, and with the eyes depicted in it really looks at you: ‘The eyes of the Lord are in every place,’ while with His ears as represented on the icon, He hears you. But remember that His eyes are the eyes of God, and His ears are the ears of the omnipresent God.”

“When you look upon the icon of the Mother of God, with Her Eternal Infant, marvel how most truly the Godhead was united with human nature, glorify the goodness and omnipotence of God, and, recognising your own dignity as man, live worthily of the high calling to which you are called in Christ —that is, the calling of a child of God and an heir to eternal bliss.”

“When I gaze in meditation and with faith upon the holy icons in church, and upon all its appurtenances, then I am lost in wonderful contemplation; the whole temple appears to me to be sacred history in action, a wonderful scripture of the works of God, accomplished in the human race. Here I see the history in action of our fall and of our restoration by God’s wonderful ordering, and our elevation by the Lord’s incarnation, our being made godly, and our exaltation into heaven; here I picture to myself the archangel Gabriel announcing the Birth of the Son of God of the Virgin; here I see the Birth itself of the Child God, the Virgin Mother, the manger at Bethlehem; here is the Circumcision; there is the Baptism; further is the meeting of the Child God in the temple by Simeon; there is the Transfiguration of our Lord, and the effusion of light on Mount Thabor; there the Entrance into Jerusalem of the righteous Saviour, meek King; the Lord’s Supper, and the institution of the all-saving Sacrament of the Holy Communion; there are the all-saving sufferings of the Lord of glory; I see as though it were Golgotha itself, and the Lord crucified for the sins of the world; I see the descent into hell of the Conqueror of hell, and the deliverance of the captives of hell, His Resurrection, Ascension into heaven, all for the sake of mankind, and for my sake. In the church I am lost in Divine contemplation, and thank the Lord for having so greatly loved me, for having so greatly honoured and blessed me. But when I look within myself—in my own heart, my God, what do I see! I see an abyss of voluntary and involuntary sins, an abyss of infirmities, temptations, afflictions, oppressions, fears, snares of the enemy, impenetrable darkness, thousands of falls, thousands of destructions and deaths. Sometimes I see within myself the very hell itself.”

“I gaze upon the icons in the temple—upon Thy holy icon, my Lord, upon that of Thy Most Pure Mother, those of the holy Angels and Archangels, and upon the faces of the saints, adorned, resplendent with gold and silver—and think to myself how Thou hast honoured and adorned our nature, Creator and Provider of all! Thy saints shine with Thy light, they are sanctified by Thy grace, having conquered sin and washed away the sinful impurities of body and spirit ; they are glorious with Thy glory, they are incorruptible through Thine incorruptibility. Glory to Thee for having so honoured, enlightened, and raised our nature! Here are Thine Apostles and Hierarchs, living images of Thee, the Highest, Who passed through the heavens, Envoy of the Father, Hierarch and Chief of Shepherds; Thy goodness, Thy wisdom, Thy might, spiritual beauty, power, and holiness shine in them. Here are Thy martyrs, who by Thy strength overcame terrible temptations and endured fearful tortures; they have washed the garments of their souls white in Thy blood. Here are Thy venerable ones, who by fasting, vigilance, and prayer obtained Thy wonderful gifts, the gifts of healing, of discernment; Thy might strengthened them to stand above sin and all the snares of the Devil; Thy likeness shines forth in them like the sun.”

“Imagery or symbols are a necessity of human nature in our present spiritually sensual condition; they explain by the vision many things belonging to the spiritual world which we could not know without images and symbols. It was for this reason that the Divine Teacher, the Personal Wisdom Who created all things, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, often taught men by means of images or parables; it is for this reason also that in our Orthodox temples it is the custom to represent many things to the gaze of the Christian by imagery: for instance, to represent the Lord Himself, the Most Pure Mother of God, the Angels and saints, on icons, in order that we may conform our lives, all our thoughts, words, and deeds, to the image of the thoughts, words, and deeds of the Lord and His saints; hence also the frequent making of the sign of the cross, the use of incense, the burning of candles and lamps, the processions in and out of the altar; hence the genuflections, the bowing of the head and the falling down upon the race (for we have fallen deeply through sin). All these remind us of various spiritual things and conditions. Imagery greatly influences the human soul, its creative or active capacity. Thus it is said that if during the time preceding the birth of her child a mother often looks upon the face or portrait of her beloved husband, then the child is born very like his father, or if she often looks upon the portrait of a beautiful child she gives birth to a beautiful infant; thus, if a Christian often gazes with love and reverence upon the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, or of His Most Pure Mother and His saints, his soul will receive the spiritual features of the face lovingly looked upon (meekness, humility, mercy, and abstinence). O, if we oftener contemplated the images, and especially the life of the Lord and of His saints, how we should change, and rise from strength to strength! Thus, the fragrance of incense in church or in our houses reminds us by analogy of the fragrance of virtue, and by contrast of the evil odour of sins, and teaches those who are attentive to inward feelings to avoid the stench of the passions, of intemperance, fornication, malice, envy, pride, despair and other passions, and to adorn themselves with every Christian virtue; the incense reminds us of the Apostle’s words: ‘For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life.’ In a like manner the candles or lamps burning in church remind us of the spiritual light and fire; for instance, of the Lord’s words: ‘I am come a Light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness;’ or ‘I am come to send tire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?’ or ‘Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately;’ or ‘Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Which is in heaven.’  And the objects themselves by their very nature teach us concerning the spiritual objects and things corresponding to light and fire; for instance, that our hearts should always be burning with love for God and our neighbour, that we should not let the passions or the fire of Gehenna be kindled within us, and that by the example of a virtuous life we should light others, as a candle lights us in our worldly doings.

It is natural for us to have images of Christ, of His Most Pure Mother, of the Angels and saints. Firstly, because it is a requirement of our nature: we always wish to have before us an image of the Beloved, an image of our Benefactor, in order that in gazing upon it we may oftener remember Him and His benefactions (worship Him), the same as we do with living persons, especially with those whom we love and respect. Secondly, we are created after the image and likeness of God, therefore it is natural for us to wish to have always before our eyes our own Prototype, our First Origin, the Lord God, in those images, in which He was pleased to manifest Himself to men, in order that we should oftener remember Him, His constant presence with us, His providence; in order to express our reverence, gratitude, and love to Him in visible signs or ceremonies; for we are corporal, and on account of our corporality we need material representations, material ceremonies. It was certainly because of this that the Lord Himself appeared to His saints—for instance, to Abraham, in the form of three strangers, under the tree upon the plains of Mamre; to Isaiah in the form of a great King, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; to the prophet Daniel in the form of the Ancient of Days and in the form of the Son of Man, brought near before Him. Had not the visible image of the invisible God been necessary, He certainly would not have appeared in a visible manner; would not have appeared upon earth in our flesh; would not have taken the form of a servant. And David says: ‘Seek His face evermore.’ For this reason also we make, keep in our houses, and venerate, pictures of the Most Pure Mother of God, of the Angels and saints, because they are living images and likenesses of God, and, looking upon them, we remember more vividly their great deeds, virtues, their benefactions to us, their ardent love to God, and we ourselves thus become inspired to imitate them in their constant vigilance over themselves, in cleansing ourselves from every impurity of body and spirit, and we glorify their exploits, thus making them our intercessors and protectors before God, for God deigns to accept the intercession of His friends and faithful servants on behalf of those for whom they intercede before Him. As we are not bodiless spirits, but beings, covered with flesh, having material contours and a material image, it is natural that we should seek images of invisible beings; and it was indeed in condescension to our infirmity that the Lord gave the Angels power to take our form upon themselves and appear to us (when He pleases) in our image, as, for instance, when the Archangel appeared to Joshua, the son of Nun, to David, to Manoah and Hannah, to Zacharias, to the Most Pure Virgin Mary, and to other saints of the Old and New Testaments. Do we not ourselves prove in our daily life the requirement of our nature, its longing to have representations of the persons whom we love, when we express the desire to have their portraits and have our own portraits done, hang them up on the walls, or place them in albums, in order to look at them often, and to enjoy contemplating the respected and beloved faces?”

“The holy Angels and God’s saints are our best, kindest, and truest brothers and friends, so often helping us in various circumstances in which no human beings can help us. As these brothers, who eternally live and load us with benefits, are invisible, whilst we, on account of our corporality, wish to have them before our eyes and as though always present with us, therefore we have images of them; and, looking upon these images, we represent to ourselves that they are with us, and we call upon them in our prayers, knowing that they have great boldness before God and help us in various circumstances. Thus the veneration of icons is most beneficial for us, corresponding with our nature and with common-sense, as well as with the Holy Scriptures themselves, for there were images of the Cherubim in Moses’ tabernacle of the Old Testament. Icons serve as a constant reminder to us that the Lord is always with us (‘I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’); that the Most Holy Mother of God is always near us as the ‘First-Origin of the spiritual renovation’ of the Church, as the Mother by grace of all true Christians. And therefore all true Christians have in their houses the image of the Mother of God, their Queen and Mother by grace, and abundantly, worthily, and rightly adorn it with silver, gold, and precious stones; for, after God, there is no one dearer and more reverenced by them than His Most Pure Mother. Both the Lord Himself and His Most Pure Mother continually prove to us by means of miracles, both inwardly and outwardly, that our true veneration of His saints, and of His Mother, and of His holy icons, is pleasing to Him and profitable to us in the highest degree.”

 

St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ or Moments of Spiritual Serenity and Contemplation,of Reverent Feeling, of Earnest Self-Amendment, and of Peace in God: Extracts from the Diary of St. John of Kronstadt (Archpriest John Iliytch Sergieff, trans. by E. E. Goulaeff, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kronstadt/christlife.html, 9, 254-255, 282, 340, 341-344.

 

Selection from Priest. Symeon Kees, “The Theme of Healing in the Music and Iconography of the Orthodox Church”:

“All the icons of Christ, including those that portray His Nativity, miraculous healings, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension, proclaim Christ as the Great Physician who came to heal humanity from death.  The icons of the Theotokos and the Saints also constitute painted proclamations about the healing of humanity.  They reveal what human beings look like when they have been healed and made beautiful by the grace of God.  The icons inspire us to repent and, through the synergistic relationship involving our free will and God’s grace, be healed so that we may reflect the divine glory and shine with the radiance of transfigured humanity.   In the icons we see what we can become by the grace of God.”

Priest Symeon Kees, “The Theme of Healing in the Music and Iconography of the Orthodox Church,” 2007.

 

45. In This Together: Body and Soul

(with emphasis on (1) the Prayer of St. Ephraim, (2) transforming physical illness and difficulty into spiritual therapy, and (3) the practice of medicine in the life of the Church)

 

The Unity of Soul and Body

Selection from Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, Orthodox Psychotherapy: The Science of the Fathers:

 “The soul activates and directs the whole body and all the members of the body.”

“The conclusion with reference to the body is the soul is in the whole body, there is not sector of a man’s body in which the soul is not present, that the heart is the first intelligent seat of the soul, that the centre of the soul is there, not as in a vessel but as in an organ which guides the whole body and that the soul, while distinct from the body, is nevertheless most intimately linked with it.”

 Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, Orthodox Psychotherapy: The Science of the Fathers, trans. by Esther Williams (Levadia, GRE: Birth of the Theotokos Monastery, 1993), 111.

 

Selection from Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, The Illness and Cure of the Soul in the Orthodox Tradition:

“The soul is very closely connected with the body.  The Fathers say that it happens with the soul what happens with an iron in a brazier; it becomes fire though remaining iron by nature.  The soul is everywhere in man’s body. The fact that the soul gives life to the body joined to it, proves that man was made in God’s image to a greater degree than were the angels.  This is why, in the Orthodox Church, we say that the illness of the soul affects also the body, just as the illness of the body sometimes affects the soul.  Due to this inner bond, it happens that, although the soul wants to attain communion with God, the body, on account of the passions, refuses to follow to follow the course of the soul, and thus, a physical fatigue occurs.  Then we realize that, although the soul feels rather healthy, the body feels ill and weak.  What the Lord said, holds: ‘the spirit is willing, but the flesh is week’ (Mat. 26, 41).  For this reason, the Orthodox tradition establishes that the course of the soul is to be parallel with that of the body.  Hesychasm also cures the body in various ways and methods in order to reach communion with God.  And when man receives the grace of God, then the body also undergoes change.  We see this in the Transfiguration of Christ, when His shone as the sun….  Man consists of soul and body, he is a psychobiological being.  Therefore, the body will be deified, also, and it will be resurrected at the Second Coming and will pass into eternity.”

Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, The Illness and Cure of the Soul in the Orthodox Tradition, trans. by Effie Mavromichali (Levadia, GRE: Birth of the Theotokos Monastery, 1993), 59-60.

 

The Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian

Repeat the prayer a second time with only one prostration at the end.

 

Transforming Physical and Psychological Pain and Suffering into Spiritual Therapy

Note: We purposefully involve our bodies in our prayer, repentance, and worship within the Church. Sometimes, however, our bodies are involved involuntarily, such as when the body is humbled through the weakness pain and suffering caused by illness.

 

Selection from St. Maximos the Confessor, “The Four Hundred Chapters on Love”:

“A person definitely wants to be healed if he does not put up any resistance to the healing remedies:  These are the pains and hurts brought on by many different circumstances.  The one who resists does not know what is being worked out here nor what advantage he would draw from tit when he leave this world.”

St. Maximus the Confessor, “The Four Hundred Chapters on Love,”cent. 3 ch. 82, Selected Writings, trans. by George Berthold, The Classics of Western Spirituality (Mahwah, NY: Paulist Press, 1985), 72.

  

Saying of St. Syncletica of Alexandria, one of the Desert Mothers:

“She also said, ‘If illness weighs us down, let us not be sorrowful as though, because of illness and the prostration of our bodies we could not sing, for all these things are for our good, for the purification of our desires.  Truly fasting and sleeping on the ground are set before us because of our sensuality.  If illness then weakens this sensuality the reason for these practices is superfluous.  For this is the great asceticism: to control oneself in illness and to sing hymns of thanksgiving to God.'”

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, trans. by Benedicta Ward (Trappist, KY: Cistercian Publications, 1984), 232.

St. Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule, regarding “The healthy and the sick”:

“The sick should consider how healthy the heart becomes from bodily suffering, which recalls the mind to the knowledge of itself and renews the memory of illness that the healthy person typically disregards.  Thus the spirit, which is lead out of itself by pride, recalls through the suffering of the flesh the condition to which it is subject.”

St. Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule, trans. by George E. Demacopoulos, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007), 114-115, 116-118.

 

Selection from St. Innocent of Alaska, Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven:

“Finally let us say why we cannot possibly avoid the narrow way into the Kingdom of Heaven.  a) Because in every man there is sin, and sin is a wound that does not heal by itself, without medicines; and in the case of some people this wound is so deep and dangerous that it can be healed only by cauterization and amputation.  That is why no one can be cleansed of his sins without spiritual sufferings.  b) Sin is the most horrible impurity and abomination in the eyes of God; but nothing abominable, vile, and unclean can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Wherever you put a person suffering from an internal disease or oppressed with cruel sorrow, he will suffer, even if he is put in the most magnificent palace; that is because his disease and sorrow are always and everywhere with him and in him.  It is the same in the case of a sinner who is impenitent and not cleansed of sins — wherever you put him, he will suffer even in Paradise itself, because the cause of his suffering (i.e., sin) is in his heart.  To a sinner everywhere will be hell.  On the other hand, whoever feels real, heartfelt joy will rejoice both in a palace and in a hut, and even in prison, because his joy is in his heart.  So too for a righteous man whose heart is filled with consolations of the Holy Spirit, wherever he may be, everywhere will be Paradise because the Kingdom of Heaven is within us (Luke 17:21).  However much you cut off the branches of a living tree, it will not die, but will against produce new branches and in order to destroy it completely you must tear it out of the ground by its roots.  In exactly the same way, you cannot destroy sin from the human heart by lopping off or giving up a few vices or habits; and therefore whoever wishes to destroy sin from the heart must tear out the actual root of sin.  But the root of sin is deeply embedded in the human heart and firmly attached to it, and therefore it is quite impossible to eradicate it without pain.  And unless the Lord had sent us the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, no one could have destroyed the root of sin, and all efforts and attempts to do so would have proved absolutely futile.”

This selection is from Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven by St. Innocent of Alaska (Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Monastery, 2006), 29-30.  This text was originally written in the Aleut language.

 

Selection from Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, “On Healing”:

“Again and again we hear in the Gospel the story of men or women who were healed of their illnesses, and it seems so simple in the Gospel: there is a need, and God meets it. Why is it then — we ask ourselves — that it does not happen to each of us? Each of us is in need of physical healing and of the healing of our soul. And yet, only a few are healed — why? What we miss in the reading of the Gospel is that Christ did not heal people indiscriminately. One person in a crowd was healed; many who were also sick in body or soul, were not. That comes from the fact that, in order to receive the grace of God, so that it acts in us unto the healing of soul or body, or both, we must be open to God — not to the healing, but to God.

Illness is something which we so often wish to banish from our experience, not only because it hampers our life, not only because it is accompanied by pain, but also — I suspect even more — because it reminds us of our frailty, it speaks to us of our mortality. Our body at this moment says to us: You have no power to restore me to health, you can do nothing, I may die on you, I may decay and it will be the end of your earthly life. Isn’t that the main reason why we fight for health, we pray for health? And yet, if that is the way in which we ask God to heal us, to restore us to wholeness, we are only asking to be allowed to forget that we are mortal. Instead of being reminded, indeed quickened by this thought, [realizing] that days pass, that time grows short, and that we must — if we want to attain the full stature to which we are called on earth — we must make haste to shake off all that within us is the power of death. Illness and death are not only conditioned by exterior reasons; there are within us resentments, bitterness, hatred, greed — so many other things which kill the quickness of the spirit and prevent us from living now, already now, in eternal life — that eternal life which is just ‘Life’ in the true sense of the word, life in its fullness.

What can we do then? We must ask ourselves attentive questions, and when we come to God asking Him to heal us, we must first prepare ourselves to be healed. To be healed means not just to be made whole with a view to going back to the kind of life which we had before, it means being made whole in order to start a new life, as though we had become aware that we had died in the healing act of God, aware that all that was the old man in us, this body of corruption of which St. Paul speaks, must go in order for the new man to live. We must be prepared to become that new man through the death of the past in order to start anew like Lazarus who was called out of the grave, not to go back simply to what had been his life before, but having experienced something which is beyond utterance, to re-enter life on new terms. And for us, these terms are Christ, as Paul puts it, ‘For me to live — is Christ’.”

This homily was preach on 7/23/1990.  The text may be found on the Metropolitan Anthony Library website.: http://www.metropolit-anthony.orc.ru/eng/eng_228.htm 

 

Selections for Archimandrite Zacharias, The Enlargement of the Heart:

“Several people have asked me to explain in a little more detail the transformation of psychological states into spiritual states.  Let us say that I live in a monastery and one of the brothers, Fr. John who is from Cyprus and who is a man of the heart, who has simplicity but wisdom as well, let us say that he said a hard word to me, and I received the ‘kick’ of his word like a sword in my heart.  This is hypothetical, such a thing has never happened between the two of us.  But let us assume that he said this heard word that offended me, and I felt it like a sharp knife in my heart.  I cannot avoid this pain; the pain is real.  There are two ways of reacting.  The psychological way would be to say the following: ‘Fr. John, I have done so much for you.  I have prayed so much for you.  I have received you with so much love into our community, and I have always cared for you.  How ungrateful!  You are not a good man.’  This is bitter reaction, but that is how we react in the world.  This kind of reaction destroys me.  The best way is to realize that although the pain is real and I can do nothing about it, I can change the thought immediately and converse with God.  I can lift my mind up to God and say, ‘Lord, you have seen me in the sleep of despondency, in the sleep of death and negligence, and you have sent your angel to wake me up.  Have mercy upon him and upon me, and forgive me all my sins.’  Like that, I begin to pray for the forgiveness of my sins, and after praying for a while in such a manner the pain in the heart turns into such great comfort that by the end of the prayer I feel so refreshed that I even forget how the prayer began.”

“Pain is a way of showing concretely that we have love.  As Christ showed His love by suffering for us, so we also, when we endure pain, show our gratitude to Him, and put ourselves on the Way of the Lord.  Pain has the following beneficial aspect: for example, if now I break my finger, my whole mind is there, because it is painful, my finger burns with pain.  I broke the bone or my finger and my mind is concentrated there.  If my heart is broken with pain, my mind will go there naturally; and that state is very beneficial.  Weeping, fasting, vigilance, accepting offence, all these things have on purpose: to unravel the ‘deep heart,’ to help the mind find the “deep heart.”  That is why humility finds the heart, while pride buries it.  Someone who is proud cannot feel his heart, he has no heart.  Vainglory covers the heart completely.  So we have to go through the pain of humiliation in order to find the heart, because the heart is not only the physical centre of the human being, or the psychological one, but also the spiritual centre of personhood.  The whole Bible speak about the heart as the place where the choice is taken for God, as the place where man meets God and where God speaks to him.  What is precious in the eyes of God, says Peter, is the ‘hidden man of the heart’ (1 Pet. 3:4).  Pain helps us to find the deep man of the heart.”

Archimandrite Zacharias, The Enlargement of the Heart (South Canaan, PA: Mount Thabor Publishing, 2006), 149-152.  (Fr. Zacharias was the spiritual son of Elder Sophrony, the spiritual son of St. Silouan the Athonite.)

 

Selection from Elder Porphyrios, Wounded by Love:

“Nowadays people often feel sadness, despair, lethargy, laziness, apathy, and all things satanic.  They are downcast, discontent and melancholy.  They disregard their families, spend vast sums on psychoanalysts and take anti-depressants.  People explain this as ‘insecurity.’  Our religion believes that these states derive from satanic temptation.  

Pain is a psychological power which God implanted in us with a view to doing us good and leading us to love, joy, and prayer.  Instead of this, the devil succeeds in taking this power from the battery of our soul and using it for evil.  He transforms it into depression and brings the soul into a state of lethargy and apathy.  He torments us, takes us captive and makes us psychologically ill.

There is a secret.  Turn the satanic energy into good energy.  This is difficult and requires some preparation.  The requisite preparation is humility.  With humility you attract the grace of God.  You surrender yourself to the love of God, to worship and to prayer.  But even if you do all in the world, you achieve nothing if you haven’t acquired humility.  All the evil feelings, insecurity, despair and disenchantment, which come to take control of the soul, disappear with humility.  The person who lacks humility, the egotist, doesn’t want you to get in the way of his desires, to make any criticism of him or tell him what to do.  He gets upset, irritated and reacts violently and is overcome by depression.

This state is cured by grace.  The soul must turn to God’s love.  The cure will come when we start to love God passionately.  Many of our saints transformed depression into joy with their love for Christ.  That is, they took this power of the soul which the devil wished to crush and gave it to God and they transformed it into joy and exultation.  Prayer and worship gradually transform depression and turn it into joy, because the grace of God takes effect.  Here you need to have the strength to attract the grace of God which will help you to be united with Him.  Art is required.  When you give yourself to God and become one with him, you will forget the evil spirit which drags at you from behind, and this spirit, when it is disdained, will leave.  And the more you devote yourself to the Spirit of God, the less you will look behind to see the spirit that is dragging at you.  When grace attracts you, you will be united with God.  And when you unite yourself to God and abandon yourself to Him, everything else disappears and is forgotten and you are saved.  The great art, the great secret, in order to rid yourself of depression and all that is negative is to give yourself over to the love of God.

Something which can help a person who is depressed is work, interest in life.  The garden, plants, flowers, trees, the countryside, a walk in the open air — all these things tear a person away from a state of inactivity and awake other interests.  They act like medicines.  To occupy oneself with the arts, with music and so on, is very beneficial.  The thing that I place top of the list, however, is interest in the Church, in reading Holy Scripture and attending services.  As you study the words of God you are cured without being aware of it.

Let me tell you about a girl who came to me.  She was suffering from dreadful depression.  Drugs had no effect.  She had given up everything — her work, her home, her interests.  I told her about the love of Christ which takes the soul captive because the grace of God fills the soul and changes it.  I explained to her that the force which takes over the soul and transforms the power of the soul into depression is demonic.  It throws the soul to the ground, torments it and renders it useless.  I advised her to devote herself to things like music which she had formerly enjoyed.  I emphasized, however, most of all her need to turn to Christ with love.  I told her, moreover, that in our Church a cure is to be found through love for God and prayer, provided this is done with all the heart.”

A selection from Wounded by Love: The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios, trans. by John Raffan (Limni, Evia, Greece: Denise Harvey, 2005), 178-179.

 

Selection from Elder Sophrony, We Shall See Him As He Is:

“Painful is the way that leads to the acquisition of holy love – which may be why so many renounce Christianity, preferring other roads to the cross of this love.  But there is no other truth, just as there is no other God [cf. John 14:6].”

Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), We Shall See Him as He Is, trans by Rosemary Edmonds (Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2006), 147. 

 

Selections from St. Gregory the Great: The Book of Pastoral Rule, on spiritually guiding the physically healthy and the sick:

 “The healthy and sick should be advised differently.  The healthy should be advised that they exercise the health of the body for the benefit of the health of the soul.  Otherwise, if they divert the grace of received health to the use of iniquity, they will become all the worse for their gift and later endure an even greater punishment because they did not fear to use the generous gift of God for evil….  Thus, when health that has been granted for doing good works is despised, only after … it has been lost will one recognize how generous it was.”

“On the other hand, the sick should be advised that they realize that they are the sons of God, whenever the punishment of discipline amends them.  For unless it was his plan to give them an inheritance after correction, he would not concern himself to educate them through affliction.”

“The sick should be advised to consider how beneficial bodily affliction can be, because it both cleanses sins already committed and prevents others from being accomplished.  Moreover, by external lashes, bodily affliction inflicts the wounded mind with the wounds of penance.”

“The sick should be advised that to preserve the virtue of patience it is necessary that they continuously consider the great evils that our Redeemer suffered from those whom he created: that he endured so many horrible insults; that while he was daily rescuing souls from the captivity of the ancient enemy, he was beaten by the mend who insulted him; that while washing us with the water of salvation, he did not hide his face from the spitting of evil men; that while he freed us from eternal punishments by his counsels, he tolerated great punishment; that while he gave everlasting honors among the choir of angels, he endured blows; that while he saved us from the piercing of our sins, he submitted his head to the crown of thorns, that while he filled us with eternal sweetness, he accepted the bitter gall; that while, for our account, he adored the Father, though he was equal with him in divinity, he remained silent when adorned mockingly, and so that he might prepare life for the dead, he gave his life unto death.  Why, then, is it so difficult to believe that humans should endure suffering from God for the evil that they do if God endured so great an evil in response to his goodness?  And who with healthy reasoning can be ungrateful for his suffering if God himself did not go without punishments, even though he was without sin?”

St. Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule, trans. by George E. Demacopoulos, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007), 114-115, 116-118.

 

The Practice of Medicine Within the Life of the Church

Note: Although we can transform experiences of illness into opportunities of spiritual therapy to heal the soul, the practice of medicine to heal the illness of the body is also in harmony with the Way.

 

Selection from Holy Scripture:

“Honor the physician with the honor due him, and also according to your need of him, for the Lord created him. Healing comes from the Most High, and he will receive a gift from the king. The physician’s skill will lift up his head, and he shall be admired in the presence of the great.                     

The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible man will not loathe them. Is not water made sweet by wood that its strength might be known? And He gave skill to men that He might be glorified in His wonders. By them He heals and takes away pain, a druggist making a compound of them. God’s works are never finished. And from Him health is upon the face of the earth. 

My son, do not be negligent when you are sick. But pray to the Lord and He will heal you. Depart from transgression and direct your hands aright, and cleanse your heart from every sin. Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice and a memorial of the finest wheat flour; and pour oil on your offering, as if you are soon to die. And keep in touch with your physician, for the Lord created him, and do not let him leave you, for you need him. There is a time when success is also in their hands, for they will pray to the Lord to give them success in bringing relief and healing, for the sake of preserving your life. He who sins before the One who made him, may he fall into the hands of a physician.”

The Holy Scripture, Wisdom of Sirach 38:1-15 (LXX, SAAS translation)

 

Selections from St. Basil the Great, “Whether recourse to the medical art is in keeping with the practice of piety”:

“In as much as our body is susceptible to various hurts, some attacking from without and some from within by reason of the food we eat, and since the body suffers affliction from both excess and efficiency, the medical art has been vouchsafed us by God, who directs our whole life, as a model for the cure of the soul, to guide us in the removal of what is superfluous and in the addition of what is lacking. Just as we would have no need of the farmer’s labor and toil if we were living amid the delights of paradise, so also we would not require the medical art for relief if we were immune to disease, as was the case, by God’s gift, at the time of Creation before the Fall.. After our banishment to this place, however, and after we had heard the words: ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread,’ through prolonged effort and hard labor in tilling the soil we devised the art of agriculture for the alleviation of the miseries which followed the curse, God vouchsafing us the knowledge and understanding of this art. And, when we were commanded to return to the earth whence we had been taken and were united with the pain ridden flesh doomed to destruction because of sin and, for the same reason, also subject to disease, the medical art was given to us to relieve the sick, in some degree at least.”

“Now, the herbs which are the specifics for each malady do not grow out of the earth spontaneously; it is evidently the will of the Creator that they should be brought forth out of the soil to serve our need. Therefore, the obtaining of that natural virtue which is in the roots and flowers, leaves, fruits, and juices, or in such metals or products of the sea as are found especially suitable for bodily health, is to be viewed in the same way as the procuring of food and drink. Whatever requires an undue amount of thought or trouble or involves a large expenditure of effort and causes our whole life to revolve, as it were, around solicitude for the flesh must be avoided by Christians. Consequently, we must take great care to employ this medical art, if it should be necessary, not as making it wholly accountable for our state of health or illness, but as redounding to the glory of God and as a parallel to the care given the soul. In the event that medicine should fail to help, we should not place all hope for the relief of our distress in this art, but we should rest assured that He will not allow us to be tried above that which we are able to bear. Just as in those days the Lord sometimes made clay, and anointed, and bade wash in Silome, and on other occasions was content with the mere command: ‘I will, be thou made clean’ whereas He left some to struggle against their afflictions, rendering them more worthy of reward by trial, so it also is with us. He sometimes cures us secretly and without visible means when He judges this mode of treatment beneficial to our souls; and again He wills that we use material remedies for our ills, either to instill in us by the prolonged nature of the cure an abiding remembrance of the favor received, or, as I have said, to provide an example for the proper care of the soul. As in the case of the flesh it is essential to eliminate foreign elements and add whatever is wanting, so also, where the soul is concerned, it behooves us to rid ourselves of that which is alien to it and take unto ourselves that which is in accordance with its nature; for ‘God made man right and He created us for good works that we might walk in them.”

“To place the hope of one’s health in the hands of the doctor is the act of an irrational animal. This, nevertheless, is what we observe in the case of certain unhappy persons who do not hesitate to call their doctors their saviors. Yet, to reject entirely the benefits to be derived from this art is the sign of a pettish nature.”

“When the favor of a cure is granted us, whether by means of wine mixed with oil, as in the case of the man who fell among the robbers, or through figs, as with Ezechias, we are to receive it with thanksgiving. Besides, we shall view the watchful care of God impartially, whether it comes to us from some invisible source or by a physical agency, the latter, indeed, frequently engendering in us a livelier perception of the favor as coming from the hands of God. Very often, also, the diseases which we contracted were for our correction and the painful remedies we were obliged to submit to formed part of the instruction. Right reason dictates, therefore, that we demur neither at cutting nor at burning, nor at the pains caused by bitter and disagreeable medicines, nor at abstinence from food, nor at a strict regimen, nor at being forced to refrain from that which is hurtful. Nevertheless, we should keep as our objective (again I say it), our spiritual benefit, in as much as the care of the soul is being taught in the guise of an analogy. There is no small danger, however, that we will fall into the error of thinking that every kind of suffering requires medical relief. Not all sicknesses for whose treatment we observe medicine to be occasionally beneficial arise from natural causes, whether from faulty diet or from any other physical origin.”

“So, then, we should neither repudiate this art altogether nor does it behoove us to repose all our confidence in it; but, just as in practicing the art of agriculture we pray God for the fruits, and as we entrust the helm to the pilot in the art of navigation, but implore God that we may end our voyage unharmed by the perils of the sea, so also, when reason allows, we call in the doctor, but we do not leave off hoping in God. It seems to me, moreover, that the medical art is no small aid to continency.”

St. Basil the Great, “Question 55” in “The Long Rules,” St. Basil: Ascetical Works, trans. by M. Monica Wagner, The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, Vol. 9 (Wash., D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1962), 330-337.  

 

Selection from St. Basil the Great, “Letter to Eustathius the Physician”:

“Humanity is the regular business of all you who practise as physicians.  And, in my opinion, to put your science at the head and front of life’s pursuits is to decide reasonably and rightly.  This at all events seems to be the case if man’s most precious possession, life, is painful and not worth living, unless it be lived in health, and if for health we are dependent on your skill.  In your own case  medicine is seen, as it were, with two right hands; you enlarge the accepted limits of philanthropy by not confining the application of your skill to men’s bodies, but by attending also to the cure of the diseases of their souls.  It is not only in accordance with popular report that I thus write.  I am moved by the personal experience which I have had on many occasions and to a remarkable degree at the present time, in the midst of the unspeakable wickedness of our enemies, which has flooded our life like a noxious torrent.  You have most skillfully dispersed it and by pouring in your soothing words have allayed the    inflammation of my heart.  Having regard to the successive and diversified attacks of my enemies against me, I thought that I ought to keep silence and to bear their successive assaults without reply, and without attempting to contradict foes armed with a lie, that terrible weapon which too often drives its point through the heart of truth herself.  You did well in urging me not to abandon the defence of truth, but rather to convict our calumniators, lest haply, by the success of lies, many be hurt.”

St. Basil the Great, “To Eustathius the Physician, Letter CLXXXIX, NPNF, Second Series, Vol. 8.

 

Selections from the The Evergetinos on Medicine:

Saying of St. Diadochos:

“There is nothing to prevent us from calling doctors when we fall ill.  Since the science of medicine was destined to be discovered at some time through human experimentation, natural remedies were already in existence for this purpose.  However, we should not place our hope of healing in doctors but in our true Savior and Physician, Jesus Christ” (115).

Saying of St. Barsanouphios:

“If you insist on thinking that this remedy is beneficial for the sick person and it turns out that he is harmed by it, God, Who regards the heart, will not condemn you; for He knows that, although you harmed this person, you wanted to help him.  But if someone who is experienced tells you what to do, and you disdain to listen to him and do what you think best, this is arrogance and self-will” (116).

Saying of St. Ephraim:

“My beloved, if you have expertise in the science of medicine and are able to cure people, be vigilant, lest in your desire to heal others you show yourself to be full of passions.  As the Apostle says: ‘Let not your good be evil spoken of’ (Romans 14:16)” (117).

The Evergetinos: A Complete Text., Vol. 3 (Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 2008), 115-117.

 

 

 

 

46. Reverence in the Holy Place

47. In Good Order: Servants and Leaders

Selections from the letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch:

“Hence you should act in accord with the bishop’s mind, as you surely do. Your presbytery, indeed, which deserves its name and is a credit to God, is as closely tied to the bishop as the strings to a harp. Wherefore your accord and harmonious love is a hymn to Jesus Christ.”

St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians, par. 4-6, ANE, vol. 1. 

 

“As, then, the Lord did nothing apart from the Father, either by himself of through the apostles, since he was united with him, so you must do nothing apart from the bishop and the presbyters.  Do not try to make anything appear praiseworthy by yourselves, but let there be in common one prayer, one petition, one mind, one hope in love, in blameless joy—which is Jesus Christ, than whom nothing is better.”

St. Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Magnesians,” The Apostolic Fathers, ed. by Jack N. Sparks (Minneapolis, MN: Light and Life, 1978), 88.

 

“For when you subject yourself to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, you appear to me to be living not in human fashion but like Jesus Christ, who died for us so that by believing in his death you might escape dying.  Therefore it is necessary that, as is actually the case, you do nothing apart from the bishop, but be subject also to the presbyter as to the apostles of Jesus Christ, our hope; for if we live in him we shall be found in him.”

“Similarly all are to respect the deacons as Jesus Christ and the bishop as a copy of the Father and the presbyters as the council of God and the band of the apostles.  For apart from these no group can be called a church.  I am convinced that you accept this.  For I have received an embodiment of your love, and have it with me, in your bishop, whose demeanor is a great lesson and whose gentleness is his power.”

St. Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Trallians,” The Apostolic Fathers, ed. by Jack N. Sparks (Minneapolis, MN: Light and Life, 1978), 92-93.

 

“Where the bishop is present, there let the congregation gather, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church….  It is a fine thing to acknowledge God and the bishop. He who pays the bishop honor has been honored by God. But he who acts without the bishop’s knowledge is in the devil’s service.”

St. Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Smyrnaeans,”  par. 8-9, ANF, vol. 1. 

 

Selection from St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, on the importance of carefully choosing a spiritual father:

“When motives of humility and real longing for salvation incite us to bend our neck and entrust ourselves to another in the Lord, before entering upon this life, if there is any cleverness and prudence in us, we ought first to question and examine, and even,so to speak, test our helmsman, so as not to mistake the sailor for the pilot, a sick man for a doctor, a passionate for a dispassionate man, the sea for a harbor, and so bring about the speedy shipwreck of our soul.  But when once we have entered the arena of piety and obedience, we must not longer judge our good manager in any way at all, even though we may perhaps see in him some slight failings, since he is only human.  Otherwise, by sitting in judgment we shall get no profit from our subjection.”

St. John Climacus, Step 4: “On blessed and ever-memorable obedience,” The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Revised Edition (Boston, MA: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1991), 22.

 

48. The Three Aspects of Your Cure

1. Healthful Lifestyle

Especially refer back to The Didache (Lesson #36) for a summary of how to live according to the Way of Life.

2. Therapy (Asceticism)

Refer to Lesson #45 (including notes) on the union of body and soul in the ascetic effort. Pay attention to both how the body is involved voluntarily, but how we can transform unintended experiences of pain and suffering into healing therapy. The next lesson (#49 on Fasting) will also address an important aspect of our ascetic therapy.

49. Fasting with Prayer

St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Discourse XI: On Fasting”:

Let each one of us keep in mind the benefit of fasting and what gifts from God he has enjoyed in these few days and so become more eager for the days to come.  For this healer of our souls is effective, in the case of one to quieten the fevers and impulses of the flesh, in another to assuage bad temper, in yet another to drive away sleep, in another to stir up zeal, and in yet another to restore purity of mind and to set him free from evil thoughts.  In one it will control his unbridled tongue and, as it were by a bit (Jas. 3:3. 8), restrain it by the fear of God and prevent it from uttering idle or corrupt words (Eph. 4:29; Mt. 12:36).  In another it will invisibly guard his eyes and fix them on high instead of along them to roam hither and thither, and thus cause him to look on himself and teach him to be mindful of his own faults and shortcomings.  Fasting gradually disperses and drives away spiritual darkness and the veil of sin that lies on the soul, just as the sun dispels the mist.  Fasting enables us spiritually to see that spiritual air in which Christ, the Sun who knows no setting, does not rise, but shines without ceasing.  Fasting, aided by vigil, penetrates and softens hardness of heart.  Where once were the vapors of drunkenness it causes fountains of compunction to spring forth.  I beseech you, brethren, let each of us strive that this may happen in us!  Once this happens we shall readily, with God’s help, cleave through the whole sea of passions and pass through the waves of temptations inflicted by the cruel tyrant, and so come to anchor in the port of impassibility.”

St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Discourse XI: On Fasting,” The Discourses, trans. by C.J. deCatanzaro, The Classics of Western Spirituality (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1980), 168-169.

 

50. Remember Your Story

Selection from St. John Chrysostom, “Second Sermon on Lazarus and the Rich Man,” on the importance of reading Holy Scripture:

“I also always entreat you, and do not cease entreating you, not only to pat attention here to what I say, but also when you are at home, to persevere continually in reading the divine Scriptures.  When I have been with each of you in private, I have not stopped giving you the same advice.  Do not let anyone say to me those vain words, worthy of a heavy condemnation. ‘I cannot leave the courthouse, I administer the business of the city, I practice a craft, I have a wife, I am raising children, I am in charge of a household, I am a man of the world; reading the Scriptures is not for me, but for those who have been set apart, who have settled on the mountaintops, who keep this way of life continuously.’  What are you saying, ,man?  That attending to the Scriptures is not for you, since you are surrounded by a multitude of cares?  Rather it is for you more than for them.  They do not need the help of the divine Scriptures as much as those do who are involved in many occupations.  The monks, who are released from the clamor of the marketplace and have fixed their huts in the wilderness, who own nothing in common with anyone, but practice wisdom without fear in the calm of that quiet life, as if resting in a harbor, enjoy great security; but we, as if tossing in the midst of the sea, driven by a multitude of sins, always need the continuous and ceaseless aid of the Scriptures.  They rest far from the battle, and so they do not receive many wounds; but you stand continuously in the front rank, and you receive continual blows.  So you need more remedies.  Your wife provokes you, for example, your son grieves you, your servant angers you, your enemy plots against you, your friend envies you, your neighbor curses you, your fellow soldier trips you up, often a law suit threatens you, poverty troubles you, loss of your property gives you grief, prosperity puffs you up, misfortune depresses you, and many causes and compulsions to discouragement and grief, to conceit and desperation surround us on all sides, and a multitude of missiles falls from everywhere.  Therefore we have a continuous need for the full armor of the Scriptures.”

“We must thoroughly quench the darts of the devil and beat them off by continual reading of the divine Scriptures. For it is not possible, not possible for anyone to be saved without continually taking advantage of spiritual reading. Actually, we must be content, if even with continual use of this therapy, we are barely able to be saved. But when we are struck every day, if we do not use any medical care, what hope to we have of salvation?”

St. John Chrysostom, “Second Sermon on Lazarus and the Rich Man,” On Wealth and Poverty, trans. by Catharine P. Roth (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984), 58-60.

Selection from St. John Chrysostom, Homily XXII (John 4.13-14), warning against ignorance of the Holy Scripture:

“Let us now after this be ashamed, and blush. A woman who had had five husbands, and who was of Samaria, was so eager concerning doctrines, that neither the time of day, nor her having come for another purpose, nor anything else, led her away from enquiring on such matters; but we not only do not enquire concerning doctrines, but towards them all our dispositions are careless and indifferent. Therefore everything is    neglected.  For which of you when in his house takes some Christian book in hand and goes over its contents, and searches the Scriptures?  None can say that he does so, but with most we shall find draughts and dice, but books nowhere, except among a few. And even these few have the same dispositions as the many; for they tie up their books, and keep them always put away in cases, and all their care is for the fineness of the parchments, and the beauty of the letters, not for reading them.[1]  For they have not bought them to obtain advantage and benefit from them, but take pains about such matters to show their wealth and pride.  Such is the excess of vainglory.  I do not hear any one glory that he knows the contents, but that he hath a book written in letters of gold.  And what gain, tell me, is this?  The Scriptures were not given us for this only, that we might have them in books, but that we might engrave them on our hearts.  For this kind of possession, the keeping the commandments merely in letter, belongs to Jewish ambition; but to us the Law was not so given at all, but in the fleshy tables of our hearts.  And this I say, not to prevent you from procuring Bibles, on the contrary, I exhort and earnestly pray that you do this, but I desire that from those books you convey the letters and sense into your understanding, that so it may be purified  when it receiveth the meaning of the writing.  For if the devil will not dare to approach a house where a Gospel is lying, much less will any evil spirit, or any sinful nature, ever touch or enter a soul which bears about with it such sentiments as it contains. Sanctify then thy soul, sanctify thy body, by having these ever in thy heart, and on thy tongue.  For if foul speech defiles and invites devils, it is clear that spiritual reading sanctifies and draws down the grace of the Spirit.  The Scriptures are divine charms, let us then apply to ourselves and to the passions of our souls the remedies to be derived from them.  For if we understand what it is that is read, we shall hear it with much readiness. I am always saying this, and will not cease to say it. Is it not strange that those who sit by the market can tell the names, and families, and cities of charioteers, and dancers, and the kinds of power possessed by each, and can give exact account of the good or bad qualities of the very horses, but that those who come hither should know nothing of what is done here, but should be ignorant of the number even of the sacred Books?”

St. John Chrysostom, Homily XXII (John 4.13-14), NPNF, Vol. 14, 114.

[1] “Draughts” refers to an ancient board game.

 

Selections from St. John Chrysostom, “Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children”:

“Tell him [that is, your child] this story one evening at supper. Let his mother repeat the same tale; then, when he has heard it often, ask him too, saying: ‘Tell me the story,’ so that he may be eager to imitate you. And when he has memorized it thou wilt also tell him how it profits him. The soul indeed, as it receives the story within itself before thou hast elaborated it, is aware that it will benefit. Nevertheless, do thou say hereafter: ‘Thou dost see how great a sin is greed, how great a sin it is to envy a brother. Thou dost see how great a sin it is to think that thou canst hide aught from God; for He sees all things, even those that are done in secret.’ If only thou sowest the seed of this teaching in the child, he will not need his tutor, since this fear that comes from God, this complete fear has possessed the boy instead and shakes his soul.  This is not all. Go, leading him by the hand in church and pay heed particularly when this tale is read aloud. Thou wilt see him rejoice and leap with pleasure because he knows what the other children do not know, as he anticipates the story, recognizes it, and derives great gain from it. And hereafter the episode is fixed in his memory.”

St. John Chrysostom, “Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children,” M. L. W. Laistner, Christianity and Pagan Culture in the Later Roman Empire (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press), 1951.

 

The Story of Salvation Reading Map

Under the guidance of your Priest, read the Holy Scripture. You will find the “reading map” I designed below to help you follow the great narrative of the Scripture, spanning across the ages. This provides a wide angle view of the whole Story of Salvation, the Story in which you are participating.

Consult the Old Testament Study Notes and New Testament Study Notes to help you understand the Holy Scripture.

 

The Story of the Old Testament Summarized

Passages compiled by Priest Symeon Kees

Note: Since the Old Testament of the Orthodox Christian Church has been the Greek translation known as the Septuagint (often designated as “LXX”) since the time of the Apostles, use of the Septuagint is recommended.

 

THE CONTINUING EFFECT OF OUR FIRST PARENTS’ SIN ON OUR RACE

The Creation                                                                        Genesis 1-2 (See John 1.1-5)

The Fall (from Life to Death)                                            Gen. 3 (See Romans 5.12-6.14)

Second Generation: Cain & Righteous Abel                  Gen. 4. 1-16 (See 1 John 3.11-12)

Noah                                                                                      Gen. 6.5-22; Gen. 8.20-9.17

Babel                                                                                     Gen. 11.1-9

 

THE PATRIARCHS – ABRAHAM, ISAAC, and JACOB

Call of Abram                                                                       Gen. 12.1-7

God’s covenant with Abram                                             Gen. 15.1-21  (See Galatians 3.8-9, 16)

Sign of the covenant (circumcision/name change)     Gen. 17.1-19

Hospitality of Abraham                                                     Gen. 18.1-6

The sacrifice of Isaac/Angel of the Lord                         Gen. 22.1-19  (See Hebrews 11.17-19)

Jacob’s dream/the promise                                                Gen. 28.10-22

Jacob wrestles with God/name change                           Gen. 32.22-32

Jacob has many sons                                                           Gen. 29.31-24

Jacob’s name change/promise                                           Gen. 35.9-15

Joseph’s dream/sold by his brothers                                Gen. 37

Joseph’s rise to power                                                         Gen. 41.39-49

Jacob and his whole family move to Egypt                    Gen. 46.1-7

Jacob adopts Manasseh and Ephraim                             Gen. 48.1-6

Joseph dies/Israelites in Egypt                                          Gen. 50.22-26

 

ISRAEL (THE HEBREWS) IN EGYPT & THE EXODUS

Israelites in Egypt                                                                Exodus 1.1-22

Burning bush/the LORD reveals Himself                        Ex. 3.1-22  (See John 8.53-59)

Passover                                                                                 Ex. 12.1-30, 13.3-10

The Exodus                                                                            Ex. 12.31-42

Pillar of fire and cloud                                                        Ex. 13.17-22

Israel travels through the Red Sea                                   Ex. 14.10-31

 

ISRAEL AT MOUNT SINAI – NATION, TEMPLE, PRIESTHOOD, LAW

Sinai covenant                                                                      Exodus 19.1-8

God appears on Sinai in cloud and fire                           Ex. 19.9-19

Israel receives the Torah                                                    Ex. 20.1-2 ff.

The covenant confirmed in blood                                    Ex. 24.1-8

Love God & remember the Law                                       Deuteronomy 6.1-25                       

Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant                        Ex. 25.1-22

The Glory of the Lord enters Tabernacle                        Ex. 40.34-38

Priesthood established/Levites                                          Ex. 13.11-16; Num. 3.1-13; Ex. 28.1-4

The Glory of the LORD enters Tabernacle                      Ex. 40.1-32

Sacrifices (Sin offering)                                                       Leviticus 4.1-35

Purpose of blood                                                                  Lev. 17.1-14

The Day of Atonement                                                        Lev. 16

Spies sent out/Israel begins wandering                          Num.13.1-14.35

The Copper Serpent                                                            Num. 21.4-9; John 3.12-21

Joshua succeeds Moses                                                       Deut. 31.1-8

Israel will be admired by other nations                         Duet. 4.5-9

Remember the LORD                                                          Duet. 6.4-25

Israel’s righteousness not reason for victory                 Deut. 9.1-7

 

INTO THE PROMISED LAND

Joshua prepares to enter Canaan                                    Joshua 1

Israel crosses the Jordan River                                        Joshua 3

Total destruction in war/consecration                           Deut. 20.16-18, 7.1-6; Josh. 6.16-21

Joshua’s final speech                                                          Joshua 23-24.24

 

AGE OF THE JUDGES

 God raises up Judges                                                         Judges 2.6-23

Nations remaining in Canaan/Israel unfaithful           Judges 3.1-6

The LORD is ruler over Israel                                           Judges 8.22-23

Spiritual condition during period of Judges                  Judges 21.25

 

AGE OF THE KINGS

Israel asks for a king                                                            1 Kingdoms 7.15-8.22

Saul anointed king                                                               1 King. 10.1

Saul rejected as king                                                            1 King. 15.1-29

David anointed king                                                             1 King. 16.1, 8-13

David anointed king of Judah                                             2 King. 2.1-7

David anointed king of all Israel                                        2 King. 5.1-5

David captures Jerusalem                                                   2 King. 5.6-8

The covenant with David/The Temple                             2 King. 7.1-17

David’s psalm of repentance                                              Psalm 51

Solomon chosen as king                                                      3 King. 1.28-35

The Ark brought into the Temple                                      3 King. 8.1-11

The Ark is the throne & footstool of God                         2 King. 6.2; 1 Chron. 28.2

The LORD responds to Solomon                                        3 King. 9.1-9

Solomon’s idolatry/kingdom will be divided                  3 King. 11.1-13

 

DAVIDIC KINGDOM DIVIDED– ISRAEL (NORTHERN) & JUDAH (SOUTHERN)

The Kingdom of Israel is divided                                        3 King. 11.26-43

Assyria conquers the Northern Kingdom                         4 King. 17.1-24

Jeremiah warns Judah of destruction (Babylonians)     Jeremiah 6.22; 7.1-14

God sends his prophets to his people                                Jeremiah 7.21-25

Micah prophesies regarding Christ                                   Micah 5.2

Jeremiah predicts Exile & return after 70 yrs.                Jeremiah 25.1-13; 30.1-17

Jeremiah prophesies about Christ                                     Jeremiah 23.5-6

Jeremiah prophesies about a new covenant                   Jeremiah 31.31-34

 

EXILE TO BABYLON

Babylon conquers Judah/ the Exile                                   4 King. 25; Jeremiah 52

Daniel, prophet in Babylon – The Son of Man                Daniel 7.9-14

The Three Holy Children                                                     Daniel 3

Isaiah & Daniel prophesy about restoration                   Isaiah 44.24-45.25; Daniel 9.1-19

Isaiah prophesies regarding the Christ                            Isaiah 7.14-15;  9.5-6; 11.1

Ezekiel’s prophesy about  the Virgin birth                      Ezekiel 44.1-2

Return from Exile to Judah under Persians                    Ezra 1

 

RETURN FROM EXILE IN BABYLON – REBUILDING TEMPLE

Temple rebuilt (520 BC)                                                      Ezra 3.6-13; 6.13-22

 

CONQUEST OF ALEXANDER & HIS GENERALS

**Alexander conquered the Persian Empire.  After the death of Alexander, his empire was divided among his generals.  Ptolemy ruled a portion of the empire from Egypt and Seleucus ruled a portion from Babylon (modern Iraq), later moving the capital to Antioch in Syria.  The land of Israel was ruled by the Ptolemaic Empire then the Seleucid Empire.

Alexander and his Generals                                                1 Maccabees 1.1-9

Under Ptolemaic Empire                                                      3 Maccabees

Under Antiochus Epiphanes (Seleucid Empire)              1 Maccabees 1.10-64

Restoration of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus              1 Macc. 2.36-61; 2 Macc. 10.1-9

Alliance between Judas & Rome                                         1 Maccabees 8 

 

The Story of the New Testament Summarized

Passage compiles by Fr. Symeon Kees

 

THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

The Birth of John                                                      Luke 1.5-25; 57-80

Zacharia’s prophesy                                                Luke 1.67-79

The Annuciation                                                      Luke 1.26-38

The Birth of Jesus                                                     Luke 2.1-20; Matt 1.18-12; John 1.1-18

Mary & Elizabeth                                                     Luke 1.39-55

Jesus presented in the Temple                              Luke 2.21-38

 

THE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST

John the Baptist                                                        John 1.29-34

The Holy Theophany (Baptism of Christ)           Matthew 3.13-17           

Christ fasts before His public ministry                Luke 4.1-13

Christ heals and proclaims the Kingdom            Luke 4.14-44

Calling of first disciples                                          Luke 5.1-11

The twelve apostles chosen                                   Luke 6.12-16

The Beatitudes                                                          Matthew 5.1-12

Jesus walks on water/faith                                     Matthew 14.22-36

Rebirth                                                                       John 3.1-18

The Son of Man Lifted Up                                      John 3.12-21; Num. 21.4-9

Healing at the Pool of Bethesda                            John 5.1-15

Light of the World                                                   John 8.12-30

I AM (The Existing One)                                          John 8.31-59

Healing of the Blind Man                                       John 9

The Way, Truth, and Life                                       John 14.1-7

Healing of Paralytic                                                 Luke 5.17-26

The Narrow Gate                                                     Matthew 7.13-14

Parable of the Sower                                                Matthew 13.1-9; 18-23

Parable of the Weeds                                               Matthew 13.24-30; 36-43

Parable of Lost Sheep                                              Luke 15.1-7

Parable of the Lost Coin                                          Luke 15.8-10

Parable of Pharisee & Tax Collector                     Luke 18.9-14

Parable of Hidden Treasure                                   Matthew 13.44

Parable of the Pearl                                                 Matthew 13.45-46

The cost of discipleship                                           Luke 14.25-35; Matthew 10.34-39

Jesus promises the Holy Spirit                              John 14.15-27; 16.5-16

Divine nourishment                                                John 6.47-58

The Holy Transfiguration                                       Matthew 17.1-9; 1 Peter 1.1-18

 

HOLY WEEK

Lazarus Raised from the Dead                            John 11.1-11

Triumphal Entry                                                      John 11.12-19; Matthew 21.1-11

Judgment on Temple                                                Matthew 21.12-17

Prediction of the Temple’s destruction                Matthew 24.1-2 

The Mystical Supper

     The meal                                                                 Matthew 26.17-30

     Jesus washes his disciple’s feet                          John 13.1-17

The Trial

     Jesus before the Sanhedrin                                 Matthew 26.57-67

     Jesus before Pilate                                                 John 18.28-40

The Crucifixion & Burial                          Matt. 27.32-66; John 19.16-42  (See Heb. 8.1-10.18)

The Resurrection & Appearances                       Matt. 28.1-15; Lk 24.1-49; Jn 20.1-18

The Mission of Christ’s Church to the World  Matthew 28.16-20

 

THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST

Ascension                                                                     Luke 24-50-52; Acts 1.1-11

 

HOLY PENTECOST

The Descent of the Holy Spirit                                 Acts 2.1-41  (Compare Genesis 11.1-9)

 

THE EARLY CHURCH

The Church after Pentecost                                     Acts 2.42-47

Stephen /Saul Persecutes Church                           Acts 7.54-8.3

Saul’s Conversion                                                      Acts 9.1-19

Saul meets disciples in Jerusalem                         Acts 9.19-31

The Church in Antioch                                            Acts 11.19-30; 13.1-3

Paul’s Missionary Journeys                                    Acts 13.1-28.31

 

 

The Use of the Holy Scripture in Prayer and Repentance

Seeing Ourselves in the Story of the Fall

(through the Canon of St. Andrew)

He is for me unto salvation Helper and Protector.  He is my God and I glorify Him, God of my fathers is He and I exalt Him, for He is greatly glorified.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Where shall I begin to weep for the actions of my wretched life?  What first-fruits shall I offer, O Christ, in this my lamentation?  But in Thy compassion grant me forgiveness of sins.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Come, wretched soul, with thy flesh to the Creator of all.  Make confession to Him, and abstain henceforth from thy past brutishness; and offer to God tears of repentance.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have rivaled the transgression of Adam, the first-formed man, and I have found myself stripped naked of God, of the eternal Kingdom and its joy, because of my sins.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Woe to me, miserable soul!  How like thou art to the first Eve!  For thou hast looked in wickedness and wast grievously wounded; thou hast touched the tree and rashly tasted the deceptive food.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Instead of the visible Eve, I have the Eve of the mind: the passionate thought in my flesh, showing me what seems sweet; yet whenever I taste it, I find it bitter.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Adam was justly banished from Eden because he disobeyed one commandment of Thine, O Savior.  What then shall I suffer, for I am always rejecting Thy words of life?

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I confess to Thee, O Savior, the sins I have committed, the wounds of my soul and body, which murderous thoughts, like thieves, have inflected inwardly upon me.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

With the lusts of passion I have darkened the beauty of my soul, and turned my whole mind entirely to dust.[i]

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have torn the first garment that the Creator wove for me in the beginning, and now I lie naked.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have clothed myself in the torn coat that the serpent wove for me by his counsel, and I am ashamed.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have lost the beauty and glory with which I was first created; and now I lied naked and ashamed.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I am clothed with the raiment of shame as with fig leaves, in condemnation of my self-willed passions.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have adorned the idol my flesh with a many-colored coat of shameful thoughts, and I am condemned.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have cared only for the outward adornment, and neglected that which is within—the tabernacle fashioned by God.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

With my lustful desire I have formed within myself the deformity of the passions and disfigured the beauty of my mind.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have discolored with the passions the first beauty of the image, O Savior.  But seek me, as once Thou hast sought the lost coin, and find me.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

 

The above selections from The Great Canon (also known as The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete) are found in The Lenten Triodion, trans. by Mother Mary and Bishop KALLISTOS (Ware), Great Compline for Monday and Tuesday of the First Week of Lent (South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 2001).   These selections are also printed, with commentary, in First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete by Frederica Mathewes-Green (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2006), chapters 1, 5, & 6, pp. 3-5, 7, 19-21, 25.

[i] “In the Greek text of the New Testament and in early Christian writings, ‘mind’ had a different meaning from the one we use today.  The Greek word is nous (pronounced “noose”), and it did not mean the rational intellect.  It’s not easy to define, but it means something more like the perceptive power of the soul.  The nous was created to connect us with the interior presence of God, and to be a living link with our Creator,” commentary on chapter 5, line 37, Frederica Mathewes-Green, First Fruits of Prayer, p. 18-20.

 

Text copyright © 2017 by Fr. Symeon D. S. Kees