Orthodox Wisdom

Written in 1914, this treatise by St. Hilarion (Troitsky), Archbishop in Russia martyred by the Soviet Communists, is especially helpful in our days when there is so much misunderstanding regarding the place of Holy Scripture in Christian life and the nature of the Church that wrote, taught, and preserved these Scriptures. St. Hilarion shows in various ways the approach that non-Orthodox, especially Protestants, take towards Scripture is misguided and leads to tragic results for their souls. Divorcing the Bible from the Church (i.e. Sola Scriptura and versions of it) and assuming one can interpret it properly apart from the Body of Christ, which is guided by the Holy Spirit, is the height of arrogance and one can clearly see the divisive results today.This treatise also demonstrates the fallacies of modern “higher criticism,” sometimes even employed by the Orthodox, and how one can rightly orient themselves toward Christ and His revelation. Scripture can only serve its purpose inside the Church; the Church wrote Scripture, determined its canon, and interprets it faithfully, and no one outside the Church has rights to it. Often critics of the Orthodox Church say we disparage and ignore Scripture. This is absolutely false: we value Scripture so highly that we preserved it for centuries, have in-depth commentaries on it, and most importantly, the very words of Scripture comprise the majority of our worship services. It is difficult, if not impossible, to find more Scripture-saturated worship than that of the Orthodox Church. Anyone with ears to hear will come away with new questions and a new way of understanding life as a Christian, or a deeper understanding of what they already live in their daily lives. “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” –Apostle Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:15)If you have benefitted from this recording, please share it with others who might be open to hearing this essential message.“Christ did not write anything. It seems that if one reflects enough on this fact, one can somewhat understand the very essence of the work of Christ.” –St. Hilarion“Today we ever more frequently run up against this kind of reasoning: ‘We read such and such in Holy Scripture. The Church teaches differently. So the Church is wrong.’ All kinds of sectarians monotonously chant in this manner ad nauseam. There are even those who echo these ideas while calling themselves Christians, that is, they have adopted incomprehensible arrogance in their attitude toward the Church, placing themselves far above her…. Scripture belongs to the Church, but heretics are not Christians and have no right to Christian Scripture. The Church can ask the heretics: ‘Who are you? You are not of my own; what are you doing here? It is my property. I have long possessed it. I trace my foundation from the authors themselves, to whom the Scripture belongs. I am the heir of the Apostles. As for you, they have, it is certain, always held you as disinherited, and rejected you as strangers, as enemies.’ The truth we have sought to substantiate is not new, but it should be reiterated in the twentieth century, because although it has been repeatedly verified by history, it is now quite often forgotten.” –St. HilarionHoly Hieromartyr Hilarion, pray for God for us!This text can be found here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/saint...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Reader’s Note: As you listen to this Appeal written in 1968 to then Patriarch of Constantinople, His All-Holiness Athenagoras, notice how few words would need correction or updating in order to apply to our own day, now in the year 2021.“What do You think You have achieved by Your unique, but wholly uncanonical and unprecedented meeting with the Bishop of Rome? Most simply, You strengthened the Latin position on the schism. And what did Your melodramatic, far-fetched salutation, Your clinging embraces, and Your uncanonical exchange of gifts achieve? Precisely to increase the danger—the danger that the awareness the faithful now have that Papists are heretics will be blunted. Dialogue, prayers together, receiving of gifts, and "liberalizing" innovations are unforgivable according to Orthodox prescription, because they adulterate and change what has been transmitted through the holy Apostles, the holy Fathers, and the Ecumenical and Local Councils.”“Glory be to God, there exist in this land of martyrdom a love of Orthodoxy and a spirit of resistance. Like an ocean wave, Orthodox thought will overwhelm and sink Your skiff on its course toward a servile, anti-Christ union (submission) with the superheresy of Papism. Florence shall never live again in any form whatsoever. We will tolerate no kind of betrayal. The Greek people, a people who has once given birth to many like St. Photios, Patriarch Michael Cerularios, and St. Mark Evgenikos [i.e. St. Mark of Ephesus (+1439)], will not tolerate betrayal. God has swept away the betrayers.”“We rejoice over them as he that has found great spoil, and press to our bosom with gladness the divine Canons, holding fast all the precepts of the same complete and without change, whether they have been set forth by the holy trumpets of the Spirit, the renowned Apostles, the six Ecumenical Councils, by councils Iocally assembled,... or by our Holy Fathers... And those whom they placed under anathema we also anathematize; those whom they deposed, we also depose; those whom they excommunicated, we also excommunicate; and those whom they delivered over to punishment, we subject to the same penalty...” (First Canon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council).Elder Philotheos Zervakos (+1980) was an Archimandrite, spiritual father, missionary, confessor, and wonderworker in Greece in the 20th century. The spiritual son of St. Nektarios of Aegina, Elder Philotheos preached and heard confessions for 68 years and built 12 churches, two monasteries, three cemeteries and two schools. The money he would receive from the faithful he would distribute to the poor, the widows and the orphans. He zealously confessed the faith, guarding his spiritual children and all who would listen against the many temptations and deceptions facing his people. Elder Philotheos is not formally glorified as a saint, but he is treated like a saint by the people of Greece and beyond.Read more about his life here: https://orthochristian.com/93177.htmlThis Appeal was originally published in English in The Orthodox Word, Issue #13, Jan.-Feb., 1968. Read “A Desperate Appeal” here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/des...Holy Father Philotheos, 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!

“In many different places and many different ways, people today are searching and finding the roots of Christianity in Orthodoxy. Things which we take for granted are astonishing discoveries for them: the splendor of our Divine services, coming down from ancient times and so suited to the need of the human soul to worship God in spirit and in truth; the depth of the spiritual teaching contained in the writings of the Holy Fathers; simply the continuity with the past of Christianity, since we trace our beginnings not to some more or less recent teacher, but to Christ Himself and His Apostles, and our bishops and priests received their ordinations in a direct line going back to the Apostles. If we ourselves, having these roots, are leading a conscious Christian life, we can be of tremendous help to those who are weary of personal interpretations of Christianity and want with all their heart the “true old Christianity”—Orthodoxy.”“All of politics is heading in the direction of a one-world government which cannot be anything but universal slavery.”“People today are searching for the truth, searching for Christ, searching for Orthodoxy; we who are already Orthodox are in a position to help give it to them.”“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. Let us take the way of St. Herman and put into our hearts the deep resolve: “From this day, from this hour, from this minute, let us love God above all.”To listen to more readings of Fr. Seraphim’s teachings: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz...Text can be read here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/searc...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus 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. Let us therefore look at them…. each one of us is potentially a Judas. Therefore, when the opportunity comes—when the passion begins to operate in us and logically begins to develop from a passion into betrayal—we should stop right there and say, ‘Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!’” –Fr. Seraphim RoseFr. Seraphim gave this homily during Great Lent, 1982, just a few months before his repose. Read the text here: https://orthochristian.com/78550.htmlThis is read by our brother Sergius, who assists with the work of this channel alongside Timothy.This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

St. Paisius writes, “…having eaten, one should be a little hungry so that the body will be submissive to the spirit and capable of labors and sensitive to mental movements, and so the bodily passions will be conquered.”“A moderate and sensible fast is the foundation and chief of all virtues. One should fight evil as one fights a lion and a fierce serpent—in the infirmity of the body and spiritual poverty. He who wishes his mind to be firm against defiled thoughts should make his body refined through fasting.”Blessed Nativity Fast to all! On Nov 15/28 we begin the Nativity Fast and commemorate St. Paisius (+1794). May we struggle well, by the prayers of St. Paisius and the great mercy of God.Text of this reading: https://orthochristian.com/88203.htmlIf you are not familiar with St. Paisius, you should be. He is one of the most significant Saints in the last few hundred years and much of the rebirth of monasticism and spiritual heights in recent years can trace itself back to his labors. Learn more about this great Saint here: https://stpaisiusmonastery.org/about-...Here is a book of his writings that, to my knowledge, is out of print: http://austroca.org/wp-content/upload...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

Three separate texts from St. Justin Popovic are brought together in this reading. I pray you can feel in your bones, nay, in the spiritual marrow of your soul the depth of the truth and beauty of his God-inspired teachings. Note: the word theanthropic is a combination of “Theos” = God and “Anthropos” = man“The New Testament can be summed up in one, this one comprehensive truth: the God-man is the essence, the purpose, the meaning, and the essential value of the Church. He is its soul, its heart, and its life. He is the Church in its entire theanthropic fullness. The Church is nothing other than the God-man Christ projected through all the centuries: ‘And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age’ (Matt 28:20; cf. Eph 1:21-23).” –from “Highest Value and Last Criterion in Orthodoxy”“The holy day of the Spirit which dawned at Pentecost continues without interruption in the Orthodox Church, with the untold fulness of the divine gifts and life-giving powers. Everything in the Church exists in the Holy Spirit, from the most minute to the most stupendous.” –from “The Orthodox Church as Continuous Pentecost”“Humanistic Ecumenism,” pages 172-174 in “Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ”“Highest Value and Last Criterion in Orthodoxy,” pages 79-82 in “Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ”“The Orthodox Church as Continuous Pentecost” – Read here: https://pemptousia.com/2021/06/the-or...Purchase “Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ” here: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.or...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

“Now then, my child, if His divine will is in accordance to our desire, certainly you will get well. But if He foresees something that we do not know—since as 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.”“And you, my child, write to me about whatever happens to you, and do not be afraid of the tempter. Just say the prayer without ceasing. He, my dear child, is the tempter—the devil—and only the prayer burns him, and fasting severs his nerves; it unnerves him.”“Christ, Who sets the contest, allows temptations for this reason: so that we may gain victories against the enemy, be purged from passions, and be perfected. So, struggle and be patient. Do not grow weary. Do not turn back.”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 of Letters 50 and 54 from “Monastic Wisdom: The Letter of Elder Joseph the Hesychast”. Purchase the book here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/produ...Read the recorded text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/elderj...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

I strongly encourage you to listen to the end. What St. Damascene says may be words you find yourself, as I have, reflecting on many times over. Please listen all the way through this short recording. Of all the writings of the New Martyrs that have come down to us, this excerpt from St. Damascene of Glukhov is one of the most inspiring and hopeful. In the very midst of the height of uncertainty, division, and persecution, St. Damascene writes:"Unite yourselves for grace-given guidance around one of the worthy pastors, and let everyone separately and all together prepare themselves for yet greater service to Christ ... Just a few people united in such a life already makes up a small Church, the Body of Christ, in which the Spirit and the Love of Christ dwell ... If we do not become members of the Body of Christ, the temple of His Life-giving Spirit, then this Spirit will depart from the world, and the frightful convulsions of the dying world organism will be the natural result of this."“Therefore, let it be that darkness has temporarily covered the earth (from the sixth to the ninth hour), let it be that the lamps of certain Churches are hidden under bushels so as not to be put out by the satanic whirlwind (as has occurred with the majority).  After a short time of rest from the Lord (perhaps even the time when the darkness will imagine that its work has already been completed), the lamps will be revealed, will come together, will ignite a multitude of others which had been put out, will pour together into a great flame of faith which, when efforts are made to put it out, will burn more brightly; for many which have been put out and have felt the torment of the darkness and the cold of Tartarus will prefer to burn upon the bonfire of the flame of faith than again to be immersed in darkness."“With us is Christ, the Conqueror of death and hell.  The history of Christianity shows us that in all the periods when temptations and heresies have agitated the Church, the bearers of church truth and the expressors of it were few, but these few with the fire of their faith and their zealous standing in the Truth have gradually ignited everyone ... The same thing will happen now if we few will fulfill our duty before Christ and His Church to the end."The fearless confession of faith and of one's hope and a firm standing in the Church's laws are the most convincing refutation of the Sergian deviation and are an unconquerable obstacle to the hostile powers directed against the Church.  Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."Read this text, and the entire “Russia’s Catacomb Saints” by I. M. Andreyev and Fr. Seraphim Rose here: http://russiascatacombsaints.blogspot...You can also find a wealth of lesser known info on St. Damascene and other Catacomb Saints here: https://catacombhistory.blogspot.com/...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!

“Now you become angry and fainthearted and grieved, thinking that the heavenly Father is slow in answering. But I tell you that this will also happen as you desire—it will definitely happen—but first it takes prayer with all your soul, and then you must wait. And when you have forgotten your request and have ceased asking for it, it will come to you as a reward for your patience and endurance. When you reach the verge of despair while praying and seeking, then the fulfillment of your request is near. Christ wants to heal some hidden passion within you, and this is why He delays in granting your request. If you obtain it sooner, when you demand it, your passion remains uncured within you. If you wait, you obtain your request and the cure of the passion. And then you rejoice exceedingly and give warm thanks to God Who arranges all things in wisdom and does everything for our benefit.” “Don't fume with anger, as if to work it out of your system, but rather be calm. Burn the devil through patience and forbearance.”“Christ allows temptations so that we may be purified of our predispositions. Temptations are like soap and a mallet which hits us and whitens us. All the clothes that are firm are useful for the Bridegroom. But those which do not endure the mallet are torn and thrown out in the trash.”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 40 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!

St. Peter Zverev, Archbishop of Voronezh (+1929), New Martyr and Confessor under the Soviet antichrists, offers here a homily on the 1910 Cholera pandemic. Are his words anachronistic? Or do they speak to us today, us who suffer not only from a virus that attacks the body, but from the virus of impiety and lack of love according to truth and sacrifice? “There are still reports being received from various places that infectious disease is spreading across our country, and that it is carrying away to the grave many thousands of people. It is not surprising that in the face of this frightful phenomenon people are brought to anxiety and are striving to think of any means whereby they may avoid the impending thunderstorm.  But this is our grief – we have invented all the wrong means by which we think to be saved from this terrible sickness that has mercy on no one. We try to utilize various serums and vaccines … Every commission (agency) and the vast majority of people almost completely leave out the spiritual starting point in a person – his soul; of this only they desire not to think! The first and only evil behind sickness, misfortune, and suffering on this earth is sin. It is sin that we must eradicate and fight by every means, with all out strength, however difficult it may be. All these viruses, microbes, and bacteria are only but weapons and means in the hands of the Providence of God, Who seeks the salvation of mankind. By sending pestilence upon people, the Lord is reminding us to always hold our death before our eyes; after which will be the Dread Judgment, and the eternal punishment of unrepentant sinners which follows. It is to Him first and foremost that we should turn with prayers and supplications. And as we offer prayers we must also be striving to be found worth of the mercy of God. It is imperative to confess your sins, repent of them, and make a firm resolution to carry out your life in harmony with the Gospel commandments.  Yet, it is somehow frightful to see what takes place around us, on one side people are struck with the fear of contagious, deadly diseases, and they are terrified of death; yet at the same time they indulge in unbridled pleasures, amusements, and spectacles. All the while they completely forget about their holy responsibilities according to their calling as Orthodox Christians. How could there not be death bearing illness in our country when we have stepped away from God and brought upon ourselves His righteous wrath? We should also stand in awe of God’s immeasurable long-patience and that He mercifully chastises us; we must give heartfelt thanks to Him that we have not been completely destroyed. Let us all repent and amend our lives and turn to God, for it is we who have left Him.” Sermon: https://inklesspen.blog/2021/02/12/ho... Read more about St. Peter Zverev here: https://www.orthodox.net/russiannm/pe... This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!