“Salvation is from God and it is made possible by God, not for one who merely desires to be saved, but the one who begins to do good deeds. The first step of this work is precisely the awareness of one’s unworthiness, then Grace comes to make you worthy, giving you the strength

St. Dionysius the Areopagite, who was converted by St. Paul in the Book of Acts, in his work “On Ecclesiastical Hierarchy” already had the three roles of Deacon, Presbyter, and Bishop. He even connected these roles to the three steps in the spiritual life: purification,

Biblically, a “pastor,” “elder,” and “bishop” are 3 words for the same thing. In the New Testament, the terms “elder,” (πρεσβύτερος), “bishop,” and “overseer” (ἐπίσκοπος) are essentially interchangeable, referring to the same leadership role in the early church. “Elder”

The first lie we must overcome is that private personal prayer has no effect. If we realized its power and strength, we would be at our icon corners more frequently.

“When we began our Christian life, we were full of enthusiasm. Without it, we would have been like an engine without steam, or a rundown clock, and in the end gotten nowhere. But we had our enthusiasm, we had our spiritual father, we had the writings of the “Fathers, we were

https://t.co/8rtp5WeTRn

“You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” — John 5:39-40 Western Christianity is often so focused on the Scriptures. And while this is important,

When you meet someone who is holy, you often have two responses: 1. To slander, discredit and gossip about them. 2. To recognize your own sinfulness and unworthiness, and to follow them.

I created this video to show the contrast. I always found it interesting that the doom-scrolling activity with our hand seemed like the antithesis to the recitation of the Jesus Prayer with a prayer rope. Both acts, small and seemingly inconsequential, could not be more

Here is the Great Schism, over-simplified: The LORD left Five Brothers in charge of the Church, with Christ as the head. Over the years, the older brother began to see itself as the new head of the Church, a supremacy of sorts...if you will. And what better way to exemplify the

Why all this talk about icons? You are all idolaters already. The passions (our habitual sins) are like idols that we have setup in the altar of our hearts. And there we bow down before them and offer them the sacrifice of our will. And instead of mercy, we are met with tyranny.

“One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life.” + St. Irenaeus of Lyons

I was interviewed recently. We covered topics like the Eucharist, Fasting, living a Liturgical life, the Holy Spirit and more. Link: https://t.co/YST8k8IrPW

The Protestant reformation had two desired outcomes: - Direct access to God (No Church or hierarchy needed) - Universal access to the Scriptures (Sola Scriptura) But what you actually got: - My way - My interpretation

Just read this. Given the talk I have seen on X about unity between Catholics and Orthodox I find it appropriate to share:

Orthodox Criteria for the Canon of Scripture... am I missing anything else? 1. The Liturgy 2. Tradition 3. Church Fathers 4. Councils

St. Paul had a genuine vision and experience of Jesus Christ, yet this was not enough to confer the Holy Spirit upon him. He still had to be received into the Church through means of baptism at the hands of Ananias.

If temptations were easy to avoid then they wouldn’t be called temptations. They are hard for a reason.

Here’s what they cited… I mean this is insane to me… back to DVDs… nay, VHS Availability of Purchased Digital Content. Purchased Digital Content will generally continue to be available to you for download or streaming from the Service, as applicable, but may become