What Orthodox Iconography is (Photios Kontoglou)

The religion of Christ is the revelation, by Him, of the truth. And this truth is the knowledge of the true God and of the spiritual world. But the spiritual world is not what men used to — and still do — call "spiritual."

Christ calls His religion "new wine" and "bread that cometh down from Heaven." The Apostle Paul says, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away: behold, all things have become new."

In a religion like this, one that makes the believer into a "new man," everything is "new." So, too, the art that gradually took form out of the spirit of this religion, and which it invented to express its Mystery, is a "new" art, one not like any other, just as the religion of Christ is not like any other, in spite of what some may say who have eyes only for certain meaningless externals.

The architecture of this religion, its music, its painting, its sacred poetry, insofar as they make use of material media, nourish the souls of the faithful with spirit. The works produced in these media are like steps that lead them from earth up to heaven, from this earthly and temporary state to that which is heavenly and eternal: This takes place so far as is possible with human nature.

For this reason, the arts of the Church are anagogical, that is, they elevate natural phenomena and submit them to "the beautiful transformation." They are also called "liturgical" arts, because through them man tastes the essence of the liturgy by which God is worshipped and through which man becomes like unto the Heavenly Hosts and perceives immortal life.

SAINT AELFHEAH, HIEROMARTYR ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY (+1012)

St. Aelfheah (Alphege) was born in 954 of pious parents, who soon handed him over to be instructed in literature and the Christian Faith. Seeking a more total commitment, however, the saint abandoned his paternal inheritance and, ignoring his mother's tears, entered the monastery of Deerhurst in Gloucestershire, whose ancient church survives to the present day. There, while still an adolescent, he excelled in prayer, vigil, fasting and charity.

The qualities of a true missionary (Fr Daniel Sysoev)

1. The concepts of mission and missionary work

The word "mission" signifies the proclamation of the intact Holy Gospel to those outside the Orthodox Church. If we speak to baptized but unchurched people who consider themselves Orthodox, this is not a mission—it is catechesis. Only two types of rational beings live on Earth: homo sapiens and homo christianus. They differ from each other as the dead differ from the living. A living Christian differs from inanimate (ordinary) people. As the Apostle Paul says, "You, who were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air… God… has made alive together with Christ" ( Eph. 2:1–5 ). When a missionary goes out to preach, he goes into what is called in the Acts of the Apostles the region of Satan, the place of darkness, the place of rejection, where the children of God's wrath live, under the power of Satan and under the shadow of death - people enslaved and captured by the devil's snare.

On the remembrance of death (St Philaret of New York)

 

“Man thinks much, dreams much, and strives much,” he said in one of his sermons, “and almost always achieves nothing in his life. But no one will escape the Terrible Judgment of Christ. Not in vain did the Wise Man once say: "Remember your last days and you will not sin forever!" If we remember how our earthly life will end and what will be asked of us afterward, we will always live as a Christian should. A student facing a difficult and critical exam will not forget it but will constantly remember it and try to prepare for it. But this exam will be terrible because it will be a test of our entire life, both internal and external. Moreover, after this exam there will be no re-examination. This is the terrible answer by which man's fate will be determined for immeasurable eternity... Although the Lord Jesus Christ is very merciful, He is also just. Of course, the Spirit of Christ, who descended to earth and gave Himself totally for our salvation, is full of love. salvation of man. But it will be terrible in the Terrible Judgment for those who see that they have not made use of the Great Sacrifice of Incarnate Love, but have rejected it. Remember your end, man, and you will not sin forever and ever."

Interesting interviews with Matushka Maria Kotar (spiritual daughter of St. Seraphim Rose)

https://pravoslavie-ru.translate.goog/139800.html?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

On Faith and Works (St Mikhail Novoselov)

Faith as a Condition of Salvation

Salvation is a free and grace-filled transition of a person from evil to good, from a life according to the elements of the world and from hostility against God to a life of selflessness and communion with God. What is the condition for such a transition?

In the proper and strict sense, such a condition or productive cause can only be faith in Christ.
No matter how successful a person may be in doing good, no matter what feats he undertakes, if he lacks faith in Christ, he will never comprehend the truth that God forgives him. Man's conscience is confronted with his countless sins and the inexorable law of truth, demanding satisfaction. God Himself, therefore, appears to him only as a stern, punishing Judge; he appears hostile to man. Having nothing to say in his own defense, man only trembles before God and is ready to abandon all thought of his salvation and surrender to atheism. He will not understand God's love on his own and will not turn to it. "How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?" ( Rom. 10:14 ). How can they turn with a plea for help and forgiveness to Him whose love they know not? "Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we melt away in them: how then can we live?" ( Ezek. 33:10 ).

What are the signs of the true Church? How can we recognize it? (St. New Martyr Valentine Sventitsky)

In the Holy, true Church, the one in which the fullness of God's grace is revealed, where the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated, and in which we can be saved—in this Church, the dogmas professed by the Orthodox Church are professed. In this Church, the canons of the Church established and transmitted to us by the Holy Fathers are observed. In this Church, there exists a consistent, legitimate, and truly ecclesiastical authority. No distortion of dogma is permissible, no arbitrary violation of the canons of the Church is permissible, no arbitrary seizure of ecclesiastical authority is permissible.

On Pride and Humility (From the letters of the Valaam Elder)

A certain wise elder admonished a proud brother, but he replied, "Forgive me, Father, I am not proud." The wise elder retorted, "How can you more clearly prove that you are proud than by saying, 'I am not proud'?"

Yes, pride is blind; it doesn't see itself. Pride is a devilish invention. Its offspring are: anger, slander, irritability, hypocrisy, hatred, contradiction, insubordination. It firmly insists on its own opinion, has difficulty submitting to others, cannot tolerate criticism, yet loves to criticize others, utters words thoughtlessly, lacks patience, is devoid of love, is insolent even to the point of insult, and strives for power. The proud suffer greatly from blasphemous thoughts. I wrote briefly, based on patristic teaching.

Orthodox Saints on Catholicism

The Church as teacher of the Christian (Saint John of Kronstadt)

THE HOLY CHURCH is the most supreme, most holy, most good, most wise, and most necessary institution of God on earth. She is "the true tabernacle" of God, "which the Lord planted, and not man" (Hebrews 8:2)—not Luther, not Calvin, not Muhammad, nor Buddha, nor Confucius, nor any other such sinful, passionate person. The Church is a union of persons established by God, united by Faith, Doctrine, Hierarchy, and Mysteries. She is the spiritual army of Christ, equipped with spiritual weapons against the countless armed hordes of the devil: for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). She is a spiritual hospital where humanity, weakened by the open wound of sin, is healed by grace-filled treatments given by God - by repentance and communion in the Holy Mysteries of Christ, in the Body and Blood of Christ and by the word of God, by the instructions and counsel and consolations of the shepherds of Christ's rational flock. She is a common bath of purification, rebirth and sanctification; she is the sanctuary of God in which all are sanctified by the Holy Spirit through Baptism, Confirmation, Divine Service and other Mysteries. She is the spiritual sun of the world, enlightening and giving life to all who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and who are dead through the sin. He is healed by the grace-filled treatments given by God—by repentance and communion in the Holy Mysteries of Christ, in the Body and Blood of Christ, and by the word of God, by the instructions, counsel, and consolations of the shepherds of Christ's rational flock. She is a common bath of purification, rebirth, and sanctification; she is God's sanctuary in which all are sanctified by the Holy Spirit through Baptism, Confirmation, the Divine Service, and other Mysteries. She is the spiritual sun of the world, illuminating and giving life to all who sit in darkness and the shadow of death and who are dead because of sin. He is healed by the grace-filled treatments given by God—by repentance and communion in the Holy Mysteries of Christ, in the Body and Blood of Christ, and by the word of God, by the instructions, counsel, and consolations of the shepherds of Christ's rational flock. She is a common bath of purification, rebirth, and sanctification; she is God's sanctuary in which all are sanctified by the Holy Spirit through Baptism, Confirmation, the Divine Service, and other Mysteries. She is the spiritual sun of the world, illuminating and giving life to all who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and who are dead because of sin. by the instructions, counsel, and consolations of the shepherds of Christ's rational flock. She is a common bath of purification, rebirth, and sanctification; she is the sanctuary of God in which all are sanctified by the Holy Spirit through Baptism, Confirmation, the Divine Service, and other Mysteries. She is the spiritual sun of the world, illuminating and giving life to all who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and who are dead because of sin. by the instructions, counsel, and consolations of the shepherds of Christ's rational flock. She is a common bath of purification, rebirth, and sanctification; she is the sanctuary of God in which all are sanctified by the Holy Spirit through Baptism, Confirmation, the Divine Service, and other Mysteries. She is the spiritual sun of the world, illuminating and gives life to all who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, who are dead because of sin.