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Keeping Silence, Not Passing Judgment (Part III)

Again and again the monks sing the praises of silence. For them silence is the way to encounter themselves, to discover the truth of their own hearts. But silence is also the way to become free from constantly judging and condemning others. We are always in danger of evaluating, estimating, and judging every person we meet. And often enough we find ourselves on the verge of condemning and passing sentence on them. Silence prevents us

Hieromartyr Charalambos

IMPORTANT NOTE: In Greek hagiography and iconography St Charalambos is regarded as a priest, while Russian sources seem to regard him as a bishop. St Charalambos, Bishop of Magnesia (Asia Minor), successfully spread faith in Christ the Savior, guiding people on the way to salvation. News of his preaching reached Lucian, the governor of the district, and the military commander Lucius. The saint was arrested and brought to trial, where he confessed his faith in

The Lord’s Prayer (Part I)

ALTHOUGH IT IS very simple, and is used so constantly, The Lord’s Prayer is a great problem and a difficult prayer; it is the only one which the Lord gave, yet, reading the Acts, one never finds it used by anyone at all, which is not what one would expect from the words that introduce the prayer in Luke II: I, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’ But not being

FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT (III)

Fr. Maximos was silent for a while to give us time to ponder what he had been saying. He then continued with a rhetorical question. “Do you realize that our best friend is ourselves? We don’t have a closer and more intimate friend than ourselves. We are with ourselves all the time. This may seem to you paradoxical, but many people consider staying all by themselves a veritable hell. They cannot be by themselves, not

Am I Smart or Foolish?

I began simply and spontaneously opening my heart to him and asking him whatever was of concern to me. “Elder, I want to become a monk. I love the monastic life. I desire to live for Christ. I visit a monastery but everything has become confusing for me and I have many questions. Please tell me, must a monk be smart or foolish? “I ask this question because whatever I do they constantly scold me

Understanding the Vice of Passing Judgment

As it is, the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son .. .I judge no one … For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world! (Jesus Christ. See In. 5: 22. 8: 15. 12: 47)   Therefore, judge nothing before the time, [that is] until the Lord comes. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of every

ON GUARDING AGAINST THE RE-ENTRY OF VANQUISHED EVIL

THE first time you are victorious over self may be a sign to you: Now I am on the way! But do not consider yourself virtuous, only thank God, for it was He who gave you the power; and do not rejoice beyond measure, but swiftly go on. Otherwise the vanquished evil may come to life and conquer you from the rear. Remember: the Israelites received the command from God to drive out all the

The Essence of Prayer (IV)

On many occasions throughout history people witnessed persecution and were not afraid, but shared in the suffering and did not protest; for instance, Sophia, the mother who stood by each of her daughters, Faith, Hope and Charity, encouraging them to die, or many other martyrs who helped one another but never turned against the tormentors. The spirit of martyrdom can be brought out by several examples. The first expresses the spirit of martyrdom in itself,

History of the Feast of the Three Hierarchs

During the reign of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1081-1118), a controversy arose in Constantinople among men learned in the Faith and zealous for virtue about the three holy Hierarchs and Fathers of the Church, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. Some argued for Saint Basil [known as Basilians] above the other two because he was able, as none other, to explain the mysteries of the Faith, and rose to angelic rank by