Quotes from Modern Orthodox Christians
These are listed in order of posting on Facebook/Google+. To find similar quotes of a topic (i.e. prayer) or by a specific person, use the page search function in your browser (usually in the 'edit' column at the top of the screen). The newest posts are at the top. After the update below combined quotes are found at this page.
Updated August 22, 2015
"...as we approach the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, most of us can more easily stare into the face of our own failure, our own shortcomings, our disgust with our disfigurement of heart. Let us not hide this discovery: instead, let us use it as the incentive, the engine, the fuel to drive us toward God. Despairing of ourselves, let us throw ourselves onto the strength of Christ, who tramples down not only Death, but our myriad of daily defeats."
(Fr Geoffrey Korz, 21st Century Russian priest) [Repentance; Hope]
"God always helps, He always arrives, but it needs patience. When we cry out, He always hears immediately, but not in the way we think.
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast) [Patience; Hope]
"Save, Lord, those whom there is no one to pray for, save also those who do not want to pray to you...It is not in my pride that I pray for it, Lord, for I myself am more vile than all …"
(Feodor Dostoevsky in "The Brothers Karamazov") [Intercession; Humility]
"Theology is not an easy thing for anyone to be able to speculate and negotiate about with the goal of creating personal and social relations. If you demolish anything, the entire edifice is demolished. The Holy Fathers knew this very well, and for this reason they recommend the renunciation of heresy and the acceptance of Orthodox teaching as the only path and method of union for the heretics."
(Protopresbyter Theodore Zisis) [Truth; Dogma]
"...the great gift of God, freedom itself - it is an opportunity to choose. God has programmed us for good - by the way, it often destroys faith in people who say, "Why doesn't God punish sinners? Where is God when things are going on...a war crime? ...He could do it, He could create an amazing community of happy and holy men. But then those people would be holy and happy not by choice, but by the program invested therein. They would not have the image of God..."
(Patriarch Kirill of Russia) [Image of God; Divine Providence]
"We were designed to thrive on human personal contact, and the human heart and spirit still hunger for it. If that hunger is not met and satisfied through healthy human encounter, it will seek satisfaction in less healthy ways, just as if a man is hungry enough, he will eat anything."
(Fr. Lawrence Farley) [Society]
"The dogmatic and spiritual aspects of the Liturgy are one whole, but on Athos there is a different spiritual atmosphere. On Athos the silent, hesychastic atmosphere is more helpful in absorbing the Divine services, because the Holy Mountain is an especially grace-filled place. In every monastery there dwell the prayers of the departed fathers, the prayers of living fathers. Every monk on Athos learns to pray constantly, without ceasing."
(Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi) [Grace; Prayer; Monasticism]
"Jesus tells His disciples that they could not cast out the demon from the child because their faith was little or weak. Therefore, today’s Gospel teaches us that faith must be cultivated, strengthened, and deepened through prayer and fasting, lest faith be a simple intellectual conviction, but become a living relationship of the human with the God Unseen, Who is very close to man through His grace, when this one prays for His help."
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania) [Fasting; Prayer]
"In debates if you say a few words about religion you will prevail. Let the person who has a different opinion give free reign to his thoughts and speak as much as he likes…Let him sense that he is addressing himself to a calm and uncontentious person. Influence him to your graciousness and prayer and speak briefly. It will achieve nothing if you speak heatedly…"
(Elder St. Porphyrios) [Witness; Love; Gentleness]
"'Ecumenism' is a heresy only if it actually involves the denial that Orthodoxy is the true Church of Christ. A few of the Orthodox leaders of the ecumenical movement have gone this far; but most Orthodox participants in the ecumenical movement have not said this much; and a few (such as the late Fr. Georges Florovsky) have only irritated the Protestants in the ecumenical movement by frequently stating at ecumenical gatherings that Orthodoxy is the Church of Christ."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose+) [True Church; Witness]
"The Sacraments, repentance, prayer, thanksgiving and generosity are the normative marks of the Orthodox life. These contain everything necessary to the life of grace. Church reform is not a hallmark of the Orthodox life. The insight of Orthodoxy is that only holiness changes anything."
(Fr. Stephen Freeman) [True Church; Wisdom]
"Even little differences in our characters may help the partners to form a harmonic family, because they supplement each other. You need an accelerator pedal to move your car forward, but still you need the brake pedal to stop when needed...we must have in mind that every person may help the other; people are here to help each other." (Elder St. Paisios on Marrige in pravmir.com) [Family; Society] "If I wanted to relate everything I went through on a daily basis with this passion of anger, I would have to write a book. Since God wanted to free me from it, He would bring about everything appropriate: people would bother me unjustly, they would insult me, they would annoy me. And they would not just simply tempt me, but they would do things that would make you commit murder. But by enduring and choking Satan within me with extreme patience, I was delivered from the evil."
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast ~ 'My Elder Joseph the Hesychast') [Anger; Temptation; Sanctification]
"All prayers go to God. We pray to the Virgin Mary and the Saints, that is, we ask that they pray to the Lord for us, and their prayers have great power."
(Elder St. Paisios of Mt. Athos) [Saints; Intercession]
"...nearly the whole of the Gospel narrative, and nearly the whole of our own lives in this world, is one example after another of the abundant mercy and grace of God being poured out upon the uncomprehending and ungrateful heart of man...So let us open our eyes."
(Homily at Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, WV) [Mercy; Love]
“We learn the most from what we have experienced ourselves; and it’s not important whether it brought us pain or joy. Before the mystery of life, the one who looks the most serious and responsible is the one who accepts life as joyful sorrow.”
(Archbishop Jovan Vranishkovsky, 21st Century Macedonian Hierarch) [Peace; Trials]
“We dream of a Church that exists to promote the Faith first and foremost...consists of members who know and understand the basic tenets of the Church... sees its youth not as the future of the Church, but as the present."
(Excerpts from Youth Statement of the OCA 18th All American Council) [Evangelism; Catechism]
"...if I serve God faithfully, if I fulfill God’s statutes, rules, and laws, then I am a patriot, and the best kind, because through me, the sinner, who strives to fulfill these laws, God’s blessing goes onto our whole land, and onto our people. If I do not do this, if I live contrary to the Divine Law, then one can beat one’s chest with one’s fist that I am a great patriot, and thus harm oneself, one’s people, and the land. Because God’s grace does not reach the land through a sinful vessel."
(Metropolitan Onuphry, 21st Century Metropolitan of Ukraine) [Society; Witness]
"The virtue of patience and its work in contemporary society, dominated by haste and unnatural pressure of the lack of time, represents one of the most significant features of Christian life ...The Christian belief in the help of God transforms our patience and endurance in a spiritual power to promote peace in the community and the society..."
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania) [Patience; Hope]
"There are three types of people: carnal, mental and spiritual. The carnal person wants everything of the flesh, seeks rest, loves praise, does not want to be derided, does not accept the cutting off of their will, defends himself. The mental again does not want to do injustice, nor do they want to suffer injustice. The spiritual person thinks everything of the spirit, and if they suffer unjustly they rejoice, and if they are derided they are grateful."
(Saint Anthimos of Chios+, 20th Century staretz) [Humility; Meekness]
"Contemplate and live the divine events continuously. When someone contemplates the events of each feast, physiologically they will be moved with a special reverence to pray. Then during the Services the mind will be on the events we are celebrating and we will follow the hymns that are chanted with reverence. When the mind is on divine meanings, a person lives the events, and so it is altered...I will pray that your hearts become a Holy Manger and that the Most Holy Child of Bethlehem give you all his blessings."
(Elder Paisios quoted in "Elder Paisios the Athonite") [Prayer; Contemplation]
"Do you want the prayer inside you? Do you want to find Christ? Well, you will find it here with the people we are working with. Do you hear them chatting idly, joking and laughing? Be careful as much as you can not to imitate them or to say to yourself "What kind of people are they?" And, to condemn them. You will be silent, do you work on your own and constantly say the Prayer."
(Elder Haralambos Dionysiastis, 20th Century disciple of St. Joseph the Hesychast) [Jesus Prayer; Sanctification]
"Preaching doesn’t always have to be in the form of words. Performing merciful deeds and actions is also preaching. I think that every Orthodox Christian must be a missionary. We all have families, but not all of our relatives are believers. Who will reveal Christ to people around us at work or school? Who will be a living witness to them?"
(Fr. Stanislav Rasputin, 21st Century convert) [Evangelization; Witness]
"He is more spiritual than me. I get tired and I fall asleep but he stays awake and prays."
(Elder St. Porphyrios on a parrot he taught to say the Jesus Prayer) [Prayer; Perseverance; Humility],br>
"With regard to demonic possession, we have no reason to believe that it does not continue in our own day; in fact, we can be sure that it does. The same demons active in Christ’s day, are still active today and will be until the Second Coming of Christ...While those indwelt by the Holy Spirit may not be indwelt by the demons, their influence can still wreck havoc on our lives if we let them."
(Fr.Robert McLean; 21st Century American priest) [Satan; Temptation]
"Today, there are many rivers in which people are baptized with no results of healing. This is because their source is not based on truth and obedience. The Jordan river springs from the sources of Ior and Dan. Symbolically, these springs can be translated as obedience to truth. The river today that springs from these two sources is named Orthodoxy."
(Monk Christodoulos Gregoriates) [True Religion; Faith]
"Indirectly, the devil confesses God through temptations...Sin brings humility. So it is understood that the devil plays an indirect “role” in our salvation for he reveals our infirmities, and by this helps us to grow. If he would realize how much help is to our salvation, he would trouble us less."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc+ of Romania) [Temptation; Struggle]
Blessed are those who rejoice when unjustly accused, rather than when they are justly praised for their virtuous life. Here are the signs of holiness..."
(Elder St. Paisios of Mt. Athos) [Humility]
"Let me sum up. It is not a good idea to date non-Orthodox Christians because it is not a good idea to date anyone. It is a good idea to have lots of friends, to learn how to be kind, generous, loving, patient and joyful by hanging out with people who encourage you to be more like Christ. If you suspect that a particular friend may indeed be someone with whom you could spend your life, then enquire if he/she suspects the same thing."
(Archpriest Michael Gillis, 21st Century American priest) [Family; Society]
"The essential contribution of monasticism is prayer for the salvation of the world. The monk is purified from the passions by the grace of God, communion with the pain of the world, and understands (despite living outside the world) the error, the distresses, the sinfulness of the world and grieves for it, mourns and prays for God to give the spirit of repentance in the world."
(Archimandrite Ephraim of Vatopedi in2015 Interview) [Prayer; Intercession; Vocation]
"Whenever Grace shows its presence, everything is bearable. But sometimes for reasons that are purely providential it withholds its presence and man loses hope; his fervor decreases and even his faith is dulled. These are the hardest moments in spiritual life because if God does not hold onto him here man cannot endure."
(Elder Joseph in "Elder Joseph the Hesychast") [Perseverance; Testing]
"It should also be made clear that living a homosexual or any other sinful lifestyle is not compatible with Christianity and this has always been the teaching of the Church. That being stated, it is also crucial to state that the Church is a Spiritual Hospital and all those wishing to receive the healing freely offered by God through their repentance and God’s Grace are fully welcome. This includes those who have participated in immoral or unnatural acts of any kind as well as those who are tempted by such sins. The Church is empathetic to those who suffer in such a way and offers them support, healing, and Christian love."
(Chancery of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America of ROCOR) [Homosexuality; Society]
"In the last days we shall see the spirits of devils working miracles. The Holy Scriptures and Orthodox Fathers clearly tell us that the character of the last times will not be at all one of a great spiritual revival, of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but rather one of almost universal apostasy, of spiritual deception so subtle that the very elect if that were possible will be deceived, of the virtual disappearance of Christianity from the face of the earth. "When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?" It is precisely in the last times that Satan is to be loosed in order to produce the final and greatest outpouring of evil upon the earth."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose in "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future") [Deception; Satan]
"... if a poor woman went to your mother and begged her to ask you to appoint her to a position and you did this favor of your mother, then that poor woman would say your mother saved her, even though you appointed her. Well, so we also say that the Virgin Mary saves us, and her Son who as the One in power, yet is humble, rejoices to hear good words being spoken by us about His mother."
(Elder Paisios on the Theotokos) [Theotokos; Intercession; Saints]
"Jesus Christ is the fulness and foundation of everything, He is our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Church is not something in the past, nor something in our imagination, or something only in our mind. Rather she is an expression of His glory, the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. The Church is the witness of the reality of the victory of life over death, and the place where every human being can find salvation and healing."
(Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA) [Faith; Witness]
“If one’s heart lives by love, love becomes the main scale of evaluation. If I love someone, I do not need to see his mistakes. If I love someone, I do not need to notice how bad, sinful, or vicious he is. I will love him anyway, no matter who he is. Then I will need neither evaluation nor comparison, and I will not judge him.”
(Archpriest Andrei Lorgus, 21st Century Russian priest) [Love; Judgment]
“So take courage my child and rise from your fault. Stand up. Get angry with the tempter knowing that he is one that contrived all this trickery. Don’t let him get away with it; fight him.”
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast in ‘Monastic Wisdom’)
“…since 1914 the world has not known peace, nothing has been the same again. 1914 reminds us of Noah’s Flood, but this time it has not been a Flood of Water, but a Flood of Iniquity. The world has indeed been turned upside down, all has become abnormal in an ever-increasing spiral of violence and death. What was normal and natural is now abnormal and unnatural, what was abnormal and unnatural is now normal and natural.”
(Fr. Andrew Philips) [Society; Humanism]
"The biblical belief in marriage and family has shaped the principle of monogamy, which became the nucleus of European society and determined the relations between the two sexes. It enhanced and inspired fidelity and self-abnegation as a basic element of its endurance. When this basic structure is disrupted, society is driven into decline. We, the Christian people of Europe, have the right, but also the responsibility, to defend these truths, on which anything great and pure created by European civilization is based."
(Archbishop Anastasios of Albania) [Traditional Values; Family; Society]
"There was a time when I used to pray with my prayer rope whenever possible and even during the night; it was the only thing that I used to hold onto, and even when I woke up in the morning I had my prayer rope with me. But now, I have my laptop, and the availability of entertainment at my fingertips. Yes, I have argued with my conscience and have told myself that I am not doing anything wrong. I am reaching out to people, I am using my time wisely etc. But the greatest evil is that of not praying. But I keep justifying to myself that it is okay."
(Fr. Silouan Benedict, 21st Century priest in India) [Devotions; Sanctification; Temptation]
"By holiness is meant following Christ to Gethsemane and Golgotha. Holiness is not transmitted, not earned by merely reading books and having lengthy discussions in living rooms. It calls out that we must give blood, in order to receive the Spirit. We must persistently fight and be patient, to defeat the wild beast with many heads called pride. The saint overcomes selfishness, love for the flesh, ambition and love for money, with love for the divine, love for people, philanthropy, brotherly kindness, love of children, and the virtuous life."
(Monk Moses the Athonite)
"It is our fault that there are people who do not know Christ. We must feel a tremendous responsibility for the souls of such people. If we become saints, we will attract people to Christ. Our problem, however, is the lack of holiness within us. Therefore, we are unfair toward our brothers who don't see the holiness within us and as a result are not drawn closer to the Gospel. So, what we really need is holiness and saints in the Church."
(Metropolitan Athanasios, 21st Century Hierarch of Limassol, 2015 interview) [Sanctification; Witness;Evangelism]
"Christ came to enlighten mankind. There are various religions outside His revelation where the followers are sincere – not just practicing demon worship – and where the soul is really trying to get through to God. I would say that before the people have heard of Christ, these religions are fine as far as they go, but they will not get you to the goal. The goal is eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven, and God came in the flesh to open this up to us."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose in "God's Revelation to the Human Heart") [True Church; Salvation]
"There was also a time when I studied the Holy Scriptures diligently. I also do it now, but not with the intensity with which I used to study it before. What has taken up my time? I spend time reading newspapers or magazines... if it takes up the majority of my reading time, it means that I have started giving more importance to a newspaper than to the Word of God. I easily notice that I can’t remember five good things that I may have read in a newspaper, but I still waste my time in front of it."
(Fr. Silouan Benedict, 21st Century priest in India) [Priorities; Use of Time; Love of God]
"Being filled with the Gospel teaching and trying to live by it, we should have love and compassion for the miserable humanity of our days. Probably never have people been more unhappy than the people of our days, even with all the outward conveniences and gadgets our society provides us with. People are suffering and dying for the lack of God—and we can help give God to them. The love of many has truly grown cold in our days—but let us not be cold. As long as Christ sends us His grace and warms our hearts, we do not need to be cold."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose) [Hope;Evangelism]
"All of this [spiritual blessings] was the fruit of our holy Geronda's prayers, teaching, and wise discipline. It was because of his tears that he shed for us. He himself admitted it. When they asked him, 'Geronda, why are you fasting so strictly after being so exhausted?' He answered, 'Because, my child, I want to struggle so that our good God will give his grace to all of you.'"
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast ~ "My Elder Joseph the Hesychast") [Intercession; Prayer; Struggle]
"With all of the prescriptions given to us to do, it seems sometimes that the Church is asking us all to be monks...Just as all of us are not called to be mathematicians or rocket scientists, not everyone is called to be a monk. However, that does not mean that everyone isn’t called to some sort of ascesis. That word...simply means self-denial, something that Christ tells all of us to do."
(Fr. Philip Rodgers, 21st Century priest) [Sanctification; Sacrifice; Penance]
"I believe that every person has a choice in life, even though it sometimes seems that’s not the case. I’m talking about some of the most ordinary things now: the way you treat other people, whether you’re going to be kind or, because you’re having a bad day, unpleasant. That always depends on you."
(Novak Djokovic, 21st Century Orthodox tennis star) [Witness; Example; Patience]
"Chrismation reproduces the event of Pentecost, the indwelling of the Spirit of prophecy, that he might fulfill his mission in the Church. The sacrament of Chrismation can be understood only in the light of the theology of the Holy Spirit. He is the gift in whom is completed the mystery of the Trinity. He is also the gift whom the Risen Lord sends to us from the Father to perfect the work of deification in us and to continue His mission of witness in the Church."
(Fr. Thaddeus Hardenbrook, 21st Century priest) [Sanctification]
"You should feel as if you are a small child and God is your Father... He sees your heart and will give what is best for you. It is like a child that asks his father to buy him a motorcycle because he believes he is old enough, and because the father is afraid something bad will happen to his child, he may be slow to grant the child what he wants, but in the end he buys the child a car."
(Elder Paisios on Prayer and God's Answers)
"It is striking that the more one loves a person the more they love to see them and enjoy their presence. And when this is not possible due to the distance between them or for any other reason, then they take their photograph, they kiss it, hold it to their heart...In a similar way are holy icons embraced, for which our respect and love is given to the person depicted, and not the material object, because, as Basil the Great stresses: 'The honor towards the image passes on to the prototype.'"
(Fr. George Papavarnavas, 21st Century protopresbyter) [Icons; Reverence; Tradition]
"In one second, a person can be found in Paradise from hell, if he repents...what power repentance has! It attracts divine Grace. A humble thought that a man brings to mind can save him...I err, I repent, and I am forgiven that instant. If I have a struggling spirit, slowly I will achieve a more stable situation, but until then, I can be swayed."
(Elder St. Paisios the Athonite) [Repentance; Forgiveness; Compunction]
"We must think about what Christ has prepared for us, in the good good Paradise, after the Second Coming. Now we go to the narthex of Paradise, but it cannot enter the mind of man what the good good Paradise is like. All light! All fragrance! Joy unspeakable! Blessedness! Nothing will grow old! Christ wants everything new in His Kingdom."
(Elder Ephraim of Arizona) [Heaven; Salvation; Hope]
"Christianity teaches us that God is Love. This is the greatest revelation of all, completely unknown to any other religion before it, that God is a loving Father who created angels and people out of the abundance of his love and calls them to Eternal Life."
(Monk Madai, Kurdish Orthodox monastic)
"... if a poor woman went to your mother and begged her to ask you to appoint her to a position and you did this favor of your mother, then that poor woman would say your mother saved her, even though you appointed her. Well, so we also say that the Virgin Mary saves us, and her Son who as the One in power, yet is humble, rejoices to hear good words being spoken by us about His mother."
(Elder Paisios on the Theotokos)[Theotokos; intercession;Saints]
"This Faith has therapeutic effects and it became the chief policy of the Roman Empire. But when this civilization was lost the therapy was not lost... the 29th of May may be considered unlucky because the remaining [Byzantine] Empire was abolished, but it can also be considered a day of Orthodoxy, because the Orthodox Faith was liberated from its secular impurities and it preserved the hesychast tradition."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos) [Faith; Providence]
"...monks and nuns say the Jesus prayer while working and everything they do is blessed. When people visit a monastery and eat food cooked without oil, they find it very tasty... the monk is praying while cooking and his heart is filled with positive thoughts...How is it possible then for the food not to taste good? Therefore, when someone comes to your business to start work, first see that he is spiritually revived and then show him the work, so your business will have God’s blessing and be prosperous.”
(Elder St. Paisios) [Prayer; Will of God; Success]
"Eternal Memory" is equivalent to saying "may you ever be in God's memory." The Church says this prayer so that the deceased "continue" in God's memory. Because if God "forgets" us, if He says "I never knew you" (Matt. 7:23), we are led into spiritual extinction. But if He remembers us, then like the thief on the Cross who asked Christ to remember him, we also will live eternally with Him in Paradise."
(John Sanidopoulos, 21st Century blogger and translator) [Salvation; Prayer for the Departed]
"...one of the hallmarks of our church life is its sacramental materialism. This is a normal outgrowth of our faith in the incarnation, in the invisible God entering human history in the flesh. He is born, lives, dies, rises again and ascends physically, thereby transforming our physical and material existence. This is why we venerate icons and relics and why our sacramental life involves all the senses."
(Fr. John Jillions, OCA Chancellor) [Miracles; Faith]
"In many ways the Orthodox world is a thorn in the flesh. It frustrates the West because the Orthodox world, in large measure, never experienced anything like the so-called “Enlightenment” which started the process of secularization and de-Christianization of the West in the 18th century. The idea of a strong and robust nation that holds to traditional Christian values is an idea that Western Europe finds repugnant in the extreme...Western nations have been globalizing their secular values by branding them as “human rights”..."
(Nifco Pafras, 21st Century Orthodox layman) [Traditional Values; Society; Humanism]
"Paul, the other apostles, and innumerable saints after them gave their lives, shed their lives day after day forgetting themselves... They lived for others, they gave as generously as they had received. We also are called to learn the joy, the exhilarating, the wonderful joy of giving, of turning away from ourselves to be free to give, and of giving on all levels, the smallest things and the greatest things. And this can be taught us only by the power of the Holy Spirit..."
(Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh) [Generosity; Love]
"Gone is the glory of Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians. Gone is the glory of Constantinople, the great capital of Orthodoxy..but the glory of the Christians shall not end so long as they hold fast to faith in Jesus Christ and carry Him with them wherever they wander, wherever they are taken, wherever they settle. Jesus alone is their glory....Holiness belongs to humans, not to land."
(Fr Georges Massouh, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Witness]
"Why does God call a person at some given moment? Ordinarily, we do not know all of God's judgments, but there exist certain notions, certain general concepts that demand individual clarification. Often, one dies when he has sufficiently matured to enter into eternity...the Kingdom of God develops within the person. As soon as that person has matured unto eternity, he is immediately taken away."
(Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoyev) [Death; Will of God; Providence]
"...by judging others we directly encroach on one of the prerogatives of the Holy Trinity. God is Creator; He alone has the right to judge, for He alone is All-knowing and All-good. We are limited creatures, restricted by time and space. Only those specially gifted are able to penetrate the secrets of the heart, while we most often judge people by their outward actions, habits, looks, lifestyles, etc., all based on external examination and our own subjective – and therefore faulty –experience. Our power of judgement is further handicapped by our sinful nature, our propensity to take notice of our neighbor’s weaknesses."
(Bishop Kyrill of San Francisco) [Judging; Gossip; Pride]
"Being firm in the missionary zeal of the Holy Apostles and the Church Fathers, our Church has the duty to understand the functioning of the informational society of nowadays, in order to wisely use the means of communication so as to communicate the Orthodox values and enter into the social networks in pursuance of meeting the human being of today, who has become a user of new communicational technologies in the Areopagus of modernity."
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania) [Witness; Evangelization]
"I personally never try to persuade a person to become a monk, in fact, to the contrary, I usually advise putting off the decision and testing oneself...This is too important a step, just like marriage, in fact. Today, unfortunately, everything is different. Both monasticism and marriage are seen as something temporary: you try it, didn’t like it, you move on. I reject this attitude and insist that every candidate do some serious soul-searching."
(Archbishop Mark Arndt, 21st Century Hierarch in Germany) [Monasticism; Will of God; Vocation]
"It would be a mistake, however, to suggest that Orthodoxy has enthusiastically endorsed war. Even in cases of the defense of a Christian people from Islamic invasion, the spiritual gravity of warfare has not been forgotten. For example, St. Sergius of Radonezh in the fourteenth century gave his blessing to Grand Prince Dimitri to fight a defensive war against the Tatar Khan only after he received assurances that the prince had already exhausted every possible means of reconciliation."
(Fr. Philip LeMasters, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Just War; Society]
"Asceticism is something to be practiced. Prayer is very important even if you say it mechanically because the understanding comes later. The Holy Spirit works later in you after you are well established in your ascetic endeavors."
(Archimandrite Chezarie Paunescu, 20th Century Romanian seminary director) [Jesus Prayer; Obedience]
"It may seem at times that the Lord has forgotten us completely, has not heard our cries, our prayers, to be delivered from unbearable pain of soul or body, to be freed from the yoke of an ingrained passion or sin, to help us to pray without ceasing. Of course He has not forgotten us...but in all this He desires that we become long-suffering and patient even as He is, even if we have to wait thirty-eight years or a whole lifetime."
(Deacon Jeremiah of Holy Cross Hermitage) [Patience; Suffering; Prayer; Faith]
"A doctor’s scalpel has the power to save, but it also has the power to kill—so it is with the reproof of a spiritual father. If administered with wisdom, reproof can help bring spiritual children to both repentance and healing. But if reproof is administered too harshly—and without proper care—it can cause damage that is potentially irreparable."
(Fr. Joseph Gleason, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Prudence; Guidance; Witness]
"The newly growing Christian life in the Armenian world, was nurtured by the blood of the Apostles St.Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew, the first illuminators, spreading the light of Christ’s Gospel, the reborn martyrs and the heroes of our Faith. Our people during all of history, were often glorified on the altar of martyrdom, becoming a venerable example of piety. During the years of the Genocide also, the stories of martyrdom and sufferings of our children, as much as it caused pain and sorrow, also created new impetus to strengthen and have courage of faith, as it was in the case of the Christians of the first centuries..."
(His Holiness Karekin II, Armenian Patriarch on the Armenian Genocide of 1915-18) [Persecution; Martyrs]
"Theology is the content of our prayers. And an example of this theology is the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. The whole anaphora is theology and is expressed through prayer.. John the Theologian from an academic point of view was not a theologian; he says things simply. His theology, however, is a state of being. Whatever he says becomes dogma for everyone."
(Elder Sophrony, 20th Century staretz) [Theology; Wisdom]
"Do you want to find out what kind of love you have? Stand in front of the mirror of the 13th chapter of the 1st epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, and honestly look to see if those things the Apostle Paul says applies to you..True love is intertwined with a spirit of humility, sacrifice and giving.
(Elder Germanos of Stavrovouni +1982) [Love; Meekness]
" We have to look at our hearts and see which passion of ours will be devil hook us on in order to cause us to betray Christ. If we think that we are something superior to Judas—that he was some kind of a “kook” and we are not—we are quite mistaken. Like Judas, everyone of us has passions in his heart."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose+, Sermon 1982) [Temptation;Sin]
"...regardless of how and when the Lord chooses to reveal Himself it is always possible, in freedom and because of sin, to explain away that revelation...But without this faith no amount of knowledge or evidence will suffice. There will always be room for doubt..."
(Archbishop Dimitri Royster+, 20th Century American Hierarch) [Faith; Miracles]
"We have no right not to be where our flock is or might be -- and our flock today, in fact the most active part of our flock, is on social networks,"
(Patriarch Kirill of Russia) [Witness; Evangelization]?
“I saw some questionable things with the Protestants: praying to guitar accompaniment, dances, etc. I asked myself: is it correct to serve God as if you were at a disco or bar? And then I heard that there was a new religion in Indonesia, where they serve differently, where they perform their prayers in a dignified manner, where the women cover their heads and so on, and I asked, “What religion is that?” They told me that it was Orthodoxy.”
(Fr. Ioasaph, 21st Century Indonesian Muslim convert to Orthodoxy) [Reference; Witness]
"... in the world today, we don’t see the pain of nostalgia, instead glorifying a version of the past that never really existed. The supposed “Golden age” of the Church, the Pax Romana, and the indefinable “good ol’ days” that have always just passed. This is no country for old men. But by always longing for a world that isn't our own, we are never really here. We are never really a part of our own lives. We are never really able to transcend the depths of the past, ascend to greater heights, and make ourselves (and the world around us) better."
(Subdeacon Gabe Martini) [Delusion; Peace] “The persecutions in pagan Rome, threats from Muslim sultans, and the Soviet gulag had a slower effect on cutting into Church attendance than life in the comfy, modern world. The sword of the Ottoman janissary has been replaced by the lure of the shopping mall...the threat that led to the liturgical command to bar “the doors, the doors”...has been replaced by the fear of missed email or missed sleep.”
(Fr. Geoffrey Korz, 21st Century priest) [Materialism; Modernism; Love of the World]
"Witnesses of the Resurrection were the Apostles, the Confessors, the Martyrs, the Venerable Ones, the Holy Fathers, men and women who bravely faced their problems in life with hope in the resurrection...All these shed their blood and sacrificed their lives, refusing biological joys and material pleasures. Therefore, the Resurrection of Christ is not an ideology, a worldview, a metaphysic or a mysticism, but it is true life that transforms the entire human existence and overcomes death, mortality and the corruption of nature, and creates a transformation of the person and a renewal of all creation."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos) [Sanctification; Faith]
Updated 04/04/2015
"Christ did not say: “I offer one of many complimentary paths”; He said: I am the Way. Christ did no say: “I hold to the correct philosophical principles;” He said: I am the Truth. Christ did not say: “I subscribe to the only viable political agenda;” He said: I am the Life. It is only possible to attain to this Way, this Truth and this Life through Christ and through the light that He bestows to those who strive to allow even a small beam of that light to enter their hearts and illumine their path."
(Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century hierarch of the OCA) [Truth; Salvation]
"The purpose of the Christian life is to ask the Lord Jesus to send the Holy Spirit into our hearts that he may cleanse us and make us more like Christ."
(Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov, 21st Century staretz in England) [Will of God; Sanctification; Struggle]
"I don’t know what will happen in the future. It is hard to say...But a Christian must be beyond politics. We have to be patient. Only pray. God will set things aright. He knows everything. All our hope is in Him."
(Archpriest Michael Li, 21st Century leader of the Russian-Chinese Mission) [Faith; Hope; Peace]
"Why did He weep if He knew that moments later He would call Lazarus back to life...He weeps because He contemplates the miserable state of the world, created by God, and the miserable state of man, the king of creation...At the grave of Lazarus Jesus encounters Death — the power of sin and destruction, of hatred and despair."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann on 'Why Jesus Wept')
"The various denominations often represent nothing more than the natural forces of religious democracy. A God whose teaching and revelation morphs and changes and shifts with the culture, now this, now that, and always more accessible and accommodating, is no God at all. He is merely the good 'god' who obeys mankind."
(Fr. Stephen Freeman 21st Century Orthodox convert) [Humanism; Modernism; Protestantism]
"Faith consists of two parts: theoretical and practical. Theoretical faith exists when we believe with our mind everything that our faith teaches without doing any good works. Such faith is dead, of no benefit, and incapable of saving man...Practical faith exists when we not only believe in everything our faith teaches, but also carry out and abide by all its orders and statutes.
(Nikiforos Theotokis, 18th Century Greek theologian) [Works of Mercy; Faith]
"With surety we have emphasized perseverance as the most indispensable element in prayer. Rightly it is stressed by St. Paul, "Continue steadfastly in prayer."{Col. 4:2} In contrast to the rest of the virtues, prayer requires effort throughout our entire lifetime, and for this reason I repeat to those who are making the attempt not to feel encumbered, nor to consider the need for endurance as a failure in this sober-minded work."
(Elder Joseph of Vatopedi +) [Prayer; Struggle]
"Syria, and particularly Aleppo, is depopulated of its Christians. We are afraid of ending up like the Christians in Mosul …or that we will die from a wayward shell, or be shot by a sniper...Despite everything, even though we have lost some of our illusions, we keep our hope intact because without it our faith is meaningless.”
(Anonymous Christian in Aleppo, Syria) [Faith; Hope;Trials]
"People are completely unprepared and unable to properly accept death. The death of loved ones is always like a powerful sledgehammer blow a on the carefully prepared building of “earthly happiness”, which, more often than not, takes the place of God in the lives of unbelievers...th is a wonderful medicine that “revises” our system of our values and priorities every time."
(Archpriest Pavel Velikanovv interview in pravmir.com) [Death; Faith; Hope]
"Our modern man puts too much heart into trifles and details, is assaulted by a lot of false things and does not know how to choose...Our contemporary man has become too materialistic, a subject to the new tyrant: money. Everywhere we look, we hear that money is everything, the master of this world. He, who makes money his master, makes himself a servant to the devil"
(Elder Justin Parvu, 20th Century Romanian staretz) [Love of the World; Materialism]
"The example of Mary of Egypt should not confuse us by its remoteness in time from our own era, for man throughout his entire history has possessed mind, and will, and feelings, and passions, and has experienced temptations. Everything that takes place in the world is related to the external arrangement of life, but none of this has changed man’s nature; therefore Mary of Egypt should remain for us a living example...
(Patriarch Kirill of Russia)
"When people visit a monastery and eat food cooked without oil, they find it very tasty...the monk is praying while cooking and his heart is filled with positive thoughts; he thinks that he is preparing food for earthy angels to eat. Moreover, when monks sit at the table to eat, they say a prayer to bless the food. How is it possible then for the food not to taste good?"
(Elder St. Pasios in “Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain”) [Blessing; Prayer;Sanctification]
"The goal of the Christian's life on earth is salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ and, at the same time, communion with God. The means for this communion is prayer, and through his prayer the Christian is joined in one spirit with the Lord (I Cor. 6:17). Prayer is the focal point and foundation of spiritual life and the source of salvation. Without prayer, as St. John Chrysostom says, there is no life in the spirit. Without prayer man is deprived of communion with God and can be compared to a dry and barren tree, which is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt. 7:19)."
~From 'These Truths We Hold' catechism [Will of God; Prayer]
"...we do not like the thought of enduring the freezing lakes of this world - of suffering the discomfort and inconvenience that test our love for God and others. We sometimes face difficult decisions that pit our comfort against doing the right thing. But, with the Holy Forty Martyrs [of Sebaste], let us say, “Winter is harsh but paradise is sweet!”"
(Fr. Daniel Bethancourtm, 21st Century priest in Louisiana) [Struggle; Perseverance; Courage]
"...how many examples of bearing one’s cross do we see in the years-long patience of the sick! And in the patience of those caring for the sick! And in the cross of mothers and fathers who pray with repentance and patience for their prodigal children...Such is the teaching of our Savior and Lord. And if we strive to fulfill all of this not in word alone, but also in deeds, then we can have hope that we are indeed His disciples."
(Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov) [Long-suffering; Patience; Meekness]
"For us Orthodox Christians the Cross of Christ is the flag, the banner, the badge, the scepter, the rod of power. The language of the Cross is silence, pain, deprivation, elimination, humiliation and dishonor; it comes to erase and eliminate any element of haughtiness, verbosity, glory and boasting in various appreciative applause. The crucified Christ continuously speaks to us through His blood, His pain, His shame and His humiliation."
(Archimandrite Gregory Constantinou, 21st Century monastic) [Sacrifice; Faith]
"The youth are not the future of the Parish – they are the present, the now.”
(Protopresbyr Dean Nastos, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Youth; Evangelism]
"God loves beauty; He created it; He endows us with the ability to appreciate beauty, and some of us with the ability to create it. Sometimes we are asked why we so bountifully adorn our churches. After all, God hears us even if we pray in a barn…The answer is obvious: Because God created us as beings capable of appreciating and loving beauty, and if we strive to live amidst beauty and not ugliness, then shouldn’t we before all adorn the place where we worship God?"
(Sergei Khudiev, 21st Century Russian writer) [Worship; Tradition]
"Man is a fine creature and tends towards goodness. But he is also strongly drawn towards wickedness because of the fall; therefore he benefits greatly from persuasion which encourages him to remain in the right path, since he is an imitator by nature. We employ various ways and means, fear and threats, to incite and persuade ourselves to habitually turn towards goodness and avoid evil. We find this kind of encouragement in the lives of our Holy Fathers and the martyrs."
(Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, 21st Century startetz on Mt. Athos) [Temptation; Sanctification]
"A spiritual person and a true spiritual father are determined by the love they express: understanding what a person needs and the willingness to help. This is what love means. And along with love, to give guidance and lovingly tend to the successes of one’s neighbor."
(Bishop George, 21st Century ROCOR hierarch) [Love; Obedience]
"Now during Lent those in the world in some way take greater care to show abstinence, but we monks must always be careful. Above all one must be careful, however, of the passions of the soul and then the body. Because if one prioritizes bodily asceticism and does not struggle to eradicate the passions of the soul, he will do nothing. A layman once went to a monastery in the beginning of Lent and there a certain monk appeared to him to be abrupt and rough...If he had done the Three Day Fast in a spiritual way he would have had a spiritual sweetness and would have spoken to him with goodness. But he pushed himself egotistically to do the Three Day Fast..."
(Elder St. Pasios) [Goodness; Kindness; Love; Fasting]
"Let us fast, my children. Do not listen to those who say that fasting is nothing, and that this is something from monks. This is not from monks, my children, forgive me, God says this. The first commandment of God is fasting, and our Christ fasted. We can say that we are fasting, and eat so much. Now, what fasting are we doing, my children? When we eat, forgive me, so much food, even if it is without oil."
(Elder Iakovos Tsalikis, 20th Century Greek monastic) [Fasting; Temperance]
"All too often it’s easy to miss the warnings in my life because my life, my soul, my mind is flooded with my own “voice.” The selfish wants drown out that “still, small voice” that is screaming at me that I am going down a wrong path. I am only going to wake up to those loving warnings if I stop the routine of spiritual deafness and listen to wisdom that calls me to another path."
(Fr Barnabas Powell, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Love of the World; Sanctification]
"The message of repentance is a powerful one which can transform every life from one of confusion and sadness to a life of peace and joy in Christ. The message of repentance calls us to put aside all of those things in this earthly life which drive us away from God, and to concentrate on strengthening our relationship with God, and allowing His Holy Spirit to fill a heart which had been previously consumed by passions. Of course it is important that we abstain from certain food and drink as prescribed by the Church's fasting discipline, but it is equally important that we abstain from sinful thoughts, words, and deeds."
(Antiochian Metropolitan Joseph, 21st Century American hierarch) [Repentance; Sanctification]
"Throughout this period, at every service in Great Lent, we say the prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (“O Lord and Master of my life...."), With these words, the saint wishes to make us understand very clearly, that, apart from other virtues we need to take special care with the last case, that of self-censure and of criticism of our bothers and that without love for our fellow human beings there’s no chance of making even the slightest progress towards our spiritual purification. If we don’t pay attention to our thoughts, our words and our heart, there’s no benefit in fasting."
(Elder Ephraim of Arizona on Lent) [Humility; Meekness]
"How do we go about becoming missionaries in our own neighborhoods? First, we need to be comfortable with Jesus Christ as someone we encounter daily that we can introduce to our friends. We should not compartmentalize Jesus Christ into someone we see privately on Sundays only at Divine Liturgy, nor think that church is simply a place we go to to be with “our people. We also need to become comfortable inviting friends to church."
(Fr. Matthew Thurman, 21st Century Antiochian priest in the US) [Evangelism; Witness]
QUOTE OF THE DAY... "Believe in God, love the church and follow the [spiritual] fathers of the church. Walk your life on the road of humility. Acquire a good name near Christ. Insist more in prayer. You’ll be free only when you walk with love towards those who hate you! Stay still in Christ for eternity…"
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc of Romania)
"When your mother, your child, your husband, anyone, is sick, first call the priest, not the doctor! The Church has prayers for everything imaginable, and those prayers are very effectual. Turn to those prayers first, then proceed. If you are building a house there is a prayer for beginning this project; traveling there are prayers; studying there are prayers...."
(Elder Cleopa) [Prayer; Faith]
"If we do not go to Church, except when we have some crisis in our lives, how can we say that we are Orthodox? If our churches are empty, then God will take away our churches because we are unworthy to have them. And when we Orthodox no longer have churches, what are we? Nothing! The Church is the source of our culture, of our civilization."
(Archpriest Andrew Philips, 21st Century English priest) [Worship; Faith; Persecution]
"Church attendance in the West today is not hit by persecution, but by seduction. The sword of the Ottoman janissary has been replaced by the lure of the shopping mall. The fear of starving to death in Siberia has been replaced with the comfort of bacon and eggs for breakfast. The threat of arrest by centurions – the threat that led to the liturgical command to bar “the doors, the doors” before the recitation of the Creed – this threat has been replaced by the fear of missed email or missed sleep."
(Fr. Geoffrey Korz, 21st Century Canadian priest) [Temptation; Love of the World]
"Phariseeism as a spiritual state is a danger to any believer. It begins when a person prays formally, with his lips and not his heart, out of habit, and thinks he is pleasing to God...Spiritual pride, assurance of your own righteousness, ostentatious piety and hypocrisy are all phariseeism. The Holy Church in its struggle with the danger of falling into this state puts forth the example of the repentant publican."
(Hieromonk Job Gumerov, 21st Century Russian monastic) [Humility; Pride]
"So, in the midst of trials, need, tribulations, let us first pray, give alms of sacrifice, and fast...God does indeed answer these prayers... but not always the way that we want. His ways are certainly not our ways, and our understanding cannot begin to fathom or comprehend Gods judgments. When His answer to our petitions is not what we want it to be, we must still trust in His mercy and judgment, giving thanks always."
(From 'The Veil' of the Protection of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Monastery)
"The Lord God has given every Orthodox Christian an immeasurable and free gift: the fullness of the Christian Faith! It was not given to us to put under a bushel basket. It was not given to us to hoard. It was not given to us because we are special. It was given to us because God is love! Spread the love! 'Freely you have been given, freely give!'”
(Fr. John Parker, 21st Century OCA Evangelism chairperson) [Wtiness; Evangelism; Hospitality]
"...family must be, in the words of Apostle Paul, a small home church, i.e. not be only officially counted as an Orthodox unit, not be limited only to an external observance of church rules, but to truly retain the Lord Jesus Christ as the focal point of its life. Only under such a condition will the atmosphere of the Orthodox home and the entire mode of family life penetrate deep into the child’s soul."
(Archpriest Sergei Chetverikoff, 20th Century Russian priest) [Children; Family; Faith]
"God is building a spiritual house, a Temple for His glory and we are called to become these living stones. First we need to become these stones through our participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church, feasting on Christ and striving to live a life of holiness in obedience to His teaching. As we become more like Christ, we begin to move from an inward focus to something outward desiring to spread the Gospel. Our Orthodox Faith is meant to be something that is ecstatic, moving out from oneself to others."
(Fr. Christopher Foley, 21st Century mission priest in NC) [Missions; Evangelism; Wtiness]
"You must also learn that no matter where you work, especially if it’s in the Church, there will always be many disappointments and disenchantments, because people are people everywhere, with each one’s “plusses” and “minuses.” You need to learn to be condescending to people’s infirmities, and to always remember that God’s Providence teaches a lesson in spiritual life in every situation. So we learn from the moment we become aware of ourselves to the moment of our death."
(Fr. John Krestiankin+, 21st Century Russian staretz) [Trials; Peace]
"The word “repentance,” translated from Greek, means a change in way of life. That is, that which for us is familiar and everyday, that with which we have already gotten used to, we need to change...For us it is familiar and everyday to judge one another, familiar and everyday to get irritated, familiar and everyday to be spiritually slack, because we do not know how to pray; for us to get ourselves really to pray is something unusual, because real prayer is when the human heart, the human mind, and the human soul fully turn to God – and we see, of course, that we do not have this."
(Archpriest Alexander Ganaba, 21st Century Russian priest) [Repentance; Sanctification; Struggle]
“We see in the Gospel of Zacchaeus’ Sunday how God changes the human hearts, not so much through punishments, disease, trouble or reproach, but especially through overwhelming kindness shown to the sinful people often unexpectedly and undeservedly. But God’s mercy and kindness are often shown to the great sinners, not only to convert them, but also to encourage all the other people so that they would become better and more merciful, to try to resemble the very merciful God."
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania, 21st Century Hierarch) [Love; Repentance; Witness]
"Faith, values and integrity must have the central place in the life of nations and the state, and we must spend the rest of the 21st century fighting for it, talking about it, and acting in the name of it."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox official) [Society; Traditional Values]
"Love, therefore, is the purpose of life, because God is Love. Hence, the person who aims to achieve union with God ("according to His likeness"), has as an aim the acquisition of Love...It requires perseverance, patience, prayer, attention, humility and repentance. But it also requires something else very important: Everyone can achieve many things in life, but holiness cannot be achieved without the Mysteries of the Church. Even though some people claim to believe in Christ, anyone who rejects the Orthodox Church rejects Christ, and they are far from Christ, far from Light, far from Truth, far from Love and far from Eternal Life."
(Archimandrite Paul Papadopoulos, 21st Century monastic) [Love; Purpose of Life; Sanctification]
"Just as a natural virtue that is aspired to can only be achieved by the conducive means, so also this holy work requires some nearly indispensable rudiments: a degree of quiet; freedom from cares; avoidance of learning about and spreading the "news" of things going on, the "giving and taking" as the Fathers put it; self discipline in all things; and an overall silence which stems from these things. Moreover, I don't think this persistence and habit will be unattainable for devout people who take an interest in this holy activity. The good habit of a regular prayer time, morning and evening, always about the same time, would be a good beginning."
(Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, 21st Century abbot on Mt. Athos) [Jesus Prayer]
"The world we live in is often called 'post-Christian' and sometimes 'post-religious.' This term conceals a terrible diagnosis of the spiritual and moral condition of societies in many countries...the idea of absolutely prioritizing the value of free choice and of rejecting the priority of moral norms has become a slow-acting bomb for Western civilization."
(Patriarch Kirill of Russia) [Traditional Values; Society]
"The light of the world is essentially our Lord Jesus Christ, but because the believers in Him absorb this light and reflect it into the world, they too appear to be "the light of the world". Such are the Apostles and their successors, whose designation is to shine with Christ’s light: the pastors of the holy Church. They have to live in such a way, so that in seeing their good deeds, people would praise God."
(Archbishop Averky Tauchev, 20th Century American hierarch) [Witness]
"The essential contribution of monasticism is prayer for the salvation of the world. The monk is purified from the passions by the grace of God, communion with the pain of the world, and understands (despite living outside the world) the error, the distresses, the sinfulness of the world and grieves for it, mourns and prays for God to give the spirit of repentance in the world."
(Archimandrite Ephraim, 21st Century Abbot of Vatopedi) [Prayer; Vocation; Intercession]
Updated 01/16/15
"Genuine good Christian life may be led only by those who have faith in Christ and who strive to live by this faith; that is, those who by their good works fulfill the will of God. Good works are an expression of our love, and love is the foundation of all Christian life...Love which is not accompanied by good works is not true love, but is merely lip service. That is why the Word of God says, Faith without works is dead ."
(Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy, 20th Century American priest, 'The Law of God') [Good Works; Sanctification]
"The truth is that God is unchanged indeed, but men change. When a man changes, he is treated differently...God judges a man for what he deserves at the moment, but not for what he`ll deserve in future."
(Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century priest martyr) [Judgement]
"Bringing the Gospel to a missionary land does not entail "bombing the country back to the Stone Age" in a spiritual sense and then imposing a carbon copy of Byzantium or Kievan Rus on the devastated new land. The early Church did not stamp out the heritage of Homer or Virgil. The Church is a living organism and she Christianizes different peoples in different ways, all the time drawing each culture closer to the Gospel message. Much of the ethical and social content of Confucianism is compatible with Christian teaching and may be incorporated into a Chinese Christian culture."
(Chinese Orthodoxy article) [Evangelism; Teaching]
"The question is always being asked, "Is it possible for those living in the world to occupy themselves with noetic prayer?" To those who ask we answer quite affirmatively, "Yes"...Generally speaking, prayer is the sole obligatory and indispensable occupation and virtue for all rational beings, both sentient and thinking, human and angelic. For this reason we are enjoined to the unceasing practice of the prayer." (Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, 20th Century Mt Athos staretz) [Jesus Prayer]
"To the devil, we don’t need to give explanations...If you want to drive him away, say: “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me”, and speak to God. The power of His Name will rid him. It suits the devil to enter into a dialogue for it means that you acknowledge him. Thus through prayer, we ignore him."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc of Romania) [Satan; Deliverance]
"For far too long, the Church has lived under the fallacy that it is not supposed to prosyletize, only to use that as an excuse for it not to evangelize, thus failing in the Great Commission through the sin of omission. Now, more than ever with the world as it is, to miss the opportunity to serve because of the fallacy that “the Church is not a social service center”, only to use that as an excuse not to serve and help those in need whatever the multitude of needs may be is to fail in the mission of the Church, as St. Basil believed it to be and taught it should be through his example...We as individual believers and collectively as the Church are called to Christian philanthropy."
(John G. Panagiotou, 21st Century Orthodox writer) [Alms; Works of Mercy]
"O Lord God Almighty, Shaper and Ruler of all Creation, we pray Thee for Thy great mercy that Thou mayest guide us better than we have done towards Thee. Guide us to Thy will and to the needs of our soul, better than we can ourselves. Make steadfast our mind towards Thy will and to our soul’s needs. Strengthen us against the temptations of the devil and put far from us all lust and every unrighteousness, shielding us against our foes, seen and unseen. Teach us to do Thy will that we may inwardly love Thee before all things with a pure mind. For Thou art our Maker and Redeemer, our Help, our Comfort, our Trust, our Hope and praise and glory be to Thee now and ever and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
(King Alfred the Great, 9th Century 'Right-believing' monarch of England) [Prayer; Faith]
"...the Church calendar colors days, marking some for fasting and others for feasting and makes of time a complication that demands attention. The Church calendar was once described to me as the “sanctification of time.”...The feasts on the calendar are not appointments with memorials, the recollection of events long past. They are invitations to present tense moments in the liturgical life of the world. In those moments there is an intersection of the present and the eternal. They are theophanies into which we may enter."
(Fr. Stephen Freeman, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Feasts; Tradition]
"Who are these “poor” to whom the Lord preaches? This is everyone, brothers and sisters, including me, who are weak in spirit and do not want to understand that we are disciples of Christ, that we can tread on the power of the enemy and nothing will hurt us. So should we strengthen our souls and “preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”... How many people are discouraged in our world, how many poor there are, how many there are who wonder how to make it another day. And they need to be strengthened in spirit. Who can do this? Only those who firmly believe in the strength of the Orthodox Church and in the stability of our Orthodox spirit. “To set at liberty them that are bruised”… To show the path to those who are bruised “in joy.” Where is this joy? In God’s church, in our Orthodox life!"
(Metropolitan Pitirim Nechaev, 21st Century Russian hierarch) [Faith; Witness; Hope]
"If it is true that the language of the world to come is that of silence, then Joseph, the Betrothed of the Virgin, is a type of the man of the age to come. None of his words are recorded in the Gospels, none of his conversations mentioned. Only his thoughts and actions are described. He approaches the mystery of the ineffable self-emptying of the Son and Word of God with awe, circumspection and silence...In a time of gabbiness, verbosity and even of the increasing dissemination of ecclesiastical words, it is almost impossible to estimate the value of silence."
(Fr. Vasilios I. Kalliakmanis, 21st Century priest, quoted in 'Mystagogy') [Silence; Example]
"When a person falls ill, several things happen to him. First of all, the person discovers that the body is him or her. Usually, people live as though they were spiritual beings using a body which is of little importance. An illness compels us to recognize that our body is as much ourselves as our souls. The second thing we discover in being ill is that we are completely helpless and depend on the mercy of God and the compassion of other people. The third thing always coming to mind of a sick person is that death may be the final result of the illness."
(Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, 20th Century English hierarch) [Trials; Illness; Faith]
"A Child – born for us! Light! Peace! Love! These are the images we treasure during this holy season. Yet, even as He lies in the manger we can already foresee the impending suffering of the Cross in the senseless slaughter of the Holy Innocents to appease the vanity of the ruling Herod. Are the evil Herods of today any different?...This Child causes us to fall down in worship, praise and thanksgiving; the holy innocents of our own time cause us to question the values of a world where one person’s choice trumps another person’s life!"
(2014 Nativity Epistle of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church USA) [Traditional Values; Society]
"It would be nice if we could ignore the culture wars, but the culture wars are coming after us, our Church, and our families. You can choose what you are prepared to defend, but you cannot choose who will attack what you wish to defend...We do believe that the Orthodox Church is the True Church, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it, but that does not mean that large parts of it, including our own, cannot fall into heresy and error, if we are not vigilant. It has happened more than once in Church history, and there is no reason to think that we are somehow immune today."
(Fr. John Whiteford, 21st Century American Orthodox priest) [Society; Traditional Values]
"God comes down to us from on high, and chooses to be born as a babe in the most humble of settings, the cave in Bethlehem. We strive to respond to this outpouring of love from God by cleansing our minds from all carnal thoughts and passions. Whereas the Kings of the East offered Him myrrh, our appropriate offering is a life of virtue, free from all of the sinfulness that would separate us from our God."
(Metropolitan Joseph, 21st Century Antiochian American Primate) [Sanctification]
"Our Lord proclaimed good news to the poor, gave sight to the blind, and healed every manner of infirmity. How well we know the spiritual poverty and blindness and infirmity that fills our world today. And how crucial it is to be continuously reminded that “with God, all things are possible,” (Mt 19:26) precisely because “God is with us” (Mt 1:23) and calls us to become “partakers in His divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4) Even our most seemingly insignificant expressions of love and compassion for “the least of the brethren” (Mt 25:40) make the impossible, possible and the mundane as miraculous as the divine birth we celebrate today."
(Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA, 2014 Nativity Message)
"Children should be taken to church from the moment of conception in their mothers’ womb, and after the child is born, he should be regularly given Communion. After growing a little, he himself should run to church for services, because this will become a need for him; and if a child is not taken to church from early childhood, it will be hard later on to get him accustomed to prayer and order in the church. Going to church should be a festive occasion for the child, and therefore when you get ready to go to church, dress your child in beautiful clothes. After the service, set a festive table and do not neglect to talk with him about the services..."
(Archpriest John Osyak, 21st Century Russian priest) [Family; Worship]
"Christianity is the revelation of the true God to humanity. It is not an ideological construction or a human philosophy. We did not discover God, but He revealed Himself to us when His infinite love willed it. Since its appearance in the historical scene, Christianity is the light of humanity. This is based on the assurance of Christ that He is the Light of the world."
(Archimandrite Chrysostomos Papathanasiou, 21st Century Greek monastic) [Revelation; Salvation]
"Many people think that monks are living saints, angels in the flesh, but this is simply not true. Monks are men who are called by God to be like the angels, in that they seek God and worship Him above all else. The monk must struggle with the help of God to be a man of prayer and a man of faith. The monk is only a man; even though he is called by God to be like the angels, he nevertheless falls down and then he gets back up again. This process of falling down and getting up is the spiritual struggle through which each monk goes in his journey towards union with Christ."
(Abbot Seraphim, 21st Century confessor of Holy Cross Hermitage in WV) [Monasticism; Struggle]
"Today we live in a world marked by confusion and uncertainty, of much violence and pain, especially in the war zones. We see in our days many signs of physical and spiritual suffering caused by sickness and poverty, injustice and greed of money and power, but less deeds of merciful love and mutual help among people. Thus, in an unstable and egoistic world, pilgrims look for the Holy and Merciful God, the One Who is steadfast in love, in order to receive from Him healing and help, which are more certain than any human help, while the joy of human’s encounter with God and with His saints transforms suffering in hope, labour in joy and fight in victory.
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania, 21st Century Primate) [Mercy; Society]
"When embarking upon a fast, each person needs to be ready for what is called “temptation” or “trial” in the spiritual life. The thing is, that a fast is essentially the cleansing of one’s interior “I”—the cleansing of one’s soul. And it is not just a cleansing, but also becoming filled with a special spiritual content. The people who fall into the most difficult situations are probably those who have cleansed their soul but have not filled it with anything. For according to the word of the Gospel, if you clean your house, but do not fill it with the correct content, demons will come, temptations will come."
(Archpriest Alexei Kruglik, 21st Century Russian priest) [Fasting; Spiritual Growth]
"It is the Cross that saved mankind! Not God’s justice or His miracles, but His Cross! When Jesus was crucified, Satan was defeated. I do not see how fasting alone can give us hope for salvation. Humility rooted deeply in our hearts and freedom from resentments, are hopes for our salvation. What we’re being asked first is: the will to overcome temptations. And by praying to God, His grace will not abandon us."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century Romanian startetz) [Salvation; Prayer]
Updated 11/30/14
"My dear, suffering is a gift from God! It is a mistake to run from your own suffering. You are truly free only when you are struggling, when you are present on the cross. Suffering brings deep wisdom and make you reflect more seriously on your salvation."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century Romanian staretz) [Suffering, Patience]
"Today, when the process of secularization, the denial of absolute truth, the elimination of the concept of sin from the public consciousness reaches unprecedented, apocalyptic dimensions, we regret to note that many European states have actually abandoned their Christian identity...a locomotive of destructive processes."
(Russian Patriarch Kirill) [Society; Secularization]
"Thank You, O Lord, for having revealed Yourself unto us and given us the foretaste of Your Kingdom. Thank You, O Lord, for having helped us to overcome all difficulties, tensions, passions, temptations and restored peace, mutual love and joy in sharing the communion of the Holy Spirit. Thank You, O Lord, for our families: husbands, wives and, especially, children who teach us how to celebrate Your holy Name in joy, movement and holy noise."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 20h Century theologian; excerpts from a prayer) [Gratitude]
"...Islam promises a worldly-dominated blissful happiness, the fulfillment of all desires and sensations of the faithful, but also a mental blissful happiness after death for the followers of Allah. Western Christians better understand this blissful happiness, despite the ascetic life of the Orthodox Church which ascetically aims at overcoming blissful happiness. The same commonalities are observed in other issues, such as the issue and source of Faith. For the Muslim the Koran is the revelation of God, and the redemption of the believer depends on the book and its reading. This mindset is also found among Western Christians, for whom the Bible is the word of God and the only source of faith, which is why Westerners better understand the Muslim perception of Revelation rather than the Orthodox, for whom the Gospel is not a Revelation but words about the Revelation."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos, 21st Century Primate of Nafpaktos) [Islam; Protestantism]
"Where is the value in our contemporary Elders?...hese are people who prove that Christianity is the truth and that it can be experienced. What contemporary man seeks is spirituality: how to pray, how to communicate with God. They want answers to the question if God exists, how does He exist, if anybody has experienced what is spoken of in the Gospels, if anyone knows God personally, directly. Therefore, the testimony of these great Elders is irreplaceable..."
(Archimandrite Paul Englezakis, 21st Century monastic) [Witness; Truth]
"When we say that a certain person has an ecclesiastical ethos, it should be understood that they have an unwavering faith in God, that they violently give themselves over to piety, that their behavior is sincere, that they are distinguished for their simplicity and humility, that for the achievement of their objective they do not use abnormal, cunning, underground and corrupt means, that they accept sorrows with patience, that they daily become imitators of the saints, that they essentially love everyone...The ecclesiastical ethos belongs to a rare type of being in our days. It has been bypassed..."
(Metropolitan Nicholas, 21st Century Hierarch of Fthiotidos) [Witness; Example; Worldview]
"This strong relationship between our faith and the observance of Thanksgiving Day also shows that this is a time when families can offer a witness of the Gospel. Through the commemoration of this day, families have the opportunity to offer a witness of the Gospel by acknowledging that Christ is in their midst and by offering visible gratitude to God for His abundant blessings. In addition, the fellowship among members of the family nurture the bonds that are shared, affirming that the family is a place of love, care, healing, and forgiveness."
(Archbishop Demetrios, 21st Century Greek Hierarch in America) [Gratitude; Witness; Family]
"People from abroad constantly call me and ask me: “Father, why don’t you leave and save yourself from a potential infection and even death?” The answer is very simple. For the present time God has placed me here in West Africa. As the shepherd of the flock in Sierra Leone it is my duty to stay with them, to care for them, to instruct them, to console them, to guide them and to protect them from an evil that kills without pity. Furthermore our Lord Jesus Christ instructs the Christian shepherd not to abandon the sheep when danger comes It is only the hireling who abandons the sheep in moments of crisis."
(Archimandrite Themistcoles Adamopoulos, 21st Century missionary convert) [Works of Mercy; Faith; Courage]
"This is why every time we are going to savor physical bread - in the morning, afternoon and night - and spiritual bread - when we study Holy Scripture and especially when we commune of the Body and Blood of Christ - we should recite the Lord's Prayer with attention and devotion, and we should rely on this request that we commented on today to ask for our spiritual bread, Christ Himself, Who will satisfy our spiritual hunger."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos, 21st Century Greek hierarch) [Prayer; Communion]
"Most of us begin our Christian life in a cloud of joy. For some this cloud of joy continues to grow, while for others it dissipates. It is a common occurrence to go through the motions while our Faith becomes lifeless. To change this lifeless course of one’s Faith, it is necessary to engage into the sacramental life of the Church. This change is aided by reading the Bible and the writings of the Holy Fathers, giving oneself to the Lord’s service, participating in the Liturgy and our communities’ activities, e.g. sharing our Faith and joy."
(Protopresbyter Bratso Krsic, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Joy; Faith; Love]
"In our Orthodox context, we are very good at speaking to each other, but we are less successful when trying to speak to those “who are not my people” in order to make them disciples of Christ. We must be willing to admit that, in many ways, the earthly representatives of the Orthodox Church – bishops, priests, and lay folk – have failed to address the culture in a meaningful way...With rare exceptions, our voice is weak in academic, cultural and political contexts. Perhaps this is due to our own human weakness, spiritual slothfulness, and inability to communicate the truth of the Gospel to the world around us. But perhaps we need to begin by listening more and asking ourselves if we are truly able to hear the questions that are being asked by our college students, by our relatives, by the strangers we meet on the street, by our neighbors?"
(Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century OCA Primate, reflection) [Witness; Evangelism]
"When Paul says that this man [in 1 Corinthians] must be delivered to Satan, he does not mean that he should be handed over to the power of the evil one. Rather, all the evils of this life, for example, diseases, sorrows, sufferings, and other circumstances, were attributed to Satan, and it is in this sense that Paul uses the term here. What he means is that this man should be exposed to the hardships of life."
(Severian of Gabala, 4th century hierarch and commentator)**not modern but also not a saint** [Correction]
"...we use our death to glorify God. The task is the same for us as it was for Saint Peter—by which death can we glorify God (John 21:19)? It could be that God has decided that, like Peter, we will glorify Him by a martyr’s death. It could be that He has decided that we will glorify Him by dying quietly in our beds after eating a bowl of ice cream. It could be that He has decided that we will glorify Him by dying in a cancer ward after a six month struggle with brain cancer. The details of our final end ultimately matter less than the fact that we are fulfilling His will. An obedient heart will say to Him, “Lord, show me by what death I can best glorify Thee, and I will die this death in Thy Name.”
(Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century Canadian priest and author) [God's Will; Faith; Patience]
“Who, like St. Elizabeth Feodorovna, left behind palaces and entered a monastic cell, directing all her skills, connections, charm, and diplomatic skills towards helping the most needy and outcast...There is nothing new if we take upon ourselves the cross of ministering to the Lord, if we take upon ourselves the responsibility of bringing the word of the Savior to the world, simultaneously taking upon ourselves the prospect of being subjected to everything to which the Savior Himself and His faithful followers were subject.”
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia) [Works of Mercy; Renunciation; Service]
"When we decide to submit to God, we see our problems altogether differently. Probably some of them will simply disappear, and others will become the lessons we should learn in the school of our Heavenly Father. But this is our choice, and no one can force us to do it. Even God decided not to do this. He is always waiting for our voluntary consent. We can refuse, go away to the outer darkness, and remain there forever."
(Sergei Khudiev, 21st Century Russian writer) [Trust; Divine Providence; Salvation]
"It’s hard for the intellectual to live a life of prayer. God is not revealed to the sharp mind, but to the humble pure heart that is constantly shown towards Him. The philosophers have only created some notions, but they did not solve any problem. Intelligence and education have no value if they are not in the service of love."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century Romanian staretz) [Humility; Wisdom]
"These are the four great blessings that connect the protection of the Theotokos with the life of the Church. The first is the protection and boldness of her prayers. The second is the coziness and warmth of her presence. The third is the covering of our nakedness that was brought by the fall and sin, which is her holiness. And the fourth is the grace, which somehow covers and protects man from a caustic relationship with God."
(Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogaia, 21st Century Greek hierarch) [Theotokos]
"What would happen if we treated our Prayer Rope like we treat our cell phone? What if we carried it around with us, went through it several times a day, turned back to go get it if we forgot it, treated it like we couldn't live without it, gave it to kids as a gift, and taught them how to use it...we don't have to worry about our Prayer Rope being disconnected - the bill has already been paid."
(All Saints of North America Orthodox Church web posting) [Prayer; Love of the World]
"It is hard to justify God’s silence. Nevertheless, in this is the meaning of a Christian’s life. After all, God’s love is not blind, it is perfect, and that means that it can refuse a request that would not be beneficial to a person. Our faith should ceaselessly destroy our reason’s doubts with one argument: If God is silent, it means that He has a reason for it...This is a great honor—to hear God’s silence in your life and to answer it with thankfulness! "
(Roman Savchuk, 21st Century Orthodox Christian) [Faith; Prayer; Patience]
"It is often said that the picture here [in Acts] of the early Christian commune is an exaggerated, idealized, romanticized image that never really existed. But maybe this image is dismissed because it’s such a frighteningly demanding example, especially in our individualistic society. Lest we think that such rich communal life was always viewed as out of reach, it is worth recalling that St Basil in the fourth century took the Acts community as his practical model for monastic life."
(Fr. John Jillions, 21st Century OCA Chancellor) [Love; Witness; Unity]
" While death for man is an appalling and frightening event, the Church sees it as an inevitable moment of life that leads us from mortality to immortality, from corruption to incorruption. This is why we are not so much preoccupied with death as we are with the loss of the soul, so we have to live our lives as a preparation, for through it we have the prospect of eternity. This present life is an inn which man lives in for a few days. As luxurious as this inn may be, and as many amenities as it may provide, man still hopes to return home..."
(Archimandrite Demetrios Politakis, 21st Century monastic) [Heaven; Love of the World; Salvation]
"The Church’s most pressing need today is for its members to rediscover who they are. I say this because there is every evidence that many Christians have forgotten who they are. They think they are primarily Republicans or Democrats—or anyway, Americans. Or they think they are consumers... but these verbal tags do not define us Christians or adequately describe our fundamental quality. That is, we need to remember that we are fundamentally the servants of God, a holy people, a royal priesthood, and as such we belong not to this age with its warring categories and labels, but to the age to come."
(Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century Canadian priest) [Witness; Meaning of Life]
"What happens if the work is detached from moral principles? Most often, this work aims to make a profit. All the moral and even legal violations in the workplace stem from the fact that labor is used for profit that goes to the selfish satisfaction of human needs. Such work ceases to be work of grace, ceases to be an expression of love...when there is such a work, the results often do not bring benefits to human society. "
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia) [Work; Greed; Materialism]
"An Orthodox woman has the gifts of cherishing and maintaining a special precious jewels; our Orthodox Faith. Her role is not simply to sweep floors or wash windows, or bake prosphora, but to keep the attitude and the idea of Orthodoxy alive in her family and within society. Even when there is an absence of interest for Orthodoxy, women hold aloft the Spirituality of Orthodoxy. Let the Lord God bless all women and continue to strengthen them in their faith and life let the Holy Theotokos protect and instruct all women to follow Her example in life."
(Bishop Seraphim, 20th Century Orthodox hierarch on the role of women) [Faith; Family]
"The real value in the church is the spiritual framework it provides with which to encounter the rest of our lives. Lifestyles which refuse to admit the authority of a higher power inevitably result in subjective morality, or at least an inconsistent application of morals. When designing our own set of morals, humans have a tendency to match them to their own convenience...The singular goal and benefit of the church cannot be found in any other institution and remains the spiritual healing which we all crave. “The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.”"
(Fr. Theophan Mackey, 21st Century priest in Pravmir article) [Traditional Values; Hope]
"We’re all supposed to be “fishers of men!” Yes, Our Lord is still ‘the point-Man’ in His strategic plan for the salvation of the world. But each time we gather as His Body, the Church, we’re reminded that He expects us to be His dedicated ambassadors and tireless workers—humble and obedient fishermen—to help execute His Plan—to catch a great catch for the Kingdom and glory of God/"
(Fr. Daniel C. Kovala, 21st Century American priest) [Witness; Salvation]
"To impact the world in which we live, the Church reminds us that if we want to change our world, we work on changing ourselves. Christ needs to come to dwell in us a real and tangible way if we are to reach out to a thirsty, dying world. St. Dorotheus tells us that the spiritual work we do on ourselves is a silent work on our neighbors. Consequently our focus must be our inner life: deeply devoted and committed personal prayer, frequent confession and communion, pain staking repentance, attending worship services...These may seem selfish to some but the reality i is that our inner life and disposition qualify what we do outwardly."
(Archimandrite Sergius, 21st Century Abbot of St. Tikhon's Monastery) [Sanctification; Witness]
"If we live a Christian life, then we try to keep Christ in our thoughts. In our private lives, every one of us is required to devote our every day to the Lord, and for this we must begin our day immediately with prayer, calling down God’s grace, turning to the Savior that He might bless us in our new day. With any new undertaking, we must turn to the Lord. In concluding our day and retiring to bed, we must turn once more to God and ask that He bless our night and accept those good works done over the course of the day, and forgive us our sins committed over the course of the day."
(Archbishop Meletiy of Chernovitsy, 21st Century Ukrainian Hierarch) [Holy Life; Sanctification; Prayer]
"It starts with how each of us responds to Christ and why. This is often enough to crack open each person’s giving spirit. People have to see God at work in their own lives, that He can multiply what little they think they have to offer. And when they see this, then everything becomes possible.”
(Fr. Robert Holet, 21st Century American Orthodox priest, on motivating stewardship) [Giving; Works of Mercy]
"'I don’t do anything out of the ordinary. I just love God and endure a little. I just endure'...Do you know what patience is? Patience means carrying your cross voluntarily, and it embraces all other people. And God is revealed to you in that cross."
(Fr. Andrew Ludovic)
He has no need of the gratitude that is expressed through our offerings and gifts. Since He is a completely perfect Spirit, He neither utilizes nor benefits from the physical and material things that are offered to Him. However, because the gratitude that is offered to Him through words and actions is a definite indication of a discerning and good-natured soul, God accepts it with pleasure. He accepts both the words and the gifts of a grateful person on account of the gratitude of the soul..."
(Archbishop Nikiforos Theotokis, 19th Century theologian) [God, the Father; Gratitude]
"In this world, and in this present temporary life, nothing is stable; all things undergo change and alteration. Fortunate is the person who—during this life—through patience and the other virtues, builds a home in the heavens. After death, he will dwell there, where there is no ain, suffering, sorrow, danger, fear, or war, but perfect and certain fortune and bliss."
(Elder Philotheos Zervakos, 20th Century Greek staretz) [Eternity; Transitory Life]
"We may keep the fasts; we may pray; we may be sexually chaste; we may not smoke or drink to excess; we may not be gluttons; we may not be thieves and murderers, but we are still far from the Kingdom of Heaven, because we do not have love. But worst of all: we do not even have the humility to believe that we are really lacking anything."
(Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou, 21st Century hierarch) [Repentance; Pride]
"When a benefactor feels he deserves recognition and recompense from them who he has helped, he neither realizes his sin nor repents for it. Helping others is a great virtue because it is the fruit of love; it is love in practice. However, the wickedness of human disposition transforms virtue into sin...when a person who helps others subsequently becomes upset with them who are ungrateful to him for his help, he also sins greatly and he loses the reward for his good deed."
(Archbishop Nikiforos Theotokis, 19th Century theologian) [Gratitude; Giving; Works of Mercy]
"Every day we must have our passports in our hand. We don't know what can happen. Once I confessed someone in a hospital with nods then they died. He did something good in his life and was saved at the last moment. In my life I went through many hardships and I saw that Divine Providence directs everything for the good of man. May the memory of death never be absent from us."
(Elder Ephraim of Arizona, 21st Century staretz) [Prayer for the Departed; Judgment; Preparation for Death] Full article:
"I believed in evolution, I believed that we came from apes. I didn’t meet a single schoolchild in elementary school who believed in God. When I was in high school (ages 15-18), I heard that out of 25 people in my class, maybe three or four believed in God. But they didn’t talk about the Lord; they talked among themselves, about how there was a church and someone went to it."
(Fr. Seraphim Galik
"Behind everything always the hand of God nudges and prods, like a Fisherman slowly and carefully gathering in His net until He has each one of us precisely where He wants us. His slow, patient, careful planning, the years of inexorable, diligent pursuit are almost terrifying in their intensity. It says something to us very clear and real about His love for us and His determination to save us in spite of ourselves. No wonder that Christ is portrayed sometimes in the West as the Hound of Heaven, relentlessly pursuing souls with the same unswerving determination displayed by a bloodhound after its prey. The amazing thing is that there are so many of us and yet God goes to such trouble over each one on a very individual basis. What incredible value He must place on each of us to go to so much trouble on our account."
(Fr. Dimitri Tsakas, 20th Century convert) [Love of God; Evangelism; Divine Providence]
"There is so much evil around us that this faith in man, in his freedom, in the possibility of handing down a radiant inheritance of goodness has almost evaporated and been replaced by cynicism and suspicion. This hostile cynicism and discouraging suspicion are precisely what seduce us to distance ourselves from the Church when it celebrates with such joy and faith this birth of a little girl in whom are concentrated all the goodness, spiritual beauty, harmony and perfection that are elements of genuine human nature."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann 21st Century American priest and author) [Theotokos; Witness)
"The Church of Christ acts within historic time with the aim of encountering the people of the world and to share with them the demands of life, its primary request being the reconciliation of mankind with God and with their fellow human beings. This encounter does not aim for the Church’s conformation with the world, but for the reshaping of the world within a dynamic course to deification (theosis) and the salvation of mankind. A condition for this course is none other than faith in Christ and the acceptance of His redeeming message."
(Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria in 2014 Church New Year message)
“We who are given the fullness of true Christianity are obliged to be working on ourselves, to be watching the signs of the times, and to be extremely joyful, as St. Paul is constantly saying: 'Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say: Rejoice!' (Phil. 4:4). We rejoice because we have something which all the death and corruption of this world cannot take away, that is, the eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 21st Century American convert and author) [Joy; Salvation]
“In these conditions of spiritual crisis with no way out, there inevitably comes upon us the chief question of a worldview: what am I living for if there is no way out? And when this frightful moment comes each of us feels that death has caught him by the throat: it’s some kind of spiritual answer does not come, life comes to an end because without God not only is everything permitted but life itself has no value and no meaning...I came to the firm and final conclusion that there is no God, I would simply be obliged to end with suicide since it is shameful and belittling for a rational creature to drag out a senseless and tormenting life. Thus at the second stage of spiritual rebirth we discovered that atheism, though out of its logical end, inevitably brings a man to perdition because it is a complete teaching of immorality, evil and death.”
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century American convert and author) [Atheism; Suicide; Hope]
"But God did not leave us alone in this darkness and terrible state of falleness and betrayal. These words, my weak words about faith would be empty if in conclusion I confessed faith merely in God. But I also confess faith in that one Person in whom God came into the world, and in His coming into the world He comes to each person in order to save him and give him a new birth. “I believe in God.” But God-—in the fullness of His joy and Sovereignty is revealed in Christ."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 20th Century American priest and theologian) [Faith; True Church]
"...the simple fact is that I believe the Orthodox faith, including its ecclesiology to be the truth. I am willing to defend my acceptance of that, but the only defense that matters is the one I shall have to give on Judgement Day, and I believe that I will sit before a judge who Himself is the head of the Orthodox Church. The serious question will be: 'What have you done with the faith I gave you?'"
(Fr. Stephen Freeman, 21st Century American convert and priest) [Converts; Faith]?
"This period has been the end of civilization in the West, which has lost faith in its religion. All civilizations end when they lose faith in their religions...Death is the enemy of life, which triumphs over death. And so, in the tragic twentieth century the devil came to replace the dethroned God in the vacant souls of so many. And he filled them with squalid and sordid illusions, all touched by death. Nature abhors vacuums, but the devil loves because they are places which he can fill."
(Archpriest Andrew Phillips, 21st Century English Orthodox priest, 2014 Journal) [Satan; Society]
Updated 08/23/14
"... it is fitting that the apostle John honors Mary and the Ark at the same time, and in the same breath. In the book of Revelation, St. John sees the Ark of the Covenant in the heavenly temple, and then he immediately describes this woman who gave birth to Christ...in Israel, they did not recognize the king’s wife as a queen. Instead, the king’s mother had this great honor...So it is not surprising when we see Mary, the Mother of God, highly honored as a queen in the book of Revelation, clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet, and a garland of twelve stars around her head. As the King’s mother, she is royalty."
(Deacon Joseph Gleason, 21st Century American clergyman on the Dormition) [Theotokos]
Three Tricks of the Devil... 1. To not allow man to believe in the Truth for that keeps him in Satanic atheism or in other religions or sects. 2. If he loses in the first step and the person becomes Orthodox the devil pushes him to fall into sins...that's why there are believers who constantly struggle... 3. If someone manages to beat his passions, then the devil tries to convince him that it is perfect and does not need any fellow man and pushes him to pride.
(Monk Maximus Karyotis, 21st Century Mt. Athos monastic) [Prayer; Struggle; Devil]
"Each of us Orthodox pray at home, reading some books about salvation and about the spiritual life. And every time we do this, we cannot help but feel in our hearts a kind of veil of insensibility, We pray but can we say that every word of prayer resounds in our heart? No, this is often not the case. We come into the temple, and a huge amount of any extraneous thoughts, memories, worries and cares master our mind and heart...because, again, our spirit resides in the crushed, bruised, an unnatural state of [fallen] man. And only in some specific moments do we feel like our hearts are alive."
(Abbot Nectarios Morozov, 21st Century Russian monastic) [Love of the World; Sin; Distractions]
[Psalm 134: 'Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord'] "Most interpreters, like St Jerome, broaden “servants of the Lord” to potentially include everyone, not just the clergy...But there is more to blessing God than thanking Him for His benefits or even for His care, interest and listening. I am struck by the humility of God. He is willing to receive a blessing from those whom He created."
(Fr. John Jillions, 21st Century Chancellor of the OCA) [Humility]
"When I asked someone what he does at the time he should be in church, he replied: "I watch television." And I told him: "Be careful, because this means that you have your television before you, and you have turned your back on God...I know that people are very different. But I also know that without going there where God's gift and grace is, you cannot receive God's grace. Hence: Go as you are, no matter how corrupt your thoughts are, no matter how contaminated. Go! Because only by doing this can the time come when your mind will be cleansed and you will not have the dirty thoughts you have now."
(Elder Teofil Paraian, 21st Century Romanian staretz) [Liturgy; Worship; Grace]
"Prayer is not only an honor for man, to be able to communicate with Almighty God, but it is also a privilege and responsibility. To reach the throne of Divine Majesty, it should be accompanied with humility, simplicity and trust. Prayer is even the result of the fear of God. If there is no fear of God our prayer cannot be heard by God. This is why God sometimes does not meet our requests, simply because we neither fear God nor reverence Him."
(Metropolitan Seraphim, 21st Century Primate of Kastoria, 07/14) [Prayer; Humility; Fear of God]
"Frequent Communion renews one entirely: not only the soul, but even the body is made to participate in God. Even if we often lose this divine gift quickly, this encounter with eternity does not pass by unnoticed. Day by day, Communion by Communion, a Christian is gradually pulled out from the state of sinful affliction, being renewed from flesh to spirit."
(Archpriest Andrei Efanov, 21st Century Russian priest) [Communion; Sanctification]
“As you know, freedom for an Orthodox person means freedom from the passions, the restoration of the original harmony that existed before the “sin of the first-born” (“original sin”), the acquiring of full unity with God—deification—which is possible only by the struggle against the passions and the renunciation of one’s own self, because sin took hold of human nature. A person’s morality depends upon the quality of his freedom. The essence of freedom was beautifully expressed and explained by the holy bishop Gabriel (Kikodze): “A person is free only when he chooses the good.”
(Metropolitan Andrew Gvazava, 21st Century Georgian hierarch) [Sanctification; Struggle]
“The Gospel shows us that the overcoming of the hard situations is not done through one’s own force, but first of all through the divine help. No matter how good, professional and experienced fishermen and sailors Jesus’ disciples were, no matter how good swimmers they could have been, they could not have saved themselves through their own forces without Jesus’ help. And so, no matter how many and worthy servants the Church may have...they could not have saved the Church of Christ in her fight against sin of the human nature, against the evil spirits, storms of the persecutions and heresies, against the waves of the lack of faith or of spiritual indifference all by themselves, but only with Christ’s help. All trials and troubles we are faced with in our life can be overcome with spiritual benefit, if we do not rely on our own forces first of all, but entrust ourselves to the help of God first."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Hierarch of Romania) [Faith; Trust; Intercession]
"The Western public square is no longer a place where Christians feel they belong with any degree of comfort. It is also being driven by issues that few predicted would have such cultural force. It is surely an irony as unexpected as it is unwelcome that sex—that most private and intimate act—has become the most pressing public policy issue today. Who could have imagined that policies concerning contraception and laws allowing same-sex marriage would present the most serious challenges to religious freedom?"
(Rod Dreher, 21st Century American Orthodox blogger) [Soceity; Traditional Values]
"To take on the image of Christ is to be hated by the world. The fact that the world has not hated us may be a marker of how poorly we have avoided the conforming power of the world...Are we in exile or we are entering into it? Despite growing evidence, perhaps we haven’t realized it yet; or maybe our hope that it if we just ignore it, things will change back to a more comfortable situation. Yet,it has already happened – to hold to traditional values has been called bigotry."
(Fr. John Moses, 21st Century Orthodox American Archpriest) [Society; Traditional Values]
"God is very rich! And He’s awaiting us! … He waits for us to ask! Anyone who wants to acquire the gift of prayer, must keep silent and pray. We speak so much about prayer. That’s one thing that cannot be discussed but practiced. A deep silence is a deep prayer...Every moment is a time [in eternity] and every sigh can become a prayer. We must not cease to pray, even with the mind."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century Romanian staretz) [Prayer; Stillness)
"We have serious work ahead of us. We don’t have time to waste...To maintain: it is imperative to focus on evangelism and outreach as the main part of our apostolic ministry, to reach out to the entire nation of North America."
(Metropolitan Joseph, 21st Century Antiochian Primate in America) [Evangelism; Witness]
“God seeks only one thing: that you honor him, love Him, and keep His commandments, acknowledging that He is your maker. He does not want you to divide His glory and to worship other things instead of Him. He does not want you to love anything more than Him for this reason when He gave His commandments to Moses through the divinely written law He said “here out Israel:thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy soul and with all by heart and with all thy might and with all thy mind.” So my beloved child, do you understand? He has left no room for your love to incline anywhere else, but absolutely all the desire of your soul should be to love the Lord. In this manner Is grace will dwell upon you.”
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast from ' Monastic Wisdom')
"The Jerusalem Typikon correlates the feast of the Transfiguration with the Jewish feast of Tabernacles, and it is no coincidence that one of the readings of the feast, which was read at that time in Jerusalem, speaks exactly of the multiplication of the gardens, the vines and the fig trees...The blessing of the grapes, representing the harvest of the world, is a liturgical act that emphasizes the doxological and eucharistic offering of the material and the fruits of the earth to the Creator and God of all things. More so, when this fruit of the vine gives us wine, which Christ blessed in Cana, to show the transfiguration of the world in Christ, He also gave it to us in the Mystical Supper as the element that, with bread, at the time of the Divine Liturgy, are made incorrupt by grace, transformed into the Lord's "Body and Blood", the Divine Eucharist."
(Panagiotis Skaltsis, 21st Century professional educator) [Traditions; Liturgy; Feasts]
"The soul must be constantly ready and alert and always in contact with the spiritual headquarters, that is, God. Only then it will feel secure, full of hope and joy. When I was in the army, during the war, I was a radio operator. I noticed that we felt secure only when we communicated with the Army Division on an hourly basis. When our communication was limited to every two hours, we felt a little bit insecure; sometimes, when we could only be in touch with them twice a day, we felt uncomfortable, lonely and lost. The same thing applies to our prayer. The more we pray, the more secure we feel, on a spiritual basis, of course."
(Elder Paisios from 'Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain')
"You don’t necessarily have to hear a confession filled with dramatic details, “unusual” or “out of the ordinary”. There may not be anything particular to its content. The main thing is that very feeling of change..The main thing is the feeling that the person is truly laboring, and the Lord accepts and blesses that labor. And that painful, by no means swift, modest and yet infinitely glorious—ascent to the heights… "
(Igumen Nektary Morozov, 21st Century Russian hiermonk)
"...when we rejoice over a fruit we must recognize that this fruit is the result of much effort and much labor. What takes place at the physical level, also takes place at the spiritual level. We honor a saint, but we must honor also those who helped them become a saint as well as the atmosphere that contributed to this objective. In the instance we are studying today, that of Saint Anna, we see an entire spiritual family, as well as an entire spiritual atmosphere that contributed to the creation of holy personalities and the appearance of our Panagia."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos, 21st Century Greek hierarch) [Family; Parents; Sanctification]
"The first bells, as is well known, appeared in Western Europe...In Russia, bells appeared almost simultaneously with the reception of Christianity by St. Vladimir (988 A.D.). Wooden boards and metal hoops beaten with hammers were also used and still are in some monasteries. But strangely enough, Russia took bells not from Greece from whence she received Orthodoxy, but from Western Europe... Initially the bells were small, and each church had only two or three.In the fifteenth century special factories for bell casting appeared, where bells of huge proportions were made. In the bell tower of Ivan the Great in Moscow, for example, are the "Everyday" bell weighing 36,626 pounds; the bell "reyute" weighing 72,000 pounds; and the largest bell, called "Dormition," which weighs around 144,000 pounds."
(Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy, 20th Century Russian-American priest, 'The Law of God' 1994) [Worship; Tradition]
"Addictions come in all sizes, shapes, and forms, such as, money, food, alcohol, drugs, sex, possessions, relationships, religion, and most certainly our addiction to the ego. Are we any less crazy because we manage somehow to remain on the right side of the law because we are better at hiding our addictions? We are simply better at pretending everything is ok. As the disease progresses even that disintegrates. We will reap what we sow eventually...Behind all of these demonic manifestations is a common delusion: pride and arrogance." (Archpriest Antony Hughes, 21st Century American priest on the Gadarenes) [Pride; Love of the World; Recreation]
"Rightly then has the justification of all the saints been ascribed to faith and not to their works which were also themselves perfected by faith. Believing in the beginning we set out in subjugation to His will... the Lord tells us, "When you have done all that is commanded of you say, we are unworthy servants, we have only done what was our duty". This shows us that what brings about salvation is not the quantity and quality of the works which are simply a duty, but it is faith that counts and the Lord praises faith saying "Well done good and faithful servant. Abba Mark says that the Lord will repay each one precisely according to his faith or lack of faith."
(Elder Joseph, excerpt from 'Elder Joseph the Hesychast') [Faith; Works]
"Everything I do is working off the talent God has given,..{she prays} in the morning, in the evening, before the concert, after the concert."
(Yelena Obraztsova, 21st Century Russian Opera singer) [Gratitude; Prayer]
"A falsehood spread throughout the broader Christian world today is that God adopts us into his family without anything expected of us. Or even worse, we are promised a better life, happiness, and even material wealth or worldly success. But this is really the opposite of what the scriptures promise. Paul again reminds us that “we were saved by hope” (Rom. 8:24). Our salvation is not realized immediately, nor is it a ‘flip of the switch’ in one’s mental assent of faith, but is rather a journey that begins in Baptism and is consummated on the Last Day. And until that day, we are awaiting our true salvation. From the beginning of our salvation journey to the end is a whole lifetime of trials, temptations, suffering, discipline, asceticism, struggle, and growth."
(Gabe Martini, 21st Century Orthodox convert and blogger) [Salvation; Sanctification]
“Syriac Christians and Kurds advocate coexistence because this is the only solution. If applied elsewhere in Syria it can end the civil war." "“I have the name of Jesus tattooed on my arm so I can never lie about my faith if I’m captured alive by the enemy and fear overcomes my courage.”
(Statements from Two Christian Fighters in War-torn Syria, 07/14) [Just War; Justice; Witness]
"Among the creatures of the Lord-God, saints and angels, guardians bring special spiritual kinship. For example, the Prophet Daniel had a spiritual affinity with the creatures of the spiritual world in general and he was considered a friend of angels. This spiritual connection is not associated with the human race. The angels of God can be friends, and we know that we still have, albeit in a small way, the friendship with our guardian angel. Hopefully, we warmly welcome our Angel Guardian... pray to him, and he takes care of us."
(Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian evangelist and martyr) [Guardian Angel; Angels]
“Through sin man himself turns the earthly paradise into an earthly hell. If his soul is polluted with mortal sins he lives in a demonic state: he is fiercely defensive, is tormented, finds no peace. On the contrary who ever is close to God, whoever keeps his mind on higher things, on things above and always maintains good and positive thoughts in his mind will remain peaceful and live in paradise while on earth.”
(Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos, ~Spiritual Struggle~) [Peace; Sanctification]
"Saints, to the contrary, have always drawn people of other nationalities to their faith through their holy example...These are all wondrous things, accomplished by all-forgiving love of Christ, and not by hatred of “them”, or by ethnic superiority complexes. Rejoicing in the saints of our land, rejoicing in our Orthodoxy, cannot lead to pride. If it does, that pride will go before a fall. By following their saints’ example, people and nations are made strong—not to look bigger and better than others, but rather to create a safe, peaceful, God-fearing land where more and more people can become saints."
(Nun Cornelila Rees, 21st Century monastic on 'All Saints') [Saints; Evangelism; Love]
“The elder’s overflowing love also embraced wildlife. The animals felt it and they would approach him and eat out of his hand. He said, “I’ll say to Christ, ‘Christ have mercy on me a brute.’ But he will ask me, ‘Did you have mercy on the brutes, the animals?’ What will I have to say?” In fact he did have mercy on them and he loved them as creatures of God. “These poor things don’t have another paradise to look forward to.””
Elder Paisios (from Elder Paisios of Mount Athos) [Creation; Nature]
"Every night in every monastery of the Holy Mountain there is at least one monk keeping vigil, praying all night for those unable to keep vigil. The Holy Mountain is a place where for over 1,000 years at least there are celebrated at least 100 Divine Liturgies within a 24 hour period. Ultimately the Holy Mountain, the garden of our Panagia, is a sleepless vigil lamp, a continuous prayer to the Lord for the whole world."
(From 'Mystagogy translation, 2014) [Prayer; Monasticism]
"After his next liturgy, again he had the same dream with poor people telling him, "father, you forgot us." After waking up he said "Fathers are you sure you don't have any name somewhere else?" "I'm sure Papa. Check the altar table." Papa Ephraim searched some more and finally found a slip of paper with names underneath the edge of the altar cover. In his next liturgy he commemorated those names and those people never again appeared to him in his dreams."
(Experience of Elder Ephraim of Katounakia) [Prayer for the Departed]
"Who knows my child the judgments of God? Everything is known to him. He sees everything and nothing escaped his notice but no one knows his will. The works of Satan are nothing next to the power of God. So when the Lord tests us as he knows best we should show our patients and thankfulness. Now that my child if his divine will is in accordance to our desire certainly you will get well. But if he foresee something that we do not know – – since he is God he sees and judges differently from above – – then you will not get well. Nevertheless, we do not lose our reward: it is stored up in his kingdom. So be patient and struggle.
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast, 'Monastic Wisdom') [Divine Providence; Ominescience]
"...consider the degree of frivolity and lack of seriousness that is fostered by a culture (and economy) fueled largely by entertainment; often entertainment experienced on devices whose primary function is distraction. Not all of it, of course, is the sort of distraction that provokes laughter, but most of it leads to forgetfulness regarding our salvation. Consider the degree to which we all—not least of all, myself—busy ourselves with trivial matters that distract us from our dire, spiritual circumstances. When I take a step back and examine our culture from this perspective, it’s staggering."
(Nathan Duffy21st Century online writer) [Recreation; Love of the World; Entertainment]
"Europe shows us a concrete example of life without Christ. They don't pay attention to the Lord's testaments, to His bans. On the contrary, they promote permissiveness, and according to it, life is guided by human wishes instead of God's law. But this way is not right. Unfortunately, not all human wishes are holy."
(Metropolitan Onufry, 21st Century Locum Tenens of Kiev, 06/14) [Society; Traditional Values]
Updated 06/15/14
“Thank God for everything you are; everything you have and everything you achieve. By thanking God you will realise that these are not your achievements but His gifts and, thus, you will feel humble.”
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century Orthodox staretz) [Gratitude; Humility]
"That's why Christians say that at the level of law, at the level of state ideology, the accepted norms should not promote anti-Christian and absolutely immoral ideas that some advocate for people to be 'truly free'. These people understand that living in a totalitarian society that dictates immoral enforced 'anti-values' makes being a Christian very difficult, even impossible. This type of society is practically identical with those menacing prophecied in the Book of the Apocalypse."
(Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Church official, 0414) [Traditional Values; Society]
"...the Lord puts in differently. He shows us in the persons of the Apostles that true friends of God undergo a hard school of trials and suffering. They are not untouchable in terms of evil in this world. Conversely, if we often see an ungodly person who is prospering, this demonstrates that the Lord has departed from him. Corpses do not need doctors, because it goes without saying that there is nothing doctors can do with them. In the same way, the Lord might withdraw from someone when He sees that treating him is pointless."
(Metropolitan Daniel of Arkhangelsk, 21 Century hierarch) [Trials; Suffering]
""Repent!" shouts all the natural disasters, floods that make the rivers swell and threaten to drown the people, the earthquakes that demolish homes, the fires that incinerate forests, the sicknesses that bring us down...I have said this elsewhere: God will not judge us because we sinned, but He will judge us because we did not repent."
(Metropolitan Augoustinos
( of Florina, 21st Century hierarch, Lent 2014) [Repentance; Judgement]
"By describing the actions of the two sons [in the parable], the Lord reminds us that we have the freedom to decide whether we will go, or whether we will not go. But this freedom is not a simple choice, for even if we have chosen to follow one path, we have the freedom and the ability to change the way we go, even at the eleventh hour. Perhaps we began the 40 days of Great Lent with zeal, with prayer and with fasting, but then we forgot, or got tired, or grew lazy. The Lord reminds us that, in spite of our human weakness, in spite of falling short of our own expectations, we can still renew our zeal, our prayer and our fasting now, even if we began without zeal or with uncertainty."
(Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century hierarch of the OCA, Holy Week 2014) [Repentance; Obedience]
"A young child does something wrong; let's say he breaks one of his father's tools and then is upset over it because he considers it to be a big mistake... In a similar manner, the more we suffer and grieve over our sinfulness or over our ingratitude to God and out of love cry for having grieved Our Father with our sins, the more He will reward us with divine gladness and inner sweetness. Such grief is good grief because while it contains pain and also has hoping consolation."
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century Athonite staretz, 'Spiritual Struggle') [Forgiveness; Love; Sorrow]
"The services of the Holy Week aim to revive the meaning of Christ’s martyrdom on the Cross in the consciousness of the devout, in order that we may feel the greatness of His love towards us more deeply and, in turn, try to love Him more...Each service of this week is unique in its Gospel remembrances, in its melodies, prayers and holy rites. And here the Church initiates the faithful into great spiritual abundance, not only in its inner content, but also in its external form. These services were conceived and perfected in the course of centuries through the efforts of many talented church writers, poets and composers."
(Bishop Alexander Mileant, 21st Century American bishop and evangelist) [Tradition; Holy Week; Bible]
"It was Spring, he would hear the birds outside chirping and he would ask me: "What are the birds saying now?" "How do I know Elder?" I said. "Blessed one, they are saying 'CHRIST IS RISEN!'"
(Elder Paisios quoted by Archimandrite Arsenios Katerelou near the Elder's last Pascha on earth 1994) [Creator; Praise; Joy]
"...the Resurrection of Christ, and the consequences it has on the whole human race, is the answer of Christianity to all those who talk about reincarnation...Reincarnation undervalues the body. It considers it a prison of the soul or a garment cast off in order for the individual soul to be lost in the fantastic universal soul. It believes that man is his soul. Orthodox teaching says that man is a combination of soul and body, created in the "image of God".
(Fr. Thomas Vamvinis, 21st Century Orthodox priest, 2001 article) [Doctrine; New Age]
"Everything is put in order with endurance and patience. To the degree that people forget the idea of the Cross, so evil grows and spreads, with the different pressures which occur both naturally and artificially. Blessed is the man who is wide awake and praying."
(Elder Joseph of Vatopedi; 21st Century elder on Mt. Athos) [Distractions; Patience; Peace]
"I agree, that other beliefs also have moral teachings. Naturally, Christianity’s moral teachings are incomparably superior. But, we do not believe in Christ because of His moral teachings. Or for His prompting to “Love one another”, or for His sermons on peace and justice, freedom and equality. We believe in Christ, because His presence on earth was accompanied by supernatural events, which was a sign that He is God."
(Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos, 20th Century Greek priest and elder) [True Church; Truth; Apologetics} "The resurrection of the dead does not depend on the condition of the corpse. There are martyrs of our Church, burned at the stake and people who disappeared in shipwrecks. Christians believe that even they will rise in the resurrection of the dead. But when the desire for cremation is combined with understanding of what the human body
(which has the religious background that the body is God's image) is considered something that belongs to me and I can do whatever I want
(commit suicide, burn or cut a finger) the answer is categorically no."
(Metropolitan Georgios, 21st Century Greek hierarch, 2014 interview) [Death; Image of God, Cremation]
"Christ came to enlighten mankind. There are various religions outside His revelation where the followers are sincere – not just practicing demon worship – and where the soul is really trying to get through to God. I would say that before the people have heard of Christ, these religions are fine as far as they go, but they will not get you to the goal. The goal is eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven, and God came in the flesh to open this up to us."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century American convert and author) [Evangelism; True Church]
"When I was on Mt. Athos, I had met with the Elder Paisios. I had asked him where I should be a monk, and even suggested staying there at Gregoriou or with him. He told me to come to America because America "will be holy." He said, "Here on Mt. Athos, monks are a dime a dozen. In America you will be needed."
(Matthew G. Kowasic, 21st Century American Orthodox reader) [Evangelism; Witness]
"A person who does not judge his neighbor gives evidence that he is saved. Whoever does not judge will not be judged, as the word of God verifies: 'Judge not, that you will he not judged.'" [That is why he told us]
"Has a judgmental thought about someone come to you? Don't just sit there, debating with yourself whether that person is to blame or not. Justify everyone and take all the blame yourself. As soon as you start having negative thoughts about someone else, there is a danger that you will judge him."
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos) [Judgement; Forgiveness]
"Blessed are those," he [Elder Paisios]
wrote, "who rejoice when unjustly accused, rather than when they are justly praised for their virtuous life. Here are the signs of holiness..." And so he would rejoice when he heard accusations against himself, anyone said to someone, "Go ahead and badmouth me. Would you, please?"
(Elder Paisios, 21st staretz of Mt. Athos) [Slander; Forgiveness]
"Today we should be united as never before as there is a serious strike made against the most important thing that have always united us and brought us up. It is a strike against the foundation, on which we based our lives, against Christian values...We should stand for Christian values, whatever it costs. If we lose them, we lose everything."
(Alexander Lukashenko, 21st Century Byelorussian President, 06/14 comments) [Society; Traditional Values]
“All of this somehow reminds me forcibly that just as our Savior could say of Nathaniel that here is a true Israelite in whom there is no guile – so too there is such a thing as a true American: an honest, forthright, normal person for whom Holy Orthodoxy is quite natural; and the harvest of these true Americans is only the beginning. Doubtless the Orthodox Americans will be few in number, but is precisely the best part of America which is waiting to hear the glad tidings of Orthodoxy…”
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century American convert and author) [Evangelism; Convert]
"God created everything good and nothing evil. The evil appeared because of the fact that some of the created by God spiritual creatures, angels and people, having the freedom of choice, chose the evil and rejected God and His good. God does not take away his long-standing gifts. Thus, having freely rejected God and the good, the devil throws all his forces at the seizure of other reasonable creatures, first angels, and then people, from God. Why does God let it happen? We do not know. But we believe and profess, that at the end of ages everything will turn out to be good, due to the power of Divine love and wisdom."
(Archbishop Nathanael Lvov, 21st Century Russian hierarch) [Creation; Free Will; Temptation]
"Indeed, the Christian does not need to belong to any movement or party. We all belong to the party of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are Christians, we share Him, we were chosen by God from all the peoples of the earth; We are the chosen ones of God, a royal priesthood, a people chosen out of the darkness by God, brought into the marvelous light of Divine Love. Why, therefore, do we act as if we all live in distressing controversies of this world? Why do we serve Satan that divides rather than Christ Who unites? "
(Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian martyr, last Pasha semon) [Peace; Unity]
"It is another link in the chain of cultural legitimization of vice in modern world, an attempt to fix new cultural norms. Process of legalizing things, to which Bible refers as to abomination, is not new. Unfortunately, trends in legal and cultural field go in parallel ways, and results of the contest prove it. In other words, it is one more step to refusing Christian identity of European culture."
(Vladimir Legoyda, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Church official on drag act victory in Eurovision contest) "If I wanted to relate everything I went through on a daily basis with this passion of anger, I would have to write a book. Since God wanted to free me from it, He would bring about everything appropriate: people would bother me unjustly, they would insult me, they would annoy me. And they would not just simply tempt me, but they would do things that would make you commit murder. But by enduring and choking Satan within me with extreme patience, I was delivered from the evil."
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast, 20th Century staretz of Mt Athos) [Anger; Meekness; Patience]
“Many times Christ comes and knocks on your door and you have Him sit in the living room of your soul, and you, preoccupied with your chores, forget about the Great Visitor. He waits for your appearance. He waits and when you are very late, He gets up and leaves. Another time you are so preoccupied that you answer Him from the window. You don't even have time to open your door.”
(Elder Amphilochios Makris, 20th Century staretz) [Love of the World; Indifference]
"They are those who are possessed by a spirit of compromise with the world and its reality and do not want to dare take the great plunge to taste another life.
They are those who are cowards inside, because they do not want to break with the established attitudes that prefer their faith to be a religious ideology, harmless to the processing of life into a miracle of love, eternity and light.
They are those who operate by rationality, who want evidence to justify their faithlessness or faith, yet without being ready to accept the change.
They are those who defer their problems to the future, because their living concerns prevail, or their secular goals, or the joy of their earthly life.
They are, lastly, those who deny the Resurrection, who refuse to accept that God exists and loves humanity so much, that He became obedient unto death in order to conquer death."
(Fr. Themistokles Mourtzanou, 21st Century priest, on those who observe but do not embrace Christianity) [Love of the World; Procrastination]
"Regarding that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father"
(Matt. 24:36). What therefore? Did our God-man Jesus not know anything about this? For one to contemplate such a thing is blasphemous. As consubstantial and co-equal with the Father He knew very well, but it was not in our interest for that day to be spread, especially by the Apostles, and for all of us to know. He only gave us the signs and circumstances that would usher in the coming of the Antichrist and, as we see today, the time is near. Also in the Acts of the Apostles we see that the Lord prohibits us from this unbeneficial study. Luke writes: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has set in his own authority"
(Acts 1:7).
(Elder Daniel of Katounakia, 20th Century Athonite startetz) [Prophecy; Hope]
"He [Jesus Christ] chose a “foreigner”, a Samaritan, to show the necessity of fulfilling the commandment of love towards a neighbour. He extended His hospitality to all, to whoever was in need of compassion. He offered hospitality to all who had been pushed to the margins of society. He showed in practice that acceptance of others is not limited only to the members of our community. On the contrary, he called on us to love even our enemies and to pray for them."
(Theodoros II, 21st Century Patriarch of Alexandria & Africa, 06/14 remarks) [Tolerance; Witness; Love]
"...yet another link in the chain of cultural legitimization of vice in the modern world, an attempt to establish new cultural norms in society. The process of legalization of what the Bible calls nothing other than an abomination has long ago ceased to be news in the modern world. Unfortunately, tendencies in the fields of both legislature and culture are moving along parallel lines, and the results of this contest testifies to that."
(Vladimir Legoida, 21st Century Russian Orthodox official, comments on gay Eurovision winner) [Traditional Values; Homosexuality; Society]
"Monologistical or single word prayer is the "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." The fewer words we impose upon the nous [the soul or spiritual nature of man]
the easier it is for the nous to learn and hold onto them. The methods of prayer, however are many. The method depends upon the disposition and the needs of each person."
(Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos) [Prayer; Theoria]
"I think that it is more honorable for you to accept that you do not have the strength to get rid of this passion and to ask for God's mercy, instead of claiming that this is not a sin. Be careful, because this could be for you a tragic mistake...You are converting your passion into something good and making it into a flag. You are modifying the great blunder and trying to propagate it to others. I believe that you are not sinning mostly out of weakness, but out of ideology. This condition consolidates your illness into an incurable and deadly spiritual disease. Unfortunately the passions create their own absurd and incurable logic justify. It is known to all that the perversion of God's Law occurs in many ways. One of these ways is by altering the definition of the word "sin"."
(Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos, 20th Century Greek elder) [Sin; Temptation]
"Instead of rising towards Christ, who said "if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to Myself", we have brought Him down to where we are, and have made a Christianity that agrees with our weaknesses, with our passions, with our worldly ambitions, and we have given our saints qualifications that our materialistic minds appreciate and admire, making them philosophers, orators, politicians, psychologists, sociologists, educators, scientists, etc...A convenient, a humane Christianity, this human construct, is a pitiful deformation of the Gospel by the wicked materialism of the flesh."
(Photios Kontoglou, 20th Century Greek writer and iconographer) [True Faith; Love of the World; Heresy]
"The All-Holy Spirit is given as the greatest gift to all by our God and Father according to the words of the Lord: 'I will not leave you comfortless…I will pray the Father that He send you another comforter, the Spirit of Truth…that He may abide with you forever.' It is up to us to prepare ourselves to receive this wondrous gift...The goal of our Orthodox Christian life is to be completely united with our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The question that we all must ask ourselves frequently is “how to retain this great and free gift of Grace which is given to us every time we enter the Church?”
(Archimandrite Sergius, 21st Century Abbot of St. Tikhon's Monastery) [Sanctification; Salvation]
"... I hope that at least we will be able to tell people quietly and calmly: you shouldn't live for material welfare, for egoistic desires, for preserving health, only for this earthly life, but to live, even at the level of social organization, for God's truth. I hope that people will understand it more and more."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Church official) [Materialism; Love of the World]
"...the Christian family is facing an economic crisis
(poverty, unemployment, uncertainty of the future, emigration etc.), a moral crisis
(libertinism, abortion, divorce, abandonment of children, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, human trafficking etc.), and a spiritual crisis
(sectarianism, fanaticism, religious proselytism etc.). The family is also in a fragile and difficult situation because the traditional family model itself is considered by some to be outdated or obsolete. We live in a context dominated by an individualistic and secularizing mentality, not seeking holiness of life through prayer, the birth of children and their upbringing in the Christian faith."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, 05/14 comments) [Family; Traditional Values; Morality]
"...Christ gives us two things: Firstly, He comforts us and the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Who will guide us into all truth, into all humility. Secondly, through His holy angels, He reminds us that as He ascends, so He will return, with angels and a cloud of glory. He reminds us that He will return in His Second and Glorious Coming to judge all the Earth...Therefore the Orthodox Church and faithful Orthodox Christians are also victorious, but only in humility."
(Fr. Andrew Philips, 21st Century English priest, homily) [Faith; Peace]
"They [passionbearers]
are like Christ in His innocent suffering, because He humbly accepted crucifixion on the cross to forgive his killers. In this sense, it becomes clear why Nicholas II and the entire royal family was canonized. They forgave all those who oppressed them in the last months of his life, obediently carried imposed upon them cross. It is clear that people who have lived with such a spirit souls who humbly greeted the hour of death, show us an example of patience, humility and love in the image of Christ Himself."
(Deacon Valery Dukhanin, 21st Century Russian clergyman) [Forgiveness; Love]
"Our vocation is to bring life to the entire world. And that is exactly what the man does in today's gospel [man the pool]
. When Jesus heals him, he goes out and tells others about this healing, and brings life to them. He becomes a 'mother' to other people, and brings life to them...That is precisely our vocation as Christians: to bring life into the world; to expand the family of God, which is the Church; to not stay nuclear, insular, but to reach out and invite people into that family; to grow the family of Jesus Christ."
(Jesse Brandow, 21st Century Orthodox missionary) [Evangelism; Witness]
"Real tradition is a force and you cannot help but feel this spiritual force. In Orthodoxy, tradition is not a museum filled with interesting exhibits, but a stream you are to immerse yourself in. The more material things we have the more illusory our visible life is, but our hearts can find peace only in Christ. Western hearts are tormented by this comfortable way of living, and to feel anything deeply many Western people seek for vivid impressions."
(Father Artemy Vladimirov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox priest) [Grace; Witness; Love of the World]
"The many great miracles performed by the Lord through the apostles and the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit, which moved through them, excited in the believers reverential fear and, at the same time, joy and happiness. They tried in everything to fulfil the commandments of Christ and to live holy and pure lives. The believers gathered in the Temple every day and listened to preaching of the apostles; and on the day of the Resurrection, the first day of the week, Sunday, they gathered in homes for the breaking of bread — the sacrament of Holy Communion. All of them were united in great love, so it was as if they had one heart and one soul. Many sold their possessions and asked the apostles to distribute the money received to the poor. All of the believers gave thanks to God. For their love and good deeds they gained the respect and love of the surrounding people, and the number of believers was increasing daily."
(Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy, 20th Century priest, 'The Law of God') [Worship; Sanctification; Church]
"I wanted to have Elder Joseph as my Elder and guide, even though I was older. He had brains; I didn't. He had theoria and was knowledgeable, whereas I had Praxis. Once upon a time people want to cross the river. One was blind and the other was lame. The blind man carried on his shoulders the lame person who could see, and that is how they managed to cross the river. Elder Joseph had his spiritual eyes open, but he lacked the physical strength I had. I had Praxis – I had legs – but I lacked spiritual eyesight; I was not watchful. I took him on my back and we proceeded. He led me, and we passed the river of this present life."
(Elder Arsenios, 20th Century Anthonite staretz on his relationship with Elder Joseph the Hesychast) [Gifts; Unity; Body of Christ]
"The Paschal songs are sung until the fortieth day, that is, until the Ascension of the Lord. The continuation of the celebration of Pascha until Ascension signifies that the Lord Jesus Christ, over the course of forty days of his Resurrection, appeared to His disciples. And so [last Thursday] the Paschal Feast comes to an end. In daily life, the end of this holiday brings a degree of sorrow: the rejoicing ends, the abundance of food is replaced by a regular diet, in other words, weekday life begins and those who love Pascha are saddened. But our feast days are not like that: they bring us from one glory to another—the holiday is glorious, but even more glorious is the spiritual fruit that the holiday creates in the souls of believers."
(Archbishop Simon, 20th Century Russian Primate of China) [Feastdays; Tradition]
"God my child, is everywhere, and His eye observes everything but He overlooks our sins because He awaits our repentance. When we are at fault whether slightly are greatly, He sees it because He is present but we do not see Him because we are infants in knowledge. And when He punishes us so that we may turn towards Him, we think that we are suffering unjustly. However, when we humble ourselves, with eyes of our souls are opened and we realize that everything that the Lord does is very good. Then we look upon Him as our Father abundant in mercy and overflowing with perfect love and kindness."
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast, 20th Century Athonite Elder, 'Monastic Wisdom') "It seems to be that the desire of the Mother of God is that her icon is to be present wherever Orthodox Christians are under attack, to grant them victory. Look at the history of the icon, it was to the battle of Port Arthur that she commanded her icon to be taken so that by this icon she could protect the Orthodox troops and grant them victory. The Icon goes where Orthodox Christians are under attack from the enemy. Perhaps if we pray to her and honor her, the darkness in our country and the world will diminish, perhaps even the darkness within us will diminish and our hardened hearts will begin to heal and grow warm with faith and love."
(Archimandrite Seraphim, 21st Century Orthodox abbot in West Virginia, on the Feast of the Port Arthur Icon) [Theotokos; Intercession]
"If you would try to love people as you love Christ, then you’ll no longer see the wrongs of your neighbor...One question is justified, let us all ask ourselves: “Do I love or I do not…?” – for it’s a commandment, my brother! Do not think that our Savior spoke only to the people of His time or to His apostles. No… He spoke for all men and for eternity."
(Elder Arsenie Papacio, 21st Century staretz of Romania) [Love; Salvation]
"In a drawn contrast, Alexey Osipov [Russian theologian]
numbers great ascetics of the Orthodox tradition who spend their entire lives asking for yet one more day to repent. At the end of his life, Francis of Assisi [Catholic]
remarks, “I do not know any transgression of mine that I have not atoned by confession and repentance,” while St. Sisoes of Egypt laments: “Verily, I do not know, if I have at least started the cause of my repentance.” Reveal your Saints, and you reveal your Church."
(Gabe Martini, 21st Century Orthodox blogger) [Ecumenism; True Church]
" I am convinced that sooner or later the miraculous phenomenon of convergence of the Holy Fire in the temple of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem will be described to some extent by the language of science. Partially. This miracle of grace will not cease to be a sign. In the end, like the birth of children, the greatest miracle that will always remain a mystery."
(Pavel Florensky Vasilyevich,, 21st Century Russian Orthodox scientist) [Miracle; Pascha]
Updated 04/09/14
"As a result of self-centeredness and abuse of power, many people undermine the sacredness of the human person, neglecting to see the face of God in the least of our brothers and sisters. Many remain indifferent to the poverty, suffering and violence that plague humanity. The Church is called to articulate its prophetic word. We express our genuine concern about local and global trends that undermine and erode the principles of faith, the dignity of the human person, the institution of marriage, and the gift of creation. We stress the undisputed sanctity of human life from inception until natural death. We recognize marriage as the union of man and woman that reflects the union between Christ and His Church."
(Primates of Worldwide Orthodox Churches, March, 2014) [Justice; Marriage' Traditional Values]
"Self-love precedes all the passions, and scorn of ease precedes all the virtues...When you want something really badly, like I want the ascetic life, you enjoy it."
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century staretz, from "Elder Paisios of Mt Athos") [Fasting; Discipline; Recreation]
"The animals enjoy being with man and look at him as their king. In Paradise, Adam called the animals one by one and gave them each a name according to its kind. Animals recognized man's superiority and were happy in his presence. After the fall, however, this relationship was destroyed. Man looked at the beasts with the intention of killing them, and the animals became wild. Nevertheless, the wild animals are still more sincere than man is. If you approach them with love, they return to that pristine state. Man has ruined the animals. Even the dog that lives continually by man's side has changed, acquiring a police mentality and distrustful character. I used to feed a little kitten around here that would come and rub itself up against my leg and purr. Although it was very tame, when one day, I tossed a piece of bread to it, the animal pulled back in fear. What had happened to it? Someone had thrown stones at it and ruined the animal's attitude towards people. So you see, this evil state of affairs begins with man."
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century staretz, "The Gurus, Young Man" excerpt) [Creation; Love; Innocencel Trust]
"Augustine raises the question of why even righteous peoples are sometimes given evil rulers. After all, we know that rulers are installed not by man, but by God. He installs kings, and He brings them down, as He wills. God does so in order that people not get used to it, that they not think that all their hopes should be tied to the country's earthly successes. That is why he sends evil rulers, so that man might be distracted from earthly vanity and instead might seek after the Heavenly Kingdom, which is incorruptible."
(Priest-martyr Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian evangelist) [Providence; Trials]
"...the attitude eldest son is often life people who areobedient, faithful, virtuous, right-living but not merciful enough and forgiving to sinners that are received into the Church which forgives sins and gives them the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Today's gospel is the gospel of the sinner recovering through repentance, but also a virtuous man being corrected through good advice when he is unforgiving and unmerciful. The Gospel shows us how great is the mercy of God, how great is the joy of a recovering sinner who repents and how necessary repentance is to the newness of life. "
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania on the Prodigal Son, 2014) [Repentance; Forgiveness; Love]
"Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since the leader of our faith endured the cross, we will also endure it. On one hand, the cross is sweet and light, but, on the other, it can also be bitter and heavy. It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift."
(Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos) [Suffering; Trials]
"In every possible way abstaining from food and strictly limiting its choice, ancient Christians, agreeing with the canons of the Holy Church, limited themselves in even all the purest and holy joys, considering even such actions as incompatible with the quiet sorrow of the days of repentance...Several times a day the faithful gathered in the temple for divine services, for public prayers and hearing the word of God, filling these practices with obligatory personal prayers; assiduously preparing themselves for worthy reception of the Holy Mysteries and during the Holy Forty Day Fast repeatedly receiving communion during the full liturgy and at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts."
(Sergei V. Bulgakov, 20th Century Russian Orthodox writer) [Lent; Fasting; Penance]
"God allows temptations so that they might rouse us to remember Him. When we call upon Him, He acts as though He does not hear us so that we multiply our supplications and cry out His holy name, in fear of the various passions. Then, through pain of the entreaties, our heart is sanctified, and through experience we learn the weakness of our lame nature. And thus we realize in practice that without God’s help we are not able to do anything."
(Elder Ephraim of Arizona, 21st Century disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast) [Trials; Temptation; Prayer]
"Sport is sport. And everyone wins in the extent to which he can win. And even if you were unsuccessful, and could better, it was a lesson - a correction or admonition. And you never need to despair and be upset, only be healthy. So I say, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks!". These are the words of the Apostle Paul."
(Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov, 21st Century confessor to the Russian Olympic team) [Peace; Meekness]
"There is a triple fast, of the three-pillars of our condition. People, as it is known, are composed of spirit, soul and body. The spirit should prevail over the soul and it in turn must control the body. How are we to fast for our spirit, which God had put in us, which is also called the mind? We are called to contemplate God, called to be pure and to have a holy fear of God, breathing so that we should be permeated with the divine breath...our task during a fast is fostering our spirit through the spiritual condition of our mind and to behold the mysteries of God. Most people now think that the task of the fast is for man to only refrain from a certain food or to repent of sins. All this is well and good, but not enough. ...our task is to educate the mind, so we leave the fast enlightened. And that which enlightens us, as you know, is the light of Christ! "
(Priest-martyr Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian evangelist) [Fasting; Sanctification]
"People get tired, and they neglect or they don't want to pray, and this work they entrust to others. The prayer of a virtuous Elder is good, but there is necessarily needed a personal collaboration. To wait for your spiritual progress from others is not wise. Nepsis
(watchfulness), purification and divine illumination take diligent and persistent struggle. In this way humble prayers are heard. Others can assist, but they alone can't help. Every believer is obliged by the sacred Gospel to keep the commandments faithfully, to pray and to struggle. Do not remain in the hope of only being helped by others. Do not invest in your spiritual indolence and sloth. We all need to seek in every way the path to our salvation."
(Monk Moses, 21st Century Athonite ascetic, 02/14 article) [Prayer; Sanctification]
"We always commemorate souls on Saturday, because Sabbaton
(Sabbath) means “rest” in Hebrew; and since the dead have rested from worldly and all other cares, we offer supplications for them also on the day which means 'rest'. That what the Church does on behalf of souls benefits them, is clear from many sources, but especially from an incident in the life of St. Makarios, who was in the habit of praying for the departed and had besought God to reveal to him whether any benefit was conferred on them thereby. Finding the desiccated skull of an impious pagan on the road that he was traversing, he asked whether the souls in Hades experience any consolation. The skull replied: “We receive great respite, Father, when you pray to God for the departed.” St. Gregory the Dialogist even saved the Emperor Trajan through prayer, though he was told by God never again to make entreaty for one who was impious."
(Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, 14th Century Byzantine historian) [Prayer for the Departed; Intercession]
"The fact that marriage is considered to be between a man and a woman and that gender choice is not an intellectual choice, but God's choice is being disputed. Probably, some sick fantasy exists. Of course, it can be said that this is a clinical case. And probably, this will be the most reasonable reaction. But this clinical case is protected by law in some countries. And children are taught this and are told - you should choose yourself whether you are a boy or a girl."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russian on the choice of 50 types of gender on social network sites) [Traditional Values; Family; Society]
"...I saw in an atheist internet social network a photograph of pilgrims on bended knee, with comments from unbelievers about how humiliating and slavish it is to kneel. This world considers that repentance is a denial of human dignity—as if during Mary’s depraved street life she was living in freedom and dignity, but when she rose up and went to her Father, she became a slave. The values of this world are turned inside out, and repentance offers a restoration of the true system of accountability."
(Sergei Khudiev, 21st Century Orthodox layman and writer, on St. Mary of Egypt) [Repentance; Love of the World]
"Try to say Compline every night with your children. And one of you should only always read, while the others accompany, and all will be involved in the end somehow. Or, if this is not possible, then let the whole family be together and let one person read. [when they are older]
Then let each person do it on their own, lest it not be done at all. And if you cannot do all of Compline, then say the 50th Psalm of David."
(Elder Ambrose of Dadiou, 21st Century Orthodox staretz, quote) [Prayer; Devotions]
“The custom in Russia of eating pancakes [in Russian blini—thin pancakes]
during maslenitsa fully corresponds to Russian national piety. During these days, differences in social class, wealth, and official status were relaxed. People of lower classes, wanderers, and the poor were often invited to the table. Visiting each other for blini brought relatives closer together, and gave them a convenient opportunity to forget all injury and displeasure that may have built up over the year...the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
(610–640), after a six-year, exhausting war with the Persian King Hosroes, made a vow not to eat meat during the last week before Great Lent. He was victorious in the battle. The Church then introduced the pious Emperor's vow into the typicon.”
(Hieromonk Job Gumerov) "Since my consecration to the Holy Episcopate in 1966, I have been preaching this simple, but very Orthodox theology. “The Church is not the bishop alone, or the priest alone, or the laity alone. The Church is the bishop, the priests and the laity working together.” For “we are laborers together with God.” As St. Paul put it
(I Cor. 3:9)...St. Paul is telling us that the Church is not a physical structure. We, the assembly of the faithful, are the Church. We are “the temple of the Holy Spirit.” We are the “body of Christ.”
(Metropolitan Philip, 21st Century Primate of the American Antiochian Archdiocese who fell asleep 03/20/14) "The Church is in the world but rejects the logic of the world. She speaks to man every day, while at the same time calling upon him to overcome the routine and triteness of daily living. This is something which we are obliged to protect. We are to preserve the Church's word authentic, that it able to speak to present-day man while at the same time leading him to her eternal source; that it participate in the life of the world without being trapped within its logic; that it be a powerful presence within its logic; that it be a powerful presence within the contemporary State, without being transformed into a secular authority."
(Archbishop Christodoulos, 21st Century Primate of Athens and all Greece, Sunday or Orthodox 2014) [Truth; Wisdom; Witness]
"...it must be said that in all the mystical-occult systems, practices, and meditations one may run across any reflection, thought, or idea except one—repentance. There is no repentance in them. Christianity attests that the closer the soul comes to God, the more clearly the person sees his imperfection and inadequacy. Therefore, the experience of drawing near to God confirms a Christian in humility, repentance, and love... the Eastern mystical experience rejects the personal God, and therefore strives for the overcoming of man’s personality in samadhi or nirvana, giving one the feeling of the dissolution of his individuality in the ocean of the impersonal. Not having met the personal God, in Eastern mysticism a person naturally aspires to personal death."
(Valery Dukhanin, 21st Century Orthodox online writer, pravoslavie) [Cults; Hinduism; New Age]
"Religion teaches you to do your duties, just like the pagans did. For example: we went to the shrines, we venerated, we took out our money and placed it in a box, we left our candles, our oils, our prayers, our names, our prosphoron, everything. These are religious duties. But our hearts did not change at all. Having completed our duties, we are the same as we were before... When we reach the love of Christ...Nothing else is needed. Everything stops. The only thing left is the relationship of man with God. This is the difference between the Church and religion."
(Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol, 21st Century hierarch, article for Lent) [Repentance; Humility; Change of Heart]
"The situation worsened when the women were ordered to cover their faces. Now it is forbidden in the city to demonstrate that you are non-Muslims in any way. A tax is imposed on adherents of different faiths—for confessing one's religion....The Lenten fast has come. In these days ladies array themselves in ‘robes of maidens’
(following a local tradition) but now they are forbidden to do that."
(Anonymous Christian living in an area of Syria controlled by Islamic rebels, French Channel 23) [Persecution; Islam]
"God does more for our salvation than Satan for our destruction...Heaven is full of repentant sinners..Without God’s grace, it is impossible to be saved only by your actions, no matter how great of an ascetic you may be."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc of Romania, 21st Century Romanian staretz) [Salvation]
"The religious understanding of the power is associated with the service. ..That's why the real power always entails responsibility and achievement including spiritual feats. Because to serve his neighbor, to serve the people is always give yourself. And in some cases - to crucify oneself for the benefit of those to whom you are called to serve. That is why the exercise of power requires great spiritual and physical strength, wisdom, patience, strength and humility. Man, who takes power, leaning on his only physical and mental strength and will power, in its entirety can not perform this service of God."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox primate, 2010 comments) [Government; Leadership]
"When I commune people I never look at their face. Sometimes however my thoughts tell me to look at them. Then I see some faces having the form of a dog, a monkey or another animal. Their form is frightening. But I also see some who are glad and cheerful who after Divine Communion shine like the sun."
(Elder Iakovos Tsalikes, 20th Century hieromonk, quote) [Santification; Preparation for Communion; Repentance]
"...today’s feast [Annunciation]
shows us what salvation is. It is the man’s union with God. It is only united with the God always alive that man can save himself and live eternally. Only united with the One Holy God man can be purified of sins and reach the resemblance to God. Today is the beginning of salvation because today is the beginning of the Incarnation through conceiving, through the work of the Holy Spirit. God-the-Son is born by Virgin Mary assuming the human nature. This is the mystery of salvation, the mystery of the union of God with humankind in the person of the Son so that all the humans in Christ should get eternal life."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania) "We systematically turn our thoughts away from death in our lives as if we were formed to live eternally in this world. We all want to go to Paradise but none of us want to die. If we don't die Christ will not resurrect us. And the first thing that must die within us is the worldly spirit, and that which keeps us hooked to the earth, the temporary, and excludes us from eternity. If we do not have faith in the resurrection then the thought of death is dark as black. But supposedly "we expect the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come".
(Hieromonk Makarios of Marouda, 21st Century priest, March 2014 homily) [Love of the World; Salvation; Sanctification]
"Another divine-human virtue, that we must have by all means, is love. Love, my brethren, should not have limits. Love does not ask who is a good person and who is not, who loves me and who hates me. The good Christian loves everyone: they love friends and enemies, they love sinners and criminals, without however loving their sins and crimes. Such love is a gift of God, and this is why we must ask for it from God in our prayers. Let us say in our prayers: "Lord Jesus Christ, God of love, give me Your love, that I may give it to everyone!"
(Metropolitan Jeremiah, 21st Century hierarch of Gortynos) [Sanctification; Love; Witness]
"...the faithful of our Church are adherents of various political views; they are citizens of many states. The closer we are to God, the closer we are to one another. The faith in Christ and love of Christ unite, not divide, people."
(Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, 21st Century Russian Church official) [True Church; Love]
"The Lenten worship is thus a school of repentance. It teaches us what is repentance and how to acquire the spirit of repentance. It prepares us for and leads us to the spiritual regeneration, without which "absolution" remains meaningless. It is, in short, both teaching about repentance and the way of repentance. And, since there can be no real Christian life without repentance, without this constant "reevaluation" of life, the Lenten worship is an essential part of the liturgical tradition of the Church...Three weeks before Lent proper begins we enter into a period of preparation."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 20th Century American Orthodox theologian) [Repentance]
Updated 02/08/14
"The Church Fathers say that the origins of fasting go back to the creation of man...When God placed man in Paradise after his creation, He told him what he must do throughout the course of his life. He told him to work and not eat "of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Gen. 2:16-17). The first commandment of fasting was given by God to man at that moment. So fasting is divine law, which aims at manifesting the divine will to man." (Stylianos Gerasimos, 21st Century Orthodox writer, 11/13 article) [Fasting; Penance; Obedience]
"Yet it is through her purity and quiet, self-sacrificing piety – holy, meek, and humble – that God’s grace visited her. It is this life which we must struggle to emulate – especially as monastics. The Theotokos’ life in the Temple was quiet and removed from the vanity of the world and the sight of men, but was inwardly rich and profound. She spent all her time in the temple meditating on the Holy Scriptures, eating the food of the angels, and living day and night in the presence of God. Likewise, we should live our life in such a way – in self-sacrifice, in meditating on the scriptures, in attentive prayer in Church, in partaking of the “Heavenly Manna” – the Eucharist, and striving as much as possible to live our whole lives with our hearts turned to God." (Homily from Holy Cross Hermitage in WV, 12/13) [Humility; Theotokos]
“The world is governed by God’s Providence alone, and in this is salvation for one who believes; in this is the strength to endure earthly sorrows...There are no forgotten people in God, and God’s Providence watches over everyone. God rules the world—only God, and no one else.” (Archimandrite John Krestiankin; 21st Century Russian abbot) [Providence; Creator; Hope]
"It is said that the deer will not run well for two reasons: when she is too fat, or when she is too weak. Too much asceticism can weaken someone, but also indifference and non-engaging could “fatten” man. Personally, I’m not for penances that require a lot of time and physical effort. Penance means the possibility to repent, to commit that sin no more, to struggle not to fall again." (Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century staretz in Romania) [Sanctification; Repentance]
"What was it in Jesus that aroused such love and such hatred? I am the door, he said, the door to eternity (John 10:9). It seems to me that everything that is valuable in Christianity is valuable only because it is from Christ. What is not from Christ could as well belong to Islam or Buddhism. Every religion is a path towards God, a conjecture about God, a human approach to God. It is a vector pointing upwards from below. But the coming of Christ is the answer, a vector coming from heaven towards us. On the one hand, an event situated in history, on the other hand, something quite outside history. That’s why Christianity is unique, because Christ is unique." (Fr. Alexander Men, 20th Century murdered Russian priest, 'Why Be a Christian') [True Church; Revelation; Salvation]
"Thus, the first Heaven is the atmosphere, the second, cosmic space, and the third Heaven is the invisible world. It was into the invisible world that the Apostle Paul was caught up, and where he contemplated God. He also was caught up into Paradise, which, as the highest part of the world, is divided from it by a revolving, flaming sword...And that Paradise is also a preliminary place for souls. As St. John Chrysostom said, we received more than we had lost; we lost Paradise, but were promised the Kingdom of God. But as yet, the Kingdom of God remains unattainable, and the New Jerusalem has not a single resident . It was created by God, but has not yet been populated. It will be, once the Lord comes down to us with Heavenly fire. That will be on the day the world ends. " (Fr .Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian priest-martyr, 'Instructions') [Prophecy; Heaven]
"They did not shrink from denouncing the people’s sins and calling them to repentance. They did not care at all that most of society felt differently, and did not agonize over whether or not the people would think their message was “relevant.” If their proclamation of the Gospel alienated some people from the Church, that was fine; the hardened unbelief of man did not invalidate the timeless truth of God. These were men who were sure of the absolute truth of their message, and sure that God would help them proclaim it, come what may." (Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century priest and author, on evangelism) [Evangelism; Missions; Witness]
"There are many who touch God in some way, or rather are touched by God. For example, some, especially mothers, are brought to touch God through the innocent smile and helplessness of a new-born child. Others are touched by God through a sunrise over the sea, or a landscape, a walk in the mountains, a piece of music, a church service, a prayer. Sometimes people are touched by God inside a church building, at other times outside a church building. Whatever the situation, they are touched by God, either by His presence in the world as Creator of all things, or else through the presence in this world of His Body, the Body of Christ, the Church, the very Body Who touched Thomas and Who was touched by Thomas. "In every generation, there may be his arguments, based on which people reject this or that divine law. This opposition to the will of God is present throughout human history and so vividly reflected in the Old Testament through the story of God's chosen people. Sacred History teaches us that when we reject God's law, when we reject God's established order of life, we are going against God, we become unhappy." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, 12/13 statement) [Traditional Values; Law of God; Humanism]
"Proclaiming and upholding the sanctity and miracle of life is a sacred calling, one that lies at the heart of who we are as Orthodox Christians. ..of our Lord. It is a calling that involves obligations and responsibilities for the common good of all mankind, beginning with the lowest, least and weakest amongst us. And, at the very heart of this calling is the challenge to share, in “truth and love,” the reality that human beings—in the womb, beyond the tomb, and at every point in between—reflect the glory of God. " (Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century Primate of the OCA, 01/14 statement) [Abortion; Justice; Society]
" Co-equal friends might kiss one another in greeting, but one greeted a king with a prostration. That was how respect worked then in the Middle East. In Orthodox liturgical practice, it still works that way: candidates for ordination prostrate before the ordaining bishop at the time of ordination, and ordinary Christians prostrate before one another at Forgiveness Vespers. When we encounter the glorified saints, whether personally in a vision or (more likely) in their icons, we prostrate ourselves before them too. Prostration, like kissing, is the ancient tradition of humanity, and should need little justification." (Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century Canadian Orthodox priest and author, 01/14 article) [Reverence; Veneration; Icons]
“I was forced to go to church under threat of the rod, because we had to accompany my grandmother to church, which was in a bad neighborhood. Once when I was 14, I went to church with my grandmother; there were almost no other parishioners in church that day...and in one instant, by Divine mercy, it occurred to me that everything around me had profound meaning. From then on I began to immerse myself in Orthodox Christianity." (Protopriest Victor Potapov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox priest in America, 1213 interview) [Family; Worship; Conversion; Discipline]
"The Church has a very definite position: when weapons serve to protect the Fatherland, the Church supports both its creators and the soldiers who use it." (Alexander Volkov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox official, on Mikhail Kalashnikov's concern for his creation of the AK-47) “The Baptism of repentance was awareness of the need to have the sins forgiven. It affirmed both the sinful nature of the humans and the need to rid of it. Because of the fall of the forefathers Adam and Eve we inherited a sick nature, namely a nature inclined to sin, to forget about God, alienate from God and infringe the will of God. Thus, the baptism of repentance was a preparation for wishing to have the sins forgiven and renew the life”. (Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, 01/14) [Baptism; Repentance) It can then safely be asserted that if we seek God, then we touch Him and are touched by Him. And in that way the dull, uncomprehending clay of our material being will be made into spiritual matter and we too shall thus pass through the sealed doors of our fallen hearts and minds and bodies towards the light of faith and understanding." (Fr. Andrew Philip, 21st Century English Orthodox priest, homily) [Sanctification; Child; Seeking God]
"People in general think very little about eternity; but life is so short! When you are young it seems that life will go on forever...There is no doubt that death is the final trial of human life. But after all, man is never reconciled to the brevity of his life. He always protests against it and wants it to go on forever...in order to prepare ourselves for this most great passing, for this most serious trial, we need to take some preparatory steps." (Archpriest Alexander Saltykov, 21st Century Russian priest, 12/13 interview) [Fasting; Judgement; Death]
"As it is taught by the word of God, almsgiving is a religious practice, and not merely social and altruistic...The Lord taught His disciples to give alms without hoping for a return , gave meaning to almsgiving that the offering was being made to Himself , and established almsgiving as a requirement for someone to be His disciple and to follow Him without regretting the abandonment of their goods (Matthew 6 ,25 & 19)." (Metropolitan Daniel of Kaisariani, 21st Century Greek hierarch, 12/13) [Generosity; Giving]
"Believers are citizens of the state and it is illegal to try to prevent them from participating in public processes determining the present and future of the country. It's like separating people from people...No matter how progressive an ideology aimed at depriving people from God is, it will lead to a catastrophe. The twentieth century showed it with relentless clarity. The future will show it, too, if we can't show the world, at least to a small degree, that there is a different path of development, development according to God's truth. It's a path of loyalty to moral values." ( Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Church official, 12/13 comments) [Society; Traditional Values]
"Jesus Christ is born in a cave, inside the earth, that he might sanctify the earth. Course, he came into the world to sanctify the soul and the human body especially, being born as a man of the Virgin Mary. Jesus was born in a cave as a church under the earth, and then was placed in a manger as a blessing altar bread. Bethlehem means in Scripture "house of bread." Jesus He was born as a man cave, and laid in a manger is the bread of heaven given to men as food in the Eucharist. So by feeding human sanctification of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the God-man, the mystery is deeper meaning or placing baby Jesus in the manger bedtime..." (Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, 2013 message) [Eucharist; Communion; Feasts]
"If we are to belong to the Church of Christ, the new creation, we need the gift of faith. This gift is the most important of the many gifts which the Holy Spirit bestows upon the members of the Body of Christ. Our gift of faith will attach us to this glorious Body, the Church, of which Christ Himself is the Head, and will allow us to enter into communion with the abundance of divine life that flows from the Head of this Body into its members." (Fr. Zacharias, 21st Century priest and author, from 'Remembering Our First Love") [True Church; Faith; Grace]
"The Christian Faith is all about thanksgiving. Our secular North American society thinks that thanksgiving is moderately important, and so it has a wonderful Thanksgiving Day feast once a year... At least once a year our all-too-often self-entitled culture tells us that it is good to give thanks and to be grateful. It is otherwise in the Church. In the Church, we are to give thanks not just once a year, but always, so that every day is a thanksgiving day..." (Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century American priest and author, 11/13 article) [Gratitude; Worship]
"Prayer Books and canonical prayers, which are all of Christian origin, help one to pray like a Christian. When one has learned this, then it becomes easier in a psalm that we have just read to pick up a phrase or expression and transform it into personal, Christian prayer...I believe that that which inhibits modern man from praying...is that he is never alone; he’s constantly surrounded by noise. You can’t pray in continual noise." (Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel Bunge; 21st Century hermit and speaker) [Prayer]
Updated 11/14/13
“Our participants in the work of the World Council of Churches is conditioned in the first place by the aim to bear witness to Orthodoxy in face of the non-Orthodox world" (Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, 21st Century Russian church official, on the purpose of ecumenism) [Witness; Ecumenism]
“‘'The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.' (Psalm 14:1) This verse is not so much about principled atheists, but practical atheists, which we all are in those dark moments when we stubbornly follow our own will and passions and eclipse God from our decision-making. Liturgically we use this verse at the 9th Hour on Holy Friday, as Jesus hangs on the Cross surrounded by abusers and abandoned by almost all his friends. In those terrible hours when the disciples turned away from Jesus did they not become atheists as much as the crucifiers?" (Fr. John Jillions, 21st Century Chancellor of the OCA) "The Lord does not consider the value of a nation based on the number, but what he gives, how he serves God and his people..We belong to Him who carried the cross on his shoulders and who was crucified, we follow and for this reason we do not see suffering as a curse, but a gift from God." Patriarch Irinej, 21st Century Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, 2013 Sarajevo comments) [Suffering; Trials; Patience; Witness]
"Do not be surprised that the demons obey you, as their leader has already been toppled: "I saw satan fall like lightning from Heaven". The flash of "lightning" is used to present unexpectedness and swiftness. In other words, the Lord tells the Apostles that He witnessed the defeat of the prince of demons and his swift fall; like lightning; and therefore, if he was defeated, so were his legions. As the Conqueror of the hostile powers, the Lord makes possible for His disciples to feel the victory over them, calling the evil spirits allegorically as "snakes" and "scorpions". "The important thing is not this, but that you have become worthy of salvation and joy in Heaven." (Archbishop Averky, 20th Century Russian hierarch in America; Gospel Commentary) [Devil; Evil; Providence]
"At once I realized that it was the Most Reverend Metropolitan Nectarios himself whom I had taken for a laborer and had slighted. For I never imagined that it was possible for a Metropolitan to be engaged in such a lowly kind of work, especially at noontime, when everyone else was having a siesta. He had such a high office, and yet he was so humble!" (Elder Philotheos Zervakos, 20th Century monk on St. Nektarios) [Humility; Meekness]
"I observe physicians and see the difference between those who love God and have an organic relationship with the Church and those who are indifferent and atheists. The first are selfless and humble and feel as if they are partners in God's work of healing their fellow man, while the second consider themselves something higher than other people, like a god, and woe to those who dare challenge them." (Anonymous quote in 11/13 article by Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas) [Love; Generosity; Works of Mercy]
"You have to understand that God DOES NOT require the universe to exist in order to exist himself. He always was, before time, the big bang, or anything...An impersonal force cannot create life, nor the personal minds that we possess. It takes a personal force to create things that are personal. GOD also doesn't need time to create because He created time so He doesn't need to operate within its boundaries." (Reader Aleksandar Djeric, 21st Century Serbian Orthodox reader, 10/13 article) [Creation; Atheism]
"Truly, how will it benefit us to explain the name of the Antichrist or to delve into numbers, when before the coming of the Antichrist death will catch up to us? These things are enough, and I believe that as a wise laborer in the vineyard of Christ you will not over interpret what I say, but be convinced that this is the truth." (Elder Daniel of Katounakia, 19th Century Mt. Athos staretz on 666 and the anti-christ) [Prophecy; Wisdom]
"Put the candle in my hand, I'm in another world." (Bishop Nicholas Karpov, 20th Century Bishop of Lond, last words) [Holy Death; Salvation]
"If you live by God, you are entirely in the kingdom, His kingdom...do not waste one little bit of time, because it is so expensive. The loss of time we never weep over. Lost time! " (Archimandrite Arseny (Papachoka), 21st Century Romanian confessor) [Sloth; Will of God]
"'Glory be to God! Glory be to God for everything'...people said that afterwards [the burial]
there came a swarm of bees. They circled around the grave and rested on the coffin. Father Innocent's workers came to bid farewell to their loving master." (Words and account of the burial of Fr. Innocent, a 20th Century American monk and beekeeper who died in 1983) [Faith; Witness]
"Fools take pride in what smart people are ashamed of...Nothing is under such a threat as marriage and family in our tragic times. Both marriage and family are being undermined in a planned fashion, especially with the gay parade." (Patriarch Irenej, 21st Century Primate of Serbia on 2013 gay parade) [Society; Homosexuality; Family]
"You say that you enjoy your life, because of this and that. But I also enjoy my life. When I eat fasting foods instead of meats on Wednesdays, Fridays and during Lent, and when I wake up and go to church on Sunday mornings and feasts, my soul is filled! When I pray for this or that reason, my soul rejoices...You will lose out in the other life as well! And even if after death there is no paradise and hell, I will still come out the winner! I win in this present life! I enjoy it!" (Archbishop Evgenios Voulgaris, 18th Century Greek theologian talking with Voltaire, a rationalist and scoffer) [Salvation; Eternal Life; Joy]
"I agreed that God is love, but that didn’t tell me what He would expect of me...When I made my first steps back to churchgoing as an adult, I found plenty of good people who told me God is love, but who never challenged me to change my life. What needed changing? Lots." (Rod Dreher, 21st Century Orthodox convert) [Tradition; Converts]
“This is the original Christianity...Before there was Scripture — before there was a Bible — there was Liturgy.” (21st Century words of aconvert and mother of a monk-convert to her Protestant friends about Orthodoxy) [Witness; Tradition]
"In the tradition of the Church, however, it is seen clearly, that the demons have no mastery over the men of God, because those who have put on God do not go through such a martyrdom. ..This is why the Fathers advise us to live within the Church, with repentance, confession and spiritual works, that we live and die in the Church with the orthodox faith and the prayers of our Fathers, so that the ruler of darkness and the spirits of evil may not have power over us." (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, 20th Century hierarch, on the tollhouses after death) [Salvation; Judgement; Tollhouses]
"Of course, these two types of people should have different forms of preparation. For the first, if he receives once a week or two-three times a week (and there are such cases), it is probably not so necessary to confess often. For those who receive rarely, confession is mandatory and necessary. Otherwise their hearts will become hardened." (Bishop Pachomy Bruskov, 21st Century Russian hierach on Communion preparation) [Communion; Confession]
"They say that a disabled person removed from the life of man, that he may not be much. This is not the case. A disabled person is a special person. We need disabled people because caring for the disabled is our work of love, and a victory is achieved when people take and adopt children with disabilities." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Primate, on disabled children, September 2013) [Mercy; Love]
"These are the values of family, social morality, kindness, nobleness and charity; these values are the spiritual pillar of not only Orthodoxy but also of Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. We cannot move them to the background...We will be unable to move on if the society is disconnected, if we lose our moral pillars and the feeling of solidarity, if egoism, mutual mistrust, the principle of "every man for himself" and the primitive logic of prospering at any cost, even with immoral methods, come to dominate..." (Sergey Ivanov, 21st Century Russian layman and head of the Presidential administration, 10/13 comments) [Society; Morality; Values]
“We Orthodox throughout the world are a single body, and borders should not separate us. In this way we will always remain united to Christ, just as He loved and wished for us to be …” (His Eminence Anthimios, 21st Century Greek hierarch, 10/13 Youth meeting) [Unity; Faith]
"Our young people have been raised in a society that has developed the pursuit of pleasure to a degree unheard of in any previous society. I don’t think even pagan Rome can hold a candle to some of the things going on in our society today...Most of our young people really are seeking something higher, something more spiritual, but there is no one to guide them, so they simply follow the crowd. After a while, some of these young men grow tired and weary of all this pursuit of pleasure, and in their hunger for something more deeply satisfying, they turn to God with all their hearts, their broken and darkened hearts. And God, who has placed this desire in their hearts, comes to them like the father with his prodigal son." (Igumen Seraphim Voepel, deputy Abbot of Holy Cross Monastery in WV, 25th Ann. Book) [Pleasure; Society; Temptation ]
" We have been able to see many Euro-Atlantic countries effectively embark on a path of renouncing their roots, including Christian values, which underlie Western civilization...Policies are pursued that put large families and same-sex partnerships in the same category, belief in God and belief in Satan...holidays are abolished or given other names, names that shyly conceal the nature of those holidays..." (Vladimir Putin, 21st Century Russian President, speech in September, 2013) [Family; Society; Secularism]
"True art can not talk about God. If it introduces people to the beauty of the world created by God, then follows the invitation to get to know their Creator. " (Peter Davidov, 21st Century Russian Internet author) [Icons]
Updated 09/14/13
“What I see around me would drive me insane if I did not know that no matter what happens, God will have the last word.”
(Elder Paisius, 20th Century Greek staretz, quote in article) [Providence; Faith]
"Prayer is a petition for good addressed by the pious to God. But we do not rigidly confine our petition to words. Nor yet do we imagine that God requires to be reminded by speech. He knows our needs even though we ask Him not...I say that we must not think to make our prayer complete by syllables. The strength of prayer lies rather in the purpose of our soul and in deeds of virtue reaching every part and moment of our life."
(St. Basil the Great, 5th Century Greek hierarch, on Unceasing Prayer) [Prayer; Intercession; Worship]
“True, there are earthly joys which elevate the soul. There is no sin, for example, in enjoying the beauty of this world. On the earth there are extraordinarily beautiful places… But the present world bears only a faint resemblance to the world that once existed before the Fall. There is a heavenly world, the beauty of which we cannot fathom, and only holy people perceive it and enjoy it. That world remained unharmed, but the earthly world changed dramatically after the Fall."
(Elder Barsanuphius, 19th Century Optina staretz, quotes on entertainment) [Creation; Recreation]
"Very important is the fact that the loaves of bread and fish were multiplied while being given to the people. They were multiplied because they were blessed and because they were distributed. Nobody has seen piles of bread or fish, but they were multiplied while being distributed. Thus, Christ teaches us that we should not collect great supplies of material things which bring about only a false safety and happiness only because we have collected temporary material things. God’s care and love for the humans is greater than any collection of temporary material things.”
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, 083113 homily) [Providence]
" Despite all of the so-called "time-saving devices" that our society has invented in the past 50 years, it seems that we have even less time for what is most important: prayer, and going to church. So many people omit their prayers, and skip church services because they are supposedly too busy. It is a matter of having the proper priorities in life. We should be doing what is most important for eternal life, not our temporal life."
(Bishop George of Mayfield 21st Century ROCOR hierarch, 0913 interview) [Prayer; Physical verses Spiritual; Love of the World]
“If your soul is weak and asks the Lord to deliver it from trials, God will hear and deliver it. But you should know that according to the measure of trials you undergo God sends His Gifts.”
(Valeria Alfeeva, 21st Century Russia Orthodox layperson, book inscription) [Temptations; Perseverance]
"The purpose of the Church is not only to obtain for people the forgiveness of sins but also their sanctification and enlightenment. Therefore, baptism is called Holy Light. Afterwards the presence of invisible light of divine grace begins in man. This light must be nurtured by faith and good works, through much prayer in the Christian life...The Transfiguration shows that the light gained through prayer and good deeds is sharing God himself, not just His gifts, but the very presence of his loving, sanctifying, illuminating and deifying Person. It is the Tabor Light or uncreated light of God's grace."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Romanian Primate) [Grace; Good Works]
"Likewise, when preparing to depart from this world, it is essential to see how your soul is clothed. The Lord said of the church of Laodicea, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
(Revelation 3: 17–18). Here is your task: to look to the clothing of your soul. In what is it attired? In virtues. Therefore it is necessary to see what is lacking, in order to at least begin to take corrective action. Remember, any passion that you do not oppose will consume you, for after your death, all of the passions come crawling out into the open. Note that this does not mean that you have to get a complete grip on yourself. Of course, it would be wonderful to be able to cope and be dispassionate. What is the best kind of death? When the Holy Spirit says to you plainly that you are already saved. There is an idea, like an assurance, a special state of the heights of spiritual life, in which the Holy Spirit Himself tells someone that he will get into the Heavenly Kingdom. The Apostle Paul said on the subject, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.”
(II Timothy 4: 7–8). That is to say, the Apostle Paul was certain that he would be saved. Likewise, another interesting example: St. Anthony the Great rejoiced before his death, because he was certain that the Lord would save him, for the Lord Himself had so advised the saint. Remember what St. Seraphim of Sarov said, “Come to me at my grave, and I will pray to God for you.” Blessed Matrona would say the same. Why? Because they were so confident in themselves? No, rather because they had received the assurance from the Holy Spirit that they would be saved. That is not something you can do on your own. It is a decision made by God Himself, as He said, but it is something toward which you should strive, for in fact, your best assurance of being saved is God's Word."
(Dr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century priest-martyr, "Instructions to Immortals') [Judgment; Good Works]
"Lately we have been facing enormous temptations when in a number of countries the choice of sin is approved and justified by law, and those who do as their conscience tells them and fight laws imposed by such minorities are subjected to reprisals. This is a very dangerous apocalyptic symptom and we must do our utmost for sin to be never approved by state laws throughout the expanses of Holy Rus because it would mean that the nation is entering the road of self-destruction."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate or Russia on gay marriage, July 2013) [Homosexuality; Society]
"If we, brothers and sisters, also desire that our petitions on earth be heard by God, this requires, first of all, that we have a heartfelt, living, and firm conviction that God is everywhere, all-seeing, and all-knowing; that He is wise, all-powerful, and omnipotent; and, moreover, that He is good, merciful, and loving...let us petition God with living, heartfelt, and unquestioning faith, filled with love for our neighbors. Then the Lord will hear and grant our petitions..."
(Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox hierarch, on the Centurion July 2013) [Faith; Prayer]
“Spiritual unity is something so strong that it is not affected by influence of authorities – neither state nor church."
(Vladimir Putin, 21st Century Russian President, on 1025th Anniversary of Baptism of the Rus) [Society; Church]
"Grace is nothing other than the Life of God. In proper theological terms
(of the Eastern Church) grace is the uncreated Divine energies. But that phrase, unless correctly understood can be all to confusing. I prefer to speak either of grace or of God’s own Life, freely given to us. First, grace is a gift. You don’t have to go anywhere to get what you already have been given. What we need to do is allow the grace of God to work in us what God intends."
(Fr. Stephen Freeman; 21st Century Orthodox priest, 2013 article on St. Seraphim) [Sanctification; God's Will]
"You can put on the clothes of the saints and to be called by their names, but if we are not involved in their feat, clothes, titles and rank the most are empty, as if hung on a hanger, not the person. Form without content is empty."
(Fr. Paul Adelgeim, 21st Century murdered Russian Orthodox priest, blog sayings) [Witness]
"If, having felt great compunction over the sins of his youth, someone has confessed them, there is no reason to agonize over them, for from the moment he has told of his sins during his Confession, God has forgiven him. After that, there is no need to pick open his old sins, especially his sins of the flesh; in doing so, he may cause himself harm."
(Elder Paisios, 20h Century startez on Mt. Athos, quotes on Confession) [Confession; Repentance]
"If we keep the fasts of Wednesday and Friday, no additional fast to prepare for Communion is needed. By the way, on Mount Athos currently fasting is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, butthey partake of communion four days a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
(after fasting days) and Sunday. And it is absolutely right: people are living Christ. Liturgy is the center of their lives, around which is everything else."
(Bishop Trinity Pankraty, 21st Century Russian Patriarchal Vicar, 0913 interview on Repentance) [Fasting; Communion]
"The second thing that we should notice in today’s Gospel is the way in which Christ healed. He spat on the earth and ‘made clay of the spittle’. We note this for every sacrament of the Church heals in the selfsame manner: Clay cannot heal the blind and yet with the breath of God, it becomes the container for the healing grace of God. Water cannot heal and yet the water of baptism heals because the blessed water bears the Holy Spirit. Oil cannot heal and yet the oil of chrismation and unction heal because they are filled with the grace of God. A piece of cloth cannot heal and yet a priest’s stole can heal through the grace of Christ at the sincere confession of sins and the repentant intention not to sin again. Bread and wine cannot heal and yet bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ heal through the Holy Spirit. Wood and paint cannot heal and yet icons can heal by the Holy Spirit Who penetrates into their material essence and radiates grace from them. Smoke cannot heal and yet incense burnt brings healing through the blessing of Christ. Christ teaches us then that all things can be used for our healing and benefit and salvation, but that they must first be touched by His grace. In this way our bodies, mere flesh and bones and blood, can become containers of Christ. Our souls activated, we can become lamps of the Holy Spirit; the eyes of our souls, the doors of perception, become seeing, and we see the whole of God’s Creation as it really is. We see that every blade of grass and every hill, every tree and every cloud, every drop of rain and every ocean, all creatures and all people, are miracles of God’s handiwork, signs of His sacramental presence among us, and we see that we live not in the banal, everyday world, but in potential Paradise, the world as it really is, as God made it first, for we see God the Creator behind all things and all people. And then we too, together with the man born blind, can say: ‘I was blind, now I see’."
(Fr. Andrew Philips, 21st Century English Orthodox priest, semons) [Creator; Healing]
"There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal."
(Vladimir Putin, 21st Century Russian President, 0913 statement on nations) [Creation; Mankind]
" It was snowing, it was very cold. When I saw all the belt , I was shocked, so many people I have never seen! Crowding, noise, droning, piercing cold. It had been five and a half hours before I got into the church, but those two or three minutes in the temple, the five-second touch of the belt - are unforgettable, this feeling is beyond words...Perhaps this is God's grace."
(Pilgrim Xenia Surai at the 21st Century visit of the Belt of the Theotokos in Russia, 2013) [Pilgrimage; Theotokos; Relics]
"An important event in the life of every human being, and so it must be considered, is the way in which they will depart this world, since it is related to their eternal future, for, while our earthly life has an end, life never ends. This is why we must seriously concern ourselves with it and prepare our entire lives for our departure. Besides, "for one to live a Christian life is impossible. They can only die a Christian death, as the Apostle Paul died daily"
(Elder Sophrony Sacharov). When someone was asked why they became Orthodox, he responded: "So that I may die well." In reality, it is to be able to live well in eternity."
(Protopresbyter George Papavarnavas, 21st Century Orthodox priiest, on the Martyr Babylas) [Eternal Life; Death; Judgment]
“...spiritual condition of Europe now is very poor, There, as Friedrich Nietsche said, ‘God died’. True, there are some little islands of church life... That is why I feel words one of the Roman Catholic bishops said: 'You don’t need us, but we need you.,' in principle, is not so strange,”
(Patriarch Irinej, 21st Century Serbian Orthodox Primate, comments in July, 2013) [Society; Secularism; Evangelism]
"False christs, false prophets and false apostles are the heretics, who by their own will and in their own knowledge twist the truths of the Holy Gospel. They present one part of the truth, as been the whole truth. The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, participating in the Ecumenical or local Coun-cils, had full conscience of the responsibility that they must preserve the Truth of Divine Revelation, just as it was revealed by God and had been passed down by the Apostles and eye witnesses of His life on earth. At the same time they had to be aware for themselves and for the whole flock from any false teachings coming from heretics. They believed that they had the responsibility, not only before God, but also before their flock, and they struggled to build up and to strengthen the faithful in the true faith of Christ. The Holy Fathers with their personal example, their teachings, their kindness, their warm zeal and self-denial gave courage to the faithful during times of persecution and tribulation. With their virtuous life and struggle for Orthodoxy, they became the athletes of Christ in the stadium of the Church. "Two utter strangers finding each other and choosing to start a new community that begins now and is meant to continue “unto ages of ages, amen.” It’s mysterious enough on a human level, but then add the divine dimension, seeing God’s hand in all the events of past, present and future in this fledgling family….The only adequate response is wonder, and wonder turns in to gratitude."
(Fr. John Jillions, 21st Century Chancellor of the OCA, 08/20/13 article) [Familyl Marriage; Myasteries]
We, the Orthodox Christians, today, honour and give gratitude to all those who struggled for Orthodoxy. Let us pray to our loving God to give us strength and faith, so that we also be able to defend the Apostolic Faith, imitating those holy men, who sacrificed even their own lives for the Truth, and became Shepherds and Teachers of the Church."
(Archimandrite Panteleimon Lampadarios, 20th Century Orthodox monk, 'Sunday of the 1st Ecumenical Council') [Heresy; Apostacy; Delusion]
"Disease helps us see where we are on the road of life. "It's a lesson from God being our help in raising us if we get the satisfaction from it," says St. Varsanufie. The disease can not be used as an excuse to rest after spiritual efforts."
(Fr Adrian-Claudiu Pîrvu, 21st Century Romanian Orthodox Priest, 0813) [Suffering; Perseverance]
"The universe created by God is diverse, for, on the one hand, it is our world — the world of nature and man — and, on the other hand, it is spiritual — the world of the Angelic Host and the Church Triumphant-known biblically as Heaven. Therefore God is called the Father of our natural-human world and the Heavenly Father — “Who art in Heaven,” that is, the Father of the spiritual world. Heaven also implies that purity and sanctity of divine life to which man is called, and which does not exist in him if he is entirely captivated by Sin. As Bishop Nicholas says: “Heaven is very, very far for a man whose heart and soul have turned away from Thee...but Heaven is very, very close for a man whose soul is open and awaits Thy coming.'”
(These Truths We Hold, 20th Century American Orthodox catechism) [Physical verses spiritual; Creation]
"Do not commemorate him during the Liturgy. It is better for his soul. When the All-Merciful sees that we do not honor him, the Same will take pity on him, but when we honor him, He will not have mercy on him."
(Fr. Anthimos Agiannanites, 20th Century elder on Mt. Athos, comments to the parents of a suicide) [Suicide; Prayer for the Departed]
"The Orthodox liturgy is very different than anything in the West, either Catholic or Protestant. It’s very ancient and really rooted in a living past and living present...Orthodox Christianity is very traditional and really holy. The goal is to grow in faith, connecting more fully with both God and others.”
(21st Century Orthodox Converts in Texas, August 2013 article) [Converts; Orthodoxy]
"The most difficult thing—and not only in our time but always—is obedience and the denial of one’s own will. It is met with more resistance, more sharply today when a person lives in complete satisfaction, when the material world gives him all he wants. When there is no poverty, then one must reject all the external glitter, and as I said, this is not so hard. But what is hard is denying your own will."
(Archbishop Mark Arndt, 21st Century Russian Orthodox hierarch in Germany, on modern monasticism) [Faith; Monks; Sanctification]
"Faith does not begin apologetically. Faith begins with love: and in that direction, we do not do enough. Knowing theology does not necessarily mean knowing God. Our duty is to realize that if we accept our responsibility to follow the Gospel preached by Christ, our ignorance
(not knowing) of Christ pushes people away from Him...."
(Archimandrite Joakim Couple, 21st Century monk) [Witness]
"We must learn the lessons of the past. And the main lesson is this: the edifice of our civilization cannot exist without the Gospel foundation upon which it was raised up. Today many again are proposing that we build up our lives without God. Freedom is often understood as the pursuit of all kinds of desires, including those imposed upon the human person from without...It is our duty and spiritual imperative to preserve this truth and build our private and public lives upon its foundations."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Primate, 1025th Anniversary statement) [Society]
"Moreover, we think it is a more dignified attitude for a Christian European people to build new churches, necessary to large communities, than sell empty churches because they lack faithful, to be changed into commercial or sporting spaces, as often happens in Great Britain and other secularized countries of the West, to the surprise of other religions."
(August 8, 2013 Statement by the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate concerning a BBC report criticizing the building a a new church in Romania every three days) [Evangelism]
"Many of our clergy and faithful come from various non-Russian backgrounds, and have wholeheartedly embraced the sacred customs and traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. Let us not fall into the temptation of segregating our Diocese into cultural groups, because as sons and daughters of the Russian Orthodox Church, we are all citizens of Holy Russia."
(Metropolitan Hilarion, 21st Century ROCOR Primate on the 1025th Baptism of the Rus) [Traditions]
"An important event in the life of every human being, and so it must be considered, is the way in which they will depart this world, since it is related to their eternal future, for, while our earthly life has an end, life never ends. This is why we must seriously concern ourselves with it and prepare our entire lives for our departure. Besides, "for one to live a Christian life is impossible. They can only die a Christian death, as the Apostle Paul died daily"
(Elder Sophrony Sacharov). When someone was asked why they became Orthodox, he responded: "So that I may die well." In reality, it is to be able to live well in eternity."
(Protopresbyter George Papavarnavas, 21st Century Orthodox priiest, on the Martyr Babylas) [Eternal Life; Death; Judgment]
Updated 07/22/13
"Thus, all the saints are local in that they worked in a certain place, but are universally believed...From this point of view there are no local saints. All are local people in one place who serve during their lives through deeds and their examples, but all are universal epistles for believers everywhere and it is necessary that all get to know them. All are filled with the same Christ that shines through their being and all are carriers of the one Spirit, the Holy Spirit...All belong to the same Universal Church of the Holy Spirit, which began at Pentecost and continues throughout the centuries, including different nations (Acts 2, 3). The languages ??are different, but by the same Spirit souls are filled and experience the same Christ." (Fr Dumitru Staniloae, 21st Century Romanian theological, July article 2013) [Church; Saints]
"...the Church of God, the Orthodox, does not stand as the repository of artifacts nor as a repository of customs and traditions, but shows how to spread the truth of God, through the Church and Gospel of the Lord and Savior to the world; and, through the grand drama of grace, the Church enhances the Evangelical message which becomes modern, vibrant, and timeless in its meaning for each successive generation." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, July 2013 statement) [Evangelism; Catechism; Witness]
"As can be seen from St. Luke’s preface, he undertook the writing of his Gospel because by that time there had appeared fairly numerous similar works but lacking in authority and unsatisfactory in substance.... he undoubtedly wrote a significant part of his Gospel from the words of eyewitnesses; that is, on the basis of tradition (here we can see the importance of tradition, which is rejected by Protestants and sectarians).." (Archbishop Averky Tauchev, 20th Century Russian American hierarch, Gospel Commentary) [Tradition; Bible]
"On this day, our pagan ancestors celebrated Midsummer, and the night of the 23rd to the 24th was for them the most mystical of the year...Kupala was the god of fruit, ranking very high among the gods. At the beginning of the harvest sacrifices were made to him...The establishment of the Nativity of John the Baptist on the day (harmonizing with the Gospel narrative of the Nativity and Savior's [birth]
) allowed good [spiritual]
growth, removing the weeds of paganism." (Pravimir internet site references) [Tradition; Feast Days]
"We believe that the Mystery of Baptism completes our purification through the remission of the sins of our hearts, Chrismation activates our illumination by making us temples of the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit resides in our hearts as new members of the Body of Christ, and through Holy Communion we come to know Christ entirely in His glory every time we partake of it. We do not believe this magically happens, but as St. Cyril of Jerusalem writes, this happens according to the measure of our faith.." (John Sanidopoulos, 21st Century Orthodox scholar and blogger) {Faith; Catechism; Mysteries]
""If people choose such lifestyle, this is their right but the Church's responsibility is to say that this is a sin in the face of God... the sin is justified by law for the first time in the entire history of mankind." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia, address to Council of Europe Secretary on homosexuality) [Society; Traditional Values]
"Every day, Allen wakes up and looks around, and he sees guys he wants to have sex with — and he doesn't have sex with them because he's following Jesus,. And every day, I wake up, and I see girls I want to have sex with — and I don’t have sex with them because I’m following Jesus." (Quotes from a retreat attended by an Orthodox layperson) [Temptation; Spiritual Struggle; Chastity]
"The family is the natural and fundamental existence and development of society, and is based on the freely consented marriage between a man and a woman, their equality, and the right and duty of parents to ensure the upbringing, education and training of children with the support and care of state and society." (Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Romanian Primate, June 2013 official statement) [Family; Society]
"Prayers, memorial services, liturgies, alms are very much to the benefit of the departed ones. You should pray more for the departed ones than the living. Because there is nothing they can do on their own any more, but we can help themby attracting God's mercy through praying and the other means we have mentioned so that their state can be improved or even change, because they are still under judgment." (Elder Paisios, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos) [Prayer for the Departed; Prayer]
http://www.pravmir.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/362-580x418.jpg "Today, they are trying to convince us that we need to change, based on real or imagined social moods. So why should we change? I am convinced that the role of the Church in society is precisely change it, not to adapt, not to try to please, but we act as prescribed by the Lord in the Gospels. And he proposes to change the world as a whole, every man ... I am convinced that has always been the mission of the Church..." (Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox official, July 2013 interview) [Witness; Society]
"When the Saints said they were sinners, they believed it. Their spiritual eyes became microscopes and they saw even their slightest mistakes as great." (Elder Paisios, 20th Century Greek staretz on Mt. Athos) [Repentance; Humility]
"The faces that look at us from icons belong to eternity. Gazing upon them, raise up your prayers to them, asking for their intercessions. We, the inhabitants of the earthly world, should never forget our Savior’s eternal call towards repentance, perfection, and the deification of every human soul." (Serge Alexeev, 21st Century Orthodox writer on the Icon Corner, July 2013) [Icons; Tradition]
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/431841_10152906874650002_1902684424_n.jpg "All of us are a generation of people born blind. We were born, for the most part, outside of faith in the Lord. According to an ancient plan, our spiritual eyes should have remained closed until our very death....But God worked a miracle on us." (Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, 21st Century Abbot of the Stretensky Monastery, June 2013 homily) [Mercy; Revelation]
"Everything that happens in the present moment in our country under the pretext of the observance of human rights is, in most cases, nothing more than a program run entirely to repeal and destroy our national identity which is formed on the basis of Christian spiritual values... we would like to remind everyone that for us, Orthodox Christians, there is no higher value in this short life that the observance of the evangelical teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ." "For example, the Fathers wrote that not every thought must be accepted. In modern computer language, we should see sin in a state of 'zip-archive', knocking into our consciousness. You cannot "unpack" it once. Any idea must first examined. And, if it confuses the heart, send that 'zip' to the basket. Passions we are the same as the one...the old comes to us under the guise of a new one. " (Archpriest Vitaly Shinkar, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Temptation; Spiritual Struggle]
"The main thing is to remember that the goal of our life is not material well-being and external happiness, but in acquiring the grace of God and in the preparation for life eternal, and for this, first of all, one must gather spiritual treasures which no one can ever take away." (Metropolitan Hilarion, 21st Century Hierarch of the Russia Church Abroad, May 2013 interview) [Witness; Sanctification]
"When the priest’s home life is upset in this way, he cannot really give proper service to his congregation. A priest’s wife often suffers cruelly and needlessly from the thoughtlessness of parishioners and the neglect of her husband. They are often not even accorded the common courtesy and respect due to any human being." (Excerpt from Orthodox America, late 20th centurn) [Clergy; Love]
“If this is the oldest church in Christendom, then I guess the water is purest the closest to the fountain.” (Jack Cutrer, 21st Century American convert) [Tradition; True Church; Evangelism]
"The symptoms of vanity, this initial sin, are: intolerance of criticism, a thirst for praise, a search for easy paths, and a constant orientation toward others. What will they say? How will it appear? What will they think? Vanity sees an audience approaching from afar and makes the wrathful affectionate, the irresponsible serious, the distracted concentrated, gluttons temperate, and so on – all of this as long as there are observers around.The same orientation towards an audience explains the sin of self-justification, which often creeps unnoticably even into our confession: “I am no more sinful than the rest… only insignificant sins… I have not killed anyone or stolen anything.” (Priest Alexander Elchaninov, 20th Century Russian priest, article) “I set out from my monastery with the blessings of my Geronda and the other fathers and the explicit command of Father Paisios, who is also my spiritual guide, to work together with the heads of the Church for the good of the Mission. The Church exists wherever there is a Bishop and faithful flock. Without the Bishop the faithful do not constitute the Church, but a Protestant heresy." (Father Cosmas of Grigoriou, 20th Century Missionary in Zaire) [Missions; Church]
"Paul had the joy of preaching even to those afar the correct Gospel, without distorting or camouflaging or hiding it. This, my beloved, is Orthodox Ecumenism...This Ecumenism is accepted by our Orthodox Church and for such an Ecumenism we pray in our divine worship, saying: "And for the union of all." The other kind of ecumenical movement, that is, the approaching of heretical Papists and other faiths who are outside our Orthodox faith and religion, without telling them clearly that they are heretics and deluded, but instead we embrace them with great love and pray with them and even call them "Holiness", these movements, I say, do not create unity, but bring division and turbulence to our House." (Metropolitan Jeremiah, 21st Century hierarch of of Gortinos and Megalopolis) [Ecumenism; Evangelism]
"By reverencing icons — firstly, I reverence in them God, Who has begotten before all worlds the Son, His living Image, Who gave material being to the infinite thought of God the Father, by creating the worlds and all creatures that were in the thought of God, and man, created after the image and likeness of God; secondly, I honour in them the image of God incarnate; thirdly, I honour in them myself, my own image of the immortal god-like man, called to be a partaker of the Divine nature, to union with the Lord, to be the temple of the Holy Spirit." (St. John of Kronstadt, 19th Century Russia staretz) [Worship; Icons]
"Sunday is also called a holy and chosen day, because all the great Dogmatic events happened on it. According to the Fathers, the Annunciation to the Theotokos, the Birth of Christ, the Resurrection, the basic great Dogmatic events, occurred on a Sunday. And the Second Coming of Christ, and certainly the resurrection of the dead will also happen on this day (Saint Peter of Damascus). This is why Christians give such importance and weight on the day and seek to make it holy, because on this day the sudden Second Coming of Christ will take place." (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, 21st Century Greek hierarch, article 2013) [Traditions; Worship; Feasts]
"“There is a tendency to romanticize missionary endeavors. The Orthodox Church and its priests, who many here believe are living comfortable lives, but the truth, however, is that the Orthodox Church in Africa is at the frontier, regularly facing life-threatening situations for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." (Brother Themi Adams,, 21st Century Orthodox missionary in Africa, 2013 interview) [Evangelism; Faith]
"In this day of celebration is appropriate that Romanian graves in the country and outside the borders of our country will not remain without candles and without flowers which express gratitude and love that prayer of remembrance stronger than death, that spiritual connection uninterrupted heroes who gave their lives in the past for our existence today." (Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, comments on the Ascension 2013) [Prayer for the Dead; Intercession]
“The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power. My Mother had taught me to seek all truth in the Bible.” (Nikola Tesla, 20th Century Serbian Orthodox scientist) [Creator; Providence]
"Flowers and greenery denote life and as we say and sing in the Creed: ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life…’, and again in the prayer ‘Heavenly King’ which we should all know by heart, we call the Holy Spirit ‘the Giver of Life’. This is why the clergy usually wear green vestments. Green means life, and without the Holy Spirit, we are spiritually dead. " (Archpriest Andrew Phillips. 21st Century English Orthodox priest, interview about Pentecost and the use of greenery) [Traditions]
"Thus, the thought of our lot in the future life should seemingly occupy our heart and mind more than anything else. Unfortunately, in our days – as a consequence of the influence of the false spirit of our times – there are many people who completely deny the future life beyond the grave and, understandably, the lot that awaits them as a result of this denial. Such unbelievers and deniers either completely lose heart in this earthly life and can see no meaning therein or, if they do live, it is only a base and brutish life, following the Epicurean rule: let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die!" (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov, 21st Century Russian monk, June 2013 article) [Salvation; Judgement, Love of the World]
"Russia has always held that prayer is righteous. But the fruits of this prayer are not something given to us from the outside, they give the righteous deed only if we ourselves strive for righteousness, at least to some extent and are involved in it. Thus, righteousness: a feat not one person, but all people." (Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga, 21st Century Hierarch, 2013 interview) [Prayer; Sanctification]
"...one must remake oneself at the root and live as a Christian and not as a pagan, as I have so far. But Lord! Will I be able to try to live in a way pleasing to God? And would I even be able to live that way in freedom? In prison, in the looming fear of death, decisiveness does not fail but gains strength, while in freedom, amidst the buzz of life and various temptations--there one may not preserve such a good intention." (Archpriest Basil Sokolov, 20th Century Russian Martyr, letters from prison) [Judgement; Sanctification]
"Our neighbors are immortal. They are our eternal companions. We are condemned to them. They are our fate: we are sentenced to them, and they are sentenced to us. This is both frightening and disarming. There is nowhere to run! They will be there in the bridal chambers prepared for them – their faces, their hacking coughs, they way they chomp away at table, that wheezing of theirs. The only way out is to learn how to love them in the here and now." (Archimandrite Savva Mazhuko, 21st Century Russian Orthodox priest, June 2013 article) [Love of Neighbor; Forgiveness]
"We are accused of disrupting this rally and subjecting its participants to violence, but it isn't so. We weren't the organizers. Everything happened spontaneously. It was probably God's will. If someone was the organizer, it was Jesus Christ" ( Fr. Antimoz Bichinashvili, 21st Century Georgian priest accused of disrupting a 'gay' rally in Tiblisi) [Society; Homosexuality]
"The conventional portrayal of Mustapha Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, has been built on the political canard that the secularist principles of the Republic of Turkey were a deliberate turn away from the Islamic theocracy of the Ottoman Empire. The reality is quite different. In fact, Turkey’s founding moment involved the genocide of two-and-a-half million Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Christians in Ottoman Anatolia and Asia Minor–in short, most of the remaining Orthodox Christian population that had survived from Byzantine Christian times." (Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou, 21st Century American scholar on the 'Fall of Constantinople', May 2013) [Persecution; Islam]
"My home is my monastery. It is here that I must practice forgiveness, patience, stillness, and the crucifixion of my ego and pride. When I experience some supposed offense, I should see this as an opportunity sent from God for the salvation of my soul. Yet, when the offense comes from my wife or children, I think I am free to be angry, sullen, and resentful. Not so! " (Fr. John Moses, 21st Century American Orthodox priest, 2013 blog) [Sanctification]
"I felt that the Spirit of God was not there [Pentecostal prayer meeting]
, which is a Spirit of peace and not of disturbance and excitement. The Spirit of God does not come with artificial and psychological ways...To attempt to receive experiences of God with artificial ways and methods as is done in the heresies of Hinduism and in Yoga is false. Those experiences are not from God. Those are experiences that are derived from psychological ways." (Archimandrite George of our Holy Monastery of Saint Gregory on Mt. Athos, 20th Century elder) [Deception; Protestantism; Charismatics; New Age]
"The Paschal songs are sung until the fortieth day, that is, until the Ascension of the Lord. The continuation of the celebration of Pascha until Ascension signifies that the Lord Jesus Christ, over the course of forty days of his Resurrection, appeared to His disciples. And so today [Ascension]
the Paschal Feast comes to an end. In daily life, the end of this holiday brings a degree of sorrow..." (Archbishop Simon Vinogradov, 20th Century Russian Orthodox hierarch in China, homily for the Apodosis) [Joy; Feasts]
"...in Protestantism, salvation means simply changing God’s attitude toward you, so that you can go to heaven. According to this understanding, it literally only takes a few minutes to be “saved...For the Orthodox Church, salvation is more than the pardon of sins and transgressions. It is more than being justified or acquitted for offenses committed against God. According to Orthodox teaching, salvation certainly includes forgiveness and justification, but is by no means limited to them. For the Fathers of the Church, salvation is the acquisition of the Grace of the Holy Spirit. To be saved is to be sanctified and to participate in the life of God..." (Hieromonk Damascene Christensen, 21st Century American monk, quotes from a 2005 conference) [Salvation]
"[Rebel held areas in Syria]
are ruled by newly-appeared emirs, and those Christians who were not able to flee these places are obligated to pay jizya—a special tax that allows them to remain Christians, and Christian women must hide their faces like Moslem women. If they don’t pay the jizya they are simply killed." (Anonymous Orthodox priest in Syia's civil war, May 2013 article) [Persecution; Islam]
"The strongest walls between people and between nations are not built of iron or steel but are created by fear, hate, and prejudice. The only way to break down these walls is through the practice of forgiveness." (Fr. Anthony Coniaris, 21st Century American priest and author, excerpt from 'Gems') [Forgiveness]
"If humanism were right in declaring that man is born to be happy, he would not be born to die. Since his body is doomed to die, his task on earth evidently must be of a more spiritual nature. It cannot unrestrained enjoyment of everyday life. It cannot be the search for the best ways to obtain material goods and then cheerfully get the most out of them...Only voluntary, inspired self-restraint can raise man above the world stream of materialism.." (Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 20th Century Orthodox writer, Columbia speech) [Meaning of Life; God's Will; Sanctification]
""The main thing in life and international relations is not economics, not politics, but whether or not a specific group adheres to eternal moral norms or tries to contest them. It is known that many Western countries do not back the recognition of this extreme immorality as the norm, which means that calling a black thing white doesn't work..." (Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Church official, June 2013 interview) [Society; Love of the World]
"Whether it’s cooking, whether it’s hoeing the garden, or whether it’s taking part in the communal worship, so everything, every aspect of our life is a prayer...And the fathers even speak of the ability to pray even while we are sleeping...” (Fr. Jeremiah, 21st Century American-born monk on Mt. Athos, May 2013 article) [Prayer; Jesus Prayer; Monks]
"The day of Sunday, as clearly reflects the meaning of the word, is the day dedicated to the Lord. Therefore, the position of the Church is as follows: Sunday should remain a holiday to give Christians the opportunity not only to pray to their God, but also that they be given the opportunity to rest from labors of the week and prepare for those of the next week... as it was in centuries." (Metropolitan Demis of Corinth, 21st Century Greek hierarch, 2013 statement on Sunday) [Traditions; Society]
"Therefore we learn that we are all subject to spiritual influences, to the spirit of evil or to the spirit of good. What are we to do? Let us flee the spirit of evil. Otherwise we too will finish by living in the tombs of the spiritually dead. Otherwise we too will be owned by devils and none will pass our way. Otherwise we too will run ‘violently down a steep place into the sea and perish in the waters’." (Archpriest Andrew Philips, 21st Century British Orthodox priest, on Palm Sunday 2013) [Sanctification; Temptation]
"I told him to wait, not to hurry, I had been living as an Orthodox Christian for fifteen years, though officially I wasn’t an Orthodox. The most important thing is to live like an Orthodox. To be one not on paper, but in real life." (Abbot Vasily Pasquiet, French monk and convert to Orthodoxy, 2013 advise to a potential convert) [Evangelism; Converts; Sanctification]
""For the grace of God," said our ancestors, and they traveled the arduous path of life. There was the occupation times of great poverty, misery, but they have not lost hope or patience, they did not sink into despondency. Poor laborers without deposits in banks, but their hope hoarded in heaven, our fathers worked "from the custody of the morning until night," watering the earth with their sweat. It is true that the basis of social phenomena are spiritual causes. Therefore, to properly deal with social problems, we must take as its point of departure the spiritual." (Metropolitan Cydonia of Crete, May 2013 comments on modern social despair) [Society; Providence; Hope]
Updated 05/19/13
"People who deny the future life and the immortality of the soul also look differently upon our present earthly life, seeking therein only pleasure and the satisfaction of sensual pleasures. Seeing the precariousness of goods and perceiving their temptations and sorrows, such people very often reach disappointment and frustration, sometimes even resorting to suicide, considering it a means of ridding themselves of all present troubles and tribulations. Forgetting about eternity, they walk in darkness, not knowing whither they go. Sometimes they indulge in bitter drunkenness and ultimately reach a bad end. For them life is a vain and chance gift, of spectral rather than actual value."
(Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov), 21st Century Russian monk, Mary 2013 article) [Judgment; Eternity]
" We are afraid of overburdening ourselves by an extra visit to the church or prolonging our prayer, or of weakening if we fast too much. We are afraid that we will become impoverished if we donate money to the church or to those in need...These and many other less obvious fears and worries create a dichotomy in our Christian attitude and cool our love for our Savior. Theoretically we wouldn't mind being better Christians, but in practice we won't make the sacrifices to become such."
(Bishop Alexander Mileant, 21st Century American hierarch and evangelist, on the Myrrhbearers) [Sanctification; Love of the World]
"In heaven, at least in men, there will be many, many virgins, and how much you want to drink and never get drunk, in general, you can do everything. And for women bliss is that they will not know about each other, and each is convinced that it is - the only one. Here's a picture of paradise. For Christians, it seems too carnal, but for a Muslim - is the embodiment of all his desires."
(Anthony Alai, 21st Century convert to Orthodoxy from Islam) [Salvation; Judgment; Islam]
"What attracts me especially in liturgical Old Believers and supporters of "edinoverie" (traditional communities)... [is] the fact that the liturgy is celebrated precisely as a common work. The word "liturgy" in Greek means precisely that. For us, it is often perceived as any actions taken by the celebrants in the sanctuary...we see [in Old Believers]
people praying together, they perform métanias together. They arrive early and stay late. This gives discipline, of course. This teaches the faithful to feel they are genuine participants of the Divine Office."
(Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk; 21st Century Russian Orthodox hierarch on the Old Believers, 2013) [Worship; Tradition]
"Before the Lord entered into Hades, there was a special section for the righteous. It was separated from the rest of Hades by a certain chasm, but nonetheless it remained in Hades. It was referred to as the Bosom of Abraham...However, they are no longer there, for what did our Lord Jesus Christ do when He descended into Hades? He freed all of the righteous."
(Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century priest-martyr, 'Instructions to Immortals' ex.) [Judgment; Death]
""Father, I have heard the wedding [service]
for 20 years but did not understand what they are talking about. And now understood everything,"
(Unnamed Ukrainian Orthodox women on the 21st Century switch from Church Slavonic to Ukrainian in two parishes, 2013) {Teaching; Evangelism; Society]
"The purpose of fasting is not dieting or carnal in nature, but rather gets to the heart of what it means to be truly human. Our relationship with the Father was distorted in the Garden, and only through true spiritual renewal — such as can be experienced through the ascetic discipline of fasting, coupled with both prayer and almsgiving – can one “grow” to become greater than one’s flesh."
(Gabe Martini, 21st Century American Orthodox subdeacon, 04/13 blog) [Repentance; Sanctification]
"The country is in a deep spiritual vacuum where traditional cultural values ??are lost, the values ??that have tried to instill, devalued, and the new found... China is ready for hearing the word of Christ..."
(Fr.Dionysius Pozdnyaev, 21st Century Orthodox priest in China) [Evangelism]
"In China there is a strong movement of searching for the meaning of life: both among the common people and among intellectuals, in academic circles. In this sense, the country is absolutely open to all outside ideas. Orthodoxy and its view of the world – and not necessarily the Russian version, but one irrespective of ethnic basis – offers something fundamentally new to the Chinese. People are ready to listen, to hear, to study, and perhaps to accept the Christian faith."
(Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev, 21st Century Russian Priest in China, May interview) [Evangelism]
"Under the invasion of American and Protestant-style “evangelization”, in which partial truths of Christianity are preached before a satanic background of rock music and in the form of a “cheep sham spectacle”, full of shrieks and false tears, with miracles and healings falling upon your confused head, how can you find the true Christ in your heart?...you no longer find God, and you stand, like Mary Magdalene, crying from the empty tomb of your soul. "
(Fr. George Calciu, 21st Century Romanian Orthodox priest and staretz, homily) [Heresy; Ecumenism; Faith]
"Holy Fire, the beauty of the temples and worship, miracles of Orthodoxy, which parents try to capture the imagination of a teenager, do not make any impression on [them]
. In our age, the age of' miracles' of science and technology, the age of the Internet and opening of all borders in this age of sophisticated virtual reality, our children see the special effects...live in them and are used to them."
(Fr. Sergei Kruglov, 21st Century Russian priest, article in Bright Week 2013) [Deception; Love of the World]
"I looked and thought about how death is symbolic of the ship. This is, without a doubt, the loss of an entire model of civilization, heavy as in parts fitted together. It is the death of an intelligent and proud world...not the whole world, but the death of the present model of a proud world that no longer feels their vulnerability and mortality."
(Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, 21st Century Russian priest on the Titanic, 2013) [Society; Pride]
"'Truly He is risen!.' All will rise. All of them? Absolutely! The gloomy aunt that fills my apartment every month? Certainly. And the villain that slandered me as boss? Required. And my friend who was so cruelly deceived me and laughed at me? And he...The only way is to learn to love them here and now. Here at home, at church, at work - learn to get along with everyone and see their faces, hear theirvoices - to love, accept, forgive."
(Archimandrite Sava Mazhukov, 21st Century Russian monk, Mary 2013 article) [Love; Forgiveness]
"...this Sunday we pray more to Saint John of the Ladder to help us free ourselves from the passions of sins through repentance, through fasting, prayer, alms and cultivating virtues. The highest virtues according to his 'ladder' are humility and love. And without humility there can be no true love because true love is the very presence of Christ, the humble man, and the presence of the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ."
(Beatitude Daniel, 21st Century Patriarch of Romania, 4th Sunday of Lent 2013) [Humility; Sanctification]
"We only call the Lord, God, but in reality we have our own gods, because we do not do the Will of God, but the will and thoughts of our flesh, the will of our heart, of our passions ; our gods are—our flesh, pleasures, money, dress, etc."
(St. John of Kronstadt, 20th Century Russian priest, 'My Life in Christ' excerpt) [Love of the World]
"There is not a single patristic or early Christian source that interprets the words of Paul as anything but condemning homosexual acts. Neither is there a single patristic or early Christian source that discounted Paul’s teaching on this issue... there is not a single “later” Christian source that somehow “evolved” to approve of homosexual acts...condemnation of homosexual acts appears to be a constant throughout the history of the Church."
(Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov, 21st Century American Orthodox priest, 2013 article) [Society; Homosexuality]
"Having gone through the Holy Forty Days, having lived through Holy Week and the Paschal celebration of faith, now it is time to think how to preserve ourselves spiritually, how to be spiritually strengthened and enriched...To do this one needs to have, if not hours, then at least minutes, a life for the soul, for one’s spirit, when one can pause to reflect, to pray a bit, to read something. One needs to have some sort of “rule” for the life of one’s spirit, which you will not abandon..."
(Bishop Mefody of Campanie, 20th Century Orthodox hierarch, on Bright Week) [Prayer; Sanctification]
"Once more let us ask ourselves who we are and where we stand, what our position in this crowd is. Do we stand with hope, or despair, or what? And if we stand with indifference, we too are part of that terrifying crowd that surrounded Christ, shuffling, listening, and then going away; as we shall go away from church."
(Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, 20th Century British Orthodox theologian) [Sanctification; Faith]
"When the Resurrection is professed and proclaimed of Christ, the Cross is not forgotten but united with the Easter candle. The priest proclaims the truth of the Resurrection, saying: "Christ is risen!" while the Cross rises, but not cross alone, but with a candle that is the light of Paschal suffering transformed into victory. By the Resurrection, the Cross enlightens eternal love, life stronger than death."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Romanian Primate, 2013 Pascha message) [Salvation]
"This is not just an historic event, but an event that can be repeated at every communion. For whenever we seek peace and humility as if seated on an ass, as innocent as children crying 'Save, we pray' [Hosanna]
, then Christ enters our souls and makes them into Jerusalems within us. "
(Archpriest Andrew Philips, 21st Century British Orthodox priest, on Palm Sunday 2013) [Sanctification; Prayer]
"But someone will say, "I am all defiled, all soiled. What should I do? How can I be sanctified? ". What do you do what all Christians do, the one who is holy from the cradle and the one who is a sinner unto gray hairs, fervently in spirit serve the Lord. The Gospel was preached to sinners. You only have to catch with the ears of the heart the voice of the Good Shepherd. Do not pretend you did not hear anything."
(Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 on St. Mary of Egypt) [Repentance; Forgiveness]
"...the opinion is being imposed that woman's calling to be a mother is humiliating, that there are higher and more honorable duties...A man is gazing outwards, he must work and make money, while a woman is always gazing inwards, where herchildren are, where her home is. If this incredibly important function of a woman is destroyed, then everything will be destroyed - the family and, if you wish, the motherland."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Primate, comments on feminism, 2013) [Family; Society]
"We differ from these saints in that we do not have that resolve, that love and selflessness, which the Holy Venerable Mary of Egypt expressed so clearly. In these remaining days of Lent, let us try to make an effort to make up for what we have not managed to accomplish in the days of the fast that have gone by."
(Fr. Alexander Iliashenko, 21st Century Russian Orthodox priest, 2013 article) [Repentance]
"When God wants to stop the man from sin, He sets above all the horror and reality of sin. The Holy Fathers say that our greatest spiritual security is the ability to be horrified by sin. We live in a time more horrific than ever before, and a time when people are less horrified by the darkest sins and crimes."
(Archpriest Alexander Shargunov, 21st Century Russian priest, on Judas and betrayal 2013) [Repentance; Fear of God} "Khrushchev then set the task for all Party and Komsomol [Young Communists]
organizations to boost such propaganda. He said: “Why are you clinging to God? Here Gagarin flew into space and didn’t see God.” However, some time later these words began to be portrayed in a different light. They were cited in reference not to Khrushchev, but to Gagarin, who was beloved by the people."
(Colonel Valentin Petrov, 20th Century Russian officer on his friend cosmonaut Yuli Gagarin, an Orthodox Christian) [Faith; Deception]
"All three died in terrible agony of unimaginable pain and the pain remained at the time of death on their faces. But just a few hours, and I saw a completely different person. [If]
they even can be called faces,because they shone and shone. It was not my exalted perception, all noted a strange transformation of persons - all three were bright, quiet and peaceful smile."
(Georgy Gupalo, 21st Century Orthodox layman on the murder of there Optima monks in 1993) [Salvation; Martyrdom]
"Donkeys were treated with special kindness on this day [Palm Sunday]
. Incidentally, the cross-shaped mark on the backs of donkeys is said to come from the fact that the Lord rode upon a donkey."
(Archpriest Andrew Phillips, 21st Century English Orthodox pastor, on old English customers 2013) [Society; Traditions]
"...with a unique art, St. Andrew interwove the great biblical themes - Adam and Eve, Paradise and the Fall, the Patriarchs, Noah and the Flood, David, the Promised Land, and ultimately Christ and the Church - with confession of sin and repentance. The events of sacred history are revealed as events in my life, God's acts in the past as acts aimed at me and my salvation, the tragedy of sin and betrayal as my personal tragedy. My life is shown to me as part of the great and all embracing fight between God and the powers of darkness which rebel against Him”.
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 20th Century American Orthodox writer; from 'Great Lent') [Prayer; Repentance]
"It remains just a few days before the feast of Easter, and if anyone else feels the presence of unrepentant sin, the severity of the heart, irritation, anger, it is necessary, at least in those days, to try to change their mindset, imbued with the great idea which today through the gospel that everyone can learn. The greatest commandment - to love God and the second is like - love your neighbor."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia, Holy Monday 2013 comments) [Repentance]
"Do you sense in your life a clear presence of God, his personal participation in your activities and destiny? Do you thirst for his attention and love for you or “in humility” do you expect little? Have you experienced in your life a call from God directed directly to you?"
(Fr. Alexander Men, 20th Century Russian martyred Russia evangelist, 'Preparation for Confession') [Repentance; Vocation]
"At the foot of the Cross is a big pile made up of Olympic medals, general shoulder straps, doctoral degrees and black belts. Human distinctions and advantages suddenly discovered to be too small. They give a few days of joy and triumph, but arenot been able to fill the pain and the abyss of the soul."
(Archdeacon Andrei Kuraev, 21st Century Russian clergy, 2013 Lent comments) [Love of the World]
" I think that the main threat for Russia is loss of faith, rejecting faith as people's conscious choice. Not under pressure as in the Soviet times, but voluntary contempt of the Heavenly Kingdom for the sake of vanity and illusionary attractions of the earthly kingdom."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Primate, Jan. 2013 interview) [Love of the World; Faith Updated 04/05/13
"It became clear that one could not find God in the logic of this world. He taught the Orthodox knowledge that it remains impossible to know God in His essence or person. However, with sufficient prayer and fasting and turning oneself over to God, through purification of one's soul, anyone can come to know Him in His energies and being."
(Archpriest Alexander Shargunov, 21st Century Russian priest writing on St. Gregory Palamas) [Jesus Prayer; Prayer; Sanctification]
"God gives what is good for us. Why do we shape his actions? His will is sovereign, He knows us better. In any case, you have to be sure that no matter what happens, no matter what the circumstances have not arisen, and that the Lord would give us any at all is His good will, just good for us. This is good, so for all, of course, we must thank him."
(Archpriest Andrey Yurevich, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Divine Providence; Trials]
"If the use of modern means of communication to indicate the fact that you decided to change, that's fine...But if there is an opportunity to meet, it is better not to miss it. In the use of modern communication needs to be in a reasonable measure."
(Archpriest Alexander Ageikin, 21st Century Russian pastor, 2013 remarks on using social media on Forgiveness Sunday) [Traditions]
"Our society is a living proof: many souls feel indignation and resentment, as each day increases in uncertainty about the future...in the days of uncertainty and social turbulence, men seek security in the Church."
(Patriarch Neophyte, 21st Century Primate of the Bulgarian Church, 2013 comments) [Hope; Society]
"This short prayer – “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” – contains our entire Orthodox confession of faith; all dogma is built on it. If you say it attentively, then the Lord will gradually purify your inner world."
(Fr. Nikolai Vedernikov, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Jesus Prayer]
"If you are vigilant and honest with yourself, you would see that your life is a web, a huge network of such small but significant wicked moments, which comprise a significant part of your existence. If we ignore this, thinking that this is all normal, this means that you have not yet begun to live the Christian life."
(Protopriest Sergei Chetverikov, 20th Century Russian priest in America) [Repentance; Confession]
"Let us admit that the cool attitude of today’s church people toward the evening services is nothing other than a wounding of Christian consciousness; it reflects a loss of the spirit of piety and the sense of God, an effectual loss of churchliness. There can be no genuine consolation without struggle, no real joy without preparation..."
(Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Worship; Sanctification]
“Now this man stands before God. I don’t know whether he was preparing to this meeting or not, but everyone should remember about it. Neither money nor power, neither intellect nor connections will help...let us look at our own lives and remember that the meeting with God is in store for each of us."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox spokesman, 2013 comments on the death of a prominent person) [Judgment; Repentance]
"Many people knew that he was a believer, but not everyone, because he did not, as we would say these days, proselytize. But nobody who found out was surprised: his appearance and demeanor made it easy to guess that he was a Christian."
(Vladimir Bogachev on 20th Century Soviet mathematician Vladimir Nikolaevich) [Witness]
"The fast reveals our "weak spots", gives us clearer vision and feelings, and the natural reaction should not ever be to want to "hide" these ulcers, but to make efforts to remove them permanently. Of course, it is a long and difficult road...I advise you to go to church and to discuss about fasting in a personal conversation with the priest, tell him about your concerns and ask for advice on how best to train yourself to fast and overcome impatience and rudeness."
(Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko, 21st Century Russian priest in 2013 interview) [Fasting; Repentance]
"Too many of you use to think that really important in life is money, influence, connections, possibility to manage others' destinies, crowd of fans and co-workers. But a Christian, especially during the Great Lent, should remember: all this will not only ruin in one moment, but will never make us truly happy, especially if we live only for it."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox spokesman) [Love of the World; Materialism]
"...when we turn to God asking for mercy, we are also asking that our sins, iniquities, and uncleanness be forgiven. But in the words “have mercy” there is also an appeal that He bestow His mercy upon us...by His love to grant us His mercy, grace, and power."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2013 Lenten Homily) [Prayer]
"It is clear that the restrictions of food during fasting is necessary, because, how you eat determines how you feel. The well-being of the body is connected with the well-being of the soul. Changes that produce a meatless diet are necessary in order to arrive at a more concentrated state."
(Priest Alexy Agapov, 21st Century priest in Moscow, 2013 comments) [Fasting; Prayer; Repentance]
"The light of Christ is given to us as Orthodox Christians to lead us in the pilgrimage and witness of our life. The light of Christ is given to all – meaning that our mandate and mission as Orthodox Christians is to share the light of Christ with all in our society."
(Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, 2013 Lent) [Witness; Evangelism]
"Dear brothers and sisters, help those who come to confession for the first and perhaps the only time of the year...Let's say a warm word to those who even accidentally came into the church. Ask: How long since you have been to confession? [Then]
Say, how cool that you came today! Glory to God!"
(Fr Vitaly Shinkar, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Priest, 2013 interview) [Repentance; Confession; Witness]
"Once again the Church is clad in robes of black. Once again mourning songs resound--the time has come 'when the Bridegroom shall he taken away'
(Luke 5:35), and the time for annual fasting has come for Her true children. Great Lent is here."
(Fr. Herman, 20th Century Abbot of St. Herman Monastery in the US) [Repentance]
"After all, why does the world suffer?...emptiness and the absence of God lie behind this, because every passion is the fruit of emptiness, the fruit of the lack of desire to move towards faith and God."
(Igumen Tikhon Borisov, 21st Century Russian monk writing in 2011) [Meaning of Life; Love of the World]
"In every conflict between men, even as just a principle of law, one must recognize one party as guilty and the other as innocent; but as a principle of morality...the innocent party to some degree is also guilty, because he may have done some evil himself previously, and now it has fallen upon him like a boomerang...before God we are always guilty. If we ask forgiveness, by this we open the door for God's mercy towards us."
(Archbishop Alpy, 20th Century Russia hierach in America) [Repentence; Forgiveness]
"In Lent, morning worship lasts four, and sometimes more hours. Well, in this time, you can keep concentration?... we begin to think about something, sometimes physical fatigue begins to overcome us...the answer is: do not leave the church...listen carefully hymns and prayers."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Primate) [Prayer; Worship; Perseverance]
"The first thing we should start the work of Lent with is with the understanding that there can be no hope for forgiveness of our sins if we do not forgive the sins of others. We just need to abandon any attempt to free ourselves from our own sins and receive the forgiveness of God and other people. Nothing will work if we do not forgive the sins of others."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia, 2013 Lenten homily) [Repentance; Forgiveness]
Updated 03/13/13
"And I've noticed that every time my speeches were met by silent rejection. No one denied anything, but no one wanted to listen to this either, because it appears that the powers, which currently support the so-called opposition [Radical Islamists], have no plans to preserve Christianity in this region."
(Metropolitan Hilarion, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Official and author, 03/13 remarks on the Syrian civil war) [Islam; Persecution]
"Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." What's a kingdom? The place where a king reigns. Who's the King? GOD. Who are the subjects? CHRISTIANS. Where does the king reign? Where God is present and the Christians are present. God's kingship is made manifest in us during worship."
(Fr. Stanley Harakas, 20th Century priest and teacher, comments on worship) [Worship; Liturgy]
"The devil checks our inconsistency. He knows that in principle any man, even though he overcame temptation a thousand times before, can always succumb to sin in a moment of weakness or imprudence. That is why he pesters man to his dying day."
(Bishop Alexander Mileant, 21st Century American Hierarch) [Temptation]
"Thought of the Dread Judgment produces a dispiriting impression on most people, even on those who both pray to God and reflect on the salvation of their souls. It seems to them all that the words greeting the righteous bear little relation to their souls, which are more subject to the punishment pronounced to the sinful.This was not the case with ancient Christians, who awaited the Second Coming with luminous joy..."
(Metropolitan Anthony Khrapotvitsky, 20th Century exiled Russian Orthodox hierarch) [Repentance; Hope]
"Fasting to an Orthodox Christian is what physical and mental exercise are to a professional athlete who aspires to win the big title and the trophy. Fasting of mind and body to the Christian, based on the obedience of prayer, renews the health of the soul which in most people is parched and possibly dying."
(Metropolitan Isaiah, 21st Century Primate in Denver, Co..1997 article) [Penance; Fasting; Lent]
“What instantly occurred to me [while watching an interview] was that when the world (through its very polite CBC journalists) talks about “modernizing the Church,” what it really means is “secularizing the Church.” The news anchor in question took entirely for granted the standards, views, prejudices and value judgments of secular society, and not for one nano-second did it occur to her that those judgments might be wrong.”
(Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century Canadian Orthodox author,2013 article) [Society]
"...the sense that the divine forgiveness and love, leaves open the arms of God to accept us always in whatever position we find ourselves...Can we, as the younger son, to come "in himself" and to go where the love of God covers all our lives?"
(Christakis Efstathiou,21st Century Theologian in Cyprus) [Repentance; Forgiveness]
"The call to follow Christ with all our life is a difficult call. There is real sacrifice involved, and real risk. Whether the calling is to overseas missionary work, or to something very different, if we seek to be in the presence of God we must anticipate discomfort and even danger. We have to remember that it is our almighty Father who cares for us, and for all His creatures everywhere. He doesn’t promise it will be easy."
(James Hargrave, 21st Century Orthodox lay missionary in Tanzania) [Missions; Vocation]
"The Russian Orthodox Church maintains and defends the original Christian conception of marriage and the family, conjugal unions blessed by a sacrament and argues the importance of marriage for the prosperity and development of the society in general. Our Church expresses its solidarity with...]those] that remain faithful to the traditional concept of marriage as a union between a man and a woman and stand against any other representation of marriage imposed on society as a whole - a radical legal reform - having no precedent in the history of mankind."
(Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, March, 2013) [Family; Society]
"Constant vigilance and constant watchfulness are needed...for the protection of the Orthodox inheritance of the faith. Already, many of the old and new Orthodox..., are stressing a continually expanding tendency of secularization, that is, a tendency of judging ecclesiastical subjects and problems by worldly criteria, with a debasement of ecclesiastical criteria. They are also stressing, from ignorance, a substitution of specific and general Orthodox dogmatic positions and understandings, with Protestant and Roman Catholic ones, as in the case of an overvaluation of personal opinion, indifference to dogma, and recrimination at the expense of character or practical virtue."
(Patriarch Bartholomew, 21st Century Ecumenical Patriarch, 1997 comments in Brookline) [Heresy; Catechism]
"She always fasted until noon and was for the first time able to attend church services regularly. Her husband joined her in piety. (In such a way is shown how our actions speak louder than any words and in · example of a godly life is more likely to convert a soul than many books.)"
(Matushka Susan Young, 20th century American priest wife writing on St. Julianna of Lazarevo) [Witness; Family]
“O ye who are dead in appearance, and alive in reality, for your inferiority to the angels is filled up by the suffering which has happened on behalf of Christ, and through grace victory is vouchsafed to you without much solicitude, and your memory every hour is very full of glory; for ye received in your body the signs of the reproach of Christ, the setting free of your souls; for your death on behalf of Christ assured the hope of your faith; and by the constancy which ye received from above, ye changed the constitution of your former nature, and became the sons and children of desirable wisdom; and by the understanding of knowledge, ye caused your souls to fly to the righteous, and ye ran the race without weariness to the King of truth, and the Lord of the assemblies, which are for ever.”
(EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA, 4th Century Christian writer, on the martyrs) [Faith; Sacrifice]
"We forget that the Bible is above all the Scripture of the Church, and that it can be properly understood only by those who already believe and have been instructed in the Faith. “Christ died for our sins”, for example, does not mean much to someone who has not been taught anything about the Trinity, the Incarnation, or the Fall of man."
(Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou, 21st Century monk, 2010 conference) [Catechism]
"The source of depression is in a lack of hope. And of course, without faith in God, what hope is there? There is only the prospect of death. This explains why depression often leads to suicide, to death."
(Archpriest Andrew Phillips, 21st Century English priest, commenting on modern depression) [Hope; Society]
"The main concern of the Church" the salvation of the people. Everything that happens in our church life, and the relationship of the Church with society and the state must always be subordinated to this goal. Our mission, educational, charitable and other works should ultimately directed to the salvation of every human soul."
(Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Feb. 2013) [Evangelism; Missions]
"The duty of a Christian king is to judge no one corruptly, to defend widows, orphans and strangers, and to abolish immoral marriages. He must drive out those who practice magic, and who murder their kin, or commit perjury. He must feed the needy, and have old and experienced men for his counselors, appointing honest servants. He will be answerable on the Day of Judgement for the crimes of his servants done in his name."
(Old English Coronation Order, prior to the Western Schism) [Justice; Society]
“The key to our salvation is the holy sacrament of confession. Without this ordinance is no salvation. We can do all kinds of feats of fasting, prayer, vigil, charity, donations, but without confession can not be. “
(Archimandrite Justin Pyrvu, 21st Century Romanian Confessor of the Faith, 2013 comments) [Repentance; Sacraments]
"Perhaps God was giving a kind of sign, so that people don't simply think about their own trifles on earth, but rather look to the heavens once in a while."
(Sergei, 21st Century Chelyabinsk church sexton/warden commenting on the devasating meteor strike in Feb. 2013) [Witness; Faith]
"The two men are two examples failed service. One a dry cynical heart ("sermonizer")." The second a distraught and greedy layman. 'He who exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted', belong to both. Because the tax collector pulls money from the people that he does not care for brothers...If you think that by your service you deserve the kingdom of heaven you are like a Pharisee - to is insolence to God."
(Fr. Constantine Kamyshanov, 21 Century Russian Orthodox priest, Feb. 2013 sermon) [Humility; Repentance]
"Never before on this earth has there been such a huge number of people who freely and easily, without any shame, without any pangs of conscience "call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)."
(Archbishop Averky, 20th Century Prelate in Jordanville, NY, comments on fasting) [Deception; Heresy]
“The Gospel shows us the importance of the prayer not only for us, but also the prayer for other people, especially for those do not know how to pray, will not pray, or can no longer pray. Having been tortured by bad spirits, lots of people sick physically or mentally, can no longer pray for themselves and then a faithful mother, father, friend, brother or sister with strong faith is very precious, so that due to their faith God heals the one who cannot pray for him anymore.”
(Beatitude Daniel, 21st Century Patriarch of Romania, on the Canaanite women's prayer) [Prayer; Intercession]
"What happened reminds us that everything that exists in the world is far from being in the power of man...It is encouraging that the Lord has preserved us from even more serious consequences and we must be grateful to Him for this mercy."
(Chelyabinsk Metropolitan Theophanes, 21st Century hierarch commenting on the Feb. 2013 meteor strike) [Faith; Providence]
"Therefore, the tradition of Orthodoxy portrays the Savior exactly as He is already risen holding and calling into His [open] arms the whole world and bearing the altar of the New Testament - the Cross. A traditional Catholic image of the crucifixion, with a sag in the arms of Christ, by contrast, has the task of... represtening death-suffering and death, but not the fact that the essence is the eternal fruit of the Cross - His triumph."
(Fr. Adrian Pashin, 21st Century Russian Abbott, 2012 comments on the style of Orthodox cross) [Traditions]
"It is very important that we all hear the interpretation of the Fathers of the Church , because no one has the right to teach the Word of God beyond the meaning of how the Holy Fathers taught us to understand."
(Viktor Kiprjancuk, 21st Century Serbian Missionary) [Evangelism]
"But you can also talk about the fact that we are all, without exception, hidden or 'latent' thieves, murderers, rapists, misers, proud, homosexuals, traitors, scoundrels and rascals ... all have more or less developed bad attraction or bad habits. But then let's say, and that's what each of us is by birth as a person, a latent or potential saint still created by God in His image. And each of us has the divine attributes of love, mercy, purity, and holiness. That holiness is what is intended for each of us, regardless of gender, character, physical and mental characteristics and features. "Be holy, for I am holy" (1Peter.1 12)
(Fr. Dimitry Shishkin, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Repentance; Sanctification]
“An Orthodox Christian conscience is created by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ acting within us. It is difficult to form this conscience. But once a Christian acquires it, an alarm is sounded in his heart and mind whenever he comes close to improper actions, lack of charity toward others, false ideas, and deviations from the holy traditions of Orthodoxy.”
(Fr. Alexey Young, 21st Century priest, Orthodpx. American #6) [Sanctification]
"[Many] grew up in single-parent families, their parents were divorced. Now, there are almost no large families...normal parental love, normal family relationships, he does not see... A child growing up alone, brought up by single parents, and not so much by a parent, [but in the] streets and public child care, is unable to build right relationships with people, he is defective as these people are deprived of something. They seek only the pleasures, comfort, easy life, and flee from difficulties."
(Hieroschemamonk Valentine Gurevich, 21st Century Russian Confessor) [Family; Society]
“It is from the Church itself that man becomes a partaker of the divine nature, as he enters into the closes relationship with the Holy Trinity. Where God is present there is peace, love, joy, hope, and salvation, as well as faith renewed, and where the Son is present, our God is present, as well as where the Holy Spirit is present God is with us. Most Holy Trinity Glory To Thee!”
(Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes, 21st Century American priest) [Holy Spirit; Church]
“If we cherish the memory of a famous person, a writer, a musician, then we visit the places associated with his life. If we talk about honoring the memory of victims in the terrible years of Stalinism, it certainly must visits to places associated with their lives and with their martyrdom.”
(Archpriest Cyril Khaled, 21st Century grandchild of a Butovo martyr) [Martyrs; Pilgrimage]
“In Christianity, Orthodoxy which has never had a Second Vatican Council or anything approaching a[Catholic] Novus Ordo — Divine Liturgy with lay ministers and Protestant-style hymns — is a window into the ancient Church. In fact, you could search the world for a modern young Orthodox priest with a guitar and a penchant for humming “On Eagles Wings,” but chances are you wouldn’t find one...Tradition is already there, and it’s not going anywhere. It is, as they say, the Church.”
(Thom Nikels, 21st Century Catholic convert to Orthodoxy) [Converts; Tradition]
"One woman, call her Helen, came to be baptized and to baptize their own children. A few months with her two or three times a week doing a parish catechist, had several conversations with the priest, all the while she was attending church. Elena learned prayers, and other acquired knowledge. Along the way, has been provided and the necessary financial assistance, made repairs in the apartment, the children bought clothes and toys (Elena - a poor single mother.) And then, finally, the long awaited day of the christening. On this day, [it was] the last time I saw Helen and her children in the church."
(Archpriest Andrey Efanov, 21st Century Russian Catechist) [Deception]
"...Tolstoy himself excommunicated himself from the Church, completely broke up with her, which he did not deny, but at every opportunity strongly emphasized: 'The fact that I have renounced the Church that calls itself Orthodox, it is absolutely true ... I reject all the sacraments ...'...John of Kronstadt, St. Theophan the Recluse, and many others bitterly admitted that the great talent of Count Tolstoy was purposefully employed to destroy the spiritual and the social foundations of Russia."
(Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), 21st Century Abbot in Feb. 2013) [Heresy]
“One day, somebody in that humble community had the idea, the blessed inspiration, to invite the clochard [beggar] into a service. As it was related to me, he reluctantly accepted, entered the building and kept to the rear, more or less out of sight. To the mild surprise of some who recognized him, he came back, again and again. Some time later, he was chrismated. The clochard had become an Orthodox Christian, and as far as I know, he remains such today. A life turned around. A lost soul, found.”
(Fr. John Beck, 21st Century American priest, 2007 article) [Almsgiving; Charity]
"The bells not only called people to the beginning of worship, but by means of ringing different bells or different ringing patterns, they instructed those who could not make it to church, which important parts of the service were being celebrated, so that absentees could mentally and spiritually participate in the services. Thus one can say that the bells spread the walls of the church as far as they could be heard."
(Archpriest Roman Lukianov, 21st Century American Rector) [Traditions]
“Blogs and social networks give us new opportunities for the Christian mission...Not to be present there means to display our helplessness and lack of care for the salvation of our brothers.”
(Patriarch Kirill, 21 Century Russian Orthodox Primate, Feb. 2013 statement) [Society; Evangelism]
" I learn my theology from looking at the faces of people.”
(Patriarch Ignatius IV, 21st Century Antiochian Primate) [Witness]
"This is why the true theologian is not the one that attends university courses and excels due to remembering some dates and names or writing a thesis. The true theologian is the one that knows which is the power and the truth of the Lord's teaching; the one that at the difficult moment says: not as I will but as thou wilt. It is then that God enters within this man, makes him a theologian, a god by grace and man can advance in another way in Jesus Christ."
(Archimandrite Vassilios,21st CenturyAbbot of the Iviron Monastery) [Faith; Humility]
“God made and will make wonders for those with strong insistent faith and much lowliness, self confidence and devotion, meaning that they leave everything in God’s hands, who can make wonders, who overcomes the human decayed nature.”
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, Feb. 2013) [Hope; Faith]
“How is a child ever going to learn to behave in Church if they aren’t in Church? How can we expect our children to prioritize Church if we don’t? What does it say to our children that we are on time for everything- school, work, movies, soccer practice, baseball games, concerts, luncheons- but we are NEVER on time for Church (except for Pascha- gotta get a good seat!)?”
(Presbytera Marilisse I. Mars, 21st Century American Orthodox mother) [Witness; Family]
"It is not only by shedding the blood of a person, by depriving him or her of this bodily life that we become murderers. How often people have been betrayed and murdered at the heart of their being by this betrayal. How often slander has destroyed not only a person’s reputation but his whole life? How often gossip, malicious or mindless, has wounded a person and destroyed relationships around him...Oh, we do not think of killing, but how much we hope that something would remove that person from our life, from our neighbourhood, that I could forget this person and that he should no longer exist for me. This is the way of Cain."
(Anthony of Sourozh, 21st Century British hierarch) [Love; Sin]
"Quality of life is measured by spiritual values, not only material wealth. Relations between church and state in Russia help the church to fully administer its service, inspire people in their spiritual and material life, engage in charitable activities, and take care of the younger generation, and disabled and elderly people..."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Primate) [Society]
“We must not despair when we struggle and continuously see nothing but the slightest progress. We all do nearly nothing — some a little more, some a little less. When Christ sees our little effort, He gives us an analogous token; and so our “nearly nothing” becomes valuable, and we can see a little progress. For this reason we must not despair, but hope in God"
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century Staretz of Mt. Athos) [Sanctification]
Updated 01/27/13
“It’s very important for a monastery to serve the Divine Liturgy daily. For a parish, perhaps several times a week. The Liturgy is the cornerstone of the spiritual life of both the community and the priest. “
(Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)) 21st Century Abbot of Russian’s Sretensky Monastery) [Liturgy; Worship]
"Freedom is not absolute. Freedom can and should be restricted for security and moral reasons...A person who encroaches on holy things should feel that they will be held responsible."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox leader, 2013 comment) [Society]
"I think that the biggest enemy [of Christianity] is soft-Christian, secularized religion, consumerism with religious overtones, the dissolution of Christian values ??in a hateful religion of pleasure and excellence...violent superstition, attacks on the origins of the Faith...killing of mysticism, festivity without fear, busyness with no life."
(Fr. John Istrati, 21st Century Romania priest, 2013 article) [Vocation; Materialism]
“What’s that to me?”
(Vladimir Grigorenko, 21st century American iconographer who was told he gave up fame and ‘a lot of money’ by refusing to paint a ‘secular’ icon of a living person for Time magazine) [Witness]
"We must remember that God Himself is the author of marriage and that the well being of the individual person and human society at large is closely bound up with the health state of family as it has been understood since the beginning of time. Traditional marriage fosters the common good of civil society...”
(Rhode Island Orthodox Clergy, 21st Century American association, 2013 statement) [Family; Society]
“In these crumbs from the Tradition [English practices], fallen like the Canaanite woman's from the table of the Master, we are reminded that God does not forsake the sincere and the devout, however far from the Church their “leaders” have taken them. Deprived of so many of the riches of the Church, God has remembered them... Such customs did indeed bless a land. God does not forsake us, only we forsake God.”
(Archpriest Andrew Phillips; 21st Century English Orthodox clergyman; 1990 article) [Traditions]
"For example, regarding those whose “opinion, creed or party” is not Orthodox Christian, should we not work for their salvation by prayer, faith and good works? If we cannot agree on that then presumably there are some Orthodox who really don’t mind if others perish in heresy or unbelief. At one time no Christian blinked at the idea that pagans should be proselytised or that those of any other faith or none should come to know Christ. Has this changed? If it has then the Church (the fullness of which is the Orthodox Church) has forsaken Christ’s Commission..."
(Archpriest Gregory Hallan, 21st Century British Priest, 2010 newsletter on missions) [Evangelism]
"I could go on with many other examples of where I have been given the opportunity to be a missionary for our Faith; and they all cost nothing. No adverts in newspapers, no alpha course events, no appearances on local TV, no committees, strategies, or mission statements. Just one simple thing; I wear my black antiri and cross in public. And our laity? What can they do? Well, making the sign of the cross before eating a meal in public could be a start; especially at those smart social occasions with skeptical friends."
(Fr. Michael Harry, 21st Century Antiochian British priest, 2013 article) [Evangelism; Witness]
"Contrary to the opinion of many, and the word of God, and the decision of the Church unequivocally condemn marriages between Christians and people of other faiths... If we look at the Scriptures, we see that almost throughout the sacred history, God warns against mixing people loyal to him with those who did not do his will ... the law of God recorded in writing this rule: "Do not take of their daughters and their sons Do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, so that their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons entered a whoring after their gods "(Ex. 34, 16).”
(Father Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Martyr and missionary) [Society; Heresy]
“If you just pray and at the same time quarrel, you are jealous, you fight, you answer bad words with more bad words, you will not reform your family, but only corrupt it all the more. A Christian must approach everyone with love and kindness...”
(Fr. Dimitry Dudko, 20th Century Soviet Priest) [Family; Witness]
"Not only is it a moral crime, but I think it is still a crime against man, against the person. Because the Lord has predestined the woman to give birth to a child...And if by our perverse will, we work, we encroach on the divine plan on women, if we try to correct it, we commit a great wrong, and destroy human relationships in society. It is by the number of abortions that can judged the moral state of society."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Patriarch; 2013 comments on abortion) [Family; Society; Abortion]
“A life that is lived with a clear conscience and in humility brings peace, calm, and true happiness, while wealth, honors, renown and high position are frequently sources of many sins, and do not bring happiness.”
(Elder Makarios, 19th Century Elder in Russia’s Optina Monastery, quote) [Peace]
“This is the image of Kosovo and Metohija 14 years after the war and a warning to Europe, which this year is celebrating 1,700 years since the Edict of Milan, which granted freedom to Christianity...what kind of future is awaiting them among people who have no qualms about destroying graves.”
(Bishop Teodosije of Raška-Prizren, 21st Century Serbian Hierarch) [Persecution; Islam]
"I pray the Lord to help the Christians, no matter if I will be the first to die in this war."
(Prnce Marko, 14th Century Orthodox Serbian ruler forced to fight with the Turks again Wallachian rebels) [Sacrifice; Justice]
Updated 01/06/13
"Rejoice, firm stronghold of Orthodox truth. Rejoice, precious vessel of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Rejoice, righteous accuser of impiety and false doctrine. Rejoice, ardent doer of the commandments of God..."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century Convert and Priest, Akathist to St John of San Francisco) [Prayer; Saints]
“The Church has preserved and continues to preserve the teaching of the sanctity of the family sanctioned by God. The church bears witness to the purity of the order God has set forth in the family and in society. If marriage is as it was before considered a holy mystery, then child-bearing must be a natural part of human life. If respect for one’s neighbor as the image of God is taught, then society will be comprised of people who look upon each other not like animals do, with fury and lust, but like brother upon brother, with love and mercy. If chastity is placed at the foundation of human relations, and a chaste marriage is revered as a holy thing, then familial bonds would not fall apart in countless inhuman divorce proceedings. If a Christian attitude is once again restored to family values, Western society would cease to be a sick, withering tree, its boughs dying, more branches drying up than new ones sprouting."
(Archbishop Mark of Berlin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Hierarch, ex. 2013 Nativity message) [Family; Values]
“The people are equal before God even if their culture or social levels are different...As long as we belong to one nation we share the same fate.”
(Archbishop Elias Audeh , 21st Century Greek Orthodox Bishop of Beruit, ex. New Year’s 2012 comments) [Society; Humanity]
“I believe that man "works" for his salvation. Salvation is not imposed upon him in spite of himself as [the]...doctrine of predestination would have it, nor is it obtained solely by the endeavors of human will...Salvation is synergetic, that is, man co-operates in the work of his salvation. God does not take upon Himself the role which belongs to man; likewise, man can attain to nothing by his own efforts alone...This is the true meaning of the words of the Holy Fathers, "although it be a question of grace, yet grace is granted only to those who are worthy of it" indicating by the word "worthy" the exercise of our freedom of will to ask all things from God.
(Bishop Alexander (Mileant), 21st Century American evangelist) [Salvation]
“Many people consider themselves good and beautiful on the outside, but if one glances inside a person one can see so many evils and vices that it seems life is not long enough to mourn for this evil nesting in our soul and corroding it. Therefore the Lord sends us sorrows in order to make us better. The Lord hears every person who appeals for help in woe. Offences are our second teacher. Sending them, the Lord as it were tests us in faith and strengthens us in the warfare with evil.”
(Bishop Benjamin (Milov) )20th Century Russian Hierarch, ex. from ‘Two Teachers’) [Suffering; Sanctification; Sin]
“The only place where modern man does not like to visit - is himself. He cannot hear the silence, he does not want to hear the voice of his conscience. But without knowing yourself you can not know God. Modern man lives in a shadowy world of TV, the media, the Internet, but the greatest reality in the world is the human soul. Inside we can open up the kingdom of heaven, in our heart God wants to be born!”
(Bishop Panteleimon (Shatov), 21st Century Russian Hierarch, 2013 blog entry) [Sanctification; Peace]
“This holiday [New Years] used to be perceived as the beginning of a new era in people’s lives. And the subsequent celebrations somehow marked the end of a secular calendar year. But this tradition was lost. Today we see how people are getting more confused by various pagan and Oriental traditions...it has become a tradition to attend night liturgies on New Year`s Eve which help believers not feel isolated from the rest of the society."
(Fr. Philipp Ryabykh, Russian Orthodox priest commenting on New Year, 2011) [Holidays; Society]
"Often one hears from converts after some years of seemingly unfruitful struggles that 'I didn’t know what I was getting into when I became Orthodox.' Some sense this when they are first exposed to the Orthodox Faith, and this can cause them to postpone their encounter with Orthodoxy or even run away from it entirely...this is a result of the deep commitment required of those who are serious about the Orthodox Faith – a commitment that is quite different in kind from that of those who merely join a new denomination...but only One Church of Christ which lives the true life in Christ and the unchanged teaching and practice of the Apostles and Fathers of the Church."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century American Convert and Theologian) [Converts; Orthodoxy]
"The propagation of this myth [church and state merging] are those who are irritated by the fact of the presence of the Church in the public sphere, through its growing influence on the formation of certain priorities in the values ??of our compatriots, priorities that are not compatible with the 'consumer' lifestyle they want to impose on society. The members of the Church, who are members of faith society and citizens of the state in their daily lives, in the performance of their duty civic, navigate through the principles of Christian and Gospel consciousness, regardless of their social status...consolidating precious Gospel values ??in the life of society."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Hierarch, comments in Dec. 2012 assembly) [Society; Witness]
“We have to remember that today the world wants to prosper without God. Both communism and liberalism are false ideas; they deceive man, falsely assuring him that we have to build heaven on earth. There will never be heaven on earth. We have to come down to earth and live there without “isms”, doing ordinary work and following the commandments of God.”
(Archbishop Stephan, 21st Century Georgian Hierarch) [Humanism; Society]
“Throughout the ages, the Church carries the ideal of deification. This ideal is very high, but it demands very much from man. It is unthinkable without the incarnation; it demands first of all that man be humble. Mankind is renouncing this high ideal, and has no need of the incarnation of the Son of God... descent from the ape, progress, having no need of and denying the incarnation—is pride. Pride wars with the incarnation, as with something unneeded.”
(Martyr Hilarion (Troitsky), 20th Century Priest-Martry of Communism, Nativity homily) [Nativity; Humanism]
"Let us prepare, my brothers and sisters, the manger of our hearts by keeping His divine commandments, so that the Savior and Redeemer of the world might be born and dwell in us. Then, we can truly experience within us the peace 'which passeth all understanding.' Then, the inner man of the heart will be radiant with the unsetting light of Christ who “illumines every man that cometh into the world.”
(Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America, 21st Century) [Peace; Nativity]
“Throughout its history, the Church does not know long periods of prosperity: in times of peace and tranquility will certainly coming times of adversity and trials. But in all circumstances, in word and deed the Church proclaimed the truth of God, she proclaims it today, suggesting that a society based on the principles of profit, permissiveness, unlimited freedom, neglect of eternal truths, denial of authority, moral sickness, is threatened by many dangers.”
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Patriarch, from 2012 Nativity Message) [Society; Persecution]
“Ever since the 4th century, on the Eve of Christmas, the Christians received the priests in their houses, just like today, who came with the Icon of the Nativity to announce them the great feast of the next day. According to tradition, on this day the priest accompanied by a religious singer goes to every house in the parish the icon of the Nativity of the Lord in his hands, singing the troparion of this feast when entering the house announcing in this way the Wonder of the Nativity. On the Christmas Eve the carollers go to people’s houses bringing the good news of the Nativity of the Lord, just like the angels and shepherds who announced the Wonder in Bethlehem, Judea.”
(Romanian Christmas Tradition from the Patriarchal Website, 2012) [Traditions; Nativity]
“...economic competition is spreading globally, as is the pursuit of ephemeral profit, which is promoted as a principal target. The gloomy consequences of the overconcentration of wealth in the hands of the few and the financial desolation of the vast human masses are ignored. This disproportion, which is described worldwide as a financial crisis, is essentially the product of a moral crisis. Nevertheless, humankind is regrettably not attributing the proper significance to this moral crisis.”
(Patriarch Bartholomew, 21st Century Ecumenical Patrarch) [Society; Greed]
“We used to wait yearlong for Christmas Eve to come.. We used to spend every day during December buying and preparing gifts for the family and planning what the Christmas dinner will be comprised of...This is the darkest, most devastating Christmas Syria has ever seen.”
(Anonymous comments by Christians in war-torn Syria, 2012) [Persecution; Islam]
“The shrine of Orthodoxy – which for the course of entire centuries has been hidden from the gaze of the world; and which, like a precious pearl, has glistened and been kept safe in the souls of a few chosen ones of God – must finally be shown to the world, it must regenerate the world. And if there is a genuine social order, it must be that religious social order that has been hidden until the present in the depth of the centuries-old ecclesial experience of Orthodoxy.”
(Hieromartyr Sergius (Mechev), 20th Century Victim of Soviet Communists) [Orthodox Church; Society]
“As the Apostles were sent to preach the coming of the Son of God incarnate and then raised in the world, carolers are meant to do this every year in their village. Carolers are bearers of God, in the sense of the word, because God is with them in their midst, wandering with them.”
(Nicolescu Costion, 21st Century Romanian Orthodox writer) [Traditions; Nativity]
“The ideal would be to live, knowing that every day could be the last, because every life can end suddenly. A Christian must be ready for this, making sure that the heart is purified from passion, not to offending anyone, and causing no one else to take offense, trying to live according to God's Will. Then, he will be ready by the end of his life. That is, sooner or later the end of the world will surely come. It seems that humanity is making every effort to speed up the time, but is is not in the power of people to know the times and seasons.”
(Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Monastery rector) [End Times; Prophecy]
“I can but remind you all that this part of the world, the birthplace of Christianity, is losing its Christians, and that the voice of Jesus of Nazareth is hardly heard in it. Please do not forget that the holy places are not holy as such, by their stones and high columns; they are holy only if there are people to live and pray in them.”
(Patriarch John X, 21st Century Antiochian Primate) [Witness]
“By lighting a candle, each Christian enters into closer contact with the church and the service, participating in it more actively and invisibly warming his soul by the visible light of the candle.”
(Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov); 20th Century Russian Orthodox prelate) [Worship; Traditions]
“The holy fathers of Optina remind us that it is essential to observe feast days, and to spend them in church, at prayer. For example, while working on a feast day, Elder Isaac I (Antimonov) was threatened with mortal danger. On a certain feast day he had to weigh some merchandise, when suddenly the cross-beam from which the scales were suspended broke, and Ivan Ivanovich’s life was threatened. However, the scale beam, made of iron and weighing 600 lbs, did not hit him, but landed at his feet. From that time on, he vowed to never again work on holy days.”
(Olga Rozhneva, 21st Century Russian Orthodox teacher) [Feastdays; Work]
“I explain that the Church is not a social club, the main goal of the Church is to approach holiness. In the Church we must see to it that the Gospel is preserved in our hearts, and, as we leave the temple, we must spread this Word of God to the whole world, so that it would give strength to us and to our neighbors. “
(Fr. Adrian Augustus, 21st Century Orthodox Missionary to Pakistan) [Evangelism]
Updated 12/16/12
“Immediately after reading The Way of a Pilgrim, I began practicing the Jesus Prayer – walking, as he did, because I went from my home to the university through a park. I had never before seen a prayer rope, but I learned how to use one long before entering the monastery and even long before visiting the East.”
(Fr. Gabriel (Bunge), 21st Century Orthodox convert and monk) [Jesus Prayer]
“...in our celebration, St. Lucia (4th century martyr) visits us with lights like a halo around her head, dressed in the white of purity...her physical eyes were gouged out. Yet, she saw the light of Christ with her spiritual eyes...she reminds us that we need to open our spiritual eyes so that we can also see the light and not fear the darkness.”
(Archpriest John Moses, 21st Century American parish priest) [Saints]
"Yesterday's tragedy [massacre of children and adults in Newtown, CT] again reminds us that we must cherish the sacred gift of life and one another, following the commandments of God, and thus bring forth the light of Christ in this fallen world, rendering it less dark."
(Metropolitan Hilarion, 21st Century First Hierarch of ROCOR) [Suffering]
“The people of the Old Testament prepared themselves for the coming of the Messiah through guarding the true faith, offering sacrifice, showing repentance, and leading a life of piety. So too should we prepare our souls for the Feast of Christ’s Nativity through repentance at Confession, through evangelic piety, and through strengthening our faith by means of prayer, fasting, and the sacrifice that is dearest to God: a heart that is broken and humbled (Psalm 50:19). Such fasting will not be in vain, but will yield the manifold fruits of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.”
(Fr. Andrei Efanov, 21st Century Orthodox Priest) [Fasting; Repentance]
“Let us pray to the Mother of God, since her greatest prayer is that she might teach us to love Christ the Savior. This is what the Mother of God expects of us: she expects us to love our Savior and God, and then she will hear our prayer and come to our aid. When we will come to love the Savior, we will see how much we differ from Him – even though we strive to unite ourselves with Him in the Heavenly Kingdom – and this will add sincerity to our repentance.”
(Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov), 20th Century American hierarch) [Theotokos; Virgin Mary]
“The Church of Christ was brought into existence in paradise, even before (as Clement of Rome says) our sun and moon. That is why this pure child [the Virgin Mary] was led by the high priest Zachariah directly into the Holy of Holies, that is, into the most sacred part of the Old Testament Temple. And with this began the transformation of this Old Testament Temple into the New Testament. This was the moment when the Holy of Holies began gradually to be transformed into the Holy of Holies that now exists in every Orthodox Christian church and about which similar words are pronounced at every Liturgy: “Holy Things are for the holy!”
(Bishop Basil (Rodzianko),20th Century Hierarch in San Francisco) [Theotokos; Mary]
”It is the time of generosity, of the good deeds, and if we do not have money for those around us, if we do not have anything material to offer them, then we can do it with a good word, a prayer for the sick and lonely, a visit to the bed of the sick one, either old or helpless, with a helping hand to the one who moves hard. There are lots of ways of being merciful even if we do not have money or material things to offer. So, the kindness of the soul always finds ways of helping the fellow beings in need”.
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Romanian hierarch) [Almsgiving; Works of Mercy]
“For some people the mission of Orthodoxy in America consists mainly in converting as many Western Christians as possible into Orthodoxy. This, however, is actually a very limited and inadequate goal. If [evangleism] in its initial meaning is a call addressing the People of God and inviting it to participate in a life that knows not death—and thus to acquire a mode of existence that liberates from any kind of necessity, any “religion”—then we have to seek its mission in realms other than social, religious and moral. In view of a true Orthodox ontological realism, the genuine mission and task of the Orthodox Church in America...must bear witness to the particular ethos of its Orthodox Tradition, and confront the ethos of Western Christendom and its culture, which is based on individualism.”
(Bishop Maxim (Vasiljevic), 21st Century Serbian Hierarch in America) [Evangelism]
"In what I ask you, the most important is: remember the Lord and tremble before Him. All my will is contained in these words. In your life, everything else is of lesser importance."
(Fr. Pavel Florensky, 20th Century Martyr in Soviet Russia) [Fear of God]
“We who understand the salvation begun for our sake through the Most Holy Virgin, give Her thanks and praise according to our ability. And truly, if the grateful woman (of whom the Gospel tells us), after hearing the saving words of the Lord, blessed and thanked His Mother... then how shall we not unceasingly hymn and bless the Mother of the Author of our Salvation and the Giver of Life, celebrating Her conception and birth, and now Her Entry into the Holy of Holies?”
(St. Gregory Palamas, 14th century theologian) [Theotokos; Mary]
"The light of the first day is neither sunlight nor moonlight (these appeared on the fourth day), but is the light of the Godhead reflected in created being."
(Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, 21st Century Russian Orthodox, 'Mystery of Faith' excerpt) [Creation]
“Saint Alexander Nevsky became a Saint not because he was a wise ruler, a talented military leader, courageous warrior or a brilliant diplomat. He became a Saint because, being a prince, head of the people and the state, his power was seen in ministry. Positions at higher levels, which are associated with broad authority on which depends the destiny of the people, cannot be called work. This is not a job, it's a ministry. The task of ministry is that the man who works there has the right and the opportunity to do many other things... [but] what he does will be linked with the blessing of the people...Saint Alexander Nevsky was such a leader...”
(Patriarch Kirill; 21st Century Russian Hierarch) [Vocation; Work]
“Quite often, the only thing needed to dissuade a mother from this terrible decision is simply to talk to someone with an open heart.”
(Father Alexis Tarasov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Priest) [Abortion; Family]
I am writing to you disturbed by reports coming from France about a bill drafted by the ruling Socialist Party, which provides for the legalization of same-sex marriages. Regrettably, we can see how moral principles to be observed in private and public life are eroding in a country with deep Christian roots. It is gratifying that the French in their faithfulness to traditional morality have not remained indifferent to the French authorities’ initiative unacceptable to Christians.
( Hilarion, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, letter excerpts) [Homosexuality; Family; Traditional Values]
“It is very egotistical to want to save only oneself. It is easy to save yourself, but to save yourself and your neighbor is much harder. One must think about people who do not know Orthodoxy, do not know the true faith, one must remember that they are dying spiritually. Our goal is to bring them to faith.”
(Fr. Adrian Augustus, 21st Century Orthodox Missionary to Pakistan) [Evangelism]
“I explain that the Church is not a social club, the main goal of the Church is to approach holiness. In the Church we must see to it that the Gospel is preserved in our hearts, and, as we leave the temple, we must spread this Word of God to the whole world, so that it would give strength to us and to our neighbors. “
(Fr. Adrian Augustus, 21st Century Orthodox Missionary to Pakistan) [Evangelism]
“’People had no idea who we were, what religion we were.” He and the other monks grew used to fielding questions whenever they ventured into town in their distinctive garments. The most commonly asked: “Are you folks Christians?” The answer? Yes. Now, whenever the men patronize the local home improvement stores for supplies, they return to the monastery with a list of people in need of prayer. “People approach us and ask, ‘Are you one of the monks from Wayne County?’”
(Deputy Abbot Seraphim, 21st Century monk at Holy Cross Monastery in WV, article excerpt) [Evangelism]
"The groups were migratory people like Goths, Huns, Gepids, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, Pechenegs, Cumans, Tatars and Turks: all stormed in but their cruelty could not uproot the apostolic faith of our people in the country because our ancestors got the Faith slowly and deeply, a Christianization that accepted personal freedom. Therefore, it was not an ideological, political Christianization, but through deep missionary work...we have an original Apostle’s [St. Andrew] baptism of the Romanian people ".
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church) [Faith; Persecution]
“Neither the TV nor the computer is a barrier to communication between God and man. A knife can cut the bread and sausage or peel the potatoes, but you can cut your finger in negligence... We live in the information field, but it is important not to turn it into a swamp....Believers by all means try to manage your time, your TV and PC. . I need some information, such as news, I get it, but wholly immersed in the world of, say, social networks? I am not. have not. I make a choice - either I am a slave, or I'm a free man”
(Abbott Melchizedek (Artyukin), 21st Century Russian Orthodox Monk) [Temptations; Moderation]
“The place for good is the human heart. If there is good in man’s heart it will be present in any other place.”
(Fr. Evgeney, 21st century priest in a Russian prison colony) [Repentance]
“If the Orthodox Church through Her Local Churches is to fulfill Her worldwide missionary role, then Her members must put their Faith before their native cultures and languages. The Church converts to a new Faith through the tools of the local language and local culture... To understand missionary work primarily, or even secondarily, as conversion to an alien and foreign language and culture is merely to repeat the error of Non-Orthodox missionaries. True Christian missionaries do not do this, but adapt their own values, prejudices, dress, education, languages and habits to the local population. Only what is spiritual does not change. What is merely human does change.”
(Archpriest Andrew Philips, 21st century English Orthodox priest) [Missions]
“Have you ever stopped to value the freedom which you possess? Have you rejoiced at the wondrous beauties of nature set by the Lord before you at every step...Have you looked with love into the eyes of your wife or children, and have you thanked the Lord that you are one family with them, and they with you? Do you realize and understand the joy of having your own church, sanctified by prayer, and of being in the bosom of the true Church, of approaching with trembling the Mysteries of the Church, being united in them with Christ? Has the Lord not placed in your soul the grace of sincere prayer; has He not directed to you on your life's path the deprived and offended, so that you might know the joy of heartfelt kindness in the happiness of giving alms?”
(Archpriest Valery Lukuanov, 20th century American priest) [Thanksgiving; Gratitude] Update 11/22/12
“Most of us go through this spiritual desert. It is easy to have faith when everything runs smoothly. You can pray, you may feel grace during services. But these are all gifts of God, gifts of the Holy Spirit. None of this happens because we deserve it. The Lord has stood us up on our feet like a toddler; He has taken our hand and guided our first steps. But as time passes, we have to learn to walk by ourselves.” (Archpriest Nicholas Kim, 21st century priest in Hungary) [Spiritual Trials]
“They wanted to kill us because we were Christians. They were calling us Kaffirs [infidels], even little children saying these things. Those who were our neighbours turned against us...” (Anonymous Christian quoted in the UK’s Independent newspaper) [Islam; Persecution]
“All that is close to God should be majestic and beautiful. But the Church may exist in other forms. We want to show that the squalor that accompanied the life of the Church in the 20th century, does not detract from its grandeur and beauty. Cardboard icons, crosses and panagias made of Tin, Eucharistic vessels from papier-mâché is also the life of the Church. In these circumstances was a full spiritual life, much more rich and productive than it is now.” (Deacon Paul Yermilov, 21st century Russian Orthodox commenting on conditions in the communist regime [Persecution]
"Public discussion of this topic [gay marriage] is ongoing, and has been couched as a continuation of the discussion on inter-racial marriage begun many decades ago. That is why the Church is not invited to enter into these debates, because they are not tied to theological research on the subject and so they are discussed as exclusively a matter of human rights – not as a moral question. That is, much of the American public considers that they lie on entirely different planes." (Protopriest Gregory Joyce, 21st century American priest, interview) [Homosexuality]
“I have been familiar with the [church] on Bolshaya Ordynka Street since 1968. The church was then in terrible condition; it looked like a tin can. In recent years I have been coming to Moscow more frequently, to this church, and I see that the church has been resurrected and restored. On weekdays – for instance, I was here on a Tuesday – the church is full of worshippers. And on the night of Pascha even the traffic stops in order to allow the procession to pass.” (Fr. Gabriel Bunge, 21st century Orthodox monk and scholar in Switzerland, interview) [Church Renewal]
On one hand, what you are saying is true, there are lots of young men joining the monastery, but on the other hand, look at the size of the United States. If this were really a Christian country, we would have hundreds of monasteries. When I look around at our contemporary society, at the abundance and luxury we live in, I am amazed that anyone can find their way out of all this to the monastic life." (Deputy Abbott Seraphim Voepel, 21st century Hermitage of the Holy Cross Monastery) [Monasticism; America]
“We are often told that there is no ideology in the West. Forgive me, but what about Hollywood, for example? Isn’t it a machine that brings all of America, even the whole world, in line with its ideological patterns?” (Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, 21st century Russian Orthodox Priest and author of ‘Everyday Saints’) [Secularism]
No need to be afraid that [they] will say "Sectarian methods." These sectarians stole from the Orthodox when they slept. So do not be afraid that many Orthodox would respond negatively to a street missions, leaflets, posters and other methods of preaching, but if possible, explain to them the real situation and seek to convince them. Still never go counter to the various commands... read the lives and experiences of eminent missionaries of all time, beginning with the Apostles. (Father Daniel Sosoyev Mission Center, 21st century Russia Martyr) [Evangelism]
“When we are thankful in the most challenging circumstances of life, when we bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God even when so much has been taken away, when we continue to follow His will living in holiness and faith, others will see that our gratitude is not dependent on the temporal success and security of this earthly life, but on the promises and salvation of God.” (Archbishop Demetrios, 21st century Greek American hierarch) [Suffering; Thanksgiving]
"If, God forbid, the Sovereign falls, then Russia will fall with her...Strengthen the family, because it is the foundation of every State." (Tsar Alexander III of 19th century Russia, words on his deathbed to the future Tsar Nicholas II) [Christian Government]
“I have many times had to confess people on their deathbeds. Their confessions are not about not having earned a million dollars, built a luxurious home, or been successful in business. People in their final hours are first of all full of regret for not having done some good, not having helped or supported their family, friends, or even incidental acquaintances. The second thing that torments almost everyone before death is that they gave so little time to their children.” (Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, 21st century Russian Orthodox Priest and author of ‘Everyday Saints’) [Parenting]
“When my own mother laid suffering before she died and asked, “Why did this happen to me?”, she didn’t take comfort in the Hindu gods and goddesses, reaching out for some boon of healing by performing the proper pujas. She reached out instead to Christ, who Himself knew what it was to be humiliated, abandoned, unjustly condemned, tortured, and killed in this world. And as a mother, she understood how witnessing this may have hurt His mother far worse than going through it herself.” (Anjali Sivan, a convert to Orthodox Christianity from Hinduism) [Death and Dying]
“It is about helping people spiritually. If God has placed you on your sickbed, that is already a sign that you should review your whole life – since we are not meant to get sick, but do so because of sin. The sisters prepare Orthodox patients for Confession, invite priests, and bring holy water and spiritual literature. We have even had cases of people who wanted to accept the Orthodox faith and were baptized right in the hospital. The most important task of a sister of mercy is to help the ill to love their illnesses. When someone comes to terms with his illness – when he can say, ‘Lord, may Thy will be done’ – then there are cases when everything goes away without any further assistance.” (Sister Catherine, 21st century Ukrainian Sister of Mercy in Kiev) [Mercy; Suffering; Will of God]
“He often told me that he was afraid that he would not manage to do the things he wanted, very many things. He hurried...his life was completely dedicated to Him. I didn’t understand why he hurried. For the final three years he devoted himself to ministry without days off or vacation. He always wanted to be worthy of a martyr's crown and the Lord has given him such a crown.” (Statement excerpts from the wife of 21st century Russian Orthodox Priest-Martyr Daniel Sysoev) [Purpose of Life, Vocation]
“Following Christ means taking it with all your heart and living by his commandments. Following Christ often means going against the current, to be misunderstood by most inquirers...as it was always in the 2000-year history of the Church." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st century Russia) [Christian Witness]
“We have much to remember: the liberation from the 300-year Tartar yoke; the victory over the Polish invaders; the victory over Napoleon; the victory over the Nazis… But there is something else to remember: for victory and deliverance from adversity to take place, there must be a people that remembers its Creator and its calling.” (Igumen John Irmakov, 21st century Russian Priest, quote on the Kazan Procession 2012) [Godly nation]
“Indifferent and merciless people, who think only of their own selves, insensitively satisfying themselves, simultaneously fill their hearts with much anguish. Within them works the little worm of a troubled conscience, and they are tormented already in this life.” (Elder Pairios, 20th Century Monk of Mt. Athos, general quotes) [Mercy]
“If we cannot preach with words because they will not be heard, then let us preach by our deeds. Let us preach with the help of those changes that take place in our souls when we turn from being passionate and sinful people into virtuous people with clean consciences. We might say nothing, but if people see our kindness, meekness, humility, purity, and sobriety, then this will be the best demonstration for them that Christianity is the very power that can refashion man.” (Archimandrite Niphont Lutsenko, 21st century Russian Orthodox Hierarch) [Evangelism]
"In our paschal liturgical celebrations, we perpetuate the original proclamation to the Myrrh-bearing Women. They shared it with the Disciples, and the Disciples, in turn, carried the news to the entire world. It is now our turn to share with the world, not only this message, but the reality of our own rebirth into eternal life through Jesus Christ." (Metropolitan-elect Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America, 21st century) [Evangelism]
“You shouldn’t be looking at the world though rose-colored or black-colored glasses – you should only have the prism of your faith in front of you, and you should look at the world through it.” (Russian Patriarch Kirill speaking to Orthodox journalists, 2012) [Worldview]
"Saints are difficult people, they always have an inspirational impulse, and they are ahead of others in ideas, words, and actions. It looked as if he was in a hurry. But actually it was us who were behind.” (Fr. Oleg Stenyaev on 2009 Martyr. Daniel Sysoev, Pravoslavie quote) [Saints]
“All Christians...when rising from sleep must first think of and remember Christ. Let every pious man continually repeat this Name as a prayer in his mind and with his tongue. Let him always constrain himself to do this while standing, travelling, sitting, resting, speaking, and doing all things. Then he shall find great peace and joy...” (Archbishop Simeon of Thessalonica, 20th century, Orthodox America quote) [Jesus Prayer] [Morning Prayer]
"Today’s society is mainly individualist, narcissist and self-sufficient. The soul of the contemporary human being affected by secularization, through the rejection of the mystery of the Church...the spiritual vacuum is filled by a “para-religion”, which imitates religion but without referring to God." (Patriarch Daniel of Romania, 2012 address) [Secularism]
“Everything in this life passes away — only God remains, only He is worth struggling towards. We have a choice: to follow the way of this world, of the society that surrounds us, and thereby find ourselves outside of God; or to choose the way of life, to choose God Who calls us and for Whom our heart is searching.” (Fr. Seraphim Rose, American convert and priest) [Spiritual vs Material]
It is not given to us to perceive what is awaiting the Church ahead. Woes and persecutions often accompany the life of a Christian. But the miraculous reappearance of the icon of the most Holy Theotokos proves her gracious Intercession for all Orthodox Christians. This will give us courage and selflessness in bearing our own cross.
(Archbishop Veniamin of Vladivostok ommenting on the discovery of the lost icon of 1903 Porte Arthur icon in 1998) [Theotokos; Icons]
These are listed in order of posting on Facebook/Google+. To find similar quotes of a topic (i.e. prayer) or by a specific person, use the page search function in your browser (usually in the 'edit' column at the top of the screen). The newest posts are at the top. After the update below combined quotes are found at this page.
Updated August 22, 2015
"...as we approach the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, most of us can more easily stare into the face of our own failure, our own shortcomings, our disgust with our disfigurement of heart. Let us not hide this discovery: instead, let us use it as the incentive, the engine, the fuel to drive us toward God. Despairing of ourselves, let us throw ourselves onto the strength of Christ, who tramples down not only Death, but our myriad of daily defeats."
(Fr Geoffrey Korz, 21st Century Russian priest) [Repentance; Hope]
"God always helps, He always arrives, but it needs patience. When we cry out, He always hears immediately, but not in the way we think.
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast) [Patience; Hope]
"Save, Lord, those whom there is no one to pray for, save also those who do not want to pray to you...It is not in my pride that I pray for it, Lord, for I myself am more vile than all …"
(Feodor Dostoevsky in "The Brothers Karamazov") [Intercession; Humility]
"Theology is not an easy thing for anyone to be able to speculate and negotiate about with the goal of creating personal and social relations. If you demolish anything, the entire edifice is demolished. The Holy Fathers knew this very well, and for this reason they recommend the renunciation of heresy and the acceptance of Orthodox teaching as the only path and method of union for the heretics."
(Protopresbyter Theodore Zisis) [Truth; Dogma]
"...the great gift of God, freedom itself - it is an opportunity to choose. God has programmed us for good - by the way, it often destroys faith in people who say, "Why doesn't God punish sinners? Where is God when things are going on...a war crime? ...He could do it, He could create an amazing community of happy and holy men. But then those people would be holy and happy not by choice, but by the program invested therein. They would not have the image of God..."
(Patriarch Kirill of Russia) [Image of God; Divine Providence]
"We were designed to thrive on human personal contact, and the human heart and spirit still hunger for it. If that hunger is not met and satisfied through healthy human encounter, it will seek satisfaction in less healthy ways, just as if a man is hungry enough, he will eat anything."
(Fr. Lawrence Farley) [Society]
"The dogmatic and spiritual aspects of the Liturgy are one whole, but on Athos there is a different spiritual atmosphere. On Athos the silent, hesychastic atmosphere is more helpful in absorbing the Divine services, because the Holy Mountain is an especially grace-filled place. In every monastery there dwell the prayers of the departed fathers, the prayers of living fathers. Every monk on Athos learns to pray constantly, without ceasing."
(Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi) [Grace; Prayer; Monasticism]
"Jesus tells His disciples that they could not cast out the demon from the child because their faith was little or weak. Therefore, today’s Gospel teaches us that faith must be cultivated, strengthened, and deepened through prayer and fasting, lest faith be a simple intellectual conviction, but become a living relationship of the human with the God Unseen, Who is very close to man through His grace, when this one prays for His help."
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania) [Fasting; Prayer]
"In debates if you say a few words about religion you will prevail. Let the person who has a different opinion give free reign to his thoughts and speak as much as he likes…Let him sense that he is addressing himself to a calm and uncontentious person. Influence him to your graciousness and prayer and speak briefly. It will achieve nothing if you speak heatedly…"
(Elder St. Porphyrios) [Witness; Love; Gentleness]
"'Ecumenism' is a heresy only if it actually involves the denial that Orthodoxy is the true Church of Christ. A few of the Orthodox leaders of the ecumenical movement have gone this far; but most Orthodox participants in the ecumenical movement have not said this much; and a few (such as the late Fr. Georges Florovsky) have only irritated the Protestants in the ecumenical movement by frequently stating at ecumenical gatherings that Orthodoxy is the Church of Christ."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose+) [True Church; Witness]
"The Sacraments, repentance, prayer, thanksgiving and generosity are the normative marks of the Orthodox life. These contain everything necessary to the life of grace. Church reform is not a hallmark of the Orthodox life. The insight of Orthodoxy is that only holiness changes anything."
(Fr. Stephen Freeman) [True Church; Wisdom]
"Even little differences in our characters may help the partners to form a harmonic family, because they supplement each other. You need an accelerator pedal to move your car forward, but still you need the brake pedal to stop when needed...we must have in mind that every person may help the other; people are here to help each other." (Elder St. Paisios on Marrige in pravmir.com) [Family; Society] "If I wanted to relate everything I went through on a daily basis with this passion of anger, I would have to write a book. Since God wanted to free me from it, He would bring about everything appropriate: people would bother me unjustly, they would insult me, they would annoy me. And they would not just simply tempt me, but they would do things that would make you commit murder. But by enduring and choking Satan within me with extreme patience, I was delivered from the evil."
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast ~ 'My Elder Joseph the Hesychast') [Anger; Temptation; Sanctification]
"All prayers go to God. We pray to the Virgin Mary and the Saints, that is, we ask that they pray to the Lord for us, and their prayers have great power."
(Elder St. Paisios of Mt. Athos) [Saints; Intercession]
"...nearly the whole of the Gospel narrative, and nearly the whole of our own lives in this world, is one example after another of the abundant mercy and grace of God being poured out upon the uncomprehending and ungrateful heart of man...So let us open our eyes."
(Homily at Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, WV) [Mercy; Love]
“We learn the most from what we have experienced ourselves; and it’s not important whether it brought us pain or joy. Before the mystery of life, the one who looks the most serious and responsible is the one who accepts life as joyful sorrow.”
(Archbishop Jovan Vranishkovsky, 21st Century Macedonian Hierarch) [Peace; Trials]
“We dream of a Church that exists to promote the Faith first and foremost...consists of members who know and understand the basic tenets of the Church... sees its youth not as the future of the Church, but as the present."
(Excerpts from Youth Statement of the OCA 18th All American Council) [Evangelism; Catechism]
"...if I serve God faithfully, if I fulfill God’s statutes, rules, and laws, then I am a patriot, and the best kind, because through me, the sinner, who strives to fulfill these laws, God’s blessing goes onto our whole land, and onto our people. If I do not do this, if I live contrary to the Divine Law, then one can beat one’s chest with one’s fist that I am a great patriot, and thus harm oneself, one’s people, and the land. Because God’s grace does not reach the land through a sinful vessel."
(Metropolitan Onuphry, 21st Century Metropolitan of Ukraine) [Society; Witness]
"The virtue of patience and its work in contemporary society, dominated by haste and unnatural pressure of the lack of time, represents one of the most significant features of Christian life ...The Christian belief in the help of God transforms our patience and endurance in a spiritual power to promote peace in the community and the society..."
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania) [Patience; Hope]
"There are three types of people: carnal, mental and spiritual. The carnal person wants everything of the flesh, seeks rest, loves praise, does not want to be derided, does not accept the cutting off of their will, defends himself. The mental again does not want to do injustice, nor do they want to suffer injustice. The spiritual person thinks everything of the spirit, and if they suffer unjustly they rejoice, and if they are derided they are grateful."
(Saint Anthimos of Chios+, 20th Century staretz) [Humility; Meekness]
"Contemplate and live the divine events continuously. When someone contemplates the events of each feast, physiologically they will be moved with a special reverence to pray. Then during the Services the mind will be on the events we are celebrating and we will follow the hymns that are chanted with reverence. When the mind is on divine meanings, a person lives the events, and so it is altered...I will pray that your hearts become a Holy Manger and that the Most Holy Child of Bethlehem give you all his blessings."
(Elder Paisios quoted in "Elder Paisios the Athonite") [Prayer; Contemplation]
"Do you want the prayer inside you? Do you want to find Christ? Well, you will find it here with the people we are working with. Do you hear them chatting idly, joking and laughing? Be careful as much as you can not to imitate them or to say to yourself "What kind of people are they?" And, to condemn them. You will be silent, do you work on your own and constantly say the Prayer."
(Elder Haralambos Dionysiastis, 20th Century disciple of St. Joseph the Hesychast) [Jesus Prayer; Sanctification]
"Preaching doesn’t always have to be in the form of words. Performing merciful deeds and actions is also preaching. I think that every Orthodox Christian must be a missionary. We all have families, but not all of our relatives are believers. Who will reveal Christ to people around us at work or school? Who will be a living witness to them?"
(Fr. Stanislav Rasputin, 21st Century convert) [Evangelization; Witness]
"He is more spiritual than me. I get tired and I fall asleep but he stays awake and prays."
(Elder St. Porphyrios on a parrot he taught to say the Jesus Prayer) [Prayer; Perseverance; Humility],br>
"With regard to demonic possession, we have no reason to believe that it does not continue in our own day; in fact, we can be sure that it does. The same demons active in Christ’s day, are still active today and will be until the Second Coming of Christ...While those indwelt by the Holy Spirit may not be indwelt by the demons, their influence can still wreck havoc on our lives if we let them."
(Fr.Robert McLean; 21st Century American priest) [Satan; Temptation]
"Today, there are many rivers in which people are baptized with no results of healing. This is because their source is not based on truth and obedience. The Jordan river springs from the sources of Ior and Dan. Symbolically, these springs can be translated as obedience to truth. The river today that springs from these two sources is named Orthodoxy."
(Monk Christodoulos Gregoriates) [True Religion; Faith]
"Indirectly, the devil confesses God through temptations...Sin brings humility. So it is understood that the devil plays an indirect “role” in our salvation for he reveals our infirmities, and by this helps us to grow. If he would realize how much help is to our salvation, he would trouble us less."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc+ of Romania) [Temptation; Struggle]
Blessed are those who rejoice when unjustly accused, rather than when they are justly praised for their virtuous life. Here are the signs of holiness..."
(Elder St. Paisios of Mt. Athos) [Humility]
"Let me sum up. It is not a good idea to date non-Orthodox Christians because it is not a good idea to date anyone. It is a good idea to have lots of friends, to learn how to be kind, generous, loving, patient and joyful by hanging out with people who encourage you to be more like Christ. If you suspect that a particular friend may indeed be someone with whom you could spend your life, then enquire if he/she suspects the same thing."
(Archpriest Michael Gillis, 21st Century American priest) [Family; Society]
"The essential contribution of monasticism is prayer for the salvation of the world. The monk is purified from the passions by the grace of God, communion with the pain of the world, and understands (despite living outside the world) the error, the distresses, the sinfulness of the world and grieves for it, mourns and prays for God to give the spirit of repentance in the world."
(Archimandrite Ephraim of Vatopedi in2015 Interview) [Prayer; Intercession; Vocation]
"Whenever Grace shows its presence, everything is bearable. But sometimes for reasons that are purely providential it withholds its presence and man loses hope; his fervor decreases and even his faith is dulled. These are the hardest moments in spiritual life because if God does not hold onto him here man cannot endure."
(Elder Joseph in "Elder Joseph the Hesychast") [Perseverance; Testing]
"It should also be made clear that living a homosexual or any other sinful lifestyle is not compatible with Christianity and this has always been the teaching of the Church. That being stated, it is also crucial to state that the Church is a Spiritual Hospital and all those wishing to receive the healing freely offered by God through their repentance and God’s Grace are fully welcome. This includes those who have participated in immoral or unnatural acts of any kind as well as those who are tempted by such sins. The Church is empathetic to those who suffer in such a way and offers them support, healing, and Christian love."
(Chancery of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America of ROCOR) [Homosexuality; Society]
"In the last days we shall see the spirits of devils working miracles. The Holy Scriptures and Orthodox Fathers clearly tell us that the character of the last times will not be at all one of a great spiritual revival, of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but rather one of almost universal apostasy, of spiritual deception so subtle that the very elect if that were possible will be deceived, of the virtual disappearance of Christianity from the face of the earth. "When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?" It is precisely in the last times that Satan is to be loosed in order to produce the final and greatest outpouring of evil upon the earth."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose in "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future") [Deception; Satan]
"... if a poor woman went to your mother and begged her to ask you to appoint her to a position and you did this favor of your mother, then that poor woman would say your mother saved her, even though you appointed her. Well, so we also say that the Virgin Mary saves us, and her Son who as the One in power, yet is humble, rejoices to hear good words being spoken by us about His mother."
(Elder Paisios on the Theotokos) [Theotokos; Intercession; Saints]
"Jesus Christ is the fulness and foundation of everything, He is our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Church is not something in the past, nor something in our imagination, or something only in our mind. Rather she is an expression of His glory, the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. The Church is the witness of the reality of the victory of life over death, and the place where every human being can find salvation and healing."
(Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA) [Faith; Witness]
“If one’s heart lives by love, love becomes the main scale of evaluation. If I love someone, I do not need to see his mistakes. If I love someone, I do not need to notice how bad, sinful, or vicious he is. I will love him anyway, no matter who he is. Then I will need neither evaluation nor comparison, and I will not judge him.”
(Archpriest Andrei Lorgus, 21st Century Russian priest) [Love; Judgment]
“So take courage my child and rise from your fault. Stand up. Get angry with the tempter knowing that he is one that contrived all this trickery. Don’t let him get away with it; fight him.”
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast in ‘Monastic Wisdom’)
“…since 1914 the world has not known peace, nothing has been the same again. 1914 reminds us of Noah’s Flood, but this time it has not been a Flood of Water, but a Flood of Iniquity. The world has indeed been turned upside down, all has become abnormal in an ever-increasing spiral of violence and death. What was normal and natural is now abnormal and unnatural, what was abnormal and unnatural is now normal and natural.”
(Fr. Andrew Philips) [Society; Humanism]
"The biblical belief in marriage and family has shaped the principle of monogamy, which became the nucleus of European society and determined the relations between the two sexes. It enhanced and inspired fidelity and self-abnegation as a basic element of its endurance. When this basic structure is disrupted, society is driven into decline. We, the Christian people of Europe, have the right, but also the responsibility, to defend these truths, on which anything great and pure created by European civilization is based."
(Archbishop Anastasios of Albania) [Traditional Values; Family; Society]
"There was a time when I used to pray with my prayer rope whenever possible and even during the night; it was the only thing that I used to hold onto, and even when I woke up in the morning I had my prayer rope with me. But now, I have my laptop, and the availability of entertainment at my fingertips. Yes, I have argued with my conscience and have told myself that I am not doing anything wrong. I am reaching out to people, I am using my time wisely etc. But the greatest evil is that of not praying. But I keep justifying to myself that it is okay."
(Fr. Silouan Benedict, 21st Century priest in India) [Devotions; Sanctification; Temptation]
"By holiness is meant following Christ to Gethsemane and Golgotha. Holiness is not transmitted, not earned by merely reading books and having lengthy discussions in living rooms. It calls out that we must give blood, in order to receive the Spirit. We must persistently fight and be patient, to defeat the wild beast with many heads called pride. The saint overcomes selfishness, love for the flesh, ambition and love for money, with love for the divine, love for people, philanthropy, brotherly kindness, love of children, and the virtuous life."
(Monk Moses the Athonite)
"It is our fault that there are people who do not know Christ. We must feel a tremendous responsibility for the souls of such people. If we become saints, we will attract people to Christ. Our problem, however, is the lack of holiness within us. Therefore, we are unfair toward our brothers who don't see the holiness within us and as a result are not drawn closer to the Gospel. So, what we really need is holiness and saints in the Church."
(Metropolitan Athanasios, 21st Century Hierarch of Limassol, 2015 interview) [Sanctification; Witness;Evangelism]
"Christ came to enlighten mankind. There are various religions outside His revelation where the followers are sincere – not just practicing demon worship – and where the soul is really trying to get through to God. I would say that before the people have heard of Christ, these religions are fine as far as they go, but they will not get you to the goal. The goal is eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven, and God came in the flesh to open this up to us."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose in "God's Revelation to the Human Heart") [True Church; Salvation]
"There was also a time when I studied the Holy Scriptures diligently. I also do it now, but not with the intensity with which I used to study it before. What has taken up my time? I spend time reading newspapers or magazines... if it takes up the majority of my reading time, it means that I have started giving more importance to a newspaper than to the Word of God. I easily notice that I can’t remember five good things that I may have read in a newspaper, but I still waste my time in front of it."
(Fr. Silouan Benedict, 21st Century priest in India) [Priorities; Use of Time; Love of God]
"Being filled with the Gospel teaching and trying to live by it, we should have love and compassion for the miserable humanity of our days. Probably never have people been more unhappy than the people of our days, even with all the outward conveniences and gadgets our society provides us with. People are suffering and dying for the lack of God—and we can help give God to them. The love of many has truly grown cold in our days—but let us not be cold. As long as Christ sends us His grace and warms our hearts, we do not need to be cold."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose) [Hope;Evangelism]
"All of this [spiritual blessings] was the fruit of our holy Geronda's prayers, teaching, and wise discipline. It was because of his tears that he shed for us. He himself admitted it. When they asked him, 'Geronda, why are you fasting so strictly after being so exhausted?' He answered, 'Because, my child, I want to struggle so that our good God will give his grace to all of you.'"
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast ~ "My Elder Joseph the Hesychast") [Intercession; Prayer; Struggle]
"With all of the prescriptions given to us to do, it seems sometimes that the Church is asking us all to be monks...Just as all of us are not called to be mathematicians or rocket scientists, not everyone is called to be a monk. However, that does not mean that everyone isn’t called to some sort of ascesis. That word...simply means self-denial, something that Christ tells all of us to do."
(Fr. Philip Rodgers, 21st Century priest) [Sanctification; Sacrifice; Penance]
"I believe that every person has a choice in life, even though it sometimes seems that’s not the case. I’m talking about some of the most ordinary things now: the way you treat other people, whether you’re going to be kind or, because you’re having a bad day, unpleasant. That always depends on you."
(Novak Djokovic, 21st Century Orthodox tennis star) [Witness; Example; Patience]
"Chrismation reproduces the event of Pentecost, the indwelling of the Spirit of prophecy, that he might fulfill his mission in the Church. The sacrament of Chrismation can be understood only in the light of the theology of the Holy Spirit. He is the gift in whom is completed the mystery of the Trinity. He is also the gift whom the Risen Lord sends to us from the Father to perfect the work of deification in us and to continue His mission of witness in the Church."
(Fr. Thaddeus Hardenbrook, 21st Century priest) [Sanctification]
"You should feel as if you are a small child and God is your Father... He sees your heart and will give what is best for you. It is like a child that asks his father to buy him a motorcycle because he believes he is old enough, and because the father is afraid something bad will happen to his child, he may be slow to grant the child what he wants, but in the end he buys the child a car."
(Elder Paisios on Prayer and God's Answers)
"It is striking that the more one loves a person the more they love to see them and enjoy their presence. And when this is not possible due to the distance between them or for any other reason, then they take their photograph, they kiss it, hold it to their heart...In a similar way are holy icons embraced, for which our respect and love is given to the person depicted, and not the material object, because, as Basil the Great stresses: 'The honor towards the image passes on to the prototype.'"
(Fr. George Papavarnavas, 21st Century protopresbyter) [Icons; Reverence; Tradition]
"In one second, a person can be found in Paradise from hell, if he repents...what power repentance has! It attracts divine Grace. A humble thought that a man brings to mind can save him...I err, I repent, and I am forgiven that instant. If I have a struggling spirit, slowly I will achieve a more stable situation, but until then, I can be swayed."
(Elder St. Paisios the Athonite) [Repentance; Forgiveness; Compunction]
"We must think about what Christ has prepared for us, in the good good Paradise, after the Second Coming. Now we go to the narthex of Paradise, but it cannot enter the mind of man what the good good Paradise is like. All light! All fragrance! Joy unspeakable! Blessedness! Nothing will grow old! Christ wants everything new in His Kingdom."
(Elder Ephraim of Arizona) [Heaven; Salvation; Hope]
"Christianity teaches us that God is Love. This is the greatest revelation of all, completely unknown to any other religion before it, that God is a loving Father who created angels and people out of the abundance of his love and calls them to Eternal Life."
(Monk Madai, Kurdish Orthodox monastic)
"... if a poor woman went to your mother and begged her to ask you to appoint her to a position and you did this favor of your mother, then that poor woman would say your mother saved her, even though you appointed her. Well, so we also say that the Virgin Mary saves us, and her Son who as the One in power, yet is humble, rejoices to hear good words being spoken by us about His mother."
(Elder Paisios on the Theotokos)[Theotokos; intercession;Saints]
"This Faith has therapeutic effects and it became the chief policy of the Roman Empire. But when this civilization was lost the therapy was not lost... the 29th of May may be considered unlucky because the remaining [Byzantine] Empire was abolished, but it can also be considered a day of Orthodoxy, because the Orthodox Faith was liberated from its secular impurities and it preserved the hesychast tradition."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos) [Faith; Providence]
"...monks and nuns say the Jesus prayer while working and everything they do is blessed. When people visit a monastery and eat food cooked without oil, they find it very tasty... the monk is praying while cooking and his heart is filled with positive thoughts...How is it possible then for the food not to taste good? Therefore, when someone comes to your business to start work, first see that he is spiritually revived and then show him the work, so your business will have God’s blessing and be prosperous.”
(Elder St. Paisios) [Prayer; Will of God; Success]
"Eternal Memory" is equivalent to saying "may you ever be in God's memory." The Church says this prayer so that the deceased "continue" in God's memory. Because if God "forgets" us, if He says "I never knew you" (Matt. 7:23), we are led into spiritual extinction. But if He remembers us, then like the thief on the Cross who asked Christ to remember him, we also will live eternally with Him in Paradise."
(John Sanidopoulos, 21st Century blogger and translator) [Salvation; Prayer for the Departed]
"...one of the hallmarks of our church life is its sacramental materialism. This is a normal outgrowth of our faith in the incarnation, in the invisible God entering human history in the flesh. He is born, lives, dies, rises again and ascends physically, thereby transforming our physical and material existence. This is why we venerate icons and relics and why our sacramental life involves all the senses."
(Fr. John Jillions, OCA Chancellor) [Miracles; Faith]
"In many ways the Orthodox world is a thorn in the flesh. It frustrates the West because the Orthodox world, in large measure, never experienced anything like the so-called “Enlightenment” which started the process of secularization and de-Christianization of the West in the 18th century. The idea of a strong and robust nation that holds to traditional Christian values is an idea that Western Europe finds repugnant in the extreme...Western nations have been globalizing their secular values by branding them as “human rights”..."
(Nifco Pafras, 21st Century Orthodox layman) [Traditional Values; Society; Humanism]
"Paul, the other apostles, and innumerable saints after them gave their lives, shed their lives day after day forgetting themselves... They lived for others, they gave as generously as they had received. We also are called to learn the joy, the exhilarating, the wonderful joy of giving, of turning away from ourselves to be free to give, and of giving on all levels, the smallest things and the greatest things. And this can be taught us only by the power of the Holy Spirit..."
(Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh) [Generosity; Love]
"Gone is the glory of Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians. Gone is the glory of Constantinople, the great capital of Orthodoxy..but the glory of the Christians shall not end so long as they hold fast to faith in Jesus Christ and carry Him with them wherever they wander, wherever they are taken, wherever they settle. Jesus alone is their glory....Holiness belongs to humans, not to land."
(Fr Georges Massouh, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Witness]
"Why does God call a person at some given moment? Ordinarily, we do not know all of God's judgments, but there exist certain notions, certain general concepts that demand individual clarification. Often, one dies when he has sufficiently matured to enter into eternity...the Kingdom of God develops within the person. As soon as that person has matured unto eternity, he is immediately taken away."
(Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoyev) [Death; Will of God; Providence]
"...by judging others we directly encroach on one of the prerogatives of the Holy Trinity. God is Creator; He alone has the right to judge, for He alone is All-knowing and All-good. We are limited creatures, restricted by time and space. Only those specially gifted are able to penetrate the secrets of the heart, while we most often judge people by their outward actions, habits, looks, lifestyles, etc., all based on external examination and our own subjective – and therefore faulty –experience. Our power of judgement is further handicapped by our sinful nature, our propensity to take notice of our neighbor’s weaknesses."
(Bishop Kyrill of San Francisco) [Judging; Gossip; Pride]
"Being firm in the missionary zeal of the Holy Apostles and the Church Fathers, our Church has the duty to understand the functioning of the informational society of nowadays, in order to wisely use the means of communication so as to communicate the Orthodox values and enter into the social networks in pursuance of meeting the human being of today, who has become a user of new communicational technologies in the Areopagus of modernity."
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania) [Witness; Evangelization]
"I personally never try to persuade a person to become a monk, in fact, to the contrary, I usually advise putting off the decision and testing oneself...This is too important a step, just like marriage, in fact. Today, unfortunately, everything is different. Both monasticism and marriage are seen as something temporary: you try it, didn’t like it, you move on. I reject this attitude and insist that every candidate do some serious soul-searching."
(Archbishop Mark Arndt, 21st Century Hierarch in Germany) [Monasticism; Will of God; Vocation]
"It would be a mistake, however, to suggest that Orthodoxy has enthusiastically endorsed war. Even in cases of the defense of a Christian people from Islamic invasion, the spiritual gravity of warfare has not been forgotten. For example, St. Sergius of Radonezh in the fourteenth century gave his blessing to Grand Prince Dimitri to fight a defensive war against the Tatar Khan only after he received assurances that the prince had already exhausted every possible means of reconciliation."
(Fr. Philip LeMasters, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Just War; Society]
"Asceticism is something to be practiced. Prayer is very important even if you say it mechanically because the understanding comes later. The Holy Spirit works later in you after you are well established in your ascetic endeavors."
(Archimandrite Chezarie Paunescu, 20th Century Romanian seminary director) [Jesus Prayer; Obedience]
"It may seem at times that the Lord has forgotten us completely, has not heard our cries, our prayers, to be delivered from unbearable pain of soul or body, to be freed from the yoke of an ingrained passion or sin, to help us to pray without ceasing. Of course He has not forgotten us...but in all this He desires that we become long-suffering and patient even as He is, even if we have to wait thirty-eight years or a whole lifetime."
(Deacon Jeremiah of Holy Cross Hermitage) [Patience; Suffering; Prayer; Faith]
"A doctor’s scalpel has the power to save, but it also has the power to kill—so it is with the reproof of a spiritual father. If administered with wisdom, reproof can help bring spiritual children to both repentance and healing. But if reproof is administered too harshly—and without proper care—it can cause damage that is potentially irreparable."
(Fr. Joseph Gleason, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Prudence; Guidance; Witness]
"The newly growing Christian life in the Armenian world, was nurtured by the blood of the Apostles St.Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew, the first illuminators, spreading the light of Christ’s Gospel, the reborn martyrs and the heroes of our Faith. Our people during all of history, were often glorified on the altar of martyrdom, becoming a venerable example of piety. During the years of the Genocide also, the stories of martyrdom and sufferings of our children, as much as it caused pain and sorrow, also created new impetus to strengthen and have courage of faith, as it was in the case of the Christians of the first centuries..."
(His Holiness Karekin II, Armenian Patriarch on the Armenian Genocide of 1915-18) [Persecution; Martyrs]
"Theology is the content of our prayers. And an example of this theology is the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. The whole anaphora is theology and is expressed through prayer.. John the Theologian from an academic point of view was not a theologian; he says things simply. His theology, however, is a state of being. Whatever he says becomes dogma for everyone."
(Elder Sophrony, 20th Century staretz) [Theology; Wisdom]
"Do you want to find out what kind of love you have? Stand in front of the mirror of the 13th chapter of the 1st epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, and honestly look to see if those things the Apostle Paul says applies to you..True love is intertwined with a spirit of humility, sacrifice and giving.
(Elder Germanos of Stavrovouni +1982) [Love; Meekness]
" We have to look at our hearts and see which passion of ours will be devil hook us on in order to cause us to betray Christ. If we think that we are something superior to Judas—that he was some kind of a “kook” and we are not—we are quite mistaken. Like Judas, everyone of us has passions in his heart."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose+, Sermon 1982) [Temptation;Sin]
"...regardless of how and when the Lord chooses to reveal Himself it is always possible, in freedom and because of sin, to explain away that revelation...But without this faith no amount of knowledge or evidence will suffice. There will always be room for doubt..."
(Archbishop Dimitri Royster+, 20th Century American Hierarch) [Faith; Miracles]
"We have no right not to be where our flock is or might be -- and our flock today, in fact the most active part of our flock, is on social networks,"
(Patriarch Kirill of Russia) [Witness; Evangelization]?
“I saw some questionable things with the Protestants: praying to guitar accompaniment, dances, etc. I asked myself: is it correct to serve God as if you were at a disco or bar? And then I heard that there was a new religion in Indonesia, where they serve differently, where they perform their prayers in a dignified manner, where the women cover their heads and so on, and I asked, “What religion is that?” They told me that it was Orthodoxy.”
(Fr. Ioasaph, 21st Century Indonesian Muslim convert to Orthodoxy) [Reference; Witness]
(Subdeacon Gabe Martini) [Delusion; Peace] “The persecutions in pagan Rome, threats from Muslim sultans, and the Soviet gulag had a slower effect on cutting into Church attendance than life in the comfy, modern world. The sword of the Ottoman janissary has been replaced by the lure of the shopping mall...the threat that led to the liturgical command to bar “the doors, the doors”...has been replaced by the fear of missed email or missed sleep.”
(Fr. Geoffrey Korz, 21st Century priest) [Materialism; Modernism; Love of the World]
"Witnesses of the Resurrection were the Apostles, the Confessors, the Martyrs, the Venerable Ones, the Holy Fathers, men and women who bravely faced their problems in life with hope in the resurrection...All these shed their blood and sacrificed their lives, refusing biological joys and material pleasures. Therefore, the Resurrection of Christ is not an ideology, a worldview, a metaphysic or a mysticism, but it is true life that transforms the entire human existence and overcomes death, mortality and the corruption of nature, and creates a transformation of the person and a renewal of all creation."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos) [Sanctification; Faith]
Updated 04/04/2015
"Christ did not say: “I offer one of many complimentary paths”; He said: I am the Way. Christ did no say: “I hold to the correct philosophical principles;” He said: I am the Truth. Christ did not say: “I subscribe to the only viable political agenda;” He said: I am the Life. It is only possible to attain to this Way, this Truth and this Life through Christ and through the light that He bestows to those who strive to allow even a small beam of that light to enter their hearts and illumine their path."
(Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century hierarch of the OCA) [Truth; Salvation]
"The purpose of the Christian life is to ask the Lord Jesus to send the Holy Spirit into our hearts that he may cleanse us and make us more like Christ."
(Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov, 21st Century staretz in England) [Will of God; Sanctification; Struggle]
"I don’t know what will happen in the future. It is hard to say...But a Christian must be beyond politics. We have to be patient. Only pray. God will set things aright. He knows everything. All our hope is in Him."
(Archpriest Michael Li, 21st Century leader of the Russian-Chinese Mission) [Faith; Hope; Peace]
"Why did He weep if He knew that moments later He would call Lazarus back to life...He weeps because He contemplates the miserable state of the world, created by God, and the miserable state of man, the king of creation...At the grave of Lazarus Jesus encounters Death — the power of sin and destruction, of hatred and despair."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann on 'Why Jesus Wept')
"The various denominations often represent nothing more than the natural forces of religious democracy. A God whose teaching and revelation morphs and changes and shifts with the culture, now this, now that, and always more accessible and accommodating, is no God at all. He is merely the good 'god' who obeys mankind."
(Fr. Stephen Freeman 21st Century Orthodox convert) [Humanism; Modernism; Protestantism]
"Faith consists of two parts: theoretical and practical. Theoretical faith exists when we believe with our mind everything that our faith teaches without doing any good works. Such faith is dead, of no benefit, and incapable of saving man...Practical faith exists when we not only believe in everything our faith teaches, but also carry out and abide by all its orders and statutes.
(Nikiforos Theotokis, 18th Century Greek theologian) [Works of Mercy; Faith]
"With surety we have emphasized perseverance as the most indispensable element in prayer. Rightly it is stressed by St. Paul, "Continue steadfastly in prayer."{Col. 4:2} In contrast to the rest of the virtues, prayer requires effort throughout our entire lifetime, and for this reason I repeat to those who are making the attempt not to feel encumbered, nor to consider the need for endurance as a failure in this sober-minded work."
(Elder Joseph of Vatopedi +) [Prayer; Struggle]
"Syria, and particularly Aleppo, is depopulated of its Christians. We are afraid of ending up like the Christians in Mosul …or that we will die from a wayward shell, or be shot by a sniper...Despite everything, even though we have lost some of our illusions, we keep our hope intact because without it our faith is meaningless.”
(Anonymous Christian in Aleppo, Syria) [Faith; Hope;Trials]
"People are completely unprepared and unable to properly accept death. The death of loved ones is always like a powerful sledgehammer blow a on the carefully prepared building of “earthly happiness”, which, more often than not, takes the place of God in the lives of unbelievers...th is a wonderful medicine that “revises” our system of our values and priorities every time."
(Archpriest Pavel Velikanovv interview in pravmir.com) [Death; Faith; Hope]
"Our modern man puts too much heart into trifles and details, is assaulted by a lot of false things and does not know how to choose...Our contemporary man has become too materialistic, a subject to the new tyrant: money. Everywhere we look, we hear that money is everything, the master of this world. He, who makes money his master, makes himself a servant to the devil"
(Elder Justin Parvu, 20th Century Romanian staretz) [Love of the World; Materialism]
"The example of Mary of Egypt should not confuse us by its remoteness in time from our own era, for man throughout his entire history has possessed mind, and will, and feelings, and passions, and has experienced temptations. Everything that takes place in the world is related to the external arrangement of life, but none of this has changed man’s nature; therefore Mary of Egypt should remain for us a living example...
(Patriarch Kirill of Russia)
"When people visit a monastery and eat food cooked without oil, they find it very tasty...the monk is praying while cooking and his heart is filled with positive thoughts; he thinks that he is preparing food for earthy angels to eat. Moreover, when monks sit at the table to eat, they say a prayer to bless the food. How is it possible then for the food not to taste good?"
(Elder St. Pasios in “Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain”) [Blessing; Prayer;Sanctification]
"The goal of the Christian's life on earth is salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ and, at the same time, communion with God. The means for this communion is prayer, and through his prayer the Christian is joined in one spirit with the Lord (I Cor. 6:17). Prayer is the focal point and foundation of spiritual life and the source of salvation. Without prayer, as St. John Chrysostom says, there is no life in the spirit. Without prayer man is deprived of communion with God and can be compared to a dry and barren tree, which is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt. 7:19)."
~From 'These Truths We Hold' catechism [Will of God; Prayer]
"...we do not like the thought of enduring the freezing lakes of this world - of suffering the discomfort and inconvenience that test our love for God and others. We sometimes face difficult decisions that pit our comfort against doing the right thing. But, with the Holy Forty Martyrs [of Sebaste], let us say, “Winter is harsh but paradise is sweet!”"
(Fr. Daniel Bethancourtm, 21st Century priest in Louisiana) [Struggle; Perseverance; Courage]
"...how many examples of bearing one’s cross do we see in the years-long patience of the sick! And in the patience of those caring for the sick! And in the cross of mothers and fathers who pray with repentance and patience for their prodigal children...Such is the teaching of our Savior and Lord. And if we strive to fulfill all of this not in word alone, but also in deeds, then we can have hope that we are indeed His disciples."
(Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov) [Long-suffering; Patience; Meekness]
"For us Orthodox Christians the Cross of Christ is the flag, the banner, the badge, the scepter, the rod of power. The language of the Cross is silence, pain, deprivation, elimination, humiliation and dishonor; it comes to erase and eliminate any element of haughtiness, verbosity, glory and boasting in various appreciative applause. The crucified Christ continuously speaks to us through His blood, His pain, His shame and His humiliation."
(Archimandrite Gregory Constantinou, 21st Century monastic) [Sacrifice; Faith]
"The youth are not the future of the Parish – they are the present, the now.”
(Protopresbyr Dean Nastos, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Youth; Evangelism]
"God loves beauty; He created it; He endows us with the ability to appreciate beauty, and some of us with the ability to create it. Sometimes we are asked why we so bountifully adorn our churches. After all, God hears us even if we pray in a barn…The answer is obvious: Because God created us as beings capable of appreciating and loving beauty, and if we strive to live amidst beauty and not ugliness, then shouldn’t we before all adorn the place where we worship God?"
(Sergei Khudiev, 21st Century Russian writer) [Worship; Tradition]
"Man is a fine creature and tends towards goodness. But he is also strongly drawn towards wickedness because of the fall; therefore he benefits greatly from persuasion which encourages him to remain in the right path, since he is an imitator by nature. We employ various ways and means, fear and threats, to incite and persuade ourselves to habitually turn towards goodness and avoid evil. We find this kind of encouragement in the lives of our Holy Fathers and the martyrs."
(Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, 21st Century startetz on Mt. Athos) [Temptation; Sanctification]
"A spiritual person and a true spiritual father are determined by the love they express: understanding what a person needs and the willingness to help. This is what love means. And along with love, to give guidance and lovingly tend to the successes of one’s neighbor."
(Bishop George, 21st Century ROCOR hierarch) [Love; Obedience]
"Now during Lent those in the world in some way take greater care to show abstinence, but we monks must always be careful. Above all one must be careful, however, of the passions of the soul and then the body. Because if one prioritizes bodily asceticism and does not struggle to eradicate the passions of the soul, he will do nothing. A layman once went to a monastery in the beginning of Lent and there a certain monk appeared to him to be abrupt and rough...If he had done the Three Day Fast in a spiritual way he would have had a spiritual sweetness and would have spoken to him with goodness. But he pushed himself egotistically to do the Three Day Fast..."
(Elder St. Pasios) [Goodness; Kindness; Love; Fasting]
"Let us fast, my children. Do not listen to those who say that fasting is nothing, and that this is something from monks. This is not from monks, my children, forgive me, God says this. The first commandment of God is fasting, and our Christ fasted. We can say that we are fasting, and eat so much. Now, what fasting are we doing, my children? When we eat, forgive me, so much food, even if it is without oil."
(Elder Iakovos Tsalikis, 20th Century Greek monastic) [Fasting; Temperance]
"All too often it’s easy to miss the warnings in my life because my life, my soul, my mind is flooded with my own “voice.” The selfish wants drown out that “still, small voice” that is screaming at me that I am going down a wrong path. I am only going to wake up to those loving warnings if I stop the routine of spiritual deafness and listen to wisdom that calls me to another path."
(Fr Barnabas Powell, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Love of the World; Sanctification]
"The message of repentance is a powerful one which can transform every life from one of confusion and sadness to a life of peace and joy in Christ. The message of repentance calls us to put aside all of those things in this earthly life which drive us away from God, and to concentrate on strengthening our relationship with God, and allowing His Holy Spirit to fill a heart which had been previously consumed by passions. Of course it is important that we abstain from certain food and drink as prescribed by the Church's fasting discipline, but it is equally important that we abstain from sinful thoughts, words, and deeds."
(Antiochian Metropolitan Joseph, 21st Century American hierarch) [Repentance; Sanctification]
"Throughout this period, at every service in Great Lent, we say the prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (“O Lord and Master of my life...."), With these words, the saint wishes to make us understand very clearly, that, apart from other virtues we need to take special care with the last case, that of self-censure and of criticism of our bothers and that without love for our fellow human beings there’s no chance of making even the slightest progress towards our spiritual purification. If we don’t pay attention to our thoughts, our words and our heart, there’s no benefit in fasting."
(Elder Ephraim of Arizona on Lent) [Humility; Meekness]
"How do we go about becoming missionaries in our own neighborhoods? First, we need to be comfortable with Jesus Christ as someone we encounter daily that we can introduce to our friends. We should not compartmentalize Jesus Christ into someone we see privately on Sundays only at Divine Liturgy, nor think that church is simply a place we go to to be with “our people. We also need to become comfortable inviting friends to church."
(Fr. Matthew Thurman, 21st Century Antiochian priest in the US) [Evangelism; Witness]
QUOTE OF THE DAY... "Believe in God, love the church and follow the [spiritual] fathers of the church. Walk your life on the road of humility. Acquire a good name near Christ. Insist more in prayer. You’ll be free only when you walk with love towards those who hate you! Stay still in Christ for eternity…"
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc of Romania)
"When your mother, your child, your husband, anyone, is sick, first call the priest, not the doctor! The Church has prayers for everything imaginable, and those prayers are very effectual. Turn to those prayers first, then proceed. If you are building a house there is a prayer for beginning this project; traveling there are prayers; studying there are prayers...."
(Elder Cleopa) [Prayer; Faith]
"If we do not go to Church, except when we have some crisis in our lives, how can we say that we are Orthodox? If our churches are empty, then God will take away our churches because we are unworthy to have them. And when we Orthodox no longer have churches, what are we? Nothing! The Church is the source of our culture, of our civilization."
(Archpriest Andrew Philips, 21st Century English priest) [Worship; Faith; Persecution]
"Church attendance in the West today is not hit by persecution, but by seduction. The sword of the Ottoman janissary has been replaced by the lure of the shopping mall. The fear of starving to death in Siberia has been replaced with the comfort of bacon and eggs for breakfast. The threat of arrest by centurions – the threat that led to the liturgical command to bar “the doors, the doors” before the recitation of the Creed – this threat has been replaced by the fear of missed email or missed sleep."
(Fr. Geoffrey Korz, 21st Century Canadian priest) [Temptation; Love of the World]
"Phariseeism as a spiritual state is a danger to any believer. It begins when a person prays formally, with his lips and not his heart, out of habit, and thinks he is pleasing to God...Spiritual pride, assurance of your own righteousness, ostentatious piety and hypocrisy are all phariseeism. The Holy Church in its struggle with the danger of falling into this state puts forth the example of the repentant publican."
(Hieromonk Job Gumerov, 21st Century Russian monastic) [Humility; Pride]
"So, in the midst of trials, need, tribulations, let us first pray, give alms of sacrifice, and fast...God does indeed answer these prayers... but not always the way that we want. His ways are certainly not our ways, and our understanding cannot begin to fathom or comprehend Gods judgments. When His answer to our petitions is not what we want it to be, we must still trust in His mercy and judgment, giving thanks always."
(From 'The Veil' of the Protection of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Monastery)
"The Lord God has given every Orthodox Christian an immeasurable and free gift: the fullness of the Christian Faith! It was not given to us to put under a bushel basket. It was not given to us to hoard. It was not given to us because we are special. It was given to us because God is love! Spread the love! 'Freely you have been given, freely give!'”
(Fr. John Parker, 21st Century OCA Evangelism chairperson) [Wtiness; Evangelism; Hospitality]
"...family must be, in the words of Apostle Paul, a small home church, i.e. not be only officially counted as an Orthodox unit, not be limited only to an external observance of church rules, but to truly retain the Lord Jesus Christ as the focal point of its life. Only under such a condition will the atmosphere of the Orthodox home and the entire mode of family life penetrate deep into the child’s soul."
(Archpriest Sergei Chetverikoff, 20th Century Russian priest) [Children; Family; Faith]
"God is building a spiritual house, a Temple for His glory and we are called to become these living stones. First we need to become these stones through our participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church, feasting on Christ and striving to live a life of holiness in obedience to His teaching. As we become more like Christ, we begin to move from an inward focus to something outward desiring to spread the Gospel. Our Orthodox Faith is meant to be something that is ecstatic, moving out from oneself to others."
(Fr. Christopher Foley, 21st Century mission priest in NC) [Missions; Evangelism; Wtiness]
"You must also learn that no matter where you work, especially if it’s in the Church, there will always be many disappointments and disenchantments, because people are people everywhere, with each one’s “plusses” and “minuses.” You need to learn to be condescending to people’s infirmities, and to always remember that God’s Providence teaches a lesson in spiritual life in every situation. So we learn from the moment we become aware of ourselves to the moment of our death."
(Fr. John Krestiankin+, 21st Century Russian staretz) [Trials; Peace]
"The word “repentance,” translated from Greek, means a change in way of life. That is, that which for us is familiar and everyday, that with which we have already gotten used to, we need to change...For us it is familiar and everyday to judge one another, familiar and everyday to get irritated, familiar and everyday to be spiritually slack, because we do not know how to pray; for us to get ourselves really to pray is something unusual, because real prayer is when the human heart, the human mind, and the human soul fully turn to God – and we see, of course, that we do not have this."
(Archpriest Alexander Ganaba, 21st Century Russian priest) [Repentance; Sanctification; Struggle]
“We see in the Gospel of Zacchaeus’ Sunday how God changes the human hearts, not so much through punishments, disease, trouble or reproach, but especially through overwhelming kindness shown to the sinful people often unexpectedly and undeservedly. But God’s mercy and kindness are often shown to the great sinners, not only to convert them, but also to encourage all the other people so that they would become better and more merciful, to try to resemble the very merciful God."
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania, 21st Century Hierarch) [Love; Repentance; Witness]
"Faith, values and integrity must have the central place in the life of nations and the state, and we must spend the rest of the 21st century fighting for it, talking about it, and acting in the name of it."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox official) [Society; Traditional Values]
"Love, therefore, is the purpose of life, because God is Love. Hence, the person who aims to achieve union with God ("according to His likeness"), has as an aim the acquisition of Love...It requires perseverance, patience, prayer, attention, humility and repentance. But it also requires something else very important: Everyone can achieve many things in life, but holiness cannot be achieved without the Mysteries of the Church. Even though some people claim to believe in Christ, anyone who rejects the Orthodox Church rejects Christ, and they are far from Christ, far from Light, far from Truth, far from Love and far from Eternal Life."
(Archimandrite Paul Papadopoulos, 21st Century monastic) [Love; Purpose of Life; Sanctification]
"Just as a natural virtue that is aspired to can only be achieved by the conducive means, so also this holy work requires some nearly indispensable rudiments: a degree of quiet; freedom from cares; avoidance of learning about and spreading the "news" of things going on, the "giving and taking" as the Fathers put it; self discipline in all things; and an overall silence which stems from these things. Moreover, I don't think this persistence and habit will be unattainable for devout people who take an interest in this holy activity. The good habit of a regular prayer time, morning and evening, always about the same time, would be a good beginning."
(Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, 21st Century abbot on Mt. Athos) [Jesus Prayer]
"The world we live in is often called 'post-Christian' and sometimes 'post-religious.' This term conceals a terrible diagnosis of the spiritual and moral condition of societies in many countries...the idea of absolutely prioritizing the value of free choice and of rejecting the priority of moral norms has become a slow-acting bomb for Western civilization."
(Patriarch Kirill of Russia) [Traditional Values; Society]
"The light of the world is essentially our Lord Jesus Christ, but because the believers in Him absorb this light and reflect it into the world, they too appear to be "the light of the world". Such are the Apostles and their successors, whose designation is to shine with Christ’s light: the pastors of the holy Church. They have to live in such a way, so that in seeing their good deeds, people would praise God."
(Archbishop Averky Tauchev, 20th Century American hierarch) [Witness]
"The essential contribution of monasticism is prayer for the salvation of the world. The monk is purified from the passions by the grace of God, communion with the pain of the world, and understands (despite living outside the world) the error, the distresses, the sinfulness of the world and grieves for it, mourns and prays for God to give the spirit of repentance in the world."
(Archimandrite Ephraim, 21st Century Abbot of Vatopedi) [Prayer; Vocation; Intercession]
Updated 01/16/15
"Genuine good Christian life may be led only by those who have faith in Christ and who strive to live by this faith; that is, those who by their good works fulfill the will of God. Good works are an expression of our love, and love is the foundation of all Christian life...Love which is not accompanied by good works is not true love, but is merely lip service. That is why the Word of God says, Faith without works is dead ."
(Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy, 20th Century American priest, 'The Law of God') [Good Works; Sanctification]
"The truth is that God is unchanged indeed, but men change. When a man changes, he is treated differently...God judges a man for what he deserves at the moment, but not for what he`ll deserve in future."
(Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century priest martyr) [Judgement]
"Bringing the Gospel to a missionary land does not entail "bombing the country back to the Stone Age" in a spiritual sense and then imposing a carbon copy of Byzantium or Kievan Rus on the devastated new land. The early Church did not stamp out the heritage of Homer or Virgil. The Church is a living organism and she Christianizes different peoples in different ways, all the time drawing each culture closer to the Gospel message. Much of the ethical and social content of Confucianism is compatible with Christian teaching and may be incorporated into a Chinese Christian culture."
(Chinese Orthodoxy article) [Evangelism; Teaching]
"The question is always being asked, "Is it possible for those living in the world to occupy themselves with noetic prayer?" To those who ask we answer quite affirmatively, "Yes"...Generally speaking, prayer is the sole obligatory and indispensable occupation and virtue for all rational beings, both sentient and thinking, human and angelic. For this reason we are enjoined to the unceasing practice of the prayer." (Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, 20th Century Mt Athos staretz) [Jesus Prayer]
"To the devil, we don’t need to give explanations...If you want to drive him away, say: “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me”, and speak to God. The power of His Name will rid him. It suits the devil to enter into a dialogue for it means that you acknowledge him. Thus through prayer, we ignore him."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc of Romania) [Satan; Deliverance]
"For far too long, the Church has lived under the fallacy that it is not supposed to prosyletize, only to use that as an excuse for it not to evangelize, thus failing in the Great Commission through the sin of omission. Now, more than ever with the world as it is, to miss the opportunity to serve because of the fallacy that “the Church is not a social service center”, only to use that as an excuse not to serve and help those in need whatever the multitude of needs may be is to fail in the mission of the Church, as St. Basil believed it to be and taught it should be through his example...We as individual believers and collectively as the Church are called to Christian philanthropy."
(John G. Panagiotou, 21st Century Orthodox writer) [Alms; Works of Mercy]
"O Lord God Almighty, Shaper and Ruler of all Creation, we pray Thee for Thy great mercy that Thou mayest guide us better than we have done towards Thee. Guide us to Thy will and to the needs of our soul, better than we can ourselves. Make steadfast our mind towards Thy will and to our soul’s needs. Strengthen us against the temptations of the devil and put far from us all lust and every unrighteousness, shielding us against our foes, seen and unseen. Teach us to do Thy will that we may inwardly love Thee before all things with a pure mind. For Thou art our Maker and Redeemer, our Help, our Comfort, our Trust, our Hope and praise and glory be to Thee now and ever and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
(King Alfred the Great, 9th Century 'Right-believing' monarch of England) [Prayer; Faith]
"...the Church calendar colors days, marking some for fasting and others for feasting and makes of time a complication that demands attention. The Church calendar was once described to me as the “sanctification of time.”...The feasts on the calendar are not appointments with memorials, the recollection of events long past. They are invitations to present tense moments in the liturgical life of the world. In those moments there is an intersection of the present and the eternal. They are theophanies into which we may enter."
(Fr. Stephen Freeman, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Feasts; Tradition]
"Who are these “poor” to whom the Lord preaches? This is everyone, brothers and sisters, including me, who are weak in spirit and do not want to understand that we are disciples of Christ, that we can tread on the power of the enemy and nothing will hurt us. So should we strengthen our souls and “preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”... How many people are discouraged in our world, how many poor there are, how many there are who wonder how to make it another day. And they need to be strengthened in spirit. Who can do this? Only those who firmly believe in the strength of the Orthodox Church and in the stability of our Orthodox spirit. “To set at liberty them that are bruised”… To show the path to those who are bruised “in joy.” Where is this joy? In God’s church, in our Orthodox life!"
(Metropolitan Pitirim Nechaev, 21st Century Russian hierarch) [Faith; Witness; Hope]
"If it is true that the language of the world to come is that of silence, then Joseph, the Betrothed of the Virgin, is a type of the man of the age to come. None of his words are recorded in the Gospels, none of his conversations mentioned. Only his thoughts and actions are described. He approaches the mystery of the ineffable self-emptying of the Son and Word of God with awe, circumspection and silence...In a time of gabbiness, verbosity and even of the increasing dissemination of ecclesiastical words, it is almost impossible to estimate the value of silence."
(Fr. Vasilios I. Kalliakmanis, 21st Century priest, quoted in 'Mystagogy') [Silence; Example]
"When a person falls ill, several things happen to him. First of all, the person discovers that the body is him or her. Usually, people live as though they were spiritual beings using a body which is of little importance. An illness compels us to recognize that our body is as much ourselves as our souls. The second thing we discover in being ill is that we are completely helpless and depend on the mercy of God and the compassion of other people. The third thing always coming to mind of a sick person is that death may be the final result of the illness."
(Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, 20th Century English hierarch) [Trials; Illness; Faith]
"A Child – born for us! Light! Peace! Love! These are the images we treasure during this holy season. Yet, even as He lies in the manger we can already foresee the impending suffering of the Cross in the senseless slaughter of the Holy Innocents to appease the vanity of the ruling Herod. Are the evil Herods of today any different?...This Child causes us to fall down in worship, praise and thanksgiving; the holy innocents of our own time cause us to question the values of a world where one person’s choice trumps another person’s life!"
(2014 Nativity Epistle of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church USA) [Traditional Values; Society]
"It would be nice if we could ignore the culture wars, but the culture wars are coming after us, our Church, and our families. You can choose what you are prepared to defend, but you cannot choose who will attack what you wish to defend...We do believe that the Orthodox Church is the True Church, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it, but that does not mean that large parts of it, including our own, cannot fall into heresy and error, if we are not vigilant. It has happened more than once in Church history, and there is no reason to think that we are somehow immune today."
(Fr. John Whiteford, 21st Century American Orthodox priest) [Society; Traditional Values]
"God comes down to us from on high, and chooses to be born as a babe in the most humble of settings, the cave in Bethlehem. We strive to respond to this outpouring of love from God by cleansing our minds from all carnal thoughts and passions. Whereas the Kings of the East offered Him myrrh, our appropriate offering is a life of virtue, free from all of the sinfulness that would separate us from our God."
(Metropolitan Joseph, 21st Century Antiochian American Primate) [Sanctification]
"Our Lord proclaimed good news to the poor, gave sight to the blind, and healed every manner of infirmity. How well we know the spiritual poverty and blindness and infirmity that fills our world today. And how crucial it is to be continuously reminded that “with God, all things are possible,” (Mt 19:26) precisely because “God is with us” (Mt 1:23) and calls us to become “partakers in His divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4) Even our most seemingly insignificant expressions of love and compassion for “the least of the brethren” (Mt 25:40) make the impossible, possible and the mundane as miraculous as the divine birth we celebrate today."
(Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA, 2014 Nativity Message)
"Children should be taken to church from the moment of conception in their mothers’ womb, and after the child is born, he should be regularly given Communion. After growing a little, he himself should run to church for services, because this will become a need for him; and if a child is not taken to church from early childhood, it will be hard later on to get him accustomed to prayer and order in the church. Going to church should be a festive occasion for the child, and therefore when you get ready to go to church, dress your child in beautiful clothes. After the service, set a festive table and do not neglect to talk with him about the services..."
(Archpriest John Osyak, 21st Century Russian priest) [Family; Worship]
"Christianity is the revelation of the true God to humanity. It is not an ideological construction or a human philosophy. We did not discover God, but He revealed Himself to us when His infinite love willed it. Since its appearance in the historical scene, Christianity is the light of humanity. This is based on the assurance of Christ that He is the Light of the world."
(Archimandrite Chrysostomos Papathanasiou, 21st Century Greek monastic) [Revelation; Salvation]
"Many people think that monks are living saints, angels in the flesh, but this is simply not true. Monks are men who are called by God to be like the angels, in that they seek God and worship Him above all else. The monk must struggle with the help of God to be a man of prayer and a man of faith. The monk is only a man; even though he is called by God to be like the angels, he nevertheless falls down and then he gets back up again. This process of falling down and getting up is the spiritual struggle through which each monk goes in his journey towards union with Christ."
(Abbot Seraphim, 21st Century confessor of Holy Cross Hermitage in WV) [Monasticism; Struggle]
"Today we live in a world marked by confusion and uncertainty, of much violence and pain, especially in the war zones. We see in our days many signs of physical and spiritual suffering caused by sickness and poverty, injustice and greed of money and power, but less deeds of merciful love and mutual help among people. Thus, in an unstable and egoistic world, pilgrims look for the Holy and Merciful God, the One Who is steadfast in love, in order to receive from Him healing and help, which are more certain than any human help, while the joy of human’s encounter with God and with His saints transforms suffering in hope, labour in joy and fight in victory.
(Patriarch Daniel of Romania, 21st Century Primate) [Mercy; Society]
"When embarking upon a fast, each person needs to be ready for what is called “temptation” or “trial” in the spiritual life. The thing is, that a fast is essentially the cleansing of one’s interior “I”—the cleansing of one’s soul. And it is not just a cleansing, but also becoming filled with a special spiritual content. The people who fall into the most difficult situations are probably those who have cleansed their soul but have not filled it with anything. For according to the word of the Gospel, if you clean your house, but do not fill it with the correct content, demons will come, temptations will come."
(Archpriest Alexei Kruglik, 21st Century Russian priest) [Fasting; Spiritual Growth]
"It is the Cross that saved mankind! Not God’s justice or His miracles, but His Cross! When Jesus was crucified, Satan was defeated. I do not see how fasting alone can give us hope for salvation. Humility rooted deeply in our hearts and freedom from resentments, are hopes for our salvation. What we’re being asked first is: the will to overcome temptations. And by praying to God, His grace will not abandon us."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century Romanian startetz) [Salvation; Prayer]
Updated 11/30/14
"My dear, suffering is a gift from God! It is a mistake to run from your own suffering. You are truly free only when you are struggling, when you are present on the cross. Suffering brings deep wisdom and make you reflect more seriously on your salvation."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century Romanian staretz) [Suffering, Patience]
"Today, when the process of secularization, the denial of absolute truth, the elimination of the concept of sin from the public consciousness reaches unprecedented, apocalyptic dimensions, we regret to note that many European states have actually abandoned their Christian identity...a locomotive of destructive processes."
(Russian Patriarch Kirill) [Society; Secularization]
"Thank You, O Lord, for having revealed Yourself unto us and given us the foretaste of Your Kingdom. Thank You, O Lord, for having helped us to overcome all difficulties, tensions, passions, temptations and restored peace, mutual love and joy in sharing the communion of the Holy Spirit. Thank You, O Lord, for our families: husbands, wives and, especially, children who teach us how to celebrate Your holy Name in joy, movement and holy noise."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 20h Century theologian; excerpts from a prayer) [Gratitude]
"...Islam promises a worldly-dominated blissful happiness, the fulfillment of all desires and sensations of the faithful, but also a mental blissful happiness after death for the followers of Allah. Western Christians better understand this blissful happiness, despite the ascetic life of the Orthodox Church which ascetically aims at overcoming blissful happiness. The same commonalities are observed in other issues, such as the issue and source of Faith. For the Muslim the Koran is the revelation of God, and the redemption of the believer depends on the book and its reading. This mindset is also found among Western Christians, for whom the Bible is the word of God and the only source of faith, which is why Westerners better understand the Muslim perception of Revelation rather than the Orthodox, for whom the Gospel is not a Revelation but words about the Revelation."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos, 21st Century Primate of Nafpaktos) [Islam; Protestantism]
"Where is the value in our contemporary Elders?...hese are people who prove that Christianity is the truth and that it can be experienced. What contemporary man seeks is spirituality: how to pray, how to communicate with God. They want answers to the question if God exists, how does He exist, if anybody has experienced what is spoken of in the Gospels, if anyone knows God personally, directly. Therefore, the testimony of these great Elders is irreplaceable..."
(Archimandrite Paul Englezakis, 21st Century monastic) [Witness; Truth]
"When we say that a certain person has an ecclesiastical ethos, it should be understood that they have an unwavering faith in God, that they violently give themselves over to piety, that their behavior is sincere, that they are distinguished for their simplicity and humility, that for the achievement of their objective they do not use abnormal, cunning, underground and corrupt means, that they accept sorrows with patience, that they daily become imitators of the saints, that they essentially love everyone...The ecclesiastical ethos belongs to a rare type of being in our days. It has been bypassed..."
(Metropolitan Nicholas, 21st Century Hierarch of Fthiotidos) [Witness; Example; Worldview]
"This strong relationship between our faith and the observance of Thanksgiving Day also shows that this is a time when families can offer a witness of the Gospel. Through the commemoration of this day, families have the opportunity to offer a witness of the Gospel by acknowledging that Christ is in their midst and by offering visible gratitude to God for His abundant blessings. In addition, the fellowship among members of the family nurture the bonds that are shared, affirming that the family is a place of love, care, healing, and forgiveness."
(Archbishop Demetrios, 21st Century Greek Hierarch in America) [Gratitude; Witness; Family]
"People from abroad constantly call me and ask me: “Father, why don’t you leave and save yourself from a potential infection and even death?” The answer is very simple. For the present time God has placed me here in West Africa. As the shepherd of the flock in Sierra Leone it is my duty to stay with them, to care for them, to instruct them, to console them, to guide them and to protect them from an evil that kills without pity. Furthermore our Lord Jesus Christ instructs the Christian shepherd not to abandon the sheep when danger comes It is only the hireling who abandons the sheep in moments of crisis."
(Archimandrite Themistcoles Adamopoulos, 21st Century missionary convert) [Works of Mercy; Faith; Courage]
"This is why every time we are going to savor physical bread - in the morning, afternoon and night - and spiritual bread - when we study Holy Scripture and especially when we commune of the Body and Blood of Christ - we should recite the Lord's Prayer with attention and devotion, and we should rely on this request that we commented on today to ask for our spiritual bread, Christ Himself, Who will satisfy our spiritual hunger."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos, 21st Century Greek hierarch) [Prayer; Communion]
"Most of us begin our Christian life in a cloud of joy. For some this cloud of joy continues to grow, while for others it dissipates. It is a common occurrence to go through the motions while our Faith becomes lifeless. To change this lifeless course of one’s Faith, it is necessary to engage into the sacramental life of the Church. This change is aided by reading the Bible and the writings of the Holy Fathers, giving oneself to the Lord’s service, participating in the Liturgy and our communities’ activities, e.g. sharing our Faith and joy."
(Protopresbyter Bratso Krsic, 21st Century Orthodox priest) [Joy; Faith; Love]
"In our Orthodox context, we are very good at speaking to each other, but we are less successful when trying to speak to those “who are not my people” in order to make them disciples of Christ. We must be willing to admit that, in many ways, the earthly representatives of the Orthodox Church – bishops, priests, and lay folk – have failed to address the culture in a meaningful way...With rare exceptions, our voice is weak in academic, cultural and political contexts. Perhaps this is due to our own human weakness, spiritual slothfulness, and inability to communicate the truth of the Gospel to the world around us. But perhaps we need to begin by listening more and asking ourselves if we are truly able to hear the questions that are being asked by our college students, by our relatives, by the strangers we meet on the street, by our neighbors?"
(Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century OCA Primate, reflection) [Witness; Evangelism]
"When Paul says that this man [in 1 Corinthians] must be delivered to Satan, he does not mean that he should be handed over to the power of the evil one. Rather, all the evils of this life, for example, diseases, sorrows, sufferings, and other circumstances, were attributed to Satan, and it is in this sense that Paul uses the term here. What he means is that this man should be exposed to the hardships of life."
(Severian of Gabala, 4th century hierarch and commentator)**not modern but also not a saint** [Correction]
"...we use our death to glorify God. The task is the same for us as it was for Saint Peter—by which death can we glorify God (John 21:19)? It could be that God has decided that, like Peter, we will glorify Him by a martyr’s death. It could be that He has decided that we will glorify Him by dying quietly in our beds after eating a bowl of ice cream. It could be that He has decided that we will glorify Him by dying in a cancer ward after a six month struggle with brain cancer. The details of our final end ultimately matter less than the fact that we are fulfilling His will. An obedient heart will say to Him, “Lord, show me by what death I can best glorify Thee, and I will die this death in Thy Name.”
(Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century Canadian priest and author) [God's Will; Faith; Patience]
“Who, like St. Elizabeth Feodorovna, left behind palaces and entered a monastic cell, directing all her skills, connections, charm, and diplomatic skills towards helping the most needy and outcast...There is nothing new if we take upon ourselves the cross of ministering to the Lord, if we take upon ourselves the responsibility of bringing the word of the Savior to the world, simultaneously taking upon ourselves the prospect of being subjected to everything to which the Savior Himself and His faithful followers were subject.”
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia) [Works of Mercy; Renunciation; Service]
"When we decide to submit to God, we see our problems altogether differently. Probably some of them will simply disappear, and others will become the lessons we should learn in the school of our Heavenly Father. But this is our choice, and no one can force us to do it. Even God decided not to do this. He is always waiting for our voluntary consent. We can refuse, go away to the outer darkness, and remain there forever."
(Sergei Khudiev, 21st Century Russian writer) [Trust; Divine Providence; Salvation]
"It’s hard for the intellectual to live a life of prayer. God is not revealed to the sharp mind, but to the humble pure heart that is constantly shown towards Him. The philosophers have only created some notions, but they did not solve any problem. Intelligence and education have no value if they are not in the service of love."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century Romanian staretz) [Humility; Wisdom]
"These are the four great blessings that connect the protection of the Theotokos with the life of the Church. The first is the protection and boldness of her prayers. The second is the coziness and warmth of her presence. The third is the covering of our nakedness that was brought by the fall and sin, which is her holiness. And the fourth is the grace, which somehow covers and protects man from a caustic relationship with God."
(Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogaia, 21st Century Greek hierarch) [Theotokos]
"What would happen if we treated our Prayer Rope like we treat our cell phone? What if we carried it around with us, went through it several times a day, turned back to go get it if we forgot it, treated it like we couldn't live without it, gave it to kids as a gift, and taught them how to use it...we don't have to worry about our Prayer Rope being disconnected - the bill has already been paid."
(All Saints of North America Orthodox Church web posting) [Prayer; Love of the World]
"It is hard to justify God’s silence. Nevertheless, in this is the meaning of a Christian’s life. After all, God’s love is not blind, it is perfect, and that means that it can refuse a request that would not be beneficial to a person. Our faith should ceaselessly destroy our reason’s doubts with one argument: If God is silent, it means that He has a reason for it...This is a great honor—to hear God’s silence in your life and to answer it with thankfulness! "
(Roman Savchuk, 21st Century Orthodox Christian) [Faith; Prayer; Patience]
"It is often said that the picture here [in Acts] of the early Christian commune is an exaggerated, idealized, romanticized image that never really existed. But maybe this image is dismissed because it’s such a frighteningly demanding example, especially in our individualistic society. Lest we think that such rich communal life was always viewed as out of reach, it is worth recalling that St Basil in the fourth century took the Acts community as his practical model for monastic life."
(Fr. John Jillions, 21st Century OCA Chancellor) [Love; Witness; Unity]
" While death for man is an appalling and frightening event, the Church sees it as an inevitable moment of life that leads us from mortality to immortality, from corruption to incorruption. This is why we are not so much preoccupied with death as we are with the loss of the soul, so we have to live our lives as a preparation, for through it we have the prospect of eternity. This present life is an inn which man lives in for a few days. As luxurious as this inn may be, and as many amenities as it may provide, man still hopes to return home..."
(Archimandrite Demetrios Politakis, 21st Century monastic) [Heaven; Love of the World; Salvation]
"The Church’s most pressing need today is for its members to rediscover who they are. I say this because there is every evidence that many Christians have forgotten who they are. They think they are primarily Republicans or Democrats—or anyway, Americans. Or they think they are consumers... but these verbal tags do not define us Christians or adequately describe our fundamental quality. That is, we need to remember that we are fundamentally the servants of God, a holy people, a royal priesthood, and as such we belong not to this age with its warring categories and labels, but to the age to come."
(Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century Canadian priest) [Witness; Meaning of Life]
"What happens if the work is detached from moral principles? Most often, this work aims to make a profit. All the moral and even legal violations in the workplace stem from the fact that labor is used for profit that goes to the selfish satisfaction of human needs. Such work ceases to be work of grace, ceases to be an expression of love...when there is such a work, the results often do not bring benefits to human society. "
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia) [Work; Greed; Materialism]
"An Orthodox woman has the gifts of cherishing and maintaining a special precious jewels; our Orthodox Faith. Her role is not simply to sweep floors or wash windows, or bake prosphora, but to keep the attitude and the idea of Orthodoxy alive in her family and within society. Even when there is an absence of interest for Orthodoxy, women hold aloft the Spirituality of Orthodoxy. Let the Lord God bless all women and continue to strengthen them in their faith and life let the Holy Theotokos protect and instruct all women to follow Her example in life."
(Bishop Seraphim, 20th Century Orthodox hierarch on the role of women) [Faith; Family]
"The real value in the church is the spiritual framework it provides with which to encounter the rest of our lives. Lifestyles which refuse to admit the authority of a higher power inevitably result in subjective morality, or at least an inconsistent application of morals. When designing our own set of morals, humans have a tendency to match them to their own convenience...The singular goal and benefit of the church cannot be found in any other institution and remains the spiritual healing which we all crave. “The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.”"
(Fr. Theophan Mackey, 21st Century priest in Pravmir article) [Traditional Values; Hope]
"We’re all supposed to be “fishers of men!” Yes, Our Lord is still ‘the point-Man’ in His strategic plan for the salvation of the world. But each time we gather as His Body, the Church, we’re reminded that He expects us to be His dedicated ambassadors and tireless workers—humble and obedient fishermen—to help execute His Plan—to catch a great catch for the Kingdom and glory of God/"
(Fr. Daniel C. Kovala, 21st Century American priest) [Witness; Salvation]
"To impact the world in which we live, the Church reminds us that if we want to change our world, we work on changing ourselves. Christ needs to come to dwell in us a real and tangible way if we are to reach out to a thirsty, dying world. St. Dorotheus tells us that the spiritual work we do on ourselves is a silent work on our neighbors. Consequently our focus must be our inner life: deeply devoted and committed personal prayer, frequent confession and communion, pain staking repentance, attending worship services...These may seem selfish to some but the reality i is that our inner life and disposition qualify what we do outwardly."
(Archimandrite Sergius, 21st Century Abbot of St. Tikhon's Monastery) [Sanctification; Witness]
"If we live a Christian life, then we try to keep Christ in our thoughts. In our private lives, every one of us is required to devote our every day to the Lord, and for this we must begin our day immediately with prayer, calling down God’s grace, turning to the Savior that He might bless us in our new day. With any new undertaking, we must turn to the Lord. In concluding our day and retiring to bed, we must turn once more to God and ask that He bless our night and accept those good works done over the course of the day, and forgive us our sins committed over the course of the day."
(Archbishop Meletiy of Chernovitsy, 21st Century Ukrainian Hierarch) [Holy Life; Sanctification; Prayer]
"It starts with how each of us responds to Christ and why. This is often enough to crack open each person’s giving spirit. People have to see God at work in their own lives, that He can multiply what little they think they have to offer. And when they see this, then everything becomes possible.”
(Fr. Robert Holet, 21st Century American Orthodox priest, on motivating stewardship) [Giving; Works of Mercy]
"'I don’t do anything out of the ordinary. I just love God and endure a little. I just endure'...Do you know what patience is? Patience means carrying your cross voluntarily, and it embraces all other people. And God is revealed to you in that cross."
(Fr. Andrew Ludovic)
He has no need of the gratitude that is expressed through our offerings and gifts. Since He is a completely perfect Spirit, He neither utilizes nor benefits from the physical and material things that are offered to Him. However, because the gratitude that is offered to Him through words and actions is a definite indication of a discerning and good-natured soul, God accepts it with pleasure. He accepts both the words and the gifts of a grateful person on account of the gratitude of the soul..."
(Archbishop Nikiforos Theotokis, 19th Century theologian) [God, the Father; Gratitude]
"In this world, and in this present temporary life, nothing is stable; all things undergo change and alteration. Fortunate is the person who—during this life—through patience and the other virtues, builds a home in the heavens. After death, he will dwell there, where there is no ain, suffering, sorrow, danger, fear, or war, but perfect and certain fortune and bliss."
(Elder Philotheos Zervakos, 20th Century Greek staretz) [Eternity; Transitory Life]
"We may keep the fasts; we may pray; we may be sexually chaste; we may not smoke or drink to excess; we may not be gluttons; we may not be thieves and murderers, but we are still far from the Kingdom of Heaven, because we do not have love. But worst of all: we do not even have the humility to believe that we are really lacking anything."
(Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou, 21st Century hierarch) [Repentance; Pride]
"When a benefactor feels he deserves recognition and recompense from them who he has helped, he neither realizes his sin nor repents for it. Helping others is a great virtue because it is the fruit of love; it is love in practice. However, the wickedness of human disposition transforms virtue into sin...when a person who helps others subsequently becomes upset with them who are ungrateful to him for his help, he also sins greatly and he loses the reward for his good deed."
(Archbishop Nikiforos Theotokis, 19th Century theologian) [Gratitude; Giving; Works of Mercy]
"Every day we must have our passports in our hand. We don't know what can happen. Once I confessed someone in a hospital with nods then they died. He did something good in his life and was saved at the last moment. In my life I went through many hardships and I saw that Divine Providence directs everything for the good of man. May the memory of death never be absent from us."
(Elder Ephraim of Arizona, 21st Century staretz) [Prayer for the Departed; Judgment; Preparation for Death] Full article:
"I believed in evolution, I believed that we came from apes. I didn’t meet a single schoolchild in elementary school who believed in God. When I was in high school (ages 15-18), I heard that out of 25 people in my class, maybe three or four believed in God. But they didn’t talk about the Lord; they talked among themselves, about how there was a church and someone went to it."
(Fr. Seraphim Galik
"Behind everything always the hand of God nudges and prods, like a Fisherman slowly and carefully gathering in His net until He has each one of us precisely where He wants us. His slow, patient, careful planning, the years of inexorable, diligent pursuit are almost terrifying in their intensity. It says something to us very clear and real about His love for us and His determination to save us in spite of ourselves. No wonder that Christ is portrayed sometimes in the West as the Hound of Heaven, relentlessly pursuing souls with the same unswerving determination displayed by a bloodhound after its prey. The amazing thing is that there are so many of us and yet God goes to such trouble over each one on a very individual basis. What incredible value He must place on each of us to go to so much trouble on our account."
(Fr. Dimitri Tsakas, 20th Century convert) [Love of God; Evangelism; Divine Providence]
"There is so much evil around us that this faith in man, in his freedom, in the possibility of handing down a radiant inheritance of goodness has almost evaporated and been replaced by cynicism and suspicion. This hostile cynicism and discouraging suspicion are precisely what seduce us to distance ourselves from the Church when it celebrates with such joy and faith this birth of a little girl in whom are concentrated all the goodness, spiritual beauty, harmony and perfection that are elements of genuine human nature."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann 21st Century American priest and author) [Theotokos; Witness)
"The Church of Christ acts within historic time with the aim of encountering the people of the world and to share with them the demands of life, its primary request being the reconciliation of mankind with God and with their fellow human beings. This encounter does not aim for the Church’s conformation with the world, but for the reshaping of the world within a dynamic course to deification (theosis) and the salvation of mankind. A condition for this course is none other than faith in Christ and the acceptance of His redeeming message."
(Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria in 2014 Church New Year message)
“We who are given the fullness of true Christianity are obliged to be working on ourselves, to be watching the signs of the times, and to be extremely joyful, as St. Paul is constantly saying: 'Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say: Rejoice!' (Phil. 4:4). We rejoice because we have something which all the death and corruption of this world cannot take away, that is, the eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 21st Century American convert and author) [Joy; Salvation]
“In these conditions of spiritual crisis with no way out, there inevitably comes upon us the chief question of a worldview: what am I living for if there is no way out? And when this frightful moment comes each of us feels that death has caught him by the throat: it’s some kind of spiritual answer does not come, life comes to an end because without God not only is everything permitted but life itself has no value and no meaning...I came to the firm and final conclusion that there is no God, I would simply be obliged to end with suicide since it is shameful and belittling for a rational creature to drag out a senseless and tormenting life. Thus at the second stage of spiritual rebirth we discovered that atheism, though out of its logical end, inevitably brings a man to perdition because it is a complete teaching of immorality, evil and death.”
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century American convert and author) [Atheism; Suicide; Hope]
"But God did not leave us alone in this darkness and terrible state of falleness and betrayal. These words, my weak words about faith would be empty if in conclusion I confessed faith merely in God. But I also confess faith in that one Person in whom God came into the world, and in His coming into the world He comes to each person in order to save him and give him a new birth. “I believe in God.” But God-—in the fullness of His joy and Sovereignty is revealed in Christ."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 20th Century American priest and theologian) [Faith; True Church]
"...the simple fact is that I believe the Orthodox faith, including its ecclesiology to be the truth. I am willing to defend my acceptance of that, but the only defense that matters is the one I shall have to give on Judgement Day, and I believe that I will sit before a judge who Himself is the head of the Orthodox Church. The serious question will be: 'What have you done with the faith I gave you?'"
(Fr. Stephen Freeman, 21st Century American convert and priest) [Converts; Faith]?
"This period has been the end of civilization in the West, which has lost faith in its religion. All civilizations end when they lose faith in their religions...Death is the enemy of life, which triumphs over death. And so, in the tragic twentieth century the devil came to replace the dethroned God in the vacant souls of so many. And he filled them with squalid and sordid illusions, all touched by death. Nature abhors vacuums, but the devil loves because they are places which he can fill."
(Archpriest Andrew Phillips, 21st Century English Orthodox priest, 2014 Journal) [Satan; Society]
Updated 08/23/14
"... it is fitting that the apostle John honors Mary and the Ark at the same time, and in the same breath. In the book of Revelation, St. John sees the Ark of the Covenant in the heavenly temple, and then he immediately describes this woman who gave birth to Christ...in Israel, they did not recognize the king’s wife as a queen. Instead, the king’s mother had this great honor...So it is not surprising when we see Mary, the Mother of God, highly honored as a queen in the book of Revelation, clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet, and a garland of twelve stars around her head. As the King’s mother, she is royalty."
(Deacon Joseph Gleason, 21st Century American clergyman on the Dormition) [Theotokos]
Three Tricks of the Devil... 1. To not allow man to believe in the Truth for that keeps him in Satanic atheism or in other religions or sects. 2. If he loses in the first step and the person becomes Orthodox the devil pushes him to fall into sins...that's why there are believers who constantly struggle... 3. If someone manages to beat his passions, then the devil tries to convince him that it is perfect and does not need any fellow man and pushes him to pride.
(Monk Maximus Karyotis, 21st Century Mt. Athos monastic) [Prayer; Struggle; Devil]
"Each of us Orthodox pray at home, reading some books about salvation and about the spiritual life. And every time we do this, we cannot help but feel in our hearts a kind of veil of insensibility, We pray but can we say that every word of prayer resounds in our heart? No, this is often not the case. We come into the temple, and a huge amount of any extraneous thoughts, memories, worries and cares master our mind and heart...because, again, our spirit resides in the crushed, bruised, an unnatural state of [fallen] man. And only in some specific moments do we feel like our hearts are alive."
(Abbot Nectarios Morozov, 21st Century Russian monastic) [Love of the World; Sin; Distractions]
[Psalm 134: 'Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord'] "Most interpreters, like St Jerome, broaden “servants of the Lord” to potentially include everyone, not just the clergy...But there is more to blessing God than thanking Him for His benefits or even for His care, interest and listening. I am struck by the humility of God. He is willing to receive a blessing from those whom He created."
(Fr. John Jillions, 21st Century Chancellor of the OCA) [Humility]
"When I asked someone what he does at the time he should be in church, he replied: "I watch television." And I told him: "Be careful, because this means that you have your television before you, and you have turned your back on God...I know that people are very different. But I also know that without going there where God's gift and grace is, you cannot receive God's grace. Hence: Go as you are, no matter how corrupt your thoughts are, no matter how contaminated. Go! Because only by doing this can the time come when your mind will be cleansed and you will not have the dirty thoughts you have now."
(Elder Teofil Paraian, 21st Century Romanian staretz) [Liturgy; Worship; Grace]
"Prayer is not only an honor for man, to be able to communicate with Almighty God, but it is also a privilege and responsibility. To reach the throne of Divine Majesty, it should be accompanied with humility, simplicity and trust. Prayer is even the result of the fear of God. If there is no fear of God our prayer cannot be heard by God. This is why God sometimes does not meet our requests, simply because we neither fear God nor reverence Him."
(Metropolitan Seraphim, 21st Century Primate of Kastoria, 07/14) [Prayer; Humility; Fear of God]
"Frequent Communion renews one entirely: not only the soul, but even the body is made to participate in God. Even if we often lose this divine gift quickly, this encounter with eternity does not pass by unnoticed. Day by day, Communion by Communion, a Christian is gradually pulled out from the state of sinful affliction, being renewed from flesh to spirit."
(Archpriest Andrei Efanov, 21st Century Russian priest) [Communion; Sanctification]
“As you know, freedom for an Orthodox person means freedom from the passions, the restoration of the original harmony that existed before the “sin of the first-born” (“original sin”), the acquiring of full unity with God—deification—which is possible only by the struggle against the passions and the renunciation of one’s own self, because sin took hold of human nature. A person’s morality depends upon the quality of his freedom. The essence of freedom was beautifully expressed and explained by the holy bishop Gabriel (Kikodze): “A person is free only when he chooses the good.”
(Metropolitan Andrew Gvazava, 21st Century Georgian hierarch) [Sanctification; Struggle]
“The Gospel shows us that the overcoming of the hard situations is not done through one’s own force, but first of all through the divine help. No matter how good, professional and experienced fishermen and sailors Jesus’ disciples were, no matter how good swimmers they could have been, they could not have saved themselves through their own forces without Jesus’ help. And so, no matter how many and worthy servants the Church may have...they could not have saved the Church of Christ in her fight against sin of the human nature, against the evil spirits, storms of the persecutions and heresies, against the waves of the lack of faith or of spiritual indifference all by themselves, but only with Christ’s help. All trials and troubles we are faced with in our life can be overcome with spiritual benefit, if we do not rely on our own forces first of all, but entrust ourselves to the help of God first."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Hierarch of Romania) [Faith; Trust; Intercession]
"The Western public square is no longer a place where Christians feel they belong with any degree of comfort. It is also being driven by issues that few predicted would have such cultural force. It is surely an irony as unexpected as it is unwelcome that sex—that most private and intimate act—has become the most pressing public policy issue today. Who could have imagined that policies concerning contraception and laws allowing same-sex marriage would present the most serious challenges to religious freedom?"
(Rod Dreher, 21st Century American Orthodox blogger) [Soceity; Traditional Values]
"To take on the image of Christ is to be hated by the world. The fact that the world has not hated us may be a marker of how poorly we have avoided the conforming power of the world...Are we in exile or we are entering into it? Despite growing evidence, perhaps we haven’t realized it yet; or maybe our hope that it if we just ignore it, things will change back to a more comfortable situation. Yet,it has already happened – to hold to traditional values has been called bigotry."
(Fr. John Moses, 21st Century Orthodox American Archpriest) [Society; Traditional Values]
"God is very rich! And He’s awaiting us! … He waits for us to ask! Anyone who wants to acquire the gift of prayer, must keep silent and pray. We speak so much about prayer. That’s one thing that cannot be discussed but practiced. A deep silence is a deep prayer...Every moment is a time [in eternity] and every sigh can become a prayer. We must not cease to pray, even with the mind."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century Romanian staretz) [Prayer; Stillness)
"We have serious work ahead of us. We don’t have time to waste...To maintain: it is imperative to focus on evangelism and outreach as the main part of our apostolic ministry, to reach out to the entire nation of North America."
(Metropolitan Joseph, 21st Century Antiochian Primate in America) [Evangelism; Witness]
“God seeks only one thing: that you honor him, love Him, and keep His commandments, acknowledging that He is your maker. He does not want you to divide His glory and to worship other things instead of Him. He does not want you to love anything more than Him for this reason when He gave His commandments to Moses through the divinely written law He said “here out Israel:thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy soul and with all by heart and with all thy might and with all thy mind.” So my beloved child, do you understand? He has left no room for your love to incline anywhere else, but absolutely all the desire of your soul should be to love the Lord. In this manner Is grace will dwell upon you.”
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast from ' Monastic Wisdom')
"The Jerusalem Typikon correlates the feast of the Transfiguration with the Jewish feast of Tabernacles, and it is no coincidence that one of the readings of the feast, which was read at that time in Jerusalem, speaks exactly of the multiplication of the gardens, the vines and the fig trees...The blessing of the grapes, representing the harvest of the world, is a liturgical act that emphasizes the doxological and eucharistic offering of the material and the fruits of the earth to the Creator and God of all things. More so, when this fruit of the vine gives us wine, which Christ blessed in Cana, to show the transfiguration of the world in Christ, He also gave it to us in the Mystical Supper as the element that, with bread, at the time of the Divine Liturgy, are made incorrupt by grace, transformed into the Lord's "Body and Blood", the Divine Eucharist."
(Panagiotis Skaltsis, 21st Century professional educator) [Traditions; Liturgy; Feasts]
"The soul must be constantly ready and alert and always in contact with the spiritual headquarters, that is, God. Only then it will feel secure, full of hope and joy. When I was in the army, during the war, I was a radio operator. I noticed that we felt secure only when we communicated with the Army Division on an hourly basis. When our communication was limited to every two hours, we felt a little bit insecure; sometimes, when we could only be in touch with them twice a day, we felt uncomfortable, lonely and lost. The same thing applies to our prayer. The more we pray, the more secure we feel, on a spiritual basis, of course."
(Elder Paisios from 'Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain')
"You don’t necessarily have to hear a confession filled with dramatic details, “unusual” or “out of the ordinary”. There may not be anything particular to its content. The main thing is that very feeling of change..The main thing is the feeling that the person is truly laboring, and the Lord accepts and blesses that labor. And that painful, by no means swift, modest and yet infinitely glorious—ascent to the heights… "
(Igumen Nektary Morozov, 21st Century Russian hiermonk)
"...when we rejoice over a fruit we must recognize that this fruit is the result of much effort and much labor. What takes place at the physical level, also takes place at the spiritual level. We honor a saint, but we must honor also those who helped them become a saint as well as the atmosphere that contributed to this objective. In the instance we are studying today, that of Saint Anna, we see an entire spiritual family, as well as an entire spiritual atmosphere that contributed to the creation of holy personalities and the appearance of our Panagia."
(Metropolitan Hierotheos, 21st Century Greek hierarch) [Family; Parents; Sanctification]
"The first bells, as is well known, appeared in Western Europe...In Russia, bells appeared almost simultaneously with the reception of Christianity by St. Vladimir (988 A.D.). Wooden boards and metal hoops beaten with hammers were also used and still are in some monasteries. But strangely enough, Russia took bells not from Greece from whence she received Orthodoxy, but from Western Europe... Initially the bells were small, and each church had only two or three.In the fifteenth century special factories for bell casting appeared, where bells of huge proportions were made. In the bell tower of Ivan the Great in Moscow, for example, are the "Everyday" bell weighing 36,626 pounds; the bell "reyute" weighing 72,000 pounds; and the largest bell, called "Dormition," which weighs around 144,000 pounds."
(Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy, 20th Century Russian-American priest, 'The Law of God' 1994) [Worship; Tradition]
"Addictions come in all sizes, shapes, and forms, such as, money, food, alcohol, drugs, sex, possessions, relationships, religion, and most certainly our addiction to the ego. Are we any less crazy because we manage somehow to remain on the right side of the law because we are better at hiding our addictions? We are simply better at pretending everything is ok. As the disease progresses even that disintegrates. We will reap what we sow eventually...Behind all of these demonic manifestations is a common delusion: pride and arrogance." (Archpriest Antony Hughes, 21st Century American priest on the Gadarenes) [Pride; Love of the World; Recreation]
"Rightly then has the justification of all the saints been ascribed to faith and not to their works which were also themselves perfected by faith. Believing in the beginning we set out in subjugation to His will... the Lord tells us, "When you have done all that is commanded of you say, we are unworthy servants, we have only done what was our duty". This shows us that what brings about salvation is not the quantity and quality of the works which are simply a duty, but it is faith that counts and the Lord praises faith saying "Well done good and faithful servant. Abba Mark says that the Lord will repay each one precisely according to his faith or lack of faith."
(Elder Joseph, excerpt from 'Elder Joseph the Hesychast') [Faith; Works]
"Everything I do is working off the talent God has given,..{she prays} in the morning, in the evening, before the concert, after the concert."
(Yelena Obraztsova, 21st Century Russian Opera singer) [Gratitude; Prayer]
"A falsehood spread throughout the broader Christian world today is that God adopts us into his family without anything expected of us. Or even worse, we are promised a better life, happiness, and even material wealth or worldly success. But this is really the opposite of what the scriptures promise. Paul again reminds us that “we were saved by hope” (Rom. 8:24). Our salvation is not realized immediately, nor is it a ‘flip of the switch’ in one’s mental assent of faith, but is rather a journey that begins in Baptism and is consummated on the Last Day. And until that day, we are awaiting our true salvation. From the beginning of our salvation journey to the end is a whole lifetime of trials, temptations, suffering, discipline, asceticism, struggle, and growth."
(Gabe Martini, 21st Century Orthodox convert and blogger) [Salvation; Sanctification]
“Syriac Christians and Kurds advocate coexistence because this is the only solution. If applied elsewhere in Syria it can end the civil war." "“I have the name of Jesus tattooed on my arm so I can never lie about my faith if I’m captured alive by the enemy and fear overcomes my courage.”
(Statements from Two Christian Fighters in War-torn Syria, 07/14) [Just War; Justice; Witness]
"Among the creatures of the Lord-God, saints and angels, guardians bring special spiritual kinship. For example, the Prophet Daniel had a spiritual affinity with the creatures of the spiritual world in general and he was considered a friend of angels. This spiritual connection is not associated with the human race. The angels of God can be friends, and we know that we still have, albeit in a small way, the friendship with our guardian angel. Hopefully, we warmly welcome our Angel Guardian... pray to him, and he takes care of us."
(Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian evangelist and martyr) [Guardian Angel; Angels]
“Through sin man himself turns the earthly paradise into an earthly hell. If his soul is polluted with mortal sins he lives in a demonic state: he is fiercely defensive, is tormented, finds no peace. On the contrary who ever is close to God, whoever keeps his mind on higher things, on things above and always maintains good and positive thoughts in his mind will remain peaceful and live in paradise while on earth.”
(Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos, ~Spiritual Struggle~) [Peace; Sanctification]
"Saints, to the contrary, have always drawn people of other nationalities to their faith through their holy example...These are all wondrous things, accomplished by all-forgiving love of Christ, and not by hatred of “them”, or by ethnic superiority complexes. Rejoicing in the saints of our land, rejoicing in our Orthodoxy, cannot lead to pride. If it does, that pride will go before a fall. By following their saints’ example, people and nations are made strong—not to look bigger and better than others, but rather to create a safe, peaceful, God-fearing land where more and more people can become saints."
(Nun Cornelila Rees, 21st Century monastic on 'All Saints') [Saints; Evangelism; Love]
“The elder’s overflowing love also embraced wildlife. The animals felt it and they would approach him and eat out of his hand. He said, “I’ll say to Christ, ‘Christ have mercy on me a brute.’ But he will ask me, ‘Did you have mercy on the brutes, the animals?’ What will I have to say?” In fact he did have mercy on them and he loved them as creatures of God. “These poor things don’t have another paradise to look forward to.””
Elder Paisios (from Elder Paisios of Mount Athos) [Creation; Nature]
"Every night in every monastery of the Holy Mountain there is at least one monk keeping vigil, praying all night for those unable to keep vigil. The Holy Mountain is a place where for over 1,000 years at least there are celebrated at least 100 Divine Liturgies within a 24 hour period. Ultimately the Holy Mountain, the garden of our Panagia, is a sleepless vigil lamp, a continuous prayer to the Lord for the whole world."
(From 'Mystagogy translation, 2014) [Prayer; Monasticism]
"After his next liturgy, again he had the same dream with poor people telling him, "father, you forgot us." After waking up he said "Fathers are you sure you don't have any name somewhere else?" "I'm sure Papa. Check the altar table." Papa Ephraim searched some more and finally found a slip of paper with names underneath the edge of the altar cover. In his next liturgy he commemorated those names and those people never again appeared to him in his dreams."
(Experience of Elder Ephraim of Katounakia) [Prayer for the Departed]
"Who knows my child the judgments of God? Everything is known to him. He sees everything and nothing escaped his notice but no one knows his will. The works of Satan are nothing next to the power of God. So when the Lord tests us as he knows best we should show our patients and thankfulness. Now that my child if his divine will is in accordance to our desire certainly you will get well. But if he foresee something that we do not know – – since he is God he sees and judges differently from above – – then you will not get well. Nevertheless, we do not lose our reward: it is stored up in his kingdom. So be patient and struggle.
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast, 'Monastic Wisdom') [Divine Providence; Ominescience]
"...consider the degree of frivolity and lack of seriousness that is fostered by a culture (and economy) fueled largely by entertainment; often entertainment experienced on devices whose primary function is distraction. Not all of it, of course, is the sort of distraction that provokes laughter, but most of it leads to forgetfulness regarding our salvation. Consider the degree to which we all—not least of all, myself—busy ourselves with trivial matters that distract us from our dire, spiritual circumstances. When I take a step back and examine our culture from this perspective, it’s staggering."
(Nathan Duffy21st Century online writer) [Recreation; Love of the World; Entertainment]
"Europe shows us a concrete example of life without Christ. They don't pay attention to the Lord's testaments, to His bans. On the contrary, they promote permissiveness, and according to it, life is guided by human wishes instead of God's law. But this way is not right. Unfortunately, not all human wishes are holy."
(Metropolitan Onufry, 21st Century Locum Tenens of Kiev, 06/14) [Society; Traditional Values]
Updated 06/15/14
“Thank God for everything you are; everything you have and everything you achieve. By thanking God you will realise that these are not your achievements but His gifts and, thus, you will feel humble.”
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century Orthodox staretz) [Gratitude; Humility]
"That's why Christians say that at the level of law, at the level of state ideology, the accepted norms should not promote anti-Christian and absolutely immoral ideas that some advocate for people to be 'truly free'. These people understand that living in a totalitarian society that dictates immoral enforced 'anti-values' makes being a Christian very difficult, even impossible. This type of society is practically identical with those menacing prophecied in the Book of the Apocalypse."
(Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Church official, 0414) [Traditional Values; Society]
"...the Lord puts in differently. He shows us in the persons of the Apostles that true friends of God undergo a hard school of trials and suffering. They are not untouchable in terms of evil in this world. Conversely, if we often see an ungodly person who is prospering, this demonstrates that the Lord has departed from him. Corpses do not need doctors, because it goes without saying that there is nothing doctors can do with them. In the same way, the Lord might withdraw from someone when He sees that treating him is pointless."
(Metropolitan Daniel of Arkhangelsk, 21 Century hierarch) [Trials; Suffering]
""Repent!" shouts all the natural disasters, floods that make the rivers swell and threaten to drown the people, the earthquakes that demolish homes, the fires that incinerate forests, the sicknesses that bring us down...I have said this elsewhere: God will not judge us because we sinned, but He will judge us because we did not repent."
(Metropolitan Augoustinos
( of Florina, 21st Century hierarch, Lent 2014) [Repentance; Judgement]
"By describing the actions of the two sons [in the parable], the Lord reminds us that we have the freedom to decide whether we will go, or whether we will not go. But this freedom is not a simple choice, for even if we have chosen to follow one path, we have the freedom and the ability to change the way we go, even at the eleventh hour. Perhaps we began the 40 days of Great Lent with zeal, with prayer and with fasting, but then we forgot, or got tired, or grew lazy. The Lord reminds us that, in spite of our human weakness, in spite of falling short of our own expectations, we can still renew our zeal, our prayer and our fasting now, even if we began without zeal or with uncertainty."
(Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century hierarch of the OCA, Holy Week 2014) [Repentance; Obedience]
"A young child does something wrong; let's say he breaks one of his father's tools and then is upset over it because he considers it to be a big mistake... In a similar manner, the more we suffer and grieve over our sinfulness or over our ingratitude to God and out of love cry for having grieved Our Father with our sins, the more He will reward us with divine gladness and inner sweetness. Such grief is good grief because while it contains pain and also has hoping consolation."
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century Athonite staretz, 'Spiritual Struggle') [Forgiveness; Love; Sorrow]
"The services of the Holy Week aim to revive the meaning of Christ’s martyrdom on the Cross in the consciousness of the devout, in order that we may feel the greatness of His love towards us more deeply and, in turn, try to love Him more...Each service of this week is unique in its Gospel remembrances, in its melodies, prayers and holy rites. And here the Church initiates the faithful into great spiritual abundance, not only in its inner content, but also in its external form. These services were conceived and perfected in the course of centuries through the efforts of many talented church writers, poets and composers."
(Bishop Alexander Mileant, 21st Century American bishop and evangelist) [Tradition; Holy Week; Bible]
"It was Spring, he would hear the birds outside chirping and he would ask me: "What are the birds saying now?" "How do I know Elder?" I said. "Blessed one, they are saying 'CHRIST IS RISEN!'"
(Elder Paisios quoted by Archimandrite Arsenios Katerelou near the Elder's last Pascha on earth 1994) [Creator; Praise; Joy]
"...the Resurrection of Christ, and the consequences it has on the whole human race, is the answer of Christianity to all those who talk about reincarnation...Reincarnation undervalues the body. It considers it a prison of the soul or a garment cast off in order for the individual soul to be lost in the fantastic universal soul. It believes that man is his soul. Orthodox teaching says that man is a combination of soul and body, created in the "image of God".
(Fr. Thomas Vamvinis, 21st Century Orthodox priest, 2001 article) [Doctrine; New Age]
"Everything is put in order with endurance and patience. To the degree that people forget the idea of the Cross, so evil grows and spreads, with the different pressures which occur both naturally and artificially. Blessed is the man who is wide awake and praying."
(Elder Joseph of Vatopedi; 21st Century elder on Mt. Athos) [Distractions; Patience; Peace]
"I agree, that other beliefs also have moral teachings. Naturally, Christianity’s moral teachings are incomparably superior. But, we do not believe in Christ because of His moral teachings. Or for His prompting to “Love one another”, or for His sermons on peace and justice, freedom and equality. We believe in Christ, because His presence on earth was accompanied by supernatural events, which was a sign that He is God."
(Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos, 20th Century Greek priest and elder) [True Church; Truth; Apologetics} "The resurrection of the dead does not depend on the condition of the corpse. There are martyrs of our Church, burned at the stake and people who disappeared in shipwrecks. Christians believe that even they will rise in the resurrection of the dead. But when the desire for cremation is combined with understanding of what the human body
(which has the religious background that the body is God's image) is considered something that belongs to me and I can do whatever I want
(commit suicide, burn or cut a finger) the answer is categorically no."
(Metropolitan Georgios, 21st Century Greek hierarch, 2014 interview) [Death; Image of God, Cremation]
"Christ came to enlighten mankind. There are various religions outside His revelation where the followers are sincere – not just practicing demon worship – and where the soul is really trying to get through to God. I would say that before the people have heard of Christ, these religions are fine as far as they go, but they will not get you to the goal. The goal is eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven, and God came in the flesh to open this up to us."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century American convert and author) [Evangelism; True Church]
"When I was on Mt. Athos, I had met with the Elder Paisios. I had asked him where I should be a monk, and even suggested staying there at Gregoriou or with him. He told me to come to America because America "will be holy." He said, "Here on Mt. Athos, monks are a dime a dozen. In America you will be needed."
(Matthew G. Kowasic, 21st Century American Orthodox reader) [Evangelism; Witness]
"A person who does not judge his neighbor gives evidence that he is saved. Whoever does not judge will not be judged, as the word of God verifies: 'Judge not, that you will he not judged.'" [That is why he told us]
"Has a judgmental thought about someone come to you? Don't just sit there, debating with yourself whether that person is to blame or not. Justify everyone and take all the blame yourself. As soon as you start having negative thoughts about someone else, there is a danger that you will judge him."
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos) [Judgement; Forgiveness]
"Blessed are those," he [Elder Paisios]
wrote, "who rejoice when unjustly accused, rather than when they are justly praised for their virtuous life. Here are the signs of holiness..." And so he would rejoice when he heard accusations against himself, anyone said to someone, "Go ahead and badmouth me. Would you, please?"
(Elder Paisios, 21st staretz of Mt. Athos) [Slander; Forgiveness]
"Today we should be united as never before as there is a serious strike made against the most important thing that have always united us and brought us up. It is a strike against the foundation, on which we based our lives, against Christian values...We should stand for Christian values, whatever it costs. If we lose them, we lose everything."
(Alexander Lukashenko, 21st Century Byelorussian President, 06/14 comments) [Society; Traditional Values]
“All of this somehow reminds me forcibly that just as our Savior could say of Nathaniel that here is a true Israelite in whom there is no guile – so too there is such a thing as a true American: an honest, forthright, normal person for whom Holy Orthodoxy is quite natural; and the harvest of these true Americans is only the beginning. Doubtless the Orthodox Americans will be few in number, but is precisely the best part of America which is waiting to hear the glad tidings of Orthodoxy…”
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century American convert and author) [Evangelism; Convert]
"God created everything good and nothing evil. The evil appeared because of the fact that some of the created by God spiritual creatures, angels and people, having the freedom of choice, chose the evil and rejected God and His good. God does not take away his long-standing gifts. Thus, having freely rejected God and the good, the devil throws all his forces at the seizure of other reasonable creatures, first angels, and then people, from God. Why does God let it happen? We do not know. But we believe and profess, that at the end of ages everything will turn out to be good, due to the power of Divine love and wisdom."
(Archbishop Nathanael Lvov, 21st Century Russian hierarch) [Creation; Free Will; Temptation]
"Indeed, the Christian does not need to belong to any movement or party. We all belong to the party of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are Christians, we share Him, we were chosen by God from all the peoples of the earth; We are the chosen ones of God, a royal priesthood, a people chosen out of the darkness by God, brought into the marvelous light of Divine Love. Why, therefore, do we act as if we all live in distressing controversies of this world? Why do we serve Satan that divides rather than Christ Who unites? "
(Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian martyr, last Pasha semon) [Peace; Unity]
"It is another link in the chain of cultural legitimization of vice in modern world, an attempt to fix new cultural norms. Process of legalizing things, to which Bible refers as to abomination, is not new. Unfortunately, trends in legal and cultural field go in parallel ways, and results of the contest prove it. In other words, it is one more step to refusing Christian identity of European culture."
(Vladimir Legoyda, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Church official on drag act victory in Eurovision contest) "If I wanted to relate everything I went through on a daily basis with this passion of anger, I would have to write a book. Since God wanted to free me from it, He would bring about everything appropriate: people would bother me unjustly, they would insult me, they would annoy me. And they would not just simply tempt me, but they would do things that would make you commit murder. But by enduring and choking Satan within me with extreme patience, I was delivered from the evil."
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast, 20th Century staretz of Mt Athos) [Anger; Meekness; Patience]
“Many times Christ comes and knocks on your door and you have Him sit in the living room of your soul, and you, preoccupied with your chores, forget about the Great Visitor. He waits for your appearance. He waits and when you are very late, He gets up and leaves. Another time you are so preoccupied that you answer Him from the window. You don't even have time to open your door.”
(Elder Amphilochios Makris, 20th Century staretz) [Love of the World; Indifference]
"They are those who are possessed by a spirit of compromise with the world and its reality and do not want to dare take the great plunge to taste another life.
They are those who are cowards inside, because they do not want to break with the established attitudes that prefer their faith to be a religious ideology, harmless to the processing of life into a miracle of love, eternity and light.
They are those who operate by rationality, who want evidence to justify their faithlessness or faith, yet without being ready to accept the change.
They are those who defer their problems to the future, because their living concerns prevail, or their secular goals, or the joy of their earthly life.
They are, lastly, those who deny the Resurrection, who refuse to accept that God exists and loves humanity so much, that He became obedient unto death in order to conquer death."
(Fr. Themistokles Mourtzanou, 21st Century priest, on those who observe but do not embrace Christianity) [Love of the World; Procrastination]
"Regarding that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father"
(Matt. 24:36). What therefore? Did our God-man Jesus not know anything about this? For one to contemplate such a thing is blasphemous. As consubstantial and co-equal with the Father He knew very well, but it was not in our interest for that day to be spread, especially by the Apostles, and for all of us to know. He only gave us the signs and circumstances that would usher in the coming of the Antichrist and, as we see today, the time is near. Also in the Acts of the Apostles we see that the Lord prohibits us from this unbeneficial study. Luke writes: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has set in his own authority"
(Acts 1:7).
(Elder Daniel of Katounakia, 20th Century Athonite startetz) [Prophecy; Hope]
"He [Jesus Christ] chose a “foreigner”, a Samaritan, to show the necessity of fulfilling the commandment of love towards a neighbour. He extended His hospitality to all, to whoever was in need of compassion. He offered hospitality to all who had been pushed to the margins of society. He showed in practice that acceptance of others is not limited only to the members of our community. On the contrary, he called on us to love even our enemies and to pray for them."
(Theodoros II, 21st Century Patriarch of Alexandria & Africa, 06/14 remarks) [Tolerance; Witness; Love]
"...yet another link in the chain of cultural legitimization of vice in the modern world, an attempt to establish new cultural norms in society. The process of legalization of what the Bible calls nothing other than an abomination has long ago ceased to be news in the modern world. Unfortunately, tendencies in the fields of both legislature and culture are moving along parallel lines, and the results of this contest testifies to that."
(Vladimir Legoida, 21st Century Russian Orthodox official, comments on gay Eurovision winner) [Traditional Values; Homosexuality; Society]
"Monologistical or single word prayer is the "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." The fewer words we impose upon the nous [the soul or spiritual nature of man]
the easier it is for the nous to learn and hold onto them. The methods of prayer, however are many. The method depends upon the disposition and the needs of each person."
(Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos) [Prayer; Theoria]
"I think that it is more honorable for you to accept that you do not have the strength to get rid of this passion and to ask for God's mercy, instead of claiming that this is not a sin. Be careful, because this could be for you a tragic mistake...You are converting your passion into something good and making it into a flag. You are modifying the great blunder and trying to propagate it to others. I believe that you are not sinning mostly out of weakness, but out of ideology. This condition consolidates your illness into an incurable and deadly spiritual disease. Unfortunately the passions create their own absurd and incurable logic justify. It is known to all that the perversion of God's Law occurs in many ways. One of these ways is by altering the definition of the word "sin"."
(Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos, 20th Century Greek elder) [Sin; Temptation]
"Instead of rising towards Christ, who said "if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to Myself", we have brought Him down to where we are, and have made a Christianity that agrees with our weaknesses, with our passions, with our worldly ambitions, and we have given our saints qualifications that our materialistic minds appreciate and admire, making them philosophers, orators, politicians, psychologists, sociologists, educators, scientists, etc...A convenient, a humane Christianity, this human construct, is a pitiful deformation of the Gospel by the wicked materialism of the flesh."
(Photios Kontoglou, 20th Century Greek writer and iconographer) [True Faith; Love of the World; Heresy]
"The All-Holy Spirit is given as the greatest gift to all by our God and Father according to the words of the Lord: 'I will not leave you comfortless…I will pray the Father that He send you another comforter, the Spirit of Truth…that He may abide with you forever.' It is up to us to prepare ourselves to receive this wondrous gift...The goal of our Orthodox Christian life is to be completely united with our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The question that we all must ask ourselves frequently is “how to retain this great and free gift of Grace which is given to us every time we enter the Church?”
(Archimandrite Sergius, 21st Century Abbot of St. Tikhon's Monastery) [Sanctification; Salvation]
"... I hope that at least we will be able to tell people quietly and calmly: you shouldn't live for material welfare, for egoistic desires, for preserving health, only for this earthly life, but to live, even at the level of social organization, for God's truth. I hope that people will understand it more and more."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Church official) [Materialism; Love of the World]
"...the Christian family is facing an economic crisis
(poverty, unemployment, uncertainty of the future, emigration etc.), a moral crisis
(libertinism, abortion, divorce, abandonment of children, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, human trafficking etc.), and a spiritual crisis
(sectarianism, fanaticism, religious proselytism etc.). The family is also in a fragile and difficult situation because the traditional family model itself is considered by some to be outdated or obsolete. We live in a context dominated by an individualistic and secularizing mentality, not seeking holiness of life through prayer, the birth of children and their upbringing in the Christian faith."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, 05/14 comments) [Family; Traditional Values; Morality]
"...Christ gives us two things: Firstly, He comforts us and the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Who will guide us into all truth, into all humility. Secondly, through His holy angels, He reminds us that as He ascends, so He will return, with angels and a cloud of glory. He reminds us that He will return in His Second and Glorious Coming to judge all the Earth...Therefore the Orthodox Church and faithful Orthodox Christians are also victorious, but only in humility."
(Fr. Andrew Philips, 21st Century English priest, homily) [Faith; Peace]
"They [passionbearers]
are like Christ in His innocent suffering, because He humbly accepted crucifixion on the cross to forgive his killers. In this sense, it becomes clear why Nicholas II and the entire royal family was canonized. They forgave all those who oppressed them in the last months of his life, obediently carried imposed upon them cross. It is clear that people who have lived with such a spirit souls who humbly greeted the hour of death, show us an example of patience, humility and love in the image of Christ Himself."
(Deacon Valery Dukhanin, 21st Century Russian clergyman) [Forgiveness; Love]
"Our vocation is to bring life to the entire world. And that is exactly what the man does in today's gospel [man the pool]
. When Jesus heals him, he goes out and tells others about this healing, and brings life to them. He becomes a 'mother' to other people, and brings life to them...That is precisely our vocation as Christians: to bring life into the world; to expand the family of God, which is the Church; to not stay nuclear, insular, but to reach out and invite people into that family; to grow the family of Jesus Christ."
(Jesse Brandow, 21st Century Orthodox missionary) [Evangelism; Witness]
"Real tradition is a force and you cannot help but feel this spiritual force. In Orthodoxy, tradition is not a museum filled with interesting exhibits, but a stream you are to immerse yourself in. The more material things we have the more illusory our visible life is, but our hearts can find peace only in Christ. Western hearts are tormented by this comfortable way of living, and to feel anything deeply many Western people seek for vivid impressions."
(Father Artemy Vladimirov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox priest) [Grace; Witness; Love of the World]
"The many great miracles performed by the Lord through the apostles and the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit, which moved through them, excited in the believers reverential fear and, at the same time, joy and happiness. They tried in everything to fulfil the commandments of Christ and to live holy and pure lives. The believers gathered in the Temple every day and listened to preaching of the apostles; and on the day of the Resurrection, the first day of the week, Sunday, they gathered in homes for the breaking of bread — the sacrament of Holy Communion. All of them were united in great love, so it was as if they had one heart and one soul. Many sold their possessions and asked the apostles to distribute the money received to the poor. All of the believers gave thanks to God. For their love and good deeds they gained the respect and love of the surrounding people, and the number of believers was increasing daily."
(Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy, 20th Century priest, 'The Law of God') [Worship; Sanctification; Church]
"I wanted to have Elder Joseph as my Elder and guide, even though I was older. He had brains; I didn't. He had theoria and was knowledgeable, whereas I had Praxis. Once upon a time people want to cross the river. One was blind and the other was lame. The blind man carried on his shoulders the lame person who could see, and that is how they managed to cross the river. Elder Joseph had his spiritual eyes open, but he lacked the physical strength I had. I had Praxis – I had legs – but I lacked spiritual eyesight; I was not watchful. I took him on my back and we proceeded. He led me, and we passed the river of this present life."
(Elder Arsenios, 20th Century Anthonite staretz on his relationship with Elder Joseph the Hesychast) [Gifts; Unity; Body of Christ]
"The Paschal songs are sung until the fortieth day, that is, until the Ascension of the Lord. The continuation of the celebration of Pascha until Ascension signifies that the Lord Jesus Christ, over the course of forty days of his Resurrection, appeared to His disciples. And so [last Thursday] the Paschal Feast comes to an end. In daily life, the end of this holiday brings a degree of sorrow: the rejoicing ends, the abundance of food is replaced by a regular diet, in other words, weekday life begins and those who love Pascha are saddened. But our feast days are not like that: they bring us from one glory to another—the holiday is glorious, but even more glorious is the spiritual fruit that the holiday creates in the souls of believers."
(Archbishop Simon, 20th Century Russian Primate of China) [Feastdays; Tradition]
"God my child, is everywhere, and His eye observes everything but He overlooks our sins because He awaits our repentance. When we are at fault whether slightly are greatly, He sees it because He is present but we do not see Him because we are infants in knowledge. And when He punishes us so that we may turn towards Him, we think that we are suffering unjustly. However, when we humble ourselves, with eyes of our souls are opened and we realize that everything that the Lord does is very good. Then we look upon Him as our Father abundant in mercy and overflowing with perfect love and kindness."
(Elder Joseph the Hesychast, 20th Century Athonite Elder, 'Monastic Wisdom') "It seems to be that the desire of the Mother of God is that her icon is to be present wherever Orthodox Christians are under attack, to grant them victory. Look at the history of the icon, it was to the battle of Port Arthur that she commanded her icon to be taken so that by this icon she could protect the Orthodox troops and grant them victory. The Icon goes where Orthodox Christians are under attack from the enemy. Perhaps if we pray to her and honor her, the darkness in our country and the world will diminish, perhaps even the darkness within us will diminish and our hardened hearts will begin to heal and grow warm with faith and love."
(Archimandrite Seraphim, 21st Century Orthodox abbot in West Virginia, on the Feast of the Port Arthur Icon) [Theotokos; Intercession]
"If you would try to love people as you love Christ, then you’ll no longer see the wrongs of your neighbor...One question is justified, let us all ask ourselves: “Do I love or I do not…?” – for it’s a commandment, my brother! Do not think that our Savior spoke only to the people of His time or to His apostles. No… He spoke for all men and for eternity."
(Elder Arsenie Papacio, 21st Century staretz of Romania) [Love; Salvation]
"In a drawn contrast, Alexey Osipov [Russian theologian]
numbers great ascetics of the Orthodox tradition who spend their entire lives asking for yet one more day to repent. At the end of his life, Francis of Assisi [Catholic]
remarks, “I do not know any transgression of mine that I have not atoned by confession and repentance,” while St. Sisoes of Egypt laments: “Verily, I do not know, if I have at least started the cause of my repentance.” Reveal your Saints, and you reveal your Church."
(Gabe Martini, 21st Century Orthodox blogger) [Ecumenism; True Church]
" I am convinced that sooner or later the miraculous phenomenon of convergence of the Holy Fire in the temple of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem will be described to some extent by the language of science. Partially. This miracle of grace will not cease to be a sign. In the end, like the birth of children, the greatest miracle that will always remain a mystery."
(Pavel Florensky Vasilyevich,, 21st Century Russian Orthodox scientist) [Miracle; Pascha]
Updated 04/09/14
"As a result of self-centeredness and abuse of power, many people undermine the sacredness of the human person, neglecting to see the face of God in the least of our brothers and sisters. Many remain indifferent to the poverty, suffering and violence that plague humanity. The Church is called to articulate its prophetic word. We express our genuine concern about local and global trends that undermine and erode the principles of faith, the dignity of the human person, the institution of marriage, and the gift of creation. We stress the undisputed sanctity of human life from inception until natural death. We recognize marriage as the union of man and woman that reflects the union between Christ and His Church."
(Primates of Worldwide Orthodox Churches, March, 2014) [Justice; Marriage' Traditional Values]
"Self-love precedes all the passions, and scorn of ease precedes all the virtues...When you want something really badly, like I want the ascetic life, you enjoy it."
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century staretz, from "Elder Paisios of Mt Athos") [Fasting; Discipline; Recreation]
"The animals enjoy being with man and look at him as their king. In Paradise, Adam called the animals one by one and gave them each a name according to its kind. Animals recognized man's superiority and were happy in his presence. After the fall, however, this relationship was destroyed. Man looked at the beasts with the intention of killing them, and the animals became wild. Nevertheless, the wild animals are still more sincere than man is. If you approach them with love, they return to that pristine state. Man has ruined the animals. Even the dog that lives continually by man's side has changed, acquiring a police mentality and distrustful character. I used to feed a little kitten around here that would come and rub itself up against my leg and purr. Although it was very tame, when one day, I tossed a piece of bread to it, the animal pulled back in fear. What had happened to it? Someone had thrown stones at it and ruined the animal's attitude towards people. So you see, this evil state of affairs begins with man."
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century staretz, "The Gurus, Young Man" excerpt) [Creation; Love; Innocencel Trust]
"Augustine raises the question of why even righteous peoples are sometimes given evil rulers. After all, we know that rulers are installed not by man, but by God. He installs kings, and He brings them down, as He wills. God does so in order that people not get used to it, that they not think that all their hopes should be tied to the country's earthly successes. That is why he sends evil rulers, so that man might be distracted from earthly vanity and instead might seek after the Heavenly Kingdom, which is incorruptible."
(Priest-martyr Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian evangelist) [Providence; Trials]
"...the attitude eldest son is often life people who areobedient, faithful, virtuous, right-living but not merciful enough and forgiving to sinners that are received into the Church which forgives sins and gives them the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Today's gospel is the gospel of the sinner recovering through repentance, but also a virtuous man being corrected through good advice when he is unforgiving and unmerciful. The Gospel shows us how great is the mercy of God, how great is the joy of a recovering sinner who repents and how necessary repentance is to the newness of life. "
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania on the Prodigal Son, 2014) [Repentance; Forgiveness; Love]
"Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since the leader of our faith endured the cross, we will also endure it. On one hand, the cross is sweet and light, but, on the other, it can also be bitter and heavy. It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift."
(Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos) [Suffering; Trials]
"In every possible way abstaining from food and strictly limiting its choice, ancient Christians, agreeing with the canons of the Holy Church, limited themselves in even all the purest and holy joys, considering even such actions as incompatible with the quiet sorrow of the days of repentance...Several times a day the faithful gathered in the temple for divine services, for public prayers and hearing the word of God, filling these practices with obligatory personal prayers; assiduously preparing themselves for worthy reception of the Holy Mysteries and during the Holy Forty Day Fast repeatedly receiving communion during the full liturgy and at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts."
(Sergei V. Bulgakov, 20th Century Russian Orthodox writer) [Lent; Fasting; Penance]
"God allows temptations so that they might rouse us to remember Him. When we call upon Him, He acts as though He does not hear us so that we multiply our supplications and cry out His holy name, in fear of the various passions. Then, through pain of the entreaties, our heart is sanctified, and through experience we learn the weakness of our lame nature. And thus we realize in practice that without God’s help we are not able to do anything."
(Elder Ephraim of Arizona, 21st Century disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast) [Trials; Temptation; Prayer]
"Sport is sport. And everyone wins in the extent to which he can win. And even if you were unsuccessful, and could better, it was a lesson - a correction or admonition. And you never need to despair and be upset, only be healthy. So I say, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks!". These are the words of the Apostle Paul."
(Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov, 21st Century confessor to the Russian Olympic team) [Peace; Meekness]
"There is a triple fast, of the three-pillars of our condition. People, as it is known, are composed of spirit, soul and body. The spirit should prevail over the soul and it in turn must control the body. How are we to fast for our spirit, which God had put in us, which is also called the mind? We are called to contemplate God, called to be pure and to have a holy fear of God, breathing so that we should be permeated with the divine breath...our task during a fast is fostering our spirit through the spiritual condition of our mind and to behold the mysteries of God. Most people now think that the task of the fast is for man to only refrain from a certain food or to repent of sins. All this is well and good, but not enough. ...our task is to educate the mind, so we leave the fast enlightened. And that which enlightens us, as you know, is the light of Christ! "
(Priest-martyr Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian evangelist) [Fasting; Sanctification]
"People get tired, and they neglect or they don't want to pray, and this work they entrust to others. The prayer of a virtuous Elder is good, but there is necessarily needed a personal collaboration. To wait for your spiritual progress from others is not wise. Nepsis
(watchfulness), purification and divine illumination take diligent and persistent struggle. In this way humble prayers are heard. Others can assist, but they alone can't help. Every believer is obliged by the sacred Gospel to keep the commandments faithfully, to pray and to struggle. Do not remain in the hope of only being helped by others. Do not invest in your spiritual indolence and sloth. We all need to seek in every way the path to our salvation."
(Monk Moses, 21st Century Athonite ascetic, 02/14 article) [Prayer; Sanctification]
"We always commemorate souls on Saturday, because Sabbaton
(Sabbath) means “rest” in Hebrew; and since the dead have rested from worldly and all other cares, we offer supplications for them also on the day which means 'rest'. That what the Church does on behalf of souls benefits them, is clear from many sources, but especially from an incident in the life of St. Makarios, who was in the habit of praying for the departed and had besought God to reveal to him whether any benefit was conferred on them thereby. Finding the desiccated skull of an impious pagan on the road that he was traversing, he asked whether the souls in Hades experience any consolation. The skull replied: “We receive great respite, Father, when you pray to God for the departed.” St. Gregory the Dialogist even saved the Emperor Trajan through prayer, though he was told by God never again to make entreaty for one who was impious."
(Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, 14th Century Byzantine historian) [Prayer for the Departed; Intercession]
"The fact that marriage is considered to be between a man and a woman and that gender choice is not an intellectual choice, but God's choice is being disputed. Probably, some sick fantasy exists. Of course, it can be said that this is a clinical case. And probably, this will be the most reasonable reaction. But this clinical case is protected by law in some countries. And children are taught this and are told - you should choose yourself whether you are a boy or a girl."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russian on the choice of 50 types of gender on social network sites) [Traditional Values; Family; Society]
"...I saw in an atheist internet social network a photograph of pilgrims on bended knee, with comments from unbelievers about how humiliating and slavish it is to kneel. This world considers that repentance is a denial of human dignity—as if during Mary’s depraved street life she was living in freedom and dignity, but when she rose up and went to her Father, she became a slave. The values of this world are turned inside out, and repentance offers a restoration of the true system of accountability."
(Sergei Khudiev, 21st Century Orthodox layman and writer, on St. Mary of Egypt) [Repentance; Love of the World]
"Try to say Compline every night with your children. And one of you should only always read, while the others accompany, and all will be involved in the end somehow. Or, if this is not possible, then let the whole family be together and let one person read. [when they are older]
Then let each person do it on their own, lest it not be done at all. And if you cannot do all of Compline, then say the 50th Psalm of David."
(Elder Ambrose of Dadiou, 21st Century Orthodox staretz, quote) [Prayer; Devotions]
“The custom in Russia of eating pancakes [in Russian blini—thin pancakes]
during maslenitsa fully corresponds to Russian national piety. During these days, differences in social class, wealth, and official status were relaxed. People of lower classes, wanderers, and the poor were often invited to the table. Visiting each other for blini brought relatives closer together, and gave them a convenient opportunity to forget all injury and displeasure that may have built up over the year...the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
(610–640), after a six-year, exhausting war with the Persian King Hosroes, made a vow not to eat meat during the last week before Great Lent. He was victorious in the battle. The Church then introduced the pious Emperor's vow into the typicon.”
(Hieromonk Job Gumerov) "Since my consecration to the Holy Episcopate in 1966, I have been preaching this simple, but very Orthodox theology. “The Church is not the bishop alone, or the priest alone, or the laity alone. The Church is the bishop, the priests and the laity working together.” For “we are laborers together with God.” As St. Paul put it
(I Cor. 3:9)...St. Paul is telling us that the Church is not a physical structure. We, the assembly of the faithful, are the Church. We are “the temple of the Holy Spirit.” We are the “body of Christ.”
(Metropolitan Philip, 21st Century Primate of the American Antiochian Archdiocese who fell asleep 03/20/14) "The Church is in the world but rejects the logic of the world. She speaks to man every day, while at the same time calling upon him to overcome the routine and triteness of daily living. This is something which we are obliged to protect. We are to preserve the Church's word authentic, that it able to speak to present-day man while at the same time leading him to her eternal source; that it participate in the life of the world without being trapped within its logic; that it be a powerful presence within its logic; that it be a powerful presence within the contemporary State, without being transformed into a secular authority."
(Archbishop Christodoulos, 21st Century Primate of Athens and all Greece, Sunday or Orthodox 2014) [Truth; Wisdom; Witness]
"...it must be said that in all the mystical-occult systems, practices, and meditations one may run across any reflection, thought, or idea except one—repentance. There is no repentance in them. Christianity attests that the closer the soul comes to God, the more clearly the person sees his imperfection and inadequacy. Therefore, the experience of drawing near to God confirms a Christian in humility, repentance, and love... the Eastern mystical experience rejects the personal God, and therefore strives for the overcoming of man’s personality in samadhi or nirvana, giving one the feeling of the dissolution of his individuality in the ocean of the impersonal. Not having met the personal God, in Eastern mysticism a person naturally aspires to personal death."
(Valery Dukhanin, 21st Century Orthodox online writer, pravoslavie) [Cults; Hinduism; New Age]
"Religion teaches you to do your duties, just like the pagans did. For example: we went to the shrines, we venerated, we took out our money and placed it in a box, we left our candles, our oils, our prayers, our names, our prosphoron, everything. These are religious duties. But our hearts did not change at all. Having completed our duties, we are the same as we were before... When we reach the love of Christ...Nothing else is needed. Everything stops. The only thing left is the relationship of man with God. This is the difference between the Church and religion."
(Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol, 21st Century hierarch, article for Lent) [Repentance; Humility; Change of Heart]
"The situation worsened when the women were ordered to cover their faces. Now it is forbidden in the city to demonstrate that you are non-Muslims in any way. A tax is imposed on adherents of different faiths—for confessing one's religion....The Lenten fast has come. In these days ladies array themselves in ‘robes of maidens’
(following a local tradition) but now they are forbidden to do that."
(Anonymous Christian living in an area of Syria controlled by Islamic rebels, French Channel 23) [Persecution; Islam]
"God does more for our salvation than Satan for our destruction...Heaven is full of repentant sinners..Without God’s grace, it is impossible to be saved only by your actions, no matter how great of an ascetic you may be."
(Elder Arsenie Papacioc of Romania, 21st Century Romanian staretz) [Salvation]
"The religious understanding of the power is associated with the service. ..That's why the real power always entails responsibility and achievement including spiritual feats. Because to serve his neighbor, to serve the people is always give yourself. And in some cases - to crucify oneself for the benefit of those to whom you are called to serve. That is why the exercise of power requires great spiritual and physical strength, wisdom, patience, strength and humility. Man, who takes power, leaning on his only physical and mental strength and will power, in its entirety can not perform this service of God."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox primate, 2010 comments) [Government; Leadership]
"When I commune people I never look at their face. Sometimes however my thoughts tell me to look at them. Then I see some faces having the form of a dog, a monkey or another animal. Their form is frightening. But I also see some who are glad and cheerful who after Divine Communion shine like the sun."
(Elder Iakovos Tsalikes, 20th Century hieromonk, quote) [Santification; Preparation for Communion; Repentance]
"...today’s feast [Annunciation]
shows us what salvation is. It is the man’s union with God. It is only united with the God always alive that man can save himself and live eternally. Only united with the One Holy God man can be purified of sins and reach the resemblance to God. Today is the beginning of salvation because today is the beginning of the Incarnation through conceiving, through the work of the Holy Spirit. God-the-Son is born by Virgin Mary assuming the human nature. This is the mystery of salvation, the mystery of the union of God with humankind in the person of the Son so that all the humans in Christ should get eternal life."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania) "We systematically turn our thoughts away from death in our lives as if we were formed to live eternally in this world. We all want to go to Paradise but none of us want to die. If we don't die Christ will not resurrect us. And the first thing that must die within us is the worldly spirit, and that which keeps us hooked to the earth, the temporary, and excludes us from eternity. If we do not have faith in the resurrection then the thought of death is dark as black. But supposedly "we expect the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come".
(Hieromonk Makarios of Marouda, 21st Century priest, March 2014 homily) [Love of the World; Salvation; Sanctification]
"Another divine-human virtue, that we must have by all means, is love. Love, my brethren, should not have limits. Love does not ask who is a good person and who is not, who loves me and who hates me. The good Christian loves everyone: they love friends and enemies, they love sinners and criminals, without however loving their sins and crimes. Such love is a gift of God, and this is why we must ask for it from God in our prayers. Let us say in our prayers: "Lord Jesus Christ, God of love, give me Your love, that I may give it to everyone!"
(Metropolitan Jeremiah, 21st Century hierarch of Gortynos) [Sanctification; Love; Witness]
"...the faithful of our Church are adherents of various political views; they are citizens of many states. The closer we are to God, the closer we are to one another. The faith in Christ and love of Christ unite, not divide, people."
(Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, 21st Century Russian Church official) [True Church; Love]
"The Lenten worship is thus a school of repentance. It teaches us what is repentance and how to acquire the spirit of repentance. It prepares us for and leads us to the spiritual regeneration, without which "absolution" remains meaningless. It is, in short, both teaching about repentance and the way of repentance. And, since there can be no real Christian life without repentance, without this constant "reevaluation" of life, the Lenten worship is an essential part of the liturgical tradition of the Church...Three weeks before Lent proper begins we enter into a period of preparation."
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 20th Century American Orthodox theologian) [Repentance]
Updated 02/08/14
"The Church Fathers say that the origins of fasting go back to the creation of man...When God placed man in Paradise after his creation, He told him what he must do throughout the course of his life. He told him to work and not eat "of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Gen. 2:16-17). The first commandment of fasting was given by God to man at that moment. So fasting is divine law, which aims at manifesting the divine will to man." (Stylianos Gerasimos, 21st Century Orthodox writer, 11/13 article) [Fasting; Penance; Obedience]
"Yet it is through her purity and quiet, self-sacrificing piety – holy, meek, and humble – that God’s grace visited her. It is this life which we must struggle to emulate – especially as monastics. The Theotokos’ life in the Temple was quiet and removed from the vanity of the world and the sight of men, but was inwardly rich and profound. She spent all her time in the temple meditating on the Holy Scriptures, eating the food of the angels, and living day and night in the presence of God. Likewise, we should live our life in such a way – in self-sacrifice, in meditating on the scriptures, in attentive prayer in Church, in partaking of the “Heavenly Manna” – the Eucharist, and striving as much as possible to live our whole lives with our hearts turned to God." (Homily from Holy Cross Hermitage in WV, 12/13) [Humility; Theotokos]
“The world is governed by God’s Providence alone, and in this is salvation for one who believes; in this is the strength to endure earthly sorrows...There are no forgotten people in God, and God’s Providence watches over everyone. God rules the world—only God, and no one else.” (Archimandrite John Krestiankin; 21st Century Russian abbot) [Providence; Creator; Hope]
"It is said that the deer will not run well for two reasons: when she is too fat, or when she is too weak. Too much asceticism can weaken someone, but also indifference and non-engaging could “fatten” man. Personally, I’m not for penances that require a lot of time and physical effort. Penance means the possibility to repent, to commit that sin no more, to struggle not to fall again." (Elder Arsenie Papacioc, 20th Century staretz in Romania) [Sanctification; Repentance]
"What was it in Jesus that aroused such love and such hatred? I am the door, he said, the door to eternity (John 10:9). It seems to me that everything that is valuable in Christianity is valuable only because it is from Christ. What is not from Christ could as well belong to Islam or Buddhism. Every religion is a path towards God, a conjecture about God, a human approach to God. It is a vector pointing upwards from below. But the coming of Christ is the answer, a vector coming from heaven towards us. On the one hand, an event situated in history, on the other hand, something quite outside history. That’s why Christianity is unique, because Christ is unique." (Fr. Alexander Men, 20th Century murdered Russian priest, 'Why Be a Christian') [True Church; Revelation; Salvation]
"Thus, the first Heaven is the atmosphere, the second, cosmic space, and the third Heaven is the invisible world. It was into the invisible world that the Apostle Paul was caught up, and where he contemplated God. He also was caught up into Paradise, which, as the highest part of the world, is divided from it by a revolving, flaming sword...And that Paradise is also a preliminary place for souls. As St. John Chrysostom said, we received more than we had lost; we lost Paradise, but were promised the Kingdom of God. But as yet, the Kingdom of God remains unattainable, and the New Jerusalem has not a single resident . It was created by God, but has not yet been populated. It will be, once the Lord comes down to us with Heavenly fire. That will be on the day the world ends. " (Fr .Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian priest-martyr, 'Instructions') [Prophecy; Heaven]
"They did not shrink from denouncing the people’s sins and calling them to repentance. They did not care at all that most of society felt differently, and did not agonize over whether or not the people would think their message was “relevant.” If their proclamation of the Gospel alienated some people from the Church, that was fine; the hardened unbelief of man did not invalidate the timeless truth of God. These were men who were sure of the absolute truth of their message, and sure that God would help them proclaim it, come what may." (Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century priest and author, on evangelism) [Evangelism; Missions; Witness]
"There are many who touch God in some way, or rather are touched by God. For example, some, especially mothers, are brought to touch God through the innocent smile and helplessness of a new-born child. Others are touched by God through a sunrise over the sea, or a landscape, a walk in the mountains, a piece of music, a church service, a prayer. Sometimes people are touched by God inside a church building, at other times outside a church building. Whatever the situation, they are touched by God, either by His presence in the world as Creator of all things, or else through the presence in this world of His Body, the Body of Christ, the Church, the very Body Who touched Thomas and Who was touched by Thomas. "In every generation, there may be his arguments, based on which people reject this or that divine law. This opposition to the will of God is present throughout human history and so vividly reflected in the Old Testament through the story of God's chosen people. Sacred History teaches us that when we reject God's law, when we reject God's established order of life, we are going against God, we become unhappy." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, 12/13 statement) [Traditional Values; Law of God; Humanism]
"Proclaiming and upholding the sanctity and miracle of life is a sacred calling, one that lies at the heart of who we are as Orthodox Christians. ..of our Lord. It is a calling that involves obligations and responsibilities for the common good of all mankind, beginning with the lowest, least and weakest amongst us. And, at the very heart of this calling is the challenge to share, in “truth and love,” the reality that human beings—in the womb, beyond the tomb, and at every point in between—reflect the glory of God. " (Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century Primate of the OCA, 01/14 statement) [Abortion; Justice; Society]
" Co-equal friends might kiss one another in greeting, but one greeted a king with a prostration. That was how respect worked then in the Middle East. In Orthodox liturgical practice, it still works that way: candidates for ordination prostrate before the ordaining bishop at the time of ordination, and ordinary Christians prostrate before one another at Forgiveness Vespers. When we encounter the glorified saints, whether personally in a vision or (more likely) in their icons, we prostrate ourselves before them too. Prostration, like kissing, is the ancient tradition of humanity, and should need little justification." (Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century Canadian Orthodox priest and author, 01/14 article) [Reverence; Veneration; Icons]
“I was forced to go to church under threat of the rod, because we had to accompany my grandmother to church, which was in a bad neighborhood. Once when I was 14, I went to church with my grandmother; there were almost no other parishioners in church that day...and in one instant, by Divine mercy, it occurred to me that everything around me had profound meaning. From then on I began to immerse myself in Orthodox Christianity." (Protopriest Victor Potapov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox priest in America, 1213 interview) [Family; Worship; Conversion; Discipline]
"The Church has a very definite position: when weapons serve to protect the Fatherland, the Church supports both its creators and the soldiers who use it." (Alexander Volkov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox official, on Mikhail Kalashnikov's concern for his creation of the AK-47) “The Baptism of repentance was awareness of the need to have the sins forgiven. It affirmed both the sinful nature of the humans and the need to rid of it. Because of the fall of the forefathers Adam and Eve we inherited a sick nature, namely a nature inclined to sin, to forget about God, alienate from God and infringe the will of God. Thus, the baptism of repentance was a preparation for wishing to have the sins forgiven and renew the life”. (Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, 01/14) [Baptism; Repentance) It can then safely be asserted that if we seek God, then we touch Him and are touched by Him. And in that way the dull, uncomprehending clay of our material being will be made into spiritual matter and we too shall thus pass through the sealed doors of our fallen hearts and minds and bodies towards the light of faith and understanding." (Fr. Andrew Philip, 21st Century English Orthodox priest, homily) [Sanctification; Child; Seeking God]
"People in general think very little about eternity; but life is so short! When you are young it seems that life will go on forever...There is no doubt that death is the final trial of human life. But after all, man is never reconciled to the brevity of his life. He always protests against it and wants it to go on forever...in order to prepare ourselves for this most great passing, for this most serious trial, we need to take some preparatory steps." (Archpriest Alexander Saltykov, 21st Century Russian priest, 12/13 interview) [Fasting; Judgement; Death]
"As it is taught by the word of God, almsgiving is a religious practice, and not merely social and altruistic...The Lord taught His disciples to give alms without hoping for a return , gave meaning to almsgiving that the offering was being made to Himself , and established almsgiving as a requirement for someone to be His disciple and to follow Him without regretting the abandonment of their goods (Matthew 6 ,25 & 19)." (Metropolitan Daniel of Kaisariani, 21st Century Greek hierarch, 12/13) [Generosity; Giving]
"Believers are citizens of the state and it is illegal to try to prevent them from participating in public processes determining the present and future of the country. It's like separating people from people...No matter how progressive an ideology aimed at depriving people from God is, it will lead to a catastrophe. The twentieth century showed it with relentless clarity. The future will show it, too, if we can't show the world, at least to a small degree, that there is a different path of development, development according to God's truth. It's a path of loyalty to moral values." ( Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Church official, 12/13 comments) [Society; Traditional Values]
"Jesus Christ is born in a cave, inside the earth, that he might sanctify the earth. Course, he came into the world to sanctify the soul and the human body especially, being born as a man of the Virgin Mary. Jesus was born in a cave as a church under the earth, and then was placed in a manger as a blessing altar bread. Bethlehem means in Scripture "house of bread." Jesus He was born as a man cave, and laid in a manger is the bread of heaven given to men as food in the Eucharist. So by feeding human sanctification of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the God-man, the mystery is deeper meaning or placing baby Jesus in the manger bedtime..." (Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, 2013 message) [Eucharist; Communion; Feasts]
"If we are to belong to the Church of Christ, the new creation, we need the gift of faith. This gift is the most important of the many gifts which the Holy Spirit bestows upon the members of the Body of Christ. Our gift of faith will attach us to this glorious Body, the Church, of which Christ Himself is the Head, and will allow us to enter into communion with the abundance of divine life that flows from the Head of this Body into its members." (Fr. Zacharias, 21st Century priest and author, from 'Remembering Our First Love") [True Church; Faith; Grace]
"The Christian Faith is all about thanksgiving. Our secular North American society thinks that thanksgiving is moderately important, and so it has a wonderful Thanksgiving Day feast once a year... At least once a year our all-too-often self-entitled culture tells us that it is good to give thanks and to be grateful. It is otherwise in the Church. In the Church, we are to give thanks not just once a year, but always, so that every day is a thanksgiving day..." (Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century American priest and author, 11/13 article) [Gratitude; Worship]
"Prayer Books and canonical prayers, which are all of Christian origin, help one to pray like a Christian. When one has learned this, then it becomes easier in a psalm that we have just read to pick up a phrase or expression and transform it into personal, Christian prayer...I believe that that which inhibits modern man from praying...is that he is never alone; he’s constantly surrounded by noise. You can’t pray in continual noise." (Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel Bunge; 21st Century hermit and speaker) [Prayer]
Updated 11/14/13
“Our participants in the work of the World Council of Churches is conditioned in the first place by the aim to bear witness to Orthodoxy in face of the non-Orthodox world" (Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, 21st Century Russian church official, on the purpose of ecumenism) [Witness; Ecumenism]
“‘'The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.' (Psalm 14:1) This verse is not so much about principled atheists, but practical atheists, which we all are in those dark moments when we stubbornly follow our own will and passions and eclipse God from our decision-making. Liturgically we use this verse at the 9th Hour on Holy Friday, as Jesus hangs on the Cross surrounded by abusers and abandoned by almost all his friends. In those terrible hours when the disciples turned away from Jesus did they not become atheists as much as the crucifiers?" (Fr. John Jillions, 21st Century Chancellor of the OCA) "The Lord does not consider the value of a nation based on the number, but what he gives, how he serves God and his people..We belong to Him who carried the cross on his shoulders and who was crucified, we follow and for this reason we do not see suffering as a curse, but a gift from God." Patriarch Irinej, 21st Century Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, 2013 Sarajevo comments) [Suffering; Trials; Patience; Witness]
"Do not be surprised that the demons obey you, as their leader has already been toppled: "I saw satan fall like lightning from Heaven". The flash of "lightning" is used to present unexpectedness and swiftness. In other words, the Lord tells the Apostles that He witnessed the defeat of the prince of demons and his swift fall; like lightning; and therefore, if he was defeated, so were his legions. As the Conqueror of the hostile powers, the Lord makes possible for His disciples to feel the victory over them, calling the evil spirits allegorically as "snakes" and "scorpions". "The important thing is not this, but that you have become worthy of salvation and joy in Heaven." (Archbishop Averky, 20th Century Russian hierarch in America; Gospel Commentary) [Devil; Evil; Providence]
"At once I realized that it was the Most Reverend Metropolitan Nectarios himself whom I had taken for a laborer and had slighted. For I never imagined that it was possible for a Metropolitan to be engaged in such a lowly kind of work, especially at noontime, when everyone else was having a siesta. He had such a high office, and yet he was so humble!" (Elder Philotheos Zervakos, 20th Century monk on St. Nektarios) [Humility; Meekness]
"I observe physicians and see the difference between those who love God and have an organic relationship with the Church and those who are indifferent and atheists. The first are selfless and humble and feel as if they are partners in God's work of healing their fellow man, while the second consider themselves something higher than other people, like a god, and woe to those who dare challenge them." (Anonymous quote in 11/13 article by Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas) [Love; Generosity; Works of Mercy]
"You have to understand that God DOES NOT require the universe to exist in order to exist himself. He always was, before time, the big bang, or anything...An impersonal force cannot create life, nor the personal minds that we possess. It takes a personal force to create things that are personal. GOD also doesn't need time to create because He created time so He doesn't need to operate within its boundaries." (Reader Aleksandar Djeric, 21st Century Serbian Orthodox reader, 10/13 article) [Creation; Atheism]
"Truly, how will it benefit us to explain the name of the Antichrist or to delve into numbers, when before the coming of the Antichrist death will catch up to us? These things are enough, and I believe that as a wise laborer in the vineyard of Christ you will not over interpret what I say, but be convinced that this is the truth." (Elder Daniel of Katounakia, 19th Century Mt. Athos staretz on 666 and the anti-christ) [Prophecy; Wisdom]
"Put the candle in my hand, I'm in another world." (Bishop Nicholas Karpov, 20th Century Bishop of Lond, last words) [Holy Death; Salvation]
"If you live by God, you are entirely in the kingdom, His kingdom...do not waste one little bit of time, because it is so expensive. The loss of time we never weep over. Lost time! " (Archimandrite Arseny (Papachoka), 21st Century Romanian confessor) [Sloth; Will of God]
"'Glory be to God! Glory be to God for everything'...people said that afterwards [the burial]
there came a swarm of bees. They circled around the grave and rested on the coffin. Father Innocent's workers came to bid farewell to their loving master." (Words and account of the burial of Fr. Innocent, a 20th Century American monk and beekeeper who died in 1983) [Faith; Witness]
"Fools take pride in what smart people are ashamed of...Nothing is under such a threat as marriage and family in our tragic times. Both marriage and family are being undermined in a planned fashion, especially with the gay parade." (Patriarch Irenej, 21st Century Primate of Serbia on 2013 gay parade) [Society; Homosexuality; Family]
"You say that you enjoy your life, because of this and that. But I also enjoy my life. When I eat fasting foods instead of meats on Wednesdays, Fridays and during Lent, and when I wake up and go to church on Sunday mornings and feasts, my soul is filled! When I pray for this or that reason, my soul rejoices...You will lose out in the other life as well! And even if after death there is no paradise and hell, I will still come out the winner! I win in this present life! I enjoy it!" (Archbishop Evgenios Voulgaris, 18th Century Greek theologian talking with Voltaire, a rationalist and scoffer) [Salvation; Eternal Life; Joy]
"I agreed that God is love, but that didn’t tell me what He would expect of me...When I made my first steps back to churchgoing as an adult, I found plenty of good people who told me God is love, but who never challenged me to change my life. What needed changing? Lots." (Rod Dreher, 21st Century Orthodox convert) [Tradition; Converts]
“This is the original Christianity...Before there was Scripture — before there was a Bible — there was Liturgy.” (21st Century words of aconvert and mother of a monk-convert to her Protestant friends about Orthodoxy) [Witness; Tradition]
"In the tradition of the Church, however, it is seen clearly, that the demons have no mastery over the men of God, because those who have put on God do not go through such a martyrdom. ..This is why the Fathers advise us to live within the Church, with repentance, confession and spiritual works, that we live and die in the Church with the orthodox faith and the prayers of our Fathers, so that the ruler of darkness and the spirits of evil may not have power over us." (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, 20th Century hierarch, on the tollhouses after death) [Salvation; Judgement; Tollhouses]
"Of course, these two types of people should have different forms of preparation. For the first, if he receives once a week or two-three times a week (and there are such cases), it is probably not so necessary to confess often. For those who receive rarely, confession is mandatory and necessary. Otherwise their hearts will become hardened." (Bishop Pachomy Bruskov, 21st Century Russian hierach on Communion preparation) [Communion; Confession]
"They say that a disabled person removed from the life of man, that he may not be much. This is not the case. A disabled person is a special person. We need disabled people because caring for the disabled is our work of love, and a victory is achieved when people take and adopt children with disabilities." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Primate, on disabled children, September 2013) [Mercy; Love]
"These are the values of family, social morality, kindness, nobleness and charity; these values are the spiritual pillar of not only Orthodoxy but also of Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. We cannot move them to the background...We will be unable to move on if the society is disconnected, if we lose our moral pillars and the feeling of solidarity, if egoism, mutual mistrust, the principle of "every man for himself" and the primitive logic of prospering at any cost, even with immoral methods, come to dominate..." (Sergey Ivanov, 21st Century Russian layman and head of the Presidential administration, 10/13 comments) [Society; Morality; Values]
“We Orthodox throughout the world are a single body, and borders should not separate us. In this way we will always remain united to Christ, just as He loved and wished for us to be …” (His Eminence Anthimios, 21st Century Greek hierarch, 10/13 Youth meeting) [Unity; Faith]
"Our young people have been raised in a society that has developed the pursuit of pleasure to a degree unheard of in any previous society. I don’t think even pagan Rome can hold a candle to some of the things going on in our society today...Most of our young people really are seeking something higher, something more spiritual, but there is no one to guide them, so they simply follow the crowd. After a while, some of these young men grow tired and weary of all this pursuit of pleasure, and in their hunger for something more deeply satisfying, they turn to God with all their hearts, their broken and darkened hearts. And God, who has placed this desire in their hearts, comes to them like the father with his prodigal son." (Igumen Seraphim Voepel, deputy Abbot of Holy Cross Monastery in WV, 25th Ann. Book) [Pleasure; Society; Temptation ]
" We have been able to see many Euro-Atlantic countries effectively embark on a path of renouncing their roots, including Christian values, which underlie Western civilization...Policies are pursued that put large families and same-sex partnerships in the same category, belief in God and belief in Satan...holidays are abolished or given other names, names that shyly conceal the nature of those holidays..." (Vladimir Putin, 21st Century Russian President, speech in September, 2013) [Family; Society; Secularism]
"True art can not talk about God. If it introduces people to the beauty of the world created by God, then follows the invitation to get to know their Creator. " (Peter Davidov, 21st Century Russian Internet author) [Icons]
Updated 09/14/13
“What I see around me would drive me insane if I did not know that no matter what happens, God will have the last word.”
(Elder Paisius, 20th Century Greek staretz, quote in article) [Providence; Faith]
"Prayer is a petition for good addressed by the pious to God. But we do not rigidly confine our petition to words. Nor yet do we imagine that God requires to be reminded by speech. He knows our needs even though we ask Him not...I say that we must not think to make our prayer complete by syllables. The strength of prayer lies rather in the purpose of our soul and in deeds of virtue reaching every part and moment of our life."
(St. Basil the Great, 5th Century Greek hierarch, on Unceasing Prayer) [Prayer; Intercession; Worship]
“True, there are earthly joys which elevate the soul. There is no sin, for example, in enjoying the beauty of this world. On the earth there are extraordinarily beautiful places… But the present world bears only a faint resemblance to the world that once existed before the Fall. There is a heavenly world, the beauty of which we cannot fathom, and only holy people perceive it and enjoy it. That world remained unharmed, but the earthly world changed dramatically after the Fall."
(Elder Barsanuphius, 19th Century Optina staretz, quotes on entertainment) [Creation; Recreation]
"Very important is the fact that the loaves of bread and fish were multiplied while being given to the people. They were multiplied because they were blessed and because they were distributed. Nobody has seen piles of bread or fish, but they were multiplied while being distributed. Thus, Christ teaches us that we should not collect great supplies of material things which bring about only a false safety and happiness only because we have collected temporary material things. God’s care and love for the humans is greater than any collection of temporary material things.”
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, 083113 homily) [Providence]
" Despite all of the so-called "time-saving devices" that our society has invented in the past 50 years, it seems that we have even less time for what is most important: prayer, and going to church. So many people omit their prayers, and skip church services because they are supposedly too busy. It is a matter of having the proper priorities in life. We should be doing what is most important for eternal life, not our temporal life."
(Bishop George of Mayfield 21st Century ROCOR hierarch, 0913 interview) [Prayer; Physical verses Spiritual; Love of the World]
“If your soul is weak and asks the Lord to deliver it from trials, God will hear and deliver it. But you should know that according to the measure of trials you undergo God sends His Gifts.”
(Valeria Alfeeva, 21st Century Russia Orthodox layperson, book inscription) [Temptations; Perseverance]
"The purpose of the Church is not only to obtain for people the forgiveness of sins but also their sanctification and enlightenment. Therefore, baptism is called Holy Light. Afterwards the presence of invisible light of divine grace begins in man. This light must be nurtured by faith and good works, through much prayer in the Christian life...The Transfiguration shows that the light gained through prayer and good deeds is sharing God himself, not just His gifts, but the very presence of his loving, sanctifying, illuminating and deifying Person. It is the Tabor Light or uncreated light of God's grace."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Romanian Primate) [Grace; Good Works]
"Likewise, when preparing to depart from this world, it is essential to see how your soul is clothed. The Lord said of the church of Laodicea, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
(Revelation 3: 17–18). Here is your task: to look to the clothing of your soul. In what is it attired? In virtues. Therefore it is necessary to see what is lacking, in order to at least begin to take corrective action. Remember, any passion that you do not oppose will consume you, for after your death, all of the passions come crawling out into the open. Note that this does not mean that you have to get a complete grip on yourself. Of course, it would be wonderful to be able to cope and be dispassionate. What is the best kind of death? When the Holy Spirit says to you plainly that you are already saved. There is an idea, like an assurance, a special state of the heights of spiritual life, in which the Holy Spirit Himself tells someone that he will get into the Heavenly Kingdom. The Apostle Paul said on the subject, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.”
(II Timothy 4: 7–8). That is to say, the Apostle Paul was certain that he would be saved. Likewise, another interesting example: St. Anthony the Great rejoiced before his death, because he was certain that the Lord would save him, for the Lord Himself had so advised the saint. Remember what St. Seraphim of Sarov said, “Come to me at my grave, and I will pray to God for you.” Blessed Matrona would say the same. Why? Because they were so confident in themselves? No, rather because they had received the assurance from the Holy Spirit that they would be saved. That is not something you can do on your own. It is a decision made by God Himself, as He said, but it is something toward which you should strive, for in fact, your best assurance of being saved is God's Word."
(Dr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century priest-martyr, "Instructions to Immortals') [Judgment; Good Works]
"Lately we have been facing enormous temptations when in a number of countries the choice of sin is approved and justified by law, and those who do as their conscience tells them and fight laws imposed by such minorities are subjected to reprisals. This is a very dangerous apocalyptic symptom and we must do our utmost for sin to be never approved by state laws throughout the expanses of Holy Rus because it would mean that the nation is entering the road of self-destruction."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate or Russia on gay marriage, July 2013) [Homosexuality; Society]
"If we, brothers and sisters, also desire that our petitions on earth be heard by God, this requires, first of all, that we have a heartfelt, living, and firm conviction that God is everywhere, all-seeing, and all-knowing; that He is wise, all-powerful, and omnipotent; and, moreover, that He is good, merciful, and loving...let us petition God with living, heartfelt, and unquestioning faith, filled with love for our neighbors. Then the Lord will hear and grant our petitions..."
(Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox hierarch, on the Centurion July 2013) [Faith; Prayer]
“Spiritual unity is something so strong that it is not affected by influence of authorities – neither state nor church."
(Vladimir Putin, 21st Century Russian President, on 1025th Anniversary of Baptism of the Rus) [Society; Church]
"Grace is nothing other than the Life of God. In proper theological terms
(of the Eastern Church) grace is the uncreated Divine energies. But that phrase, unless correctly understood can be all to confusing. I prefer to speak either of grace or of God’s own Life, freely given to us. First, grace is a gift. You don’t have to go anywhere to get what you already have been given. What we need to do is allow the grace of God to work in us what God intends."
(Fr. Stephen Freeman; 21st Century Orthodox priest, 2013 article on St. Seraphim) [Sanctification; God's Will]
"You can put on the clothes of the saints and to be called by their names, but if we are not involved in their feat, clothes, titles and rank the most are empty, as if hung on a hanger, not the person. Form without content is empty."
(Fr. Paul Adelgeim, 21st Century murdered Russian Orthodox priest, blog sayings) [Witness]
"If, having felt great compunction over the sins of his youth, someone has confessed them, there is no reason to agonize over them, for from the moment he has told of his sins during his Confession, God has forgiven him. After that, there is no need to pick open his old sins, especially his sins of the flesh; in doing so, he may cause himself harm."
(Elder Paisios, 20h Century startez on Mt. Athos, quotes on Confession) [Confession; Repentance]
"If we keep the fasts of Wednesday and Friday, no additional fast to prepare for Communion is needed. By the way, on Mount Athos currently fasting is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, butthey partake of communion four days a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
(after fasting days) and Sunday. And it is absolutely right: people are living Christ. Liturgy is the center of their lives, around which is everything else."
(Bishop Trinity Pankraty, 21st Century Russian Patriarchal Vicar, 0913 interview on Repentance) [Fasting; Communion]
"The second thing that we should notice in today’s Gospel is the way in which Christ healed. He spat on the earth and ‘made clay of the spittle’. We note this for every sacrament of the Church heals in the selfsame manner: Clay cannot heal the blind and yet with the breath of God, it becomes the container for the healing grace of God. Water cannot heal and yet the water of baptism heals because the blessed water bears the Holy Spirit. Oil cannot heal and yet the oil of chrismation and unction heal because they are filled with the grace of God. A piece of cloth cannot heal and yet a priest’s stole can heal through the grace of Christ at the sincere confession of sins and the repentant intention not to sin again. Bread and wine cannot heal and yet bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ heal through the Holy Spirit. Wood and paint cannot heal and yet icons can heal by the Holy Spirit Who penetrates into their material essence and radiates grace from them. Smoke cannot heal and yet incense burnt brings healing through the blessing of Christ. Christ teaches us then that all things can be used for our healing and benefit and salvation, but that they must first be touched by His grace. In this way our bodies, mere flesh and bones and blood, can become containers of Christ. Our souls activated, we can become lamps of the Holy Spirit; the eyes of our souls, the doors of perception, become seeing, and we see the whole of God’s Creation as it really is. We see that every blade of grass and every hill, every tree and every cloud, every drop of rain and every ocean, all creatures and all people, are miracles of God’s handiwork, signs of His sacramental presence among us, and we see that we live not in the banal, everyday world, but in potential Paradise, the world as it really is, as God made it first, for we see God the Creator behind all things and all people. And then we too, together with the man born blind, can say: ‘I was blind, now I see’."
(Fr. Andrew Philips, 21st Century English Orthodox priest, semons) [Creator; Healing]
"There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal."
(Vladimir Putin, 21st Century Russian President, 0913 statement on nations) [Creation; Mankind]
" It was snowing, it was very cold. When I saw all the belt , I was shocked, so many people I have never seen! Crowding, noise, droning, piercing cold. It had been five and a half hours before I got into the church, but those two or three minutes in the temple, the five-second touch of the belt - are unforgettable, this feeling is beyond words...Perhaps this is God's grace."
(Pilgrim Xenia Surai at the 21st Century visit of the Belt of the Theotokos in Russia, 2013) [Pilgrimage; Theotokos; Relics]
"An important event in the life of every human being, and so it must be considered, is the way in which they will depart this world, since it is related to their eternal future, for, while our earthly life has an end, life never ends. This is why we must seriously concern ourselves with it and prepare our entire lives for our departure. Besides, "for one to live a Christian life is impossible. They can only die a Christian death, as the Apostle Paul died daily"
(Elder Sophrony Sacharov). When someone was asked why they became Orthodox, he responded: "So that I may die well." In reality, it is to be able to live well in eternity."
(Protopresbyter George Papavarnavas, 21st Century Orthodox priiest, on the Martyr Babylas) [Eternal Life; Death; Judgment]
“...spiritual condition of Europe now is very poor, There, as Friedrich Nietsche said, ‘God died’. True, there are some little islands of church life... That is why I feel words one of the Roman Catholic bishops said: 'You don’t need us, but we need you.,' in principle, is not so strange,”
(Patriarch Irinej, 21st Century Serbian Orthodox Primate, comments in July, 2013) [Society; Secularism; Evangelism]
"False christs, false prophets and false apostles are the heretics, who by their own will and in their own knowledge twist the truths of the Holy Gospel. They present one part of the truth, as been the whole truth. The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, participating in the Ecumenical or local Coun-cils, had full conscience of the responsibility that they must preserve the Truth of Divine Revelation, just as it was revealed by God and had been passed down by the Apostles and eye witnesses of His life on earth. At the same time they had to be aware for themselves and for the whole flock from any false teachings coming from heretics. They believed that they had the responsibility, not only before God, but also before their flock, and they struggled to build up and to strengthen the faithful in the true faith of Christ. The Holy Fathers with their personal example, their teachings, their kindness, their warm zeal and self-denial gave courage to the faithful during times of persecution and tribulation. With their virtuous life and struggle for Orthodoxy, they became the athletes of Christ in the stadium of the Church. "Two utter strangers finding each other and choosing to start a new community that begins now and is meant to continue “unto ages of ages, amen.” It’s mysterious enough on a human level, but then add the divine dimension, seeing God’s hand in all the events of past, present and future in this fledgling family….The only adequate response is wonder, and wonder turns in to gratitude."
(Fr. John Jillions, 21st Century Chancellor of the OCA, 08/20/13 article) [Familyl Marriage; Myasteries]
We, the Orthodox Christians, today, honour and give gratitude to all those who struggled for Orthodoxy. Let us pray to our loving God to give us strength and faith, so that we also be able to defend the Apostolic Faith, imitating those holy men, who sacrificed even their own lives for the Truth, and became Shepherds and Teachers of the Church."
(Archimandrite Panteleimon Lampadarios, 20th Century Orthodox monk, 'Sunday of the 1st Ecumenical Council') [Heresy; Apostacy; Delusion]
"Disease helps us see where we are on the road of life. "It's a lesson from God being our help in raising us if we get the satisfaction from it," says St. Varsanufie. The disease can not be used as an excuse to rest after spiritual efforts."
(Fr Adrian-Claudiu Pîrvu, 21st Century Romanian Orthodox Priest, 0813) [Suffering; Perseverance]
"The universe created by God is diverse, for, on the one hand, it is our world — the world of nature and man — and, on the other hand, it is spiritual — the world of the Angelic Host and the Church Triumphant-known biblically as Heaven. Therefore God is called the Father of our natural-human world and the Heavenly Father — “Who art in Heaven,” that is, the Father of the spiritual world. Heaven also implies that purity and sanctity of divine life to which man is called, and which does not exist in him if he is entirely captivated by Sin. As Bishop Nicholas says: “Heaven is very, very far for a man whose heart and soul have turned away from Thee...but Heaven is very, very close for a man whose soul is open and awaits Thy coming.'”
(These Truths We Hold, 20th Century American Orthodox catechism) [Physical verses spiritual; Creation]
"Do not commemorate him during the Liturgy. It is better for his soul. When the All-Merciful sees that we do not honor him, the Same will take pity on him, but when we honor him, He will not have mercy on him."
(Fr. Anthimos Agiannanites, 20th Century elder on Mt. Athos, comments to the parents of a suicide) [Suicide; Prayer for the Departed]
"The Orthodox liturgy is very different than anything in the West, either Catholic or Protestant. It’s very ancient and really rooted in a living past and living present...Orthodox Christianity is very traditional and really holy. The goal is to grow in faith, connecting more fully with both God and others.”
(21st Century Orthodox Converts in Texas, August 2013 article) [Converts; Orthodoxy]
"The most difficult thing—and not only in our time but always—is obedience and the denial of one’s own will. It is met with more resistance, more sharply today when a person lives in complete satisfaction, when the material world gives him all he wants. When there is no poverty, then one must reject all the external glitter, and as I said, this is not so hard. But what is hard is denying your own will."
(Archbishop Mark Arndt, 21st Century Russian Orthodox hierarch in Germany, on modern monasticism) [Faith; Monks; Sanctification]
"Faith does not begin apologetically. Faith begins with love: and in that direction, we do not do enough. Knowing theology does not necessarily mean knowing God. Our duty is to realize that if we accept our responsibility to follow the Gospel preached by Christ, our ignorance
(not knowing) of Christ pushes people away from Him...."
(Archimandrite Joakim Couple, 21st Century monk) [Witness]
"We must learn the lessons of the past. And the main lesson is this: the edifice of our civilization cannot exist without the Gospel foundation upon which it was raised up. Today many again are proposing that we build up our lives without God. Freedom is often understood as the pursuit of all kinds of desires, including those imposed upon the human person from without...It is our duty and spiritual imperative to preserve this truth and build our private and public lives upon its foundations."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Primate, 1025th Anniversary statement) [Society]
"Moreover, we think it is a more dignified attitude for a Christian European people to build new churches, necessary to large communities, than sell empty churches because they lack faithful, to be changed into commercial or sporting spaces, as often happens in Great Britain and other secularized countries of the West, to the surprise of other religions."
(August 8, 2013 Statement by the Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate concerning a BBC report criticizing the building a a new church in Romania every three days) [Evangelism]
"Many of our clergy and faithful come from various non-Russian backgrounds, and have wholeheartedly embraced the sacred customs and traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. Let us not fall into the temptation of segregating our Diocese into cultural groups, because as sons and daughters of the Russian Orthodox Church, we are all citizens of Holy Russia."
(Metropolitan Hilarion, 21st Century ROCOR Primate on the 1025th Baptism of the Rus) [Traditions]
"An important event in the life of every human being, and so it must be considered, is the way in which they will depart this world, since it is related to their eternal future, for, while our earthly life has an end, life never ends. This is why we must seriously concern ourselves with it and prepare our entire lives for our departure. Besides, "for one to live a Christian life is impossible. They can only die a Christian death, as the Apostle Paul died daily"
(Elder Sophrony Sacharov). When someone was asked why they became Orthodox, he responded: "So that I may die well." In reality, it is to be able to live well in eternity."
(Protopresbyter George Papavarnavas, 21st Century Orthodox priiest, on the Martyr Babylas) [Eternal Life; Death; Judgment]
Updated 07/22/13
"Thus, all the saints are local in that they worked in a certain place, but are universally believed...From this point of view there are no local saints. All are local people in one place who serve during their lives through deeds and their examples, but all are universal epistles for believers everywhere and it is necessary that all get to know them. All are filled with the same Christ that shines through their being and all are carriers of the one Spirit, the Holy Spirit...All belong to the same Universal Church of the Holy Spirit, which began at Pentecost and continues throughout the centuries, including different nations (Acts 2, 3). The languages ??are different, but by the same Spirit souls are filled and experience the same Christ." (Fr Dumitru Staniloae, 21st Century Romanian theological, July article 2013) [Church; Saints]
"...the Church of God, the Orthodox, does not stand as the repository of artifacts nor as a repository of customs and traditions, but shows how to spread the truth of God, through the Church and Gospel of the Lord and Savior to the world; and, through the grand drama of grace, the Church enhances the Evangelical message which becomes modern, vibrant, and timeless in its meaning for each successive generation." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, July 2013 statement) [Evangelism; Catechism; Witness]
"As can be seen from St. Luke’s preface, he undertook the writing of his Gospel because by that time there had appeared fairly numerous similar works but lacking in authority and unsatisfactory in substance.... he undoubtedly wrote a significant part of his Gospel from the words of eyewitnesses; that is, on the basis of tradition (here we can see the importance of tradition, which is rejected by Protestants and sectarians).." (Archbishop Averky Tauchev, 20th Century Russian American hierarch, Gospel Commentary) [Tradition; Bible]
"On this day, our pagan ancestors celebrated Midsummer, and the night of the 23rd to the 24th was for them the most mystical of the year...Kupala was the god of fruit, ranking very high among the gods. At the beginning of the harvest sacrifices were made to him...The establishment of the Nativity of John the Baptist on the day (harmonizing with the Gospel narrative of the Nativity and Savior's [birth]
) allowed good [spiritual]
growth, removing the weeds of paganism." (Pravimir internet site references) [Tradition; Feast Days]
"We believe that the Mystery of Baptism completes our purification through the remission of the sins of our hearts, Chrismation activates our illumination by making us temples of the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit resides in our hearts as new members of the Body of Christ, and through Holy Communion we come to know Christ entirely in His glory every time we partake of it. We do not believe this magically happens, but as St. Cyril of Jerusalem writes, this happens according to the measure of our faith.." (John Sanidopoulos, 21st Century Orthodox scholar and blogger) {Faith; Catechism; Mysteries]
""If people choose such lifestyle, this is their right but the Church's responsibility is to say that this is a sin in the face of God... the sin is justified by law for the first time in the entire history of mankind." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia, address to Council of Europe Secretary on homosexuality) [Society; Traditional Values]
"Every day, Allen wakes up and looks around, and he sees guys he wants to have sex with — and he doesn't have sex with them because he's following Jesus,. And every day, I wake up, and I see girls I want to have sex with — and I don’t have sex with them because I’m following Jesus." (Quotes from a retreat attended by an Orthodox layperson) [Temptation; Spiritual Struggle; Chastity]
"The family is the natural and fundamental existence and development of society, and is based on the freely consented marriage between a man and a woman, their equality, and the right and duty of parents to ensure the upbringing, education and training of children with the support and care of state and society." (Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Romanian Primate, June 2013 official statement) [Family; Society]
"Prayers, memorial services, liturgies, alms are very much to the benefit of the departed ones. You should pray more for the departed ones than the living. Because there is nothing they can do on their own any more, but we can help themby attracting God's mercy through praying and the other means we have mentioned so that their state can be improved or even change, because they are still under judgment." (Elder Paisios, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos) [Prayer for the Departed; Prayer]
http://www.pravmir.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/362-580x418.jpg "Today, they are trying to convince us that we need to change, based on real or imagined social moods. So why should we change? I am convinced that the role of the Church in society is precisely change it, not to adapt, not to try to please, but we act as prescribed by the Lord in the Gospels. And he proposes to change the world as a whole, every man ... I am convinced that has always been the mission of the Church..." (Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox official, July 2013 interview) [Witness; Society]
"When the Saints said they were sinners, they believed it. Their spiritual eyes became microscopes and they saw even their slightest mistakes as great." (Elder Paisios, 20th Century Greek staretz on Mt. Athos) [Repentance; Humility]
"The faces that look at us from icons belong to eternity. Gazing upon them, raise up your prayers to them, asking for their intercessions. We, the inhabitants of the earthly world, should never forget our Savior’s eternal call towards repentance, perfection, and the deification of every human soul." (Serge Alexeev, 21st Century Orthodox writer on the Icon Corner, July 2013) [Icons; Tradition]
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/431841_10152906874650002_1902684424_n.jpg "All of us are a generation of people born blind. We were born, for the most part, outside of faith in the Lord. According to an ancient plan, our spiritual eyes should have remained closed until our very death....But God worked a miracle on us." (Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, 21st Century Abbot of the Stretensky Monastery, June 2013 homily) [Mercy; Revelation]
"Everything that happens in the present moment in our country under the pretext of the observance of human rights is, in most cases, nothing more than a program run entirely to repeal and destroy our national identity which is formed on the basis of Christian spiritual values... we would like to remind everyone that for us, Orthodox Christians, there is no higher value in this short life that the observance of the evangelical teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ." "For example, the Fathers wrote that not every thought must be accepted. In modern computer language, we should see sin in a state of 'zip-archive', knocking into our consciousness. You cannot "unpack" it once. Any idea must first examined. And, if it confuses the heart, send that 'zip' to the basket. Passions we are the same as the one...the old comes to us under the guise of a new one. " (Archpriest Vitaly Shinkar, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Temptation; Spiritual Struggle]
"The main thing is to remember that the goal of our life is not material well-being and external happiness, but in acquiring the grace of God and in the preparation for life eternal, and for this, first of all, one must gather spiritual treasures which no one can ever take away." (Metropolitan Hilarion, 21st Century Hierarch of the Russia Church Abroad, May 2013 interview) [Witness; Sanctification]
"When the priest’s home life is upset in this way, he cannot really give proper service to his congregation. A priest’s wife often suffers cruelly and needlessly from the thoughtlessness of parishioners and the neglect of her husband. They are often not even accorded the common courtesy and respect due to any human being." (Excerpt from Orthodox America, late 20th centurn) [Clergy; Love]
“If this is the oldest church in Christendom, then I guess the water is purest the closest to the fountain.” (Jack Cutrer, 21st Century American convert) [Tradition; True Church; Evangelism]
"The symptoms of vanity, this initial sin, are: intolerance of criticism, a thirst for praise, a search for easy paths, and a constant orientation toward others. What will they say? How will it appear? What will they think? Vanity sees an audience approaching from afar and makes the wrathful affectionate, the irresponsible serious, the distracted concentrated, gluttons temperate, and so on – all of this as long as there are observers around.The same orientation towards an audience explains the sin of self-justification, which often creeps unnoticably even into our confession: “I am no more sinful than the rest… only insignificant sins… I have not killed anyone or stolen anything.” (Priest Alexander Elchaninov, 20th Century Russian priest, article) “I set out from my monastery with the blessings of my Geronda and the other fathers and the explicit command of Father Paisios, who is also my spiritual guide, to work together with the heads of the Church for the good of the Mission. The Church exists wherever there is a Bishop and faithful flock. Without the Bishop the faithful do not constitute the Church, but a Protestant heresy." (Father Cosmas of Grigoriou, 20th Century Missionary in Zaire) [Missions; Church]
"Paul had the joy of preaching even to those afar the correct Gospel, without distorting or camouflaging or hiding it. This, my beloved, is Orthodox Ecumenism...This Ecumenism is accepted by our Orthodox Church and for such an Ecumenism we pray in our divine worship, saying: "And for the union of all." The other kind of ecumenical movement, that is, the approaching of heretical Papists and other faiths who are outside our Orthodox faith and religion, without telling them clearly that they are heretics and deluded, but instead we embrace them with great love and pray with them and even call them "Holiness", these movements, I say, do not create unity, but bring division and turbulence to our House." (Metropolitan Jeremiah, 21st Century hierarch of of Gortinos and Megalopolis) [Ecumenism; Evangelism]
"By reverencing icons — firstly, I reverence in them God, Who has begotten before all worlds the Son, His living Image, Who gave material being to the infinite thought of God the Father, by creating the worlds and all creatures that were in the thought of God, and man, created after the image and likeness of God; secondly, I honour in them the image of God incarnate; thirdly, I honour in them myself, my own image of the immortal god-like man, called to be a partaker of the Divine nature, to union with the Lord, to be the temple of the Holy Spirit." (St. John of Kronstadt, 19th Century Russia staretz) [Worship; Icons]
"Sunday is also called a holy and chosen day, because all the great Dogmatic events happened on it. According to the Fathers, the Annunciation to the Theotokos, the Birth of Christ, the Resurrection, the basic great Dogmatic events, occurred on a Sunday. And the Second Coming of Christ, and certainly the resurrection of the dead will also happen on this day (Saint Peter of Damascus). This is why Christians give such importance and weight on the day and seek to make it holy, because on this day the sudden Second Coming of Christ will take place." (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, 21st Century Greek hierarch, article 2013) [Traditions; Worship; Feasts]
"“There is a tendency to romanticize missionary endeavors. The Orthodox Church and its priests, who many here believe are living comfortable lives, but the truth, however, is that the Orthodox Church in Africa is at the frontier, regularly facing life-threatening situations for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." (Brother Themi Adams,, 21st Century Orthodox missionary in Africa, 2013 interview) [Evangelism; Faith]
"In this day of celebration is appropriate that Romanian graves in the country and outside the borders of our country will not remain without candles and without flowers which express gratitude and love that prayer of remembrance stronger than death, that spiritual connection uninterrupted heroes who gave their lives in the past for our existence today." (Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, comments on the Ascension 2013) [Prayer for the Dead; Intercession]
“The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power. My Mother had taught me to seek all truth in the Bible.” (Nikola Tesla, 20th Century Serbian Orthodox scientist) [Creator; Providence]
"Flowers and greenery denote life and as we say and sing in the Creed: ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life…’, and again in the prayer ‘Heavenly King’ which we should all know by heart, we call the Holy Spirit ‘the Giver of Life’. This is why the clergy usually wear green vestments. Green means life, and without the Holy Spirit, we are spiritually dead. " (Archpriest Andrew Phillips. 21st Century English Orthodox priest, interview about Pentecost and the use of greenery) [Traditions]
"Thus, the thought of our lot in the future life should seemingly occupy our heart and mind more than anything else. Unfortunately, in our days – as a consequence of the influence of the false spirit of our times – there are many people who completely deny the future life beyond the grave and, understandably, the lot that awaits them as a result of this denial. Such unbelievers and deniers either completely lose heart in this earthly life and can see no meaning therein or, if they do live, it is only a base and brutish life, following the Epicurean rule: let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die!" (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov, 21st Century Russian monk, June 2013 article) [Salvation; Judgement, Love of the World]
"Russia has always held that prayer is righteous. But the fruits of this prayer are not something given to us from the outside, they give the righteous deed only if we ourselves strive for righteousness, at least to some extent and are involved in it. Thus, righteousness: a feat not one person, but all people." (Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga, 21st Century Hierarch, 2013 interview) [Prayer; Sanctification]
"...one must remake oneself at the root and live as a Christian and not as a pagan, as I have so far. But Lord! Will I be able to try to live in a way pleasing to God? And would I even be able to live that way in freedom? In prison, in the looming fear of death, decisiveness does not fail but gains strength, while in freedom, amidst the buzz of life and various temptations--there one may not preserve such a good intention." (Archpriest Basil Sokolov, 20th Century Russian Martyr, letters from prison) [Judgement; Sanctification]
"Our neighbors are immortal. They are our eternal companions. We are condemned to them. They are our fate: we are sentenced to them, and they are sentenced to us. This is both frightening and disarming. There is nowhere to run! They will be there in the bridal chambers prepared for them – their faces, their hacking coughs, they way they chomp away at table, that wheezing of theirs. The only way out is to learn how to love them in the here and now." (Archimandrite Savva Mazhuko, 21st Century Russian Orthodox priest, June 2013 article) [Love of Neighbor; Forgiveness]
"We are accused of disrupting this rally and subjecting its participants to violence, but it isn't so. We weren't the organizers. Everything happened spontaneously. It was probably God's will. If someone was the organizer, it was Jesus Christ" ( Fr. Antimoz Bichinashvili, 21st Century Georgian priest accused of disrupting a 'gay' rally in Tiblisi) [Society; Homosexuality]
"The conventional portrayal of Mustapha Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, has been built on the political canard that the secularist principles of the Republic of Turkey were a deliberate turn away from the Islamic theocracy of the Ottoman Empire. The reality is quite different. In fact, Turkey’s founding moment involved the genocide of two-and-a-half million Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Christians in Ottoman Anatolia and Asia Minor–in short, most of the remaining Orthodox Christian population that had survived from Byzantine Christian times." (Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou, 21st Century American scholar on the 'Fall of Constantinople', May 2013) [Persecution; Islam]
"My home is my monastery. It is here that I must practice forgiveness, patience, stillness, and the crucifixion of my ego and pride. When I experience some supposed offense, I should see this as an opportunity sent from God for the salvation of my soul. Yet, when the offense comes from my wife or children, I think I am free to be angry, sullen, and resentful. Not so! " (Fr. John Moses, 21st Century American Orthodox priest, 2013 blog) [Sanctification]
"I felt that the Spirit of God was not there [Pentecostal prayer meeting]
, which is a Spirit of peace and not of disturbance and excitement. The Spirit of God does not come with artificial and psychological ways...To attempt to receive experiences of God with artificial ways and methods as is done in the heresies of Hinduism and in Yoga is false. Those experiences are not from God. Those are experiences that are derived from psychological ways." (Archimandrite George of our Holy Monastery of Saint Gregory on Mt. Athos, 20th Century elder) [Deception; Protestantism; Charismatics; New Age]
"The Paschal songs are sung until the fortieth day, that is, until the Ascension of the Lord. The continuation of the celebration of Pascha until Ascension signifies that the Lord Jesus Christ, over the course of forty days of his Resurrection, appeared to His disciples. And so today [Ascension]
the Paschal Feast comes to an end. In daily life, the end of this holiday brings a degree of sorrow..." (Archbishop Simon Vinogradov, 20th Century Russian Orthodox hierarch in China, homily for the Apodosis) [Joy; Feasts]
"...in Protestantism, salvation means simply changing God’s attitude toward you, so that you can go to heaven. According to this understanding, it literally only takes a few minutes to be “saved...For the Orthodox Church, salvation is more than the pardon of sins and transgressions. It is more than being justified or acquitted for offenses committed against God. According to Orthodox teaching, salvation certainly includes forgiveness and justification, but is by no means limited to them. For the Fathers of the Church, salvation is the acquisition of the Grace of the Holy Spirit. To be saved is to be sanctified and to participate in the life of God..." (Hieromonk Damascene Christensen, 21st Century American monk, quotes from a 2005 conference) [Salvation]
"[Rebel held areas in Syria]
are ruled by newly-appeared emirs, and those Christians who were not able to flee these places are obligated to pay jizya—a special tax that allows them to remain Christians, and Christian women must hide their faces like Moslem women. If they don’t pay the jizya they are simply killed." (Anonymous Orthodox priest in Syia's civil war, May 2013 article) [Persecution; Islam]
"The strongest walls between people and between nations are not built of iron or steel but are created by fear, hate, and prejudice. The only way to break down these walls is through the practice of forgiveness." (Fr. Anthony Coniaris, 21st Century American priest and author, excerpt from 'Gems') [Forgiveness]
"If humanism were right in declaring that man is born to be happy, he would not be born to die. Since his body is doomed to die, his task on earth evidently must be of a more spiritual nature. It cannot unrestrained enjoyment of everyday life. It cannot be the search for the best ways to obtain material goods and then cheerfully get the most out of them...Only voluntary, inspired self-restraint can raise man above the world stream of materialism.." (Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 20th Century Orthodox writer, Columbia speech) [Meaning of Life; God's Will; Sanctification]
""The main thing in life and international relations is not economics, not politics, but whether or not a specific group adheres to eternal moral norms or tries to contest them. It is known that many Western countries do not back the recognition of this extreme immorality as the norm, which means that calling a black thing white doesn't work..." (Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Church official, June 2013 interview) [Society; Love of the World]
"Whether it’s cooking, whether it’s hoeing the garden, or whether it’s taking part in the communal worship, so everything, every aspect of our life is a prayer...And the fathers even speak of the ability to pray even while we are sleeping...” (Fr. Jeremiah, 21st Century American-born monk on Mt. Athos, May 2013 article) [Prayer; Jesus Prayer; Monks]
"The day of Sunday, as clearly reflects the meaning of the word, is the day dedicated to the Lord. Therefore, the position of the Church is as follows: Sunday should remain a holiday to give Christians the opportunity not only to pray to their God, but also that they be given the opportunity to rest from labors of the week and prepare for those of the next week... as it was in centuries." (Metropolitan Demis of Corinth, 21st Century Greek hierarch, 2013 statement on Sunday) [Traditions; Society]
"Therefore we learn that we are all subject to spiritual influences, to the spirit of evil or to the spirit of good. What are we to do? Let us flee the spirit of evil. Otherwise we too will finish by living in the tombs of the spiritually dead. Otherwise we too will be owned by devils and none will pass our way. Otherwise we too will run ‘violently down a steep place into the sea and perish in the waters’." (Archpriest Andrew Philips, 21st Century British Orthodox priest, on Palm Sunday 2013) [Sanctification; Temptation]
"I told him to wait, not to hurry, I had been living as an Orthodox Christian for fifteen years, though officially I wasn’t an Orthodox. The most important thing is to live like an Orthodox. To be one not on paper, but in real life." (Abbot Vasily Pasquiet, French monk and convert to Orthodoxy, 2013 advise to a potential convert) [Evangelism; Converts; Sanctification]
""For the grace of God," said our ancestors, and they traveled the arduous path of life. There was the occupation times of great poverty, misery, but they have not lost hope or patience, they did not sink into despondency. Poor laborers without deposits in banks, but their hope hoarded in heaven, our fathers worked "from the custody of the morning until night," watering the earth with their sweat. It is true that the basis of social phenomena are spiritual causes. Therefore, to properly deal with social problems, we must take as its point of departure the spiritual." (Metropolitan Cydonia of Crete, May 2013 comments on modern social despair) [Society; Providence; Hope]
Updated 05/19/13
"People who deny the future life and the immortality of the soul also look differently upon our present earthly life, seeking therein only pleasure and the satisfaction of sensual pleasures. Seeing the precariousness of goods and perceiving their temptations and sorrows, such people very often reach disappointment and frustration, sometimes even resorting to suicide, considering it a means of ridding themselves of all present troubles and tribulations. Forgetting about eternity, they walk in darkness, not knowing whither they go. Sometimes they indulge in bitter drunkenness and ultimately reach a bad end. For them life is a vain and chance gift, of spectral rather than actual value."
(Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov), 21st Century Russian monk, Mary 2013 article) [Judgment; Eternity]
" We are afraid of overburdening ourselves by an extra visit to the church or prolonging our prayer, or of weakening if we fast too much. We are afraid that we will become impoverished if we donate money to the church or to those in need...These and many other less obvious fears and worries create a dichotomy in our Christian attitude and cool our love for our Savior. Theoretically we wouldn't mind being better Christians, but in practice we won't make the sacrifices to become such."
(Bishop Alexander Mileant, 21st Century American hierarch and evangelist, on the Myrrhbearers) [Sanctification; Love of the World]
"In heaven, at least in men, there will be many, many virgins, and how much you want to drink and never get drunk, in general, you can do everything. And for women bliss is that they will not know about each other, and each is convinced that it is - the only one. Here's a picture of paradise. For Christians, it seems too carnal, but for a Muslim - is the embodiment of all his desires."
(Anthony Alai, 21st Century convert to Orthodoxy from Islam) [Salvation; Judgment; Islam]
"What attracts me especially in liturgical Old Believers and supporters of "edinoverie" (traditional communities)... [is] the fact that the liturgy is celebrated precisely as a common work. The word "liturgy" in Greek means precisely that. For us, it is often perceived as any actions taken by the celebrants in the sanctuary...we see [in Old Believers]
people praying together, they perform métanias together. They arrive early and stay late. This gives discipline, of course. This teaches the faithful to feel they are genuine participants of the Divine Office."
(Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk; 21st Century Russian Orthodox hierarch on the Old Believers, 2013) [Worship; Tradition]
"Before the Lord entered into Hades, there was a special section for the righteous. It was separated from the rest of Hades by a certain chasm, but nonetheless it remained in Hades. It was referred to as the Bosom of Abraham...However, they are no longer there, for what did our Lord Jesus Christ do when He descended into Hades? He freed all of the righteous."
(Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century priest-martyr, 'Instructions to Immortals' ex.) [Judgment; Death]
""Father, I have heard the wedding [service]
for 20 years but did not understand what they are talking about. And now understood everything,"
(Unnamed Ukrainian Orthodox women on the 21st Century switch from Church Slavonic to Ukrainian in two parishes, 2013) {Teaching; Evangelism; Society]
"The purpose of fasting is not dieting or carnal in nature, but rather gets to the heart of what it means to be truly human. Our relationship with the Father was distorted in the Garden, and only through true spiritual renewal — such as can be experienced through the ascetic discipline of fasting, coupled with both prayer and almsgiving – can one “grow” to become greater than one’s flesh."
(Gabe Martini, 21st Century American Orthodox subdeacon, 04/13 blog) [Repentance; Sanctification]
"The country is in a deep spiritual vacuum where traditional cultural values ??are lost, the values ??that have tried to instill, devalued, and the new found... China is ready for hearing the word of Christ..."
(Fr.Dionysius Pozdnyaev, 21st Century Orthodox priest in China) [Evangelism]
"In China there is a strong movement of searching for the meaning of life: both among the common people and among intellectuals, in academic circles. In this sense, the country is absolutely open to all outside ideas. Orthodoxy and its view of the world – and not necessarily the Russian version, but one irrespective of ethnic basis – offers something fundamentally new to the Chinese. People are ready to listen, to hear, to study, and perhaps to accept the Christian faith."
(Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev, 21st Century Russian Priest in China, May interview) [Evangelism]
"Under the invasion of American and Protestant-style “evangelization”, in which partial truths of Christianity are preached before a satanic background of rock music and in the form of a “cheep sham spectacle”, full of shrieks and false tears, with miracles and healings falling upon your confused head, how can you find the true Christ in your heart?...you no longer find God, and you stand, like Mary Magdalene, crying from the empty tomb of your soul. "
(Fr. George Calciu, 21st Century Romanian Orthodox priest and staretz, homily) [Heresy; Ecumenism; Faith]
"Holy Fire, the beauty of the temples and worship, miracles of Orthodoxy, which parents try to capture the imagination of a teenager, do not make any impression on [them]
. In our age, the age of' miracles' of science and technology, the age of the Internet and opening of all borders in this age of sophisticated virtual reality, our children see the special effects...live in them and are used to them."
(Fr. Sergei Kruglov, 21st Century Russian priest, article in Bright Week 2013) [Deception; Love of the World]
"I looked and thought about how death is symbolic of the ship. This is, without a doubt, the loss of an entire model of civilization, heavy as in parts fitted together. It is the death of an intelligent and proud world...not the whole world, but the death of the present model of a proud world that no longer feels their vulnerability and mortality."
(Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, 21st Century Russian priest on the Titanic, 2013) [Society; Pride]
"'Truly He is risen!.' All will rise. All of them? Absolutely! The gloomy aunt that fills my apartment every month? Certainly. And the villain that slandered me as boss? Required. And my friend who was so cruelly deceived me and laughed at me? And he...The only way is to learn to love them here and now. Here at home, at church, at work - learn to get along with everyone and see their faces, hear theirvoices - to love, accept, forgive."
(Archimandrite Sava Mazhukov, 21st Century Russian monk, Mary 2013 article) [Love; Forgiveness]
"...this Sunday we pray more to Saint John of the Ladder to help us free ourselves from the passions of sins through repentance, through fasting, prayer, alms and cultivating virtues. The highest virtues according to his 'ladder' are humility and love. And without humility there can be no true love because true love is the very presence of Christ, the humble man, and the presence of the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ."
(Beatitude Daniel, 21st Century Patriarch of Romania, 4th Sunday of Lent 2013) [Humility; Sanctification]
"We only call the Lord, God, but in reality we have our own gods, because we do not do the Will of God, but the will and thoughts of our flesh, the will of our heart, of our passions ; our gods are—our flesh, pleasures, money, dress, etc."
(St. John of Kronstadt, 20th Century Russian priest, 'My Life in Christ' excerpt) [Love of the World]
"There is not a single patristic or early Christian source that interprets the words of Paul as anything but condemning homosexual acts. Neither is there a single patristic or early Christian source that discounted Paul’s teaching on this issue... there is not a single “later” Christian source that somehow “evolved” to approve of homosexual acts...condemnation of homosexual acts appears to be a constant throughout the history of the Church."
(Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov, 21st Century American Orthodox priest, 2013 article) [Society; Homosexuality]
"Having gone through the Holy Forty Days, having lived through Holy Week and the Paschal celebration of faith, now it is time to think how to preserve ourselves spiritually, how to be spiritually strengthened and enriched...To do this one needs to have, if not hours, then at least minutes, a life for the soul, for one’s spirit, when one can pause to reflect, to pray a bit, to read something. One needs to have some sort of “rule” for the life of one’s spirit, which you will not abandon..."
(Bishop Mefody of Campanie, 20th Century Orthodox hierarch, on Bright Week) [Prayer; Sanctification]
"Once more let us ask ourselves who we are and where we stand, what our position in this crowd is. Do we stand with hope, or despair, or what? And if we stand with indifference, we too are part of that terrifying crowd that surrounded Christ, shuffling, listening, and then going away; as we shall go away from church."
(Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, 20th Century British Orthodox theologian) [Sanctification; Faith]
"When the Resurrection is professed and proclaimed of Christ, the Cross is not forgotten but united with the Easter candle. The priest proclaims the truth of the Resurrection, saying: "Christ is risen!" while the Cross rises, but not cross alone, but with a candle that is the light of Paschal suffering transformed into victory. By the Resurrection, the Cross enlightens eternal love, life stronger than death."
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Romanian Primate, 2013 Pascha message) [Salvation]
"This is not just an historic event, but an event that can be repeated at every communion. For whenever we seek peace and humility as if seated on an ass, as innocent as children crying 'Save, we pray' [Hosanna]
, then Christ enters our souls and makes them into Jerusalems within us. "
(Archpriest Andrew Philips, 21st Century British Orthodox priest, on Palm Sunday 2013) [Sanctification; Prayer]
"But someone will say, "I am all defiled, all soiled. What should I do? How can I be sanctified? ". What do you do what all Christians do, the one who is holy from the cradle and the one who is a sinner unto gray hairs, fervently in spirit serve the Lord. The Gospel was preached to sinners. You only have to catch with the ears of the heart the voice of the Good Shepherd. Do not pretend you did not hear anything."
(Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 on St. Mary of Egypt) [Repentance; Forgiveness]
"...the opinion is being imposed that woman's calling to be a mother is humiliating, that there are higher and more honorable duties...A man is gazing outwards, he must work and make money, while a woman is always gazing inwards, where herchildren are, where her home is. If this incredibly important function of a woman is destroyed, then everything will be destroyed - the family and, if you wish, the motherland."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Primate, comments on feminism, 2013) [Family; Society]
"We differ from these saints in that we do not have that resolve, that love and selflessness, which the Holy Venerable Mary of Egypt expressed so clearly. In these remaining days of Lent, let us try to make an effort to make up for what we have not managed to accomplish in the days of the fast that have gone by."
(Fr. Alexander Iliashenko, 21st Century Russian Orthodox priest, 2013 article) [Repentance]
"When God wants to stop the man from sin, He sets above all the horror and reality of sin. The Holy Fathers say that our greatest spiritual security is the ability to be horrified by sin. We live in a time more horrific than ever before, and a time when people are less horrified by the darkest sins and crimes."
(Archpriest Alexander Shargunov, 21st Century Russian priest, on Judas and betrayal 2013) [Repentance; Fear of God} "Khrushchev then set the task for all Party and Komsomol [Young Communists]
organizations to boost such propaganda. He said: “Why are you clinging to God? Here Gagarin flew into space and didn’t see God.” However, some time later these words began to be portrayed in a different light. They were cited in reference not to Khrushchev, but to Gagarin, who was beloved by the people."
(Colonel Valentin Petrov, 20th Century Russian officer on his friend cosmonaut Yuli Gagarin, an Orthodox Christian) [Faith; Deception]
"All three died in terrible agony of unimaginable pain and the pain remained at the time of death on their faces. But just a few hours, and I saw a completely different person. [If]
they even can be called faces,because they shone and shone. It was not my exalted perception, all noted a strange transformation of persons - all three were bright, quiet and peaceful smile."
(Georgy Gupalo, 21st Century Orthodox layman on the murder of there Optima monks in 1993) [Salvation; Martyrdom]
"Donkeys were treated with special kindness on this day [Palm Sunday]
. Incidentally, the cross-shaped mark on the backs of donkeys is said to come from the fact that the Lord rode upon a donkey."
(Archpriest Andrew Phillips, 21st Century English Orthodox pastor, on old English customers 2013) [Society; Traditions]
"...with a unique art, St. Andrew interwove the great biblical themes - Adam and Eve, Paradise and the Fall, the Patriarchs, Noah and the Flood, David, the Promised Land, and ultimately Christ and the Church - with confession of sin and repentance. The events of sacred history are revealed as events in my life, God's acts in the past as acts aimed at me and my salvation, the tragedy of sin and betrayal as my personal tragedy. My life is shown to me as part of the great and all embracing fight between God and the powers of darkness which rebel against Him”.
(Fr. Alexander Schmemann, 20th Century American Orthodox writer; from 'Great Lent') [Prayer; Repentance]
"It remains just a few days before the feast of Easter, and if anyone else feels the presence of unrepentant sin, the severity of the heart, irritation, anger, it is necessary, at least in those days, to try to change their mindset, imbued with the great idea which today through the gospel that everyone can learn. The greatest commandment - to love God and the second is like - love your neighbor."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia, Holy Monday 2013 comments) [Repentance]
"Do you sense in your life a clear presence of God, his personal participation in your activities and destiny? Do you thirst for his attention and love for you or “in humility” do you expect little? Have you experienced in your life a call from God directed directly to you?"
(Fr. Alexander Men, 20th Century Russian martyred Russia evangelist, 'Preparation for Confession') [Repentance; Vocation]
"At the foot of the Cross is a big pile made up of Olympic medals, general shoulder straps, doctoral degrees and black belts. Human distinctions and advantages suddenly discovered to be too small. They give a few days of joy and triumph, but arenot been able to fill the pain and the abyss of the soul."
(Archdeacon Andrei Kuraev, 21st Century Russian clergy, 2013 Lent comments) [Love of the World]
" I think that the main threat for Russia is loss of faith, rejecting faith as people's conscious choice. Not under pressure as in the Soviet times, but voluntary contempt of the Heavenly Kingdom for the sake of vanity and illusionary attractions of the earthly kingdom."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Primate, Jan. 2013 interview) [Love of the World; Faith Updated 04/05/13
"It became clear that one could not find God in the logic of this world. He taught the Orthodox knowledge that it remains impossible to know God in His essence or person. However, with sufficient prayer and fasting and turning oneself over to God, through purification of one's soul, anyone can come to know Him in His energies and being."
(Archpriest Alexander Shargunov, 21st Century Russian priest writing on St. Gregory Palamas) [Jesus Prayer; Prayer; Sanctification]
"God gives what is good for us. Why do we shape his actions? His will is sovereign, He knows us better. In any case, you have to be sure that no matter what happens, no matter what the circumstances have not arisen, and that the Lord would give us any at all is His good will, just good for us. This is good, so for all, of course, we must thank him."
(Archpriest Andrey Yurevich, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Divine Providence; Trials]
"If the use of modern means of communication to indicate the fact that you decided to change, that's fine...But if there is an opportunity to meet, it is better not to miss it. In the use of modern communication needs to be in a reasonable measure."
(Archpriest Alexander Ageikin, 21st Century Russian pastor, 2013 remarks on using social media on Forgiveness Sunday) [Traditions]
"Our society is a living proof: many souls feel indignation and resentment, as each day increases in uncertainty about the future...in the days of uncertainty and social turbulence, men seek security in the Church."
(Patriarch Neophyte, 21st Century Primate of the Bulgarian Church, 2013 comments) [Hope; Society]
"This short prayer – “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” – contains our entire Orthodox confession of faith; all dogma is built on it. If you say it attentively, then the Lord will gradually purify your inner world."
(Fr. Nikolai Vedernikov, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Jesus Prayer]
"If you are vigilant and honest with yourself, you would see that your life is a web, a huge network of such small but significant wicked moments, which comprise a significant part of your existence. If we ignore this, thinking that this is all normal, this means that you have not yet begun to live the Christian life."
(Protopriest Sergei Chetverikov, 20th Century Russian priest in America) [Repentance; Confession]
"Let us admit that the cool attitude of today’s church people toward the evening services is nothing other than a wounding of Christian consciousness; it reflects a loss of the spirit of piety and the sense of God, an effectual loss of churchliness. There can be no genuine consolation without struggle, no real joy without preparation..."
(Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Worship; Sanctification]
“Now this man stands before God. I don’t know whether he was preparing to this meeting or not, but everyone should remember about it. Neither money nor power, neither intellect nor connections will help...let us look at our own lives and remember that the meeting with God is in store for each of us."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox spokesman, 2013 comments on the death of a prominent person) [Judgment; Repentance]
"Many people knew that he was a believer, but not everyone, because he did not, as we would say these days, proselytize. But nobody who found out was surprised: his appearance and demeanor made it easy to guess that he was a Christian."
(Vladimir Bogachev on 20th Century Soviet mathematician Vladimir Nikolaevich) [Witness]
"The fast reveals our "weak spots", gives us clearer vision and feelings, and the natural reaction should not ever be to want to "hide" these ulcers, but to make efforts to remove them permanently. Of course, it is a long and difficult road...I advise you to go to church and to discuss about fasting in a personal conversation with the priest, tell him about your concerns and ask for advice on how best to train yourself to fast and overcome impatience and rudeness."
(Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko, 21st Century Russian priest in 2013 interview) [Fasting; Repentance]
"Too many of you use to think that really important in life is money, influence, connections, possibility to manage others' destinies, crowd of fans and co-workers. But a Christian, especially during the Great Lent, should remember: all this will not only ruin in one moment, but will never make us truly happy, especially if we live only for it."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox spokesman) [Love of the World; Materialism]
"...when we turn to God asking for mercy, we are also asking that our sins, iniquities, and uncleanness be forgiven. But in the words “have mercy” there is also an appeal that He bestow His mercy upon us...by His love to grant us His mercy, grace, and power."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2013 Lenten Homily) [Prayer]
"It is clear that the restrictions of food during fasting is necessary, because, how you eat determines how you feel. The well-being of the body is connected with the well-being of the soul. Changes that produce a meatless diet are necessary in order to arrive at a more concentrated state."
(Priest Alexy Agapov, 21st Century priest in Moscow, 2013 comments) [Fasting; Prayer; Repentance]
"The light of Christ is given to us as Orthodox Christians to lead us in the pilgrimage and witness of our life. The light of Christ is given to all – meaning that our mandate and mission as Orthodox Christians is to share the light of Christ with all in our society."
(Metropolitan Tikhon, 21st Century Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, 2013 Lent) [Witness; Evangelism]
"Dear brothers and sisters, help those who come to confession for the first and perhaps the only time of the year...Let's say a warm word to those who even accidentally came into the church. Ask: How long since you have been to confession? [Then]
Say, how cool that you came today! Glory to God!"
(Fr Vitaly Shinkar, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Priest, 2013 interview) [Repentance; Confession; Witness]
"Once again the Church is clad in robes of black. Once again mourning songs resound--the time has come 'when the Bridegroom shall he taken away'
(Luke 5:35), and the time for annual fasting has come for Her true children. Great Lent is here."
(Fr. Herman, 20th Century Abbot of St. Herman Monastery in the US) [Repentance]
"After all, why does the world suffer?...emptiness and the absence of God lie behind this, because every passion is the fruit of emptiness, the fruit of the lack of desire to move towards faith and God."
(Igumen Tikhon Borisov, 21st Century Russian monk writing in 2011) [Meaning of Life; Love of the World]
"In every conflict between men, even as just a principle of law, one must recognize one party as guilty and the other as innocent; but as a principle of morality...the innocent party to some degree is also guilty, because he may have done some evil himself previously, and now it has fallen upon him like a boomerang...before God we are always guilty. If we ask forgiveness, by this we open the door for God's mercy towards us."
(Archbishop Alpy, 20th Century Russia hierach in America) [Repentence; Forgiveness]
"In Lent, morning worship lasts four, and sometimes more hours. Well, in this time, you can keep concentration?... we begin to think about something, sometimes physical fatigue begins to overcome us...the answer is: do not leave the church...listen carefully hymns and prayers."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Primate) [Prayer; Worship; Perseverance]
"The first thing we should start the work of Lent with is with the understanding that there can be no hope for forgiveness of our sins if we do not forgive the sins of others. We just need to abandon any attempt to free ourselves from our own sins and receive the forgiveness of God and other people. Nothing will work if we do not forgive the sins of others."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Primate of Russia, 2013 Lenten homily) [Repentance; Forgiveness]
Updated 03/13/13
"And I've noticed that every time my speeches were met by silent rejection. No one denied anything, but no one wanted to listen to this either, because it appears that the powers, which currently support the so-called opposition [Radical Islamists], have no plans to preserve Christianity in this region."
(Metropolitan Hilarion, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Official and author, 03/13 remarks on the Syrian civil war) [Islam; Persecution]
"Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." What's a kingdom? The place where a king reigns. Who's the King? GOD. Who are the subjects? CHRISTIANS. Where does the king reign? Where God is present and the Christians are present. God's kingship is made manifest in us during worship."
(Fr. Stanley Harakas, 20th Century priest and teacher, comments on worship) [Worship; Liturgy]
"The devil checks our inconsistency. He knows that in principle any man, even though he overcame temptation a thousand times before, can always succumb to sin in a moment of weakness or imprudence. That is why he pesters man to his dying day."
(Bishop Alexander Mileant, 21st Century American Hierarch) [Temptation]
"Thought of the Dread Judgment produces a dispiriting impression on most people, even on those who both pray to God and reflect on the salvation of their souls. It seems to them all that the words greeting the righteous bear little relation to their souls, which are more subject to the punishment pronounced to the sinful.This was not the case with ancient Christians, who awaited the Second Coming with luminous joy..."
(Metropolitan Anthony Khrapotvitsky, 20th Century exiled Russian Orthodox hierarch) [Repentance; Hope]
"Fasting to an Orthodox Christian is what physical and mental exercise are to a professional athlete who aspires to win the big title and the trophy. Fasting of mind and body to the Christian, based on the obedience of prayer, renews the health of the soul which in most people is parched and possibly dying."
(Metropolitan Isaiah, 21st Century Primate in Denver, Co..1997 article) [Penance; Fasting; Lent]
“What instantly occurred to me [while watching an interview] was that when the world (through its very polite CBC journalists) talks about “modernizing the Church,” what it really means is “secularizing the Church.” The news anchor in question took entirely for granted the standards, views, prejudices and value judgments of secular society, and not for one nano-second did it occur to her that those judgments might be wrong.”
(Fr. Lawrence Farley, 21st Century Canadian Orthodox author,2013 article) [Society]
"...the sense that the divine forgiveness and love, leaves open the arms of God to accept us always in whatever position we find ourselves...Can we, as the younger son, to come "in himself" and to go where the love of God covers all our lives?"
(Christakis Efstathiou,21st Century Theologian in Cyprus) [Repentance; Forgiveness]
"The call to follow Christ with all our life is a difficult call. There is real sacrifice involved, and real risk. Whether the calling is to overseas missionary work, or to something very different, if we seek to be in the presence of God we must anticipate discomfort and even danger. We have to remember that it is our almighty Father who cares for us, and for all His creatures everywhere. He doesn’t promise it will be easy."
(James Hargrave, 21st Century Orthodox lay missionary in Tanzania) [Missions; Vocation]
"The Russian Orthodox Church maintains and defends the original Christian conception of marriage and the family, conjugal unions blessed by a sacrament and argues the importance of marriage for the prosperity and development of the society in general. Our Church expresses its solidarity with...]those] that remain faithful to the traditional concept of marriage as a union between a man and a woman and stand against any other representation of marriage imposed on society as a whole - a radical legal reform - having no precedent in the history of mankind."
(Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, March, 2013) [Family; Society]
"Constant vigilance and constant watchfulness are needed...for the protection of the Orthodox inheritance of the faith. Already, many of the old and new Orthodox..., are stressing a continually expanding tendency of secularization, that is, a tendency of judging ecclesiastical subjects and problems by worldly criteria, with a debasement of ecclesiastical criteria. They are also stressing, from ignorance, a substitution of specific and general Orthodox dogmatic positions and understandings, with Protestant and Roman Catholic ones, as in the case of an overvaluation of personal opinion, indifference to dogma, and recrimination at the expense of character or practical virtue."
(Patriarch Bartholomew, 21st Century Ecumenical Patriarch, 1997 comments in Brookline) [Heresy; Catechism]
"She always fasted until noon and was for the first time able to attend church services regularly. Her husband joined her in piety. (In such a way is shown how our actions speak louder than any words and in · example of a godly life is more likely to convert a soul than many books.)"
(Matushka Susan Young, 20th century American priest wife writing on St. Julianna of Lazarevo) [Witness; Family]
“O ye who are dead in appearance, and alive in reality, for your inferiority to the angels is filled up by the suffering which has happened on behalf of Christ, and through grace victory is vouchsafed to you without much solicitude, and your memory every hour is very full of glory; for ye received in your body the signs of the reproach of Christ, the setting free of your souls; for your death on behalf of Christ assured the hope of your faith; and by the constancy which ye received from above, ye changed the constitution of your former nature, and became the sons and children of desirable wisdom; and by the understanding of knowledge, ye caused your souls to fly to the righteous, and ye ran the race without weariness to the King of truth, and the Lord of the assemblies, which are for ever.”
(EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA, 4th Century Christian writer, on the martyrs) [Faith; Sacrifice]
"We forget that the Bible is above all the Scripture of the Church, and that it can be properly understood only by those who already believe and have been instructed in the Faith. “Christ died for our sins”, for example, does not mean much to someone who has not been taught anything about the Trinity, the Incarnation, or the Fall of man."
(Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou, 21st Century monk, 2010 conference) [Catechism]
"The source of depression is in a lack of hope. And of course, without faith in God, what hope is there? There is only the prospect of death. This explains why depression often leads to suicide, to death."
(Archpriest Andrew Phillips, 21st Century English priest, commenting on modern depression) [Hope; Society]
"The main concern of the Church" the salvation of the people. Everything that happens in our church life, and the relationship of the Church with society and the state must always be subordinated to this goal. Our mission, educational, charitable and other works should ultimately directed to the salvation of every human soul."
(Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Feb. 2013) [Evangelism; Missions]
"The duty of a Christian king is to judge no one corruptly, to defend widows, orphans and strangers, and to abolish immoral marriages. He must drive out those who practice magic, and who murder their kin, or commit perjury. He must feed the needy, and have old and experienced men for his counselors, appointing honest servants. He will be answerable on the Day of Judgement for the crimes of his servants done in his name."
(Old English Coronation Order, prior to the Western Schism) [Justice; Society]
“The key to our salvation is the holy sacrament of confession. Without this ordinance is no salvation. We can do all kinds of feats of fasting, prayer, vigil, charity, donations, but without confession can not be. “
(Archimandrite Justin Pyrvu, 21st Century Romanian Confessor of the Faith, 2013 comments) [Repentance; Sacraments]
"Perhaps God was giving a kind of sign, so that people don't simply think about their own trifles on earth, but rather look to the heavens once in a while."
(Sergei, 21st Century Chelyabinsk church sexton/warden commenting on the devasating meteor strike in Feb. 2013) [Witness; Faith]
"The two men are two examples failed service. One a dry cynical heart ("sermonizer")." The second a distraught and greedy layman. 'He who exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted', belong to both. Because the tax collector pulls money from the people that he does not care for brothers...If you think that by your service you deserve the kingdom of heaven you are like a Pharisee - to is insolence to God."
(Fr. Constantine Kamyshanov, 21 Century Russian Orthodox priest, Feb. 2013 sermon) [Humility; Repentance]
"Never before on this earth has there been such a huge number of people who freely and easily, without any shame, without any pangs of conscience "call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)."
(Archbishop Averky, 20th Century Prelate in Jordanville, NY, comments on fasting) [Deception; Heresy]
“The Gospel shows us the importance of the prayer not only for us, but also the prayer for other people, especially for those do not know how to pray, will not pray, or can no longer pray. Having been tortured by bad spirits, lots of people sick physically or mentally, can no longer pray for themselves and then a faithful mother, father, friend, brother or sister with strong faith is very precious, so that due to their faith God heals the one who cannot pray for him anymore.”
(Beatitude Daniel, 21st Century Patriarch of Romania, on the Canaanite women's prayer) [Prayer; Intercession]
"What happened reminds us that everything that exists in the world is far from being in the power of man...It is encouraging that the Lord has preserved us from even more serious consequences and we must be grateful to Him for this mercy."
(Chelyabinsk Metropolitan Theophanes, 21st Century hierarch commenting on the Feb. 2013 meteor strike) [Faith; Providence]
"Therefore, the tradition of Orthodoxy portrays the Savior exactly as He is already risen holding and calling into His [open] arms the whole world and bearing the altar of the New Testament - the Cross. A traditional Catholic image of the crucifixion, with a sag in the arms of Christ, by contrast, has the task of... represtening death-suffering and death, but not the fact that the essence is the eternal fruit of the Cross - His triumph."
(Fr. Adrian Pashin, 21st Century Russian Abbott, 2012 comments on the style of Orthodox cross) [Traditions]
"It is very important that we all hear the interpretation of the Fathers of the Church , because no one has the right to teach the Word of God beyond the meaning of how the Holy Fathers taught us to understand."
(Viktor Kiprjancuk, 21st Century Serbian Missionary) [Evangelism]
"But you can also talk about the fact that we are all, without exception, hidden or 'latent' thieves, murderers, rapists, misers, proud, homosexuals, traitors, scoundrels and rascals ... all have more or less developed bad attraction or bad habits. But then let's say, and that's what each of us is by birth as a person, a latent or potential saint still created by God in His image. And each of us has the divine attributes of love, mercy, purity, and holiness. That holiness is what is intended for each of us, regardless of gender, character, physical and mental characteristics and features. "Be holy, for I am holy" (1Peter.1 12)
(Fr. Dimitry Shishkin, 21st Century Russian priest, 2013 article) [Repentance; Sanctification]
“An Orthodox Christian conscience is created by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ acting within us. It is difficult to form this conscience. But once a Christian acquires it, an alarm is sounded in his heart and mind whenever he comes close to improper actions, lack of charity toward others, false ideas, and deviations from the holy traditions of Orthodoxy.”
(Fr. Alexey Young, 21st Century priest, Orthodpx. American #6) [Sanctification]
"[Many] grew up in single-parent families, their parents were divorced. Now, there are almost no large families...normal parental love, normal family relationships, he does not see... A child growing up alone, brought up by single parents, and not so much by a parent, [but in the] streets and public child care, is unable to build right relationships with people, he is defective as these people are deprived of something. They seek only the pleasures, comfort, easy life, and flee from difficulties."
(Hieroschemamonk Valentine Gurevich, 21st Century Russian Confessor) [Family; Society]
“It is from the Church itself that man becomes a partaker of the divine nature, as he enters into the closes relationship with the Holy Trinity. Where God is present there is peace, love, joy, hope, and salvation, as well as faith renewed, and where the Son is present, our God is present, as well as where the Holy Spirit is present God is with us. Most Holy Trinity Glory To Thee!”
(Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes, 21st Century American priest) [Holy Spirit; Church]
“If we cherish the memory of a famous person, a writer, a musician, then we visit the places associated with his life. If we talk about honoring the memory of victims in the terrible years of Stalinism, it certainly must visits to places associated with their lives and with their martyrdom.”
(Archpriest Cyril Khaled, 21st Century grandchild of a Butovo martyr) [Martyrs; Pilgrimage]
“In Christianity, Orthodoxy which has never had a Second Vatican Council or anything approaching a[Catholic] Novus Ordo — Divine Liturgy with lay ministers and Protestant-style hymns — is a window into the ancient Church. In fact, you could search the world for a modern young Orthodox priest with a guitar and a penchant for humming “On Eagles Wings,” but chances are you wouldn’t find one...Tradition is already there, and it’s not going anywhere. It is, as they say, the Church.”
(Thom Nikels, 21st Century Catholic convert to Orthodoxy) [Converts; Tradition]
"One woman, call her Helen, came to be baptized and to baptize their own children. A few months with her two or three times a week doing a parish catechist, had several conversations with the priest, all the while she was attending church. Elena learned prayers, and other acquired knowledge. Along the way, has been provided and the necessary financial assistance, made repairs in the apartment, the children bought clothes and toys (Elena - a poor single mother.) And then, finally, the long awaited day of the christening. On this day, [it was] the last time I saw Helen and her children in the church."
(Archpriest Andrey Efanov, 21st Century Russian Catechist) [Deception]
"...Tolstoy himself excommunicated himself from the Church, completely broke up with her, which he did not deny, but at every opportunity strongly emphasized: 'The fact that I have renounced the Church that calls itself Orthodox, it is absolutely true ... I reject all the sacraments ...'...John of Kronstadt, St. Theophan the Recluse, and many others bitterly admitted that the great talent of Count Tolstoy was purposefully employed to destroy the spiritual and the social foundations of Russia."
(Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), 21st Century Abbot in Feb. 2013) [Heresy]
“One day, somebody in that humble community had the idea, the blessed inspiration, to invite the clochard [beggar] into a service. As it was related to me, he reluctantly accepted, entered the building and kept to the rear, more or less out of sight. To the mild surprise of some who recognized him, he came back, again and again. Some time later, he was chrismated. The clochard had become an Orthodox Christian, and as far as I know, he remains such today. A life turned around. A lost soul, found.”
(Fr. John Beck, 21st Century American priest, 2007 article) [Almsgiving; Charity]
"The bells not only called people to the beginning of worship, but by means of ringing different bells or different ringing patterns, they instructed those who could not make it to church, which important parts of the service were being celebrated, so that absentees could mentally and spiritually participate in the services. Thus one can say that the bells spread the walls of the church as far as they could be heard."
(Archpriest Roman Lukianov, 21st Century American Rector) [Traditions]
“Blogs and social networks give us new opportunities for the Christian mission...Not to be present there means to display our helplessness and lack of care for the salvation of our brothers.”
(Patriarch Kirill, 21 Century Russian Orthodox Primate, Feb. 2013 statement) [Society; Evangelism]
" I learn my theology from looking at the faces of people.”
(Patriarch Ignatius IV, 21st Century Antiochian Primate) [Witness]
"This is why the true theologian is not the one that attends university courses and excels due to remembering some dates and names or writing a thesis. The true theologian is the one that knows which is the power and the truth of the Lord's teaching; the one that at the difficult moment says: not as I will but as thou wilt. It is then that God enters within this man, makes him a theologian, a god by grace and man can advance in another way in Jesus Christ."
(Archimandrite Vassilios,21st CenturyAbbot of the Iviron Monastery) [Faith; Humility]
“God made and will make wonders for those with strong insistent faith and much lowliness, self confidence and devotion, meaning that they leave everything in God’s hands, who can make wonders, who overcomes the human decayed nature.”
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of Romania, Feb. 2013) [Hope; Faith]
“How is a child ever going to learn to behave in Church if they aren’t in Church? How can we expect our children to prioritize Church if we don’t? What does it say to our children that we are on time for everything- school, work, movies, soccer practice, baseball games, concerts, luncheons- but we are NEVER on time for Church (except for Pascha- gotta get a good seat!)?”
(Presbytera Marilisse I. Mars, 21st Century American Orthodox mother) [Witness; Family]
"It is not only by shedding the blood of a person, by depriving him or her of this bodily life that we become murderers. How often people have been betrayed and murdered at the heart of their being by this betrayal. How often slander has destroyed not only a person’s reputation but his whole life? How often gossip, malicious or mindless, has wounded a person and destroyed relationships around him...Oh, we do not think of killing, but how much we hope that something would remove that person from our life, from our neighbourhood, that I could forget this person and that he should no longer exist for me. This is the way of Cain."
(Anthony of Sourozh, 21st Century British hierarch) [Love; Sin]
"Quality of life is measured by spiritual values, not only material wealth. Relations between church and state in Russia help the church to fully administer its service, inspire people in their spiritual and material life, engage in charitable activities, and take care of the younger generation, and disabled and elderly people..."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Primate) [Society]
“We must not despair when we struggle and continuously see nothing but the slightest progress. We all do nearly nothing — some a little more, some a little less. When Christ sees our little effort, He gives us an analogous token; and so our “nearly nothing” becomes valuable, and we can see a little progress. For this reason we must not despair, but hope in God"
(Elder Paisios, 20th Century Staretz of Mt. Athos) [Sanctification]
Updated 01/27/13
“It’s very important for a monastery to serve the Divine Liturgy daily. For a parish, perhaps several times a week. The Liturgy is the cornerstone of the spiritual life of both the community and the priest. “
(Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)) 21st Century Abbot of Russian’s Sretensky Monastery) [Liturgy; Worship]
"Freedom is not absolute. Freedom can and should be restricted for security and moral reasons...A person who encroaches on holy things should feel that they will be held responsible."
(Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox leader, 2013 comment) [Society]
"I think that the biggest enemy [of Christianity] is soft-Christian, secularized religion, consumerism with religious overtones, the dissolution of Christian values ??in a hateful religion of pleasure and excellence...violent superstition, attacks on the origins of the Faith...killing of mysticism, festivity without fear, busyness with no life."
(Fr. John Istrati, 21st Century Romania priest, 2013 article) [Vocation; Materialism]
“What’s that to me?”
(Vladimir Grigorenko, 21st century American iconographer who was told he gave up fame and ‘a lot of money’ by refusing to paint a ‘secular’ icon of a living person for Time magazine) [Witness]
"We must remember that God Himself is the author of marriage and that the well being of the individual person and human society at large is closely bound up with the health state of family as it has been understood since the beginning of time. Traditional marriage fosters the common good of civil society...”
(Rhode Island Orthodox Clergy, 21st Century American association, 2013 statement) [Family; Society]
“In these crumbs from the Tradition [English practices], fallen like the Canaanite woman's from the table of the Master, we are reminded that God does not forsake the sincere and the devout, however far from the Church their “leaders” have taken them. Deprived of so many of the riches of the Church, God has remembered them... Such customs did indeed bless a land. God does not forsake us, only we forsake God.”
(Archpriest Andrew Phillips; 21st Century English Orthodox clergyman; 1990 article) [Traditions]
"For example, regarding those whose “opinion, creed or party” is not Orthodox Christian, should we not work for their salvation by prayer, faith and good works? If we cannot agree on that then presumably there are some Orthodox who really don’t mind if others perish in heresy or unbelief. At one time no Christian blinked at the idea that pagans should be proselytised or that those of any other faith or none should come to know Christ. Has this changed? If it has then the Church (the fullness of which is the Orthodox Church) has forsaken Christ’s Commission..."
(Archpriest Gregory Hallan, 21st Century British Priest, 2010 newsletter on missions) [Evangelism]
"I could go on with many other examples of where I have been given the opportunity to be a missionary for our Faith; and they all cost nothing. No adverts in newspapers, no alpha course events, no appearances on local TV, no committees, strategies, or mission statements. Just one simple thing; I wear my black antiri and cross in public. And our laity? What can they do? Well, making the sign of the cross before eating a meal in public could be a start; especially at those smart social occasions with skeptical friends."
(Fr. Michael Harry, 21st Century Antiochian British priest, 2013 article) [Evangelism; Witness]
"Contrary to the opinion of many, and the word of God, and the decision of the Church unequivocally condemn marriages between Christians and people of other faiths... If we look at the Scriptures, we see that almost throughout the sacred history, God warns against mixing people loyal to him with those who did not do his will ... the law of God recorded in writing this rule: "Do not take of their daughters and their sons Do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, so that their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons entered a whoring after their gods "(Ex. 34, 16).”
(Father Daniel Sysoyev, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Martyr and missionary) [Society; Heresy]
“If you just pray and at the same time quarrel, you are jealous, you fight, you answer bad words with more bad words, you will not reform your family, but only corrupt it all the more. A Christian must approach everyone with love and kindness...”
(Fr. Dimitry Dudko, 20th Century Soviet Priest) [Family; Witness]
"Not only is it a moral crime, but I think it is still a crime against man, against the person. Because the Lord has predestined the woman to give birth to a child...And if by our perverse will, we work, we encroach on the divine plan on women, if we try to correct it, we commit a great wrong, and destroy human relationships in society. It is by the number of abortions that can judged the moral state of society."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Patriarch; 2013 comments on abortion) [Family; Society; Abortion]
“A life that is lived with a clear conscience and in humility brings peace, calm, and true happiness, while wealth, honors, renown and high position are frequently sources of many sins, and do not bring happiness.”
(Elder Makarios, 19th Century Elder in Russia’s Optina Monastery, quote) [Peace]
“This is the image of Kosovo and Metohija 14 years after the war and a warning to Europe, which this year is celebrating 1,700 years since the Edict of Milan, which granted freedom to Christianity...what kind of future is awaiting them among people who have no qualms about destroying graves.”
(Bishop Teodosije of Raška-Prizren, 21st Century Serbian Hierarch) [Persecution; Islam]
"I pray the Lord to help the Christians, no matter if I will be the first to die in this war."
(Prnce Marko, 14th Century Orthodox Serbian ruler forced to fight with the Turks again Wallachian rebels) [Sacrifice; Justice]
Updated 01/06/13
"Rejoice, firm stronghold of Orthodox truth. Rejoice, precious vessel of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Rejoice, righteous accuser of impiety and false doctrine. Rejoice, ardent doer of the commandments of God..."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century Convert and Priest, Akathist to St John of San Francisco) [Prayer; Saints]
“The Church has preserved and continues to preserve the teaching of the sanctity of the family sanctioned by God. The church bears witness to the purity of the order God has set forth in the family and in society. If marriage is as it was before considered a holy mystery, then child-bearing must be a natural part of human life. If respect for one’s neighbor as the image of God is taught, then society will be comprised of people who look upon each other not like animals do, with fury and lust, but like brother upon brother, with love and mercy. If chastity is placed at the foundation of human relations, and a chaste marriage is revered as a holy thing, then familial bonds would not fall apart in countless inhuman divorce proceedings. If a Christian attitude is once again restored to family values, Western society would cease to be a sick, withering tree, its boughs dying, more branches drying up than new ones sprouting."
(Archbishop Mark of Berlin, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Hierarch, ex. 2013 Nativity message) [Family; Values]
“The people are equal before God even if their culture or social levels are different...As long as we belong to one nation we share the same fate.”
(Archbishop Elias Audeh , 21st Century Greek Orthodox Bishop of Beruit, ex. New Year’s 2012 comments) [Society; Humanity]
“I believe that man "works" for his salvation. Salvation is not imposed upon him in spite of himself as [the]...doctrine of predestination would have it, nor is it obtained solely by the endeavors of human will...Salvation is synergetic, that is, man co-operates in the work of his salvation. God does not take upon Himself the role which belongs to man; likewise, man can attain to nothing by his own efforts alone...This is the true meaning of the words of the Holy Fathers, "although it be a question of grace, yet grace is granted only to those who are worthy of it" indicating by the word "worthy" the exercise of our freedom of will to ask all things from God.
(Bishop Alexander (Mileant), 21st Century American evangelist) [Salvation]
“Many people consider themselves good and beautiful on the outside, but if one glances inside a person one can see so many evils and vices that it seems life is not long enough to mourn for this evil nesting in our soul and corroding it. Therefore the Lord sends us sorrows in order to make us better. The Lord hears every person who appeals for help in woe. Offences are our second teacher. Sending them, the Lord as it were tests us in faith and strengthens us in the warfare with evil.”
(Bishop Benjamin (Milov) )20th Century Russian Hierarch, ex. from ‘Two Teachers’) [Suffering; Sanctification; Sin]
“The only place where modern man does not like to visit - is himself. He cannot hear the silence, he does not want to hear the voice of his conscience. But without knowing yourself you can not know God. Modern man lives in a shadowy world of TV, the media, the Internet, but the greatest reality in the world is the human soul. Inside we can open up the kingdom of heaven, in our heart God wants to be born!”
(Bishop Panteleimon (Shatov), 21st Century Russian Hierarch, 2013 blog entry) [Sanctification; Peace]
“This holiday [New Years] used to be perceived as the beginning of a new era in people’s lives. And the subsequent celebrations somehow marked the end of a secular calendar year. But this tradition was lost. Today we see how people are getting more confused by various pagan and Oriental traditions...it has become a tradition to attend night liturgies on New Year`s Eve which help believers not feel isolated from the rest of the society."
(Fr. Philipp Ryabykh, Russian Orthodox priest commenting on New Year, 2011) [Holidays; Society]
"Often one hears from converts after some years of seemingly unfruitful struggles that 'I didn’t know what I was getting into when I became Orthodox.' Some sense this when they are first exposed to the Orthodox Faith, and this can cause them to postpone their encounter with Orthodoxy or even run away from it entirely...this is a result of the deep commitment required of those who are serious about the Orthodox Faith – a commitment that is quite different in kind from that of those who merely join a new denomination...but only One Church of Christ which lives the true life in Christ and the unchanged teaching and practice of the Apostles and Fathers of the Church."
(Fr. Seraphim Rose, 20th Century American Convert and Theologian) [Converts; Orthodoxy]
"The propagation of this myth [church and state merging] are those who are irritated by the fact of the presence of the Church in the public sphere, through its growing influence on the formation of certain priorities in the values ??of our compatriots, priorities that are not compatible with the 'consumer' lifestyle they want to impose on society. The members of the Church, who are members of faith society and citizens of the state in their daily lives, in the performance of their duty civic, navigate through the principles of Christian and Gospel consciousness, regardless of their social status...consolidating precious Gospel values ??in the life of society."
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Hierarch, comments in Dec. 2012 assembly) [Society; Witness]
“We have to remember that today the world wants to prosper without God. Both communism and liberalism are false ideas; they deceive man, falsely assuring him that we have to build heaven on earth. There will never be heaven on earth. We have to come down to earth and live there without “isms”, doing ordinary work and following the commandments of God.”
(Archbishop Stephan, 21st Century Georgian Hierarch) [Humanism; Society]
“Throughout the ages, the Church carries the ideal of deification. This ideal is very high, but it demands very much from man. It is unthinkable without the incarnation; it demands first of all that man be humble. Mankind is renouncing this high ideal, and has no need of the incarnation of the Son of God... descent from the ape, progress, having no need of and denying the incarnation—is pride. Pride wars with the incarnation, as with something unneeded.”
(Martyr Hilarion (Troitsky), 20th Century Priest-Martry of Communism, Nativity homily) [Nativity; Humanism]
"Let us prepare, my brothers and sisters, the manger of our hearts by keeping His divine commandments, so that the Savior and Redeemer of the world might be born and dwell in us. Then, we can truly experience within us the peace 'which passeth all understanding.' Then, the inner man of the heart will be radiant with the unsetting light of Christ who “illumines every man that cometh into the world.”
(Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America, 21st Century) [Peace; Nativity]
“Throughout its history, the Church does not know long periods of prosperity: in times of peace and tranquility will certainly coming times of adversity and trials. But in all circumstances, in word and deed the Church proclaimed the truth of God, she proclaims it today, suggesting that a society based on the principles of profit, permissiveness, unlimited freedom, neglect of eternal truths, denial of authority, moral sickness, is threatened by many dangers.”
(Patriarch Kirill, 21st Century Russian Patriarch, from 2012 Nativity Message) [Society; Persecution]
“Ever since the 4th century, on the Eve of Christmas, the Christians received the priests in their houses, just like today, who came with the Icon of the Nativity to announce them the great feast of the next day. According to tradition, on this day the priest accompanied by a religious singer goes to every house in the parish the icon of the Nativity of the Lord in his hands, singing the troparion of this feast when entering the house announcing in this way the Wonder of the Nativity. On the Christmas Eve the carollers go to people’s houses bringing the good news of the Nativity of the Lord, just like the angels and shepherds who announced the Wonder in Bethlehem, Judea.”
(Romanian Christmas Tradition from the Patriarchal Website, 2012) [Traditions; Nativity]
“...economic competition is spreading globally, as is the pursuit of ephemeral profit, which is promoted as a principal target. The gloomy consequences of the overconcentration of wealth in the hands of the few and the financial desolation of the vast human masses are ignored. This disproportion, which is described worldwide as a financial crisis, is essentially the product of a moral crisis. Nevertheless, humankind is regrettably not attributing the proper significance to this moral crisis.”
(Patriarch Bartholomew, 21st Century Ecumenical Patrarch) [Society; Greed]
“We used to wait yearlong for Christmas Eve to come.. We used to spend every day during December buying and preparing gifts for the family and planning what the Christmas dinner will be comprised of...This is the darkest, most devastating Christmas Syria has ever seen.”
(Anonymous comments by Christians in war-torn Syria, 2012) [Persecution; Islam]
“The shrine of Orthodoxy – which for the course of entire centuries has been hidden from the gaze of the world; and which, like a precious pearl, has glistened and been kept safe in the souls of a few chosen ones of God – must finally be shown to the world, it must regenerate the world. And if there is a genuine social order, it must be that religious social order that has been hidden until the present in the depth of the centuries-old ecclesial experience of Orthodoxy.”
(Hieromartyr Sergius (Mechev), 20th Century Victim of Soviet Communists) [Orthodox Church; Society]
“As the Apostles were sent to preach the coming of the Son of God incarnate and then raised in the world, carolers are meant to do this every year in their village. Carolers are bearers of God, in the sense of the word, because God is with them in their midst, wandering with them.”
(Nicolescu Costion, 21st Century Romanian Orthodox writer) [Traditions; Nativity]
“The ideal would be to live, knowing that every day could be the last, because every life can end suddenly. A Christian must be ready for this, making sure that the heart is purified from passion, not to offending anyone, and causing no one else to take offense, trying to live according to God's Will. Then, he will be ready by the end of his life. That is, sooner or later the end of the world will surely come. It seems that humanity is making every effort to speed up the time, but is is not in the power of people to know the times and seasons.”
(Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Monastery rector) [End Times; Prophecy]
“I can but remind you all that this part of the world, the birthplace of Christianity, is losing its Christians, and that the voice of Jesus of Nazareth is hardly heard in it. Please do not forget that the holy places are not holy as such, by their stones and high columns; they are holy only if there are people to live and pray in them.”
(Patriarch John X, 21st Century Antiochian Primate) [Witness]
“By lighting a candle, each Christian enters into closer contact with the church and the service, participating in it more actively and invisibly warming his soul by the visible light of the candle.”
(Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov); 20th Century Russian Orthodox prelate) [Worship; Traditions]
“The holy fathers of Optina remind us that it is essential to observe feast days, and to spend them in church, at prayer. For example, while working on a feast day, Elder Isaac I (Antimonov) was threatened with mortal danger. On a certain feast day he had to weigh some merchandise, when suddenly the cross-beam from which the scales were suspended broke, and Ivan Ivanovich’s life was threatened. However, the scale beam, made of iron and weighing 600 lbs, did not hit him, but landed at his feet. From that time on, he vowed to never again work on holy days.”
(Olga Rozhneva, 21st Century Russian Orthodox teacher) [Feastdays; Work]
“I explain that the Church is not a social club, the main goal of the Church is to approach holiness. In the Church we must see to it that the Gospel is preserved in our hearts, and, as we leave the temple, we must spread this Word of God to the whole world, so that it would give strength to us and to our neighbors. “
(Fr. Adrian Augustus, 21st Century Orthodox Missionary to Pakistan) [Evangelism]
Updated 12/16/12
“Immediately after reading The Way of a Pilgrim, I began practicing the Jesus Prayer – walking, as he did, because I went from my home to the university through a park. I had never before seen a prayer rope, but I learned how to use one long before entering the monastery and even long before visiting the East.”
(Fr. Gabriel (Bunge), 21st Century Orthodox convert and monk) [Jesus Prayer]
“...in our celebration, St. Lucia (4th century martyr) visits us with lights like a halo around her head, dressed in the white of purity...her physical eyes were gouged out. Yet, she saw the light of Christ with her spiritual eyes...she reminds us that we need to open our spiritual eyes so that we can also see the light and not fear the darkness.”
(Archpriest John Moses, 21st Century American parish priest) [Saints]
"Yesterday's tragedy [massacre of children and adults in Newtown, CT] again reminds us that we must cherish the sacred gift of life and one another, following the commandments of God, and thus bring forth the light of Christ in this fallen world, rendering it less dark."
(Metropolitan Hilarion, 21st Century First Hierarch of ROCOR) [Suffering]
“The people of the Old Testament prepared themselves for the coming of the Messiah through guarding the true faith, offering sacrifice, showing repentance, and leading a life of piety. So too should we prepare our souls for the Feast of Christ’s Nativity through repentance at Confession, through evangelic piety, and through strengthening our faith by means of prayer, fasting, and the sacrifice that is dearest to God: a heart that is broken and humbled (Psalm 50:19). Such fasting will not be in vain, but will yield the manifold fruits of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.”
(Fr. Andrei Efanov, 21st Century Orthodox Priest) [Fasting; Repentance]
“Let us pray to the Mother of God, since her greatest prayer is that she might teach us to love Christ the Savior. This is what the Mother of God expects of us: she expects us to love our Savior and God, and then she will hear our prayer and come to our aid. When we will come to love the Savior, we will see how much we differ from Him – even though we strive to unite ourselves with Him in the Heavenly Kingdom – and this will add sincerity to our repentance.”
(Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov), 20th Century American hierarch) [Theotokos; Virgin Mary]
“The Church of Christ was brought into existence in paradise, even before (as Clement of Rome says) our sun and moon. That is why this pure child [the Virgin Mary] was led by the high priest Zachariah directly into the Holy of Holies, that is, into the most sacred part of the Old Testament Temple. And with this began the transformation of this Old Testament Temple into the New Testament. This was the moment when the Holy of Holies began gradually to be transformed into the Holy of Holies that now exists in every Orthodox Christian church and about which similar words are pronounced at every Liturgy: “Holy Things are for the holy!”
(Bishop Basil (Rodzianko),20th Century Hierarch in San Francisco) [Theotokos; Mary]
”It is the time of generosity, of the good deeds, and if we do not have money for those around us, if we do not have anything material to offer them, then we can do it with a good word, a prayer for the sick and lonely, a visit to the bed of the sick one, either old or helpless, with a helping hand to the one who moves hard. There are lots of ways of being merciful even if we do not have money or material things to offer. So, the kindness of the soul always finds ways of helping the fellow beings in need”.
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Romanian hierarch) [Almsgiving; Works of Mercy]
“For some people the mission of Orthodoxy in America consists mainly in converting as many Western Christians as possible into Orthodoxy. This, however, is actually a very limited and inadequate goal. If [evangleism] in its initial meaning is a call addressing the People of God and inviting it to participate in a life that knows not death—and thus to acquire a mode of existence that liberates from any kind of necessity, any “religion”—then we have to seek its mission in realms other than social, religious and moral. In view of a true Orthodox ontological realism, the genuine mission and task of the Orthodox Church in America...must bear witness to the particular ethos of its Orthodox Tradition, and confront the ethos of Western Christendom and its culture, which is based on individualism.”
(Bishop Maxim (Vasiljevic), 21st Century Serbian Hierarch in America) [Evangelism]
"In what I ask you, the most important is: remember the Lord and tremble before Him. All my will is contained in these words. In your life, everything else is of lesser importance."
(Fr. Pavel Florensky, 20th Century Martyr in Soviet Russia) [Fear of God]
“We who understand the salvation begun for our sake through the Most Holy Virgin, give Her thanks and praise according to our ability. And truly, if the grateful woman (of whom the Gospel tells us), after hearing the saving words of the Lord, blessed and thanked His Mother... then how shall we not unceasingly hymn and bless the Mother of the Author of our Salvation and the Giver of Life, celebrating Her conception and birth, and now Her Entry into the Holy of Holies?”
(St. Gregory Palamas, 14th century theologian) [Theotokos; Mary]
"The light of the first day is neither sunlight nor moonlight (these appeared on the fourth day), but is the light of the Godhead reflected in created being."
(Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, 21st Century Russian Orthodox, 'Mystery of Faith' excerpt) [Creation]
“Saint Alexander Nevsky became a Saint not because he was a wise ruler, a talented military leader, courageous warrior or a brilliant diplomat. He became a Saint because, being a prince, head of the people and the state, his power was seen in ministry. Positions at higher levels, which are associated with broad authority on which depends the destiny of the people, cannot be called work. This is not a job, it's a ministry. The task of ministry is that the man who works there has the right and the opportunity to do many other things... [but] what he does will be linked with the blessing of the people...Saint Alexander Nevsky was such a leader...”
(Patriarch Kirill; 21st Century Russian Hierarch) [Vocation; Work]
“Quite often, the only thing needed to dissuade a mother from this terrible decision is simply to talk to someone with an open heart.”
(Father Alexis Tarasov, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Priest) [Abortion; Family]
I am writing to you disturbed by reports coming from France about a bill drafted by the ruling Socialist Party, which provides for the legalization of same-sex marriages. Regrettably, we can see how moral principles to be observed in private and public life are eroding in a country with deep Christian roots. It is gratifying that the French in their faithfulness to traditional morality have not remained indifferent to the French authorities’ initiative unacceptable to Christians.
( Hilarion, 21st Century Russian Orthodox Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, letter excerpts) [Homosexuality; Family; Traditional Values]
“It is very egotistical to want to save only oneself. It is easy to save yourself, but to save yourself and your neighbor is much harder. One must think about people who do not know Orthodoxy, do not know the true faith, one must remember that they are dying spiritually. Our goal is to bring them to faith.”
(Fr. Adrian Augustus, 21st Century Orthodox Missionary to Pakistan) [Evangelism]
“I explain that the Church is not a social club, the main goal of the Church is to approach holiness. In the Church we must see to it that the Gospel is preserved in our hearts, and, as we leave the temple, we must spread this Word of God to the whole world, so that it would give strength to us and to our neighbors. “
(Fr. Adrian Augustus, 21st Century Orthodox Missionary to Pakistan) [Evangelism]
“’People had no idea who we were, what religion we were.” He and the other monks grew used to fielding questions whenever they ventured into town in their distinctive garments. The most commonly asked: “Are you folks Christians?” The answer? Yes. Now, whenever the men patronize the local home improvement stores for supplies, they return to the monastery with a list of people in need of prayer. “People approach us and ask, ‘Are you one of the monks from Wayne County?’”
(Deputy Abbot Seraphim, 21st Century monk at Holy Cross Monastery in WV, article excerpt) [Evangelism]
"The groups were migratory people like Goths, Huns, Gepids, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, Pechenegs, Cumans, Tatars and Turks: all stormed in but their cruelty could not uproot the apostolic faith of our people in the country because our ancestors got the Faith slowly and deeply, a Christianization that accepted personal freedom. Therefore, it was not an ideological, political Christianization, but through deep missionary work...we have an original Apostle’s [St. Andrew] baptism of the Romanian people ".
(Patriarch Daniel, 21st Century Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church) [Faith; Persecution]
“Neither the TV nor the computer is a barrier to communication between God and man. A knife can cut the bread and sausage or peel the potatoes, but you can cut your finger in negligence... We live in the information field, but it is important not to turn it into a swamp....Believers by all means try to manage your time, your TV and PC. . I need some information, such as news, I get it, but wholly immersed in the world of, say, social networks? I am not. have not. I make a choice - either I am a slave, or I'm a free man”
(Abbott Melchizedek (Artyukin), 21st Century Russian Orthodox Monk) [Temptations; Moderation]
“The place for good is the human heart. If there is good in man’s heart it will be present in any other place.”
(Fr. Evgeney, 21st century priest in a Russian prison colony) [Repentance]
“If the Orthodox Church through Her Local Churches is to fulfill Her worldwide missionary role, then Her members must put their Faith before their native cultures and languages. The Church converts to a new Faith through the tools of the local language and local culture... To understand missionary work primarily, or even secondarily, as conversion to an alien and foreign language and culture is merely to repeat the error of Non-Orthodox missionaries. True Christian missionaries do not do this, but adapt their own values, prejudices, dress, education, languages and habits to the local population. Only what is spiritual does not change. What is merely human does change.”
(Archpriest Andrew Philips, 21st century English Orthodox priest) [Missions]
“Have you ever stopped to value the freedom which you possess? Have you rejoiced at the wondrous beauties of nature set by the Lord before you at every step...Have you looked with love into the eyes of your wife or children, and have you thanked the Lord that you are one family with them, and they with you? Do you realize and understand the joy of having your own church, sanctified by prayer, and of being in the bosom of the true Church, of approaching with trembling the Mysteries of the Church, being united in them with Christ? Has the Lord not placed in your soul the grace of sincere prayer; has He not directed to you on your life's path the deprived and offended, so that you might know the joy of heartfelt kindness in the happiness of giving alms?”
(Archpriest Valery Lukuanov, 20th century American priest) [Thanksgiving; Gratitude] Update 11/22/12
“Most of us go through this spiritual desert. It is easy to have faith when everything runs smoothly. You can pray, you may feel grace during services. But these are all gifts of God, gifts of the Holy Spirit. None of this happens because we deserve it. The Lord has stood us up on our feet like a toddler; He has taken our hand and guided our first steps. But as time passes, we have to learn to walk by ourselves.” (Archpriest Nicholas Kim, 21st century priest in Hungary) [Spiritual Trials]
“They wanted to kill us because we were Christians. They were calling us Kaffirs [infidels], even little children saying these things. Those who were our neighbours turned against us...” (Anonymous Christian quoted in the UK’s Independent newspaper) [Islam; Persecution]
“All that is close to God should be majestic and beautiful. But the Church may exist in other forms. We want to show that the squalor that accompanied the life of the Church in the 20th century, does not detract from its grandeur and beauty. Cardboard icons, crosses and panagias made of Tin, Eucharistic vessels from papier-mâché is also the life of the Church. In these circumstances was a full spiritual life, much more rich and productive than it is now.” (Deacon Paul Yermilov, 21st century Russian Orthodox commenting on conditions in the communist regime [Persecution]
"Public discussion of this topic [gay marriage] is ongoing, and has been couched as a continuation of the discussion on inter-racial marriage begun many decades ago. That is why the Church is not invited to enter into these debates, because they are not tied to theological research on the subject and so they are discussed as exclusively a matter of human rights – not as a moral question. That is, much of the American public considers that they lie on entirely different planes." (Protopriest Gregory Joyce, 21st century American priest, interview) [Homosexuality]
“I have been familiar with the [church] on Bolshaya Ordynka Street since 1968. The church was then in terrible condition; it looked like a tin can. In recent years I have been coming to Moscow more frequently, to this church, and I see that the church has been resurrected and restored. On weekdays – for instance, I was here on a Tuesday – the church is full of worshippers. And on the night of Pascha even the traffic stops in order to allow the procession to pass.” (Fr. Gabriel Bunge, 21st century Orthodox monk and scholar in Switzerland, interview) [Church Renewal]
On one hand, what you are saying is true, there are lots of young men joining the monastery, but on the other hand, look at the size of the United States. If this were really a Christian country, we would have hundreds of monasteries. When I look around at our contemporary society, at the abundance and luxury we live in, I am amazed that anyone can find their way out of all this to the monastic life." (Deputy Abbott Seraphim Voepel, 21st century Hermitage of the Holy Cross Monastery) [Monasticism; America]
“We are often told that there is no ideology in the West. Forgive me, but what about Hollywood, for example? Isn’t it a machine that brings all of America, even the whole world, in line with its ideological patterns?” (Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, 21st century Russian Orthodox Priest and author of ‘Everyday Saints’) [Secularism]
No need to be afraid that [they] will say "Sectarian methods." These sectarians stole from the Orthodox when they slept. So do not be afraid that many Orthodox would respond negatively to a street missions, leaflets, posters and other methods of preaching, but if possible, explain to them the real situation and seek to convince them. Still never go counter to the various commands... read the lives and experiences of eminent missionaries of all time, beginning with the Apostles. (Father Daniel Sosoyev Mission Center, 21st century Russia Martyr) [Evangelism]
“When we are thankful in the most challenging circumstances of life, when we bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God even when so much has been taken away, when we continue to follow His will living in holiness and faith, others will see that our gratitude is not dependent on the temporal success and security of this earthly life, but on the promises and salvation of God.” (Archbishop Demetrios, 21st century Greek American hierarch) [Suffering; Thanksgiving]
"If, God forbid, the Sovereign falls, then Russia will fall with her...Strengthen the family, because it is the foundation of every State." (Tsar Alexander III of 19th century Russia, words on his deathbed to the future Tsar Nicholas II) [Christian Government]
“I have many times had to confess people on their deathbeds. Their confessions are not about not having earned a million dollars, built a luxurious home, or been successful in business. People in their final hours are first of all full of regret for not having done some good, not having helped or supported their family, friends, or even incidental acquaintances. The second thing that torments almost everyone before death is that they gave so little time to their children.” (Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, 21st century Russian Orthodox Priest and author of ‘Everyday Saints’) [Parenting]
“When my own mother laid suffering before she died and asked, “Why did this happen to me?”, she didn’t take comfort in the Hindu gods and goddesses, reaching out for some boon of healing by performing the proper pujas. She reached out instead to Christ, who Himself knew what it was to be humiliated, abandoned, unjustly condemned, tortured, and killed in this world. And as a mother, she understood how witnessing this may have hurt His mother far worse than going through it herself.” (Anjali Sivan, a convert to Orthodox Christianity from Hinduism) [Death and Dying]
“It is about helping people spiritually. If God has placed you on your sickbed, that is already a sign that you should review your whole life – since we are not meant to get sick, but do so because of sin. The sisters prepare Orthodox patients for Confession, invite priests, and bring holy water and spiritual literature. We have even had cases of people who wanted to accept the Orthodox faith and were baptized right in the hospital. The most important task of a sister of mercy is to help the ill to love their illnesses. When someone comes to terms with his illness – when he can say, ‘Lord, may Thy will be done’ – then there are cases when everything goes away without any further assistance.” (Sister Catherine, 21st century Ukrainian Sister of Mercy in Kiev) [Mercy; Suffering; Will of God]
“He often told me that he was afraid that he would not manage to do the things he wanted, very many things. He hurried...his life was completely dedicated to Him. I didn’t understand why he hurried. For the final three years he devoted himself to ministry without days off or vacation. He always wanted to be worthy of a martyr's crown and the Lord has given him such a crown.” (Statement excerpts from the wife of 21st century Russian Orthodox Priest-Martyr Daniel Sysoev) [Purpose of Life, Vocation]
“Following Christ means taking it with all your heart and living by his commandments. Following Christ often means going against the current, to be misunderstood by most inquirers...as it was always in the 2000-year history of the Church." (Patriarch Kirill, 21st century Russia) [Christian Witness]
“We have much to remember: the liberation from the 300-year Tartar yoke; the victory over the Polish invaders; the victory over Napoleon; the victory over the Nazis… But there is something else to remember: for victory and deliverance from adversity to take place, there must be a people that remembers its Creator and its calling.” (Igumen John Irmakov, 21st century Russian Priest, quote on the Kazan Procession 2012) [Godly nation]
“Indifferent and merciless people, who think only of their own selves, insensitively satisfying themselves, simultaneously fill their hearts with much anguish. Within them works the little worm of a troubled conscience, and they are tormented already in this life.” (Elder Pairios, 20th Century Monk of Mt. Athos, general quotes) [Mercy]
“If we cannot preach with words because they will not be heard, then let us preach by our deeds. Let us preach with the help of those changes that take place in our souls when we turn from being passionate and sinful people into virtuous people with clean consciences. We might say nothing, but if people see our kindness, meekness, humility, purity, and sobriety, then this will be the best demonstration for them that Christianity is the very power that can refashion man.” (Archimandrite Niphont Lutsenko, 21st century Russian Orthodox Hierarch) [Evangelism]
"In our paschal liturgical celebrations, we perpetuate the original proclamation to the Myrrh-bearing Women. They shared it with the Disciples, and the Disciples, in turn, carried the news to the entire world. It is now our turn to share with the world, not only this message, but the reality of our own rebirth into eternal life through Jesus Christ." (Metropolitan-elect Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America, 21st century) [Evangelism]
“You shouldn’t be looking at the world though rose-colored or black-colored glasses – you should only have the prism of your faith in front of you, and you should look at the world through it.” (Russian Patriarch Kirill speaking to Orthodox journalists, 2012) [Worldview]
"Saints are difficult people, they always have an inspirational impulse, and they are ahead of others in ideas, words, and actions. It looked as if he was in a hurry. But actually it was us who were behind.” (Fr. Oleg Stenyaev on 2009 Martyr. Daniel Sysoev, Pravoslavie quote) [Saints]
“All Christians...when rising from sleep must first think of and remember Christ. Let every pious man continually repeat this Name as a prayer in his mind and with his tongue. Let him always constrain himself to do this while standing, travelling, sitting, resting, speaking, and doing all things. Then he shall find great peace and joy...” (Archbishop Simeon of Thessalonica, 20th century, Orthodox America quote) [Jesus Prayer] [Morning Prayer]
"Today’s society is mainly individualist, narcissist and self-sufficient. The soul of the contemporary human being affected by secularization, through the rejection of the mystery of the Church...the spiritual vacuum is filled by a “para-religion”, which imitates religion but without referring to God." (Patriarch Daniel of Romania, 2012 address) [Secularism]
“Everything in this life passes away — only God remains, only He is worth struggling towards. We have a choice: to follow the way of this world, of the society that surrounds us, and thereby find ourselves outside of God; or to choose the way of life, to choose God Who calls us and for Whom our heart is searching.” (Fr. Seraphim Rose, American convert and priest) [Spiritual vs Material]
It is not given to us to perceive what is awaiting the Church ahead. Woes and persecutions often accompany the life of a Christian. But the miraculous reappearance of the icon of the most Holy Theotokos proves her gracious Intercession for all Orthodox Christians. This will give us courage and selflessness in bearing our own cross.
(Archbishop Veniamin of Vladivostok ommenting on the discovery of the lost icon of 1903 Porte Arthur icon in 1998) [Theotokos; Icons]
