SSCORRE!
Saint Sophia Cathedral
Online Resources for our Religious Edification
TOPIC OF THE WEEK:
St. Paisios of Holy Mount Athos (†7/12/94) is perhaps the greatest and most revered saint of the Orthodox Church of our time.
Thousands of people around the world have eponymously witnessed and reported first-hand miracles performed by the saint during his lifetime. The officially recorded and verified miracles performed by the saint after his repose at his resting place at the Monastery of St. John the Theologian (Souroti, Thessaloniki, Greece) have reached 5,000. St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalivia (†12/02/91) also a highly revered Orthodox saint, once said that St. Paisios was as great as St. Anthony the Great (†356 AD) and that “God shows saints of St. Paisios’ greatness to the world every 400 years.”
- “In order to avoid the risk of dismissing the Gospel as fairy tales, God sends us the Saints to strengthen our faith. Because the goal is not to be cured of psoriasis, or cancer, etc. It is to be cured from the greatest of sicknesses; the lack of faith.”
From a presentation by Athanasios Rakovalis (known as the young man in the book The Gurus, the Young Man, and Elder Paisios.)
Adult/Family:
Preschool:
Before Saint Paisios was a saint, an elder, a simple monk, a carpenter or soldier, he was a child. He was born into a family, given a name, and immersed in the culture of his people. Given this human being, how did this boy grow up to be a saint? What divine power, what leap of human nature, lifted Arseny out of the dust he was born into and delivered him into the glorious presence of God, a saint for all eternity? Find out by watching A Boy’s Journey to Sainthood: Saint Paisios the Athonite.
The book is available for purchase here.
Elementary:
Watch Saint Paisios and the Alcoholic Monk
Do you ever judge someone for something they have done? How might circumstances that you don’t know about contribute to their behavior? Instead of judging, what might we do instead?
Read Flies and Bees – Advice from Saint Paisios
Father Paisios provides us with wise advice about negative thinking using an example of flies and bees. He says there are only 2 categories of people; there is no third category. In which category would you be classified? Which category would you like to be in? If your thinking is not in the category you would like it to be, what will you do to change that?
High School:
A Message from Maria Spanos
I am passionate about our Orthodox Christian faith and seek to help others learn as much as they can about it. My purpose here is to share online resources that help strengthen our relationship with Christ and bind us closer to His Church. I believe they are invaluable in learning about our precious Orthodox Tradition, and are a great aid for teaching family members, friends and others about Orthodoxy. ~Maria
Two of my favorite quotes:
“A true Christian behaves in this life so that it may be a preparation for the future one and not only a life here below. In his actions, he does not think what will be said of him here but of what will be said there in heaven; he represents to himself that he is always in the presence of God, of the angels and all the saints, and remembers that someday they will bear witness of his thoughts, words, and deeds.” — Saint John of Kronstadt
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“Of all the holy works, the education of children is the most holy.”
— St. Theophan the Recluse
