The ‘original’ sin is not primarily that man has ‘disobeyed’ God; the sin is that he ceased to be hungry for Him and for Him alone, ceased to see his whole life depending on the whole world as a sacrament of communion with God. The sin was not that man neglected his religious duties. The […]

The word accidie means etymologically, ‘lack of care’, ie. about one’s salvation. With few exceptions, all humanity is now living in a state of accidie. People have become indifferent about their salvation. They do not seek divine life. They confine themselves to forms of life which appertain to the flesh, to everyday needs, to the […]

Elder Sophrony’s prayer at daybreak to be said each day on rising from sleep O Eternal King without beginning, You who are before all worlds, my Maker, Who have summoned all things from non-being into this life: Bless this day that You, in Your inscrutable goodness, give to me. By the power of Your blessing […]

What do I need? I need true and active Christian love; I need a loving heart which takes compassion on its neighbors; I need joy over their prosperity and well-being, and sorrow over their sorrows and illnesses, their sins, failings, disorders, woes, poverty; I need warm and sincere compassion for all the circumstances of their […]

A Monastic asked an elder: What good work is there that I should do? And he said to him, ‘Are not all works equal? Scripture say that Abraham was hospitable, and God was with him. And Elijah loved contemplative silence, and God was with him. And David was humble, and God was with him. So […]

Settle down in your room at a moment when you have nothing else to do. Say “I am now with myself,” and just sit with yourself. After an amazingly short time you will most likely feel bored. This teaches us one very useful thing. It gives us insight into the fact that if after ten […]

The Eucharist is a procession of the Church following the ascension of Christ. The Eucharist is a journey of the Church into the dimension of the Kingdom. The Eucharist is a real separation from the world. We always want to make Christianity understandable and acceptable to the mythical modern man on the street, and we […]

One of the fundamental methods of curing the soul[from the disease of sin, death, and corruption] is stillness [i.e., hesychia] in the full sense of the word. Contemporary man is seeking healing for his life, especially for his inner condition, precisely because he is over-strained. Therefore one of the messages which Orthodoxy can offer to […]

The remembrance of God is an all-powerful weapon, a mighty suit of armor against satan and the various sins. When the mind ceases to remember God and meditate upon divine things, man is overcome by negligence, indolence, forgetfulness, and then by evil desires! If you see your mind rushing towards the world, know that your […]

Evil lies within us. There is no love in us, so we don’t feel all people to be brothers and are tempted by [the knowledge of] their sinful ways. But it’s not right when moral failings become known to all. The injunction of the Gospels to “tell it unto the Church” (Matt. 18:17) doesn’t mean […]