Below is another portion of my current continued effort to translate more of the works of St. Dimitry of Rostov. The preceding translations may be found through these links - Chapter 2: A True Mind and an Evil Mind. Chapter 3: Without the Purification of the Mind, Everything is Foolishness. Here, I offer Chapter 1, …
Continue reading The Loss of True Reason and the Fall of Mankind
It is, most likely, a tactic as old as history. Incite questions, or clear attack, as to the motive and character of your opponent, discredit him, and thereby circumvent addressing any viable and legitimate topics or issues he may raise or present. In modern times this is called character assassination. In the study of fallacies, …
Prayer to Mary, the Mother of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, is an ancient Christian practice. The earliest written record of a prayer to the Virgin Mary is dated around 250 AD. This prayer, “Beneath thy compassion,” is in use to this day in the Orthodox Church. Prayer to and veneration of the …
Continue reading Christian Prayer to the Virgin Mary and the Theotokos Rule
Below the reader will find a sobering and timely message from Archbishop Averky of blessed memory. He delivered these words in the midst of the 20th century when Communism held full sway in the then Soviet Union and he himself lived in the United States. Yet, in a manner similar to Solzhenitsyn, he understands that …
Greetings in Jesus Christ, dear readers! Two of my recent posts, The Gates of Hell Shall not Prevail, and, Worldly Progress or the Cross, were taken from a collection of writings by Archbp. Averky of blessed memory entitled, "True Orthodoxy and the Modern World." I received some comments from some readers asking if it would …
Continue reading Link to the full work of Archbp. Averky, “True Orthodoxy and the Modern World.”
Below the reader will find another teaching from the great lion of the 20th century, Archbishop Averky. The article is taken from “Orthodoxy and the Modern World,” Chapter 28, “The Kingdom of God on Earth, Progress, or the Cross?”1 In these days, our hope must be in Christ Jesus. All of man's “progress,” which for …
Words and consolation from our sweetest Lord Jesus come in various ways. This past week I encountered a rather tumultuous situation, in the midst of which two dear priests (I believe unbeknownst to each other) shared this letter by St. Justin Popovich with me. Although I fall short, it brought words of consolation to me. …
Continue reading There is no place for despair for a Christian on earth
A bit ago, my wife came upon an audio version, in Russian, of a work by St. Nikolia Velimirovich entitled, War and the Bible. As is her custom, she listens to various audiobooks while doing this or that around the house, many a time small crumbs of audio wisdom waft my way as I am …
“I clearly see that the people’s task is not to remake the state system, but to work on the human person, and to be better yourself, and even to suffer for the truth.” Holy New-Hieromartyr Pavel. 1886 saw a terrible cholera epidemic in the city of Kolyvan, Siberia when young Pavel (Paul) Lasareff was 6 …
Continue reading The Life of the Holy New Hieromartyr Pavel of the Russian Far East
Here is a spectacle worthy of bitter lamentation: Christians who do not know in what Christianity consists! St. Ignatius Brianchaninov The reader will find below a most pertinent letter by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. In it, he addresses mentalities and ideas that have only become more accentuated in our times. As Orthodox Christians, St. Ignatius calls …
Continue reading Salvation in No Other Name: Christians! You Must Know Christ!
The Inkless Pen 