repentance Archives - Page 9 of 10

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

01/28/2014

Saint Ephraim the Syrian, a teacher of repentance, was born at the beginning of the fourth century in the city of Nisibis (Mesopotamia) into the family of impoverished toilers of the soil. His parents raised their son in piety, but from his childhood he was known for his quick temper and impetuous character. He often had fights, acted thoughtlessly, and even doubted God’s Providence. He finally recovered his senses by the grace of God, and

Orthodox Paradox

01/13/2014

Orthodox and Paradox. The two words have much in common. The “dox” that ends both terms has its root in the Greek word doxa, which means “belief” or “opinion.” It will be suggested in what follows that these words share much more than just a linguistic root, but glancing at the root word is a good place to begin. In its later Christian usage, doxa comes to mean “glory,” but only as an extension of

The Lord’s Epiphany in the Jordan

01/06/2014

Like the liturgical celebration of the Lord’s Nativity, the festival of His Epiphany in the Jordan at the time of His baptism is inaugurated with a prefeast celebration of five days. And also like the services of the Nativity, many hymns of the Epiphany prefeast are patterned after those of the springtime Pascha of the Lord’s death and resurrection. Once again just a few words in many of the songs are changed from those sung

LENT: THE JOURNEY TO PASCHA (Part I)

04/01/2013

They are many today, who desire a better understanding of the liturgical tradition of the Church and a more conscious participation in her life. Repentance, we are told, is the beginning and the condition of a truly Christian life. Christ’s first word when He began to preach was: “Repent!” (Matt. 4:17). But what is repentance? In the rush of our daily life, we have no time to think about it, and we simply assume that

St. Peter Damaskos on Humility and Repentance

02/05/2013

Peter exhorts sinners not to despair and challenges their belief that the Creator of all is incapable of saving them. Because God is, as the liturgy says, “the lover of mankind,” because Paul tells us that it is God’s desire “that all shall be saved” (1 Timothy 2:3-4), so we should not lose hope. Even if you are not what you should be, you should not despair. It is bad enough that you have sinned-

REPENTANCE IN THE PHILOKALIA (Part III)

11/12/2012

Theognostos (fourteenth century?) is known to us only as the author of the work included in the Philokalia. “When you fall from a higher state, do not become panic-stricken, but through remorse, grief, rigorous self-reproach, and, above all, through copious tears shed in a contrite spirit, correct yourself and return quickly to your former condition. Rising up again after your fall, you will enter the joyous valley of salvation, taking care so far as possible

REPENTANCE IN THE PHILOKALIA (Part II)

10/23/2012

Neilos the Ascetic (died ca. 430) was probably from Constantinople and a follower of St. John Chrysostom. He became abbot of a monastery in what is now Ankara, Turkey, and is the first writer known to make unequivocal mention of the Jesus Prayer. “In the biblical story Elisha then threw a stick into the Jordan and brought to the surface the axe head his disciple had lost (cf. 2 Kings 6:6); that is to say,

REPENTANCE IN THE PHILOKALIA (Part I)

09/21/2012

ST. ISAIAH THE SOLITARY I, ON GUARDING THE INTELLECT, SEC. 22 Here Isaiah the Solitary expresses the same confidence that Paul speaks of in Romans 8:38-39, that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” All that is required is for the sinner to repent and return to God. “Be attentive to yourself, so that nothing destructive can separate you from the love of God. Guard your heart, and do not grow listless

The Feast Day of the Holy Apostle Bartholomew. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: On the Origin of Evil.

06/11/2012

We need a theology that will answer the atheist position about evil, about the process imputed to God since Jean Paul Richter, Nietzsche, and Dostoevsky (think, for example, of the arguments presented by Ivan in The Brothers Karamazov). We must abolish once and for all that image of a “diabolical God” who, from all eternity, controls everything and thus appears as the only source of evil. Our God is the Theos pathon, the crucified God

Holy Week Meditation and Study Guide (Part III)

04/06/2012

On Good Friday evening, the theme is Christ’s descent into Hades during which the Gospel of repentance and reconciliation with God is shared with those who died before Christ’s saving dispensation in the flesh. The service begins with lamentations sung as we stand before the tomb of Christ commemorating His unjust punishment and the shedding of His innocent blood. But the service ends on a note of joy and hope,

Archive

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

Orthodox Paradox

The Lord’s Epiphany in the Jordan

LENT: THE JOURNEY TO PASCHA (Part I)

St. Peter Damaskos on Humility and Repentance

REPENTANCE IN THE PHILOKALIA (Part III)

REPENTANCE IN THE PHILOKALIA (Part II)

REPENTANCE IN THE PHILOKALIA (Part I)

The Feast Day of the Holy Apostle Bartholomew. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: On the Origin of Evil.

Holy Week Meditation and Study Guide (Part III)

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