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The Simple Shepherd Of The Simple Sheep
It is necessary today, living in an age of distraction and materialistic stupor, that we become acquainted with holy persons that struggled against the same onslaughts our modern age brings upon the soul. These persons are a testimony to the living sanctity of Truth–that victorious war can be waged against this world’s poison. One such personality is “Papa” (Father) Nicholas Planas. + LIFE OF ST. NICHOLAS PLANAS (1851-1932) Commemorated March 2nd HIS BIRTH. He was born in Naxos in 1851. His parents, captain John and Augustina, were quite well off but were also good people, with the simple and pure soul which distinguishes island people. They had their own estate,…
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Seven Homilies to the Youth: Part I
By Fr George Calciu Below is a recorded homily given in opposition to the law, the first in a series of “seven homilies to the youth” delivered as lenten meditations by Fr George Calciu to the youth in Romania. Under communist rule in Romania, Fr George was taken prisoner by the authorities for refusing to become a puppet of the government. He preached the truth openly to a society that was being contorted into a materialistic one, being stripped of all spiritual life. In the face of cruel imprisonment and unimaginable torture for which he suffered for many years, Fr George delivered to the youth a series of homilies of consolation,…
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The Uncreated Map: Christ as the Light of Yoga
By Subdeacon Joseph Magnus Frangipani I’m reminded of pilgrims at the Himalayan foothills seeking passage around the icy mouth of the Ganges River. Among these hikers were two very different men, one an intelligent geologist and the other a simple backpacker. The geologist put every trust in his mind. As he told others, “I know all there is about the composition of mountains and valleys. I know how they’re formed and why they’re here. Look, I understand everything and really don’t need backcountry camping lessons, nor do I have time to get in shape for this journey.” So, he left unprepared, but very confident for the hard journey ahead. Meanwhile,…
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Spiritual Surgery and Sobriety
“All the suffering borne by persons is none other than the abundant healing that eternal Mercy offers to save them from eternal death. Every sin, however small, would inevitably bring death if Mercy were not to allow suffering in order to sober mankind up from the inebriation of sin; for the healing that comes through suffering is brought about by the grace-filled power of the Holy and Life-giving Spirit.” +St. Nikolai Velimirović By Aidan Sobriety— What can this virtue offer a world scrambling to salve its wounds with virtual esteem, boundless acquisition, and sociopolitical tribalism? In the hands of a drunkard, tools of modern psychological sophistication have little lasting…
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Bowie and the Devil in the Pool
In an age numbed by the constant glow of digital devices and the poisonous inoculation of indifference, the spiritual realm has become a haven for those who seek to pull themselves out of the mire of nothingness and depravity. However, still hypnotized by our culture of consumerism and it’s devilish daughter, self-gratification, some who seek escape are still held in bondage, turning to forms of spirituality that worship the self. Thus, the spiritual realm can be equated to just another form of entertainment, or at best a feel-good drug that satisfies our want for sensation in an otherwise bland and numb world. Spirituality has become a cerebral playground that one…
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Punks to Monks: Effects of the Last True Rebellion (Video)
In this engaging video, Fr. John Valadez speaks of the soul-destroying pitfalls of the punk culture he once found himself wrapped up in, and how the zine Death to the World, founded by former punks turned monks, helped him and many others to find the light of Christ in the Orthodox Church. Source: Fr Anthony Tandilyan’s YouTube Chanel
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The Cedar of Lebanon: St Jacob the Martyr
As a cedar of Lebanon groweth without fear of martyrdom or death. Thou didst become a victor O Father Jacob. Thou didst conquer death in thy body when by humility thou didst control the passions and when thou wast burnt like incense as a sacrifice. Intercede with Christ to grant us great mercy. +Apolytikion in the Third Mode Above the Kadeesha River sits a pearl of ascetic struggle unworthy of the world. Burrowed in the caves of Mount Hamatoura exists the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos, overlooking a land that once flourished with monastic fervor. Until the late 90’s this monastery was in ruins, uninhabited, and forgotten since times…
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Stillness, Kinship, and Self-Mutilation: The Lost Art of Philoxenia
Mankind longs for affection and the affection of kin is beyond compare. Kinship is the most natural object of our longing. Even the great ascetics, the monks of the desert, have longed for true spiritual love – although the Greek monachos refers to being alone it does not necessitate or even imply permanence. Instead, inner contemplation and prayer lead one to restoration of the deepest and most profound of all connections – that of our full and complete humanity. Gregory of Palamas taught the practice of hesychasm, an intentional inner silence and prayer, a methodical contemplation, which leads to absorption of the energies of God Himself. The first step towards…
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A Paradoxical Wonder: The Double One
…A double man, made from two natures In an inexpressible wonder… O paradoxical wonder [You are] among… the creatures, Both immaterial and material: The material are the things that you see, And the immaterial are angels. Thus, among them are you The living man, the double one: Immaterial among the sensible [creatures] And sensible among the immaterial ones. +St Symeon the New Theologian, Hymn 53 As he looked on the vastness of the sky, contemplated the night stars and beheld the moon, the psalmist asked, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” The question of the human person is an ancient itch that continues to gnaw away…
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Strangers in a Foreign Land: Nationalism and the Orthodox Church
In calling the Church ‘catholic,’ Orthodox Christians confess belief in a Church for all ages, nations, and races. The Catholic Church is whole, complete, and lacking nothing—for this is what ‘catholic’ truly means. It is a calling for all, and Christ our God is sacrificed ‘on behalf of all, and for all.’ There is often confusion—especially for those either outside or unfamiliar with the Orthodox Church—in viewing our local, autonomous churches as ‘ethnic’ churches. Nevertheless, such a perspective was condemned as heresy (termed ‘ethno-phyletism’) by an ecumenical council in Constantinople (August 10, 1872).1 In that context, the concern was the uncanonical creation of an ethnic church for Bulgarians—a church sharing essentially the same ‘space’ as the…
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God Never Leaves
From the evergetinos: A brother was beset by the demon of lust. It so happened that the brother once passed by a village in Egypt and saw a beautiful woman, who was the daughter of a pagan priest. On seeing her, he was wildly aroused and, under the influence of his passions, went to the father of the girl and said: “Give me your daughter as my wife.” “I cannot give her to you,” the pagan priest answered, “without asking my god. Wait a bit.” Indeed, the pagan priest went to his god’s oracle (through which, as we know, the Devil speaks) and asked: “A monk came to my home and…
