Philokalia Ministries

Tonight we read St Theophan’s 15th letter to the young Anastasia. He encourages her to plant the things that he has taught her deep within her heart.  She will not only find comfort in these things but encouragement and support for what lies ahead.   St. Theophan begins to introduce Anastasia to the life of prayer. But he does not begin with the discipline itself or specific practices. Rather, he speaks to her of the radical and instantaneous connection that one has with the Angels and the Saints. The moment a prayer is uttered from the heart it is immediately heard and responded to. Again this is supremely encouraging because it reminds us that we do not tread this path alone. We are surrounded by angels and saints that God has willed to give us, that in His providence He has chosen to support us in the spiritual battle and to lift us up if we have fallen. Their presence magnifies the beauty that we seek. In them we see the love and the grace of God with an even greater clarity than if we were to look up these things with our own eyes and hearts that have yet to be purified. In the angels and saints we see the God who is set upon our salvation and who has given us all that we need as human beings to participate in fully in His life.   ----   Transcript of chat during the group:   00:26:29 Eric Williams: What page are we on?   00:26:43 Natalia Wohar: 69, Letter 15   00:26:44 Ed Kleinguetl: 69   00:26:44 Eric Ash: 69, start of letter 15 I   00:26:58 Eric Williams: Thank you :)   00:42:43 carolnypaver: I need that Novena to St. Charbel.   00:56:33 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: Some saints are given a broader mission or extension of their earthly mission to a heavenly mission dimension. We think of the most Holy going from being the Mother of God to Mother of the Church and Mother of Humanity as the most obvious case. Often repeated in Byzantine liturgical texts is the term « derznovennia », which is a specific type of boldness, a specific « access » to God, given by God to those saints who were pleasing to God by their lives and in their ministry on earth, and thus, God gives them an added or intensified capability of interceding for us.   00:59:08 Mary McLeod: In theology school they always repeated that grace perfects nature, not destroys it.   01:07:20 Eric Williams: Fantastic book. Very challenging - not difficult, but he doesn't beat around the bush. ;) I wholeheartedly recommend it to all. As a depressive, one might think his intensity and his distress over sin would bring me down, but I find great comfort in reading the prayers of a holy man who often found himself feeling as lowly as a worm.   01:09:36 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: one of my favorite prayers to the most holy Theotokos: "Most glorious, ever-virgin Theotokos, receive our prayers and bring them to Your Son and our God, that because of you, He might save our souls." Sometimes I say it on the big beads or knots of the Prayer Rope, in between the Jesus Prayer.   01:16:04 Eric Williams: "Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all. "If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed." C.S. Lewis   01:19:30 Mary McLeod: I remember in the St. Isaac readings a monk was saying he labored without any discernible progress for 25 years!   01:23:04 Eric Williams: It blows me away to contemplate the fact that God gives us so few years to prepare for eternity.

Tonight we concluded letter 14. What a beautiful experience and privileged experience to share in the intimate correspondence between a saint and a young woman who desires to be a saint.  St. Theophan opens up for her the reality of life in God, what it means to be transformed from glory to glory.    Tonight he began to speak with her about the primacy of conscience, the incorruptible judge that God has given to us, the divine voice in the human spirit. There is nothing more beautiful than a soul with a pure conscience; and nothing will bear witness to the light of God’s glory as one who has been wholly transformed by his grace. It is this reality, this purity of conscience, that we should seek above all. It reveals what we are in fact. The angels and saints see the state of our soul and our guardian angel, in particular, comes to our aid and intercedes on our behalf. The demons are scorched and repulsed by the brightness of the soul with a pure conscience. Whereas one who has neglected the conscience becomes the focus of their attack.   The pure of conscience magnify the glory of God within the world. And so that should be the center of our concern, our energy and attention. It is this that we must be zealous about - not externals. “Examine what lies within!”, Theophan tells her. You must make a decision. Decide just how you’re going to live your life.   ----   Chat conversation during the group:   00:33:57 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: How to from and orthodox conscience 00:34:18 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: by fr Alexey young is available at 00:34:25 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: http://www.pravmir.com/how-to-form-an-orthodox-conscience/#ixzz3e6KPm2PA 00:35:11 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: sorry, it's "how to form an orthodox conscience" 00:41:05 Wayne Mackenzie: the more we become closer to God the more we see our own sins. Its like opening up a darkened room and we open the curtains we see the dust in the air. 00:43:40 carolnypaver: I found a prayer that said if we saw ourselves as we are seen by God, we’d die of fright. 00:44:27 Wayne Mackenzie: yes if we compare ourselves to God 00:46:34 Joe and Larissa Tristano: St. Sophrony ~ bear a little shame 00:54:41 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: We observe saints as very bright or holy because we are comparing them to ourselves, while the saints see themselves as still in darkness or in sin because they are comparing themselves to God, as they rise towards Him. This an interplay of three stages of spiritual growth: illumination and purgation as we grow in theosis/ deification which is our union with God. Along similar lines is the Eastern understanding of purgatory, for which you can read more at: https://www.royaldoors.net/2013/05/purgatory-and-the-christian-east/ 01:09:45 Eric Williams: "The Eucharist is a fire that inflames us, that like lions breathing fire, we may retire from the altar being made terrible to the devil." -St. John Chrysostom 01:16:15 carolediclaudio: I think babushka is old woman :) 01:16:28 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: Regarding St Sophrony - bear a little shame. When we feel shame (noun) it is supposed to carry us over to guilt, to repentance and then to God. In the scriptures and in eastern liturgical texts, "to shame" as in a verb meaning to disgrace or dishonor someone is usually an abuse directed at us by and from the evil one, whereas "guilt" as a feeling which we feel when we do or say or think something wrong is meant to be a blessing from God. If this distinction intrigues anyone, feel free to check out my youtube channel where I tried to show how this can be. I think it was part two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh8iWZBksTY&t=9s 01:18:00 Eric Williams: Babushka or baboushka or babooshka (from Russian: ба́бушка, IPA: [ˈbabʊʂkə], meaning "grandmother" or "elderly woman") :P 01:18:34 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: babushka is affectionate term for elderly married woman because they were the ones who wore the scarf on their hair, which was also worn by young married women. 01:18:40 carolnypaver: Russian/Polish/Ukraine term,” studda bubba”, which means “old woman 01:19:17 Joe and Larissa Tristano: Matushka is priests wife

We continued this evening reading letter 13 to the young Anastasia. Theophan again wants her to understand that we do not live our faith out in isolation, but rather in a radical communion with God and with the angels and Saints. Beyond that he wants her to understand that nothing is hidden from the eyes of God or from the eyes of the saints and angels. Our souls take on the quality of the facts of our life. Virtue and love bring brightness to the soul whereas sin brings murkiness or complete darkness. Theophan tells her this not to frighten her but rather that she might understand her true dignity in Christ. By virtue of her baptism she is an heir to the kingdom of heaven and has access to the treasure of God’s grace. It is this reality that is bestowed upon her by virtue of her baptism and it is this reality that must come to bear fruit in her life through seeking God at every moment; seeking above all to embrace his will.  Theophan would seek to free us all from what the Fathers call prelest or spiritual delusion. We have an enormous capacity to lie to ourselves and to seek to protect our own sense of dignity and self-esteem independent from God. We must overcome this illusion by humility - by understanding that we are known in truth and seen with the eyes of love eternal. ------- Chat texts from the group: 01:08:51 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: The term “prelest” is an Old Church Slavonic word (Greek: πλάνη - plani) which has come into English usage for lack of a precise equivalent, although it is often translated as "spiritual delusion," "spiritual deception" or "illusion," accepting a delusion for reality in contrast to spiritual vigilance and sobriety. Prelest carries a connotation of allurement in the sense that the serpent beguiled Eve by means of the forbidden fruit. Apart from its spiritual context, the word in Old Church Slavonic is often used in a positive sense of something charming, "lovely"; hence, in modern Russian it means: “Beauty”. People often struggle to understand what "prelest" is and how one would know if this is a problem in their life? What to do about it? That's the whole point – one doesn't know. But the Church teaches us practical measures to ward off this state. First, there’s having a good priest/confessor/spiritual director. Second, we practice the virtues: humility, etc. 01:09:23 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: Third, we practice attentiveness to our own thoughts and feelings that offer temptation, which is called being neptic (sober and vigilant) or practicing nepsis (sobriety, vigilance). We are warned to beware of people who are very keen on directing or teaching others spiritually, as if they consider themselves to be experts. We avoid speaking or acting im-pul¬sively. We stay away from any desires, thoughts or feelings that make us agitated. We are to be¬ware of substituting dog¬ma¬tic certitudes in place of practicing the faith (for example: knowing all about a service or a custom, but never actually participating in it or allowing that participation to challenge our core to repentance: changing our desires, thoughts and be¬ha¬viors to bring them into line with God’s knowledge). We are strongly fore¬warned to be¬ware of anyone who claims to be humble and to beware of the sin of pride, as if thinking that we have found the truth while others around us have yet to arrive at what is called “our level”. 01:09:57 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: Con¬verse¬ly, we are not to think that we are so bad a sinner that we are beyond forgiveness. The story is often told about a young convert who was so agitated about everyone else being in a state of prelest that it was he himself who became so obnoxious, overbearing, and neurotic, that he failed to notice that in the process he himself had become a liar, cheat and manipulator. So our Byzantine spiritual tradition tells us not to worry if someone else strikes us as being off track. Focusing on the sins of others is a surefire way of succumbing to prelest-self-delusion ourselves. ---- Link to download the "cheat sheet" for understanding St. Theophan's anthropology in Letters 5-11      

As we know St. Theophan is writing to Anastasia on the feast of her patron, on her name day. He continues by wishing her well; wishing her health and happiness in this world. But, in his love for her, he wants her to understand that life goes beyond the grave, and that what endures is the love of God and the life of virtue.    It is God and the spiritual life that must be at the center of our existence. All that we do, all that we say, all that we think, is freighted with destiny; because all of these things are opportunities to love and to give ourselves to God.    Having been formed so well in her early life Anastasia must seek to guard and protect what is most precious - the life that God has given her and the virtue that his grace has brought to life. She must understand, as we all do, that God sees all things, as do his saints and angels. We must never think that anything is hidden from the God who loves us and knows every hair on our head.    Finally we see in this short section the tenderness of St. Theophan. He offers her not simply cold direction but a fatherly love; desiring her to have the best of things – the eternal love of God.    ---- Chat transcript from the group:   00:48:02 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: Tenderness and spiritual sweetness: I don't know Russian but in Ukrainian, candy is called tsukorky from the word tsukor - sugar. And all candies and desserts fall under the category of solodoshchee - sweet things.   00:53:40 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: I believe that St John Chrysostom (+407) may have been the first one to coin the phrase that the Church is a hospital.   01:00:03 Joe and Larissa Tristano: Father, would you also think that the raiment is with regard to the putting on of Christ in baptism?   01:11:57 Edward Kleinguetl: Romans 7   01:13:51 Michael Liccione: "subject to futility" Romans 8:20   01:19:45 Adrienne DiCicco: Couldn't agree more re: Catholic schools!! -Phil DiCicco   01:23:52 Joe and Larissa Tristano: “Pray as you can, not as you think you must” & “Have a keepable rule of prayer” Fr. Thomas Hopko   01:25:55 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: Most of us are used to speaking of body and soul. St Theophan presumed a tripartite understanding (aka trichotomy) of the human being: body, soul and spirit. If anyone is interested in discerning this a little more, please see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripartite_(theology)   01:26:41 Edward Kleinguetl: As St. Ignatius Brianchaninov advised, “Choose a rule for yourself in accordance within your own strength.” A Rule of Prayer consists of practices to follow daily, such as morning and evening prayer, time for contemplation, liturgy; the rule may identify the time of day for these practices. The purpose of the rule is to help a person grow spiritually. Accordingly, it should not be so burdensome that it is difficult to complete on a daily basis. Nor should it become a heroic effort that later becomes a source of pride that is used to criticize others who may have a lesser rule.   01:26:51 Eric Ash: In some ways I think St. Theophan's ether illustration is more natural to our 21st century imagination than it was to explain in the 19th. The Saint's and Angels can see the whole Earth from Heaven and focus their gaze not just on our earthly bodies but the state of our souls. If he was writing today he might rather compare it that infrared googles can see through the dark and focus on heat, or x-rays see through body to focus on bone. Heavens gaze permeates all, but focuses more on our eternal souls than frail bodies.

Tonight we continued our discussion of letter 12. St. Theophan strives to help this young woman see her dignity and destiny as a person made in the image and likeness of God. He lays a foundation by emphasizing the subordination of all things to the spiritual. The carnal, the intellectual,  each have their place within our lives as human beings. St. Theophan, like the fathers before him, does not have a negative anthropology. In fact, just the opposite. He wants this young woman to be fully human, to be a real person. When the spirit no longer guides us our passions bring disorder to our lives and the fleeting happiness that we find in the things of this world quickly disappears.     In letter 13, Theophan begins to address Anastasia about things that initially seem out of context. But in reality he is building up on the foundation laid in the previous letter. He simply asks her what he should wish for her on her name day. He begins by wishing her good health and in doing so establishes this as a natural good for us as human beings. We truly experience the pain of its lack or when our health diminishes overtime.    He then wishes her happiness. He uses it as a prelude to asking and defining what happiness is. Everyone has their differing view. There is a definite happiness that comes through worldly things, from the carnal and the intellectual. However we can get caught up in these things and they can become a kind of opium for us. They offer a happiness that is passing or an illusion the covers the struggle and suffering of heart that we experience in this world. We are made for God and yet we are embattled and struggle with our own passions or temptations from without afflict us. True happiness, he tells her, is to be found in the spiritual life; for it is this life alone that endures beyond the grave. Even now God allows us to taste the sweetness of the invincible hope and joy He alone can offer.

We continued reading and discussing the 12th letter of St. Theophan the Recluse to the young Anastasia. He works very hard to show her that the illness that we struggle with is universal but it is also something that is willfully contracted. We all act in an unnatural way when we fail to subordinate the intellectual and carnal aspects of our being to the spiritual. Theophan makes it clear to Anastasia that there is nothing inherently sinful or evil about the intellectual or carnal but sin comes into play when they take supremacy over life in the Spirit and so make the self and our desire idols. We become less than human.  When we give ourselves over to the thoughts and desires associated with these aspects of ourselves we are easily drawn into sin and it can quickly drag us down like a whirlpool. Often it is very difficult to overcome such sin when it becomes habitual, or becomes a passion. In fact Theophan tells the young woman that sometimes we can remain fixed in the passion permanently.  However, Theophan assures Anastasia that even the most dedicated individual struggles with irrepressible thoughts.  One should not become disheartened or despondent in the struggle. Anastasia has already made the first step in acknowledging the illness and the need for healing. What is most important now is that she guards her virtue and that she remains ever vigilant in subordinating all things to the spiritual life.  -------- Referenced in the recording, the text offered to the group from Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky by way of chat during the group is copied below:  Generally speaking, there is the western Christian definition, for example CCC 1773, where “passion” is a morally neutral concept. In reading St Theophan we need to remember his background wherein there is Eastern Christian definition, for example COP 795, where “passion” is always a vice, one of the capital sins - something that is cancerous and death bearing to the spiritual life. St John Climacus was of the opinion that each of the passions was originally something that God made as good and our sin perverted its purpose. Anger was given that we may hate the evil one and sin, but we use it to hate one another. St. John of the Ladder was of the opinion that only akedia had no good origin with God. COP is Christ Our Pascha the official catechism of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church. In the East, all sin is missing the mark, and so death-bearing, we do not distinguish between mortal and venial sins. The link to the English version of COP is available for reading online on the St Josaphat Eparchy's web site. You can also purchase it there. In the East we also distinguish stages from getting from a thought to a passion. Search the internet for “The Struggle With Passions”, by I.M. Kontzevich. COP has a simplified version in paragraphs 790 and following. These stages of temptation are provocation, conjunction, joining, struggle, habit and finally passion. Technically, sin is born somewhere between conjunction and joining. Here is a short summary of Kontzevich's description: In “The Struggle With Passions”, by I.M. Kontzevich,Also COP, 790, we read: 1. PROVOCATION (SUGGESTION) прилог, приложитиCOP, 791By impression, memory or imagination a thought, if it is not invited consciously and voluntarily, and if a person is not negligent about it, presents itself to us. This is the touchstone for testing our will, to see whether it will be inclined towards virtue or vice. It is in this choice that the free will manifests itself. 2. CONJUNCTION (sochetanie-поєднання) and 3. JOINING (slozhenie-складання) In COP, 792…2 and 3 are called (internal conversation)In short, the thought is conjoined to the feeling and they in turn are joined to the will.The thought produces a feeling. This determines whether the thought stays or leaves. If our feelings do not “hate” the thought but “like” the thought, the thought then enters into our consciousness. We begin paying attention to it. We begin delighting in it. AT THIS POINT there is a conjunction-поєднання between the thought and me. But sin does not yet exist. In order to cut off the sequence of notions, to remove it from my consciousness, and to terminate the feeling of delight, I need to distract my attention. I must actively and firmly resolve to rebut the images of sin assailing me and not return to them again. But, if I become inclined to act upon what the thought tells me and to get the satisfaction of partaking of it, then the equilibrium of my spiritual life is DESTROYED. My willpower is now cooperating with the thought. This is called: JOINING-складання. “This state is already "approaching the act of sin and is akin to it" (St. Ephraim the Syrian). There comes the willful resolve to attain the realization of the object of the passionate thought by all means available to man. In principle, the decision has already been made to satisfy the passion. Sin has already been committed in intention. It now remains to satisfy the sinful desire, turning it into a concrete act.”  4. STRUGGLE Christ our Pascha: 793: “A thought that has penetrated the heart through conversation is difficult to dismiss. A person cannot be rid of it without struggle and effort. The Word of God and prayer assure victory in this battle” Kontzevich: “Sometimes, however, before man's final decision to proceed to this last moment, or even after such a decision, he experiences a struggle between the sinful desire and the opposite inclination of his nature”.  5. HABIT- звичка, (Assent-згода, зволення)Christ our Pascha: 794: “acceptance of an evil thought, which is equivalent to defeat in battle. By making an evil thought one’s own and deciding to make it a reality, a person has already sinned, even if the evil intention is not [sic: be] acted upon.”Kontzevich: there is still “an unstable vacillation of the will between opposing inclinations” and “a sinful inclination has not yet deeply penetrated man's nature and become a constant feature of his character, a familiar element of his disposition, when his mind is constantly preoccupied with the object of the passionate urge, when the passion itself has not yet been completely formed.”  6. CAPTIVITY (Passion-пристрасть) Christ our Pascha: 795: “The final stage is the actual passion. This is a state of captivity that results from sinful activity. A person given over to passion experiences a constant inclination towards evil. The inclination can become so powerful that a person loses the strength to resist, becomes addicted to evil, and a slave to passion.”Kontzevich: “It is no longer the will that rules over sinful inclinations, but the latter rule over the will, forcibly and wholly enticing the soul, compelling its entire rational and active energy to concentrate on the object of passion. This state is called captivity (plenenie-полон). This is the moment of the complete development of a passion, of the fully established state of the soul, which now manifests all of its energy to the utmost.”

*PLEASE NOTE: Due to a poor internet connection that resulted in choppy audio, the first 20 minutes of the recording were edited out.*    In our first group on The Spiritual Life by St. Theophan the Recluse, we began by looking at his 12th letter to the young woman Anastasia. He firmly emphasizes the supremacy of the spiritual in her and our lives. Our life in Christ and the pursuit of holiness must pervade all that we do. We must keep our lives ordered and directed to the eternal. In so far as we subordinate the spiritual to the intellectual and carnal aspects of our nature we cease to be human.    The proper use of freedom and self-consciousness are the two elements of our lives that must be closely guarded. It is our negligence in this regard that makes us stand guilty before God.  Furthermore we must not be under the delusion that we move with equal ease up and down the degrees of life. In an instant, the choice for and elevation of the carnal brings a fall from the graced life. However, the pursuit of purity of heart and the fruit of Ascetical discipline takes many years. There is no resting from the spiritual life.

Tonight we concluded homily 71 and began homily 72. Once again Isaac serves us solid food. He presents us with an image of humility and faith perhaps unlike anything that we have ever considered before and calls us not to allow it to become a dead letter but rather something that raises us up to the fullness of life and love.  Can we let go of our worldly knowledge, our natural knowledge that comes through the senses and is shaped by the intellect and rather allow ourselves to comprehend what God reveals through and in faith?  For it means allowing ourselves to become fools in the eyes of the world, to become like children, like infants, unable to communicate clearly but able to receive the love and protection that the Father offers us.    In this we are called to be like Christ himself, who in all things says “Thy will be done.”  Can we entrust ourselves so radically to the providence of God that we lose all fear and anxiety and become aware of Him and Him alone – trusting that we are in His care and allow, as Isaac says, “Grace to hold us in the palm of her hand”?     Unless we live in this radical humility and faith we will have no inkling of the essence of God. But we will know instead is the distorted image of our own minds and imagination. Are we willing to receive the paltry alms that such a limited faith offers?  Do we truly desire and ling for the Heavenly Bridegroom? Do we desire God as He is in Himself?

Tonight we continue to read homily 71. It is probably the deepest and most beautiful section of the text and in many ways we could not have entered into it or understood it without having read Isaac’s homilies over these past four years. We are nourished here on solid food.    Isaac discusses two things: dispassion, or or the state where the soul does not accept the passions and the mind is fixed upon holy things. The mind becomes subtle, nimble, and keen and swiftly moves away from the attack of the passions and temptations through being wholly wrapped in the things of God. Isaac, in fact, tells us that the memory of the passions is blotted out.   Isaac then moves on to discuss humility. This, he tells us, is a hiddenness from the world and the self. It is not, however, some kind of extreme introversion or antisocial behavior but rather is the fruit of one whose entire being is directed toward God and shaped by love of Him. One no longer seeks out the distractions of the world but rather to collect the senses, the emotions and the desires in order that all might be directed toward God. Isaac describes humility as a kind of “chastity of the senses”, where all things are rightly ordered toward He who is Love, Life and Truth.

We continued homily 71. Isaac is slowly guiding us through the virtues that bring us to our end point. Tonight we began with his definition of perfection. For Isaac, it is simply to love as Christ loves – a willingness to lay down our lives for others in order that they might come to know the fullness of life and love. Isaac puts forward the examples of Moses and St. Paul who asked God to allow them to be cast off if it would mean that others would be saved. Christ is our teacher in this regard. It is in Him and in His cross that we learn to love and are given the capacity to love.   From this Isaac moves on to speak to us about hope. It is an incredibly moving section of Isaac‘s writing. He elevates hope to its proper position in our life. It is one of the three theological virtues and it is precisely its ability to help us to see beyond the things of this world that allows us to love with the perfection that he describes. With hope we can see the promise of life that Christ holds out to us and so we can run with a swiftness. In fact, Isaac describes it as like running on air. No mountain, no river, no obstacle at all prevents an individual with hope from running swiftly toward the kingdom, with a heart aflame for the love of God. Isaac describes it as a kind of shortcut. Hope and its perfection brings together all the virtues. It leads a person to heedlessly give their lives over completely to Christ and allow Him to take up residence within the heart. Hope allows for a kind of holy madness to guide and direct a person’s life. It allows one to cast off any obstacle to living for Christ and living for Him alone.