August 16, 7533
An Instruction From a Father to His Son I, a sinner (name), bless, instruct, guide, and admonish my only son (name), his wife (name), their children, and their household to follow Christian laws, to live with a clean conscience and in truth, keeping the will of God and His commandments in faith, and to establish…
The life of a Christian is built upon the presence of a spiritual father. A spiritual father is a priest who helps the Christian grow spiritually. It is to him that the Christian usually turns for advice and for the performance of sacramental rites such as marriage, baptism, and others. A Christian does not go to just…
If a family is a small church, then a Christian community is a larger family. Therefore, every Christian must have a spiritual father with whom they can discuss their problems, seek answers to pressing questions, and so on. Without necessity, a spiritual father should not be changed. One should not arbitrarily go to confession with…
What does the common phrase “we crucify Christ with our sins” mean? How can this be understood if Christ was crucified once, long before our time? When the Lord Jesus Christ began His public ministry, St. John the Forerunner, who was calling people to repentance and baptizing them in the Jordan, pointed to Christ and…
Bishop Innokenty (Usov) They say there is one answer that fits any question. That answer is: “I don’t know.” In the same way, there is one excuse that fits any misdeed, any sin, any bad or foolish habit. That excuse is: “It is customary,” “I am not the only one who does this,” “Everyone does it.” Ask, for example, a card…
By Kiril Mikhailov “One must try everything in life!” This slogan is repeated, as if by the hypnotized, by nearly everyone. Television has ingrained this in us, and we no longer even think—we simply try, as long as the opportunity is there and no punishment follows. Moral and internal restraints are gone. After all, television teaches…
In the Gospel, Christ says: “Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends.”(John 15:14–15) From this passage, we see that it is not the Lord who calls us servants; rather, we…
Bishop Innokenty (Usov) The Fathers of the Church divide those who do good and fulfill the will of God into four ranks or degrees: slave, hireling, son, and friend of God. He who does not commit evil and fulfills the commandments of God out of fear of eternal torments is in the rank of a…
The spiritual experience of every Orthodox Christian is unique, subjective, and unrepeatable. Despite the universal laws of salvation, the Lord prepares for each person a distinct and unrepeatable spiritual path. Christianity blesses marriage and the continuation of the human race. This is embedded by the Lord Himself in the laws of nature, which were established…
How do people become ascetics? What have they understood or realized? What drives them? Why do they strive so selflessly? Or is it a natural inclination they are born with? Christianity is a religion of spiritual struggle, and the Holy Fathers call Christ Himself the Initiator of that struggle. Christ commands those who wish to…