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

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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.

Beautiful words from St. Patrick, Irish missionary

I arise today through
The strength of the sky,
The light of the sun,
The splendor of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The swiftness of lightning,
The swiftness of the wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of the rock.

True Freedom (Archbishop Averky Taushev)

One may easily hear the prophetic voice of Archbishop Averky, most of all considering that these talks were given shortly after World War II. With the eyes of the spirit, he clearly foresaw the end of the path upon which humanistic freedom was leading mankind. A very timely, sober, and challenging message. One we and our world must heed.

True freedom, which grants happiness, is freedom from sin. Is this how contemporary people understand freedom, and is this the freedom they seek?

What Christ Accomplished on the Cross (Hieromonk Damascene)

The topic of today’s talk—what Christ accomplished on the Cross—is of course a prime subject of contemplation during the Lenten season, as we prepare to prayerfully commemorate Christ’s passion, death, and the inevitable consequence of His death: His holy Resurrection. As we call to mind and repent of our sins during the Holy Fast, we also call to mind that which has saved us from the eternal consequences of sin. We call to mind Christ’s life-creating death on the Cross, which He underwent for the salvation of each one of us.

About faith, and to those who say that it is impossible for someone living in the world to achieve perfection in virtues (St Symeon the New Theologian)

At the beginning of the discourse is a very useful story. It is a good thing to preach before all the mercy of God and to proclaim to your brethren His great compassion and the ineffable grace which He has for us. I know a man who neither observed long and great fasts, nor kept vigils, nor slept on the bare ground, nor imposed other such particularly difficult feats upon himself, but, recalling his sins, he recognized his wretchedness and, condemning himself, humbled himself - and the all-merciful Lord saved him for this alone, as the divine David says: "I humbled myself and saved me" (114:5).