Conferences Archives - Page 2 of 2

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part XI): Means to the End (Part I)

09/20/2017

Here is how things stand so far. We have observed the five most important virtues through which the fathers in the Conferences teach us to establish the purity of heart that is the go al of Christian life. These are detachment, discernment, discretion, balance, and humility. We have observed that the fathers taught Christians to practice these virtues in order to guide them to their proper telos, which is the kingdom of God. We have

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part X): Theoria

09/13/2017

Theoria, often translated as “contemplation,” is a critical concept for most of the ancient fathers of the Church, and it is important for us to talk about it right away. Coming into true contemplation, theoria, is, according to the Conferences, the essential purpose of a monk’s life. According to Abba Moses, theoria is a state of mind in which the monk contemplates “only the vision of God.”41 We may thus define it as the transcendent

he Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part IX). Virtues (Part V): Humility

09/06/2017

Balance, we have already noted, can only be attained through discretion and discernment. Yet, there is another key virtue that the monk must seek if he is going to walk the royal road according to the Conferences. This is the fifth and final virtue on our list, namely, humility, which, according to Abba Moses, is the foundational virtue lying beneath a Christian’s ability to practice discernment and discretion and thus, by extension, to live a

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part VIII). Virtues (Part IV): Balance

08/30/2017

According to the fathers of the Conferences, the result of developing discretion and discernment is the manifestation of the fourth virtue on our list, namely, balance. This balance is described by Abba Moses as the “royal road,” upon which a monk is not made proud by virtue nor drawn down so as to give in to vice.33 Christian life, Abba Moses assumes, invites one both to laxity and to possible over-corrections in the pursuit of

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part V). Virtues (Part I): Detachment

07/20/2017

According to the Conferences, to cultivate purity of heart means to live a life of Christian virtue. For the fathers, speaking about virtues is like placing the white light of purity of heart through a mental prism. Virtues are like the colors that make up the light, combining indivisibly into a single whole, but capable of being discussed on their own. Many of the fathers in the Conferences talk at length about virtues, their nature,

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part IV). The Goal and Telos of Christian Life (Part IV)

07/13/2017

In this vein, the difference between the kingdom of God and God himself can begin to blur in the words of the Abba. For example, he notes that the reason Christians pursue their goal, purity of heart, is to attain the telos of a permanent connection not just to holy things, ideas or states associated with God, but to God himself. This, then, must be our primary undertaking-chis the never-altered destination and never-failing pursuit of

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part I). The Goal and Telos of Christian Life.

06/22/2017

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. Romans 6:22 The Goal and Telos of Christian Life We noted that Christian salvation is fundamentally the same, whether pursued in the world or through monasticism. It is this foundational unity, which is the unity of the Holy Spirit himself, that makes monastic spirituality and literature so valuable for the

Archive

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part XI): Means to the End (Part I)

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part X): Theoria

he Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part IX). Virtues (Part V): Humility

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part VIII). Virtues (Part IV): Balance

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part V). Virtues (Part I): Detachment

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part IV). The Goal and Telos of Christian Life (Part IV)

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part I). The Goal and Telos of Christian Life.

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