Orthodox Wisdom

Chanted in English from the Holy Transfiguration Monastery Prayer Book   Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me!   This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

This is the first of twenty-two sermons specifically on the subject of the Divine Liturgy, preached by New Martyr St. Seraphim (Zvezdinski). Learn more about yet another inspiring martyr under the Soviet antichrists here: https://orthochristian.com/7426.html “In the Church we have the hands of Christ, His mouth, and His eyes, and also His Divine heart. His hands are the sacred rites; the language of Christ’s mouth is His holy Gospel; His eyes are the holy mysteries, through which He gazes into our souls; His heart is the Divine Liturgy.” “My dear ones, my God-given flock, love the Divine Liturgy; guard the fragrant rose of Christ, enlighten your souls with the light of the Divine sun. When you fail to attend the Divine Liturgy, count it as if you lost a day of your life.”  This was recently translated into English be Fr. Zechariah Lynch, rector of Archangel Michael Orthodox Church (OCA) in Pueblo, CO. If you have not already done so, follow Fr. Zechariah’s excellent blog at inklesspen.blog. Text of the sermon: https://inklesspen.blog/2021/06/12/the-temple-of-the-living-god/ This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

“It’s Time to Prepare…” is an archived letter (dated 1929) written by St. Damascene to his flock, two years after the Declaration by Met. Sergius. St. Damascene writes, “How dangerous it is to deceive ourselves and lull the vigilance commanded by Christ by the possibility of accepting compromises with the enemies of Christ's faith and the Church. All such compromises will only cause greater division among the believers, belittle the dignity of the Church yet more, and finally they will suppress the authority of Her representatives. This has now become apparent to all of us.”“It is especially timely for our priests to reflect on this matter. In time, as they continue in their podvig, they will die in prisons and exile, they will boldly speak out with a word of reproof and admonition before the atheists and the God fighters, striving even to blood for the glory of the Name of Christ. Others, for the sake of preserving and nurturing the flock of Christ, must prepare their own exodus to the "catacombs." Wisdom and zeal for the salvation of our souls should tell us the forms in which this “exodus” should take place. As for the civil order, let it choose whichever road for itself, let it proclaim any principles of life, let it in its insane pride declare war on the Creator of the universe, - we will go our way "with Christ and to Christ." We will use from the "outside" only those few things that are necessary for a modest life and which are not contrary to our Christian conscience and spirit. Let us be patient, displaying brotherly love, towards the perishing, let us obey their civil laws which are not contrary to the spirit of Christ; - but we will not sacrifice before the "outside", before the power of man, a single one of the church regulations, not one iota of the dogmas of the Christian faith; we will not allow the godless to shamefully prevent our participation in the Holy Sacraments, we will not allow their corrupting influence in the area of ​​our spiritual relations, in the world of our mutual love for Christ, our faith, the Sacraments, or in our Church - the Holy of Holies of our soul and life.”Read the text here: https://catacombhistory.blogspot.com/...Read the Life of St. Damascene from “Russia’s Catacomb Saints” here: http://russiascatacombsaints.blogspot...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

See NOTE below. Very important!"Once again I write these things to give you courage so that you do not fear illnesses, even if they make you suffer for life. Since God is continuously present, why do you worry? For in Him we live and move. We are carried in His arms.""Since our sweet Jesus is so good, compassionate, and kind, why should you despair? We seek one small thing from Him, and He gives us so much. We ask for one beam of light, and He gives us Himself as all Light, Trust, and Love. So humble yourself and rest all your hope in Him."This letter, including his subsequent letters, shows us the heights of Orthodox spirituality as it relates to illness, fear, and death. Imagine what St. Joseph would say to us today when the sins of fear and rationalism abound and are justified, sins of justifying evil that good may come, even by the leaders of the Church. Let us follow the Saints, begging God for their faith, for they and those who follow them are the only true guides God has established for us. NOTE: In Letter 30 we read “Believe me, for I tell the truth: Ever since I became a monk, every time I got sick, I absolutely never took care of myself; nor did I let anyone care for my physical health, but I placed all my hope in the unmercenary Physician.” A footnote here reads, “The Elder later modified his opinion of health care, as is evident in his 49th Letter. In Letter 49 we read, “Three times they stayed up all night thinking that I would die. They called everyone to come to my side. I bid them farewell for the last time. They cried by my side day and night. Finally, I recovered once again. They sent me a special medicine, and it, after God, healed me. I hadn’t eaten for forty days. When I took the medicine, I ate, slept, and got better. Glory to Thee, O God! I began to move somewhat and to write again…. Courage! It’s not just you. There are many others. Many people have come to me, and with prayer and fasting they were healed. But now, the Lord doesn’t hear me, so that I learn about medicine and the doctors and be lenient with others. I also read the letters of St. Nectarios, and I saw how much he, such a great saint, paid attention to the doctors and medicines! I am just a poor ascetic who has grown old in the wilderness, and I wanted to heal only through faith. But now I, too, am learning that both medicines and grace are necessary. So now I shall say like the saint, “See to it that you get well.” Fix your nerves in any way you can, and you will find your prayer and peace again.” How instructive! We see a great saint adjusting his stance according to God’s will. He, like St. Basil the Great so beautifully taught (see recording on this channel), “both medicines and grace are necessary.” Have faith in God above all, and do not spurn those things the He Himself have provided for us. Not all medicine is given to us by God. Nothing produced based on the murder of babies or other such evils will produce the eternal good that medicine exists for (see Romans 3:8). Trust God above all, endure suffering, neither rush to nor reject medicine, and do not be anxious, for “we are carried in His arms.”St. Joseph the Hesycast is one of the greatest ascetics of the 20th Century and spiritual father of St. Ephraim of Katounakia and Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona. Learn more about St. Joseph here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/pages...This reading is Letter 30 from “Monastic Wisdom: The Letter of Elder Joseph the Hesychast”. Purchase the book here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/produ...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

“Denial of the incarnation, denial of the Lord Jesus Christ’s divine dignity is unthinkable to a member of the Church, and any denier of it has of course already thereby apostatized from the Church. Who is the liar if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son (cf. 1 Jn. 2:22).”“Listening to the modern religious pulse beat, you involuntarily notice that in this sense, antichrist reigns in religious consciousness. Lately large waves of scientific ideas have rushed upon the rock that lies in the foundation of the Church. In the area of New Testament studies, especially many new—or renewed—ideas are appearing lately from comparative study of religion. New, monumental discoveries are broadening our knowledge of the ancient East, and people have started to discuss the Gospels in the light of this knowledge. Once, the magi came from the East to worship the Infant God-Man, and brought their treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh. From the same countries that produced the magi, now different wise men are coming to Europe. Entire scientific expeditions, supplied by governments and private individuals, are carrying away their loot in huge treasure boxes. There are no gold, frankincense, or myrrh in these treasure boxes, but rather entire blocks of stone, or broken pieces of stone with mysterious inscriptions. Scholars in Europe will read these mysterious inscriptions and will not worship the newborn Infant. The star of the East leads science away from Bethlehem. Comparative studies of eastern religions end in nothing other than the very denial of the incarnation of the Son of God.”“Christianity requires a humble awareness. My forefather, Adam, was perfect, but I, mankind, introduced only sin and corruption. The Church calls us to humility when it calls Adam our ancestor. But evolution? Descent from the ape? No matter how modestly we rate ourselves, it is impossible not to think with a certain pride: “After all, I am not an ape; after all, progress is manifest in me.” Thus, by calling the ape our ancestor, evolution feeds human pride.”“The worldview that is not of the Church—descent from the ape, progress, having no need of and denying the incarnation—is pride. Accepting the incarnation is inseparably bound with humility. Pride wars with the incarnation, as with something unneeded.Taking part in the triumphant Church celebration of the Nativity of Christ, we should shout aloud: Be humble, proud man, and believe in the incarnation of the Only Begotten Son of God!”New Martyr St. Hilarion Troitsky, Archbishop of Verey reposed in 1929 from sickness after suffering in the Solovki prison camp for resisting the Soviet antichrists. He is a shining star in the firmament of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. Read his Life here: http://www.orthodox.net/russiannm/hil...Service text to St. Hilarion: https://orthochristian.com/53416.htmlListen to my recording of his excellent treatise “Holy Scripture and the Church,” which is ideal for Protestants inquiring into Orthodoxy: https://youtu.be/vcpkGHs96A4Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion, pray to God for us!This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios, a dynamic and beloved preacher, abbot of the Monastery of Komnineiou and Saint John the Theologian in Stomion, Larisa, Greece, gave 104 consecutive lessons of Revelation to thousands of faithful. This beloved elder, venerated by many in Greece and around the world, reposed in the Lord in the year 2006. This homily is recorded with the blessing of Constantine Zalalas, translator of “Revelation: The Seven Golden Lampstands” by Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios.Purchase this volume, as well as volume II to V here: https://www.zoepress.us---------------------------------------------------------NEW LECTURE SERIES at ORTHODOX ETHOS: The Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Apostle & Evangelist John the Theologian (Series 1)This lecture series will be presented under the tutelage of the teachings of Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios, walking line by line through the book of RevelationVia Youtube: https://youtu.be/hPhoLrcBh1QLesson 1: January 11th: Introduction: An Ecclesiastical BookWHEN: The Course begins on Tuesday, January 11th at 8 PM EST (5 PM PST); lectures will be held every other Tuesday, with question and answer sessions held every Thursday at 8 PM EST through The Orthodox Ethos Patreon page (patreon.com/frpeterheers)WHERE: Lectures will be live-streamed simultaneously through: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/orthodoxethosFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/frpeterheers Twitter: https://twitter.com/orthodoxethos Crowdcast: https://www.crowdcast.io/theorthodoxe...WHO: The Course will be presented by Archpriest Peter Heers, Lecturer, Holy Trinity Orthodox SeminaryHOW: To attend the course* and the question answer sessions visit the Orthodox Ethos Patreon page - www.patreon.com/frpeterheers.Lecture Times and Dates [Series One]: Meets: Tuesday evenings, 8 PM EST, 5 PM PST, 12 AM (Wed.) (AEDT).January 11, 25; February 8, 22; March 15, 29; April 12, 26; May 10, 24; June 7, 21*Tuesday evening lectures will be available to all.Lecture Topics: Lesson 1: January 11th: Introduction: An Ecclesiastical BookLesson 2: January 25th: Rev. 1:1: Definition of TermsLesson 3: February 8th: Rev. 1: 1-4: Keepers of the Divine WordLesson 4: February 22nd: Rev. 1: 4-6: The One Who Is and WasLesson 5: March 15th: Rev. 1: 4-7: Christ: Prophet, Priest and KingLesson 6: March 29th: Rev. 1: 7-9: Christ: The Alpha and the OmegaLesson 7: April 12th: Rev. 1: 9-11: On Suffering, the Kingdom and PatienceLesson 8: April 26th: Rev. 1: 11-19: The Vision of the Seven LampstandsLesson 9: May 10th: Rev. 1: 20-22: The Seven StarsLesson 10: May 24th: Rev. 2: 4-7: The First Love & the Fight Against NicolaitanismLesson 11: June 7th: Rev. 2: 7-9: The Epistles to the Angels of Ephesus & SmyrnaLesson 12: June 21st: Rev. 2: 9-12: The Synagogue of SatanWe all need to become well-informed as to the message and meaning of the Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, not only because we live in apocalyptic times - although we do - and not only because there are many signs alerting us to spirit of our end times - although there are - but mainly because The Revelation is a book for the Church, about the Church, from the First to the Second Coming. You are invited to join us as we - under the close tutelage of the Holy Fathers and the great Elder and Teacher, Archimandrite Athanasius Mitilinaios - walk line by line through the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega of history, and are blessed, according to the book itself: “Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near” (Rev. 1:1-3).---------------------------------------------------------Intro – 00:00Lesson 2 on Revelation 1:1-3 – 02:04“Let’s not think that while we are leafing through the pages of this book, while analyzing it, we will be able to understand anything in it in the absence of divine illumination.”“Revelation is not

Fr. Daniel Sysoev (+2009) was a priest, husband, confessor, and martyr. His great love for God and man led him to write many texts and convert many to the Orthodox Faith, including personally baptizing over 80 Muslims. Because of this great missionary effectiveness, he was murdered in his own mission church. Fr. Daniel is not yet canonized as a Saint but his witness, both before and after his repose, has given the faithful confidence in his holy prayers and witness. “Fr. Daniel loved the Divine services of the Church and the beauty and logic of their structure. He did not countenance liturgical liberalism. There are those within the Church who believe that for the sake of missionary work the Church needs to accommodate itself to the world. Fr. Daniel, on the contrary, took a maximalist stance, with regard to both the Church services and to the work of evangelization. This he believed to be the true missionary approach.” From Fr. Daniel’s final homily: “Truly, right now the devil wants to divide Christians and then to destroy everything that the Christians depend on. It is because of Christians that God maintains the world. Because of Christians, the Lord gives peace to nations. Why are there wars? It happens when Christians forget about their unity, when they relate themselves to this world...” Homily begins at 7:55 Test of his Life: https://orthochristian.com/117356.html Text of his final homily: https://orthochristian.com/33371.html This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Seraphim (Sobolev) of Sofia (+1950) gives an exemplary defense of the ecclesiology of the Church and on this basis, why the Russian Orthodox Church (and all local Orthodox Churches) should not participate in the Ecumenical Movement. Delivered euring the proceedings of the Congress of the Orthodox Churches at the celebration of the Quincentennial of the autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow, Russia, July 13, 1948, on the eve of the Amsterdam Conference of the World Council of Churches. Consider how much has changed since this address as given, and how the words of the Saint have been followed by some, and rejected by others.St. Seraphim is known as defender of the truth of the Church and as a wonderworker. He was glorified as a Saint by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2016. A beautiful and well-known saying of his reads, “Adapt your life to your Faith, not the other way around.” The book of his life and works: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.or...A brief account of his life here: https://blog.obitel-minsk.com/2021/02...Text of recording: http://www.dep.church/downloads/StSer...From “Does the Russian Orthodox Church Need to Participate in the Ecumenical Movement?”:“Let us remember its essence and its aim, and let us wholly reject the ecumenical movement. It constitutes a falling-away from the Orthodox Faith, a betrayal of and treason against Christ, which are things that we must avoid in every way so as not to fulfill the words of Saint Seraphim: ‘Woe to him who even in one iota falls away from the Holy Ecumenical Synods.’” “From this, it is obvious who really stands behind the ecumenical movement: Freemasons, longtime foes of the Orthodox Church. It is also clear to what end the ecumenical movement, at all of its gatherings since its inception, has striven: not a dogmatic union of all so-called “Christian churches” with the Orthodox Church, but a commixture of both, achieved by means of the falling away of the Orthodox from their Faith through an ecumenical familiarity with heretics, especially with Protestants. This commixture is equivalent to the destruction of Orthodoxy.”“The Orthodox Church should never join with those of other confessions. Such a union is unfeasible, utopian, and extremely harmful and even disastrous for the Orthodox Church. Orthodox Christians should, rather, join with each other, and so fulfill the commandment of Christ: “Neither pray I for these alone [i.e., the Apostles], but for them also which shall believe on Me through their world; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us.” In this context, the word “all” means “believers,” and the word “believers,” here, does not signify Orthodox together with ecumenists and heterodox Christians; one can only understand the word to mean “true believers,” i.e., Orthodox Christians. As God declared, “I am...the truth,” He could not have meant, here, heretical Christians, but rather only right-believing ones.”“For not joining the ecumenical movement as the Orthodox ecumenists have, we are accused of an essential lack of love for non-Orthodox Christians. However, through their involvement in the ecumenical movement, Orthodox ecumenists break the Holy Canons; violate Orthodox ecclesiological dogma; establish friendships with Protestants and Freemasons at ecumenical gatherings, which makes them lenient toward Protestants propagandizing in Orthodox countries; and assist the enemies of the Orthodox Church in their work for Her elimination. The Orthodox ecumenists’ behavior in their relationship to ecumenism is a complete outrage; it is egregiously unseemly behavior, in which, according to the teaching of Saint Paul, there is no love: “Love,” he says, “doth not behave itself unseemly.” It is obvious, however, that any lack of love is not to be found with us, but with the Orthodox ecumenists, since they do not express love, but rather behave unseemly. Let them ask their conscience—it will answer

St. Seraphim (Sobolev) of Sofia (+1950) gives an exemplary defense of the ecclesiology of the Church and on this basis, why the Russian Orthodox Church (and all local Orthodox Churches) should not participate in the Ecumenical Movement. Delivered during the proceedings of the Congress of the Orthodox Churches at the celebration of the Quincentennial of the autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow, Russia, July 13, 1948, on the eve of the Amsterdam Conference of the World Council of Churches. Consider how much has changed since this address as given, and how the words of the Saint have been followed by some, and rejected by others.St. Seraphim is known as defender of the truth of the Church and as a wonderworker. He was glorified as a Saint by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2016. A beautiful and well-known saying of his reads, “Adapt your life to your Faith, not the other way around.” The book of his life and works: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.or...A brief account of his life here: https://blog.obitel-minsk.com/2021/02...Full text: http://www.dep.church/downloads/StSer...From “Does the Russian Orthodox Church Need to Participate in the Ecumenical Movement?”:“The Russian Orthodox Church has been invited to participate in this ecumenical conference as one of many ecclesiastical organizations, each of which understands itself to be the Church. But we Orthodox Christians confess that, strictly speaking, only one community of true, faithful Christians can be called “the Church,” as established by God Himself for our salvation. To call every heretical community “the Church” is to have an incorrect understanding of the word and to trample upon the dogma of the Church as it is taught in our Faith, as laid down by the ninth article of the Symbol of the Faith.”“The Orthodox viewpoint always defines the One Church as consisting only of right-believing Orthodox Christians. Our Church has never considered heretics to be included in Her ranks, as members of the Body of Christ.”“Members of the Orthodox Church who are sinners, no matter how great their sins may be, are always able through the Mystery of Repentance and with the help of active and saving Grace to become Saints; they can attain to a true and perfect Grace-filled sanctity. But for the heterodox, whether as individuals or as a group, it is not possible to become Saints, because the Grace of the Mystery of Chrismation and the Grace of the Mystery of Repentance are not active among them. Heterodox are only able to become Saints if they repent, renounce all of their heresies, and unite themselves with the Orthodox Church; only then can one include other Christians in the Holy Church of Christ.”“But what sort of Grace is this, which, according to ecumenists, allows Christians of other creeds to become Saints? According to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, the Grace of the Holy Spirit is manifest in two forms: firstly, as an external, providential Grace, which acts in and throughout the lives of everybody, enabling anyone to accept the True Faith; and, secondly, as an internal, salvific Grace, which revivifies, redeems, and functions solely in the Orthodox Church. Undoubtedly, in the previously cited quote by the Orthodox ecumenist, external Grace was not what he had in mind, since when it acts in the lives of Christians of other creeds, and even in the lives of non-Christians, it does not make them Saints. It follows, then, that what he had in mind was the internal, revivifying Grace. But this Grace is either wholly absent in Christians of other creeds or is present but inactive, unable to save or to make them Saints. So neither the one nor the other type of Grace can make heterodox Christians into Saints. Subsequently, it is inappropriate for Orthodox ecumenists to speak at all about either Grace or sanctity in connection with Christians of other creeds.”This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Ch

"The Saints — those who appear from generation to generation, from time to time, following the Saints who preceded them — become linked with their predecessors through obedience to the divine commandments, and endowed with divine grace, become filled with the same light. In such a sequence all of them together form a kind of golden chain, each Saint being a separate link in this chain, joined to the first by faith, right actions and love; a chain which has its strength in God and can hardly be broken. A man who does not express a desire to link himself to the latest ofthe saints (in time) in all love and humility owing to a certain distrust in himself, will never be linked to the preceding saintsand will not be admitted to their succession, even though he thinks he possesses all possible faith and love for God and for all His saints. He will be cast out of their midst, as one who refused to take humbly the place allotted to him by God before all time, and to link himself to that latest saint (in time) as God had disposed." -St. Symeon the New TheologianFrom "Practical and Theological Precepts", 157-158. Writings From the Philokalia: On the Prayerof the Heart.“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” -2 Timothy 2:2This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!