Just as a basic concern is to be careful of anything that might be harmful to our physical health, so our spiritual concern should watch out for anything that might harm our spiritual life and the work of faith and salvation. Therefore, carefully and attentively assess your inner impulses: are they from God or from the spirit of evil?
- St. John Maximovitch
You cannot be a Christian without loving everybody the same. Both those of your own and other faiths. Both of your own and other religions, and nationalities. We are not responsible for where we are born…
- Mother Gabriel
Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equals of the Apostles, and Enlighteners of the Slavs:
Our fathers among the saints Cyril and Methodius were brothers who brought Orthodoxy to the Slavic peoples of central Europe in the ninth century. In preparation for their mission to the Slavs they devised the Glagolitic alphabet to translate the Holy Scriptures and other Christian writings into what is now called Old Church Slavonic. Glagolitic later developed into the Cyrillic alphabet which is now used in a number of Slavic languages. The two brothers have been recognized as Saints, equals to the apostles, for their missionary work. Many details of their lives have been obscured by the legends that have arisen about them.
O Cyril and Methodius, inspired by God, You became equal to the Apostles by your life. Since you were teachers of the Slavs, Intercede with the Master of all That He may strengthen all Orthodox peoples in the True Faith, And that He may grant peace to the world And great mercy to our souls.
The True Faith must be persecuted in this world. The Savior Himself said this clearly and openly to His apostles. St. Apollinaris of Hierapolis in writing against the Montanist heretics says: ” Let them tell us before God who, out of all their prophets, beginning with Montanus and his wives, was persecuted by the Jews and killed by the ungodly? No one. Who, from among them was taken away for of the Name of Christ and was crucified on the cross? Again, no one. Have any one of the women ever been flogged or stoned in the Jewish synagogues? Nowhere and never.” However, the Orthodox saint wants to say, that the True Faith must be persecuted in this world. Heresies are generally closer to the worldly and demonic spirit, which is why the world and the demon do not persecute their own. To be constantly persecuted, with brief intervals in between, is a characteristic of the Faith and of the Orthodox Church. This persecution existed throughout all of history, either from without or within; externally from unbelievers and internally from heretics.
- From the Prologue of Ohrid
Faith is not a matter of mere understanding, so it is not cultivated and does not grow simply through investigation or through study. Faith, as trust in God and abandonment of oneself to Him, is closely related to love, which is God Himself. When you love, when you offer as much as you can to others, to your brother – to Christ – and end up by offering your very self to God, then you know Him: you believe.
- Elder Vasileios, Abbot of the Iveron Monastery
To have faith is to die for Christ and for His commandments; to believe that this death brings life; to regard poverty as wealth, and lowliness and humiliation as true glory and honor; to believe that by not possessing anything one possesses everything (cf. 2 Cor. 6:9-10) or, rather, that not possessing anything is to possess the ‘unsearchable riches’ of the knowledge of Christ (Eph. 3:8); and to look upon all visible things as dross and smoke. To have faith in Christ means not only to stand aloof from the delights of this life, but also to endure patiently every temptation and test that brings upon us distress, affliction and misfortune, for as long as God wishes and until He comes to us. ‘I waited patiently for the Lord and He heard me’ (Ps. 40: 1).”
- St. Symeon the New Theologian
We have very little faith in the Lord, very little trust. If we trusted the Lord as much as we trust a friend when we ask him to do something for us, neither we as individuals nor our whole country would suffer so much.
- Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
…This is my Orthodox Faith. The Faith of my Forefathers, Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Preachers, Evangelists, Confessors, Martyrs and every spirit perfected in faith. This is the Faith that I confess and preach to all and forever and I will fight by the grace of God, to uphold undefiled and right until the end.
I open my heart and my hands to a warm embrace to all the schismatics and heterodox my brothers, that want to come to Orthodoxy and I pray for them.
I will not though permit to anyone ever, according to my ability, to alter or tear the unwoven garment of my Church.
You, my Lord Jesus gave your precious Blood for her. Here, I am ready, give me Your grace to defend her. Light the fire of my humble soul for the Cross and the martyrdom. Amen.
-A powerful and touching confession of faith of an Orthodox Christian
From now on, I’ll ignore any anti-Orthodox posts/comments.
As a dear friend said to me, God doesn’t need lawyers, He needs martyrs, confessors.
I will only read things constructive and helpful for salvation, and I will share it with all of you.
I will stop reading things that have been misused from other Christian confessions. It can harm my soul.
I am not here to lose my soul, but to share my faith and help others discover Orthodox Christianity. I will not betray my faith. Never!
Through the intercessions of the Holy Fathers, Confessors and defenders of Orthodoxy to our Lord, may all of us be saved.
You don’t become holy by fighting evil. Let evil be. Look towards Christ and that will save you. What makes a person saintly is love – the adoration of Christ which cannot be expressed, which is beyond expression, which is beyond… And such a person attempts to undertake ascetic exercises and to do things to cause himself to suffer for the love of God.
No monk became holy without ascetic exercises. No one can ascend to spirituality without exercising himself. These things must be done. Ascetic exercises are such things as prostrations, vigils and so on, but done without force. All are done with joy. What is important is not the prostrations we will make or the prayers, but the act of self-giving, the passionate love for Christ and for spiritual things. There are many people who do these things, not for God, but for the sake of exercise, in order to reap physical benefit. But spiritual people do them in order to reap spiritual benefit; they do them for God. At the same time, however, the body is greatly benefited and doesn’t fall ill. Many good things flow from them.
-From Wounded by Love: the Life and Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios
“You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and they tremble.” (James 2:19)
They alone know how to believe in God who love God, who are Christians not only in name but also in action and [way of] life, because without love faith is empty. With love, it is the faith of a Christian —without love, the faith of a demon.
-The Venerable Bede, “Commentary on James”
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk- inspired Dostoevsky, as reflected in The Brothers Karamazov.
“The keeping and confession of Orthodox dogmas is always to be found in true faith in Christ, but the true faith of Christ is not always to be found in the confession of Orthodoxy…. The knowledge of correct dogmas is in the mind, and it is often fruitless, arrogant, and proud…. The true faith in Christ is in the heart, and it is fruitful, humble, patient, loving, merciful, compassionate, hungering and thirsting for righteousness; it withdraws from worldly lusts and clings to God alone, strives and seeks always for what is heavenly and eternal, struggles against every sin, and constantly seeks and begs help from God for this.”
I would like to say that Greeks should keep, protect and cherish the Orthodox faith. If the Greeks go in the same direction like some other European countries by expelling Christianity from the public sphere and by being afraid to express their Orthodox faith because of so called tolerance or political correctness they will lose their country. Because it will no longer be Greece. Greece is unimaginable without Christianity. And I think every Greek person, whether is a strong believer or less strong believer, should do everything to protect Orthodox Christianity and to make sure that it is transmitted from the present generation to the future generation.
-Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk
