Faith is one of the cornerstones of our salvation from sin and of attaining eternal life with Christ. The spiritual life of every person, all knowledge of God, begins precisely with faith. Without faith, there are no truly good deeds; without faith, there is no sincere prayer; without faith, communion with God is impossible —…
It is said that there is one answer that suits every question. That answer is: “I don’t know.” Likewise, there is one justification that suits every wrongdoing, every sin, every bad and foolish habit. This justification states: “So it is done,” “I am not the only one who does it,” “Everyone does it.” Ask, for…
We are all asleep, brethren — not only the young, but the old as well. God reminds us of the approach of the Dread Hour through earthquakes, hurricanes, and various calamities, yet we continue in our slumber. Will the dreadful and universal Judgment Day truly find us asleep? One cannot help but recall the words…
Reading the teachings of the holy fathers, one cannot cease to marvel that what they said many centuries ago is addressed also to us who live today. Only technology and means of passing the time have changed; our essence has remained the same. In conversations with various people, this problem has been discussed repeatedly, and…
By I. Kirillov 1. What is Old Belief? Many people have pondered this question, offering diverse and often contradictory answers. It is difficult to provide a comprehensive verbal definition of the very essence of Old Belief. In this case, we will attempt to define Old Belief from an external perspective, while not losing sight of…
Quotes from Metropolitan Korniliy (Titov) The foundation of Christian life is growth in the Holy Spirit, so that the spirit in man may govern the flesh, and not the flesh the spirit. The holy fathers—hermits and ascetics—have left us, for our instruction, a teaching on bodily abstinence. A person needs only as much food as…
If you feel an aversion toward a particular person, it means they are negatively affecting certain emotions or passions within you. All of us harbor many sins which, as they accumulate and linger, eventually develop into passions. However, these passions lie dormant until something stirs them. Every illness is treated only after it manifests itself….
This is an important question because it is natural for people to notice the sins of others before paying attention to their own. The Lord Jesus Christ addresses this tendency in the parable about removing the beam from one’s own eye before trying to remove the speck from another’s. This highlights something inherent in human…
Vices, passions, and sins—these are terms describing different phenomena that, in Christian worldview, are interconnected and share much in common. In the vocabulary of Orthodox Christians, the word vice has the following meanings: It is important to note that in ecclesiastical use, the meanings of words often differ from their everyday usage. Thus, the term vice is not used…
Indeed, while other commandments are relatively straightforward—”Do not kill” means you must not kill, and “Do not steal” means you must not steal—what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? Why is this sin unforgivable, even though Christians are called to emulate God and forgive their offenders? Furthermore, God is the Holy Trinity, and…